Marketing or Altruism? Maybe A Bit Of Both

Howdy all! First, thanks so much to everyone who has become a fan during the shenanigans surrounding the Skelekitty.com Grand Reopening and to those of you who have been around for a while. No matter when you found me, I really appreciate your support.

I wanted to talk a little bit about why I am doing the co-giveaways with different artists and indie businesses during my grand reopening.

Admittedly, there is a bit of marketing savvy to this approach. By asking other people's fans to follow me on Twitter or like my Facebook page, I will gain some new fans. Maybe I'll even keep a few after the giveaways. That's what's in it for me and my business and, if I'm honest (and you know that I am, often to a fault), giving away my work wouldn't be worthwhile if there wasn't at least some hope to develop relationships with new clients.

However, the real reason I chose the artists I did is that I really like them, and think that many of my fans would too - if they knew about them. Each artist represents a different aspect of the indie business community and I truly feel that their works are treasures that have been undiscovered by many. You don't have to be the world's biggest fan of the sponsoring indie company to win their giveaway! Heck, it's OK if you just heard of them this second. I only learned about most of these people and their company/art/comic/band in passing, from friends or through similar promotions, so I encourage you to look at (or listen to) the items we're giving away. Read the background on each company in their giveaway blog post, then click the links I provide. Check out their shops, blogs and/or YouTube videos. Scroll around on their websites (listed below) and fan pages. You just might find something you really like. I took a moment to find out what each artist was about once, and since then they have come to be some of my favorite things in the world. No kidding.

Each of these artists is very good at what they do, and they're good people too (or I wouldn't be working with them). So go take a look at what they have going on. I don't expect everyone will like everything, but I would be surprised if each one of you didn't like at least one of them; very surprised indeed.

:)

Special thanks go out to these artists & groups (for returning my e-mails and donating stuff):  Ant Farm Studio, Bewhiskered, Brooke Van Gory Designs, EuroSunday, Geek in the City Comics (and Geek in the City Radio), The Kimberly Trip, Sara Lynch, and Madd Style Cosmetics.  They have all provided me with smiles and a quite a few of my favorite things.

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Marketing Tidbit: Promoting *YOU* Without Sounding Self-Centered (Be Awesome Part II)

The most popular response I hear when I tell indie business owners that they need to promote themselves is "I don't feel comfortable talking about myself."  This definitely isn't an issue I have, but I have given it a lot of thought and have determined that you actually can promote your business without talking about yourself.  Shut up, yes, you can!

Look, here are a just a few ideas:

• DONATE.  Not only do you get the warm fuzzies, donating really is a great promotional tool.  Be sure to choose wisely and find a balance between the organization's needs and the exposure you'll gain.  Medium-sized organizations appreciate the donations more than the huge ones.  And, of course, make sure that the organization reflects the values of your business.
• Post links to shops/blogs/pages you like.  
• You will build both a following and an ersatz "street team" naturally by supporting other artists/indie business owners - make sure that you let them know that you are supporting their shops, too (but never make this mistake).  
• You can also do reviews of items you use and really love, or show off your "collection" of purchases from other indie shop owners.
• Give stuff away.  WAIT! Don't skip this bullet point yet!  You don't have to spend money.  For example, you can do informational blog posts (like these marketing tidbits) or give away online goodies, neither of which cost you anything except your time.
• Involve your fans.  
• Ask your facebook fans to help you name new products - Brooke Van Gory Designs does and her fans LOVE it!  
• Host a coloring contest on your page or your blog.  It isn't necessary to spend money to run a contest - some people will be happy with bragging rights!   Or ask some of your colleagues if they would like to donate something small from their shop to gain new customers.  
• Lean on your colleagues.  Invite your colleagues to become fans of your Facebook page - in return, be sure to become a fan of theirs.  Most want to support you and if they don't, they'll "unlike" it later so you don't have to feel like you're spamming them from your personal page.

Inviting friends is easy with the Build Audience drop down
(at least it is in June 2012 at the time of this post)

• Link-share!!  This is a good way to find new people.  I will occasionally post on my facebook fan page (or blog) asking people to tag their fan pages and post links to their online shops in the comments.  It works like a charm for me, for the other artisans AND for the fans who find new stuff!

• Promo Swap.  You probably know someone who has the same issues that you do, so why not talk their shop up and they can do the same for you?  I've done this at gallery shows and it's a much more pleasant way to sling art!

And there are tons and tons of other things you can do that will promote your brand and you won't have to say anything about yourself or your stuff at all.  Do you have an idea (see, I'm including you)?  Post a comment here on Blogger!


