I do realize that it has been a long time since I posted to my blog. Sometimes life gets in the way of the things I truly enjoy – like turning pens, cutting clocks, and writing to my blog! It has been a busy month for me. I finished the semester, taught a 2-week interim class (4 hours per day for 10 days straight), helped prepare my wife for knee surgery (total replacement – her 2nd), got the basement ready for the remodelers (my back still hurts), got my daughter off to camp, and, now, time to take a breather.
I’ve finished 5 different clocks that I had started, done a few pens, and now I’m back to the blog. One of the most fascinating, and least understood, aspects of a home-based business is the “marketing” piece. When we do the craft-show circuit the marketing is done, for us, by the show’s promoter. Most of our products, however, only sell well in the fall shows. This means that I will have to get a little bit more creative with our ‘off-season’ marketing. Some of our products are, naturally, geared towards the Christmas season, however, other products would sell well at other times. For example, my pens would make great Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Graduation presents. Most people looking for gifts of this nature would, in all likelihood, not go to a craft show in order to find that ‘perfect gift’. This means that I need to start taking more pictures, of my products, to post to my Pens And Clocks website.
Online selling is, rapidly, becoming commonplace today. In fact, in this struggling economy, many businesses (including ours) has focused on selling “from the home” and online. The reason for this is quite simple – the overhead costs are dramatically reduced. In fact, all of my pens and most of my clocks are, currently, priced at less than $40.00. If I were selling in a traditional venue (mall cart or kiosk, strip mall, etc.) I would have to double my prices to “pay the rent”. I would rather keep my prices lower and sell at craft shows or online.
Right now my selling had been “shirt pocket sales” (pens) or the typical craft show. I am not savvy enough to drive customers to my website with Search Engine Optimization and/or expensive advertising. I am, however, exploring other avenues of selling. I do know that eBay has worked for many people. I have heard that some items sell well on Amazon.com. We have, in the past, used Etsy (and might, in the future, as well). There are a few more ideas out there that I need to explore.
As you, and I, continue with our business ventures we need to keep focused on the marketing end of the business. When we can present our product in a skillful and professional manner we, and our customers, will benefit.
Have a great day and I’ll try to do better at posting in the next few weeks!
DCPenman
