Marketing Craft: Blind Leading The Blind, Learning One Step At A Time

My crafter daughter-in-law, Jennifer announced yesterday that she'd made a sale on her Etsy shop. Sales have been slow and she was bemoaning that fact, so I asked her how she made this particular sale. Turns out the buyer really liked Jennifer, that she had made a connection. Despite many other shops also selling quality items, it was the relationship that made the difference.

It was a nice little example of something I read recently on the CraftyCoach blog (highly recommended). He's essentially saying that artists who successfully sell their items do so by building relationships and community with those who enjoy their work. You don't just create something, stick a sign up, and sell it. You have to work very hard at telling the stories and engaging in great conversations to see it all come together. In other words, you have to market yourself. And that's where Jennifer, like so many others, is stuck. Where does she find the time?

With two small children at home, a part time job, and a husband (my son) away for months on a training mission with Uncle Sam, it's hard to find time to create, update her site, and engage in conversations and community building. But that's what we're working on now because that part of her business is essential. Not only in making sales, but in enjoying the whole thing. If it's just about making something and selling it then she might as well be a small assembly line. It's those relationships and conversations online and at craft fairs that make it all worthwhile. The people you meet, ideas you share, memories you create.

I spent 32 years in broadcasting and the past few in marketing a non-profit, so I have a good background in marketing and how it works. But with all of today's awesome communications tools so easy to use, the old rules of marketing don't necessarily apply. But one that does is this whole relationship, community building idea. It still works. You just have to figure out how to do it all. With all the feedback coming in via Twitter and elsewhere, I'm sure we'll figure it out.

Foggy Arches

When I walked across the courtyard at Pacific Science Center early this morning, this is what I saw. VERY foggy. So foggy, in fact I could barely make out the Space Needle which is right there in the middle of the shot. You can almost see the base of The Needle, but not the top.

This was shot with my first generation iPhone then I applied the Helga filter in CameraBag.

Kinda spooky out there.

Chilly November Seattle Sunrise

Early this morning while slaving over my desk at work I noticed the sunrise looked interesting. So, grabbed my cup of coffee and iPhone and strolled out the front gate at Pacific Science Center. It was a glorious sunrise!

After I snapped this I ran it through the CameraBag application on the iPhone. This one to the right here is the IR (infrared) filter which gave a neat effect. Even though the sky was very colorful, seeing like this looks great.


The more colorful, traditional version is to the left here. Both are kinda cool, but the IR version gives it a more fall-like feel. It was a chilly morning and the 'red sky in morning' had me thinking we would get some precip before long.

Old News New Again

My cousin, Laurie is doing some research on part of our family. She's uncovered a ton of information that I knew nothing about. It's all good stuff. Yesterday she sent along this scan of an old newspaper and reading it brought amazement.

The scan is of the Sheboygan Press Society Page from Oct. 10, 1929. If you're old enough, you might remember the society pages from the newspaper. For the big cities it was a rundown of what all the big shots in town were doing, the places where you just HAD to be seen, and so on. For small towns it was sort of like a collection of gossip and chit chat about what folks in town have been up to. What struck me is how, in some ways, it's kind of like Facebook or Twitter or a combination of some of today's social networking tools. Except instead of some reporter doing the writing, we're doing it ourselves. From the mundane to the exceptional. It's all there.

Then I spotted the article that's highlighted. It's a write-up of a social gathering at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Heiden. There was a baseball game, some card playing, and a bratwurst roast to celebrate the couple's 51st anniversary. Then there was a list of all who attended. It includes my grandparents and their sons, and their one daughter. My mom, Dorothy. She had turned six just a month before. Amazing! It's like looking back in time.

My mom is still with us and doing well, all things considered. Haven't had the chance to ask her about this yet. Hopefully she remembers and can fill us in on all the gossip from the big event. At least tell me who all those people were since many were relatives.

I love this stuff. Time travel stories have always been my favorite so things like this are like little trips back along the stream. Can you imagine what my grandkids and their kids will be able to find in the years to come? Boggles the mind.

Deer Getting Frisky

Just as the sun came up on a very wet and dark November morning, three deer strolled into our yard. Two bucks and a doe. After the two bucks performed their ritual, the remaining buck and doe started their own.

She would lead him around in circles, then he would play hard to get, then she would.

All very human-like, actually.

By the way, the buck's antlers are reddish because he, and others have been rubbing them on some small alders down in the southeast corner of our property. Wish I understood the reason for much of what they do. It's all rather fascinating.