Can You Afford NOT to Advertise?

Do you do advertising?

Where, and how often?

Advertising can be a leap of faith. It is often hard to measure the effectiveness of an ad, at least in the short-term. And ads will often need to have repeated exposure to maximize their effect.

I am relying more and more on advertising now that I have focused on wholesale, and have virtually eliminated the retail side of my business. With a disciplined approach, and some effective images, ads can definitely work.

I do most of my advertising through Wholesalecrafts.com. They offer a few options. One is their Buyer's Guide, which is like a catalog of craft artists. It has ads ranging in size from full page to 1/12 of a page. I have run 1/12 , 1/6, 1/3, and soon will be running a full page ad in the Guide. And I have found, size matters, as does repetition. The most recent guide went out a few weeks ago, and I came back from New York with three messages on my machine, and continued to get calls through the week. Not all are placing orders, and the orders placed have been conservative. No surprise there.

But part of what has helped me is that I am sticking with the advertising, in spite of being fully aware of how bad the economy is right now. The last Buyer's Guide was the thinnest I can recall seeing. Especially for that time of year. I had a third of a page ad, and it got noticed. People are asking for information, visiting my page on Wholesalecrafts.com, and placing orders. Three good measures of an ad's effectiveness. With less ads, it is easier to be seen. With pictures that I know work well, it is easier to get a good outcome.

I debated whether I should run another ad in the next issue which will go out in September. I finally decided that I should. People will place orders for the holidays, although they are likely to be smaller and later. And from the sounds of it, fewer artists will be running ads. I was offered the chance to bump up to a full page ad at a terrific price. It was a no-brainer. Yes.

The biggest obstacle to the decision is truly psychological. Am I the type of artist who would run a full page ad? In other words, had I crossed some imaginary line in my head that gave me permission to be so bold? No, but I decided I needed to do it anyway. Act as if. The best part is that I had fewer creative limitations. I could design the ad myself. I love doing that sort of thing, and spent too much time this weekend designing and refining my ad.

In addition to the Buyer's Guide I often run a co-op ad in Niche magazine. Niche goes to galleries across the country who purchase handcrafted work. My target market. I get a better price by doing a co-op ad with Wholesalecrafts.com. And I get exposure to the market that would be most interested in buying my work. It has led to some terrific accounts.

How can I afford it? I guess I have come to see I can't afford not to. If I hold back from advertising, I will disappear into the ether. Visibility matters if you want to sell your work. It is about seeing your work as a product, rather than an extension of yourself, and then doing what it takes to make sure that your market sees your work, and knows about it. I have said this before, and I likely will say it again. Marketing your work is a bit like dating. Sitting at home waiting for Prince Charming to come knocking on the door is about as effective as making your work and waiting to be discovered. Might happen. But, probably not. It takes effort. It takes putting yourself out there for others to see. Simply listing your work on Wholesalecrafts.com, Etsy, or Trunkt is not enough.

Sellers on Etsy rely on the Showcase, and Treasuries to be seen. Flickr users will often join many groups where they can post their pictures to increase their exposure. I have come to look at the expense of advertising as the equivalent to the booth fee at a retail show, with less wear and tear on my body and my work. It takes time to build an audience for your work, but given enough patience and time, and yes, money, it is possible.

What do you do to have your work seen?

What Does Survival Mean to You?

The current economy has put many small business people, including artrepreneurs, in a survivor frame of mind. Some businesses have shut down. Those of us who are still in business want to survive, with the hopes of thriving when times are good. The e-mail lists that keep members up to date with funding and grant opportunities have been reflecting the hard times. Less money is available to support the arts. News reports tell us that people are spending more on energy and food, and paychecks are flat. It is any surprise that people are spending less on art and craft?

So, what does survival mean to you?

Does it mean hunkering down, and not spending a dime unless your life depends upon it? Does it mean looking for ways to cut down on your expenses? Are you doing more shows in the hopes of generating more income? Taking a second, or heaven forbid, a third job?

On one discussion board there is a lot of discussion about spending money on advertising. Should I or shouldn't I types of discussions. There is also regular discussions about how bad business is right now.

I find myself going against the grain in many respects. I don't know that I have this figured out for anyone but myself.....and I am not even so sure I have it figured out for myself, but I will share with you some of my thinking, and strategy. Rather than copying exactly what I am doing, I hope that it just provides you another way to think about your own business, and what is working or not working for you. How can you make it through this time, and do even better in the future?