Read Be Awesome Part I

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Marketing Tidbit: Online Events and Invites

This is another Marketing Tidbit focusing on issues specific to social networking, particularly Facebook. One of the fabulous things about Facebook is that you can set up "events" and invite your friends. Allyson Seconds and I use them with great success in getting the word out about our ongoing Project Hank gigs to help Sacramento area animal charities. Events are also fantastic for reaching out to non-local people for online classes and calls for art.

HOWEVER, one event tool, the invite can really bother the bejesus out of people (the invite should not to be confused with public posts on pages or timelines). These excerpts from The Oatmeal's "How To Suck At Facebook" strip have always made me laugh.

Yeah. It's like that.

Laughter aside, would you like to see how overuse and abuse of the event invite works against your small business/band?

I had two people on my friends list who run a marketing company in the midwest (I am in California), one of whom constantly sent me personal invitation to events clear across the USA. After being invited to three events in one day, all of which were over 2,000 miles away, I removed her from my friends list. A week later, her business partner started serial-inviting me to events in Illinois. Yep - she got unfriended too. I had previously unliked their page, simply because they use it solely to promote their local events, which are too far for me to attend. It's not that I dislike these two or their company by any means, but I got tired of having my events calendar clogged with things I couldn't possibly attend. I would have stayed a fan of the page if anything was going on there - besides posts about events they were doing across the country.

Now before anyone gets all defensive and tells me how I "should have" handled it, hang on. I know I could have messaged them and asked them to create invite lists for their local area and and to please not include me. If they had been actual friends or colleagues/artists/DIYers with whom I interacted on a regular basis, I would have. I might even have pointed them to the Facebook help guide on creating lists.

However, this post isn't about how I handled an online annoyance from people I don't know well and never interact with. The point is that THIS IS WHAT MOST PEOPLE WILL DO. If people are deleting you/your company/business/band because you are annoying them with inappropriate personal invitations, you've lost a potential fan or customer.

If you want to run a successful company, and this goes double if you are representing others, make lists for event invitations rather than inviting everyone you've collected on your friends list. When you create these lists, only include appropriate people on them. Do you run online sales? Create an invite list of people who have purchased from you or expressed an interest on your page. Are you a musician/artist playing a gig/having an art show? Create lists of local fans. Don't bother inviting people from across the country unless you and/or the art is going where they are. And feel free to spam away on your own page - that way you'll pick up the stragglers and travelers who were left off the invite list.


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Customer Don'ts: Privacy Goes Both Ways

As many of you know, I have been writing a series of articles called "marketing tidbits" designed to help small business owners, artists and others in the DIY community avoid the pitfalls of poor customer service.  However, with each article there has been something nagging at the back of my mind - namely, the responsibilities customers have in each of these situations.  Initially, you might think a customer's only requirement is to pay for the item ordered, but I would argue that each customer is almost, if not as responsible, for the relationship as the artist/shop owner is.  


Let's start here, because this may be the most important "don't" that I ever write:

We all know it is unacceptable for shop owners to share the personal contact information of their clients.  I would never provide e-mails, phone numbers or addresses of my clients to another shop owner.  I don't even use the information from my customers' invoices to create a mailing list - I find that rude.

However, one of my good friends and  a popular diaper bag/overnight tote/purse designer, Brooke of Brooke Van Gory Designs, told me today that one of her customers (unnamed) distributed Brooke's home address to several of her friends, none of whom Brooke knows.  Apparently this customer volunteered the address so her friends could mail in orders, thus circumventing Brooke's online ordering system.

I was just short of horrified.
We're not talking about the published business address of a large corporation here, but the home of a woman who runs a small business while caring for her two children.  Just because Brooke is a business owner, she has not given up her right to keep her home address relatively private.

Once you get past the terribly invasive act of distributing someone else's home address, there is another "customer don't."  Brooke has an online shop for a reason.  She keeps her inventory there and tracks her sales and projects.  Anyone who wants a bag from her is always directed to her shop (and the turnaround time is currently 6 weeks).  None of these women had any reason to expect it was OK for them to circumvent the BVG ordering process, least of all the original customer who suggested it without first checking with the business owner.

Never think that small business owners are so desperate for your order that they will let you run rough shod over them.  Some may, but the best ones never will.


Read all "Customer Don'ts."

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Marketing Tidbit: We Want IN-formation! (You won't get it!)

I'd apologize for the über geeky reference in the title, but let's face it.  We all know I'm not sorry.

I received an artist call the other day.  It was forwarded to me by a friend of mine, who received it from a friend of a gallery owner.  The theme fit one of my paintings perfectly and I was very excited to submit a piece to a gallery I had never worked with before.  Word of mouth is a great way to find out about shows, don't get me wrong, but I just spent an hour trying to track down information on the gallery.  By the time I finally found a useful link, I was almost past caring.  Almost.

