Why Marketing is Necessary
Lesson 11 from: A Crafter's Guide to Starting a Subscription BusinessMei Pak
Why Marketing is Necessary
Lesson 11 from: A Crafter's Guide to Starting a Subscription BusinessMei Pak
Lessons
Introduction
09:53 2Why Sell Subscription Products?
02:53 3Great Subscription Ideas
10:59 4Positioning Your Subscription Product
06:09 5Pricing Your Subscription Product
25:48 6Interview with Stacey Trock of FreshStitches
34:29 7Subscription Models: Which One is Best for You?
23:52 8How to Manage Your Subscriptions
06:14Shipping Tools and Apps
23:06 10Finding Your Ideal Customer
05:54 11Why Marketing is Necessary
06:45 12Copywriting for Your Subscription Product
19:03 13Photography for Your Subscription Product
03:49 14Promoting Your Subscription on Social Media & Blogs
32:47 15Interview with Maureen Vasquez of Pipsticks
23:57 16How to Handle Unsubscribers
09:19 17The Unboxing Experience
06:18 18Frequently Asked Questions
08:09 19Common Challenges for Subscription Businesses
08:52 20Growing Your Subscriptions
10:21 21Interview with Wendi Gratz of Shiny Happy World
24:50Lesson Info
Why Marketing is Necessary
Why is the marketing necessary? I think for a lot of us creative folks, a lot of makers and artists and designers out there way have this thought that if we create something really beautiful and that's really meaningful and we put it out there to the world, we started xy shop, we start a web site that eventually people are going to come find us because it's so awesome, right? Unfortunately that doesn't happen, at least not today anymore. Maybe twenty years ago, when the internet was first were still a baby that probably did happen because there are only so many people out there who are creating products. But now everyone is out there starting in etc shop, everyone, your neighbors starting in, etc shop, it's just crazy. So we have to figure out how we can stand out from everyone else who starting businesses. Everyone else was creating gorgeous, beautiful, meaningful products. So and even if you already have an audience, even if you already has somewhat of the social media following, it ...
is still necessary to market it to them, because we can't assume that they know your subscription exists. And secondly, people don't know why your subscription is awesome. Just because you have a really great repeat customer just because you have two hundred facebook fans these air not necessarily people who are coming back to your website every day to check out what's new on your web site or what's new on your block so we really have to keep them updated and we have to do our due diligence to go out there and communicate with them via social media via email whatever channels of marketing we can set up and essentially at the end of the day if you don't have marketing you're you're not going to you're not going to sell anything that's just the matter of the fact so if you want to sell your subscriptions you absolutely must promote your marketing you must tell people about it um and if you want to make money from your business if you want to be profitable marketing is definitely not something that you can put on the back burner so let's talk about marketing the non sleazy way so the way I look at it as I mentioned actually in a previous workshop I don't consider myself to be a great sales person especially in person I could not like I know there are a lot of people out there who can do it a lot better than I can at least and I feel really uncomfortable doing it and I think a lot of people in the audience can probably probably relate to that where you're not comfortable selling you don't want to be that kind of sleazy sales car person so the way that I found to kind of hack my own brain tio except a way of doing marketing that works really well if you really really think about how your product affects your customers life on dh once you get to the bottom of that, I think marketing is a lot easier because if you know that your product makes people happy it's so much easier for you to tell people about your product because you're doing I mean, you just want to be a good person to someone, right? Like if someone's daughter's birthday's coming up but their pet just died or whatever and they're all really sad and you know, if you tell them like, you know, I think she really like one of my necklace is it always makes people smile andi I think it would make her really happy it's really cute in the making really good, cute gift. Eso if you come from a place of genuine care for your customers, andrea, we get to the bottom of why you're making your products and what your products can do for other people in that emotive feelings level I think marketing ends up being less sleazy and more off here how can I be a good person and help someone else I have something that I can help someone with, even if it means then exchanging money with me that's not a bad thing, they're getting something from that transaction. So to me, the bottom line is do you truly believe in your product and what it can do for your customers? So I think if you and if you don't know what that that bottom line is for your product, what emotions that gives your customers maybe makes them feel more confident, maybe it takes a lot of the stress out of their lives if it makes people feel happy. I found that in doing a lot of live events and craft shows and selling your product at a boost, you know, and when you get to actually meet your actual customers, you get to see their first impression response, their unfiltered responses to your products and from that, you know, start a conversation with them and through that experience, you know, it takes time, but you really learn to know what your products are good for in people's lives. When I started my business tiny hands, I did not no, from the start that all you know, this is my positioning, this is making people happy, that sort of thing, I had no idea I was totally being all like, my tagline was awful it was like expertly crafted and customizable sent it jewelry and I'm like that's awful it's just super cute in the next people happy and the great gift, you know? So I think this is something that might take time for you to figure out, but if you can figure out early on, I just want to plant the seed in your head to get you thinking about it so that it can help you do marketing and help you promote your business in a way that makes you feel good. So in terms of your subscription product, really think of it in a way of educating them, they don't know what exists, and if they know it exists, they may not know what it is exactly how does it work? You know, what are they getting so it's really you're in the position of being that person to tell them what is to tell them? Why it's good for them, so basically don't assume they already know what it is just because we know what it is just because it's simple to us to someone else. Even if they are a social media fan, they may not know what exists is really surprising for even me to see that some of my best customers may not know that I've got this or this or this like I've got customers who like probably have seen every part in every corner of my website. But they would still ask me, made you have this for sale. And I'm like, yeah, it's right here, here's the link. So don't assume they already know what you have in store for them.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Ratings and Reviews
a Creativelive Student
Great course, especially the interview with Stacey (part 6).
Nuvea
Mei gives lots of practical information and resources in this course.