The Best Marketing in SideStall's History Wasn't Done by Us

I want to tell you about the most effective piece of marketing in SideStall's history. It cost nothing, it took about two minutes, and we didn't do it.

One of our sellers set up her stall, and then she did something most sellers never do. She shared her stall link. Not to a big audience. To her own Facebook and Instagram, her friends, her family, and a couple of local community groups. A small personal following, nothing fancy.

Our analytics still show the result. That one habit ended up driving about a quarter of all the buyers arriving on the entire app. That's one seller sharing one link with her own people.

Why it works better than anything we can do

When SideStall promotes a stall, we're a company saying “trust this”. When you share your own stall, a real person is saying “this is mine, I made this”. Your neighbours, your old workmates, the parents from school already trust you. They're the easiest customers you'll ever get, and we can't buy that kind of trust with any ad budget.

What she did

1. Find your link. Tap the share button at the top of your own stall page and the link's ready to send. It's built on your handle, sidestall.au/stall/@yourhandle, and it's yours forever.
2. Post it where you already are. Your personal Facebook. Your Instagram bio. The local buy-swap-sell and community groups that allow it.
3. Say it plainly. “I've opened a stall, this is what I make, this is where to find it.” Keep it honest. It works better than anything polished.
4. Repeat it when something changes. New stock, new product, opening for the weekend. Each post gives people a fresh reason to tap.

Everyone who taps that link lands on your stall page, sees what you've got, and can order from you directly.

So yeah, set up the stall and share the link. It's the best marketing we've ever seen.

Santo Arabia is the founder of SideStall, the Australian app for roadside stalls and farm gates. Setting up a stall is free at sidestall.au.