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The Business of Knife Making A forum dedicated to all aspects of running, managing and legal operational issues relating to the custom knife making and custom knife selling industry. |
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#1
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effective marketing strategies?
I am looking for effective marketing ideas. I made myself a website and have had it re-worked by a friend of mine who is a commercial web designer. I have a facebook page for my knives and also a personal one and I link to my website via status updates a few times a week. I had a bunch of basic buisness cards made up and hand them out whenever an opening is presented (I dont want to seem pushy) There is a metal art show and sale coming up at the end of september that I have been invited to attend (not sure if I can swing it) I have no issues selling my work to local floks who are able to stop by and see and touch my knives. but I want to expand my customer base before I totaly saturate my local market then have to think about it.
At first my website was getting between 20-50 hits a day a few emails, but no sales. I would notice an influx of page hits on my site when I posted about the site in FB but now not nearly as many, still no sales. I have had success with my buissnes cards generating quite a bit of intrest in the form of emails and a few orders. Word of mouth has been my best resource toward generating site hits, emails and orders. how do you guys market not just your product but your sites and yourselves? __________________ StaySharp |
#2
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I like you, have also not had very good luck with a website. To the extent that I dropped it. It is something that i need to re-visit in the near future though.
The single most effective thing i did to increase sales (for me) was have professional photographs taken. Im sure you've heard that a good picture sells knives.... this couldnt be more true. Not only are you paying for the photo, but along with that the photographer will often submit the pics to several magazines. Which obviously could turn into national exposure. I HIGHLY recommend Jim Cooper, Im sure you've heard of him. Awsome gent to do buisness with! Surprisingly Facebook Has turned into a few orders as well. Some people just have a knack for promoting myself.... i am not one of them. I wish I was. I Really believe in the Digital age Marketing though, I think your on the right track..It seems like it needs just as much attention as making knives. Shawn |
#3
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I have just ordered my first knife kit, so suffice it to say I am not a knife maker. However, we do sell our handmade products online through our website and Etsy. Having a FB business page is a good marketing strategy. I just purchased a book that is used as a text book in college marketing classes, titled "Inbound Marketing". I haven't read much of it yet, but it was highly recommended for online marketing.
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#4
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Try using other strategies like affiliate marketing. You can pay these companies to create text adds and banner adds to promote your knifes. Along with google search optimization, such as using key words in your adds so that they pop up higher on the search list. I warn you this can get expensive but it will get your name out there. They will receive a portion of the sale for each order placed but your adds will pop up in places you would have never expected. After a month or so you can stop using the company and they remove the adds (because they pay for the space). After this you can expect a jump in sales. Think of it working like this. An individual purchases a knife after clicking the affiliate add. You may pay the affiliate $45 per sale and profit only around $25-$30 per sale they produce. Then the next month you turn off your traffic from the affiliate and watch the sales fly in from "word of mouth" advertising from the sales you and the affiliate generated. The sales you generate afterward from getting your product out there will be at there full profit potential that you designate.
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#5
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It is nice that you have build a website for marketing. The next thing you need to do is to take more number of professional photos of knives and put it on the website. Also you need to promote the website and your products both for knives marketing.
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#6
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I am a graphic designer during the day, and have been an artist for a while. I personally like focusing on different vintage propaganda posters from Russia, and small European countries.
Anyway, if you would like, maybe we can work out some sort of trade to maybe make some small flyers, website artwork, business card templates, and a logo redesign? Let me know, I am not too sure if I can pm yet, I am still fairly new to this forum but let me know if you need help. __________________ Vulpini Tactical https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vulpi...01006860094259 Find Me on KickStarter! Twitter: Elliot Fox @ VulpiniKnives |
Tags |
art, bee, build, digital, hand, handmade, help., kit, knife, knife kit, knives, made, make, making, press, products, small, trade, vintage |
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