Scrappy Marketing Solutions Blog

Scrapbooking Sales Reps

Some of my marketing clients are small manufacturers struggling to get their products "out there", and they would like information on how sales reps could help them. To be honest, I don't have much information to share at this point -- that's where you come in.

Do you know any *good* sales/manufacturer representative agencies that rep scrapbooking/craft companies to local retailers?  I would like to get information on as many groups as I can, to be able to provide suggestions that cover the US (and into the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, for that matter).  I would prefer suggestions for reps that you know or have heard are good to do business with, though I suppose warnings are also welcome.

The only rep group I know of is Fred Hill Inc, and that's just from seeing their red wheelie bags at trade shows (which says nothing about what they are like to do business with, unfortunately!)  I did a Google search for "craft manufacturers rep", and came up with a couple more leads: J. Varonne & Associates, and NationalSalesRep.com.  And that was about it.  But I know there are more.  Any leads on info out there?

Scrapbook Marketing Article Archive

Well, an archive of articles I've written anyway!  I took some time last night and scanned in six articles I've written for magazines over the past year or so, and converted them to PDF.  I've posted them in the Scrappy Marketing Solutions Press Room.

Three of them were featured in trade magazines (Craftrends and Scrapbook Retailer), so my guess is that many of you weren't able to read them.  Now's your chance!

• “Word Power,” Craftrends, May 2006 (PDF — 4 pages, 1.5MB)
• “On the Cutting Edge,” Scrapbook Answers, Feb/Mar 2006 (PDF — 8 pages, 3.4MB)
• “I, Blogger,” Scrapbook Answers, Feb/Mar 2006 (PDF — 3 pages, 1.2MB)
• “I Should Be the One to Say Thanks,” Scrapbook Answers, Nov. 2005 (PDF — 2 pages, 928KB)
• “What’s the Big Blog?”, Scrapbook Retailer, Oct. 2005 (PDF — 3 pages, 611KB)
• “Making It Last,” Craftrends, Jan. 2005 (PDF — 4 pages, 5.7MB)

As I continue to write articles, I will continue to post them in my Press Room, so all may enjoy and benefit from my magnificent wisdom.  ;)

Making Your Service Easier To Sell

Great article I read recently at Entrepreneur.com: Making Your Service Easier To Sell:

...Remember, the easier you make it for customers to buy your services, the faster you'll close deals--and the more money you'll see hit your bottom line.

...Make the Intangible Tangible
Services are intangible--you can't see them, touch them, take them out of the box or demonstrate them. Yet this is exactly what you need to do to make them easier for your customers to buy them. So how do you accomplish this?

The answer is to "productize" your service. Make it tangible. Think like a product manager. Here are four different techniques you can use to package your service to act more like a product:

• Turn your service into a product.
• Package your different service levels.
• Combine your services and create a new offering.
• Package your process.

Read the rest of the article here: how to promote a service-based business

Countdown to Craft Trade Shows

Do you know where your press kits are?  ;)

Marketing with Postcards

My publisher (and marketing diva) Elaine Floyd frequently advises using postcards to keep in touch with clients and customers. I actually mentioned this in a recent article in Craftrends (Retail Case Study, May 2006):

For an inexpensive way to reach customers in-between newsletters, Floyd often uses postcard mailers. “Postcards are very cute and friendly. They look great on bright colored cardstock, which helps them pop out of the mail stack. They’re great for little snippets of news, and leading people to your website.” Floyd suggests creating postcard coupons: people can just bring in the postcard as the coupon, giving you the added benefit of measuring how effective the mailing was.

Elaine specifically mentions the marketing uses of postcards in her books, Marketing with Newsletters, and Quick & Easy Newsletters.

I've been toying with the idea of sending out a postcard mailing, recently, to connect with marketing consulting prospects, so I've been scouring her books recently.  I've also found some useful resources online, and thought I'd share them here:

PostcardMania - Postcard Marketing Experts

Postcard Marketing Secrets

How about you?  Have you ever used postcards to promote your scrapbooking business?  Do you do it consistently, or more every-once-in-a-while?  What kind of results have you seen?

And conversely -- what do you think about receiving postcards?  Do you pay more attention to postcards than to letters whose envelopes you actually have to open?  Do you think a postcard is more or less effective than a letter-in-an-envelope as a postal "cold call"?

Blog Marketing: An Example from Boxer Scrapbooks

I recently saw a great example of using a manufacturer's blog to promote product : Boxer Scrapbooks Weblog: Let's hear it for the Red, White & Blue!

