The 3/50 Project

Have you heard about the 3/50 project? I stumbled across this recently on a trip up to Issaquah, WA. We had driven up there for the day, about 200 miles one way, for the sole purpose of eating Veraci Pizza at the Redmond Farmers' Market and to see what Issaquah's Gilman Village is all about. (I need to go back. Gilman Village is a fantastic little shopping center!)

The 3/50 Project's concept is simple. Think of 3 locally owned shops you would miss if they closed, and support them. The 3/50 suggests spending $50 each month between 3 shops. That's all.

In my opinion, if $50 is too much for your budget, try for $20, or even $10. Just support local business. Period.

Small businesses can register for free on the 3/50 website and download materials to promote the concept.

For more information, check out their website and facebook pages at
www.the350project.net
www.facebook.com/The350Project

For iPhone users, a free 3/50 app helps you find locally owned businesses no matter where you are. To download the app and/or get your business listed, visit LookLocal.

Take a Tax Deductible Vacation

Today I read a particularly interesting email from CPA Solutions TM , which talked about how to turn a vacation into a tax deduction. In a nutshell, it explains how to benefit from mixing business with pleasure. 


It appears that the advice below could even be reversed allowing you to potentially squeeze a little vacation time into a business trip.


While reading, I thought about my keen interest in marketing local bands, and wonder how much tax and business savvy their manager has in this area. If a band manager isn't familiar with business accounting and tax laws, it would most certainly be worth examining this angle and consulting their accountant or financial planner as they book shows out of town. 


These tips would work out great for a Portland band doing a gig at the coast. They'd even work when making the short trip down to Salem for a gig.
-Pam

Turn Your Vacation Into a Tax Deduction

Tim, who owns his own business, decided he wanted to take a two-week trip around the US. So he did--and was able to legally deduct every dime that he spent on his "vacation". Here's how he did it. 1. Make all your business appointments before you leave for your trip.  Most people believe that they can go on vacation and simply hand out their business cards in order to make the trip deductible. Wrong. You must have at least one business appointment before you leave in order to establish the "prior set business purpose" required by the IRS. Keeping this in mind, before he left for his trip, Tim set up appointments with business colleagues in the various cities that he planned to visit. Let's say Tim is a manufacturer of green office products looking to expand his business and distribute more product. One possible way to establish business contacts--if he doesn't already have them--is to place advertisements looking for distributors in newspapers in each location he plans to visit. He could then interview those who respond when he gets to the business destination. Example: Tim wants to vacation in Hawaii. If he places several advertisements for distributors, or contacts some of his downline distributors to perform a presentation, then the IRS would accept his trip for business. Tip: It would be vital for Tim to document this business purpose by keeping a copy of the advertisement and all correspondence along with noting what appointments he will have in his diary. 2. Make Sure your Trip is All "Business Travel."  In order to deduct all of your on-the-road business expenses, you must be traveling on business. The IRS states that travel expenses are 100% deductible as long as your trip is business related and you are traveling away from your regular place of business longer than an ordinary day's work and you need to sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away from home. Example: Tim wanted to go to a regional meeting in Boston, which is only a one-hour drive from his home. If he were to sleep in the hotel where the meeting will be held (in order to avoid possible automobile and traffic problems), his overnight stay qualifies as business travel in the eyes of the IRS. Tip: Remember: You don't need to live far away to be on business travel. If you have a good reason for sleeping at your destination, you could live a couple of miles away and still be on travel status. 3. Make sure that you deduct all of your on-the-road -expenses for each day you're away.  For every day you are on business travel, you can deduct 100% of lodging, tips, car rentals, and 50% of your food. Tim spends three days meeting with potential distributors. If he spends $50 a day for food, he can deduct 50% of this amount, or $25. Tip:The IRS doesn't require receipts for travel expense under $75 per expense--except for lodging. Example: If Tim pays $6 for drinks an the plane, $6.95 for breakfast, $12.00 for lunch, $50 for dinner, he does not need receipts for anything since each item was under $75. Tip: He would, however, need to document these items in your diary. A good tax diary is essential in order to audit-proof your records. Adequate documentation shall consist of amount, date, place and business reason for the expense. Example: If, however, Tim stays in the Bates Motel and spends $22 on lodging, will he need a receipt? The answer is yes. You need receipts for all paid lodging. Tip: Not only are your on-the-road expenses deductible from your trip, but also all laundry, shoe shines, manicures, and dry-cleaning costs for clothes worn on the trip. Thus, your first dry cleaning bill that you incur when you get home will be fully deductible. Make sure that you keep the dry cleaning receipt and have your clothing dry cleaned within a day or two of getting home. 4. Sandwich weekends between business days.  If you have a business day on Friday and another one on Monday, you can deduct all on-the-road expenses during the weekend. Example: Tim makes business appointments in Florida on Friday and one on the following Monday. Even though he has no business on Saturday and Sunday, he may deduct on-the-road business expenses incurred during the weekend. 5. Make the majority of your trip days business days.  The IRS says that you can deduct transportation expenses if business is the primary purpose of the trip. A majority of days in the trip must be for business activities, otherwise, you cannot make any transportation deductions. Example: Tim spends six days in San Diego. He leaves early on Thursday morning. He had a seminar on Friday and meets with distributors on Monday and flies home on Tuesday, taking the last flight of the day home after playing a complete round of golf. How many days are considered business days? All of them. Thursday is a business day, since it includes traveling - even if the rest of the day is spent at the beach. Friday is a business day because he had a seminar. Monday is a business day because he met with prospects and distributors in pre-arranged appointments. Saturday and Sunday are sandwiched between business days, so they count, and Tuesday is a travel day. Since Tim accrued six business days, he could spend another five days having fun and still deduct all his transportation to San Diego. The reason is that the majority of the days were business days (six out of eleven). However, he can only deduct six days worth of lodging, dry cleaning, shoe shines, and tips. The important point is that Tim would be spending money on lodging, airfare, and food, but now most of his expenses will become deductible. Consult us before you plan your next trip. We'll show you the right way to legally deduct your vacation when you combine it with business. Bon Voyage! This article was written by Joe H. Craft CPA/PFS, CFP and reprinted from an email sent by CPA Solutions TM for Adams, Ewing & Craft, LLLP with Bridgeway Financial Corporation. For more information, you can visit www.bridgewaycorp.com or call (206) 501-3868. Flickr photo courtesy of Giorgio Montersino

