Is advertising part of the marketing plan for your business? Advertising is used to persuade an audience (your potential or current customers/clients) to take action with respect to your product or service. And that action, if you mean a purchase, can take some time. I’ve read numerous studies that it can take anywhere from 13-17 times for someone to see your ad before they purchase. Much of the initial viewing of your ad puts your name in the mind of the buyer. They begin to recognize your name or brand. Once your name becomes familiar, the prospect moves along a continuum to become a customer and hopefully a long-term client. I think some form of advertising belongs in your marketing plan. When I think about advertising I often go back to the basic questions I learned in journalism school: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Here are my thoughts on how they relate to advertising:

If you spend time considering these questions, you’ll be well on your way to an effective advertising plan. Sometime in the next month I’ll look at ways to create an effective ad.

Please share your thoughts and experiences on advertising below.

Procrastination. We all know what it is: putting obstacles in our own way by handling those low-priority tasks instead of taking action on the high-priority tasks. The Latin roots of the word mean “in favor of” and “tomorrow.”

Dr. Piers Steel, a researcher on the science of motivation and procrastination and the author of The Procrastination Equation, says that procrastination is pervasive, with at least 95% of us procrastinating on a occasional basis. Count me in that group, as I found several ways to extend writing this article.

And we pay a price for procrastination. We miss out on opportunities, we cause ourselves unnecessary suffering, and procrastination also has an economic price. Steel says that procrastination falls into three different categories:

1. Expectancy, i.e., we expect to fail;
2. Value, i.e., we don’t value our work;
3. Time, i.e, we let momentary impulses rule us.

So how do we get beyond procrastination? Here are five tips:

1. Eliminating procrastination is tied to goals. Be sure you have set, clear goals and that you know why you want to accomplish them. You have to know why – your “Big Why.” What value do you attribute to completing these goals? It can also help you to break your big goal into smaller doable goals. And, if you need an extra push, consider finding an accountability partner to work as an external deadline for yourself. I’ve found this to be effective for completing the small doable tasks with my goals.

2. Learn how to prioritize. When you look at your list of activities for the day, which are most important? And, of the most important, are any urgent? One source to consider here is Stephen Covey’s matrix for prioritizing work. He classifies your tasks as urgent and non-urgent and then as important or not important. The problem with procrastination is that we neglect the important but not urgent until they become the fires we need to put out, i.e., important and urgent. We do this by focusing too much time in the not important quadrants.

3. Reward yourself. You can create a system whereby you earn points for each task that is accomplished as you set out, or you can pick a reward for completing the task. This should help focus you on the goal.

4. If low expectancy is one of your problems, try replacing your language. Expect that you will achieve your goals. That in turn will lead to self-confidence and optimism.

5. If impulsivity is your problem, try a technique Dr. Steel calls the “unschedule.”  He asks you to schedule play time into your calendar, being sure the amount of time is reasonable. He also suggests that “you should schedule an activity that represents the temptation you indulge in when you procrastinate.” For example, if you find that when you procrastinate, you surf the Internet, update your Facebook status or watch television, schedule time for that. Steel found that people that he worked with who “unscheduled” were better able to work on the task at hand.

6. Look for reminders that procrastination is a problem. I found the following quote from Victor Kiam – you may remember him as the man who “liked the shaver so much, he bought the company” – that I read periodically to remind myself that I might miss out on something good. Procrastination is opportunity’s assassin. 

Please share your ideas on dealing with procrastination below.

Defining your product is key to creating a good marketing plan. To define your product, you consider both its features and its benefits. One of the keys to marketing is to sell the benefits not the features. How do you know the difference?

Features characterize the product; benefits are why we buy the product. Features are easy to describe. Examples could include size, color, design, hours of business, fabric content, years of business experience.

Benefits are more difficult to define. They do, however, answer your customer’s question, “What’s in it for me?” When you buy products, you don’t buy because of a feature; you buy because of a benefit. Benefit is the value attributed to the feature of the product; in other words, it’s the result of the feature. Benefits are not as easy to describe and are often intangible. The most compelling benefits are those that deliver emotional or financial rewards. Emotional rewards let the buyer feel good. Examples could be shopping at an online retailer who donates a percentage of your purchase to a charity you choose or sending a quilt to someone to let you express love. Products that offer financial rewards usually save time or money, offer convenience or make you money.

