Jaftex Facebook Live Shop Tour Video Challenge….Year Five! Who is in?

Instructions & Rules

  • WHO: This contest is for all Jaftex customers that buy directly from us i.e. not from a distributor or otherwise. To explain this statement a little further, since the prizes will be credits, we can only provide credits to Jaftex customers.
  • WHAT:  Create a video tour of your shop that you post on your business Facebook page and I will share it on my work Facebook page too:  @JaftexPresident. The video needs to remain up for the entire month of August starting from when you first post it.
  • WHY: Hopefully, this will be your ‘super bowl commercial’ that you can use to get more Facebook, Instagram, YouTube & Tik Tok consumer interest for your shop. The hope is that this video will help to entice new customers to visit you and buy from you. In addition, immediately following this contest, we at Jaftex host a contest for consumers called #ScottSentMe. The #ScottSentMe Challenge is a challenge to see how many shops consumers can visit from September 1st, 2022, to the end of November 2022. Your video can help draw new consumers to visit your shop for the #ScottSentMe Challenge and that would be another win for you.
  • WHEN: Monday, August 1, 2022, to Wednesday, August 31, 2022, at 12 pm eastern time. (No tours will be posted on my Facebook page until Aug. 1, 2022). We will post the videos in the order that they are received. Videos cannot be accepted before July 31, 2022. Moreover, the videos cannot be made before July 31, 2022. That helps to ensure that no participant gets a head start with the number of views which is the basis for winning the challenge….view!  
  • HOW:  Videotape a Facebook (FB) live tour of your business or pre-record a video tour. (Keep in mind that live videos get more attention than pre-recorded videos). Then, post it to your shop’s business Facebook page.  If you don’t have a business Facebook page, this would be a good time to get that going as you can’t participate without one. Copy the link to your video from Facebook and please email that link to jaftex2022@gmail.com. Make sure to include the link as well as all of your company details so that we can keep proper track. The sooner you get your video in, the more time you have to get the most VIEWS needed to win.

To WIN: Get the most total VIEWS!   

Video Suggestions & Advice In No Particular Order

  • Videos should be less than 10 minutes. Consider a timer or have someone help you to stay on track. Keep in mind that less is more sometimes.
  • Try to move the camera around slowly so as not to make everyone motion sick. Consider a selfie stick or other similar apparatus.
  • Speak clearly, slowly and loudly enough for everyone to hear.
  • Make sure your internet and wifi connections are strong in all areas where you plan to be taping. You do not want the video to go off in the middle of your live. If it does go off, I suggest regrouping and starting all over again. You can still select not to post the video even though it was live. In either case, just stay calm as the world isn’t perfect. Remember that this is more about your shop than your video performance. Give yourself the time you need to get your head back into it.
  • Make sure you have strong lighting.
  • Consider setting up an event on Facebook to let people know that you are doing the video. That way they can comment and provide encouragement as you go. Don’t get distracted by the live comments. You can address each of those comments when you have the proper time.
  • Get rid of all the extraneous noise like music and loud air conditioners. If you have a mic, use it.
  • You can consider creating the video when the store is quiet in the early am or the evening. During busy hours might not be great.
  • Do a test run so you know where you are going to stand during the video as you move around the shop. Consider standing in strategic spots that will allow for you to show signage and other important things in the background as opposed to boring stuff like a blank wall or the floor. Keep in mind that you want to make all efforts to keep your viewers interested at all times so it’s all about constant visual stimulation.
  • Consider tidying up your shop or making special displays for your video. Be creative with signage as signage is effective.  Keep signage concise so it can be read quickly, remembered and absorbed.
  • When making your video, focus on 3-5  highlights that make your shop and/or you special.  These will help to keep your video on track and focused.  
  • Offer a special sale item, a price discount or a sales event that has an expiration date, no longer than 30 days would work best.  This will help to show you that it is possible to sell by using video, but make sure that it is a legitimately enticing offer and make sure you have enough inventory to support the offer.  Regardless of whether you win the contest or not, you might as well try to sell some product and see how and if video can be an effective part of your marketing efforts. 
  • Make sure to introduce yourself. It is important to mention your store address, phone number, website address and nearby highways or landmarks.  Do that at least once in the beginning and once at the end.  Make it easy for people to find you.  I also like to start the videos showing signage with daily hours as I enter the front door of the shop. Those signs are clear and concise.
  • Plan your closing/ending ahead of time. That will allow you to have a clean end where you are saying the most important things to consumers last. Don’t get caught at the end thinking you need to keep talking. End it and be done. Finito!
  • Feature your clubs, your classes, special tools or patterns you created, an event you have coming up, a book you may have written or other features that help to make your shop and you special…… because it is special and you are special. Don’t forget that!
  • The video will need to feature as many Jaftex Fabrics as possible (The Blank Quilting, FreeSpirit Fabrics, Henry Glass Fabrics & Co., Inc., Studio E Fabrics, 3 Wishes Fabrics or A.E. Nathan Co., Inc.)  You could also include other company fabrics and products that we distribute (Stof Fabrics Of Denmark, Oasis Fabrics, Sykel or Air-lite Batting.)
  • After you post your video, be sure to engage daily with all the people who comment i.e. respond.  This is a great opportunity to answer questions and tell people more about things you may have missed or not gone into great detail about in the video.  It’s also a good time to share photos of things in your shop in detail that are asked about i.e. a recent customer wanted to see more of the cat fabrics so the shop owner took a still photo and posted that in the reply. Also, since the video was live, if you misspoke, you can correct yourself in the comments.
  • HAVE FUN & DON’T STRESS!

