Frequently Asked Questions

Independent, locally owned quilt retailers who have been in business for at least two years (or have previous quilt industry experience) can participate in Mystery Five-O. These retailers may be online/brick & mortar shops or online only stores. Because one of the key goals of M50 is to grow your online business, we do not service brick and mortar ONLY shops at this time.

Yes! In fact, Mystery Five-0 is an international program. Currently, Mystery Five-0 operates in almost all US states and in Canada.

Mystery Five-0 supports equal and open participation of all qualified quilt retailers. We believe that, collectively, increased retailer participation will exponentially increase the level of quilter participation, providing opportunities for all retailers to grow and benefit from the program.

All Mystery Five-0 retailers have three primary sources of income:

• QUILTER REGISTRATIONS (FREE Mega-Mystery registration with purchase): Quilters wishing to participate in Mystery Five-O Mega-Mysteries make a $50 purchase from participating retailers to get free registration. Note that in addition, three times a year we host one-day Mini-Mysteries that happen in our Retailer Facebook Groups. Joining a Facebook Group and participating in a Mini-Mystery is free to quilters.

• SELL KITS/ADD ONS: Participating retailers prepare and sell (fully revealed) kits for each mystery. These kits can be sold to any quilter wishing to participate even if she did not register for the Mystery Five-O mystery with the retailer selling the kit. We also teach strategies to generate Add On sales to increase program revenue.

• CONTINUE SALES AFTER THE MYSTERY CONCLUDES: Retailers can continue to sell the reproducible pattern (printed & electronic download) and remaining kits long after the mystery concludes, providing an ongoing revenue stream. Continue to sell kits and patterns for as long as you are a Mystery Five-0 member.

Additionally, members can also generate income through the Member Referral Program.

Wow! That's a loaded question. You get a LOT! You will have full access to a year-round mystery program that includes six mysteries - three Mini-Myseries (one-day mysteries you host entirely in your Mystery Five-0 Facebook Group) and three Mega-Mysteries (longer mysteries with bigger quilts hosted via your group and email) and a bonus pattern designed to create loyalty. We call it "FREE After Three".

And you get 10 reproducible patterns a year, available to support year-round sales as long as you are an active Mystery Five-0 member.

The Training and Retailer support you'll receive are unmatched in the industry. Not only will you learn our proven four-step Marketing System, you will also receive pre-recorded training videos you can watch when it's convenient for you and complete implementation guides for each step in implementing your mystery. And your participation will be promoted through our program website, Facebook page, and other social channels.

And I can't forget access to the Lara Langston mysteries! Lara is our exclusive animated character who solves mysteries right along with your quilters. The incrementatl SEO success and quilter engagement for your shop from Lara is off the charts.

Check out our Home Page for detailed information on all you get with your Mystery Five-0 Membership.

Online-only quilt retailers can absolutely benefit from Mystery Five-0. Quilters have equal opportunity to shop online via our members' Facebook Groups and website pages amongst all registered retailers. Additionally, we provide marketing and implementation support that aids online retailers in setting up personalized online communities to promote the mystery quilts.

Mystery Five-0 values our members and wants to reward those you join early!

That's why your Member pricing is "locked in" at the rate when you registered, regardless of the program pricing at renewal. Your annual membership price will never go up!

Mystery Five-0 values our members and is committed to supporting them to create an egaged, loyal community of quilters AND grow their revenue and profits!

Some of the benefits of being an M50 member include:

• Member Status badgel for email, website, and social media

• Placement on the Mystery Five-0 Participating Retailer page

• Training and support that is unmatched in the industry

• Locked in pricing at the rate when you registered, regardless of the program pricing at renewal

• Lucrative Member Referral Program

• Invitation to participate in Facebook Success Formula training at a reduced rate

• Ongoing sharing of your Facebook Business Page posts on the Mystery Five-0 business Facebook page

• Improved SEO for your webpage and on Facebook with the massive leverage of Mystery Five-0 and our community of Participating Retailers

And more!

We appreciate our Members' assistance in helping us grow the Mystery Five-0program. That's why we established the Member Referral Program. Members are encouraged to spread the word to other quilt retailers and encourage them to join. When the retailers join our Retailer Round Up (currently three times a year), retailers earn valuable promotional benefits and a $200 cash incentive. There is no limit to the number of referral incentives to be earned.

Absolutely! The theme for each new mystery season is released to Mystery Five-0 Retailers well in advance. Images of the quilts, including fabric suggestions and planning yardage requirements are released to Retailers with ample opportunity to plan and shop for fabric, tools and add-on promotional items.

Each mystery quilt will be previewed to participating Retailers well in advance, including a quilt image, fabric suggestions and planning yardage requirements, plus possible tool recommendations.

Mystery Five-0 sets MAP and IMAP pricing for quilter registration and pattern sales. Individual kit prices, sewing experiences, and add-on sales are controlled by the individual retailers who are participating in the program.