How do you determine the benefits of your product or service? Start by knowing who your customers are and then look at your product from their point of view. Who are your customers? Are they baby boomers with expendable income? Are they Gen Xers? Are they teens and tweens? Are they working mothers with little free time? You might be trying to reach a variety of groups and need to consider benefits for each of them. Consider also who has purchased your product or service in the past. What does your customer profile tell you about your product? For example, do you sell your product to customers who might be retired and have extra time for long-range projects? Do you sell your product to working mothers who want something quick and easy? Do most of your store’s customers shop after 5 p.m. and on weekends? Ask your customers to help identify your product’s benefits. You could do this informally or with a survey. Your customers might even identify benefits you didn’t consider.

Developing your benefits statement is an ongoing process. As you continue to market your product, be aware of additional benefits. You might ask your customers for suggestions to your product or service. Pay attention to complaints or unsolicited comments about your product. Also, consider what your competition is doing. Additionally, consider how you’ll package your product. You might find a benefit there.

Once you’ve established your benefits statements, you will be able to describe your products in ways that are important to your customer. You will do this in all aspects of promotion, whether that is in creating your marketing collateral, advertising your product, writing articles or speaking one-on-one to customers about your product. You will also be able to differentiate your product from that of your competitors. You will be able to provide a benefit to your customers that your competition cannot. Now you’re on your way to a successful marketing strategy.

Please  share your thoughts on creating your product’s or service’s benefits below on our blog.

Testimonials are a terrific way to help market your quilt or creative arts business. It’s word-of-mouth advertising, only you get to decide who hears it and what is heard. While you may get unsolicited testimonials, it’s a good idea for you to actually ask for a response. In some cases you might want to offer a thank you gift for the comment. Here are some ideas to try:

1. For the fiber artist or longarm quilter who has finished a commission, include a self-addressed stamped reply postcard with the work. Ask for comments that will help you in the future. You might try: Was the communication between quilter and customer adequate? Was the project completed in an appropriate time frame? Encourage the buyer to send you a photo of the quilt in use and ask for any other comments. If you want to thank the person giving you the testimonial, perhaps a small discount on a future order is possible.

2. For the teacher, include an additional comments line on your evaluation form. You’ll not only get ideas to improve your classes, but you’ll also get wonderful and heartfelt comments to use as testimonials.

3. Any book author can tell you how valuable the testimonial blurbs are on the back cover of their book. You will need to ask someone if he or she would be willing to write a blurb and then provide a galley copy of your book for reading. A published book might be a nice thank you for the testimonial.

4. If you sell a product to the general public, you can include a comment card in your packaging. You can request that someone leave a comment on your website or return the comment card via regular mail. Another idea would be to encourage feedback from the user. All products include some written material. You can add a couple sentences about how excited you’ll be to hear back from the user about their experiences with the product. You’ll be surprised at the response you’ll get. I think this would be quite effective for pattern designers.

5. For shop owners it’s easy to get testimonials either with a return card with a purchase or a comment card box somewhere in the store.

After you start receiving these comments, don’t forget to pat yourself on the back. You are delivering a great product and building an ongoing relationship with your customers.

What do you do with the testimonials as you get them? Be sure to include them in all your advertising. Here are some specific ideas:

1. Create a page for testimonials on your website. We have one we call Success Stories. You could also intersperse them throughout your site.

2. Include testimonials in your catalog. For example, a pattern designer might include a testimonial about how easy to follow her instructions are.

3. Include testimonials in your tri-fold brochure if you are are teacher or do commission work. It lets potential customers know the value of your work.

4. Include testimonials in any of your print ads. Study ads in magazines to see how testimonials are used.

5. Include testimonials on your product packaging, if space permits. It might be limited to just a few lines, but it could make a difference in someone buying the product.

Lastly, remember you don’t have to use the whole testimonial. You can use an excerpt, just be sure to keep it in context.

How do you gather and use testimonials in your business? Please leave a reply and share your experiences.

During an open call I hosted yesterday on social media, someone asked me about LinkedIn and quilters. I said that quilters have been slower to use LinkedIn than other social media. It’s been primarily thought of as a more corporate platform where people can make connections for job searches.

I did a quick, albeit unscientific, survey – I asked on Facebook and Twitter – to see if quilters were using LinkedIn. The results confirmed my theory. I think it’s because most quilters’ customers are not on LinkedIn. If you think you’d like to learn more about LinkedIn, sign up and give it a try to see for yourself. Here are six ways that I and other professionals can use LinkedIn.

