A Marketing Question...

[eric olsen]

Hello, I am planning on selling imported handmade jewelry online, but am not sure how or where to market it. What would be the best group of people to sell it to?

A little more info: It is handmade macrame necklaces and bracelets with gemstones like obsidian, jade, fossil, amber, etc. It is beautiful jewelry that I will sell for $30-50.

Who should I sell it to and how can I find them?

Also, I want to do this with little or no marketing budget. I am sure once I sell a little bit I will get repeat customers, referrals and word of mouth from friends and family of the people who order it.

Thanks for your help!

Eric

[vangogh]

First welcome to the forum Eric.


Who should I sell it to and how can I find them?

Those are two of the big questions to answer and truthfully you're going to know better than we will and ultimately you're going to have to figure out both things. We'll do what we can to help, but none of us will put as much time into researching your market as you will.

You mention selling online. Does that mean you already have a website or are you planning on selling through other sites? If you don't have a website do you plan on getting at some point? If you're looking to sell through other sites, eBay seems like a natural. Maybe Etsy. You might as well set up shop in one of them. If you have or plan to have your own site that should be your base of operation.

Since you don't want to spend money marketing you need to put in time. First get yourself a place to sell. Either a site or eBay or Etsy or similar. Then spend your time building a presence where you think your customers will spend their time.

I typed 'handmade jewelry' into Google and got 3 million results. I tried 'handmade jewelry forum' and got 300,000 results. There are obviously communities out there. Join some and participate. Those communities should lead you to your customers if you're willing to invest the time. They might not be your customers, but they should lead you to your customers.

Are you thinking of selling offline at all? Every college town I've ever been in has one or more stores dedicated to handmade jewelry. If there's one in your area introduce yourself and see if they'll carry your jewelry. You'll either have to sell it to them at their price or give them a cut of your price. Add some kind of tag or label to the jewelry that mentions your brand and the URL where you set up shop. You can even offer some kind of discount through the tag on their next purchase as a way to entice them to visit your shop. Even if you don't make much on sales through the store you get your name out there. Chalk up any loss in profit to marketing costs.

Hopefully something above is helpful. Again welcome and thanks for joining the community.

[Blessed]

Etsy is a good place to set up a store - especially if you have no advertising budget. Then get involved in Facebook/Twitter/Blogging... and develop an online social media presence - those things (along with all the great suggestions from Vangogh) will help you get a start. It takes a lot of time and effort to get your product out there, in front of people through these free services - but they are very effective.

[Steve B]

Welcome to the forum.

With little or no marketing budget, you might as well do something else with your time. Even using E-bay costs money.

[handmadejewelry]

Online marketing requires patience so do not expect overnight results. Previous replies give good advice, get your name out there and keep working. A blog like wordpress.com or blogspot is easy to set up and free. Write about your handmade jewelry and post your photos, join social networks and groups to build your contacts.

In the meantime, local craft shows could be great to increase the cash flow and get to know what people like.

Best of luck, jenn

[KristineS]

I know there are a lot of handmade jewelry sellers on Etsy. It's one of the places I look when I want to find something that is unique and not like what everyone else has. There are also people selling for all sorts of price ranges, so I don't think your proposed price would be out of line. I'd at least give Etsy a look.

[eric olsen]

Ok thanks to everybody for the help, especially vangogh!

Great tips, keep them coming :)

[vangogh]

Glad to help Eric. Ask more questions if you have them. We'll always do our best to help.

[Patrysha]

Do you possess a high degree of drive and enthusiasm for your product? Do you have lots and lots and lots of time to learn and apply new information and test and retest and go learn some more? Do you have the patience to wait for success and the self control to reinvest profits back into your business?

Those are pretty much the traits that I have seen to be necessary to market with no budget.

You will want to study the Guerrilla Marketing series (Jay Conrad Levinson), Seth Godin's books (wasn't crazy about purple cow, but IdeaVirus was fascinating if you are good at visualizing how the concepts would translate to your business)...

