We are about to embark on another summer in the San Juan Islands. For Scott and I, it means about ten weeks of close your eyes and get it done. In our wine department it isn’t just about the volume of customers who pass through the store. It is a physical job as well. Schlepping cases of wine and booze from the back room or top shelf into stock as the popular items fly off the shelves. Neither Scott nor I are spring chickens, although we are both quite capable of keeping up with the demand. In a lot of ways, it’s an exhilarating time of year. We both love to sell wine, beer and booze. I often refer to us as the vice squad. Of course, we would love to have a third person for the summer. Someone who would like to join the party and learn a bit about wine along the way. We’ve had a few bites, but nothing has come to fruition. It’s tough in the San Juans with the lack of rentals available and the competition from other businesses who are also trying to get enough help for the summer. However, the beat goes on and we are prepared to tackle the summer as the dynamic duo once again.
My YouTube channel is at a bit of a standstill right now. I have 1025 subscribers, which I am very excited about. Now, the challenge is to get the viewers to spend just a bit more time watching the episodes. Of course, that requires some serious thought on my part. What is it that people are interested in watching? How can I keep my viewers engaged? I want to change things up a bit, but I need some suggestions. I have a good friend who insists I keep my episodes down to around ten minutes. It makes some sense, as the attention span of most, is quite short when it comes to YouTube. I know I need to teach myself how to make more interesting thumbnails, which are the pictures that give a preview to what is coming out on my channel. Clever thumbnails catch people’s attention. The fact that I’ve never put much into that and still have over a thousand subscribers, convinces me that better thumbnails will only attract more people. I’m dedicated to making my channel informative and entertaining. I want to thank all of you who watch what I’m doing on YouTube on a regular basis and make comments. It keeps my creative juices flowing.
I’m working on an article about Rose’, it will be called “The Rose’ Enigma.” I’m fascinated by the buying habits of my customers, particularly when it comes to buying pink wine. Why does the sun have to come out before people buy Rose’? I know that is not true of all of you, but it is true for the majority of wine shoppers. I will go into some depth on my thoughts about this wine phenomenon. I’m certainly not the only wine person to give this subject some ink, but I have somewhat of an advantage being on the retail side of things. I hope you get a chance to read it.
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