1. Find a job. Last week I discussed a possible opening we plan on in our business with a potential candidate. I probably would not have found this person outside of LinkedIn, or definitely not as easily.
2. Get an introduction to someone you think might further your career. For example, if you are a fiber artist and you see a friend of a friend is a gallery owner or art consultant, you could ask for a connection. Where that leads is up to you.
3. Learn industry news. For example, I learned that FiberArts will no longer be publishing after its June/July issue. Then I learned that Fiber Art Now is a new magazine serving the fiber arts and textile community to start publishing in October.
4. Connect, share and learn through the groups function. You are connecting with other professional fiber people who share their expertise willingly. You will make connections that you wouldn’t find other places. Discussions tend to be more business focused.
5. Invite your connections to events. If you become active on LinkedIn, your circle of connections will grow and you can invite them to events you host.
6. Post your blog for others to see who might not be in your circle otherwise. With a WordPress plug-in, your blog posts will automatically repost onto LinkedIn, letting a wider audience learn about you and your company.

As with any form of social media, you’ll get what you put into it. I think for many quilters, LinkedIn offers valuable discussion and connection. Please share how you use LinkedIn on our blog. If you want more help in the area of social media, please join me for our upcoming five-session Social Media Marketing seminar.

I’m often asked where someone should start to market a business with social media. It is really easy to get overwhelmed with all the choices out there: Facebook, blogs, Twitter, YouTube.  Before you decide which platform will work for you or which one to use first, you need to spend some time getting clear about your goals, your market and your message. Since I have a journalism background, I sometimes think of these steps as the who, what, where, when, why and how of a story.

1. Clarify the who

Who exactly is your customer? The clearer you are about your customer down to the minutest detail, the better. One suggestion here is to actually name your customer. For example, perhaps your target customer is Beth, a 35-year-old mom, college-educated, loves to quilt, has little spare time because she has two small children, makes mostly traditional quilts, lives in an urban area, reads Quilters Home, hangs out with other soccer moms. Once you are clear on your target market, it makes it easier to create your marketing message. You can picture your customer.

2. Clarify the what

What is your product, i.e., what are you selling? The key here is to think of what you are selling as a benefit. One example I always use when talking about benefits is the Michelin tire ad with the baby sitting inside the tire. Michelin is not selling tires, it is selling safety. Ask yourself what problem you are solving for your customer.

3. Clarify the where

Where are you going to find your customers? When you got really clear about your target market, the who, you also should have thought about where they hang out. This would be the time to think about who uses Twitter vs. Facebook vs. blogs vs. email newsletters (ezines). Generally Twitter is big in big cities and big with a younger demographic. Think the Gen X we’re trying to get into quilting. Facebook is popular with everyone, though the fastest growing demographic is baby boomer women, typically the average quilter according to the latest Quilting in America™ survey.

4. Clarify the when

When and how often are you going to reach out to your customer? You may want to send a monthly or weekly update. You may want to tie your contact into specific holidays or events. You may have weekly sales and that dictates how often you contact your customers. Start with a marketing calendar and figure out what you are promoting; that will help you figure out when to contact them. How often you contact your customers also depends on the medium you choose. You’ll use Twitter more often than you’ll send an ezine. I suggest setting a schedule that allows for a certain number of contacts per day, week and month. Something to remember, too, with connecting with your customers is to give them a call to action, something you want them to do as a result of your message.

5. Clarify the why

Here you should look at the why from two sides – yours and your customers. Why are you using social media and what are your goals? Look at the why of your customers. Why should they care about what you have to offer? What differentiates you from all the other offerings on the street? This is closely related to the what, in that you need to consider the customers’ viewpoint. When I teach business classes, I remind my students that we are all tuned to the same radio station – WIIFM. That stands for What’s In It For Me. Tell your customers why they should care.

6. Clarify the How

How are you going to reach your customer and how are you going to educate them about you and your company? You already know that your customers are lots of places, so go where they are and invite them to come play with you. For example, if you provide good content, people are more likely to value what you offer and come to know, like and trust you. Let people know how to find you. Use the social media icons on all your online correspondence with clickable links. For printed materials, include your social network information. Make it easy for people to connect with you. Another idea here is to offer something to people who join you on one of your networks. This could be a discount or even a free product.