Now the truth of the matter is, it's much easier to find a hungry market and then find something to fill their most pressing needs than to find a market for an existing product, but most people do start with the product or service first and forget to even define the target market. So you are one step ahead of many just by realizing that not everyone is a target for your product.

Now you may have a challenge on etsy in that it can be a little cliquey and it may take time to settle in to the right part of their audience who will accept imported merchandise...though handcrafted it is not home-made. You may run into some handcraft snobs...so that is something to be aware of and have a plan of action for.

Personally, I would go with a self-hosted WP blog - but if you have no budget for marketing...you'll have to learn how to make magic yourself...and while it is relatively easy to learn...it takes time to really get good at it. Now a template will work...but it takes time to find a good template and a bit of learning and tinkering to customize. If you've worked with websites in the past, it will pretty much be a breeze. If not...well your mileage will vary depending on how quick you are at picking things up. It can take anywhere from a weekend to three months to get a self hosted blog ready for traffic. The course I teach is 12 hours...in one hour blocks...there are other courses out there that teach this stuff too. (As far as I know none are free...but there are free tutorials and tons of websites to learn the basics at...) -

Personally, I think if you aren't planning to build more websites it is pointless to spend all that time learning unless you just LOVE to learn or have no way of finding enough $$ to pay for someone to get you going...updating is easy and anyone who can send an email or post to a forum can update a WP site as long as it is set up right for your purposes in the first place. And sometimes you have to recognize how much money you are saving by hiring out simply because of the time and effort involved in learning how. Say you can build a site in 50 hours and your time is worth $50 hour (or two sales as an estimate of the pricing you showed)...anyone less than $2500 is a bargain ;-)

Once you have a home base whether it is etsy or your own website (or somewhere else)...then you start working on your traffic driving...choosing what is most likely to work for you from Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Digg, YouTube etc), Article Writing and Guest posting, podcasting, video marketing, email marketing/list building, publicity and press releases. Again all things you will have to learn about in addition to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and copywriting. Oh since you sell a product you will also need to pick up photography and lighting knowledge too.

You mentioned family and friends...you don't want to rely on them too much if they are not within the target market that you identify...Of course word of mouth will help build your business...but you have to build a business worth talking about first...word of mouth is easy to inspire but can't be done well without first establishing the story you want told.

Your product will primarily target women (and men a few times a year...you could even do something unique and target men specifically...) and they will have a certain income threshold...they will have to have specific tastes that run towards the jewelry you offer (is it more for hippies or for urban sophisticated types...or something else altogether)...what else do ppl who like this type of jewelry like...are they more likely to buy a Peg Perego or a Mclaren stroller or they more the type to buy the first thing in their price range they find at Walmart? Or maybe they wouldn't be buying a stroller because they have no children?? What magazines do they read, what websites, what are their favorite shows? (Have any shows or magazines recently featured similar crafted jewelry? Any celebs that have worn it recently?) The more you know about your best target...the better you will be able to devise marketing that attracts their interest and fulfills a desire (not necessarily a need...but a flicker of desire must exist for a sale to result)...you need your marketing to make a promise and your product and service to deliver it...

[Harold Mansfield]

Everyone that I have known that has had the plan to sell something online, had no idea what that really meant because they knew nothing about the web other than "other people are doing it". but they really had no clue HOW they were doing it.

You will have to learn Internet Marketing, Social Networks, Web Design, SEO, and you will have to be relentless in your efforts and understand that when you get your website up...no one will know you exist.

You will need more than one property online. A website all by itself, without an advertising budget, and no knowledge of IM or SEO, will sit idle with no traffic for along time.
You need satellites out there where ever you can linking back to your main site and take advantage of every free service where you can create a profile..such as Kaboodle, Ebay, and others like it...basically anyone that will let you sell, or promote your product.


Also, I want to do this with little or no marketing budget. I am sure once I sell a little bit I will get repeat customers, referrals and word of mouth from friends and family of the people who order it.