In this post, Angie not only provides photos of how her product can be used in out-of-the-layout ways, but she also provides specific step-by-step instructions.  This is perfect!  Not only can consumers see cute ideas of ways to use her product (and hopefully are so inspired to go out and purchase the necessary supplies), but paper crafting instructors now have ideas for class projects. 

In promoting my own books, I've found that teaching classes to "train the trainer" and offering class kit CDs is promotional time well spent.  Give instructors the resources they need to promote your products, and you essentially create your own sales force.  Get them pumped about your products, and you have your own "ambassadors".  This is much more effective and time-efficient than reaching single consumers individually.

And in the example I mentioned above, Angie did this via her blog.  Yet another example of effective Blog Marketing!

Technorati Tags: blogs, blog marketing, blog consulting, scrapbooking, scrapbook marketing, scrapbook business

Is Your Marketing Stuck for Words?

A great article from CJ Hayden's most recent newsletter, on how to add punch to your marketing copy.

Is Your Marketing Stuck for Words?
C.J. Hayden, MCC

Many aspects of business are driven by numbers, but marketing often seems to be all about words. Whether it's naming your business, coming up with a tag line, or writing copy for your website, you probably spend a big chunk of your marketing time trying to find just the right words to use.

While you're busy hunting for the perfect words, your business cards don't get printed, your marketing letters don't get written, and your sales calls don't get scripted. When you don't have adequate marketing tools in place, you don't market. No marketing; no clients. And all for the want of a few good words!

For major projects like a brochure, website, or direct mail campaign, hiring a copywriter may be a wise investment. But there are also steps you can take to improve your own ability to communicate about your business in writing. Here are four strategies you can use to break your marketing writer's block without breaking the bank:

1. Stop grappling and start Googling.

If you've been looking at your own words over and over, it's no wonder you're having trouble being creative. You need some new perspectives, and you'll find them all over the web. Start by searching for businesses like yours by category. Notice what words your competitors are using to describe their work. The results can be eye-opening.

Let's say you're a graphic designer, and you begin by Googling "graphic design." Your first discovery might be that the top-ranked listings are NOT the sites of your competitors. The highest ranked pages for that phrase belong to graphic design schools, associations, magazines, etc. So if you want to attract customers instead of other graphic designers, you might want to think about using a different phrase in your headlines and web copy - "logo design," for example.

If you Google that phrase next, a scan of the top-ranked pages will show you a wealth of adjectives you might use to describe your work, such as "affordable," "high-quality," "custom," "world-class," "exceptional," "award-winning," and so on. You'll also gain many new ideas for presenting the benefits of working with you, for example, promising quick turnaround, emphasizing your formal design training, or guaranteeing your work.

Please note that I am not suggesting that you copy entire phrases from your competitors' sites verbatim. Instead, use their language as a source of new ideas for creating marketing copy that is uniquely your own.

2. Let a thesaurus do the thinking.

The thesaurus has come a long way since the days when you thumbed through a paperback edition of Roget's when writing a term paper. Visit http://www.thesaurus.com and type in any word from your marketing copy that seems a bit tired or overused. You'll find synonyms, colloquial phrases, and nuances of expression that may never have occurred to you. Did you know that there are over 70 synonyms available for the word "new?"

Another fabulous resource for the visual thinker is http://www.visualthesaurus.com , which displays an interactive mind map of relationships between words and their synonyms. You can try out this tool at no charge, and if you like it, purchase either a desktop version or an online subscription.

3. Find some direction in a directory.

When you are struggling to express complex ideas in layman's language, look for inspired solutions in the Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org . The largest reference site on the web, the Wikipedia's content is free, and you can use it however you like as long as you cite the source. Try it out for
hard-to-describe specialities like "business process improvement" or "music therapy."

Another surprisingly useful resource for finding language that matches the way your prospective clients think is Amazon's book catalog. Stop by http://www.amazon.com and search for books
related to your profession. You'll find many clues to help you describe your services in a way that clients will respond to.

4. Get unstuck with sticky notes.

Try this creative technique to help with creating a tag line or naming your business. Take a pad of sticky notes and on each note write one word that says something to you about your business. Use a mix of nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Stick all the notes on a wall or mirror and stare at them for a while. Start to form groupings that look promising. If you notice one word appears in multiple groupings, write that word on some additional notes so you can re-use it.

