Personal Brand

[denmiller652]

Hi,

Lately, I've been thinking more and more about the need to work on my personal brand and develop my presence on social media. At the moment, I have a small shop selling leather cases (it's not very popular). I'm thinking that I need to change this situation, and I want to test things out on myself first before applying the experience to my business. Let's name the top three tips for beginners on social media. Does anyone have a similar business and can share their secrets? Where should I start???

[Dwight]

First off . . . you are not Ford or General Motors . . . so the wide social presence is seriously not needed at the moment.

But you can put up a very simple website for about 150 bucks the first year . . . show really good photographs of your product line . . . and invite questions.  Don't attempt to do a JC Penny web site . . . remember the old axiom about keeping it simple.

Second . . . by your own admission . . . you have little experience . . . and what you do have is not popular.

You need to develop a style and product line first . . . something that YOU can do . . . that you are comfortable with . . . and truly like to do.  For me . . . I will never develop a line of men's wallets . . . but belts and gun holsters are my forte.

You also have a community . . . where you live . . . there are VFW . . . ladies aide's . . . other "gathering" places.  There are also weekend community yard sales . . . etc.  You are looking for a place where people  congregate and have bulletin boards . . . or have walk thru customers.  Post pictures on their bulletin boards with your name and phone number.  MAKE SURE TO GET THEIR PERMISSION TO DO SO FIRST.

I have some friends who run a gun shop . . . anyone asking about a gun holster . . . gets my phone number . . . and the usually become another customer.

What you are needing is LOCAL traffic that will give you instant opinions on your product . . . good / bad / OK / bad stitching / wrong color / etc.  . . . The necessary word is INSTANT . . . something a "social presence" will not give you.  Selling on Etsy may generate sales . . . but feeback is long coming . . . and you cannot have a personal conversation about the product . . . like you would have at a community yard sale.

You also can make a couple dozen items of what you want to make . . . and see WHAT sells . . . toss the stuff you have carried in your inventory to 6 months worth of sales . . . and it is still there.  Get new stuff.

It took me a half dozen weekend sales . . . I drove 75 miles one way to each . . . but it made all the difference in the world for my product line.

Also . . . try to find something you have a natural affinity for.  There are all too many "leather workers" on the interrnet . . . who have to have someone else make a pattern for them for every belt . . . every purse . . . every holster . . .  every sheath . . . In short . . . they have no ability to imagine and define . . . do this first . . . then that . . . then that . . . etc . . . and come up with a completed product that you are proud of . . . and your customer is happy with.  They could produce good looking leather Walmart bags . . . and not much more.

Last of all . . . most important of all . . . don't be afraid of Ebay . . . it is a real good place to "try out" your idea of a product.  If it does not sell in 90 days . . . kill the listing and try something else.  And while you are on Ebay . . . figure out the average price to ship your product to your next door neighbor . . . and the person living in the most distant state.   Add that to your asking price . . . and advertise "Free Shipping".  Don't advertise 100% satisfaction guaranteed . . . but when you get even a half reasonable complaint . . . have them ship it back to you at your expense . . . and when it gets there . . . replace it with the complaint addressed.  You will build customer satisfaction that you cannot build any other way.

Make that Ebay listing for 1 single product . . . don't aggravate the problem with check boxes for size . . . shape . . . length . . . color . . . etc.  If it is a 36 inch man's belt with rosebud stamping . . . put a really good picture of it on there . . . and advertise it as such.  You can then use the same picture for one you advertise as 38 inch long . . . another at 40 . . . one at 42 . . . etc.  That also prevents mistakes on size . . . color . . . etc.

But last of all . . . have fun as you start out.  Don't start in a product line that causes you grief making it.  If you are not having fun doing it . . . find something else to do .

May God bless,

Dwight

 

[Mulesaw]

Sound advice form @Dwight as always :-) 

I might be reading it wrong, but you mention that you already have a shop, in case that is a boutique (shop) then the advice might be different compared to if you have a workshop (shop).
Also cases is a fairly broad term, so my understanding of cases might not be what you are referring to. So if you have a picture or two that could help in us giving some better suggestions to you.

The two types of social media that I am familiar with is blogging and Instagram. Both can generate sales, but blogging is something that takes a lot of work before you'll see some sales from it. Instagram might be a bit quicker in that respect. I think the secret on IG is to use some accurate hashtags, and make sure that they correspond with what your cases can actually be used for.

