Marketing & PR « oh my! handmade goodness

Marketing & PR

How Much Marketing Should Craft Bloggers Do for Craft Companies?

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

a special guest post by Diane Gilleland of CraftyPod

Image by jessica wilson {jek in the box}, via Flickr Creative Commons

This morning, I opened my email and found what I find every single week: a request from a craft company, asking me to feature its products on my blog. Sometimes, these companies want to send me free product if I’ll write about it or have a giveaway. Some of them want me to promote a contest they’re hosting. Some of them just send me press releases. In some cases, these companies are Etsy sellers looking to sell their wares, and in other cases, they’re great big companies with stores all over the country.

The truth is, if you’re a craft blogger and you accumulate a readership of reasonable size, sooner or later people will come knocking on your door, asking you to market stuff for them.

Is that a bad thing? No, not always. But it does point to a new media landscape that’s emerging for the craft industry. If you think about it, in many ways blogs are slowly usurping the other channels crafty marketers used to use to spread the word about their products. Craft magazines have dwindled, as have crafty TV programs. Where are we crafters paying the lion’s share of our media attention? On the internet – in the blogosphere and on social media sites.

So, craft companies increasingly need bloggers – or, more pointedly, they need exposure to our readers – in order to stay viable.

Image by ank0ku, via Flickr Creative Commons

OK, that’s not exactly rocket science. But it’s beginning to raise some important questions for bloggers:

Do we really want to be marketing engines for the craft industry?
Do we bear any actual responsibility for promoting the craft industry?
Should we, in fact, be compensated for this service? And perhaps most importantly…
How much of this marketing will our readers actually tolerate before they start drifting away?

It’s really easy, I think, for crafters to become a bit contentious in discussing these questions. It’s that whole “hobbyist vs. professional” debate. If you blog as a hobby, and a company you love offers to send you a bunch of free goodies in exchange for a blog post, you should have every right to take advantage of that deal. And if I blog for my livelihood, and the same company approaches me, I should have every right to request that they pay for the exposure to my audience.

…The issue is that these two realities, although both 100% valid, don’t co-exist so well. Then there’s a third reality in that mix: the craft companies themselves, who, let’s face it, will almost always gravitate to where they don’t have to pay anything for exposure. I don’t see this as nefarious, necessarily – any company will seek to save money where it can. But with so many companies beginning to target blogs as marketing channels, I think it may be time for every blogger to consider where she stands in terms of her “marketing boundaries.”

Image by Nicola Corboy, via Flickr Creative Commons

I’ll use my own blogging history as an illustration: When I started a personal craft blog in 2006, and companies first started contacting me, it was tremendously exciting. Michaels, asking ME to promote their contest?! My goodness, I must have arrived! I took on every request that came my way. After all, I was getting freebies and I figured that if I supported these companies, sooner or later they’d support me somehow – maybe by hiring me to craft for them!

Well, over the years, I came to see that there isn’t always a mutually-supportive environment at work there. Some companies are more engaged than others, but in many cases, once they had their free publicity out of me, the companies rarely took further notice – until they needed publicity again!

Meanwhile, as I was doing all these market-y posts on my blog, I came to see that their content wasn’t all that interesting to my readers in the long run. I had to ask myself: did I really want to be a craft-product news blogger? My readers had come to me because I blogged about craft projects. Was it fair to shove a lot of craft-company promotion at them just so I could have free stuff?

Slowly, as my blog has become a more central part of my livelihood, I’ve backed away from doing much free promotion for companies.

Image by golbenge, via Flickr Creative Commons

…But alas, my decision, though it sounds a little cut-and-dried, is full of complications. For example: it may be easy to draw this line against larger craft companies with marketing budgets, but what about fellow crafters who’ve opened up small online shops? In a way, I feel a different responsibility for these little companies – after all, a one-person shop may not have access to the kinds of marketing resources big companies do. Plus, these are fellow crafters. What does it mean when I turn these folks’ marketing requests away?

And then there’s the factor of the industry as a whole. Again, it’s easy for me to decide that I don’t want to be a free marketing engine for larger craft companies, but even then, it’s hard to ignore the fact that, without the crafty blogosphere, craft companies have fewer and fewer ways to reach crafters, and this can hurt industry sales as a whole. I love craft supplies, and craft books and magazines. If I want them to stay around, shouldn’t I participate a little in spreading the word about them?