No, Retailers do not have to sell Mystery Five-0 kits. Buy why wouldn't you? Selling the kits is a significant source of income to Mystery Five-0 Retailers. With our implementation and marketing support, you may find that promoting and selling the kits locally and online is quite easy!

Nearly all Mystery Five-0 implementation and marketing training is provided in our online Resource Center, so you can access the materials at your convenience. We also hold live Learning Labs via Zoom sessions to provide support and answer questions about the pre-recorded trainings. All Learning Lab sessions are recorded and shared in the Resource Center.

Additionally, Retailers are encouraged to join and participate in our Mystery Five-0 Retailer Facebook group, typically the fastest way to get answers to your questsions. It's also a great place where we encourage retailers to collaborate and encourage each other while navigating the mysteries.

Mystery Five-O provides participating retailers with comprehensive training and marketing materials for every step of planning, implementing, and evaluating the success of each mystery. In addition, we maintain a Calendar to keep you up to date on all of our live calls and every marketing activity we receommend as you implement the mysteries.

WHAT'S INCLUDED:

1. Implementation Guides with dates/promotional materials/images/videos

2. Pricing structure and strategy for participation & follow-up pattern sales

3. Social media, email, website "Done-For-You" copy and images (or image suggestions) and recommended schedule

4. Live Learning Lab calls with recordings in the Resource Center

5. Online calendar with live call dates and daily schedule of recomended posts, emails, and other updates

4. Networking opportunities through private Facebook Group & market meet-ups

Yes, We make EQ8 fles available for purchase by retailers who use this program. Files are available in our Retailer Store.

EQ8 may be used for kit planning purposes AND for marketing your kits. You MAY use EQ8 files to mock up your kits and even to market your kits with a custom image insert.

However, you may NOT use the M50 EQ8 images to create your own version of a pattern or in any way make changes to the design provided.

You will not need to customize images or videos. The written content will indicate when you need to add your information, i.e. "add shop name" or "add pricing".

If you LIKE writing content, we encourage you to modify the suggestions so that your content represents your brand voice. We will provide training on this concept in our Learning Labs.

If you wish to reproduce the "How To" videos using your staff and materials, we encourage you to do so and will provide the parameters to maintain the Mystery Five-0 branding.

If you hate marketing, Mystery Five-0 is definitely for you. We have the entire marketing program prepared and ready for you to implement/post. Hand it off to a staff member and you're done. Who knows? After experiencing success from our wrap-around marketing campaigns, you might find you like marketing after all.

Absolutely! We want you to be successful, and we will provide every opportunity possible to make that happen. We host LIVE Learning Labs for all Mystery Five-0 retailers to provide support and answer questions. If you can't make the meeting, don't worry! We'll post the recorded video in the Resource Center.

We cannot control where consumers choose to spend their dollars. We will help each Mystery Five-0 Retailer implement and promote their mysteries in a manner that promotes and rewards customer loyalty for YOUR shop. And you get to support your quilters by commenting, posting and engaging your Facebook Group and via email.

Customer loyalty starts with YOU. We give you the tools to create it. You create the magic in your community.

No, the dates for pre-promotion and mystery clue release are set by the Mystery Five-0 program, and must be adhered to by all Participating Retailers. Retailers can continue to sell kits and reproducible patterns after the conclusion of the mystery, as long as they are an active M50 member.

Quilt blocks in the Mystery Five-0 patterns will typically be pieced using a traditional method. In the event that construction is a little more challenging, or requires a tool or ruler, our creative team will provide a video that demonstrates the suggested method.

Participating Retailers are welcome to audit these videos and make substitutions that best fit their shop. For example, if we suggest making half-square triangles in a traditional method, and you promote the use of Triangles on a Roll, then by all means, you are welcome to promote the product that you are supporting in your shop.

The mystery part of the program has prescribed dates for the beginning and end of each mystery. After a mystery runs its course, retailers are allowed to continue to sell the reproducible pattern, as long as you are an active member of M50. If a retailer does not participate in all of the mysteries in the program year, they are able to sell the reproducible patterns/kits as long as they are an active M50 member, but cannot run the mystery in following years.

First, we'll be really sad!

We also know that as a business owner, you always need to do what you believe is right for your business.

Should you decide to move on, we'll support you in communicating with your loyal M50 quilters to let them know your intentions and point them in the right direction should they want to continue participating in the M50 mysteries.

We'll also provide you with the steps necessary to end your M50 licensing agreement by deleting your Mystery Five-0 website sub-page and your Mystery Five-0 Facebook Group. This important step is necessary as your licensing rights to all M50 patterns and content end with your membership end.

Please note that you will NOT be able to re-purpose your Mystery Five-0 Facebook Group. It must be deleted as it is directly associated with Mystery Five-0.