MARKETING - It Makes a Difference!

Low- and No-Cost Marketing

First a few tips for putting together your marketing messages and reinforcing your personal brand:

• Have a format - work with your brand - but be flexible so you can respond to circumstances
• Sometimes your marketing initiatives will have INSTANT results and sometime it can take weeks or even months to see those results
• Always have more than one marketing plan running at a time so the ones that give your fast results can support your business while you are waiting for the long term ones to kick in
• Bigger is NOT always better - analyze your results to ensure that the time you are spending turns into actual business
• Stack your efforts and reinforce your brand with your internet appearance, your newsletter, your messaging
• FOLLOW UP!!!  This is the one thing that GUARANTEES results yet so many of us don't have an ironclad follow up plan
• Learn from the "No's"; listen to what people are objecting to so you can have workarounds ready to go
• Stay realistic

Here are some things you should either have on hand or have ready to update and get out the door in a FLASH:

• Business cards; either through MDS (marketing opp for MDS!) or from a vendor
• Current promotion flyers 
• Samples to hand out or display
• Preformatted press releases 
• Thank You For Asking packets (see below) 
• Giveaways or donations 
• Prize drawing slips 
• Hostess Packets 
• Recruit Packets

Also think about:

• Putting the SU! logos on your car with other DE motifs (check with your automobile insurance company first!)
• Carry SU! reusable shopping totes, your SU! event bags, deliver EVERYTHING (even non-SU! stuff like things for school, etc). in SU! plastic bags
• Wear your SU! apparel and Simply Adorned items
• Carry one of those window totes with card or page samples showing

Thank You For Asking packets are little packets that I make batches at a time.  They consist of our card sized flat cello bag with several (2-3) blank-inside cards, a business card, a mini, any SU! promotions printed two to a page and sliced in half, a half sheet flyer I make up listing my classes and a "FREE PARTY!" coupon.  I hand these out to EVERYONE!  If the cashier is a peach, give her one and say something like "You have been so nice today, I would love to give you one of these!”  And if the cashier is nasty, give her one and say something like "You seem like you could use some cheering up, I would love to give you one of these"!  And then turn to the person behind you and say "My mom told me that unless I had one for everyone, I shouldn't offer something, so here's one for you too!"  If anyone asks "What's Stampin' Up!?" you say … “Thank you for asking - here's a little gift that will tell you all about it."
Here is a list of places that might need cards to send - remember that when you do this you have DOUBLE exposure - the people for whom you are making the cards and the people who are receiving them, PLUS anyone else they show it to!; may have inexpensive advertising in newsletters, at events or on their websites - many offer a discount or free ads to people who offer discounts to their members; may need someone to come in and be a guest speaker or provide an activity for their group

• Realtors - offer to put together little "We've Moved" kits with stamped post-it notes for the new people to put on their bills, etc. with some stamped postcards and a Welcome to the Neighborhood or Thank You card for the realtor to send to them.
• Teachers - thank you notes, good job notes for students, postcards for events, post-it notes; offer to teach scrapbooking or stamping to kids
• Nursing Homes - for the residents to send to their families, for the employees to send to families; offer to hold a monthly mini camp for the residents with the nursing home paying only for supplies
• Chamber of Commerce - thank you notes, congrats notes, etc. for members to send to customers and clients
• Rotary Club – ditto
• Mothers Groups - Mothers & More, MOMS, M.O.P.S. - offer to be a guest speaker about scrapbooking, stamping, etc at one of their meetings; offer to hold a special event for the members
• Adult Education Centers - teach classes!
• Fundraisers - offer baskets - fill with as much retired stuff as you have with a current mini, current catalog, promo flyers AND A COUPON FOR A FREE PARTY!
• Libraries - while many won't allow you to "sell" you can teach classes!
• Consignment Stores - see if you can set up a little area with cards and gift packaging
• Gift Stores - any independent store that does not already sell cards (and some that do might still be interested!) has that need - go fill it!
• Florists - make up a bunch of business card sized cards (that's the size of the envelopes they have and what their stands fit) along with some greeting card sized items; show them around!
• Candy stores - cards and gift packaging
• Hair Salons - make up some fun, blingy, girlie cards
• Wedding Stores - see if you can display a board with everything from save the date cards to thank you notes
• Maternity Stores - show off baby announcements, congrats cards, enclosure cards for gifts
• Tutoring Centers - parents sit there with nothing to look at - give them something!; tutors may want congrats and good job cards to give to students
• Monument Stores - Sympathy cards, thank you notes
• Nursery Schools - make up albums of party invites, announcements, thank you notes
• Greenhouses - same as florists
• Jewelry Stores - cards, gift packaging, set up display for shoppers
• Knitting Stores - gift enclosures, cards using the knitting set for the knitters to send, set up display for shoppers to buy
• Sewing Stores - WAHOO!  All our new sewing stuff - PERFECT!
• Garden Clubs - Offer to be a guest speaker, demo garden related projects, see if they need cards to send to members, etc.
• Civic Groups - thank you notes, congrats, etc.
• Women's Groups - cards for members to send
• Red Hat Groups - be a guest speaker, cards for members to send
• Attorneys - cards to send to clients
• Medical and Dental offices - cards to send to patients
• Nutritionists - cards to send to clients, set up display for clients to buy
• Health Clubs - cards to send out to clients, set up display for clients to buy

Remember, OFFER don’t ASK, make it all about the other person and LOVE WHAT YOU DO!!