Do you have a blog?

I have been blogging consistently since early 2007. First my blog posts were monthly with an occasional extra post. Within 18 months I went to twice a month. Another 18 months later, I went to weekly posts. Occasionally I posted twice a week.

This summer I announced a two-month break when I decided to post every other week.  With this short break the exception, I have not missed a week in a decade. That is a lot of writing!

Why blog?

Not everyone enjoys writing. Not everyone is good at writing. You can get past that, trust me.

Here are six reasons that you might want to give blogging a try.

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Do you have some business or personal dreams that you are putting off because you think you need to know more before you move forward?

Maybe you think you need another art course, or maybe you need that extra marketing course. Or, your website could be better. Or, your design skills need to be better to enter that show. Or, you do not know as much as, or are as skilled as, someone else. Or, …

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Is growing your email list on your list for the New Year?

“What email list?” you ask. “I’ve got loads of followers on Facebook and Instagram. Who needs a list?”

You do!

Without a list, your business will not produce profits on a consistent enough basis to sustain and grow your business. You might really just have a hobby and enjoy social media connecting. And that’s fine if that’s what you want.

If what you want instead is to build equity in your business, you need to look at building your list. Building a list is a way for people to get to know, like and trust you enough to spend money with you.

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This is the unofficial first week of the summer. For many people, this is the time to kick back and take it easy. You know the lazy, crazy days of summer! And, sure people do take vacations, but not all of them are gone every day all summer. So, you shouldn’t be either.

If you are trying to grow your business, taking it easy really isn’t an option. And, if you take advantage of the time many people do take it easy, your business will be ahead of the game.

Here are some ideas to kick-up your revenues this summer.

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If you are in business, your goal should be to make money. Sure you have other goals that revolve around making a difference or sharing your art or building a legacy. I know that I do. Problem is that you can’t make as much of a difference if you aren’t making a profit in your business.

Making a profit is tied to increasing your revenue or decreasing your expenses or both. In truth you can only increase your revenue in three ways.

First, you can raise your prices.

Second, you can sell more to your current customers.

Third, you can find new customers.

This post focuses on six ways that you can increase your revenue. Some you may already be doing. Some you may have thought of and not tried yet. Some may be new to you.

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I live in an area (Washington, DC) where the first question you often hear is, “What do you do?” While it may not always be the first question, at some point it usually comes up. And, I’m sure that’s not unusual in other parts of the country. People are just trying to get to know people they don’t already know.

Do you have an elevator speech? You know, that 30 to 60 seconds or so that explains what you do and will engage the person you are talking with into asking more questions. It’s supposed to be succinct so that you that you could really deliver it in a quick elevator trip.

The problem is that most elevator speeches are boring or long-winded or both. Haven’t you tuned out when someone launched into his or her corporate titles? I remember when I moved some years back, and my new neighbor said, “Hi, I’m Chuck. I’m an attorney.” Yikes! A real conversation starter.

Most of you are creatives and the idea of a set elevator speech is cringe-worthy. After all, elevator speeches can sound so canned and “markety.” Thing is that you have a business and you cannot grow that business if you don’t market.

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Yesterday I went to the post office to pick up some Priority Mail envelopes and drop off a certified letter. In Laytonsville, population 353 at the last census, the post office is the center of the town activities and full of activity. I always see someone I know. Yesterday it was my dentist. I can meet new people, as I did yesterday when I learned about a local dog trainer. And I can find resources on the bulletin board. I left with two cards and a name of a third repair person I could call about some equipment that needs work.

I remember when I lived other places that there was always a place where locals congregated and you could learn all the news. When I lived in Connecticut, it was Luke’s Donut Shop. At our home in Saint Michaels, my husband would tell you it’s the local YMCA.

What is a “third place”? It’s that place where people gather other than work or home and feel a place of community. I’m sure you can think of places you know of, whether that’s the fictional Cheers of TV fame or the local coffee shop.

According to Ray Oldenburg, an urban sociologist who wrote The Great Good Place and Celebrating the Third Place, all third places have the following eight characteristics: neutral ground, a leveler, conversation is the main activity here, assessable and accommodating, has a the regulars, maintains a low profile, has a playful mood, and home away for home. The idea is that people are free to speak their thoughts and opinions freely.

It is easy to see the coffee shop or the local book store as the “third place.” I think it’s also easy to think about the local quilt or creative arts shop as the “third place,” even though it doesn’t technically meet all the eight characteristics. I think it’s about a sense of belonging, and I think that all creative arts and quilt shops foster that. Think about your experience at the local quilt shop and what made you feel like you were part of a community.

If you own or manage a creative retail shop, what are you doing to create that third place community feeling? Here are some of the ideas from shops I know or frequent.

• Be welcoming. When customers come into your shop, greet them. Ask them what project they are working on. Nothing makes you want to come back like feeling welcome on the first visit.

• Have a space set up where customers can congregate to look at quilting or art books and/or share their projects. I used to love to go to Borders Bookstore when it existed because I could find a chair to sit and look at a book.

• Create special events. Look at other businesses outside the industry to see how they create events that draw customers in and make them feel welcome. We are all looking for an experience, a shared experience, so look for ways to create experiences. Disney is a great example here. Another example: in September I went with my neighborhood book club to an annual book club party hosted by author Lisa Scottoline at her home in Pennsylvania.

• Look for ways to create shared connections. A monthly stash buster club or fabric club is an idea here.

• Consider a monthly show and tell for your customers. This encourages them to engage with others.

