How do you get the word out about your business? One effective way is with advertising. Advertising is used to persuade an audience (your potential or current customers/clients) to take action with respect to your product or service. And if that action is purchasing your product, the results are not always immediate. I have read numerous studies that it can take anywhere from 13-17 times for someone to see your print ad before they purchase. Much of the initial viewing of your ad puts your name in the mind of the buyer. They begin to recognize your name or brand. Once your name becomes familiar, the prospect moves along a continuum to become a customer and hopefully a long-term client. While it may be quicker with online advertising, you still need to build your brand first.
While you can advertise online or offline, I want to focus on advertising in general first. I will write about online advertising in a few weeks.
I do think some form of advertising belongs in your marketing plan. When I think about advertising I often go back to the basic questions I learned in journalism school: Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.
Here are six keys to consider when it comes to creating an advertising strategy.
1. Who are you trying to reach?
The more you know who your ideal customer is, the better. Before you can decide where to advertise, you need to understand your customer. Often people just think they are trying to reach all quilters or all art collectors. If you really look at your customer, you might find that you are trying to reach beginners or appliqué lovers or avant-garde artists.
2. What is the product you are selling and what problem does it solve?
Remember when you look at your product to look at its benefits, not its features. Benefits tell the customer the problem you are solving for them. Another what to consider is what your budget is.
3. Where will you find your customers?
It is easy to look at all the craft magazines and online advertising opportunities and get overwhelmed thinking you need to advertise in all of them. Take time to figure out where your target market hangs out. Are they traditional quilters who read traditional quilt magazines? Are they more art focused and read art-focused magazines? Are they shop owners who read trade magazines? Do they get most of their information from the Internet? Once you determine where you can find your customer, it lets you narrow down where to spend your advertising dollars.
4. When will you advertise?
It is valuable to set up an advertising schedule outlining how often you will advertise. As I noted earlier, it takes time for people to find you, and you need to advertise on an ongoing basis to expect results. Sure you will get customers from your first ad, but you will get more as you advertise more. Your customers will begin to recognize your name and your brand.
5. Why are you advertising?
I like looking at this from two standpoints – yours and your customer. You know why you are advertising: name and brand recognition, more sales, etc. Consider your customer’s why, too. Why should they care about what you are advertising? Why are your products or services different from the other products or services they already know about?
6. How will you advertise?
You have lots of options with advertising these days, and you will have to answer a lot of “how” questions once you get through the “W’s.” How will you connect with your customer – print, online, google adwords, etc.? How will you structure your ad: with lots of information, lots of visuals, testimonials, etc.? How often will you change your ad? How will you know if your advertising is effective? You need to create a system to track your results. In the end it is all about your ROI (return on investment). You cannot make decisions about future advertising if you do not.
If you spend time considering these questions, you will be well on your way to an effective advertising plan. What questions do you ask yourself when you try to create a plan? Do you implement these principles? I’d love to hear your thoughts, questions or suggestions. Share it below or on our ICAP Facebook or Google+ pages.
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Morna McEver is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Creative Arts Professionals where creative arts entrepreneurs craft business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a FREE subscription at http://www.creativeartsprofessional.com.
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