Image by tonyhall, via Flickr Creative Commons

There are no easy answers here – as I said before, each of us has to come up with our own policies. But there are two ideas that, whether you’re a hobbyist or a professional blogger, I think we might all agree upon. First, there’s the concept of mutually-beneficial exchange. If you’re going to use your blog to market someone else’s product, what do you need to get in return in order to feel good about that?

We do have to let each other define what “mutually-beneficial exchange” means for ourselves, and respect each other’s definitions. But when we’re approached by anyone (and especially, anyone who has a marketing budget) and asked to give them free publicity, don’t we all have a right to request a format that benefits both us and them? Maybe that’s payment for the exposure, or maybe it’s a review copy – or maybe it’s a trade of exposure, and they promote our work through their channels. There are always options; we just need to ask for them.

The second idea is one I’ve written about on my blog – storytelling partnerships. It’s about understanding that the mere existence of a product does not make for interesting blog content, so all the “blog mentions” in the world won’t necessarily capture hearts and minds. I think there are rich opportunities for bloggers and marketers to work together to come up with more interesting blog coverage that gets promotion done without sounding so much like marketing.

Image by John Kenzer, via Flickr Creative Commons

If we bloggers were to gently demand mutually-beneficial exchanges and better stories from craft companies, I think those companies would begin to treat us with more respect. I think many craft companies (whether consciously or not) make big assumptions about bloggers: that we all “need things to write about,” so why not their product? That we all want free products, and will happily promote anything in exchange. That we don’t really need to be compensated, because we aren’t traditional media outlets. And I think the only reason they can make these assumptions is because we allow them to.

The blogosphere has been around long enough now that it may be time we bloggers started thinking of ourselves as what we’ve become – a primary media outlet for the crafter market. I don’t think the marketers will see us this way, though, until we step up and claim this role.

What are your thoughts? Do you have a policy for marketing content on your blog? What would a mutually-beneficial exchange look like for you?

Editor’s note: Please share your thoughts in the comments & join Diane & I for an #OMHG Twitter chat on mutually-beneficial relationships + blogging boundaries from 1-2 EST this Thursday-its going to be a juicy one! Click here for more info on our #OMHG chats.

ABOUT DIANE

Diane Gilleland writes, podcasts and teaches over at CraftyPod.com. She’s obsessed with making crafts and making all kinds of media, and when she’s not obsessing over those things, she’s thinking about how online culture is changing them. Unless her cat Pushkin needs something – then she drops everything and does what he says.

Professionalism in Social Media

Monday, March 12, 2012

a super special guest post by Laura Howard of Lupin Handmade

Chances are, if you’re selling your work or promoting your business online you’re probably using sites like Twitter and Facebook to connect with customers and clients and bloggers, and to keep in touch with your industry peers.

Social media is friendly, it’s personal, it’s about connections and relationships. All these things fit perfectly with the experience of buying direct from an artist/designer or indie business, which has the potential to be much more special than buying from a faceless corporation.

However, there are potential pitfalls too. Chatting online we’re all aware of things like privacy, personal safety, scammers and spammers… but chatting online as the face of your business you also need to remember that your social chatting reflects upon your business reputation. It’s important to stay professional, especially if you’re using your business name and you link to your Twitter/Facebook page from your website, or include the link in your email signature.

Professional doesn’t have to mean soulless! You don’t need to stop being you, or stop making those personal connections which make social media so wonderful… but there are a few things worth bearing in mind before you write that status update or publish that tweet.

Remember that what you type is public.

If you’ve got a public Facebook page for your business or your Twitter account isn’t “protected”, you might feel like you’re having a one-to-one conversation but what you share there is visible to the public at large and may also show up in search engines like Google. The same goes for public forums like the ones on Etsy.

There was recently a case here in the UK where a guy was arrested, taken to court and convicted for a joke he made on Twitter. This is a rather extreme example, but it’s important to remember that chatting on social media is not the same as just having a conversation even though it often feels that way.

Think before you complain.