This is also a huge misconception. Your friends and family may be supportive, but you cannot depend on them. They will NOT be a major part of your income. You need to act as if your friends and family will not order one product from you and spend your time marketing and finding your true demographic.

You also cannot sit back and count on 'online' to be the heart of your sales. You need to hit trade shows, swap meets, conventions, meet ups, setting up booths at shows, fairs, kiosks at the local mall...anywhere where you can sell product and get the word out and get your company name and contact information into peoples hands.

It takes a long time to build up the kind of web traffic that you need to count on your website to be the bulk of your sales. Especially if you have no budget to advertise.

In the grand scheme of things, not knowing how difficult it is to actually make the jewelry...selling online is the hardest thing that you will ever do. It looks easy on TV, but it is incredibly difficult and time consuming to get the kind of traffic and recognition that you need to generate consistent sales.

Trust me, if it were easy..I'd be rich by now...as would everyone else in the free world with a computer.

Just know that going in, and decide that you are going to do what ever it takes, and learn what ever you need to, and you will actually have a shot.

[nicolebeckett]

Hello, I am planning on selling imported handmade jewelry online, but am not sure how or where to market it. What would be the best group of people to sell it to?

A little more info: It is handmade macrame necklaces and bracelets with gemstones like obsidian, jade, fossil, amber, etc. It is beautiful jewelry that I will sell for $30-50.

Who should I sell it to and how can I find them?

Also, I want to do this with little or no marketing budget. I am sure once I sell a little bit I will get repeat customers, referrals and word of mouth from friends and family of the people who order it.

Thanks for your help!

Eric

I'm assuming you have a website already set up. If not, you can get a domain name for very cheap. After that, you need to sit down and figure out who your target audience is. What do they want from you? What are they willing to spend?

As for free marketing, you can do some article marketing, social bookmarking, social networking, look for related forums to post on, and guest blogging. Of course, you would need your signature at the bottom! Some quick google searches would turn up all the information that you need.

Since these are all free forms of marketing, it will take longer to see results than paid advertising. However, all of the free marketing methods can give you results that last months or even years. A friend of mine did some article marketing for her ebook about a year ago, and hasn't done much since. A few weeks ago, someone bought one of her books, after being referred by an article she wrote last year. So if you're patient, you can do alot of internet marketing with a very small budget!

[vangogh]

Yep. You either have to spend money or time. Money usually works quicker, though time can often be more lasting. One of the great things about the web is it shifts the balance so the time you spend can have a greater effect in a limited space or a further reach. Still nice to be able to spend money on marketing, but the web makes it so you don't have to spend money.

[prettyimpress]

What vangogh said is quite useful. But I'd say maybe you should focus your mind to one way of selling, on line or off line. For when I buy a dress on the net, I noticed that just that dress, the shop can sell several thousand pieces one month. You can think how much they can earn. So choose one way of selling, and then try every method to improve it. I think you will succeed.

[gabearnold]

Eric,

Etsy is a great place to begin. Although there are thousands of other jewelry shops on Etsy, I actually believe this is a strong point. Think of it like this, do you think you would sell more setting up a table on the corner of your street, or at a jewelry convention? Of course it would be the jewelry convention where you would sell more. Personally I have seen my mom sell a lot on Etsy and she is not the only person doing what she sells there. If you want to discuss more about how to market for no or very little money, feel free to contact me, I do 99% of my marketing for $0 :)

Best of luck.

[pennylane]

I suggest these books: Crush it! and Inbound Marketing. Sounds like you're getting some great advice here.

[Sherah]

I am an amateur photographer about to take the next step - I've got a pro website done, I'm applying for a business license, etc.

My question is: Is it better to market yourself as a high-end photographer, or an affordable one? I've noticed some photographers market themselves as very high-end, luxury, etc. Even with average skills, it seems that high-end marketing attracts high-end customers.

So, which is better? Marketing your business as high-end, very classy, etc., or being "every man's photographer?"