So, here are a few tips to folks helping to promote shows.  Whether you represent a group or gallery or, in this case, are a friend trying to spread the word to help out, you must include as much of the following information as you can gather.  If you don't, you're doing your gallery/friends/artists a real disservice because the best and busiest will give up.

Name of the gallery - Use the full name (i.e., Joe's Gallery or Joe's Art Palace or whatever - not just "Joe's").  When you provide the name, please make sure it is spelled correctly.  One of the reasons I couldn't find this gallery was that I only received the first name and it was misspelled.


Location - It's nice to know where the gallery is, generally speaking.  If you are forwarding information from a small group where everyone knew the location, add that little tidbit of info on when you forward.  It helps (especially when other information is missing and one can't simply Google for a quick answer).

Theme - It's no fun to submit a painting and find out after you spent time on the application that there was a theme.

Deadlines & Timelines - That's pretty self explanatory.  When is the show?  When must the art be delivered?  Is it a one-night show or a month long commitment?

E-mail addresses and links - please make sure they are correct.  Links are always better than e-mails since an artist, if they're worth their salt, will find out what they need to know about a show before they bother the curator.  The link I followed today went nowhere.

Basically, if you're going to help your friends by promoting their gallery or shows, you need to provide the above information or provide information that will lead people quickly and easily to that information.


You know what else we need to talk about?  How an artist should approach a gallery/show.  Yep.  That's on my list for the next tidbit.


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Marketing Tidbit: Give Presents Just Because

Every now and then I like to make special items available for free.  From a marketing standpoint, it's good publicity.  From a human standpoint, it's just good.

So for the 2011 holiday season, I'm bringing back the FREE non-denominational Skelekitty gift tags/stickers!

Just click on the image you would like (yep, you can have both - nobody is keeping track).  Then, from my Flickr page, click "Download original size of this photo" to save the full sheet of tags to your computer.  Print them out, cut them and attach them to gifts (handmade, of course)!


Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, Blessed Solstice, Happy Festivus and/or Positive Mid-Winter Celebratory Greetings to you all, however you acknowledge these cold and short days indoors.


Love, Krissi and Skelekitty


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Marketing Tidbit: That's Not My Name

This was posted in a private group today by one of my colleagues who is also a seller of handmade goods:

Am I wrong for being offended that a seller sent me an email starting with "Dear Customer?" A "Hey there" and no name would be OK, or look at my paypal and use my name. But don't use "customer" as my name.

Short answer, NO.  You are NEVER wrong for being offended by something as impersonal as that.  One of the reasons people shop handmade and small businesses is to get that small-town, everyone-gets-personal-attention feeling.  Part of that feeling comes from the customer service that the vendor offers.

But, just for a minute, let's say you're an individual shop owner who receives HUNDREDS of orders a day.  Maybe one of your suppliers didn't come through and you need to notify a large number of customers.  In this case, you may choose to send out a blanket message.**  There are ways to do this without making your customers feel like they've been hit by a spambot:

• Instead of saying 'Dear Customers' say something like 'Happy Holidays,' or 'Hi there!'
• Admit that your message is a blanket e-mail, and of course, bcc all your recipients - never allow
  anyone to see contact information for other customers!
  You could say, "I am sending out a blanket e-mail to  (who you're targeting) everyone who ordered after the 15th because (why you are contacting them) ACME glue factory blew up and it will be a week before I can obtain supplies from another supplier.  (What options they have) All orders will be delayed one week unless I am notified before end of business on the 20th that you wish to cancel.   

NEVER USE BLANKET E-MAILS FOR ANY TYPE OF MARKETING!  If you want to notify your customers of sales or offers, set up a mailing list that they must opt into.  Don't know how?  No worries, luckily there's this handy new gizmo called Google.com out there.

However, if you are sending an individual e-mail to a single customer about their order, then for pity's sake, take the time to look at the invoice and the PayPal and find out what their name is.  If you're totally unwilling or unable to do that, or if their contact information is inconsistent, then at least try a "Hi there!"

Little things like this really matter.  What takes 90 seconds for you could end up making your customer feel insignificant.  A feeling which is likely to result in the loss of that customer and perhaps all of his/her friends.


If you're a small business, what do YOU do to give a personal touch to your customer service?  What has a company done well that has stuck with you?  I'd love to have some of you post comments here on the blog so that my Google+ friends and Facebook pals can meet each other - you guys are ALL so cool.  


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Marketing Tidbit: Make Packing/Shipping Easy

Today's Marketing Tidbit is a 2fer since I've been gone for so long.

