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RE: Marketing/Business Advice Needed - 7/3/2007 5:35:01 AM

MrrPete

Posts: 614
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Get involved in the local BDSM community. Go to events, muches[ especially munches]
Maybe be a vendor at the bigger events in Chicago.

In My humble opinion since Collar Me is free then you should pay to advertize your business here. But as long as they let you run a signature line I'm not complaining
It isn't against the TOS that I can determine.

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RE: Marketing/Business Advice Needed - 7/3/2007 6:40:57 AM

KenDckey

Posts: 4121
Joined: 5/31/2006
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quote:

ORIGINAL: slaveish

quote:

ORIGINAL: Evanesce

My question is this: What are some other ways of increasing the traffic to my shop? What can I do to get people looking, browsing and buying? Are there any marketing gurus here who can give me a few suggestions?

Right up my alley - I'm in sales too, although of a different sort.

Keep in touch with past customers - hand-written notes, little "gimme" presents, phone calls to your targeted market, (yeah, it's not fun, but it's necessary and god knows you will need to sign up for the do-not call list and its updates), regular direct mail to your target market (on a brightly colored postcard - they might not open an envelope and they might toss away a postcard, but they will at least SEE your logo / pic and remember you) and ASK for business. People love to help.

Do demos, classes, freebies, set up stands at events, read read read and learn learn learn. I recommed "Thinkertoys" and "The Little Red Book of Selling". Ask a college if their marketing students would intern for you. Lots of ideas.

Gotta agree on the Freebees LOL The one that most sticks in my mind after several years was a navel brush Some lady used an oblong silver bead and pip cleaner to make it. I think the box and business card on the lid cost more Oh and it was a tack shop in a town of 600. If you go there don't take 7th street unless you have an 8x8 vehicle with a winch on the front bumper. It got washed out years ago and is all boulders now lol wierd little town.

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RE: Marketing/Business Advice Needed - 7/3/2007 6:48:56 AM

samboct

Posts: 1817
Joined: 1/17/2007
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I'm going to throw out a different suggestion-since a friend of mine still sells handmade jewelry (she has for 20 years) I don't think most of her sales come online- I suspect that jewelry is something that really needs to be seen in person. Hence, you need to set up shop where people can see you. Try things like farmers markets, renaissance faires, etc- events where there is lots of traffic. Even if you have to shell out to be there, since it sounds like you've got something people like- i.e. when you show up at an office, people buy from you, you need to get out there. To be prepared to travel- there's something of a craft show circuit IIRC.

HTH

Sam

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RE: Marketing/Business Advice Needed - 7/3/2007 12:27:14 PM

MistressNoName

Posts: 664
Joined: 10/26/2006
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Evanesce

quote:

Now my personal opinion as someone who has produced commercials, written copy, executive producer for a national infomercial, for many years, its pretty boring. Better copy, better pics, and a few other things might help people buy. If your ad is not written any better I can see why you may be getting no clicks.

What's boring? My shop info? It says what it needs to say. Unfortunately, things like sales tax and shipping options just aren't all that exciting. How would you do it differently? And what's wrong with my pics?

As far as the ad goes... they're both limited to less than 100 characters. I find it somewhat difficult to describe what I do in 100 characters or less, so the ads look pretty much like every other ad you see on Google or Yahoo searches. That, in itself, is a problem, because it just doesn't stand out.

to slavish: Thank you for the suggestions. I'd never heard of either of those books, but will certainly pick up at least one of them. I need all the marketing help I can get! My merchandise is terrific, but if no one is looking, it's not doing me much good. I do have a craft fair lined up for September, and I'm hoping it goes well.

Hello Evanesce,

I'm gonna add my opinions to the mix...I am not a marketer or sales person or any type of entrepreneur...Just a simple shopper. And from this shopper's pov, the site in and of itself does not excite the eye. I don't know if you have a choice of templates on Etsy, but if you do, you might want to look into what your choices might be. Also, your shop info, right upfront, is a bit off-putting. As a shopper I'm not interested in the S&H or state of Indiana sales tax until such time as I have found something that I think I might like to buy. So if there is any way to put that info, much needed though it is, on another page or further down that first page just so that it isn't the first thing you see, it would just be better on the eye and do more to focus attention to your merchandise.