PamHawk.com is now on Facebook

At long last, I have set up a Facebook page for PamHawk.com!

Please click the link above and Like the page. Thanks!

I have been using Facebook for a while, with just a personal profile, but now that I'm seeing more friends and associates on Facebook, it became apparent that my marketing tips and suggestions would be more accessible if they were published via Facebook. Like the old adage suggests,

"Don't try to redirect traffic to you;
find where the traffic is and get in front of it."

This blog will still be here - I'm just importing all of these posts to Facebook and using Facebook applications to interact more with my fans.

To all my friends and associates who have small businesses: This venture is dedicated to your success. 

Cheers!
Pam


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27 links to help you with your product launch

Are you introducing a new product line, new feature to your existing products, or going for the mother of all new things: starting a new business? You may want to consider using a Product Launch to get your new ...thing... off to a great start. Nothing like a big wave of good publicity and a lot of buzz to get things moving, right?

During the past few weeks I have been studying how to plan and pull off a successful product launch. While I'm still learning about it and don't have any tips to provide - YET - I wanted to share some links with you in case this is something you're thinking about doing for your own business.

Here are some links discussing how to conduct a successful product launch:

1. http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Do-a-Proper-Product-Launch&id=2308719
2. http://www.developer-resource.com/planning-a-product-launch.htm
3. http://www.dbmarketing.com/articles/Art122.htm
4. http://onstartups.com/home/tabid/3339/bid/5462/7-Uncannily-Obvious-Lessons-From-A-Product-Launch.aspx (scroll down for the article)
5. http://www.business.com/directory/advertising_and_marketing/product_development_and_management/product_launch/
6. http://www.managesmarter.com/msg/content_display/marketing/e3iffc7fbfd6e3d9a0597dc29c9ba9010b4
7. http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/452/podcast-michael-cheney-product-launch/
8. http://www.instigatorblog.com/launching-with-a-bang/2008/07/02/
9. http://www.copyblogger.com/internet-product-launch/
10. http://www.productlaunchblog.com/
11. http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/may2006/sb20060512_948264.htm
12. http://ezinearticles.com/?Product-Launch-Secrets-%E2%80%93-Why-Do-A-Product-Launch?&id=462049
13. http://www.marketingprofs.com/4/duris1.asp
14. http://productlaunchformula.com/
15. http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/christine-comaford/business-renegades/turbo-charge-your-product-launch-optimize-buzz
16. http://gmj.gallup.com/content/21334/How-to-Ruin-a-Product-Launch.aspx
17. http://www.npd-solutions.com/launchcons.html
18. http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/category/articles/product-launch-article-pillar/ (I have been a subscriber to his emails for the past year - Yaro has all kinds of great info)
19. http://marketing.about.com/od/eventandseminarmarketing/a/tradeshowcomp.htm
20. http://marketing.about.com/od/strategytutorials/a/serviceproducts.htm
21. http://marketing.about.com/cs/a.htm
22. http://calacanis.com/2008/12/23/how-to-launch-a-new-product/
23. http://www.chicagobooth.edu/news/2005-09-29v_ent_roundtable.aspx
24. http://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/qst_question.asp?qstid=880
25. http://www.morebusiness.com/getting_started/primer/d991601332.brc
26. http://knowledge.emory.edu/article.cfm?articleid=339
27. http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/abstract.aspx?docid=60971
    

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10 steps to conduct a Grand Re-Opening

A dear friend of mine has decided to revive her business and asked for help on how to get it up and running without too much headache. Hers is a service business where she does healing through Eastern medicinal type therapies. Sometimes she travels out of town, sometimes clients go to her.

The following is the email I sent her. It's a 10-step to-do list. If your own business has made a dramatic change or you've decided to breathe new life into it (or you're making the push to go full time,) you may find this to-do list helpful.

--------------------

A great way to get back in business is to create some buzz. You'll need to do some planning ahead of time to pull it off and have everything start at the same time, but it'll be worth it. Plan to have your Grand Re-Opening start with a bang and run for a month. You want people to take notice and see your name repeated in several places.

Here's your to-do list:

1. Decide on a business name. (See #4 as you finalize this.)
   
2. Get your logo and print it on letterhead and business cards. (Go to http://www.vistaprint.com/ for help. Low prices and some free items.) You'll need the logo to help establish your brand. If you can color-cordinate all your paperwork and workplace decor to your logo, that will help lock in your brand with your customers. I know this sounds silly, but it works psychologically to create an anchor for your brand that your customers can identify with. When you talked about flowing water (or something like that) for your biz name and then mentioned you would need to get a fountain, that's exactly what I'm talking about.
   