If you answer these six questions, you’ll be well on your way to understanding how to use social media to build your business. If you want more help, please join me for our upcoming five-session Social Media Marketing seminar.

With more than 6 million members on Twitter, you’re sure to find more than one of your customers tweeting. While Facebook seems to be growing fastest among baby boomers, Twitter has captured Generation X. Since many of us find some customers in this group and we’re looking to add younger quilters to our industry, this micro-blogging tool is a great addition to your marketing tool box. Here are five tips for using Twitter in your business.

1. Share stories about your business, service or product. If you have announced a new book or pattern, share a link to the press release on your site. If you’re a shop owner and you added new classes, tweet that. If you’re a longarm quilter and added new photos of your customer’s quilts to your site, tweet that. Since Twitter limits you to 140 characters, shorten your web links with a service such as bit.ly.

2. Share stories that you find about our industry or the art world in general. It could even be something new and good about one of your customers, such as winning a prize at a quilt show or releasing a new book.

3. Retweet useful information from your followers or those you follow. I’ll often find something that one of the people I follow tweeted that is worth passing along. Be sure to credit the person you are retreating. On Sunday I retweeted an offer for free e-cards with a work of art from the Guggenheim collection.

4. Ask questions to engage your customers. It could be something like, who is your favorite designer? Or, do you wash your fabrics before cutting? The goal is to create a conversation.

5. Share something inspirational. This could be a favorite quote or a link to a YouTube video. Sharing something humorous is a good idea, too. This can sometimes make someone’s day.

6. Handle customer inquiries. This could be pre-emptive, as in tweeting if you find a problem in one of your patterns or books. Or if one of your customers found a great solution or work-around to something, tweet that. You may get direct messages on a problem. It’s fine to answer the specific person, just be sure you address it also through Twitter. Larger companies to check out who are cited as good examples on customer service on Twitter include Comcast and Zappos.

If you are interested in learning how to use Facebook to grow your business, join us in our upcoming Social Media Marketing course.

I’ve been sending out an online newsletter, or e-zine, for more than six years. It’s a terrific way to keep in touch with our IAPQ members as well as other professional quilt, fiber or mixed-media artists, and creative entrepreneurs who use our resources. Here are six tips to make your e-zine work for you.

1. Clarity. Be clear about your goals and your audience for your ezine. Why are you creating this e-zine and who are your writing it for? If you start with that in mind, you’ll find that it’s easier to write your articles and include relevant materials. You can even keep a specific person in mind (someone in your target market) and write directly to that person.

2. Content. People read your e-zine for the content you deliver. The more relevant it is to their lives and/or business, the more likely they are to continue to follow you. Readers resonate with how-to’s, lists, problem solving. It’s OK to promote yourself or your products, just don’t let that be the focus.

3. Consistency. Be sure your e-zine has a consistent look issue to issue. You also want it to go out the same day of each week. Your readers look forward to its arrival and notice if it doesn’t come as expected. This one currently goes out on Wednesdays. The best days for delivery are said to be mid-week. That may not be true of your audience. How do you find out? Survey them. And, how often should you send your e-zine? Weekly gets the best results, then bi-weekly.

4. Call to Action. Every e-zine should include a call to action (CTA). What do you went someone to do after reading your e-zine? It could be to apply a tip you give them or it could be to look at your art or it could be to take you up on your special offer on quilting.

5. Connection. We all like to connect with like-minded people. After all, we buy from people, not an invisible company. Start your e-zine with a brief story about yourself to connect to your readers. Don’t just connect on a personal level, connect also to the issues of your target market. And, speaking of connection, look for ways to make more connections. This could be by using a “forward to a friend” method or including a signup form on the home page of your website.

6. Compelling title. Your e-zine title should make the topic clear and compel the reader to open it. Spend some time looking at the titles of e-zines you get. Which ones were you curious to open and which ones did you ignore? Just as with the content, people like how-to’s, numbers, benefit statements.

Please share your thoughts on e-zine success on our blog. And, if you don’t have an e-zine yet, be sure to check out our upcoming Internet & Social Medial Marketing Teleseminar. We start with getting your e-zine in place. In case you missed it, that was my CTA.

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
Please do! Just be sure to include the blurb below.

