Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Free Marketing With Facebook Hashtags


If you are using Facebook and not using #hashtags or #hashtag strategy in your products posts, you are losing out on free marketing. Facebook Help shares info and guidelines about hashtags:

Hashtags turn topics and phrases into clickable links in your posts on your personal timeline, Page or groups. This helps people find posts about topics they’re interested in.

I'm getting better at using them in every post. I and some of my creative friends have made sales because Facebook visitors found us and we weren't even using Facebook Ads. 

How Do I Use Hashtags On Facebook?




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Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Better Twitter Marketing

 

Six years or so ago, Twitter was used daily by me and my crafting friends. Though I was not a faithful participant, I remember fondly the tweeting events, Twitter bombs and striving not to be sent to Twitter jail. I also had fun using Tweet Deck for awhile.

Over the years, Twitter seems to have fallen into disuse by much of my crafting community. I run by my profile occasionally to update my banner and weed out my following and followers lists. I have even tweeted infrequently but I never liked Twitter very much. The tiny posts images and the abbreviated posts lengths always annoyed and constricted me too much.

Recently, I checked on some of my creative associates and found that many had not tweeted in years! I was not surprised but the discovery left me saddened. It was a reminder that so much online activity has declined among creative groups, social sites and selling venues. It seems to have happened swiftly within the last few years and never recovered.

During my visit, I ran across a link to this post on how to better use Twitter. I was surprised that one of the suggestions is to use only one hashtag in tweets. The article author explains why. If you find yourself still using Twitter or wanting to, read this short help article to better promote your products and services when tweeting.

Six Things You Should NOT Do on Twitter  by the social media strategists at the award-winning NYC-based Likable, LLC, a 10Pearls Company



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Saturday, September 11, 2021

Happy Saturday & Signature Colors

 

My signature colors are green and pink, lime and purple, fuchsia and chartreuse. You get it. Any combo of the tones of yellow-green and purple-pink sends my spirits soaring. I only like the clear crispness of tones (jewel tones), not shades so much and rarely ever tints (pastels). I'm a winter so that figures.

Identifying and using signature colors can help establish your brand among customers and potential customers. It's important because it can be synonymous with consistent quality and service. It can also identify your products wherever potential customers happen to run across them. Using signature colors and motifs give the impression that attention to detail is important to you.

What are your signature colors? I can trace my love for mine all the way back to childhood, especially the green. In art class, I made a papier mache giraffe and painted it green with yellow spots. I also made a pottery bowl and painted the outside green and the inside yellow. Along the way, I became enraptured with fuchsia, the complimentary color of green.

If you haven't yet done so, try to identify the 2-3 colors that make you the most happy and begin to use them to consolidate and grow your business. 


 

 

A Few Printaphoria Products

In My Signature Colors

Pink And Green Printable Paper      

Printable Motivational Prayer Flags 
 
 


 

 









Chartreuse Pink Turquoise Printable Paper











Purple And Green Printable Paper









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Tuesday, June 22, 2021

What Is The Sweet Spot In Marketing Today?

The Sweet Spot In Marketing

Unique ideas and creativity in marketing is the sweet spot in selling. When many sellers joined Etsy, Ebay, Amazon and other high-traffic venues, they never learned how to market. The marketing was done for them, traffic was heavy and sales were good.

Nowadays, it's more difficult than ever to get a significant piece of the creative sales pie. Even becoming successful at Etsy today, the old quick-sales stomping ground, is a huge challenge. For a decade or more now, shifting of manufacturing jobs, poor economy and COVID woes have led many to start selling their handmade products and creative services. The influx of overseas sellers offering cheap products has virtually decimated the market for handmades sellers and independent designers.

All of the easy ways for crafters, artists and designers to make money online have largely dried up. Except for a few unique start-ups, the only Etsy sellers who are in the black are those who started with the launch of the selling site and grew their enterprise through it. They are successful today because they got a foot in early on, which was around 2007 for most of them.

Today, the savvy creative is committed and diligent in seeking new places, methods and niches to which to market. I'm not sure how useful services like Google Adwords, Facebook Ads and Pinterest Ads are anymore. I know they can be expensive for the average creative person as you increasingly funnel in money to obtain elusive results. If we can create, we can create our own targeted marketing processes, not with the primary goal to increase sales but to get our products in front of those who would most benefit. It's all about the customers needs and wants.

One way to more effectively invest our advertising dollars is through blog banner advertising. Many bloggers sell banner ad space in the sidebars of their blogs. If we buy banner ad space at blogs that compliment our products, we will place our work, almost exclusively, in front of our target markets. In this way, we can also zero in on niche markets where the competition for our product and service type is not nearly as steep.

In addition to choosing appropriate blogs, it's important to design an attention-getting, yet tasteful banner.

  • You can design them yourself
  • Barter with a friend or associate skilled at graphic design
  • Pay for a banner to be designed at graphics venues like:
    • Fiverr, where most gigs start at $5
    • People Per Hour, where client deposits are locked in  
    • Freelancer, which has an effective time-tracking process
    • Truelancer, where you can post a project and be matched with freelancers from which to choose
  • Allow the blog owner to design your banner if the service is offered.

Fiverr is the most economical design source. It was launched as a $5 per gig site and has since opened up to all price points. I have sold writing and naming services there and am planning to buy illustration services. I have not used the others sites. Always read the guidelines, policies and procedures on these sites before buying work.

Your banners need not be elaborate or complicated. They should be easy to spot and easy to read with a minimum words. Ask the blog owner if there are any specifics that you need to adhere to in your design.

What I like about this type of advertising is the variety of banner sizes and prices that are usually offered and the variety of time frames for the banner to be displayed. Try out several blogs to find the ones through which you get the most response, even if it's just nibbles. Build on those nibbles and turn them into sales and returning purchases! Don't forget to develop some unique products and services, the first part of the equation.

 


 



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