3. Set up your workspace, either in your home, an off-site office, or organize a professional looking travel kit if you will be making house calls. (I would suggest you have them come to you, wherever you are. If they put some effort into it they will be more likely to value what you do. If you make housecalls, there should be a surcharge. That way it's available, but they can't be lazy or cheap about it.) You need to keep your perceived value high and your workplace supports that. If you access info during your sessions, put it in plastic sheet protectors in a nice 3 ring binder with tabs instead of having a ratty bunch of papers held together at one corner.
   
4. Set up a website/blog with a unique URL. Your URL is your http://www.something.com/ and it's cheap = $10/year. I can help you get all of this set up and teach you how to manage it - it's really easy. Make sure your URL matches your business name and is easy to understand. If it's easy to remember, that's even better. If you do a radio interview you'll want to send people to your website. You need to be able to say your URL over the air and people instantly understand it without hyphens or funky spellings. An example: do not use your hard to spell last name. People will never find you online.
   
5. Create a database of all customers present and past. Add colleagues to this list. As you get new customers add them to this list. This list is the "Golden Goose" for your business.
   
6. Draft a letter (on your new letterhead) to everyone on this list, announcing your Grand Re-Opening. List the services you provide. Include reasons why now is more important than ever for people to address their personal problems that you can solve. Tell them about your special rates during your Grand Re-Opening. Include two business cards in each letter and invite them to share one of the cards with a friend.
   
7. Create a pricing menu. Because what you offer is a little unfamiliar to many people, you may want to offer set prices for certain services. This will help people feel more confident to do business with you. Too many unknowns can scare people away. Having set prices for services will also make it easier to discount for promotions and gives people a more concrete idea what kind of a bargin this is for them.
   
8. Offer a Grand Re-Opening special. You decide what will work with you, but keep in mind, people don't buy with percentages, they buy with dollars because dollars are more tangible than %. Offer dollars off, not percentages off. You see sales that are 30% off etc, but would you be more willing to buy a $20 item with a 30% off coupon or would you be more likely to buy a $20 item with a $6 off coupon? **At the bottom of this I've included some tips and offers to keep in mind when crafting your Grand Re-Opening special.
   
9. Contact the media: local and regional newspapers, regional womens' magazine (if you have one), radio stations, tv (is there a local morning show?) and let them know you are available for interviews. Contact local clubs and schedule giving a talk or better yet give a demo. Write a brief but interesting intro to who you are and what you do that makes them want to contact you for more info. Write a press release announcing your Grand Re-Opening. Copy a lot of the info in your letter (above) but keep it fact based and not sales based so it's not discarded as blatant advertising. Newspapers always have space to fill and are often looking for something interesting to publish.
   
10. Host a Grand Re-Opening open house. This is optional, but can be done on a budget if you collaborate with some joint venture partners. Is there a catering company that is just getting started and needs to get their name out there? If you have office space near any other similar wholistic providers, talk to them about sharing the expense of hosting an open house. Tell the media about the open house and mention it in your letter (#6.) Offer something free to all who attend - free consultation, free session for a child, free class to improve a specific function (dyslexia, headaches, joint movement, etc.) The free service or class can be scheduled for a later date, but give them their free ticket at this event. Whatever you give away, set a price for it so everyone knows the dollar value of what you're giving them. (Also advertise the class at full price to have paying customers there with the free customers.)
    

** Grand Re-Opening special: Make your special not just good but irresistable. Almost ridiculous. Look at how they advertise items on tv and copy that technique. TV product ads have advertised their prices this way for 30+ years because it works. Here's an example:

+This service is regularly $100 for a 1 hr session.

+To celebrate our Grand Re-Opening, we're offering $25 off your first session.

+Schedule now and we'll give you a second follow up session for half off. (Half is more tangible than 50%.) ~OR~ You could switch it and say you're offering the first session at half price and $25 off the follow up.

+Schedule your appointment for any time in February and we'll also give you our free guide to ... (fill in the blank)
Write up a free guide that ties in with your services or explains something that your customers always want to know more about. How about writing a booklet on any topic that supports what you will cover in their first session - maybe some at-home exercises or a step by step instruction on something, or a top ten simple things you can do to improve your wellness. Keep this book as your free gift in future promotions.

Whenever you have a chance to write another book, write it and use it in similar promotions: Grand Re-Opening, Anniversary, National Wholistic Health Month (I made that up) Summer Specials (market to vacationers) etc.

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Can you see your Customer's Point of View?

Your customers are the reason you are in business. That's a no-brainer. But have you ever experienced your business the same way your customers do?


It is critical for you to step back and see things from the buyer's perspective. As a seller, there are so many things that you worry about--sometimes to the point of obsession--that are of little or no interest to a buyer.


A great way to start is to first visit your competition, whether it's a shop in town or a website selling similar goods or services. What is your first impression? Is it polished and appropriate in appearance, or does it seem cluttered or hard to navigate? Does the store layout and display grab your attention? On a website, do the descriptions and photos give you a clear picture of what you'll be purchasing. The best advice I can give you is to describe as if you had no photos, and take photos as if you had no descriptions.


Example: Last week my husband and stopped by a local pizza joint. We had never been there before but they advertise all the time on eatsalem.com and we wanted to try it out.


