Although the majority of my clients are service-based professionals, a handful of them sell products and I wanted to write a post more suitable for them today. Following are five tips that will help you jump start your marketing.
1. Branding Materials
Branding is very important. It conveys that you are serious about what you do and sell and it also helps you to portray a cohesive professional appearance. First create a slogan for what you do (something catchy and short). You can create a logo. Your logo should be clean and simple because it will be printed on everything you distribute (business cards, tags, bags, and websites). And you need a quality photos – of yourself and your products.
2. Professional Domain Name
3. Sell Products in Person
Establish yourself at local events. People like to touch and feel the products and actually see the person behind the products. I had to get use to this since I am inclined to talk much about me or what I do. Make sure your table is well stocked with products and that you have proper signage on your table. And by all means collect the address email address of everyone who visits your table so you can send them news of upcoming events.
4. Create Promotional Items
You have to get your products into as many hands as possible. So at these events have a few promotional items on your table, such as book-markers and postcards. These items can be printed cheaply at sites such as vistaprint.com. If you sell beauty or spa products, why not create mini-size samples? Be sure to include your contact information and your logo on every promotional item.
5. Build Your Network
Social networks like Facebook are not just for finding friends or family members. It is also a vehicle to market what you do. Facebook is a sore spot for many. Most of my clients hate social sites and think they are a waste of time. But once a few of them become clients of mine they quickly realized that their biggest fans are family and closest friends. They will buy a lot of products and they refer their friends to your site. If you have to choose one social media site, I would probably suggest Facebook or Instagram, however, social media is not my area of expertise.
Send out status updates once a week that direct them to your new product sales or just announce what is happening in your life. Keep it simple and, if it gets too much for you, then it is easy to hire someone to do this task for you.