At the moment in Scandinavia, knitting is incredibly popular. So I would guess that if you could make some super cool and elegant cases for knitting supplies and you used some knitting hashtags, then it could help boost sales.  But you most likely need to specialize, if not - your IG posts will never reach those hardcore in whatever field you choose.

My company (which I have together with our oldest son) specializes in horse related stuff. post once in a while with pictures ranging from repairs we have done, or stuff we have sold such as special productions for tack rooms. We get 99% of our business from word of mouth advertising and very little from social media contacts. But still the 1% is nice because it is a new customer that we didn't have before. 
You can make a pretty good page easily on blogspot (Googles blogging system). That will enable you to post every time you make a new product or do something special. And it is free to use.
Instagram is also free which is a huge benefit. If you set up a homepage where you need to pay, even if it is only 150$ per year, you still need to make those money first.
A real advantage of using a blog as sort of a "showroom" is that if people ask questions or comments, you can answer them and explain more about the thing they comment on. This will work kind of a FAQ except it is a bit more personal.

Good luck

Brgds 

Jonas

[SUP]

Great advice @Dwight and @Mulesaw This thread needs to be pinned for anyone who wants to start a leather business. . 

[Aventurine]

In general the two big questions are
Will I make what I like to make, and be satisfied with whatever clientele and business model emerges from that, regardless of how small it might be?
OR
Will I figure out what a substantial group of people will buy, and then maximize the intersection of what I want to do and what those people want me to do?

Everything else proceeds from how you answer those questions. 

I wonder if you might  get a person with an established business to feature your existing products, and give you tips on what new products they would like to display.  In the online world that might be their Etsy shop or EBay or Amazon presence.   In the real world , depending on the style of stuff you make, that might be a shoe shop or boot repair shop, motorcycle shop, feed store, pet supplies store, organic food co-op, Western clothing store, equestrian tack shop, outdoors sports store, gun and archery range,  cannabis dispensary, used vinyl and cd store, tie dye and hemp clothing store, religious goods shop,  tourist gift shop, artists' collective showroom, fine menswear shop, beauty parlor, or locally owned lumber and hardware store.  

Out there on your own:  Facebook pages are free and you can start out with just your friends,  in hopes that their friends with similar interests will see what you post.  Ask your friends to promote your work, and locally made handicrafts generally, starting in October in advance of the holiday gift season. Get a booth a a farmer's market and at community festivals -- or double up with someone else to share the costs of the booth.  Ask at your community business organization whether they have a website or promotional publication for locally owned and operated small businesses.

For online marketing:  Remember that online search hits, even within websites,  are driven by keywords.   So make sure your item descriptions contain exactly the key terms your clientele is likely to use, and make sure those words appear high up in each item description.  

Provide large images showing good,  well made things  that truly represent what a buyer would receive from you, and display the items in a nice arrangement with attractive backgrounds chosen for your clientele's tastes.  If you are marketing to the yachting crowd,  pose your items on a coil of rope on a weathered boardwalk.  If you are marketing to granola eaters, show your items on a hand woven  blanket next to a piece of unusual pottery.  If you are marketing to tourists, show your item against a background of local scenery.   If you are marketing to hikers, rest your items on interesting rocks next to a brook or a patch of wildflowers.  If you are marketing to bikers, display your work on the seat of a Harley.  

Learn how to make really nice photos.  It's not all that hard.  A 50 dollar lamp with adjustable color temperature (making the light warmer or cooler looking) and a cheap stand to hold your phone or camera perfectly still can make a huge difference.

If writing isn't your strong suit, get a friend to write the introduction to your shop and the item descriptions.  For godssakes use decent grammar, spelling, and punctuation.   Sloppy "wordsmanship" suggests sloppy craftsmanship in your product as well.

Use the lexicon (word choice, vocabulary) that matches your target buyer's personal style, interests, expertise, or attitudes.  Unless you are selling a utilitarian necessity (and sometimes even then) you are always selling your buyer something that represents *them* -- their concept of themselves, their joys, their values, their attitude toward the world, and their hopes for what other people will think about them.

Edited August 6 by Aventurine

[Mablung]

24 minutes ago, Aventurine said:

use decent grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and the lexicon (word choice, vocabulary) that matches your target buyer's personal style, interests, expertise, or attitudes.  Unless you are selling a utilitarian necessity (and sometimes even then) you are not selling anyone something that represents *you*.  You are always selling them something that represents *them* -- their concept of themselves, their values, their attitude toward the world, and their hopes for what other people will think about them.