First impression: Confusion.
To the left of the entrance, two guys were spinning pies and sliding them into the ovens. To the right was a line of people waiting to get to the counter to order their pizzas. Beyond the line was the entrance to the dining room. Straight ahead was a drink cooler, and behind that was a big wall filled with band posters and microbeers on tap.


The problem: What are you selling?
We stood in line, staring at the big wall, looking for the pizza menu, hoping to have our decision made by the time we got to the head of the line. This is silly, but we were in a pizza place, wanting to order a pizza, but we couldn't find the pizza menu. As we got to the head of the line we finally found it. The menu was only visible when standing at the front of the line, around the corner from the big wall, and just far enough back to be hard to read. Not only was it farther away, the print was small and the lighting was dim. The cashier waited for us to read the menu and discuss the options with each other. No wonder there was a long line.

The solution:

Put the pizza menu on the big wall so it's the first thing customers see when they walk in. Local bands and beer are great, but customers go here for the pizza, not to find out where the next concerts will be. Put the beer list with the pizza menu, or up by the register, since they are ordered at the same time. We were getting take-out, and there was a counter and seats where we could wait. It was at that time that we paid attention to the band posters. If we were eating in, we would have been more interested in looking at band posters while we sipped our beers and waited for the pizza to cook. 

So where to post the posters?

1. Plaster them along the bottom edge of the front window or along the counter where we waited (put them under a glass or thick acrylic top so they can be changed out regularly?)

2. Put them in a booklet at each table in the dining room

3. Plaster them all over the columns in the dining room (like on a college campus), wallpaper the bathrooms or the hall outside the bathrooms with posters.

4. Run then as a border across the top of the big wall where the menu should be or across the bottom edge of the drink cooler case at the entrance.

5. Make lots of copies and use them as placemats on the tables, a different poster for each place setting.

and 6! While band posters are a cool art form, why not advertise the bands in a way that brings in hungry new customers? Invite the local bands to come and play a small set to entertain your customers at peak times in exchange for a free pizza. For example, a half hour set from 6:30-7pm. Let the band announce their upcoming show. Make this a regular event and you'll have customers coming in to check out the new bands (over dinner) and the local bands will invite their own fanbase to come over for pizza and hear them play. (Is your competition doing this? I bet they aren't.)

Now pretend you are a first-time customer and enter your own business. 
Look at your shop the same way. 
It can be a real eye-opener.

(By the way, the pizza was great.)















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Matchbook Notebook Promo Cards

I love it when businesses use visuals or hand-held things for advertising. I'm not talking business cards or coupons, but nifty little creative things really get my attention.

A couple of weeks ago I was cruising through my blog reader and clicked a link to Aurora's Garden, where she re-posted a link to Bluegrass Etsy where Etsy seller Kellibeans posted a tutorial slideshow. Ok, that was kind of a sister's friends' third cousin's aunt's best friend's mother kind of story, but I wanted to give credits where they're due.

Nevertheless, Kellibeans posted a GREAT tutorial. You could make these while watching tv, waiting in the car to pick up the kiddos from school, on public transportation, over your lunch break, or pretty much anywhere. Prep the materials ahead of time and keep them in your purse or bag and assemble them whenever you have a spare 10 minutes.

And how can you use these? Put some of those 151 Guerrilla Marketing techniques to use on your Matchbooks!

Here's the tutorial: Matchbook Notebook Promo Cards

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Put Your Shop in Your Pocket

Today I'd like to show you how to put your shop in your pocket for about $11.

No, I'm not kidding.
Yes, I said you can put it in your pocket.

Just upload your pictures to a digital key chain or digital photo frame.

Digital key chains have a picture area of about 1.5" and run from about $8 to about $20.

Put on your thinking cap and imagine the places where this could come in handy...

• In line at the grocery store or post office
• While getting your hair or nails done
• When buying business supplies
• Out with your friends or family - show them what's new
• Any time you're doing some business networking
• Picking up kids from daycare (or school)
• On an airplane
• At a sporting event
• Social Events
• Church

This is useful for any business who relies on visuals.
Can you imagine these kinds of small businesses showing their digital pictures to prospective customers?

• Etsy Shops


• Restauranteurs


• Realtors


• Travel agents/Vacation Planners


• Hairdressers and salons (how about showing off bridal hairstyles)


• Bridal Boutiques


• Retail shops - fashion, home decor, jewelry...


• Antique shops


• Florists


• Interior Decorators


• Faux Painters and Mural Painters


• Auto Dealers


• Auto Detailers


• Dentists - teeth whitening and orthodontia


• Tattoo artists


• Professional Home Stagers


• Landscape Professionals

Another similar idea is to put your images in a digital picture frame. You could set this anywhere, but it may have the biggest impact in these locations:

• Craft Shows
• Waiting rooms
• Home Shows
• In a lobby
• Work out an arrangement with a complimentary business, for example, you could show your bridal floral creations in the bridal gown boutique down the street.

Digital picture frames vary in size, starting at about 7" and their prices start at about $50 and go up from there.

So now I'm sure you're thinking of places where one of these could help you showcase your work. Please comment here with your own ideas!

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151 Guerrilla Marketing Ideas :: Wholesale

Today's Low-cost, High-impact Marketing Ideas focus on Selling Wholesale.

For the full list of ideas, organized by category, check out this post.

