How many of you
spend more time than you'd like promoting your shop and your products?
Most crafters and
artists I know, myself included, would rather spend more time creating
and less time promoting. In my ideal
world, I would just be able to make new pieces, and buy new tools, and shop for
great supplies, and my product would just sell itself. The reality is that if we don't promote our
stuff, people won't see it. And if
people don't see it, they don't know it exists.
And if they don't know it exists...can you see where I'm gong with this?
I am always looking
for better, more efficient ways to promote my work. It's the reason I joined The PromotionalFrenzy Team in the first place, because promoting on my own wasn't getting me
very far. I've also been working lately
to define (and refine) who I think my target and niche markets are.
Target and niche
markets are really the cornerstone of efficient marketing. If you don't know who you're selling to, or
who's buying your stuff, you'll spend a lot of time promoting with very little
return. For example, if you send out a
coupon code to 1,000 random Twitter followers, you might (stress on might) see a sale, maybe 2, and a little bump
in traffic. But if you send that same
coupon code out to 100 targeted customers, people you know are looking for what you offer, your chance of sales goes
way up. Less work, more sales? It sounds like magic, right? So let's talk about how it works.
First, some
definitions:
Target Market: A group of
potential customers who have a common trait or characteristic. For example, a bead supplier's target
audience might be jewelry makers.
Niche Market: A more focused
group within a target market. For
example, "jewelry makers who buy and sell on Etsy, ages 20-40, and live in
the Southeast" is a much more defined sub-group of the target market
referenced above. Your niche market is
made up of people similar to your ideal customer, which we'll talk about in a
moment.
Off the top of your
head, can you say who your niche market is right this moment? If your anything like me, maybe you have a
general idea somewhere in the back of your mind, but it's pretty vague and you
probably couldn't put it down on paper, were you asked to. This probably means that you're promoting
everything to anyone who will listen, which is exhausting and time consuming,
and not at all engaging.
Developing your
target and niche markets changes that.
If you know that your target market is a group of women between the ages of 20 and 35 living in the Midwest
and working from home, you can tailor your marketing efforts to target
them.
You can also tailor your products
to suit them, addressing their specific needs.
Maybe your niche market is made up of stay at home mommies who need
jewelry that is toddler proof. Or maybe they have a lot of stress in their lives, and loves to burn scented candles in the evening while unwinding with a bottle of wine. Once you
get to know your ideal customer, everything you do can be addressed to them.
When you write your
item descriptions, you can tell your niche market why your item is perfect for
them and how it fits in their lives.
When you engage your niche market via social media, you can share things that are relevant to them, and therefore
interesting. You can tailor your shop
policies to cater to your niche market, you can use language that your niche
market is comfortable with, you can run ad campaigns that catch their eye….the
list goes on.
So, how does one go
about finding their target/niche market?
Etsy just recently published a blog post with
lots of helpful tips. Included in their
article was a link to a download-able worksheet that I think is a huge help in
defining your ideal customer. Up above,
I mentioned that your niche market is made up of people similar to your ideal
customer. Your ideal customer is a
fictional character with all the traits of your niche market, who is also your
biggest fan. Getting to know your ideal
customer is a great way to personalize your target market, giving a face to
that impersonal list of characteristics.
I really encourage
each of you to sit down with a pen and paper and fill out the worksheet. Actually force yourself to write out answers,
don't just think about it. By actually
writing something down, not only are your forcing yourself to develop a
concrete idea of who your ideal customer and niche market might be, but you're
also creating something to reference later as you continue to develop your
brand.
I actually think
filling out this worksheet is so important that I decided to create this blog
challenge around it. Follow the
instructions below, and enter by June 11th, 2013 for a chance to win a special
team blog feature!
To enter:
- Visit and read the Etsy Blog post titled "How to Find your Target Market" [http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2013/how-to-find-your-target-market/]
- Download the PDF worksheet [http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/files/2013/04/Define-Your-Ideal-Customer-Worksheet.pdf]
- Spend some time filling out the worksheet. Use extra paper if you need it, and really get to know your ideal customer.
- Leave a comment below answering the following four questions about your ideal customer:
- What is your ideal customer's favorite movie?
- List two (2) of your ideal customer's hobbies.
- What is one (1) need of your ideal customer?
- Briefly describe how your products meet that need.
Once you've entered,
I really encourage you to take your new found insight about your ideal customer
and re-examine your marketing and promoting efforts, as well as your shop in
general. Are you reaching your target
and niche markets? If you're not,
brainstorm some ideas on how you might better target them. Don't be afraid to experiment with your
marketing and promoting strategies.
Remember, it only takes one view to get a sale.
Thanks for
reading! I can't wait to
"meet" everyone's ideal customers.
Until next time,
