Inexpensive Marketing and Promotion (Part 2)

Two more cheap and easy ideas, continued from yesterday’s post:

Be your own model: (Cost: nada) One of the best ways to get attention for your stuff is to wear it. Whether you make bags, hand lotion or cross-stitch patterns, wear what you make (put your design on a t-shirt or button if is isn’t already something wearable) and take it out of the house. When I wear my “Meat is Sweet” t-shirt and a pair of t-bone steak earrings, I am guaranteed to have at least two or three people ask me where I got those things. Then I simply say, “I made them, and I’d be happy to make one for you, too,” while handing them my business card.

Start an e-mail list: (Cost: 1 hour of your time) There is absolutely no reason for a business not to have an e-mail newsletter. It’s free, easy and reaches an audience that already loves your style and wants to know when and how they can get more of it.

Some rules about e-mail lists:

1. E-mail lists should be kept explicitly optional. That does not mean having some sneaky little opt-out checkbox somewhere in your online order form. It means telling people, right out front, where and how they can sign up if they want to. Create a sign-up page on your web site, or put out a clipboard at shows and fairs but don’t automatically put every new customer on it. The best way to piss off a new customer is to send them unsolicited marketing messages, so don’t do it.
2. Don’t tell your subscribers about every time you sneeze. If you have the insatiable urge to broadcast your daily epiphanies, fears and bowel movements, start a blog. E-mail newsletters should only go out when you have a few interesting pieces of news to report, such as new designs, a sale, a tv appearance or new stores where you can find your merchandise.
3. Make your newsletter professional. You don’t need to pay for some service or software specifically for making e-mail newsletters, but your newsletter should always have a table of contents, headings, links and images where applicable.
4. For God’s sake, PROOFREAD! Don’t just run the spell check, actually go over what you have written. Nothing says “I don’t care” like a whole mess of typos.

Stay tuned…even more ideas tomorrow!

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