1. As far as some of my larger orders - I actually approached people I know who use large quantities of canes or beads on my own online and bead shops offline. Most of them at least heard me out and I got enough orders written that it's made it profitable over the years. Neither of those are quick fixes though - six months to a year before they start showing results.
   
2. http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/posie_gets_cozy/2006/01/wholesale_retai.html
   
3. I priced my products with wholesale in mind from the start and think it's really important to figure out how to do that if you want to make a living from your work
   
4. Also, several customers found me at craft shows
   
5. have made for you custom POS fixtures, and offering a discount when they buy a whole fixture's worth, can be real money makers. Buyers like to get in and out easy, and If you have on display a whole filled fixture, with a price list for the exact items on the fixture, they tend to just buy twice as much
   
6. Wholesale trade shows and trade magazines such as The Gift Shop magazine
   
7. http://qbranchltd.blogspot.com/2008/02/selling-wholesale-part-i.html
   
8. http://www.designspongeonline.com/bizladies
   
9. I found that directly targeting stores myself is too time consuming. That just did not work for me.
   
10. When I first started looking for wholesale accounts, I definitely did some soliciting. I created some line sheets (there are lots of examples out there if you google it) and attached them with a brief note of introduction. It worked surprisingly well, and really got my foot in the door
    
11. Get sales reps! You pay them 15% of the sales, you sit back and listen to the fax ring in your orders, pay them commissions on a monthly basis, on PAID SALES ONLY!
    
12. The first thing you should do is post that you wholesale in your shop announcement. That is the easiest way to start. Most people are looking for a catalog, if you convo me, I'll send you the link to my catalog.

As mentioned in this post, the ideas in this post came from my snippets of ideas saved from Etsy forum posts over the last year. If you provided an idea listed here, please comment and I'll credit the idea to you with a link to your shop, ok?

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151 Guerrilla Marketing Ideas :: Video

Today's Low-cost, High-impact Marketing Ideas focus on Video.

For the full list of ideas, organized by category, check out this post.

1. how about making a video/ commercial on youtube, with the right tags you're guaranteed to get views and visits
   
2. Sell more than handmade items. Use video to sell your story.
   
3. I am actually planning to vlog some craft tutorials to attract some traffic
   
4. If the way your create or sell your product would be at all interesting to watch - create and post Youtube videos about it. Humorous commercials will get you attention here too!
   
5. I've also thought about selling video beadweaving tuts for download.
   
6. You can show people your products and services by posting videos to your website, blog, social networking sites, etc
   
7. There is a website call animoto.com that allows you to upload images to their site, and they have some software that creates the video for you.
   
8. I have done a couple of videos of the things that I make.

As mentioned in this post, the ideas in this post came from my snippets of ideas saved from Etsy forum posts over the last year. If you provided an idea listed here, please comment and I'll credit the idea to you with a link to your shop, ok?

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151 Guerrilla Marketing Ideas :: Tell A Friend

Today's Low-cost, High-impact Marketing Ideas focus on Tell A Friend aka Word of Mouth.

For the full list of ideas, organized by category, check out this post.

1. Make up some business cards to be your "Tell A Friend" cards. You can use these to create a referral discount program, where each customer is assigned a unique referral # that is printed on their tell a friend cards. If this # is mentioned in future orders, the original customer receives an X% discount on their next purchase from your store.
   
2. If you are selling multiples of the same item and sell one, you can include a few "tell a friend" business cards with the order - that include a photo of the item they purchased. Customers will sometimes share these with people who ask them about your item.
   
3. When a customer refers a friend to my shop and that friend buys something, I offer the first customer 10% of their friend's purchase as a store credit. So if the friend buys a $20 item, the first customer gets a $2 credit on their next purchase. They can save up their credits and use it for their entire purchase (They still pay shipping.) Your customers would be really working hard to get people to buy from you. The new person would need to give the first person's name and convo you to say 'So and so referred me to your shop'
   
4. I would put a 10 referral limit on the referrals and only offer it to a person that actually buys something from you.
   
5. Assign everyone a code that they must pass on to whomever they refer. Referee must put code in notes to get discount. It could be something as simple as the person's name with letters or numbers or something like that. If you keep a little chart, it'd be pretty easy to keep track of.....
   
6. I made a purse for a friend of mine that lives far away from me. Anyway she had sent me a message on MySpace telling me that all her friends LOVE her purse....and one of her friends saw that comment and found me....now she's interested in getting something from me!
   
7. An unknown customer (that is one with no previous knowledge of you) who has a positive experience will tell 5 people. That same customer - if they have a negative experience - will tell twice as many people
   
8. When I first opened my shop, I sent an email to my friends and family. My brother- in -law forwarded it to a friend who was remodeling their house and they bought a painting.
   
9. I remember from the guerilla marketing book was that I should be spending half my marketing efforts on my current/previous customers
   
10. http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/935-Ecommerce-Know-How-Start-a-Buzz-with-Word-of-Mouth-Marketing

As mentioned in this post, the ideas in this post came from my snippets of ideas saved from Etsy forum posts over the last year. If you provided an idea listed here, please comment and I'll credit the idea to you with a link to your shop, ok?

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Marketing Tips from the Etsy Forums

Have you had enough great marketing ideas to set your business on fire?

No?

Ok. Today I'd like to take a little break from the huge list of ideas and share a few links with you to check out:

Etsy's ChristianHaylie created this post:
25 Marketing tips to get your products moving!
and also
More Marketing tips to get your products moving!

