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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 12, 2014 1:43:21 GMT
I want to start addressing marketing for our members. I need to know what your specific questions are so I can hopefully address concerns and questions that are important to you as a business person.
My goal is to help everyone understand what marketing is and how it can help you advance your business or create one.
My objectives are to provide this information in an easy to understand format with information to get you thinking about how these things relate to you and your business. Please be patient while I set a foundation of what marketing is and isn't for an understanding of marketing as a whole.
What do you want to know about marketing?
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Post by lyn on Mar 12, 2014 7:30:12 GMT
Everything please Marilyn! Starting with 'what is marketing?' - please dispel the shroud of mystery around it.
I'm looking forward to reading your posts on this subject.
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Post by carole aka craftywoman on Mar 12, 2014 8:05:25 GMT
this is so important, thank you Marilyn for hearing the cries for help, I thought I was marketing by having a fb site, a wordpress blog, a twitter account, an unused pinterest and I'm sure there are a few more things out there I've forgotten about - but all I've really got is a lot of passwords to remember, oh and an ETSY shop, but nothing sold so I don't use it.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 12, 2014 13:59:52 GMT
Lyn, that will be my first challenge to explain it and dispel myths and reveal mysteries as we go. I'll surely try. :-)
Carole, all those things are great tools. It's important to have a plan and strategies to use them. I don't want to scare anyone, it's really not rocket science. A lot of thinking, researching ,planning and execution. (Not the killing kind.) :-)
I'm sure there will be plenty of questions when we start the journey.
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Post by MTRuth on Mar 12, 2014 16:35:00 GMT
How much social media do you really need to do?
Do you need to jump on the bandwagon with every new thing that comes out?
How much time should be spent on marketing vs making?
Are there ways to do social media that is more integrated and takes less time?
What is the best way to "network"?
How do you tell your story without feeling like your bragging about yourself?
I'm sure there are more but those are a few I can think of right off the top of my head.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 12, 2014 19:12:35 GMT
That should keep me busy for a long while! :-)
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Mar 12, 2014 23:37:27 GMT
Marilyn, most of my questions are similar to Ruth's as outlined above, but I have privacy issues with social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn and all the others. I made up my mind years ago NOT to participate. Having said that, what would the best venue be for marketing my art (once I am in a position to begin to sell my wet-felted creations?) Not there yet! I am so looking forward to your sharing of your expertise!
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 13, 2014 0:43:40 GMT
Thanks Cathy, I hope to be able to address all these issues eventually. Glad you're not in a big hurray. :-)
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Post by halay on Mar 13, 2014 6:46:21 GMT
Thank you Marilyn for starting this topic and Ruth, your questions encompass most of our concerns. Will be glad to learn more about this.
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Post by zed on Mar 13, 2014 8:33:32 GMT
I think if you answer Lyn's and Ruth's questions, I'll know 10 times more than I do already How do you come across as 'professional' and 'knowledgeable' without seeming stand offish and like you think you're better than everyone else? Flip side: How do you stay friendly and approachable and share things without seeming like you just 'play around' with felt? How do you cut through all the well meaning 'that's brilliant' ... 'you should sell things'...' I'd buy it if someone sold it' and work out what is really worth your time and effort working on? How do you politely ask that buyers give you feedback? thank you
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Mar 13, 2014 13:33:06 GMT
Those are all great questions you posed, Zed, and not so easily answered. My only expertise would be in "asking for feedback," since I have had a vintage linens and accessories shop on Etsy for 3 years. This is a common complaint on behalf of Etsy sellers, particularly those who sell their handmade work. We are sure to have an interesting discussion!
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 13, 2014 14:23:29 GMT
All good questions Zed. An interesting insight Cathy. Etsy seems to be hit or miss for a lot people and if they were smart they would offer a method for a good feedback to their sellers.
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Post by luvswool and dyestuff on Mar 13, 2014 15:58:28 GMT
Etsy can be very, very good for some, not so good for others. Since I opened my vintage/collectibles shop three years ago, I believe that Etsy has become "less friendly" to sellers. There has been an influx of cheap foreign goods, which do not belong, but little or nothing has been done to combat the problem. Another problem is that they have removed some of the more useful benefits of the site. As an example, sellers can no longer leave buyer reviews! I have been fortunate to have solid positive feedback, but not everyone is so fortunate. Seller reviews are totally optional for the buyer, but that is true on other competing sites.
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Post by Pandagirl on Mar 13, 2014 18:39:59 GMT
Thanks Cathy that's good to know.
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Post by Teri Berry on Mar 13, 2014 23:11:43 GMT
Thank you Marilyn for doing this, it is becoming clear that we all see marketing as this mythical beast that we feel we should be doing but have no idea how to go about it. I totally agree with all the questions asked already, there is a huge gap in our collective knowledge and I am strangely comforted that hardly anyone seems to know what marketing is or how to apply it to their work (I thought it was just me).
Zed, a friend offered a piece of advice about "market research" before my first craft fair that I think might help you too. As you say you can't really rely on truthful answers when you ask for feedback, even when you ask for constructive criticism, but noting which pieces people show the most interest in can be very revealing. Obviously, pieces that have sold I make more of, but interestingly, the piece most often picked up for me was a "monster" baby hat, I will be making plenty of those in larger sizes for my next fair! And sometimes they questions people ask, "do you have this in red" will give clues on what to try next...
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