Winners & Prizes

The winner will be the ONE shop with the most VIEWS attained as of noon eastern standard time on Friday, September 2, 2022.  Therefore, it would be in your best interest to get as many of your fans and followers involved. A shop that has already won in years 1-4 cannot win the top prize again. I would like to make sure we are spreading the love!

Grand prize:  Your prize is that you just awesomely promoted your shop and you also did an amazing Facebook live or taped video showing off your amazing and unique quilt shop….and Jaftex fabrics.  (No seriously, do you think that would be the only prize?  You all know me better than that!)

The winner gets me….if they want me.  Yup, me!  This will all be Covid and travel dependent. I will come to your shop at an agreed-upon date.  When I visit, we can do another video, if you wish, and promote your shop even further.  I would be willing to speak at an event that you host or arrange for your customers.  I am pretty open to anything within reason and some unreasonable things too.  And of course, there will be a fabric component where I give you a bunch of free fabric….something that you won’t be upset about…I promise.  All prizes and traveling etc. will be at MY EXPENSE.

My one requirement of the winner would be that they come up with a charitable component to my visit.  It is crucial to keep giving back and this is the perfect opportunity.  This is a reward in and of itself.

Other prizes: In addition to getting a visit from me, the winner will get a credit for $1500 to be used on future orders with any of my companies. Then $1250, $1000, $750, $500 and $250 for the other 5 respective winners in that order. That’s a total of 6 winners and a total purse of $5250 in credits.

The fine print….

I will make all the final decisions as this is MY contest.  I reserve the right to make any executive decisions needed to make this run smoothly and be finished according to the determined time frame.  If participants don’t behave like adults, they will be disqualified or banned altogether.  I don’t have time for nonsense or drama.  If there is a tie, there will have to be a tie-breaker that I will come up with at that time.

You must be a Jaftex direct customer who purchased fabric from a direct sales rep, ordered online or ordered from a customer service rep at the beginning of 2022 or later.  You must be in good financial standing with all Jaftex Companies to win….so please get those old bills cleaned up asap and make sure that you are buying from a direct sales rep.

You need to make sure that you meet all the criteria from above because when I see who gets the most views, I will make sure all these criteria were met.  If all the criteria are not satisfied, I will then pick the next contestant with the most views who meets all the criteria.


Got Questions?

All questions must be posted in the comment section of this blog or the Facebook post that this blog is posted in on my business Facebook page: @JaftexPresident.  I will answer all questions within a day or two.  All questions will be answered in the location where they are asked so everyone can see the questions and answers. These directions are pretty concise if you ask me, so I don’t anticipate too many questions and beg you to think long and hard before asking one.

Do not email me or call me personally or anyone else in my organization about this contest or you will be disqualified.

Again, I need to keep this simple and under control.


Good Luck!

Good luck to all!  Thank you in advance for participating and being willing to try something a little different and outside of the proverbial box.  In my opinion, this will be a huge win for all of us, the industry and consumers alike. I ask you all to spread the word about the contest to shop owners and consumers so we can make it bigger than ever.  I am truly excited for all of you and I can’t wait to watch the videos.  Let’s do this!  Take one!  Go! Go! Go!

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