FluffyFlowers shares:
1 little tiny Marketing tip

soapdeli says:
Are you new to selling online? Marketing tips to get you started.

mrsdstahl tells a great story about her advertising experience to help you understand where to focus your marketing energy and advertising dollars:
More Great Marketing Tips Revealed

FlyingButtons make a very good point with this forum post:
Just hit my 100th sale in 8 weeks, thought I'd pass on my key marketing tip

You have to check this one out... so easy.
contrariwise says:
Marketing Tip: how to drive more people to your Etsy shop from your blog
Here's a link to the blog post she mentions in the forum. Great tutorial.
And please observe how she has her blog laid out. She doesn't mention it, but basically her blog posts are nestled between two columns of her own creations so you can't help but be amazed at her items. And yes - they're all clickable links to the Etsy listing.
Smart.

Designsbyreese says:
BLOG LOCAL!

DBlankPrints brings up the topic of URL tagging:
(Don't overlook this simple trick.)
Have a simple marketing tip? I'll suggest the first one...

saratams gets into the nuts and bolts of creating and establishing an online presence:
Marketing Tips

Because outdoor market season is upon us, Neogami talks about her experience:
First time selling at market ends in 100's...want tips?


On Monday 5/25/09 I'll post the next category from the huge list of marketing ideas...

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151 Guerrilla Marketing Ideas :: Community Involvement

Today's Low-cost, High-impact Marketing Ideas focus on Community Involvement.

For the full list of ideas, organized by category, check out this post.

1. You could donate to a fundraiser, chamber of commerce mixer, or grand opening of a local business. Where we live, there always chambers and small businesses who clamour for freebies to giveaway as prizes at local events, put in their silent auction or prize package -- and this usually gets your logo in whatever advertising they have!
   
2. Most public libraries are so community oriented that they would probably be willing to have a poster for your shop or even a display case to show your wares.
   
3. Speaking of libraries, ask them if you can display your items there. My local library has a display. When I first started I asked if I could put some of my prints in their display window. I offered them a commision as an incentive. They let me keep my work in there for a little over a month. That worked for me.
   
4. Teaching & demos. I have had the best luck in reaching folks in the community this way. First, you get free advertising (if you are doing it at a gallery, local arts center, or as part of a group of community ed classes). At the class/demo, I usually have a mailing list sign up sheet, business cards, etc. I just finished an outdoor show last week, two thirds of my last class from a couple of weeks before came to the show. One person actually bought something, had 2 other orders, and some wore their piece they made. If you do this, the show and classes and promote each other. Advertise your classes to people visiting you at the show, then when you have the class/demo, invite them to the show. You can offer discounts for them to attend the other venue.
   
5. I go to little one-woman vintage B&Ms that are struggling, and tell the owners about Etsy. I'd like them to stay in business, too, and what goes around comes around. Someday when I have my B&M I hope someone is so kind to me. Last week I saw a place with $2 aprons. Instead of snatching them up and making a profit off her, I did the "teach a man to fish thing" and asked her if she could use a computer, and yes, and then all about how to set up on Etsy, and how to convo me if she needed help. She's got kids to feed, and I know she can get $8-10 for those on Etsy, and help bring in new customers, too!
   
6. Your local chamber of commerce or local chapter of BNI holds monthly meet and greet meetings and that has probably helped my business more than any other single thing i've done over the years. join in on community projects, etc. to become known in your community....
   
7. I always advertise in local concert playbills, use the "local artist angle" and it brings a lot of business.
   
8. So my best promotions still remain craft fairs and classes taught offline. If you can make those regular, your name, cards and face are out there all the time and you make contacts that come back.
   
9. I am also active in my community. It truly helps to develop relationships with people - they may not purchase from you but they may know someone who will.
   
10. I donated a blanket to my mother's family reunion.

As mentioned in this post, the ideas in this post came from my snippets of ideas saved from Etsy forum posts over the last year. If you provided an idea listed here, please comment and I'll credit the idea to you with a link to your shop, ok?

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Startup Nation

I received an email last week with a link to website Startup Nation. Curious, I clicked over there and WOW. What a lot of handy information for the small business startup.

If you are a small business just getting started, click over to Startup Nation today to see what resources they have available. It's smart, well-organized, and easy to read. Even if you are making and selling handmade items, you owe it to yourself to take a peek.

I guarantee you'll find some info that you can start using today to improve your bottom line.

Of particular interest is Melanie Rembrandt, a PR expert, who puts public relations how-to info in terms so simple you'll have a hard time not creating your own public relations on the spot.

With my Pass It On Plates business, I have been stuck for months and months on how to get the word out and tell people about the plates. Today I read one of her articles before heading out to lunch. On the way back to work I wasn't even thinking about what she had written when I had to suddenly pull the car over and scratch out a bunch of ideas on my lunch bag.

I've got it figured out. It's so simple.
(I want to try it first, then I'll tell you all about it.)

I'm a smart girl, but I have no idea why I couldn't figure it out until now. I think Melanie unlocked something in my brain.

Here's hoping you have similar good luck!
And here are the links to check out:
Startup Nation
Melanie Rembrandt's blog posts on Startup Nation

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Fast Facts About Women Consumers

Do you market your business/products to women?

After looking through the blogs of both my dear followers, and my wonderful commenters, I see that not only are the majority of you creating and selling products geared for women, but most of you are women. If you are one of my rare readers who markets and sells products to guys, you may want to keep the following facts in mind.