1. Shows. Do more shows and you will make more money. The thinking is that even if you are making less money than you used to at a show, you will make up the difference in volume.

This could be dangerous thinking. It is the same type of logic used when someone claims they covered their "booth fee" at a show. Anyone who does a show knows there are many other expenses related to doing a show beyond the booth fee. Mileage would be right near the top these days, even for a fairly local show. An hour commute each way may not make sense at $4.00 per gallon. But then you may have a few hundred dollars for three or four nights in a hotel, plus meals. Did you have to pay extra for electricity? What other expenses do you have when you do a show? Flowers for your booth? Time out of your studio? Or at the very least, the cost of the goods you sell at the show.

Does it make sense to do more shows, if the bottom line is already very thin? Are the shows you are adding going to be better than the ones you already have on your schedule, or will they just make the bottom line even more strained? In the end, more shows may just mean more wear and tear on you, your work, and your displays, without doing anything to increase the bottom line.

My own strategy this year was to eliminate retail shows. It just was not profitable enough over all for me to continue to pour more money into doing retail shows. I have not completely ruled them out, but for now, there are none on my schedule. In spite of this, my sales are up a few percent, and my bottom line is significantly better than a year ago. If you are doing retail shows, recognize this is a tough economic climate, and it will not take much for a marginally acceptable show to move into financial drain.

2. Advertising. One strategy that many small businesses have in tough times is to cut back on the extras....like advertising. Artists in particular it seems, struggle with advertising dollars. It is hard to spend money on advertising when you are not seeing the direct and immediate result of your expenditure. When you do a show, you can immediately see if the investment paid off.
Advertising is much more slippery.

First, you have an endless pool of choices as to where you will advertise. You need to figure out where the best fit for your dollar lies. If you have not thought about who your customer is, and how to best reach them, you could be throwing good money down the drain.

Secondly, advertising is expense that has to be considered an investment. I am using business school jargon here to make a point. Let's dissect it. Expenses are things that you spend money on to keep the business running. They include materials, rent, show fees, jury fees, etc. Investments are often made for a longer time horizon. It is the money we spend on capital equipment, or assets we purchase for the long term growth of the company. That camera to take better photos of your work. The spot welder to make you more efficient welding jump rings. The new kiln that is more energy efficient. Even though advertising is classified as an expense when it comes to our taxes, we really need to think of it as an investment in the long term growth of our business.

The money I have spent over the last two and a half years on advertising has not been spent without a lot of angst. But, it seems to be making a difference. The orders are trickling in. I am not swamped, but I have had a steady stream of orders since the beginning of the year. Orders from ACRE are planned for delivery right into the fall. I know I will have income to take me through the summer, and into the busier fall months.

What if I cut off the advertising to save money? I suspect I would also cut off the flow of orders. Out of sight and out of mind. And when the economy got better and I decided to spend on advertising again, I would be rebuilding. Looking at it another way, if more people are cutting back now, any advertising I do in this environment will have greater impact because there is lesser competition for the eyes of the buyers. I will be the first to tell you this is a hard spent dollar, but I have also seen the fruits of the steady investment in a targeted advertising program.

3. New Work. I have beat this drum before. If you are not continually offering a fresh take on your work, then you may find that your sales will suffer. This does not mean complete reinvention, unless you are so inspired, but rather continual innovation. In terms of the toothpaste model, what is new and improved with your work? Nothing seems to capture the imagination of buyers of art and craft as much as the new. Something they have not seen or imagined before. Keep them surprised, and you will be more likely to keep them as customers.

I have also found, nothing keeps me as excited about my work and the direction it is taking as that continual exploration of the new. If I am excited about my work, buyers will be more likely to connect with me and my work.

4. Cutting costs. Yes, cutting costs is important. Where can you spend less? Are there shows that you would be better off not doing? Is there a more efficient and cost effective way to put together a catalog? Is there a way to find multiple uses for one marketing tool? This year I have started using my postcards as the color images for my catalogs. It gives me a high quality image, a lower overall cost, and more flexibility.

Are you being as efficient as possible in your energy use? Are you running partial loads in a kiln, or curing? Is your equipment energy efficient? If not, how much would it cost to upgrade, versus how much you would save?