Aside from the fact that constant negativity can be a bit of a downer and perhaps not what you’d want people to associate with your business, complaining on social media can have unforeseen consequences – mostly because it’s public. Just like all those people you read about getting fired for bitching about their job or their boss online, if you complain about difficult customers, clients, etc, it could seriously backfire if they stumble onto your comments.

One seller I knew was rejected from a new sales venue she’d just signed up with because of jokey comments her Etsy forum friends made about the name of the venue. She didn’t even join in with the comments, but the forum thread popped up in the venue’s visitor stats and they weren’t happy with what they found! Even if the people you’re complaining about never read what you wrote, plenty of potential customers will and they might get a bad impression of your business as a result. We all have customers and situations that drive us nuts, but sometimes it’s good to take a deep breath and think before you post.

One situation that’s sure to make you furious is when you discover a person or a company copying your work.

But no matter how angry you are, beware of publicly accusing someone of copying.

I’ve witnessed a lot of Twitter storms kick off over copying in the past few years – it’s a hugely emotional issue for the designers it happens to and for our creative community as a whole. You’re upset you got “ripped off”, your friends and customers are angry on your behalf, and as a result one upset tweet can go totally viral. This can sometimes be a good thing, as the power of the social media crowd can give power to a David ripped off by a big corporate Goliath (as in this recent example involving H&M).

But what if the person gets so upset and angry with you because of the way you’ve publically called them out that they become less willing to work with you to find a solution? What if you accuse someone of copying and it was just a coincidence? What if a company sues you for defamation? Generally you should try to get some good advice from friends and (if necessary) a lawyer and try to deal with the situation privately whenever possible.

A few more things to consider…

Some things – like your sex life or your kids toilet routines – may be a bit too personal to share with your customers. If your tweets are a bit TMI then you could be losing followers.

Similarly, if you’ve got strong political or religious views the Facebook page for your business might not be the best place to share them unless they’re connected to your business somehow, e.g. if you’re donating a percentage of your profits to a cause.

And finally, you might swear like a sailor in real life but you may want to moderate your language online, especially if you run a “family friendly” business or blog.

Finding the perfect balance between personal and professional can be tricky, and it will (of course) be slightly different for everyone. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Laura Howard, a.k.a. Lupin, sells her handmade felt designs plus colourful craft supplies in her shop Lupin Handmade. She writes about her crafty universe and shares free tutorials on her blog, Bugs and Fishes. Her first book, Super-Cute Felt was published in 2011. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook.

Leave the spam in the can, thank you

Thursday, March 8, 2012

spam can tile by maxman

I know this subject has come up a time or two around the blogosphere but I still continue to see small businesses spamming their products all over the place. My biggest pet peeve in social networking is seeing a timeline of nothing but “new items listed” and “my item is perfect for”. Most of the time, I just don’t follow and that keeps my timeline filled with genuine people who want to reach out and connect. After all, isn’t that the whole point of SOCIAL media…to be social? Since we are talking about ethics for the month of March, I thought I would add a little post about the ethics of spamming…or how to get your products seen without spamming. You get the point! ;)

You should want to connect with your potential customers on a more personal level before you try and sell them something. Just think of Twitter like real life for a second. You have someone walk up to you on the street with a friendly smile and they say hello…you wouldn’t immediately scream at them to look at your latest Etsy listing would you? Pretty silly right?

You have to take the opportunity to get to know people. Some experts will tell you not to post silly things like the place you went to lunch or that your kid just cut off her bangs while you were in the bathroom trying to have 3 minutes of quiet. I have a different view of this. I think social networks are made for this type of thing. When you enjoy your lunch and tweet about the great restaurant, that helps them! When you tweet about your daughter, someone else may have gone through the same thing and can relate with a tip on how to hide the new doo. If you post these type of every day life things, posting about new projects and products no longer seems spammy.

Don’t be scared! I know it can be a little intimidating to put yourself out there but by doing so and connecting with others, it will make you a stronger person. Besides, you may be the person who knows how to hide the scary, kid “I cut it myself” hair!

Another way to build relationships is to join tweet ups or groups that let you connect with other small business owners that share the same issues as you. Oh my! has a tweet up every Thursday at 1:00 pm EST (#OMHG) which is fantastic! Once you start to establish a relationship with people then you may feel more comfortable telling them about your latest product in daily conversation. In fact, it will probably come up without you even realizing it!

