The past few weeks we've been learning how to talk to your customer — but talking to her is just one part of the process. To actually SELL your goods, you need to:
- Identify the person who will love it and buy it (I call this your Right Person).
- Figure out what she cares about and why she buys your product (in the beginning you're guessing; as you get more sales, you'll ask her directly).
- Explain how awesome your thing is, in terms she understands.
- Go where she already is and talk to her there.
The thing is, the first three are all about you doing the work, alone in your studio/office/kitchen, thinking and working and guessing. You can spend hours, days, months just thinking and guessing about your Right Person. You can even put some stuff in your shop with the descriptions and photos you think will speak to her. You can write blog posts aimed at her.
But that's not enough. It's not enough to stay in your own world and hope that she finds you.
But I can hear you now, you want to know: HOW?!
It's entirely dependent on what you sell and who you sell it to.
You can show up where your person is in a zillion ways:
- You can write a post on her favorite blog.
- Your product can be featured in her favorite magazine, blog, or TV show.
- Her friend will tell her about your work or forward your email.
- You'll vend at the craft show she attends.
- You'll comment on HER blog or be in the forums where she chats.
- Someone she follows will retweet you, or share your FB post.
- You'll write an article for her favorite magazine.
- She'll search for a product, and you'll show up in the search results.
- You'll meet on social media, in a FB group or Twitter chat.
- She'll see your ad (on a blog, on Facebook, anywhere).
You see, not every option makes sense for every business (or buyer). If you try to do them all, you'll waste your time. If you try to do everything at once, you'll be distracted and ineffective.
But if you pick the one that makes the most sense for your business and your Right Person? And you do it consistently, week after week? You are sure to find your buyer and connect with her. You'll learn so much about your person, where she is and what she wants from you. You'll also learn where she isn't and what you're wrong about.
I can't tell you exactly what will work for you.
But all of us can answer a few questions to get started:
Who is going to love and buy what I make? (You gotta know this first!)
When does she buy my thing?
What influences her decisions?
Where does she look for information? (What term does she search for?)
By answering these questions, you'll get an idea of what to try.
And then it's up to you to do it, to actually TRY something and keep trying it, with consistency.
PS. We're going to walk through this entire process+ get specific about what you actually DO in the upcoming class, Craft Your Marketing. Sign up below to be notified when it opens, and in the meantime I'll send you some free marketing goodies to make it easier for you to communicate with your Right People.