The Power of the Purse - Fast Facts About Women Consumers:*

Spend 80% of all US consumer dollars, $4.6 trillion per year

80% are in charge of handling their families day to day finances

42% are responsible for business purchasing decisions

71% "will pay extra for products that are consistent with the image I want to portray"


*These facts were found the other day while browsing through PINK magazine online.

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What is Marketing?

If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying “Circus Coming to the Fairground Saturday” that’s advertising.

If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion.

If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed, that’s publicity.

And if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.

If the town’s citizens go the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they’ll have spending money at the booths, answer their questions and ultimately, they spend a lot at the circus, that’s sales.

And, if you planned the whole thing, that’s Marketing!

- Unknown

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CraftyBIZtips.org

Here's a new resource for all you folks in the crafty business. Shalana, The Funky Felter, created this site to help you find all kinds of helpful information and related links for your indie business.



It's still a work in progress, but there's already some very useful info available. Please check it out at http://www.craftybiztips.org/

Last week I was reading some older articles in Etsy's Storque and was interested in this article about how to get noticed and blogged about by high traffic blogs. Only six of the high traffic blogs were mentioned in the article, but there are many many more.



Shalana's list of blogs and sites, which is under the button "Crafty Sites": http://www.craftybiztips.org/craftysites.html is the perfect compliment because she lists more than 20 of the "big (glue) guns" of crafty and indie and design blogs all listed in the middle column.



...now to work my way through that list with my Pass It On Plates...

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Word of Mouth Gift Campaign tutorial

On Monday I showed you this Valentine Card from Krispy Kreme.
Today I'd like to tell you how you can create this kind of promotion for your own biz, blog, or shop.

If you're just joining us, you may want to go back and read Monday's post to learn the basics of this kind of promotion.



In Monday's blog post, I suggested different kinds of items you could give away for this kind of promotion. Since cards are easy, though, let's explore that avenue.

You can use your own images to print greeting cards at Flickr (check on Extending Flickr,) Photobucket, Vistaprint, pretty much any online photo storage site, your local photo printing shop, a local copy shop, or if you have a high-quality printer you could print your own. (Be careful about using your own printer, though. These cards cannot look cheap.) You could also get blank greeting cards at a craft store and use a quality photo adhesive to attach printed photos to the cards.

If you make your own photo cards, be sure to sign the card under the photo, just like artists sign their work. This elevates the perception of quality and makes the card more "exclusive." Besides, you need your existing customers to be excited about the cards, want to send them all out, and feel good about sending their friends a quality item.

Of course, make sure your photos are clear, professional looking, and appropriate for the card. You also need to make sure that you have the rights to use the photos. (Please always respect copyright laws.)

Just so you have an idea of the cost to print cards, the cards at Flickr (via Moo) are $24.95 for 10 greeting cards or $10.99 for 16 note cards. This is just one example in many many many options out there. You will need to do a little research (try Googling "Print your own greeting cards") and find one that is a good fit with what you're doing.

If you make cards or enjoy scrap booking, you could whip up a set of your own handmade cards, as well.

Add your coupon code to the back of the card with easy to follow instructions on how to redeem it.

Here's an example of how your promotion would work:
(I'll use my plates business as the example.)

When someone buys a Pass It On Plate Lite at the current full retail value of $29.95, they receive 5 photo birthday cards (that I made at Flickr) to send to their friends. The photo cards have a beautiful food picture on the front and the recipe inside the card on the left. On the back of the card is a coupon for a free PlateWrap (and free shipping, of course.)

If my customer sends out all five cards, and all five people redeem their free PlateWrap, here's what it cost me to acquire each new customer:

• While I'm not going to reveal my cost vs. retail price, let's just assume my cost for each PlateWrap is $10.
• I sent my customer $12.50 in greeting cards. (10 cards for $24.95)
• They send out all five cards, each of whom redeem their free gift. (My cost is $10 per gift.)
  
• A $10 item cost times 5 people = $50 in free merchandise
• $50 in free merchandise + $12.50 for greeting cards = $62.50
• $62.50 divided by 5 people is $12.50. (...an interesting coincidence.)
• My new customer cost only $12.50 to acquire. Now I can continually market to this customer and (sit down for this) send them my regular snail mail newsletter.

Compare my $12.50 spent to find a genuine customer to the amount of money normally spent on advertising where you're hoping to generate some interest. I have done craft shows where the table cost me $25 and I only had one customer by a $5 item. That customer cost me $20, and because they paid cash and weren't interested in signing up for me newsletter, so there's no way I will be able to market to them.

$12.50 is a bargain.

Please leave comments here if you have questions about how you can make this work for you. Also, if you try this, please post links to your site or blog where you announce this promotion. I'd love to see what creative idea you came up with (and I'll do a little advertising for you.)

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Happy (fill in the blank) Day, here's your Free Gift

Have I told you how incredibly powerful word of mouth advertising is?

When one of your customers tells a friend about your product, this has a far greater impact than if the friend happened to stumble upon your website, blog, or shop or saw one of your ads somewhere.

Last year I received one of these Valentines from a friend and was tickled pink to find the coupon for a free doughnut in the valentine. Of course, I took it with me on my next trip up to Portland (the closest store to me is about 45 minutes away.) Since I rarely go to Portland alone, I had to buy doughnuts for everyone else in the car. And coffee. You can't truly enjoy a doughnut without coffee. My free coupon cost me almost $10 by the time I walked out of the shop. But I'm not complaining.