• Set up a gallery in your shop and showcase different artists. Have an opening reception with a talk from the artists.

• Serve food. I don’t know a quilter who doesn’t like a beverage and a cookie. In the winter have some hot cider and gingersnaps. In the summer, lemonade and sugar cookies. Some of you may remember a shop called Patchwork and Pies in New York that was owned by Clara Travis. I loved the image of stopping in the quilt shop and picking up a slice of pie.

• Run a book club that focuses on a particular artist’s work or designs.

• Host a monthly “sit and stitch.”

• Think about ways that you can offer your space to other uses in your community, e.g., let the local knitting club meet there, or depending on the size of your town, even an association that needs space for a small meeting. It’s about encouraging community.

I’m sure you can come up with other ideas. Remember that in creating the experiences that lead to your third place, you don’t have to do them for free. I think you can create a sense of community with a bit of exclusivity with a small fee. And, remember that you are never done. Creating your third place is ongoing.

If you are a shop owner, what you are doing to create a “third place”? And, as shoppers, what makes you designate someplace your third place?

To write or not to write.

One of the challenges my clients often have is blog writing, probably more specifically what to write about. I think it’s because more often than not, they feel more comfortable with the visual art than the written art. In fact, many of them do not want to blog at all. Today, though, blogging is important if we are to connect with our customers.

When faced with the blank blog page, many people don’t know where to start. I like to carry a small notebook or 3 x 5 card with me in case my muse strikes. How many times have you been out and about and something struck you, you thought you’d remember and, of course, you didn’t?

At home, I keep a 3 x 5 card on my desk for the same purpose. You might use Evernote or even a napkin at a restaurant, just something to catch that fleeting thought.

What exactly do I put on the note card? Here are some ideas that I use to get started:

Often it’s just a key phrase to remind myself of a topic. I might also overhear someone say something that strikes me. I might pick up a magazine at home or more often when I’m in a waiting room and some phrase strikes me. It might even be an article on a specific topic and that sets me in a direction. I’ve found ideas when I’ve been reading a novel. I’ve found ideas when I was caught up in Pinterest. I even got an idea during our ICAP Business Call this yesterday. Problem is, if I don’t take time to capture this idea, it’s gone, and I’m back at the beginning wondering what I’m going to write about.

Someone once asked me if was plagiarizing if I was using something I read somewhere else. I’m not stealing someone’s idea; I’m using it as a jumping off point for what I’m doing. I’m writing in my own voice and fitting the message to fit my brand.

The goal is to be inspired and inspiration is everywhere. If I’ve got this running of ideas and phrases, I’m never at a loss for inspiration.

Where do you get your blog inspiration?

photo credit: Blogger, after Vilhelm Hammershøi via photopin (license)

See the ICAP blog at http://www.creativeartsprofessionals.com/weblog/

The Icarus Deception
Seth Godin
Portfolio Hardcover; $24.95

I recently listened to this book and found it full of some good reminders. You may remember the story of Icarus. Icarus and his father Daedalus, who made wings from feathers and wax, attempted to escape from Crete. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too high where the sun’s heat would melt the wings or too low where the sea’s dampness would clog them. Ignoring the warning, Icarus flew too close to the sun, and the melting wax caused him to fall into the sea where he drowned. Godin takes the story and asks us to move out of our safety zone, he asks us to fly closer to the sun. He talks about the fact we are living in the connection age, rather than the industrial age. Creating connections is what creating art is about. And art is not just the traditional definition we might have. Art is what we do with passion, what anyone does with passion. A corporate business person who has passion in what he creates is an artist. A bus driver who connects with his passengers is an artist.  Godin encourages you to take a risk, to share your art, to connect. While parts of the book seemed repetitive and preachy to me and it did not always seem always seem cohesive, I thought it had some valuable nuggets.

What is your passion? I would love to hear about it below.

You can look for the book at your favorite quilt shop or book retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon  if you would like to learn more about the book.<br/.>

What is marketing? For years the American Marketing Association defined marketing as “the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, proton and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.” Whew! Last July the AMA approved a change in its definition to “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.” Still a lot in that definition, though the rewrite seems to have left out the value for the organization.

For me, I have been defining marketing as “inviting people into your world where you can share your gifts to help them solve their problems.” If you do a good job, you are rewarded for it, both monetarily and in other ways. It is about creating a relationship with others to serve them. I was reminded of the value of relationship marketing this week.

At my home, we contracted with a company to do some work on our deck, replacing bad boards and re-staining the surface. We have had numerous problems with the company, whom I will call Company A. Company A actually subcontracted the job to Company B. Company B did the board replacement and subcontracted with Company C to do the actual staining. We did not realize we were contracting with so many companies.

Yesterday I had a conversation with R, the man who owns Company C. He came to the United States from Jamaica and was sharing his philosophy of marketing. (He told me he had been an entrepreneur for 14 years now.) What was most important for him was building a relationship with the customer. It was not about the money; it was about the relationship. He said that if he put the relationship first and went beyond doing his work, the rewards would follow. Watching his work and listening to his stories, I can see why he experiences the results he does.

I also read an interesting article in the New York Times over the weekend by Arthur C. Brooks titled “Love People, Not Pleasure.” It was about unhappiness and filling our empty spaces by loving things and using people. Adversely, the formula to happiness is to love people and use things.

That ties right into my, and Company C’s R, theory about marketing. It is about loving and serving people.

How do you define marketing? Leave a reply below.