Advertising?? How I think it stacks up.

[Ed Caffrey]

This question was asked on another forum, but I think it's worth posting here. Often times we want to advertise, in hopes of selling our knives. With that in mind, here are my views on what I think is the best "band for the buck"........

The cheapest, and in my opinion the most effective, is word or mouth. I believe that if you treat not just customers, but everyone, as you would want to be treated, you establish a good reputation...which I think goes further than anything you can spend advertising dollars on. The down side is that it takes time.

Next in line would be websites. Where else can you get a higher "bang to buck" ratio? I get approx. 6,000 visitors a month to my site, and as a result, I would estimate that approx. 70%+ of my sales are due to the website. I need to explain that it's not about the products that are for sale on my site, but I believe it's more about how I present myself, and my knives on the site. When I first considered a website, I looked around for someone to build it for me...I was sorely disappointed. Ever web designer I visited or spoke with was a broken record...it was always SELL!!! SELL!!! SELL!!! Nothing else mattered to them, and that's not how I wanted to be portrayed. So I took the time and effort to teach myself how to build and maintain my own website. I think it was worth every second.

Following closely behind websites for a great "bang to buck" ratio are forums such a this one. I'm convinced that on most forums there are as many, or more "lurkers", than there are participating members...so whatever you write or offer on a forum is likely seen by many more then people you think.

Another good avenue for knifemakers is to get your knives into the hands of a couple of different purveyors. While our individual websites may or may not get traffic, an established purveyor's site will get literally thousands of visitors PER DAY. I think it's very important for the individual maker to make wise choices, and not just look for any purveyor that will accept your knives. Ask a LOT of questions, get things spelled out, and ask the purveyor what other makers knives he/she handles, then call some of those makers and ask questions BEFORE you send any knives. Getting to know these folks, and working with them, can be very rewarding both from a personal and business aspect.
Most Purveyors are great folks, and I think that most are valuable assets to the knife world. But, and this is strictly my opinion, there are a couple out there that I think you should be watchful of. Do your homework!

Magazine/printed ads can be effective, but with the costs, the bang to buck ratio goes way down. I think you have to evaluate what you make, and then direct that type advertising to the right publications. While I love all the Cutlery Magazines, I think for the most part, advertising in them is a loosing game, or at the very least the cost effectiveness is WAY down there. Sometimes looking outside the box is your best bet if your going to advertise in periodicals.

Don't every overlook the opportunity to get yourself and your knives into print for free! Last year Montana Magazine, which is a free quarterly publication, that is stocked at all the tourist stops in the state, and in all the airports, did an article on me, and from it, I got several higher end orders, and sold just about everything I had on the website at the time, and never spent a penny on advertising.

Finally, pick yourself some knife shows, and go! Chances are that anyone interested in your knives knows a lot about them....but they may not know much about you. Although it's wonderful to go to shows and sell all the knives you take, I tend to think of shows as a place for clients and potential clients to get to know the person behind the knives. A few years ago at Blade, I had a well known collector come up to the table and purchase the most expensive knife I had.....he told me that he had been hanging out across the isle, listening to how I was talking with/dealing with people who stopped by. He told me that he had heard people ask the same question "50 times", and that each time I had taken the time to answer, each time with as much enthusiasm as the first. You never know who is watching!

[Dana Hackney]

I know that good ol' word of mouth is a foundation for one's reputation, but diversifying your
methods, especially the web is important. I have yet to get my website created. It's been so stinkin'
busy with all the other things going on but I know I have to get off my lazy posterior and get 'er dun...soon!

Dana

[DiamondG Knives]

Very sage advise Ed.
Reminds me of a saying I heard once, "Character is what shows when you think noone is looking"

God Bless
Mike

[Ed Caffrey]

Something I didn't mention previously is vehicle advertising. For years I've had plain white lettering on my truck topper, but after it got pretty well wrecked this past winter, I decided to go with something a little more high class...and unfortunately more pricey. This is a mock up the sign company did for me today. Suppose to have it installed next Monday morning. Hope it pays off!

[cdent]

Yup, that and since you park it at work, all the mileage, maint. and ins. are business expenses.

See you next month, Craig

[Ed Caffrey]

Hi Craig!

I gave up on claiming the maintenance and such....and just do the mileage thing on the truck for taxes. I was amazed at the details records required to claim all the other stuff...got discouraged and just went with mileage.

[Geno]

I agree with Ed.
"Word of mouth", I was taught, was like when you do a good job and someone will tell 10 of thier friends, BUT if you do a bad job, that same person will tell everyone they know.
Sad but true.
Even an old web page is better than NO web page.
The web page becomes your "image" to the world, so to speak.
Advertising in print can backfire.
When I bought out my partner and took over CCIV, I decided "Blade" magazine would be the place to advertise.(We had a good history together) Blade magazine printed the WRONG info, then to make things worse, the retraction was "online" where my customers could not see it, and it came after 6 monthe worth of business was killed.
Advertising in print cost money, then the add was wrong, and continues to run without corrections and people call a dead phone line and think you went out of business for 1/2 a year.
After fighting with the magazine people, they run one add for free and think that fixes things. No more.
I get a LOT of free advertising in knife supply catalogs (CCIV videos), but that wasn't easy getting there. I have dealers selling my unique blades to knifemakers around the world (The Ultimate Knife Kit).
My students bring friends and new customers to my shop. My 10 kids tell everyone.
Daily we have opportunity, like my neighbor asked me, "Excuse me Sir, is that a Samori sword you are using to trim your hedges?".
"Well Sorta" I explained, This is a Katana I made and am testing it now.

BTW, I never had a problem getting my daughters home on time either.

"Your Passion", I think is the best advertising.
If someone sees your passion (like Ed's collector watching from afar) they know you will make it. Zig Zigler stated one man with a passion will accomplish more than a thousand with an intrest.
I love what I do. I love helping people. I love doing it for God (i.e.Center Cross) and mixing my faith and craft together. My Sunday morning service gets more advertising than my knives do, and that's fine. It all evens out in the end, and why I do shows.

Shows...
Shows are expensive and often don't pay off per show, but the recognitions last much longer than the shows do. People remember meeting you...and want to "connect" again.....Shows pay off in recognitions and are important, but advertising? Maybe long term, but don't be suprised if your show budget dwendels faster than shows replace it.

New ideas, top of the line products, and good people skills will bring recognition withyout paying big bucks for them. Word travels in this tiny community of custom knifemaking.
My 2 cents worth...
Geno