Morna McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Professional Quilters, an association to help quilters, fiber artists and other creative arts entrepreneurs build business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://www.professionalquilter.com.

As always, Quilt Market is inspiring. Fabric companies have new lines to show, pattern designers have their latest releases, and new products are introduced to the quilt industry. Here’s some of what I saw.

1. Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star. Following up on her success with the Rapid Fire Hunter’s Star, Deb Tucker has introduced a ruler for this block.

2. Big Beautiful Bugs! Andover Fabrics introduced this latest line from Lonni Rossi that features moths dragonflies and bumblebees, bugs with wings. The bugs, all drawn with dots, are available in 3 colorways: spa colors; red, gold and black; and green and brown.

3. Shabby Chic Hits Quilt Industry. Rachel Ashwell of Shabby Chic fame has released a line of cotton quilt fabrics. The 46-SKU line is her first for quilt shops and will be followed by a home dec line. Rachel told me that she was humbled by the tradition of community of quilters.

4. Quilt Designed Hot/Cold Bags. Kona Bay Fabrics introduced a line of hot/cold  bags in 11 designs. Available in two series, the Great Northwest and Elegant Beauty, the bags retail for $8. These would be perfect for shop hops that want to include a meal.

5. Bag, bags, more bags. We continue to see lots of bag patterns. Sometimes I wonder why, and then I remember a bag always fits! I also saw lots of patterns for aprons and little girls’ clothes.

6. Water-soluble, iron-on, pre-printed guides for crazy quilt stitches. These came in kits with wool pieces, threads and the guides. I saw people on the plane using the product and the results were lovely. They were from Sew Cherished.

7. Lots of bright, clear colors. I really like the clean look of today’s fabrics,  and I found lots to like in many booths. I particularly liked the display in Michael  Miller’s booth with the story boards of the colors that went with the new lines.

8. On the gift side, I liked the lotion bar from LaviShea. The bars melt with your  body heat and absorb quickly and completely without leaving a greasy residue, perfect for quilters and fabric.

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include the blurb below.

Morna McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Professional Quilters, an association to help quilters, fiber artists and other creative arts entrepreneurs build business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://www.professionalquilter.com.

Lots of our IAPQ members have published books, whether that’s through a traditional book publisher or self-published. Today we can go even further and skip the printed page and publish solely in an e-book format. Regardless of the format you use, marketing is key. Yes, if you use a traditional book publisher, they do much of the marketing. To ensure the highest level of success for your book, you need to do marketing on your own. Here are tips to market your book.

1. Call your local quilt and book shops and ask if they’ll host a book signing for you. Look for unusual places to do signings. For example, maybe your quilt book features quilts with dessert names. Try a signing at a local bakery. I remember talking with a novelist who was doing signings at the airport. Talk about a captive audience. Don’t forget to promote the signing with news releases.

2. Sponsor a contest. If your book is about adding embellishments to quilts, have entrants post photos of their work on your website and award a prize. You could even have viewers vote to get more people involved.

3. Set up a blog hop to promote your book. I mentioned the blog hop recently in conjunction with a post on blogging. You approach several other bloggers and ask them to review your book or interview you about your book on their blogs, introducing you to a wider audience.

4. Print bookmarks that include the cover image, details about the book and a link to your website. Leave these on tables at shows, and ask your local shop owner if she’ll put them out with other literature. Be sure to include a link to your site on the bookmark in case someone wants more information.

5. Look for opportunities where you can be interviewed about your book. I can think of three right off the top of my head: Art & Soul Radio, American Patchwork & Quilting Radio Show (previously Pat Sloan’s Creative Talk Network), and Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski.

6. Get others to sell your book for you. Many other teachers or lecturers offer books to their students. If your book compliments their topic, ask if they would consider carrying your book. Several years ago I sold books in the IAPQ booth for one of our members who gave a “Meet the Teacher” talk in Houston. She didn’t have a booth and wanted to offer her students a place to purchase the book. As soon as her talk ended, I was inundated with buyers. This was definitely win-win for both of us.

7. Create a Fan Page on Facebook just for your book. This lets you promote the book and encourage conversation among the book’s fans. Encourage sharing of photos of quilts made from the book. Share your tips for success with the projects.

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include the blurb below.

Morna McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Professional Quilters, an association to help quilters, fiber artists and other creative arts entrepreneurs build business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://www.professionalquilter.com.