Also, you mentioned that the pull to your items is that they are handmade and one-of-a-kind. This appeals to me. The idea that I might be purchasing something that no one else has...but you need to play that up more. I see a general mention to handmade on your page, but you don't really make a big deal about that. One-of-a-kind can be a huge selling point.

Finally, are you intending at all to produce any items that are bdsm specific? If so, I can see a huge market for you at various bdsm events across the country. People LOVE bdsm-related jewelry and such that is handmade and one-of-a-kind.

Anyway, hope that helps.

MNN

Edited for spelling and to add: If you can't do anything about Etsy's template, then you might want to consider having your own site...if cost is an issue right now, may I recommend, freewebs.com? I have a personal site there and several other ppl in the kink community have them for various purposes. You can set up a site there to advertise and sell your goods and eventually as your business grows and you find you need more bandwith, you can upgrade to a paid site. What I like about this service, is that they have an impressive variety of templates and the site management and editing tools are so easy to use, someone with absolutely no CSS or any type of webmaster experience can get up and running within a day or two.

Best!

< Message edited by MistressNoName -- 7/3/2007 12:35:50 PM >

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RE: Marketing/Business Advice Needed - 7/3/2007 4:38:48 PM

Evanesce

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Joined: 9/14/2005
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quote:

I just did a Google search for "handmade jewelry". Your site did not show up in the first twenty pages (I didn't look further). If you want to get some traffic, you are going to have to show up sooner.

What about a "sponsored link": the results that show up on the right-hand side of the Google results window. Have you checked in to how much it would cost to have your site listed there?

Yup. It's a pay-per-click link, and that's where my ad shows up. Not every time someone types in one of my hundreds of keywords, but it does show up. I've seen it there. I do this on both Google and Yahoo.

quote:

I don't know exactly how the Google search engine prioritizes its results, but I do know that it has something to do with the number of other websites that have links to yours. Do you have friends with other websites that would be willing to put in a link to yours?

Unfortunately, no.

quote:

One other point. Visit Amazon.com and look at their Jewelry "store". Notice how the pictures of the items are nice and big. Also notice that once you begin browsing items, the items show up right at the top of the web page: there isn't a lot of "clutter" getting in the way of the customer seeing your stock. On your web page, you keep displaying a "Notice" to your customers: even after they have clicked on links to browse your stock. This is not as inviting as the way Amazon does it.

This is something over which I have no control. It's the way the host site is set up. Heck, a few short months ago, we didn't even have the sections option. When someone clicks on a "sections" link, they do see the shop announcement. However, when they click on individual items, that announcement is not there, and the thumbnail becomes a nice, large photo (and up to 4 more). Really, once someone uses the site, whether in my shop or someone else's, it's very, very simple to navigate. One thing that must be mentioned here is that this is a "handmade only" site, peopled by artists and artisans from all over the world. It will never look, or act, like Amazon. It's more like eBay, without the auctions, without the astronomical fee scale, and without the drop-shippers and garage salers.

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RE: Marketing/Business Advice Needed - 7/3/2007 4:50:27 PM

Evanesce

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quote:

Also, your shop info, right upfront, is a bit off-putting. As a shopper I'm not interested in the S&H or state of Indiana sales tax until such time as I have found something that I think I might like to buy. So if there is any way to put that info, much needed though it is, on another page or further down that first page just so that it isn't the first thing you see, it would just be better on the eye and do more to focus attention to your merchandise.

I've actually been thinking about that the last couple days, and will probably be making a big change to the "shop announcement" info soon. Thank you for mentioning it, because it confirms to me that I do need to fix that.

quote:

Finally, are you intending at all to produce any items that are bdsm specific? If so, I can see a huge market for you at various bdsm events across the country. People LOVE bdsm-related jewelry and such that is handmade and one-of-a-kind.

Actually, the Kaptin is working on a line of BDSM-related clothing, jewelry and equipment. It's in the planning stages at present, but I'm hoping we can get enough done to be able to vend at GLLA next year. All I've got now, though, is a bit of chainmaille jewelry.

Thank you very much for the info, and I will definitely be looking at freewebs.com. I need to get more aggressive with my marketing, and it's really my weakest area when it comes to business.

And thank you to everyone else who has posted comments on this thread. You've all helped me tremendously.

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Denise

Give a slave what he truly needs, and he will do what you want.

"There's never a hero in a battle of ego." - Big & Rich

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