The whole point is to use social networks to build relationships and connect. Then when it’s time to promote your business, more people will be listening!

Recipe For Press – Pitch Your Story Like The Pros And Create A Buzz

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Photo: Angelcourt

As a small business owner when I find a good GREAT book about how to better manage aspects of your own growing business, I just can’t sleep until I share it with other biz peeps. I guarantee whether you are a reader of or contributor for Oh My Handmade, you are going to go to sleep with this book under your pillow each night until you absorb every golden nugget of info it provides you.

I am super excited to share with you Recipe for Press by first time author Amy Flurry. This book teaches you to “pitch your story like the pros & create a buzz”. You could also say this book gives you all the tools + tips you will ever need for DIY publicity and PR.

I first heard of Amy a couple years ago when she contacted me about getting my Vroom Note Cards shipped to New York, so Lucky Magazine could feature them in a regional spot. Guess what? they did! All because Amy had seen my note cards in a local artist co-op shop here in Atlanta. Read my blog post about this exciting news.

Fellow Georgian, Amy Flurry, is not exactly an “in your face” self promoting type of woman or else I would have known she is also a freelance writer, editor and stylist of 15 years with work featured in InStyle, Conde Nast Traveler, O, Four Seasons, House Beautiful, Country Living, and Refinery 29. She also served as a regional editor for Lucky magazine (that’s how I got Lucky) for six years and as a style correspondent for eBay’s online magazine, The Inside Source. In January 2010, Flurry co-founded Paper-Cut-Project, a company that conceives art direction and highly crafted installations in paper for window installations, runway, catalog and advertising campaigns. Whew!

So now you know a lot more about her so let me tell you about the book….Back in December I opened up my Daily Candy Atlanta email only to find a pitch about Recipe For Press. I thought the name “Amy Flurry” sounded familiar and when I read her bio I soon realized it was the same Amy who had helped me out, 2 years prior. Instantly I went to Amazon and ordered Recipe For Press, at $23.95 it’s a BARGAIN!

WARNING you will need a note pad and pen while reading this book. There are so many incredible step-by-step instructions on how to define your business, refine your pitch and figure out your targets, you will want to start a comprehensive “to do” list for your business.

Photo Credits: Hugh Acheson, Rebecca Wood, Amy & David Butler

I especially enjoyed reading the inspiring DIY publicity success stories from other Georgians such as super chef (and rocker of the Hughnibrow) Hugh Acheson, design power couple Amy Butler and David Butler, eye for all things lovely, potter & blogger, Rebecca Wood just to name a few.

Recipe For Press is more like a text book or an instruction manual if you will. Once you read this book you will not put it away with all your other “been there done that” books. You will keep this close to your desk and re-read parts and pieces as needed. Each time I re-read a section I’m inspired all over again. Most importantly this book has given me the tools to help me map out the best possible road to my own success. If you think about it… nobody knows your business better than you do, right? This means nobody can pitch “your story” quite the way you can. Hurry and get the book and start making your own map:)

Also be sure to visit Recipe For Press on Facebook and the blog.

Transparency and Small Business

Monday, March 5, 2012

The recent emphasis on authenticity in branding goes hand in hand with transparency – about business practices, provenance, and now pricing. Profit margins used to be sacred and not spoken of but companies are now using it as a marketing tool. Let’s look at some companies who use transparency about their goals and pricing to gain customer trust.

Warby Parker explains how they can price their eyeglasses so low with easy-to-read graphics.

Warby Parker sells complete eyeglasses for $95 through online sales. They talk extensively about how they achieve their pricing (mostly due to cutting out the middleman – local eyeglass boutiques who have a 2.5-3x markup). They also give a pair of glasses away via non-profits in countries to aid directly and via entrepreneurship. Truthfully, there are ways to get even less expensive eyeglasses, but talking about their bottom line combined with great photography and social media/word of mouth marketing has made this company a success story.

Everlane breaks down average costs to create a simple cut-and-sew garment.