First, some organization: I've tried going off memory to make sure that everything I want to go into packages actually gets in there.  I fail every time. - luckily, the item that usually gets left out is the invoice (annoying, but not critical).  I think it's because I don't ship a high volume of stuff, so I haven't developed habits from constant repetition.  I finally broke down and admitted I needed a system, so I made myself a checklist.

Click on the image to be taken to the Google Docs checklist.
Now you have a checklist too!

The "Linky Love" packet, for those of you who are wondering, is a little envelope of goodies and business cards from shops I buy from, work with and love.  Cross promotion between shops is a FABULOUS idea, but don't just throw your friends' cards in the package, tell your customer why you are sending them.  The wording on my note goes something like this:

There you go, two treats and no tricks!  Happy Halloween, everyone!



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Marketing Tidbit: Make 'Em Put A Ring On It

Winter art and craft festival time is FAST approaching, so this little tip is for those of you gearing up for the crazy weekends to come.

You've probably been there - you're at a festival or art/craft fair and a customer asks you to hold an item, ostensibly to find their husband/wife/holder of money.  You want to make the sale, but you know there's a very good chance of them never returning. Festival-induced ADD is the main reasons I would never hold items for people.  There's nothing more frustrating than turning down the next customer who wants that item - except maybe being the next customer who is turned away! Chances are you won't be seeing them again, either.  

My new-found collague, Kattaztrophe Arts' has a simple, but brilliant solution:  include a small deposit in your hold policy.   Base it on a small percentage of the price of the item, which is refunded/applied toward the final cost.  With a deposit in your coffers, you don't completely lose out if the person doesn't return.  I think you'll find that anyone who refuses to pay a deposit wasn't really interested and those who do will come back more times than not.  If they don't have cash on them and they really want the item, they'll move pretty quickly to find their other half!

Here are some extra Krissi-tips on the side:

• post your hold policy and deposit requirement (with amount or %) - never make people ask
• remove any item on hold from public display immediately (don't tease customers with what they can't have) 
• keep order forms on hand and have a proper system for accepting customer orders (with payment or a deposit, of course)

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Marketing Tidbit: BE THE PARTY, Don't Just Wait For An Invitation

It's pretty well universally understood that sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring isn't going to get you any dates, and that if you want a social life, you need to go make one.  You know, meet people, talk, invite people over, stuff like that.  Likewise, if you don't send out invitations, it's a good bet nobody is going to show up for your parties.

So why, when it comes to business, do people forget everything they know?

Several people have told me over the last few weeks that they "don't get enough sales/walk-ins [in their online shop]" so they don't bother to put any time into it or refer customers there.  Seriously, how can anyone call/show up to your party if they don't have the number or know there's a shindig going down at your crib?

Here's the breakdown of one of these very candid back and forths (I've had about five in the last month, but this one was the easiest to find and copy/paste):

[SCENE: a group discussion about glitchiness of Facebook notifications]

Artist:  Most of the people who buy from me do so through Facebook, and it was getting very frustrating and stressful.

Krissi: Why don't you send them over to ArtFire? [note: ArtFire was suggested in this case since this artist has both ArtFire and Etsy shops and using ArtFire would save on fees.]

Artist: I have a hard time diving in completely on ArtFire because I've never gotten a "walk-in" sale from that site. I can send artists there like crazy to set up shops, but I don't spend a lot of time on the site because even when I post new links to items in that shop, I still don't get sales there.

Krissi:  The more people I send over to purchase through ArtFire, the more drop ins I get. People go there, look through the shop and tell their friends about it. So even if I have a 'sale' on facebook, I set the listing up on ArtFire and have the person purchase through there. Then they know the shop is there and they go back and browse.

Artist: I get walk-ins from time to time on Etsy, most especially because of [a collaboration shop] and [a popular blog]. Because of those two things, most of my fans are just used to Etsy. 

Krissi:  People will shop where your stuff is. There's nothing magic about Etsy - it's just a tarted up online shopping cart with name recognition.  Keep Etsy for the walk-ins, but ask your facebook fans, friends and repeat customers to go through ArtFire to save your fees. You can even increase the prices by $1 or so on Etsy to compensate for their listing fees and people will probably start 'getting used to' ArtFire pretty darned quickly.  If you don't want to increase your prices on Etsy, you can hold "ArtFire only" sales to introduce people to it.

Artist: I have to tell you, though, I don't get the bulk of my sales through my inventory at all. If I relied on either shop to pay my bills, I'd be even worse off than I am now. Most people just contact me on Facebook about custom orders, and I set them up with a Paypal invoice.

