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.