Everlane, an online retailer of high-quality apparel basics, released an infographic that they say reflects the true costs of creating a T-shirt to sell. It helps to position their product as being sold at not only a good price but a fair price, compared to similar products sold for much more by fashion designers. The graphic itself is also a great, easily digestible bite of information that spread across the Internet like wildfire – never a bad thing for a business. (To see many, many more fascinating infographics, check out visual.ly.*)

How does transparency affect you? Shouldn’t being a handmade maker be reason enough for someone to buy from you?

These days, no. A consumer in 2012 is not only price-conscious, she is armed with many tools to help her find the best deal or sale on something she wants. She can do on-the-spot price comparisons on her phone and is bombarded with daily deals in her email.

A handmade artisan cannot and should not compete on price with a major manufacturer. However, the more education about what’s behind your pricing shows trust in the buyer and also can provide them multiple reasons to support your business. Here are some possible reasons you can present to your prospective customers:

High-quality materials
High-quality workmanship
Use of recycled/reclaimed materials
Providing jobs to others
A unique and customizable product
Supporting non-profit causes
Great customer service

With these points, you are not justifying your prices for people who wonder why it is so high, you are instead making transparent your carefully considered product choices for those who care deeply about what they buy and who they buy it from. The difference is subtle, but important. Be upfront, don’t apologize!

As a bonus, keeping your customer up to date on your work practices is a great way to build an ongoing relationship, which is key to the health of your business. There are many ways to be transparent to your customers, via social media, volunteering for efforts that are important to you, and yes, even a great infographic. Find the method that works for you, and communicate your vision to the world.

*The danger of infographics is oversimplification. There is a very good rebuttal discussion at Well Spent about Everlane’s graphic, the designer clothing industry, local production and fair wages that is a must-read.

Business Card Designs That Will Rock Your Conference

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

There are such a large variety of business cards that you can choose from to represent your brand at an event or conference. I thought the best way to feature them all was to group them by kind: recycled cards, glossy cards, satin matte cards, letterpress cards, rounded corner cards, die-cut cards, enveloped cards, and business cards with free swag. I’ll talk about what makes each kind of card unique, its design qualities, and the benefits of using them at a conference.

Recycled Content + Matte Business Cards

I wouldn’t throw out the idea of a matte card just yet… a matte card can create that earthy, home-grown look for your brand or it can give you a chance to showcase your typography skills using a super minimal layout to match the no-fuss look of the paper stock. It can great for brands that focus on vintage, journalism, and organic. It also looks great with a spot varnish. One nice touch for matte cards is that it lets you easily write on the backside to leave a note to the person you’re giving the card to. It’s also very easy on the budget.

Glossy Business Cards

This was a large group for sure and glossy is what most think of when you say “professional business card”. I will say that their biggest down-fall is being super slick, literally slick. I’d suggest having only one side be glossy and the other side matte to avoid they flipping out into the air like a new deck of cards. And rubber-banding them together isn’t too attractive either.

Now if color matters the most to your design, then glossy will give you the truest color to what you see on screen. Rich hues, great contrast, and very vibrant. Notice most of my examples here have black as the main color or one of the prominent hues.

Satin Matte Business Cards

This is without a doubt the most popular paper stock for business cards this year. And I can see why! The ultra-smooth and suede-like feel of these cards are addictive to touch and the soft gloss effect seems oh so luxe.

However, they do have a hard time giving a true color match so if you’re brand colors are vibrant or graphic-heavy, a gloss would be better suited for you. Photograph cards, on the other hand, can really “glow” on a satin matte.

Letterpress Business Cards

What’s more fancy than a die-cut card? Try hand-printed goodness on thick 4-ply papers that sport a organic texture. I don’t often see this kind of card floating around—probably due to their cost and limitations to using just text and graphics. If you love the textured touch but don’t want the letterpress cost, you can still have your card digitally printed onto thick cotton paper.

If you’re going to a conference full of paper and design geeks, then going letterpress is how you’ll be sure to get their attention. And you’ll never feel like your cards weren’t good enough with letterpress, there’s just isn’t a paper stock or printing method that can beat the tradition and quality of this age-old technique.

Rounded Corner Business Cards

It seems like those who love sharp corners, hate rounded corners and those who love rounded corners, hate the sharp corners. But personal preferences aside, think about if a soft touch is needed to really represent your brand. Children’s stores, whimsical brands, and those who have circles as part of their brand design can really use rounded corners to their advantage.