Go do something else for a day and then look again. Narrow down your choices to three options. Show your chosen options to some friends and colleagues. Instead of asking them which one they like, ask what each phrase makes them think of. What impression does it give them of the person or business using that tag line or name? Notice which name or tag line best creates the impression you want to make with your business. That should be your choice.

The next time you're feeling stuck for words in your marketing, experiment with one or more of these approaches. They work well in combination. Try using a thesaurus with the sticky-note
technique, or Google some of the phrases you discover while browsing the Amazon catalog. The important thing is to get outside your own head for a while, and applying any of these ideas will help you do just that.

Copyright © 2005, C.J. Hayden

C.J. Hayden is the author of Get Clients Now!  Thousands of business owners and salespeople have used her simple sales and marketing system to double or triple their income. Get a free copy of "Five Secrets to Finding All the Clients You'll Ever Need" at www.getclientsnow.com.

NOTE FROM ANGIE: Remember, too, that I am available to help you with your marketing copy -- I offer a variety of Business Copywriting Services, as well as a Review-and-Revise service, to help tweak what you've already written.  That applies to Web Content Writing as well!  Let me help you make your marketing materials more effective!

11 Quick (and Good) E-zine Content Ideas

by Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen”

Publishing an e-zine is the ideal opportunity to showcase your business. By sharing your knowledge and expertise, you build credibility as an expert, while spreading the word about your services and products.

While sometimes you'll have dozens of content ideas, other times you'll find yourself staring at a blank computer screen, grumbling that it’s publishing time again. Well, have no fear! Here are 11 quick (and good) content ideas for when you’re in a pinch.

1. Give real-life examples. Describe a problem you’ve solved for a client/customer, and use that as a springboard to offer more general advice. Show your readers how you’ve helped customers address challenges — “case studies” if you will. This positions you as the expert in your readers” minds more than your coming out and saying so.

2. Think of three areas in which you’d like your clients to think of you as a resource. Now develop content in those areas. For example, as a professional copywriter, I really enjoy working on Web sites. To help encourage my clients and prospects to hire me for these projects, I published several articles on how to write Web copy that sells.

3. Read industry publications for ideas. Are there any hot issues in your field right now? The more controversial, the better. Don’t be afraid to offer your own opinion — your readers want to know it. After all, YOU are the expert! ; )

4. Jot down 8 questions your clients have asked you in the past. You know, the ones they ask you over and over. Answer each in a short article. If you publish weekly, that’s two months' worth of content, right off the bat! And if you can’t think of any questions, send all your current clients/customers a quick e-mail, asking them what topics they’re most interested in learning more about.

5. Learn anything neat lately from an industry conference, workshop, seminar, or insightful article? No one says you have to reinvent the wheel of information! Pass on any gems of advice you’ve learned elsewhere — just give them full attribution. Or give your opinion of the event or article itself — your readers will appreciate your frankness.

6. Offer a list of your top 5 or 10 tips on a certain subject. It’s much easier to bang out a list of tips than to put together a real article. Of course, the tips can evolve into an article if you wish! Be sure to list your best tip first, or at least close to the top. (If you “fire your biggest gun” last, you risk losing your audience before they get to the good stuff.)

7. Interview associates whose expertise would interest your readers (while not competing with yours). E-mail interviews are incredibly easy to do. Just send your interviewee 3 to 5 questions via e-mail, edit their answers, and have them approve the final version. Be sure to give them a short plug in your e-zine as a thank you. (A one-sentence description of their business, phone number, their Web site URL, and e-mail address should be fine.)

8. Recommend books and resources that you use, and offer full reviews on them. In one issue of my first e-zine, “AKB MarCom Tips,” I featured reviews of my favorite four copywriting resource books. I then later posted them at my Web site.

9. Invite readers to write you with their own questions, and answer one in each issue. Right after their question, publish the person’s name, business, e-mail, and Web site address. They’ll enjoy the attention/publicity!

10. Invite readers to send in profiles. Ask them to tell you about themselves — their names, businesses, locations, and how they use the information gained in your e-zine. Feature one profile in each issue or one every few issues.

11. When all else fails, borrow an article! There are dozens of Web sites offering hundreds of articles that you can use in your e-zine. The articles are free and available for you to use immediately. The only catch is you’re required to leave the entire article intact, including the author’s promotional information.

