I just read part of an article today about marketing yourself through social networks, like Twitter, and it had all these "myths" that basically boiled down to telling you that no, Virginia, there is no Santa Claus; You still have to spend thousands of dollars on marketing to get any sales. And also, the Field of Dreams model is false, too: If you build it, they will not come. I say I read only part of the article. Because I hated it!
So I was very happy to just find out about The Handmade Movement, a website that organizes the Sneak Attack, which basically flies in the face of all the marketing shite that was depressing me in that article. The Sneak Attack is :
"Three days a week at an appointed time, an Etsy shop with few or no sales is announced on this site. As many people as possible then buy items from that shop, resulting in a frenzy of surprise business to the unsuspecting shop!"
How cool is that? And then of course, if you participate and buy stuff from one of these shops, you can get listed later on and be "attacked" yourself. That is just nice. Makes me happy. So go look at The Handmade Movement; the shops currently being attacked are always at the top of the blog in plain sight, and they even have a list of the shops that have been attacked in the past and how many sales they got. Now, I'm not saying this will make you independently wealthy, but it is just a really nice thing that would only happen on the internet with artsy crafters. So there. Yes We Can.
p.s. I've permanently installed a snazzy button designed by Michael Phipps on my sidebar so you can remember to go check for attacks at any given moment (they're usually every couple of days).
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1 comment:
I don't understand this, so I guess I'll go look at the article. this could be very fun!
However, I think for long term monetary success, you must make quality stuff, have great customer service, and reach a LOT of people who have disposable income. Because if you reach only the same static market, you may get one sale out of roughly 10% of the market once every few years, at most.
On the other hand, if you don't want monetary success, then the crafty community is the place to be for exposure, support, and inspiration! Lots of people may love a tile I make, but will they buy it? very unlikely. So I like the support and exposure. But I can't expect to make money from it unless I go outside the community. The same people who are in my sphere are trying to sell, too. They aren't looking to buy.
Well, except for me, of course, who loves every damn thing you do.
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