Krissi: I don't get very many drop-ins either since most of my customers come from Facebook, but I do have more than I used to AND hear from people who say they've been 'stalking' my shop for months before they actually buy something.  I've learned that most people want the freedom to look around at items with prices and without a sales clerk following them.  If they need to contact someone to ask the price, a good number of them probably won't.  Providing a fully stocked online shop with full descriptions to allow potential customers to browse at their leisure is critical.  It's kinda like me walking past Crate & Barrel every day at lunch and then one day wandering in to buy that vase I've been looking at for a week.

Here's a visual.   Look at the difference by clicking on my Facebook fan page.  Can you immediately tell what I have available for sale, what my prices are and whether I take custom orders?  

Now click on my ArtFire shop.  See a difference?

[at this point the conversation went off on another tangent about programming shop widgets and tagging, which will be addressed in separate Marketing Tidbits]

Don't be the sad pug.  Make your shop accessible and invite your customers over.  This advice has already started working for one of the Glitter Bitches Handmade Corporate Rejects, AmyLynn of Kittycrossbones Custom Promotionals, who recently reopened her custom promotionals business after a 7 month hiatus.  Not only has she successfully moved her customers from Etsy to ArtFire, but she is quickly regaining her entire customer base at the same time.  Go AmyLynn!

And GO YOU!  I know you can do it!

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Marketing Tidbit: Play A Little

Have some fun with your customers - invite them over to play once in a while.  Laugh a little.  There doesn't need to be a payoff, a prize or a giveaway for them every time they come to visit.  Sometimes, it's enough just to hang out with you and goof off for a while.

Halloween-themed free downloadable coloring page from Kittycrossbones over on Facebook for you, your kids, your friends, whatever

Some marketing isn't going to have an immediate and direct effect on your bottom line, but it does build up your likeability, which is a huge part of what handmade is all about.  Besides, even if nothing comes of your evil plan for world domination through free coloring pages, it's worth doing for the smiles.

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Marketing Tidbit: "Senno Ecto Gammat!"

NOTE: Because today's "tidbit" is so long, I'll be back on Monday with the next installment.  See you then!

Senno Ecto Gammat
("Never again,

without my permission")

Don't "advertise" on your competitors' pages.  Not ever.  It's one of the fastest ways to get your page banned from posting again and will get you a nasty reputation in the indie business community.

As a matter of fact, don't even do it on your colleagues' pages without express (not assumed or implied) permission.

Now, I know there are a lot of people who think posting their promos all over facebook is an acceptable form of "networking," but it really isn't.  There are even quite a few people who don't mind spam on their pages, so when they spam others, they don't even know they're being rude.

Try thinking of it this way: you live in a small town with a 2 block Main Street and are in Luigi's Italian Restaurant.  Someone from Mario's Sicilian Eatery across the street wanders in and starts handing out sales coupons to absolutely EVERYONE.  Wouldn't you think that a bit unprofessional?  Which response do you think is more likely? (1) Luigi things excitedly "Oh boy! Now I can pass out my coupons in Mario's restaurant!" (2) Luigi tosses Mario and his coupons, a-fluttering in the wind, out the door.

Why is it that when we get behind a keyboard and monitor, all social niceties go out the window?  It's that darned feeling of anonymity we all have on the internet.  Since running a successful indie business means letting your customers get to know you and your company, let's bring back those small town business niceties, shall we?  We'll start with what NOT to do.

DON'T post links or contests to your business on a competitor's page!  Even the name-dropping and flattery in the first couple of lines doesn't excuse this bad behavior. This is very bad manners.

Fan fishing: a post by one artist on another artist's page

Asking for advice is, while acceptable, a little presumptuous.  Most successful indie business owners/artists just don't have time to answer every individual request for help, so those of us willing to help out will write blogs (*ahem*).  Try asking if they have already written or know of a post that addresses the issues you're asking about or, better yet, go search through their blogs yourself first.  If you really need one-on-one advice that only they can answer (meaning you're not just too lazy to do your own research), ask privately and be gracious and understanding if they don't have the time to respond.



DON'T post links on a colleague's page without permission.  Let's say instead of a competing restaurant, Mario owns a little street cafe that just sells coffees and gelato, and instead of coming into the restaurant, he hands coupons to everyone going in or out of Luigi's Italian Restaurant.

A new company's post on an established business' page

While this is admittedly more subtle that our artist friend above, it's still going to be perceived as begging for fans. This person snuck in a hotlink back to her own promotions business page!  Clever girl.  

Here's another, even less obvious, example of self-promotion on another company's page.

Posted on an indie makeup company's page (MUA="makeup artist")

You're not really "showing some <3" if you post like these folks.  No matter what your intent, your post will be received as an attempt to collect someone else's fans for your own business.