Die-Cut Business Cards

The real question with these is: do you care that your card will fit the standard sizes or does being super unique mean more to your brand, despite those who will toss it simply because it won’t fit a standard card holder. (Believe me, I’ve had people tell me this to my face when I used Moo.com’s cards, which are in European sizes.)

If going bold and unique is still more important then use pictorial elements from your brand to create the card shape or a decorative outline. Squares and long, skinny cards are just the beginning to the creativity you can unfold with die-cutting. Don’t worry about too small, the examples I have here prove that you can still get a lot of info on a tiny space.

And let’s not forget the little QR Code there… this is a perfect moment to make a landing page just for Alt attendees to visit that’s hidden from the public so you can give them a more personalized experience on your site.

Enveloped Business Cards

Seriously, what can make you swoon more over a card than when you package it up like a card? I love the idea of using mini No.1 Baby Envelope or using your own hand-cut creations using an envelope template. Stickers, embellishments, and fun color arrangements is the name of the game with card jackets and packaging cards. I really liked how one brand took advantage of this to be sure that both owners were getting their info out there by placing both inside.

Business Cards with Swag

Okay, you probably thought that last section was cool enough but this next one will really blow your brain: using our cards to either package swag or include it with free gifts. It’s not only great psychological marketing (you feel obligated to do something back or buy something from those who give you something for free) but it’s a great way to get on the “Most Memorable List”. And I love how it’s more than just contact info: it’s a real treat! Using a fold over card as a bag topper is a great idea.

What is your favorite style of business cards? Feel free to leave a link to your own cards in the comments!

Five Valentine gifts that you’ll truly treasure

Friday, February 10, 2012

What do you want for Valentine’s Day this year? A box of chocolates? Flowers? Underwear?

I’m hoping for a quiet afternoon in the pub with my husband and the Sunday papers. And I’d love all the photographs from our wedding (which was in 2006… ahem) to be stuck in albums, with witty and memorable captions written under each.

(I’d also like to be able to fit into last year’s jeans but that’s not going to happen any time soon.)

Whatever you wish for this Valentine’s Day, whether you have an adoring partner or not, here are some gifts that will help keep your creativity and motivation on track until next year:

1. Time

There is simply never enough time to do everything on the to-do list. So for this Valentine’s Day, make time for yourself – set aside as little as an hour a week to:

have a bath and read a book
call your mum for a chat
go for a walk in the sun
make play dough with your children
plant some Summer bulbs in the garden
bake with a friend

Just one hour away from long to-do lists and tasks can recharge your batteries and give you renewed vigour to complete whatever you’re working on in the business, and to enjoy your family and friends.

2. Focus

When you’re juggling a home, a family and a business or job, it can be difficult to find the space to come up with new designs and ideas for new projects or clients.

3. A new notebook

Ever since school, I have adored the feel of a new notebook. Those blank pages just waiting in anticipation of all the lists, meeting notes and thoughts that will come tumbling out over the next few months.

I confess to being a tiny bit addicted to buying notebooks (particularly hardback ones with pretty covers….) so maybe I’m biased, but I always find that a brand new one is enough to inject fresh energy into my day.

Try it – you might like it.

4. A chat with a friend

Working from home can be pretty lonely (today I haven’t spoken to anybody other than the women who served me in the supermarket this morning – sniff).

But yesterday I spent the morning in a local coffee shop sharing a croissant with a bubbly and enthusiastic friend – no, it’s probably not going to help me get into those jeans, but it did give me a fresh take on a new project I’m working on. And we laughed, a lot.

Whether you meet in person or over the phone, talking to a friend can be the best antidote to creative block.

5. New people

If you go to the same places, you’ll keep on meeting the same people. I met my best client at a networking event that I’d never been to before – I was only there because a colleague had asked for some help setting it up, and I was a bit nervous going in as I didn’t know anyone.

But it has led to new work, new contacts and new friends. Treat yourself this Valentine’s Day to a new group of like-minded people. Check what events your local community offers – informal coffee mornings, artists’ brainstorming sessions, business breakfasts.

What do you long for this Valentine’s Day? Share all in the comments below.

PS But if it is chocolate, flowers or underwear, I’m not going to complain!