Here are three places to check out for free content:

Business Article Announce List — http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aabusiness
Marketing Seek — http://www.marketing-seek.com
World Wide Information Outlet — http://www.certificate.net/wwio/index.shtml

One last note: Keep in mind that if your e-zine’s main objective is to get you more clients and customers, you should not feature other writers' articles more than once in a blue moon. Showcasing other professionals on a regular basis undermines the idea of establishing YOU as the expert in your readers' minds.

(c) 2002 Alexandria K. Brown

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alexandria K. Brown, “The E-zine Queen,” is author of the award-winning manual, “Boost Business With Your Own E-zine.” To learn more about her book and sign up for more FREE tips like these, visit her site at http://www.ezinequeen.com.

Press Releases More Popular Than Trade Journals for Information

Fascinating statistics, and trends revealted in this article: Press Releases More Popular Than Reported News.

Internet searches fail 30% of the time, people are spending more time searching for information online, and press releases have surpassed trade journals as the leading source of information for knowledge workers.

...[Research firm Outsell VP and analyst Roger] Strouse posits several possible explanations for the rising popularity of press releases. "It may be that press releases are easier for people to get their hands on," he says. "It may be that press releases are shorter and pithier. It may be that they're oftentimes free and come right into an RSS reader."

Press releases are indeed a great way to get yourself noticed by the media (or whomever you want to take notice).  On today's Web, press releases are often indexed by search engines, particularly when submitted to online distribution sites like PRWeb.com.  For an $80 'donation', you can ensure that your press release receives Google News inclusion and eMediaWire Distribution, and is indexed by Yahoo!News, Dogpile, Excite, and Metacrawler, among others. 

Google and Yahoo both offer "Alerts", where users can sign up to receive an email alert when news stories and press releases are posted related to specific keywords.  Talk about an easy way to get noticed by the media!

The tricky part is crafting your press release so it grabs the attention of the media, and makes them want to follow up and write a full article.  It's not enough to announce your new company, or hype your new product line.  You need to keep your target media's final audience in mind -- what will their readers find interesting?  What's new, different, or controversial about your news?  It takes practice coming up with the right angle to grab and keep their attention, once your press release comes on their radar.

Speaking of press releases...the countdown is on!  Did you realize there are less than 40 days until CHA Summer?  And less than 120 days till MemoryTrends?  Those of you exhibiting at these shows, have you started thinking about your press kits?  Distributing press kits at trade shows are a GREAT way to get attention, because the media is already there, and they broadcast to your niche market.  They are already interested in the craft industry, and are looking for topics to write about.  Give them some meaty content to write about in a strong press kit.  Bring press kits with you (or ship them ahead), and leave them in the press room for the media to pick up.  And get yourself noticed!

If you'd like some help in putting together a killer press kit, I'm here for you!  I can consult on what to put in a craft press kit, write the press release(s) for you, and give advice on how to best present your material.  I'd love to work with you.

Learn more about Scrapbook Marketing

I recently did an interview with staff writer Cara Miller of ScrapFacts.com, on my new business, ScrapbookMarketing.com.  She asked some really interesting questions, and the resulting article is now available to subscribers.  Because her questions were so interesting, I thought I would share some of them here:

1. When did you decide to make the leap from a scrapbook hobby to a Scrapbook career?
2. Do you see many new small shops opening or is the growth in super stores?
3. Is scrapbook industry growing or has the interest started to decline?
4. How did you market your first book "Book of ME"?  Did you do it yourself or did you hire a firm?  Would you market it differently if you were to do it today?
5. Is a message board a good addition to an online store?
6. Can a blog help me grow my online scrapbook store?
7. I want to open an online scrapbook store.  What is the first thing I should do?
8. I am going to open a small shop in my house.  I have everything in place and I have a $100 marketing budget.  What is the best way to spend my money?
9. Your new scrapbook marketing business can be a wonderful resource to our readers. What would you say to those that think they can do this marketing themselves and think they don’t need to hire someone? Why is using your firm the way to go?
10. What made you focus your energies on this new endeavor?
11. What exactly will you do for the companies?
12. How do you differentiate your firm from other marketing firms? What will you do that no one else does?
13. For those who want to go it alone, what one piece of advise would you offer?

Here are some of my answers:

Can a blog help me grow my online scrapbook store?