There are potential business opportunities here for all the businesses in this example.  They could cross promote, link share or even offer deals to customers who do business with both.  However, if we go back to the restaurant/gelato example again: the problem is that "Mario" didn't even ask "Luigi" if he'd be OK with him handing out coupons to every customer entering or exiting the restaurant.


I saying never post on other business' pages?  Heck no!  Post away!  But if you are going to post on someone's page, DO post something positive and substantive, for example:

☺ a fan photo of their product 

☺ ask a question (but don't pick their brains!) or even better,

☺ answer someone else's question!

☺ a "my [whatever that company makes] arrived, and I love it." 

☺ a link to their page from yours so you're sending your fans to them, like these companies:

It doesn't matter whether you're a Mario, a Luigi, a start-up makeup company or a struggling new artist, don't make a posting faux pas like the companies I pointed out did.  Promoting your business on other pages without permission, no matter how subtle you are, will eventually get you in trouble.  Just ask Korben Dallas. Not asking permission is how he ended up with Leeloo pointing that formidable looking gun in his face.  And none of us want to end up in that situation, now do we?

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Do you have an indie business question or tip?  Drop me an e-mail at art@krissisandvik.com and let me know!

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Marketing Tidbit: Got a Schedule? Stick With It!

This is a quickie blogging tip for you guys today, since I'm busy actually following my own advice...

If you say you are going to post (photos, examples, tutorials, marketing tidbits, whatever) in a certain place at a certain time, be sure not to change up your schedule whenever you feel like it. If you cannot meet the requirements, you need to reset your schedule and tell people so they can adjust their expectations.

For example, last night I didn't have a post ready to go for my Modern Rosies "Ask Krissi's Art Studio" Thursday feature. I figured I'd write a quick-tip (yeah, like this one).  Then this morning, someone asked a REALLY good question, but I just didn't feel like writing about it today. I wanted to put up a link to something cool for tomorrow then work on writing the feature so it could on the next available open post. Uh. No. Unacceptable. Whether or not I think people are reading those posts, I said I would be posting on Thursdays, so I'm flipping my schedule. I owe it to anyone who is reading, to the blog organizers and to myself.

So I'm off to write a post about pyrography.  What?! No!  I said pyrography, you dirty birdy!  You know, woodburning.  Sheesh.

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Do you have an indie business question or tip?  Drop me an e-mail at art@krissisandvik.com and let me know!

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Five DIY Pricing Mistakes (repost from BlogHer)

Yours truly (that's me) has the featured blog spot over at BlogHer this week thanks to my very glittery and crafty colleague, Kathy "Crafty Chica" Cano-Murillo.  THANKS KATHY!

Since I'm still working on a few new marketing tidbits for all of you, I thought today would be a good time to repost some mistakes we all make when pricing our art or DIY products.  I've never tackled this subject myself, so instead, I defer to an actual business coach and brand strategist, Annemarie Cross.

HOW TO PRICE YOUR CREATIVE SERVICES
Annemarie Cross, BlogHer Member

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Marketing Tidbit: Be Awesome (Part I)

I was chatting online yesterday with fellow artist (and one of the newest GB Handmade Corporate Rejects Affiliate Members), Scott Krichau, about a technical problem he'd managed to get customer service help on where I had failed. When I asked him just how he'd accomplished this amazing feat of persuasion, his answer was,

"I made it clear that I was awesome and they needed me, and they bought it."

This got me to thinking about how important it is to project a certain level of self-confidence whenever you are representing your indie business (which, let's face it, is pretty much all the time, but that's a subject for another tip).

Really?  OK.  I'll just go buy stuff
from someone who doesn't suck.
Thanks for the warning, though!

I hear all the time from artists, writers and DIY company owners that they don't like to talk about themselves or that they don't think that they or their art/writing/product is 'good enough.'  Well then, my friends, let me tell you something: you either need to find a way to get over it or admit that you're in the wrong line of work because self-deprecation is NOT charming.  Not even a little bit.

I'm not saying you need to walk around saying how awesome you are.  But posting "here's my shop, like it if you want to, but I'm just starting out and my stuff sucks" isn't going to win you any new fans or customers.  Think about it, why should they want to buy something from you if you are already telling them they shouldn't want it?  I mean, would you buy it?

By publicly undervaluing your own work or even your shop design, photography or description writing skills, you are actually selling your competitors' goods to the people who would otherwise be your potential customers.

Your friends may be willing to overlook your negative self-assessments for a while, but I promise you, it will wear on them sooner or later.  Not only will you lose your initial supporters and potential customers, but you drive away others in the DIY business.