4 ways to put more heart into your business

Monday, February 6, 2012

Yellow Heart Graffiti print by Nichole Robertson, Little Brown Pen

It’s the month of love and in between the fluffy hearts, chocolate gifts and pretty flowers I want you to consider injecting more of your heart and soul into your business.

When I started my communications agency I looked to my competitors to guide how I should price my services and market myself. I had just been made redundant and lost a baby; my confidence was at an all-time low. I didn’t trust my own judgment so I did what others were doing even though it wasn’t right for me. My business took off but I wasn’t satisfied. My prices were too low for the amount of energy and heart I was putting into it, leaving me resentful instead of how I should have been, full of joy at being able to do what I love.

Finally I realized I needed to take a chance. I took a risk by going against the crowd and started putting more of myself into my business and being proud of my differences. It was the best decision I ever made. My business is thriving and I feel comfortable with how I market myself. I’m charging what I am worth and I’m using a voice that is all mine.

Here are four ways you can put more of your heart into your business:

Be honest- always.

Never ever lie to others or yourself. If you are not happy with something say so, if you have made a mistake put your hands up and admit it. Honesty is always the best policy.

Be authentic.

Who you are is what makes you and your business special. Each and every one of us brings a different truth into this world. Be proud of who you are and stay true to yourself. As Sarah Ban Breathnach said “the authentic self is the soul made visible”. Allowing your soul to shine will help your business stand out from your competitors.

Always use your own voice.

Before when I’d try to write really “clever” posts on marketing and branding I’d attempt to write in what I thought was a professional manner. The problem was that tone didn’t come naturally to me and it didn’t show my personality. As soon as I started writing posts as though I was talking to a dear friend (which of course you all are!), it became easier to distinguish myself from others. Your voice is important, use it.

Be transparent.

Let people see you. The real you. Don’t try to hide the little things that make you, YOU. Putting it all out there is scary but it’s the only way to connect with people on a real and personal level. If you are a closet geek, why hide it? If you secretly hate something that people are calling “the next big thing”- it’s fine! You don’t have to hide who you are to succeed.

Making sure your heart and soul come through in your marketing is the best way for people to understand your business, products and how you are unique from your competitors. Keep this in mind when you write website copy and product descriptions. Instead of trying to be someone you’re not, use your own voice and watch your business shine!

How Attending Altitude Summit Helped My Business

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Are you thinking of attending an event targeted at people in your field of business? Perhaps a conference, a camp, classes, or workshops? Waiting to see what Jessika’s brewing up so the Oh My community can meet? Besides having a fun time at business events, how do you determine which will be good investments?

l-r: Arianne Foulks, Alyssa Yuhas, Christine Castro Hughes, Laurie Smithwick
image by Brooke Dennis on the Alt Summit 2012 Flickr stream

When the internet started buzzing about Altitude Summit (a conference primarily for design bloggers) last fall, I pricked my ears up and started thinking about it. Although I’d never attended an event like it before, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head, and ended up convincing three of my Aeolidia teammates to pack up and share a luxurious room at the Grand America hotel in Salt Lake City with me.

Chris, my business partner and husband, thought if I was going to invest in the conference for business purposes, I’d better make it worth my while, so he insisted I send an email to Alt offering to help out. Public speaking is not in my self-created job description, but I sent that email off, heart pounding. I ended up speaking on a panel with three very talented folks regarding Web Design: Dos and Don’ts.

I was pretty sure that attending Alt was going to be fun, but the cost of attending adds up. Would it be worth it for my business? We were going to Alt as service providers, not as their target audience. We hoped to meet, greet, and network, but were unsure what the return on our investment would be.

Less than a week after going to Alt, I’m confident that it was a good business decision, and here are some reasons why:

I finally got to meet my team!

I have nine full time designers and developers at Aeolidia, and aside from the pals in Seattle, I’ve never met them, and hadn’t even talked to them on the phone. Alt Summit gave us a time and place to meet up and get to know one another. Aside from just having a fun time chatting with Lauren, Meg, and Zoe, Shoshanna and I had some invigorating and useful business conversations with them as well. It has been great and pretty easy with us all working remotely, but I can see now that it would be nice to have everyone right there with me to bounce ideas off of. Meeting in person was valuable and I expect it to strengthen our team. If you have a chance to meet people you work with, definitely do it, do it, do it!

