Kentwood Woman sells beef jerky bouquets online

By Morgan Jarema The Grand Rapids Press KENTWOOD, Mich. (AP) -- Stumped about five years ago for a Valentine's Day gift for someone she was dating, Cindi Walther decided to try something homemade. What to do for a guy on a holiday that's typically all about what to do for the ladies? Meat, of course. Walther fashioned a "bouquet" of beef jerky, and the gift was such a hit she decided to make a go of selling her carnivorous creations. In the four years since Walther, 41, launched her online business, Beef Jerky Bouquet, the freelance writer has used her advertising background to attract customers using no- and low-cost Internet promotions such as Twitter, Facebook ads, email marketing and online coupons. "I Twitter all day long like a madwoman," she said. Walther buys her jerky from Dublin Jerky in Grandville, Buffalo Bill's in Pennsylvania and Buffalo Bob's in Berrien Springs, which she said she chose because of pricing, selection "and they make darn good jerky." Her offerings include ostrich, alligator, pheasant, buffalo and elk, all of which she has sampled. "Most people are really into alligator, but me... not so much. The ostrich is really tasty, though." Walther currently works out of rented space in Kentwood, but will move soon to work temporarily out of a friend's home in Rockford until she finds a permanent -- possibly retail -- space. To date, she has shipped more than a thousand bouquets to all 50 U.S. states. To ship processed meat products, all jerky must carry USDA-inspected stamping, which is provided by the suppliers. For now, the business is a sideline to her writing, but Walther said if it takes off, she'd consider making it a full-time career. "As a writer, I spend my time marketing other people's businesses," she said. "With the jerky business, I get to market my own, plus work with my hands, I'm always busy and there's pockets of different jobs I get to do: making the holders, arranging, picking up product, talking to customers. That makes me happy." She also has used the Google AdWord platform, where those with something to sell pay the Internet search engine to become "sponsored advertisers" that appear on the right side and top of search pages. Google text ads are short -- one 25-character headline and two additional text lines consisting of 35 characters each -- so coming up with those keywords that potential customers are most likely to use in their searches is key. Several months ago, Walther enlisted a marketing consultant to help her refine her Google Ads. The result: This Father's Day, she said, sales beefed up by 40 percent over Father's Day 2010. She describes her sales leading up to Father's Day like this: "The first year, zip. The second year and last year, decent. This year, we just shot up, the biggest jump since we've started. I thought, 'This is cool, it's working.' And it's easy and so cheap. That was the craziest thing." Published: Thu, Nov 24, 2011