Creative Business 101 – Offline Marketing Ideas

by Linda | Jul 14, 2011 | my creative journal

For those of us into social media, blogging and all the latest online marketing buzz…it can sometimes overshadow the importance of offline marketing. In fact, the best way to get quality business leads is through word of mouth. So I think it’s supremely important to cultivate your marketing efforts both online and offline.

Granted, I live in a little rural Italian town. Are they really going to need web design or illustration…a cute drawing of little girls anytime soon?! Turns out even the local meat shop is interested in some design work. When I finally opened up, letting people know what I was capable of…requests starting coming in. “So and so said you do design work…would it be possible…” and so it begins. It really got me started thinking about more offline marketing ideas.

• Do you include your business info on all communications? You know how important it is to have an email signature with your business information…but what about on snail mail? Something to consider because that mail goes through a lot of hands…hence lots of eyes.
• How about working with partner stores, leaving business card sand/or flyers inside the shopping bags of customers perhaps. If you are able to connect with a store that compliments your services or products…it would really be a win-win. Perhaps your service goes hand in hand, so you would be referring clients to each other. You might have to think a bit creatively, but randomly I thought about illustrators and tattoo parlors. A lot of people would like custom tattoo designs… or am I dreaming? Maybe yarn themed illustrations at your local yarn shop – you probably have the same target demographic. Stationery and graphic designers can partner up with bridal salons or wedding planners. The list goes on…
• Are you providing your services and products to family and friends? I know at times it might seem odd, because getting a similar gift every year might not seem so cool for family…(how many journals can I give to a person?) But to a certain extent it really is great advertising. When you offer something as a gift, there’s no pressure for them to do anything about it. But naturally if they like it or someone mentions a need, your info will be shared to other friends, neighbors or colleagues at work in an organic fashion.
• Do you advertise locally and list yourself in business directories? The newsletter or bulletins, community booklets and journals, sport team flyers, local business listings and kids team fundraisers sponsor lists. There are so many options that are FREE or reasonable priced when it boils down to a local area.
• Consider donating your services or products at charity events. It’s a great way to do good and get some advertising at the same time, whether it be family festival raffles or contest drawings.
• Leaving flyers at events that might relate to your business or general information locations, such as career centers, public libraries, post offices or continuing education centers. Of course you have to get permission, but you’ll be surprised how supportive the community is. The secret is finding a good match and giving them a good reason to provide the information. I started thinking about designers hooking up with print shops, where people might want someone to design a photo book or cover to be printed…
• For those targeting the mom demographic, would day care centers be a perfect place to advertise? Everyone takes a look at those bulletin boards or table of flyers. Maybe even the pediatricians office or similar locations. Or at the hospital new born section…new moms have a lot of needs and would be happy to find useful information on services that pertain to them.
• Networking events. I know, sounds super scary and a bit fake to many people. But honesty, they have been created to get business people together and these events have started the careers of many budding entrepreneurs. This is something I want to try for myself…to get to know the business people in the community and get over the fear of putting myself out there.
• How about offering giveaways to local shops in your community? In the online world there is often talk about guest posting and giveaways…why not do them in real life? When this idea popped up in my brainstorming, I started to think about how all the online tactics could be translated into real life marketing tactics… A whole new world, huh?

Do you have ideas to contribute? The idea is to spread the news about you and your work…to the communities and groups of people you have all around you. I’ve been realizing how odd it is that many folks do business remotely with people all over the world…yet not with their own neighborhood! There are cases where it makes sense, but oftentimes we are simply overlooking good opportunities.

Feel free comment below and share your experiences! I will definitely be trying a few of my ideas, but just pick one if you are feeling shy. Let’s see where it takes us!

Creative Business 101

by Linda | Mar 9, 2011 | my creative journal

I’ve been designing and creating artwork for a while now, dabbling here and there, but sadly I’m nowhere near my ultimate goals. We all have fun pursuing our passions no matter what, but at the end of the day, it’s important to be moving forward towards your aspirations. I want and need to succeed in more concrete ways. Taking a step back and reviewing my current situation…sort of gives me a headache. I’m all over the place. I feel as if I need to start from square one again.

My goal is a be a licensed artist and I’ve already blogged my intentions to focus this year. I’ve come to realize that I’ve jumped into the sea of creative businesses without actually knowing how to swim properly. I don’t regret anything I’ve done though because it has helped me to come to this point. However, I do feel the struggle of trying to stay afloat and still going nowhere.

There are many creatives out there who have grown up knowing what they want to be. Then there are those like me, who sort of fall into related fields of work and struggle when it comes to breaking open the doors and saying, “Here I Am” and by the way I’m selling my work, too. I know, it can feel so odd to sell yourself – but let’s save that for later discussion…

Basically, I’m starting afresh and following my own Creative Business 101, using all the experience and knowledge I have under my belt. Oftentimes we already know what we need to do, but the volume overwhelms even the best of us. So I’m breaking it all down into an ordered task list, tackling each item one by one. Like many of you out there, I’ve bought those business books and read countless helpful blog posts. At some point you realize you know most of the important information already. It’s time to take action instead of floating on aimlessly. And yes, I will have to make time for this like a priority project, because it’s my dream – it should be the most important thing on my list of to dos. I will be challenging myself to build up my portfolio, my official professional artist presence, connections, submissions and overall marketing of myself and my work. Blogging about the process will keep me accountable and will allow me to share the steps and my experiences along the way. I hope that you’ll come along for the ride.

Finally, I would like to invite everyone who has a dream to follow along. Apply the ideas to your situation and join me! I do believe that doing things together – a collaborative spirit and effort – makes any task so much more enjoyable and approachable. If you blog about your experiences, I would love to follow along. It helps to motivate me in my ventures…so how about it? Let’s start our creative businesses together! Be sure to subscribe to my newsletter if you want to follow along and check the tortagialla.com box. Subscribe here! See you here next time for some creative kick-butt action – ciao ciao.

Note for those who actually get to the end of a post and want more. If you are interested in the resources, books, blogs that I mentioned briefly…you can follow the links below to do your own research. A few are affiliate links, so they will help support me – thanks in advance!

Creative, Inc.: The Ultimate Guide to Running a Successful Freelance Business

ArtLicensingInfo.com

ArtBizBlog.com

Scoutie Girl Free Resources

Design*Sponge Biz Ladies posts

HeartMadeBlog Biz Tips posts

The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line

Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Business

Craft Inc. Business Planner