Friday 1 June 2012

Marketing Yourself! (Part 1)

Hi, I have been thinking a lot about marketing and have put some of my thoughts here.

I did actually go to a brief marketing course a couple of days ago at Business Gateway A lot of it was common sense and things I was doing anyway, but it did make me think about how I am promoting my own business and how to do this in a more strategic and effective way.

The main thing that I got from the course was to think about YOU being your own most effective marketing tool. YOU are the one that is going to be the most passionate about what you do and therefore YOU are the one who can promote yourself the best!

This is something I had been realising and I have been trying to promote myself more, I do feel I am having some success. In the past few weeks I have been thrilled that my work has been noticed in quite a few places. (I have raved about these in previous posts! - Please do note that this is sheer delight and hopefully not viewed as showing off).

I do totally believe from my own experiences of trying to promote and sell my work that this is totally true that YOU are your best weapon to sell your lovely things. When I have been face-to-face with people I have had a really good success rate BUT if I just send things out, or leave things at places I have almost always got a No.

The quality and style of my work is no different, but the way it is presented to someone is what seems to really matter. I now know, after following things up, that on a number of occasions my work has simply been put aside and never even considered, or at times lost completely.  I have now vowed never to leave things with people again but will always make an appointment to see the right person at a convenient time. This is obviously not a guarantee of success but it does mean that at least your work will be seen and considered.

I realise it is not always possible to meet people so this leads me onto social media. I was really not a fan of Facebook, tweeting and blogging (and all that nonsense!) until I felt an obligation to join in or get brushed aside...so I made a big effort to join in.

I am now a total convert and a complete fan. I could not rave enough about getting your work out there and letting it be seen by people. I find it such a wonderful feeling knowing people have found me and my images, and like them and want to show them to others. I haven't actually done the tweeting thing yet but now love doing this blog and find it a good way to get my thoughts out as well as a great outlet for people to see what I am working on. I also love looking at other blogs and have joined a number of groups which makes it feel like I am part of a great group of wonderful folk running their businesses, sharing ideas and thoughts all over the World whilst still sitting in my cosy little home!

I also think it is a great feeling to get a LIKE for something too. Similiar to getting a star at school and/or a nice comment from the teacher!

I know these things have their drawbacks too and I will start to think differently if my work is copied by someone or I am stalked online but at the moment I am enjoying the friendly online world I have entered and would invite you to join me.



© Copyright  Sam Miller 2012
All the artwork and text on this blog are original and belong to SamMillerUK. They must not be copied, used or reproduced without the permission of the artist. Thank you.

6 comments:

  1. Nice one Sam, great to hear how you're overcoming your social media phobia! I think until you do get involved and things start to happen it's hard to imagine how they might. Also, when you have a business it seems so much more appropriate to be tweeting, rather than tweeting about what you had for breakfast etc. you've a business that people want to hear about - you've stuff to say and show.

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    1. Thank you Julie, I will try and conquer my tweeting phobia next!
      SamX

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  2. Great post, really enjoyed reading it. You make some great points!

    Jacqui

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    1. Hi Jacqui, Thanks so much for your comment, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hope things are going well for you, have a great weekend. Best wishes, SamX

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  3. Hello Sam, I have come across from UK Handmade and really enjoyed reading your post. I was the same and really didn't see the point in social media until now! It is a fantastic way to promote your business and I am now completely hooked.

    Great blog!

    Sarah xx

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  4. Hi Sarah,

    Thanks so much for your message, it sounds like we are both in the same position. Hope things go really well for you and your business.
    Best wishes,
    SamX

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