Successful indie shops aren't going to promote a shop owner who can't or won't promote him/herself.  I know because this subject comes up constantly in DIY/indie business owner/artist groups.  For example, I asked for some of the biggest marketing mistakes my colleagues noticed, and one posted "I get sick of seeing ... people do the guilt trip 'Does my stuff really suck so bad none of you want to buy it?" Another mentioned shop owners who asked for advice and then refused to follow any of it because they "'don't get enough customers to bother putting more time in to this.' *face-palm* "  Well, if you'd follow your friends' advice and stop telling everyone how much you suck, you'd probably get more customers.

Of course, there is the Irony Exception to the don't be mean to yourself rule, but if you're going to employ comedic self-deprecation, you'd better do it really REALLY well and be completely thorough about it.  Joint venture The Worst Shop Ever! is one of the few shops that has managed to get it right:

Being featured in the Regretsy book totally ups their "we suck" street cred.

OK, so we have a pretty good understanding that self-deprecation is not the same as modesty (which kinda went out of fashion in the 1920s anyway, Granny).  I'm guessing that the next question is -because it is always the next question- "But Krissi, what should I say? I don't want to sound full of myself!"  Well tune in next time for some tips on how to write positive posts, listings and descriptions (even for items you goofed up) without sounding like you think you're the best thing since sliced bread.  Trust me, it is possible.

Read "Promoting *YOU* Without Sounding Self-Centered"

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Do you have an indie business question or tip?  Drop me an e-mail at art@krissisandvik.com and let me know!

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Marketing Tidbit: Make The Connections for Them

This little piece of advice is probably the one I give out the most: MAKE IT PAINFULLY SIMPLE for potential clients to find you.

How?

Well, for expample:

Add your business' facebook fan page to the employment section of your personal profile AND be sure to make it publicly viewable.  That way every time someone lands on your personal profile, there's a bright, shiny link right up at the top sending them over to your business page.

Add a shop link every single time you promote.  Don't make people click over to your Twitter/Facebook/whatever profile from their news feed to look for the link.  More times than not, they won't do it -especially those who get posts on their phones- and you'll be wondering why nobody took advantage of that sale you ran ... somewhere.

• WRONG: 25% off everything in my shop for the next hour!
• WRONG: 25% off everything in my shop for the next hour!  Just go to my facebook page and click on the ArtFire Kiosk link.
• WRONG: 25% off everything in my shop for the next hour! Find me on ArtFire at MyAwesomeShop!
• RIGHT: 25% off everything in my shop for the next hour!  Ends at 11pm Eastern! http://myawesomeshop.artfire.com

Provide all of the coupon/sales/promotional information a customer would need every time you post about it.  You might actually have a potential customer who just 'tuned in,' after all.

• WRONG: IMAGINARYWIDGETSALE for 25% off almost all of my widgets this weekend!
• WRONG: Widgets 25% off this weekend - scroll down for coupon code and terms/conditions.
• RIGHT: 25% off all widgets in my shop through Monday when you enter coupon code IMAGINARYWIDGETSALE at checkout (excludes clearance widgets)  http://myawesomeshop.artfire.com

Add your shop link and e-mail to your information/profile section already.  Right at the top where people will see it when they visit your fan page.

Utilize applications like the ArtFire Kiosk and My Etsy (they can be a little glitchy, but if you can get them to work properly, they're great tools).

If people ask for the information you have already painstakingly provided for them (and they will, 'cause there are just TOO MANY LINKS our there screaming for our attention), simply provide them with the link and then tell them where the info is for future reference.

• WRONG: It's in the side-bar, genius.
• WRONG: It's http://myawesomeshop.artfire.com
• RIGHT: It's http://myawesomeshop.artfire.com and if you can't find this post again or forget, you can always look in the left sidebar and find the link under the ABOUT section!  <3

You can come up with some of your own 'painfully simple' tips by taking note every time you see a link or post and need to link somewhere else or ask someone for the information.  Remember, if the info is there but it's buried in text, then it's not painfully simple, is it?  The easier you make it for your customers and clients to find you, the more customers and clients will actually make it into your shop!  

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Do you have an indie business question or tip?  Drop me an e-mail at art@krissisandvik.com and let me know!

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Marketing Tidbit: Give 'Em A Visual

So you know how important it is to show photos of each item you list in your shop, but that's not enough.  Be sure to also include example photos showing any options you offer like sizes, personalization, colors, chain, patinas, etc.

View Ant Farm Studio's new KID KRITTERS
shop section for some cute child (and adult)
friendly wall art and home decor!

