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A note from the editor...
Hello FNO Artists and Craftspeople,
This month, James Dillehay explains an easy design for a marketing plan for your craft business.
The newsletter will now feature an artist of the month. Below, read about Stacy Rus of Precious Luxie jewelry.
Best,
Julie
FNO Marketing Chick
Festival Network Online
http://www.myspace.com/festivals
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« Newsletters Archive - To view previous newsletters, check out our archives!
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A Marketing Plan for Your Craft Business
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 by James Dillehay
Do
you have a marketing plan for your craft business? I am not speaking of
a business plan, which is a more formal lengthy manuscript used mostly
when attempting to raise money from lenders or investors. Instead
of a multi-page document, the marketing plan consists of seven
sentences which guide your progress in the coming months and years. The
seven sentence plan can be drafted on one or two pages.
1. What is your most desired result to be achieved from your marketing activities?
The first part of creating a marketing plan is envisioning what you
want the success of your craft business to look and feel like. Start by
writing down exactly what you want your craft business to accomplish
and by when. If you want $5,000 in sales each month within the next six
months, write that down. If you want to get 20 items listed on eBay in
the next sixty days, that’s a target. Go ahead and make that list
right now.
2. What benefits does your work provide?
The second step is to list the benefits of your art or craft. What do
people get by purchasing what you offer? Be careful not to focus on the
features of your products. Features differ from benefits. For
example, feautures of art and craftwork include dimensions, weight, colors or materials. Benefits to the
buyer include escalating value, gratification, confidence, pride, good
taste, and satisfaction from owning an original work by a reputable
artist. Get specific and write down what makes the benefits of
your items unique or different from other artists. What makes your
items stand out? What’s in it for the customer? The more benefits the
better.
3. Who is your audience?
If you think it’s everyone, guess again. Even if everyone is a potential customer, you can’t possibly reach them all. The purpose of step three is to zero in on your target audiences, thus allowing you to carefully plan how to promote to their specific needs. Experienced artists selling their work already know that women are responsible for most purchases of handmade items.
Creating marketing material that appeals to women then becomes a clear
necessity. Get as specific as you can about identifying who is
your most-likely-to-buy audience(s). Define them by age, sex, race,
income, hobbies, purchasing habits, and any other demographic fact that
helps you describe them completely.
4. What is your niche?
The most successful artists develop theme lines. World famous
photographer, Anne Geddes specializes in photos of babies and pregnant
mothers. Christian Riese Lassen is known for his pictures of dolphins
and sea creatures. Being a big fish in a small pond is more
profitable than getting lost in a large crowd. There are thousands of
jewelers, woodworkers, and stained glass artists. Become known for your
award-winning stained glass windows adorning historical homes or
churches.
5. What are your marketing tactics?
What tactics will you use to reach your audience? Will you sell at craft fairs, at home parties, through stores, on eBay, to mail order catalogs, through licensing your designs, or by getting media coverage? Using an assortment of marketing tactics in combination works better than a single approach. List all of
the tactics in a column on a sheet of paper. Prioritize your tactics by
profitability and ease. You now have a list of the most useful
marketing methods suitable for your crafts business.
6. What is your identity?
Take a look at how your business is defined. What is your identity? Please don’t confuse image with identity. People in business want to project a favorable image, but it’s crucial to present
a true identity, one that reflects values that inspire confidence like
the finest quality workmanship, honesty and reliability. People relate
to genuineness. Your company name reflects your identity. Many
artists wisely choose their given name as all or part of their business
name because they know people trust other people.
7. How much will you spend on marketing?
How many craft artists do you know have a marketing budget? Probably very few. We know from the Craft Organizations Directors Organization survey that the average gross annual sales of
craft artists is around $76,000 a year in sales. If your sales fit that
survey, what percentage of your sales will you put into your marketing?
If you know this number, you are already ahead of the competition,
because most artists and craftspersons don’t budget for marketing.
When you’ve created your 7-sentence marketing plan, schedule your
tactics on a calendar so you have a timetable by which to mark your
progress and create a sense of accountability.
Craft artisan, author, and business educator, James Dillehay specializes in helping craft persons improve their sales and marketing skills.
For more info vist craftmarketer.com
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Featured FNO Artist
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 Stacy Rus of Precious Luxie is FNO's Artist of the Month.
"Precious Luxie jewelry
was created in the spirit of all things vintage and with an affinity
for posterity. At its best, my work sparks a dear memory for my
customer -- a memory of an event, a specific moment or person, or even
a period of time. I want to maintain a sense and appreciation of the
past while staying current, fresh and awake.
When you purchase a piece of Precious Luxie jewelry, you
are obtaining a work of art complete with all my innovation,
inspiration and careful thought. I want you to bring your own history,
personality and story to the jewelry too! My work is not complete until
my customer uses it to accentuate and pop their own sense of style and
flair." - Stacy Rus
http://www.preciousluxie.com
http://www.myspace.com/preciousluxie
Email Julie Cochrane if you are interested in appearing here.
Put "FNO Artist Feature" in subject line.
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