Couldn’t have said it better. I work in a professional field and cringe whenever someone purportedly selling to that audience writes poorly, from basic matters of style to tone to word choice. Quality writing (which doesn’t have to be showy) makes a critical difference, especially for those selling to people with a grasp of communication exceeding that required to talk like a Zoomer on a YouTube short. 

[CdK]

Some good advice by a number of members here so not much to add except the story of my latest adventure. Ramble warning ahead…

i don’t do social media and don’t have need for it, YMMV.

A piece of advice I got from a member here that has proven its truth is not to become fixated on what you like and what you would buy.

Backstory, I recently made the plunge and invested a lot of money into equipment, materials and supplies without a full business plan except that I knew I did not know enough yet want to craft and sell leather goods. I did not borrow money or incur overhead that could get me into trouble. Worst case I sell off what I have and reset.

As part of my adventure I have spent a lot of time and effort to master the equipment and learn techniques new to me. Tooling and holsters & belts I am very familiar with but this is not my current focus as I know that only accepting custom work will not generate sufficient work or revenue. I have witnessed too many people fail trying to do this but even though they are very skilled and produce excellent products or services, failed financially.

Mastering, I use this term loosely, sewing machines with types of leather and designs I am not familiar with has been an interesting journey. Making small zippered bags has kept me occupied for the past few weeks. The early examples were atrocious in my opinion, but slowly I got over the hump and things started to come together. I no longer have any fears of zippers or making bags.

Some of the bags were in colors and designs I would not choose for myself yet they all sold without leaving my house, no social media, no website and no friends & family sales. I had one long time holster customer visit me with a new to him pistol for a holster. His wife saw the bags hanging in my shop and she bought 2. She also took photos without me knowing. Within a few days all were sold.

This type of pattern has repeated itself a few times already so not a fluke.

Based from the feedback I got I learned a few things of importance, my color choices are different to what others prefer, qualities and properties of products that I would not have considered are important to know. This also proved my assertion that I must have ready stocks of items ready to go as impulse buying is alive and well and having these will lead to more sales as well as adding custom orders to my to-do list. Oh, have a selection of leathers on hand, this leads to more business. A catalog or photos won’t get the same traction, this is from customer feedback.

 

 

[toxo]

7 hours ago, CdK said:

Some good advice by a number of members here so not much to add except the story of my latest adventure. Ramble warning ahead…

i don’t do social media and don’t have need for it, YMMV.

A piece of advice I got from a member here that has proven its truth is not to become fixated on what you like and what you would buy.

Backstory, I recently made the plunge and invested a lot of money into equipment, materials and supplies without a full business plan except that I knew I did not know enough yet want to craft and sell leather goods. I did not borrow money or incur overhead that could get me into trouble. Worst case I sell off what I have and reset.

As part of my adventure I have spent a lot of time and effort to master the equipment and learn techniques new to me. Tooling and holsters & belts I am very familiar with but this is not my current focus as I know that only accepting custom work will not generate sufficient work or revenue. I have witnessed too many people fail trying to do this but even though they are very skilled and produce excellent products or services, failed financially.

Mastering, I use this term loosely, sewing machines with types of leather and designs I am not familiar with has been an interesting journey. Making small zippered bags has kept me occupied for the past few weeks. The early examples were atrocious in my opinion, but slowly I got over the hump and things started to come together. I no longer have any fears of zippers or making bags.

Some of the bags were in colors and designs I would not choose for myself yet they all sold without leaving my house, no social media, no website and no friends & family sales. I had one long time holster customer visit me with a new to him pistol for a holster. His wife saw the bags hanging in my shop and she bought 2. She also took photos without me knowing. Within a few days all were sold.

This type of pattern has repeated itself a few times already so not a fluke.

Based from the feedback I got I learned a few things of importance, my color choices are different to what others prefer, qualities and properties of products that I would not have considered are important to know. This also proved my assertion that I must have ready stocks of items ready to go as impulse buying is alive and well and having these will lead to more sales as well as adding custom orders to my to-do list. Oh, have a selection of leathers on hand, this leads to more business. A catalog or photos won’t get the same traction, this is from customer feedback.

 

 

Never was a truer word said.