Entries categorized as ‘business’
Or, “My solution to the promotion dilemma.”
I finally came up the perfect (handmade) promotional item! It incorporates my designs, it’s functional, cute, and inexpensive. Ta-da!
I scanned some of my stitched notecards and printed parts of the designs on cardstock, which I then used as the covers for these little single-signature booklets (Littleput Books has a great tutorial on making these), perfect for jotting down a phone number, a short shopping list, a quick note-to-self. They’re about the size of a business card, and I printed my URL on the back. I plan to give these out like I would a business card at craft shows, and include them (with business cards, too) when I ship orders. And I’m putting them in these adorable little envelopes (which I purchased from Schoollocker on Etsy–she has TONS of great supplies for all kinds of projects). I decorated the envelopes with a fern stamp.
So, whatcha think? I’d love to hear what you use for promotional giveaways, too.
Categories: business · design · marketing
Tagged: book, freebie, giveaway, handmade, marketing, mini, promo, promotions
So I’m sitting here at the day job, eating my lunch of fresh strawberries / kiwi / pineapple, carrot sticks, and honey mustard pretzels (random, I know–guess who needs to go grocery shopping–but all YUM), brainstorming about display ideas and promotions for my craft show this weekend. Just another Thursday at the office, right? Then it pops into my head that today is the day Etsy’s Venus cooperative ads go on sale, so I quickly click over to the Storque to find out what time (missed out: they all sold in about half a nanosecond). And what article appears at the top of the page? So glad you asked! Just a little promo-focused piece called “Don’t Order Another 1,000 Business Cards.” Yep, me n’ the Storque, we’re on the same wavelength.
Point is, I’ve been trying to decide if I should invest in some real nice business cards or postcards (thus far I’ve been printing my own on colored cardstock with a laser printer, but I no longer have access to that printer). Obviously, to promote a business, you need some sort of something with your info on it, and biz cards seem like a very cost-effective option. But the article makes a good point: business cards quickly turn into clutter and get thrown away. I come home from every craft fair with dozens of cards, and where are most of them now? In a pile somewhere, or lurking in the corners of various purses, or in the glove compartment of my car. Definitely not anywhere where they’re serving their intended purpose. So right on, daniellexo!
The article goes on to give a couple of good ideas for alternative promos: chapstick, stickers, magnets, keychains, etc. Which are all great. I’ve thought of some of the same ideas in my recent brainstorming. But at a certain point, you face the dilemma of whether such items are a cost-effective way to promote yourself (and I personally sometimes feel a bit skeezy using mass-produced promotional items, even though that is often the most cost-effective option, especially for biz cards). On the other hand, I guess promotional items are sorta like advertising expenses: you should expect a 3x return on investment. So even if those keychains cost close to $1 apiece, if one hangs from a customer’s keys, prompting their friends to ask about it and generating sales for you, then that’s worth it. Plus, not only does it put your logo or website in their mind daily, but it adds to your brand image as cool, fun, innovative, etc. All good things.
Guess that was a pretty verbose way to say that I’m convinced. Already was, actually. Last weekend I came up with a promo item I can make myself, one that represents my style and serves a practical purpose. I’ll be working on them this weekend, so check back for photos. And I’d love to hear other thoughts on this: What promotional items do you use (other than business cards)? What’s the most creative promo you’ve seen/received?
Categories: business · etsy · marketing
Tagged: argylewhale, article, brainstorm, business, cards, etsy, freebies, handmade, idea, promotions, storque
Easter, when I was home alone waiting for my husband to get home from an 11-hour shift at the airport, seemed like the perfect time to attempt making salsa. It turned out delish, but more like pico de gallo than traditional salsa…pretty chunky. Pretty time-intensive, seeding and dicing six tomatoes, though. I think next time I’ll try the food processor. I used this recipe from the Food network, with a few small tweaks: I added red and green bell pepper, and reduced the amount of jalapenos to one, ’cause I’m not big on the spiciness. And I think I used a lot more cilantro than the recipe calls for…’cause I am big on fresh cilantro! Heehee. Oh, and it gets much better the next day, or after a couple hours to let flavor infusion happen.
In other news, I was in an Etsy Forums thread about off-Etsy marketing today, and Ryan from Littleputbooks posted a link to one of her blog posts about paid advertising. Increasing my advertising is one of my goals for my business this year, so half of my reason for linking to Ryan’s tips here is as a note to self. But maybe you’ll find some good tips on it too. I would love to hear about the personal experiences of anyone who has used any of these avenues–Google Adwords, banner ads, print ads–or any other paid advertising. Has it been effective/worthwhile for you? Which one(s) would you recommend to someone with a limited budget? Which do you feel offers the best return on investment?
Categories: blogs + the internets · business · food + drink
Tagged: marketing, photo, easter, food, recipe, salsa, littleput, etsy forums, advertising, what do you think, tomato
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Now I have to start collecting and paying sales tax. That’ll be fun. 
Categories: business · shameless self-promotion · yay
Tagged: avenue b, avenue h, business, certified, legal, official, taxes, yay