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[Patrysha]

It's not a matter of which is better, but of which kind of market/customer you want to deal with. Having worked with a photographer client in the past, I will say that marketing to the affluent/luxury market is a bit easier as you don't attract the customers with the department store mentality which can be a real pain when they expect prints to cost $8 a sheet. The Ilovephotography forum was very helpful in the advice on marketing a photography business (as well as having a great section for critiques).

[Harold Mansfield]

I am an amateur photographer about to take the next step - I've got a pro website done, I'm applying for a business license, etc.

My question is: Is it better to market yourself as a high-end photographer, or an affordable one? I've noticed some photographers market themselves as very high-end, luxury, etc. Even with average skills, it seems that high-end marketing attracts high-end customers.

So, which is better? Marketing your business as high-end, very classy, etc., or being "every man's photographer?"


_________



You may have already answered (or should have answered ) this question when you built your website.
Who does your website target?
Are there rates on it?
What kind of examples are on it ? Kids photos or Wedding pictures and corporate events?
You have probably answered this question without knowing it.

[Local Trifecta]

Just as a side note here a business succeeds based on its ability to know who and where their market are. If its not too late I would do more research in this area BEFORE purchasing any amount of stock.

Additionally there is a website that can handle some AMAZING research especially for product. terapeak.com (https://www.terapeak.com/) ... its strictly an eBay research tool but offers incredible transparency into what is selling, how much its selling for, and the best approach to marketing the products. eBay is at least a good place to start building up a client base for a relatively low cost. eCommerce solutions can be quite tricky but if your worried about expenses eBay is probably the best place to get started.

As has been mentioned your going to need to do a lot of the "marketing" work yourself ... posting in forums, finding bloggers, etc ...

[vangogh]

Just wanted to let you know you had the link off by a letter. It was leading to a page of cheesy ad links. It's terapeak instead of tereapeak. Guessing you knew and it was a typo. All fixed now.

[greenoak]

great post eborg..its sad ..people are always telling businesses to sell on line, .....and sell to the world!!! like its an easy thing....
you described the huge effort...i believe that totally...maybe i will file it for future reasons when i get advised to do it...the retail press tells the stores to do it all the time.... i know a couple of winners...out of dozens who tried...
.and besides the effort/all the things you mentioned.......you have to actually have something people would want and would pay for.;... every idea wont work even with the best effort....your product/idea might be even more important...
if i ever did choose to try online selling i would sure come here and soak up all the good ideas in this thread...

[SEOHelp]

Very hard to tell you who your customers are. You might have to look at your competition to see who they are targeting. Also, you will probably learn more by trail and error.

One way is to learn and master search engine marketing - thus, those customers who are looking for your type of products will come and find you.

[greenoak]

thats my goal ,,,to get them to come to me...we rate real high in our market now...
i already have one business to run..its totally full time and totally worth the time......so im not trying to start an online business, especially not with my inventory...
.. ....who is making a real income online in my area? i havent seen it yet....i see a lot of advice to do it tho....

[Soaring Staff]

Other than having an actual website (which should be a priority for all businesses), there are alternate ways to market your products online. Of course, you can follow everyone into promotion via social networking sites. The most popular of these, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube are free.

Just one of many choices to consider!

[Patrysha]

Nice Animoto...

I agree they are great for tradeshows. I used a loop of commercials on a flatscreen (my living room tv) on DVD for the joint tradeshow booth in 2009. That was the booth that one Best Use of Space in the Multiple Booths category (we had two between the 6 businesses represented). It was my first offline joint venture.

A co-operative marketing group is now about to launch a combination of live and animoto productions on kiosks at various retailers in our community.

[mark_white4281]

Another way of to gain the right customer base is through business reviews and discussion forums. Get in touch with your existing customers and establish a forum for them. Let them discuss and review your product. Their discussions could involve complaints; however this can be a great opportunity to fix problems within your business. Also, customers that you help after a complaint can become some of your most loyal customers.

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