Target Marketing that Works For Me

I don’t seek out marketing tips because I’m generally selling very well. So I tuned into Etsy’s Success Symposium yesterday at random and just happened to catch April Bowles- Olin’s workshop Attract Your Target Market — You're Not Walmart. I enjoy writing (have you guessed?) so I got caught up in her writing exercise. First you list the characteristics of your buyers. A few of mine are: nature loving, eco lifestyle, animal lovers, non commercial, cooks at home, appreciates the simple pleasures. So then you write a profile of this person- a character who is a composite of your buyers. Mine is a woman who passionately cares about her kids, about the world’s complex big issues, who is creative herself, is proud of her homemaking and entertaining abilities. It goes on and on but that’s the condensed version.

So then April threw in a strange question: “What problem do you solve for this customer?” I scribbled aimlessly and then figured out a few things. It feels silly to even reveal that, so I won’t.

But what I can say is that I listed 4 new pieces last night. Two sold immediately. Those were the ones in which I added a short sentence to what I usually write in my listing copy, based on April’s exercise. Not only that, one sold to the exact same woman who I pictured as my typical buyer.

There are lots of obvious answers to that question- “What problem do you solve for this customer?” Sometimes it’s wanting to give an original gift. Sometimes it’s wanting something that is not disposable, that will live with you and pass memories down through new generations. But the power isn’t in knowing the answer, like knowing my answer.The power is in the question.

Thanks, April Bowles-Olin! I like your style. Marketing doesn’t have to be hyping yourself into a celebrity and stepping over others to get there. It really can be just discreetly, authentically, and effectively, connecting to the people who want to buy your stuff.

How to ride the trend wave in 2011

The global financial crisis was a game changer in how we spend our money. Before November of 2008, advertising was all about “more, newer, and different” without looking at the substance or deeper significance of what was being sold. Tips and trends were about how to ride a tsunami. That it would inevitably crash and devastate  lives was not part of the advertising conversation.

We were supposed to market our work to consumers with disposable income, who were assumedly seeking satisfaction by having more of what they had, or a newer version, or a different kind of it, or more of a newer thing… you get the picture. It was pretty shallow.

By the end of 2010, we can’t read any substantial forecast for 2011 that doesn’t mention values such as sustainability, simplicity, and the human connection. The very good news for artisans is that we no longer have to find a surfboard to ride the trend wave. This year we are the wave! The trend gurus are predicting that artisan, handmade goods made with sustainability and lasting quality by humans with a story to tell are It. All you have to do to market your work now is to show who you are and what you do. Make a cohesive statement in your presentation; your photos and shop copy, if you sell on Etsy.

Through ArtisansGalleryTeam, we are carefully selecting works from the pool of Etsy shops that are legitimately handmade in an artisan studio by those who bring individual vision and advanced skills to their works. Joining with others who are the real deal is going to make riding the wave easier.

Here are some trend reports worth noting:

I have been working in "ethical" for a long time, because I find humanitarian principles very important, and I hated big fashion's disregard for them. Having said that, I think the global economic crisis has made people re think how things are made, where they come from, and has led to an appreciation of small-scale, handcrafted, tangible, home-made etc.. The human stories behind the products are interesting, the big manufacturing model had become boring, impersonal & mechanical.

Ann McCreath from Kiko Romeo

 

 Organic Waldorf Doll By SewnNatural

IMM Cologne believes that as a result of the financial crisis people are questioning what it is they need to live well. This is leading to the emergence of simplistic, formal or severe designs that combine the basic and old with the modern and the high-tech.

Interior Trends 2011 was recently released by IMM Cologne

Natural Gemstone Cluster by ThePeachTree

Whenever we feel as consumers that the time is right for paring down, we focus on simple designs and simple, warm colors. Plain metals and eco friendly materials: wood, bone, simple and soft semi- precious stones with Earth colors and a simple palette will prevail for 2011.

Lisa Jesse (Lisa Jesse has the #1 website on Google for trend prediction)

Happy Etsy Day!

It took me awhile to fully grasp what Etsy is, and what it offers to me. I had been making my own little mudpies from my obscure little off-the-beaten-path world, and selling them to gallery buyers. These buyers are generally fairly conscious and appreciative people, but the main conversations we have is about trends, sales, and What People Want. I had no awareness of the Handmade Revolution or craftivism. I have been an eco conscious person for decades, and was aware of the Slow Food Movement, but did not relate to myself as connected to those things through my pottery. I've thought a great deal about these subjects, and the diffence I can make by offering heirloom quality functional pieces that can be around for thousands of years, by packing with recycled materials, by firing in an energy efficient manner in a home and studio that we are retrofitting for maximum energy efficiency. I also see that by making pieces that glorify the natural world's beauty, I am doing my small part to make preservation a higher priority.

It has greatly excited me to see a clearer connection between doing what I've loved all these years, and the moral and ethical values that are dear to my heart. I also really enjoy the personal connection to people who are finding and buying my work. Today I packed a gift that a young man stationed in Iraq wants shipped to his girlfriend back home. I'm also shipping out a piece to another potter in the US northeast. It feels like an honor to be so chosen. So, thank you, Etsy, for bringing these new experiences to my life. You are so much more than a website. You are a larger context for all things handmade.