Example #1: Kim offers a new option on her new 'child friendly' art pieces where you can add your kid's name or a word to the piece.  Her customers are going to want to be able to see what their child's name will look like, but... uh oh!  She doesn't have examples of names on any of the kids' room art pieces yet!  No problem - because she HAS painted words on other pieces so all she has to do is include photos of those pieces. By adding photos that seem unrelated to her listing, her customers get a better idea of what the finished product will look like before they order.

Example #2: I offer pendants with my art on them in "inchie" and "twinchie" (one-inch and two-inch square) versions.   Although I clearly list the measurements and mark the photos, sometimes people really need a visual reference for sizes.

That's where the lovely and talented Beth Br00tality comes in!  Not only did she photograph herself wearing each size pendant, she went above and beyond.  Now people know what to expect (because the 2" pendant is really four times larger than the 1" pendant)!  Yowza!


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Marketing Tidbit: Sales Etiquette #2 (Save the Sob Story For Someone Who Cares)

This drawing is very cute,
 but actually begging for sales,
not so much.
drawing by Lanika on DeviantArt

More from the Miss Krissi's Manners For Small Business Owners Guide on running sales.  Do NOT beg.  

Charity drives aside, people don't want to hear about your financial difficulties.  If you can't pay the rent and need to run a sale, call it something else.  Anything else, really.  Just do a Google search for whatever silly "National Holiday" is coming up and use that, but begging for rent money is just tacky.  Not only is it unprofessional looking, but it can lose you customers and friends pretty darned quickly.  I've hit many an "unlike" button after a few panhandling posts.

People who can't afford vacations aren't going to throw
their hard-earned money around just so you can take one. 

Likewise, don't EVER do this: "My kid threw my Blackberry in the toilet, help me get a new one - coupon code is POOPY2011 for 25% off everything."  First of all, there are people out there who are struggling to feed their kids, so your loss of a smartphone, even though you use it to run your business, isn't going to make them shed a single tear.  Plus, the only people who are going to find this sort of thing cute are probably other mommies who have also lost their technology to the toddler/crapper, so they aren't going to have cash to buy a new one for you too.  Me?  I go right for the 'unlike' button.

Remember, your business is only around because there are people who want the items you are selling.  Your customers do not exist to support your bank account, so don't treat them that way.  Entitlement is ugly.

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Marketing Tidbit O' The Day: Customer Followup

OK, today's tidbit isn't really marketing, but customer service. Some of your customers may be shy about approaching you to say they have a problem. While I see my business as a business no matter who I sell to, I know some clients see me as a "friend" who they don't want to upset. Make it easy on them. Open up dialogues with them after transactions & never blame them for hesitating to tell you about an issue.

Example: I goofed and didn't follow up on a shipment from earlier this month and guess what?  The package was lost. I should have caught that by following up on that shipment within a few days after sending it, but I didn't.  My customer is a friend who doesn't like to 'rock the boat,' so she said nothing.  Luckily, the subject came up in the course of conversation. I assured her that "stuff happens" and I'm never going to be upset with any client about a lost or damaged package.  Likewise, I am never going to be upset with a client who asks for the status of a package, even if it's my fault.  But rather than try to change how my friend feels or thinks, it's simpler and more direct to change my practices.

It's our job as sellers to make our clients comfortable and to make sure they know what our shipment/insurance/replacement policies are in advance. Some people will be direct, some shy, some may come across as rude, some vague and some will dance around the issue. Do your best to read into what they're trying to tell you and offer up solutions.  

If you make a mistake, tell the truth, don't make excuses, then apologize and make it right.  It's also a smart move to add in a little something extra without asking since most customers will say they don't want anything extra.  Just send it.  Whatever you do, don't send them a % off coupon for their another purchase - that's just rubbing salt in their wound.  If you goofed on this transaction, they're unlikely to purchase again until you make it up to them.

Oh, and track your packages before your clients have a need to come to you about it. Yeesh.


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Marketing Tidbit O' The Day: Sales Etiquette #1

Yes, there is a Miss Manners guide to holding sales.  You didn't know that?  Uh oh.  We'd better get started, then.  Miss Krissi's Manners For Small Business Owners says:

Don't piss off your customers by making each sale better than the one you just held. If you offer "30% off everything" one week, don't come back the next with 40% off and then 50% the week after that.  If you keep reducing prices, you're punishing your loyal customers!  You should reward early shoppers with the best discounts (or discounts on your best stuff), then taper down the amount you take off or only offer discounts on certain items.

Be sure to let everyone know WHAT will be on sale and WHEN the sales are as far in advance as possible so they know when the best deals will be happening.  If you allow your customers to budget for sales and take advantage of your best prices, you will probably do more business than if you have sudden "surprise" sales.

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