Absolutely! It’s another mode of communication with your customer base.  A blog allows you to keep visitors informed of new arrivals, shipment delays, and pre-orders.  It also allows you to share your enthusiasm for the hobby, and what products you’re excited to play with.  Finally, it allows for two-way communication – you can present information, and visitors can leave comments, so you can get a sense of what they’re thinking and what they want.  The comments feature of a blog also allows you to solicit feedback – ask what products customers want you to stock, offer choices of this product line or another.  You can encourage participation by asking a question of the week, or offering product challenges, or holding a contest for the name of your newsletter.  All of this can be done with a blog.  For even more ideas, request my free Special Report, "Scrapbook Marketing: 27 Ways to Promote Your Scrapbooking Business with a Blog!" at www.scrapbookmarketing.com

I want to open an online scrapbook store.  What is the first thing I should do?

I’d say research.  Find out what people want from an online store.  Find out your target market’s priorities – is it product selection?  Is it cost?  Is it free shipping?  I would spend at least six months doing background research like that.  Find out what’s already being offered by many online stores, then figure out how you can be different.  That difference is what will make your business viable.  Then take that research and create a plan.  It doesn’t have to be a formal business or marketing plan, but you need to define your business goals, and have a tentative idea of how you can reach them.  Having a plan, and goals for the future will also help your business stand out; your customers will perceive you as more professional.

I am going to open a small shop in my house.  I have everything in place and I have a $100 marketing budget.  What is the best way to spend my money?

That would probably depend on if you plan to operate as an online store, or as a local retail outlet, possibly offering classes and workshops.  The key to any marketing plan is to get yourself in front of your target market.  Figure out where they are, where they go, what they do, and what they buy, and then figure out how to put yourself in front of them at those  places.  Either way, I would suggest a blog, which can be free, or as little as $5 a month.  Spend $10 and get your own domain name (or “.com”); you can then “point” that domain name to your blog.  That’s cheaper and easier than getting a full-fledged website.  A blog can fill all your basic website needs. I’d also suggest buying some minimal ad space, about $20-$40, whether small block ads on scrapbooking community websites, or in a local parenting magazine, depending again on your focus.

Your new scrapbook marketing business can be a wonderful resource to our readers. What would you say to those that think they can do this marketing themselves and think they don’t need to hire someone? Why is using your firm the way to go?

As with any service profession, yes, you can do the task yourself, but typically it will take you longer, and won’t be as effective as hiring a professional with the training and expertise to do it.

You probably could change the oil in your car yourself, but you’d have to research the steps, buy the supplies, and dedicate a good chunk of time to actually completing the task.  Or you could go to an oil change shop and be done in 20 minutes.  The time you save, and getting professional results is often worth the fee you pay.  You know it will be done right, and you’ll get the results you want.

The service professional also probably takes the time off-hours to stay on top of industry trends, and new developments that you didn’t even know existed.  That knowledge and expertise become evident in the finished product.

In my case, a small manufacturer could create their own press kit, but often they don’t know what goes in it, they don’t know how many to make, they don’t write particularly well, and they don’t know what the media wants to see.  I’ve been a member of the scrapbooking media for over three years; I’ve written books and magazine articles, and I’ve seen hundreds of press kits.  I can put together a press kit in a matter of days, rather than weeks or months.  Hiring me saves the business owner time, and saves her the stress of second-guessing if everything is in the correct format, and professional enough to attract media attention.  The manufacturer also gets the added benefit of appearing on my blog and in my newsletter, where I have an established audience.

How do you differentiate your firm from other marketing firms? What will you do that no one else does?

First, there aren’t many companies out there that focus specifically on marketing to and for the scrapbooking industry.  My intimate knowledge of the industry differentiates me from other general marketing agencies. 

Many people can write a press release, but don’t have the experience I have in crafting press releases specifically for scrapbooking magazines (nor do they have the contacts I have at the magazines, as a contributing writer for those magazines). 

My expertise is grounded in hands-on knowledge – I have been a scrapbooker for eight years.  I understand what drives scrappers to want new products, and what they will find interesting. 

My professional expertise is based on the variety of “hats” I’ve worn for the past four years.  I’ve successfully promoted my books to best-sellers, achieving worldwide acclaim, with no marketing budget. 

I created the Scrapbooking Industry News blog over two years ago, which has given me an eye for what is newsworthy, and a press badge at the trade shows.  I am friendly with the editors of several trade and consumer magazines, and know what they want to see in a press kit, and what I want to see myself, for posting on my blog. 

I am the only scrapbook marketing consultant that offers blog consulting, based on my experience as an award-winning blogger for over two years (over a year before the Blogging Boom hit the scrapbooking community).  Finally, I own ScrapbookMarketing.com, and am one of Google’s and MSN’s top resources on “scrapbook marketing”.  I know what I’m talking about.