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You have started a handmade business? Excellent! Let's get your name out there.
This list of ideas is a great place to get started. Some ideas may seem old-fashioned, and some are more current. Feel free to use the list as a guidepost--do the things that seem to match your approach, and save the other ideas for another time. (Full disclosure: some of the links below are affiliate links.)
Website: Have one. Don't have one yet? I recommend Squarespace or iPage. iPage has a drag-and-drop builder that makes it easy to make your own. Squarespace takes a minute to learn, but has a LOT of features built-in that aren’t built into other sites. They are great for SEO and have modern, polished looking templates.
Social Media Accounts:
Pinterest is great for driving traffic to your website.
An Instagram account is important nowadays, as it is primarily visual, and also hosts videos.
TikTok (@amykalinchuk) is very popular right now, and if making short, funny videos is your thing, can help you to gain a following
Having a Facebook page is a good idea for general visibility online. Facebook is starting to fall out of favor a bit with social media experts, however. You can post to your Facebook page automatically when you post to Instagram, so it’s easy to post photos and information there.
Twitter is good for writers, and again is good to have for general visibility. If you like politics and are an author, it’s a good place for you.
YouTube is good for everybody! You can make little videos showcasing your creative process, or introducing yourself, or showing how to use your products. YouTube videos are picked up first in Google searches, so this is highly recommended. You can post videos to YouTube right from your phone—it’s easy!
Business cards: Have some with you at all times--hand them to people who ask about your business. Leave a few at your local coffee shop/gym/workplace that encourages this practice. Offer them for swag bags when the show organizer asks for things to put in their bags. Give a few to your spouse to carry around. You may have a local option for business cards. If not, consider Vistaprint or GotPrint. They both know what they're doing.
(PRE-COVID 19 RECOMMENDATION. WE WILL GET BACK TO THIS AT SOME POINT. HAVE FAITH.)Local Vending: Just do it! Find local shows by doing a Yelp search in your area, then make a list of bookmarks on your web browser of all the interesting shows. When vending, put out a notebook and collect email addresses for your
Email Newsletter: Creating and maintaining an email newsletter list is LEGIT targeted marketing. These people signed up because they WANT to know where you will vend next, what your website is about, etc. I use ConvertKit for my email newsletter. It has a metric tonne of features for tracking clicks to links, tagging particular people regarding their behavior, and online signups. You can even build landing pages through ConvertKit. I am very glad I switched.
Articles in "The Paper": Our local news source has a section called "Your Hub," which is for ultra-local news only. Many of the articles are submitted by the readers themselves. Write one and submit it!
Talk: Talk about your business! Tell your friends! They will ask for more information, and then you can direct them to your website via your business card! SEE HOW THIS WORKS?
Make a Video: If you are so inclined, make a little YouTube video that showcases your work, or shows how it's made, or introduces yourself, etc. The People on The Internet love videos. You've got a phone, right? Make one!
Donate goods: USE THIS OPTION JUDICIOUSLY. If it won't break the bank, donate your wares to some raffles you hear about, or for your local roller derby team's gift basket for their games, or for your church bazaar raffle, or for your daughter's softball team's uniform fundraiser. You get the idea. ALWAYS remember to include your business card! Don't go overboard on this option, however--exposure is nice, but you can die from it, as well, you know.
What other ways do you use to get the word out? Let me know in the comments!
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