Well, we had to visit this topic at some point. Listen, you aren’t going to be striking it rich for a little while. But you have to take a tiny (actually huge) leap of faith in yourself, in what you believe in, and in what you can bring to this world. You’ll have to find creative ways to pay the bills, and when you’re extra broke, you’ll know you really have to bust ass to make something happen. Or, you might have to bartend on the weekends. Listen, you’ll get flirted with constantly so it’s not gonna be that bad.
You and I both know that experiences make us rich, not money. But, some money would help, right? So, how do we “make it happen”? In my experience, my goal was to get my greeting cards into the hands of every single person that might possibly be remotely interested in sending them to another possibly interested person. What this meant for step one was research. A whole lot of research.
Going back to being that confident, self-assured self you’ve grown familiar with, you’ll have to be willing to do what it takes to put it out into the world. You won’t have to break out a megaphone and stand on the street corners, but you also shouldn’t consider yourself “above” any method of spreading the word on your new religion: your glorious business. Some of the first things I did as a business owner, that I still do today, is reach out to stores that could carry my product and be an ally in showing my creation to the world. This relationship proved invaluable, and the only way to get that relationship was to let them know what my goals were, how we could benefit one another, and how much I believed in my product. And it always came directly from me, the owner, and not some kind of automated system or intern. Getting to a place where you believe just so much in your product that it’s a breeze to discuss it at every angle, and those listening can’t help but be interested, is absolutely where you want to be. Your passion just exudes out when you’re talking about it, and it’s infectious.
You can’t rely on Aunt Susie to get you enough sales to sustain yourself. Friends and family are great, but they just aren’t enough. If you think about all of your friends in direct sales, everyone has a dream of selling to their expanded network, but that is not the reality. We are bombarded with these Facebook groups and all know six friends selling the same crap we don’t have the time to look at yet again. This type of marketing is only beneficial to the original company. There are certainly a few who have success doing these, but they are few and far between and likely only getting a couple of free bracelets. And they might be making a little extra cash, but it’s likely not a full time gig that is paying the bills. You aren’t here for “a little extra cash” and we gotta keep that income nice and high!
Your new job is finding ways to get into the doors that will lead you to success and sales, while also considering what others just like you are bombarding those doors with already. You have to find a new way of doing everything, including this. You have to show people that you are not like anyone else. That you have something they want, and their lives will be sweeter if they let you in. I could write an exhaustive list of different ideas for you, and I’ll give you a few inspirational examples, but these are specific to who you are and what your goals are.
I found retail customers through craft shows, displays, free swag, talking to anyone and everyone about my products. These were small orders, but they were all meaningful. A lot of these same customers would end up sticking by me through all of the evolutions in my business, and they were proud to do so. They became sort of ambassadors, telling their friends about the funny cards they’d found, telling their local shops to carry my product. And in a lot of cases at the beginning, had been able to talk to me in person, hearing my truth, adding vulnerability and general awesomeness to the story they were telling about me. These kind of events are also a little too good for your self esteem. People will go from complimenting how beautiful or useful your products are, to wanting to be your new best friend and asking for your phone number.
When I landed my first wholesale client, I was sweating the entire time in the office of a multi-store owner of a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I had a handful of products, no line sheets at all, and had no freaking idea what I was doing. I just told him the truth. He was my breed, an art lover, someone who cared about their community and what artists bring to our communities, someone that wanted to keep the indie movement alive through small stores. Our goals aligned. Thankfully, he saw something in me and my products that sparked something, and he decided to believe in me. This was ten years ago, and I still thank him when our paths cross. Because that first relationship also gave me credibility with future partners that wanted to work with me. His purchase of my products also gave me a hell of a lot of confidence in myself and what I was doing, that I so desperately needed at that time. Shoutout to Rick at Patina Stores.
Once you have your base of fans, followers, and allies, you need to maintain your relationship. New products, new promotions, and new ways to sell your product or service. New ways of merchandising. Regularly evolve to keep things fresh and prove to your people that you’re still passionate and dedicated to your cause, and you aren’t just a one-hit wonder that’ll fizzle out in a year. These are lifelong partnerships, people. Do not ruin them. When you’re talking to these business-owners, consider some real conversation with them. Learn about them, befriend them. Chances are, they can be a creative connection that you can capitalize on later if you’re finding yourself uninspired. They’ll also appreciate how much you really care, and that it isn’t entirely about your business relationship all the time. Letting them into your personal life lets them know that even though you have an email relationship, you are still a human being. No orders were too small, because guess how much four hundred stores buying $100 worth of cards adds up to? And then, they sell out in 2 days and the next is three times as many on the order.
