I like answering questions from my blog readers. Here’s one about handcrafted jewelry home parties: Q: When I host my own home jewelry shows, I am fairly successful at getting people from my own mailing list to show up (at the last one, 25 out of the 150 customers I invited came to the home […]
1. Stand at your booth. Charlene Anderson, of Anderson-Shea, Inc. reminds everyone to avoid sitting at your booth. Or, if you are sitting to rest, stand up when people approach the booth. It is important to be “eye-to-eye” when you are selling. You’re also likely to sell more energetically when standing than when sitting. 2. […]
I originally sent this as a letter to my mailing list. The response was overwhelming (I had a huge number of replies) so I thought I’d post it here. I’ve been involved in the marketing field for almost 30 years, and in that time I’ve seen amazing things I call “psychic” marketing. Things that defy […]
Artisan jewelry makers sell a premium product at (what I hope) is a premium price. And if you’re selling online, or delivering an order by mail that you took at a show, one option is to offer free shipping to your customers. BlueNile.com offers free shipping, and I think it’s an excellent “bonus” for handcrafted […]
What can the manager of a gift shop for the blind teach you about handling difficult handcrafted jewelry customers? He taught me a lot! A few years ago, I was a volunteer for a center for the blind that had a gift and supply store in the lobby. While waiting to go to my volunteer […]
Q: I have a certain style of jewelry that I love to make. It’s a more delicate and sparkly design than I see at department store jewelry counters, where “big and clunky” seem to be the trend. My husband says I have to change my style to fit what is selling right now. I wouldn’t […]
While visiting a local children’s toy store picking out something for my niece for her birthday, I noticed (and perhaps I am the last one to notice) that the toys for younger children were on lower shelves than the ones for older kids. Why? Because toy retailers know that the way to entice their young […]
For artisan jewelry makers, selling can be like “A Tale of Two Cities” — the best of times, and the worst of times. Here’s an example: A student (we’ll call her “Susan” — not her real name) at one of my marketing seminars made free-form “caged” pendants in sterling silver wire, wrapped around beautiful polished […]
This past Friday, I did my seminar, The 5 Keys to Selling Handcrafted Jewelry at Bead Fest. We ALWAYS have some great discussions at these live seminars. And one of the liveliest discussions was about the use of formulas to price your jewelry. Most people who know me know that I am against formulas. I’m […]
One of the most interesting aspects of marketing to me — and I’ve been in the field for more than 25 years — is what I call the “psychic” side of marketing. It’s when you start marketing something, and you start getting orders, but not from the target group of your marketing efforts. An example: […]