This year I saw the whole Krispy Kreme promo and realized what a brilliant marketing campaign this is. I know this is something you could copy for your indie biz.

Basically, you're handing out coupons for your customers to give to their friends. The coupons just happen to be cleverly decorated as greeting cards that, when given away, make your customer look good.

It's a win-win-win for your customers, their friends, and of course you. Did you notice that I didn't just redeem the coupon but spent money there as well?

So... How could you make it work for your biz?
Glad you asked. I've got an idea.
(Of course.)

First, the basic mechanics of this marketing promotion is to decide what goal you want each person to achieve. Do you want people to buy, sign up for a mailing list, attend a class, or something else?

In this case, Krispy Kreme wants people to buy their doughnuts.

Second, what kind of free item or sample can you offer? Free items are perceived more as gifts; if you offer a discount, it's too sales-pitchy.

Krispy Kreme is giving away a free doughnut. While it's not a big $ value item, it has value because it's free. Heck, better than that, it's free food.

If you see on the promotion (above) you have to buy a dozen doughnuts in order to get the 12 "coupons" for a free doughnut. Basically it's a buy one, get one free. From an accounting standpoint, Krispy Kreme is offering doughnuts for up to 50% off in exchange for gaining new customers. There's a good probability that not every coupon issued will be reedeemed, either, so Krispy Kreme comes out ahead, anyway. Besides, I spent almost $10 of my own money there, and i'm sure I'm not the only one. Krispy Kreme came out way ahead.

By the way, if you're wondering if I analyze the mechanics of every advertisement I see, the answer is yes. Call me nuts, but I can't get enough of this stuff. The way I figure it, if I can translate that into understandable terms that you could pull off on your own for your biz, then I'm happy.

Third, what can you do to inspire your customers want to give away your coupons?
Krispy Kreme, of course, made Valentines.

While it's too late for you to do a Valentines Day promotion (bookmark this post for next December!) there are other holidays you could take advantage of: St. Patrick's Day, Easter, (people only send a small handful of Mothers' Day or Fathers' Day cards at the most,) Last Day of School (teacher gifts,) Independence Day, First Day of School (teacher gifts again - it's never too early to schmooze those good grades!) Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the mother of all card-sending holidays, Christmas.

But why stop at traditional holidays? You could give away stickers (have you been to a skate shop, Zumiez, Pac Sun, or other teenager clothing store lately??) or pads of Post It Notes, general greeting cards, or a pack of birthday cards. You could do t-shirts, hats, and totebags, but the cost of those may be prohibitive if you're trying to keep your costs down.

Since cards are easy, though, let's explore that avenue.
Check back in on Wednesday to see how this Word of Mouth Gift Campaign works.

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La Margarita

Today I'd like to introduce you to La Margarita, a Mexican restaurant here in my town. Like most restaurants in towns across the US and beyond, business is slow because people are not spending like they used to. La Margarita has engaged in a brilliant Guerrilla Marketing tactic to bring in paying customers and keep them coming back for more.

At each table (under the glass table top, actually) is a list of classes offered on Wednesday nights that teach subjects such as making a particular mole sauce, paella, a variety of appetizers, and even a tequila tasting (with snacks, of course.) The cooking classes include a margarita, and cost $40 per person.

If you think about this from a marketing standpoint, they not only have 10 people attending each class, that's $400 on a slow night BUT the restaurant benefits in several ways:

1. Each attendee also gets to personally know the staff, the chef, the food... developing a deeper relationship which leads to customer loyalty.

2. People who attend the classes learn something new while the restaurant cultivates a rich word of mouth advertising campaign.

"Mary, this enchilada is wonderful. How did you learn to cook Mexican?"
"I took cooking class at La Margarita."
"The restaurant?"
"Yeah, the one downtown. It was great. The staff were really fun and they make a mean margarita."

3. Because their classes are held on a Wednesday night, this brings in extra cash on what is traditionally a slow night for restaurants. Brilliant.

4. By teaching a little about what they do (or hosting a demo such as tequila tasting) they are establishing themselves as experts in their field, making them the go-to place when people want knowledge and information. This puts their percieved expertise above their competition.

5. When people sign up for classes, the restaurant has the opportunity to invite them to opt in to a newsletter (have you heard that before on this blog?) or to get on the restaurant's mailing list for special events, coupons, exclusive offers, etc. Now I don't know of La Margarita is doing this last step, but they should take advantage of continually marketing to this receptive audience.

It's a win-win, win-win, win-win-win-win.

Plus, there's already a little local buzz by a widely read local restaurant blog called eatsalem.com, so just by offering classes, they've gotten a little extra advertising thanks to the folks at eatsalem.com. Then of course, there's this blog post but since most of you are probably not from the Salem area, I doubt this post will make a difference to La Margarita.

Now take a look at your own business and see if there's some creative thing you can offer to bring in new customers and keep all customers coming back for more?


(And remember, all comments are do-follow, so your comment left here supports YOU.)

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PS: In case you're not familiar with Guerrilla Marketing, according to Wikipedia, "Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget." This is the marketing technique you've been learning here at PamHawk.com, and for small businesses such as a blog, Etsy shop, or other indie business it's the most cost-effective way to get your name out there and get customers to come in.

PPS: If you're a small business (or a restaurant!) who would like to talk about some low cost but high impact ways you can improve your bottom line, zap an email over to me at pioppam [at] gmail.com