I am more firmly established as an expert in my field.

We have been pretty much keeping to ourselves, designing and building nice websites, nose to the grindstone. Before this, we didn’t have much to put on any kind of press or publicity page on our site, but now we have this bit of recognition to add to our testimonials and portfolio as a reason to trust us. Contributing to an event like this reflects well on your business.

I have a better understanding of what our clients are looking for.

Since this conference was geared toward an audience that we want to speak to, we could look at all of the panels, roundtables, and classes from the point of view of our potential clients, and learn more about what they’re interested in and concerned about. I took good notes on the panels and will be sharing those as blog posts, newsletters, and plans for our clients. It’s easy to think of everything from your own perspective, but extremely helpful to get into your clients or customers’ heads when making business plans.

I met colleagues.

It was so much fun talking with other web designers and people I’ve been planning and collaborating with. I also got to introduce myself to people I admire. Talking to the people I already know online helped me feel more connected with them and will likely make it easier to collaborate with them in the future. A cheery “hello” to people I don’t know makes it easier to approach them going forward. Don’t think of others in your business as competitors, but instead as colleagues who you can learn from and share connections with.

I made plans with clients.

A few of the business owners we’ve worked with over the years were at Alt, and we got to talk with them in person about how their sites are working now, how they want them to work, and what plans they have. It’s always more personable to chat with a client in the flesh than to send an email, but we don’t often get the chance to do that. Speaking personally to your clients or customers is a great opportunity to both review and plan.

I got to chat with potential clients.

I also talked to a few people who are planning to work with us in the future, and it was exciting to hear that we’re on at least one person’s 2012 goal list. Apparently, Shoshanna introduced herself in her watercolor class and found a fan! Again, back to that “nose to the grindstone” thing, I truthfully didn’t understand how far our reach is at the moment, and it feels very exciting to know we’re being noticed and to make plans for being seen even further. Having all your hard work validated can push you to do even better.

I was motivated.

This conference, in particular, was extremely motivating to me. In part because of the panels and keynotes, but it also felt great to be surrounded by creative people who were planning out their own lives and trying to make things that are the best and the most beautiful. If you’re like many creative people, you probably spend a lot of time surrounded by people grudgingly heading off to their 9 to 5 job, or family members who are worrying about your own financial security. It was inspiring and validating being around so many people who that was not the case for. The right people and atmosphere can energize you to dream big for your business!

I got out of the house!

Let me tell you, I spend a lot of time in my house. Which I love. Perhaps I love it a little too much. Knowing that there is a real world out there composed of all the people I’ve been emailing, chatting with on Twitter, and working on projects with is a breath of fresh air. Dabbling into that world for a moment makes all the tweets and blog comments and whatnot more real to me. Introverts! Fight your inclinations for a moment and stretch your wings a bit.

This all sounds pretty great, right? I would recommend finding places to meet with your community, or making places to meet. On the airplane back, I read an article in Uppercase magazine about various design camps that are worth looking into. There was talk at Alt about all kinds of group meetups, from people wanting Pinterest meetups to BurdaStyle’s global meetups, and other community projects. Of course keep an eye out for Jessika to bring the Oh My! community together. I hope to do more things like this in the future, so if you see me around, please do say hi!

3 words to nix from your vocabulary today

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

I don’t know.

Those three words, said in unison and uttered without thought, whispered, spoken, screamed or umphed will slowly, but surely, do no good. It really doesn’t matter if you work independently or dependently. I don’t know is at the top of the toxic-communication chart.

Think about it.

“Does this come in blue?” I don’t know.

“Can you fix this for me?” I don’t know.

“Will you deliver that product by next week?” I don’t know.

Fail. Fail. Fail.

When a question is asked an answer is needed and wanted and hoped for and expected. I don’t know dismisses all of that with the shrug of a shoulder and the bat of an eye.

In the rush of daily business and life it’s important to remember that answers don’t need to be delivered immediately. Really. It’s okay to replace I don’t know with I’ll find out or let me get back to you. At least then you will show that you’re actively trying to help someone by answering their question.

As if that’s not reward enough, you might actually be surprised by what you learn when you start hunting for an answer.