Are you taking advantage of bulk discounts? Sometimes when money is tight we hesitate to buy anymore of an item than we need right now? What if you bought enough for six months to a year? How much would you save in quantity discounts?

5. Are you out looking for new customers? Are you waiting for customers to come to you? Or, are you doing everything you can to try and find a few new customers?

When you are doing a show, are you making sure you are reaching out to your mailing list before the show to maximize your chance of success? Have you followed up on leads? How do you stay in touch with your current buyers if you sell wholesale or through galleries? There are many options; phone calls, postcards, newsletters, perhaps a combination of these.

If you have come up with some new work, what are you doing to publicize that work? Press releases, submitting images to magazines related to your media, entering contests. Right now if you have more time than money, it is important to get creative about how to create some "free advertising" for your work.

These are just a few things that I have been considering as I try and navigate these difficult times. I have heard a few say that the problems are because of people saying times are bad. If the media wasn't reporting so much bad news, things would not be so bad. I would call this ostrich thinking. Others are so focused on the bad news they can't think straight. Burying themselves in the reality of the bad news.

Once again, I find myself trying to carve a path somewhere up the middle; recognizing the challenges, but trying to optimize my chances for success as I make my way forward. It means holding two opposite points realities simultaneously; the economy is bad, and we can succeed. It is almost like patting your head, and rubbing your belly. Difficult, but with practice, we get better at it.

Here is wishing you success in spite of.... In honor of the Phoenix landing on Mars successfully, imagine your business as the phoenix rising from the ashes of a tattered economy. Going against the tide.

Whose Job is it Anyway??

Negative reports began to surface within hours of the end of the ACRE show. There were not enough buyers. They were not placing orders. The promoter should have done more.

And yet, there are voices out there of people who did well. People who made connections and placed orders. What does one artist do that is different and works from another artist who struggles?

This eye-catching display belongs to Judy Belcher, shown here setting up and hamming it up. It could not be more simple, or more effective. Her palette is primarily black and white, with touches of color.....just like her booth. To reinforce the medium of polymer clay and the location of the show, she made some poker chips with her name and booth number for people to take with them. She was prepared with support material, and had a special offer for those who placed an order. She had strong work and a positive attitude. Her "be-back's" came back.

Another artist who did a terrific job of reinforcing a message with their work was Joyce Fritz. Joyce makes bugs that you want to touch and to own. Whimsical, beautiful, colorful bugs, with enough realism to amaze. And, she wears several of them at once, strategically placed, as a bug would land. On her shoulder, her back, here and there on her sweater or jacket. She had beetles that had beautiful landscape canework on the wings. And it was all displayed in cigar boxes on tables with green netting. In a simple way, she created a magical space in her ten by ten foot space. When someone placed an order, they got a little bug to wear on their badge. Advertising that traveled the show. More brilliance that worked.

These ladies did not spend time in the aisles griping about the lousy turnout. They were in their booth and ready to greet anyone who stopped by their booth. Their work was strong. It had fresh elements. Their displays worked to complement their work. And they knew they were their to sell, not to socialize or complain. That was for non-show hours, if at all.

There were many other artists who had positive experiences. I do not know those stories as well as these two. The economy is awful. Galleries are going out of business. Others are hanging on, but their business is down. It is effecting all of us. But, those who do more than complain, who work a bit harder and a bit smarter will come out of this period stronger and wiser. That is the side I am working to be on.

How about you? This is a year to survive. To hang on and bring your best game forward. Complaining has never gained anyone business. Complaining has never made work sell.

What do you need to be doing?

Advertise. Ads, postcards, e-newsletters, etc. Stay in the consciousness of your customers and potential customers. Over and over again, I heard people tell me about how they had seen me at other wholesale shows....which I did not attend. Why? They had seen my ads at about the same time period. Advertising can work. But it has to be sustained, and with strong images.

Innovate. Is your work stale? Is it time for some new designs?

Story/Theme. Does your work have a story or a theme? Have you shared that? Are you thinking at all about the kinds of things that are going on in the world right now, and how your work might tie into that? Environmental issues....is your work green? Price points for a soft economy....do you have work at a lower price point? Peace was a theme I saw frequently in artist's work.

Do you need help? with your booth, with your sales technique, with your marketing materials? If people are going to wait to place orders after the show, do you have materials to send them off with, or to reach out to them with after the show? If you don't know where to begin, find someone to help.