Continuing to research your chosen market is hugely important. Since I was always looking for more stores to carry my products, I tried to find out when new stores opened, what current stores carried and what kind of vibe the store had, and research neighborhoods of cities to see where my product fit the best. It does me no good to sell product to a store that might not sell them. If you don’t have time to do this research, you can ask dough-challenged friends to help you. They love you already, so they’ll do a good job finding stores for you. They call this a “virtual assistant” but I call it “easy money for my friends with exponentially big potential payoffs for me”.
I also never wanted to cut ties with any store owner that closed their shop; they are bound to try to open another, or suggest other places to carry the products. Even if they go under, they don’t want you to go under as well. They are believers in the indie shop movement — and you need to be, too.
Other ways I research stores is to offer my current retail customers incentives to tell me what stores they thought I’d fit into. This ended up being a really successful thing to do, because everyone benefited. My customers got some free stuff, I got an order at a new store, and the store was excited to bring in my products. It also helps me to not have to fly to every city on the earth to find stores to carry my cards. It’s kinda like an old school “street team” if you will.
I also made a promo kit. In it, I included:
a cover letter explaining what my goals were for my business (pretty obvious, get my cards into happy recipients’ mailboxes, keep snail mail alive, etc.)
a card that explained who I am; my background, my hobbies, and other more personal notes, including a fun photo of me in action (at my worktable, not skiing. I don’t know how to ski.)
a list of my policies for clients (nothing too crazy, don’t put a whole ton of legalese in these or you’ll scare someone away.)
a business card (duh)
a coupon (also duh)
a card with a few quotes on it that I’d collected from other store owners that really capitalized on what I wanted in a partnership — especially one from a tiny shop to let them know that I catered to small boutiques.
sample greeting cards so they could see the quality (this might be harder if you have a more expensive product, but some high quality images would probably suffice.) If you’re selling a service, create something that the client could keep that would remind them of you, except not another ugly custom pen.
I read once that on average, a business contact might not write you back until you’ve contacted them six times or more. Six mother-freaking times! I couldn’t believe it nor did I want to harass anyone that many times. So I tried to find more inventive ways to reach out to them, offering them something different each time. If I reached out to 100 businesses to carry my product, I considered it a success if 5 of those businesses chose to do so. Because really, little effort in the long run went into reaching out to them, and those 5 businesses would hopefully continue to place orders until… well, the end of time. Or until I win the lottery. And the rest that didn’t, perhaps didn’t even open the email, or saw that my cards wouldn’t fit into their plant store and I hadn’t realized it was actually just a plant store that doesn’t even sell cards. Either way, no harm, no foul.
Finding new ways to market your product is key to keeping your people interested and engaged. Be inventive. Don’t be lame. You’re trying to get someone’s attention here, not bore them to tears. Consider all of the riff-raff you find yourself tossing into the trash. Why didn’t you give it a second look? Why was it uninteresting to you? Create a long list of “what I don’t want to be” in a business sense. This stuff will make you stand out in the end, because it’s shocking how much the majority of businesses tend to do things the exact same way as everyone else.
Examples of marketing products that are more interesting than the normal run-of-the-mill options: coasters advertising something other than beer, postcards shaped like scissors advertising a salon, branded items that people will keep, like medicine-cabinet items. A tiny cheese grater for a local Italian restaurant. Keepsakes that they won’t throw away immediately. Free stuff, if they sign up for something in return or fill out a funny survey for you. I like to create free downloads that people would really consider paying for, so they are pleasantly surprised when it’s free. Then I ask for their email and I’m already in their good graces by offering something for free. So I’m not immediately spamming their inboxes and inviting them to unsubscribe. Keep it light and comical if you can. Reference pop culture if it relates to your brand, but make sure it fits your demographic. Think outside your normal realm, put your heart into it, and try not to be boring. That’s all your average consumer is really asking for. If you believe in yourself and what you have to offer, you’ll believe in your marketing materials.
If you’re selling a product, always seek out bulk discounts. They are everywhere. Stay unique, but still try to get a good price on your business supplies. It’s all a tax write-off, but you still have to be cognizant so you can make more coin in the long run. Search engines are magical things, and we can get nearly everything we want in bulk at half (or less than half) the price. And as your business gets bigger, you can negotiate based on how much you buy. Companies will extend a wholesale discount if they know you’re in it for the long haul and have a proven history with them.
I have a bucket list goal to advertise myself through guerrilla marketing, otherwise known as street art. I dream of vandalizing things and putting calligraphy onto street signs. Listen, we all have our own goals here. This is a judgment-free zone. I’ll write another book about it if I ever get there. Sometimes it’s just fun to think outside the box and do something nobody else seems to have done.
