How To Market Your Leather Business

[Daniel Tyack]

I'm a marketing guy by trade and thought I would share some thoughts with you folks. I looked over a lot of posts in the marketing section and saw some good and bad ideas floating around. This is an "infinite" topic so I'll try to just share what will help small time leather businesses out.

1.

Create a "personal" brand.

You are most likely a one man/woman show, don't pretend that you aren't. It may be temping to create a "big" presence however this will only harm your business. There are a zillion big companies out there that sell nice leather items (made by hand in a country with cheap labor rates) you cannot compete with them. Instead, market your personality and boutique vibe. People love to connect with a personal brand, it makes them feel good about themselves in two ways, 1. They feel special because they have a custom item 2. They like to route for the underdog. DO NOT pretend you are a massive company, instead embrace the fact that you are small time and play the unique hand mad factor up.

2.

Be Genuine.

Do not try to be someone you are not and do embrace who you are. Don't try to do everything, instead specialize in what you like/are good at and push it hard. If you spin your wheels taking project you don't like or don't have the skills to accomplish you will be miserable and clients will not be happy. Don't be afraid to tell a client that you don't feel comfortable or cannot produce an item. Just be honest and then offer another option (preferably something that makes you money). A company that sell a focused set of product will do much better than a company that tries to sell / be everything. Be who you are, embrace your personal style.

3.

Don't do your own root canals.

I run into this all the time. A business owner will hire a CPA, Accountant, Lawyer, Sales Person, Shop Boy, Fulfillment Service, Cleaning Service, HR Person etc. but they insist that they do their own website. I don't know why this is a trend in small business but honestly it's about as smart as doing your own root canals. You ARE going to screw it up and it is going to HURT! Yes it's good to have a general knowledge of things like HTML, CSS, PHP, SEO etc. but only so you don't get ripped off when you hire somebody. I know you are scared to hire it out because you think it costs a lot of money. Yes, a website can cost a lot, and it can also cost very little. If you are in the market for one do this... Go to

www.elance.com

, create an account, post your job (website design) and watch the bids come in. You will get bids from $300-$5000, just be sure to check portfolios, reviews and how long a provider has been on elance. (any outsourcing website will work I just like elance.) Some people will stick their noses up at this idea because they would NEVER take jobs away from Americans. Well the moral of the story is that US based design firm just hired a guy from elance to do your website and you paid them 6X what they paid to get it done. I'll write a post some day about economical solutions for small businesses and cheap bastards but for now... Stop doing your own root canals!

4.

Utilize free goodies

. There are many free tools out there to generate business and sell product but I do recommend 2 above all others. Google Places and Facebook.

• With google places you can essentially create a verified listing and business profile page within google's system. If you do nothing else for your search engine optimization, please do this.
  www.google.com/places
• Create a Facebook business page. A huge percentage of the population uses facebook and it's a great way to keep your product in front of your fans without spamming them. The key is staying active and posting relevant content regularly even if that just means quick pictures of your projects. Here are a few FB tips. 1. You cannot create a page without having a personal profile so do that first. 2. Create a Fan Page (not a group) 3. Get a unique domain name like facebook.com/uniquename 4. Suggest it to all your FB friends and promote the heck out of it on your website
• Contributing to online communities is also key. This will do to things 1. establish you as an authority 2. Get links back to your site. You'll note I have a small link in my signature to
  www.leathermob.com
  it's a social network I started for leather workers. I want new traffic and new members so I'm taking the time to write this article. I'm being brutally honest about this to show you a real world example of contributing to a community to generate traffic.

There are tons of other free services like local business directories that will help you out as well. Just google search things like "How to promote my business" and you'll get all kinds of tips.

5.

Youtube Youtube Youtube Youtube!

Did I mention Youtube? People love youtube, in fact probably everyone reading this has clocked a few hours checking out leather stuff (or dancing cats...). Youtube however isn't just fun, it's also GREAT for business! Here's a good strategy... Make a tutorial video of you building something that you are really good at and you really like, title it "How to build a __________", add 10 or so relevant key words and watch the hits come in. Potential clients will see the care and time you put in to your work and be more inclined to order. Google also lists videos on the first search page so if you title it appropriately you can bypass all the organically places search results with one video. Videos will also help people connect to you and your brand. Once they watch 2 or 3 of you working your magic they will start to feel a loyalty to your brand which can easily convert to web traffic and sales!

I could go on all day and everybody's brains would glass over so let's just stop here

If you ever have any questions like "How do I promote my business" just ask google, you will surely find some good advise.

Hope this helps somebody out!

[mike59]

Daniel, Thanks for this info. I wish I'd have had this information long ago.

Mike

[UKRay]

Useful information, Daniel - but don't stop there. We want to know everything! Those that don't will click away so 'fill your boots' man. Type 'till your fingers hurt. You have an appreciative audience here.

Ray

[Daniel Tyack]

Useful information, Daniel - but don't stop there. We want to know everything! Those that don't will click away so 'fill your boots' man. Type 'till your fingers hurt. You have an appreciative audience here.

Ray

Thanks Ray I'll try to add individual topics in the near future. That post was a lot to type for an ADD guy like me! I'll aslo try to stay active in this section with new topics, for a new guy like me it's just hard to jump into topics that have been up for a while.

[azrider]

Good information. Thanks for putting it together.

[AndyL1]

Great tips man! I am trying to build my own website though as I really need to learn how to do that. It would be nice to not have to worry about it though and live stress free! HAHA!

-Andy

[Daniel Tyack]

Great tips man! I am trying to build my own website though as I really need to learn how to do that. It would be nice to not have to worry about it though and live stress free! HAHA!

-Andy

Andy, you got the design part down already! All you need is to get some programming help. I would highly recommend elance for a guy like you. Just design what you want your site to look like and hire a programmer to create the site.

DT

[UKRay]

Andy, I would strongly suggest you contact LW's very own CitizenKate (www.studio-2dawgs.com) as she created an excellent website for me. Take it from me, Studio 2-Dawgs quality of work is great and so is their attention to detail. Best of all, Kate's prices are very affordable and I'm delighted with the work she carried out..

Kate really went the extra mile to make sure my brief was matched precisely and, trust me, I'm not easily pleased! LOL

Ray

[AndyL1]

Andy, you got the design part down already! All you need is to get some programming help. I would highly recommend elance for a guy like you. Just design what you want your site to look like and hire a programmer to create the site.

DT

Andy, I would strongly suggest you contact LW's very own CitizenKate (www.studio-2dawgs.com) as she created an excellent website for me. Take it from me, Studio 2-Dawgs quality of work is great and so is their attention to detail. Best of all, Kate's prices are very affordable and I'm delighted with the work she carried out..

Kate really went the extra mile to make sure my brief was matched precisely and, trust me, I'm not easily pleased! LOL

Ray

Thanks fellas! I do have a good friend of mine that's in the programming biz. He's going to help me get the site functional. I may sit with him while he does the programming so I can gain a bit more knowledge on the subject. I've been on Elance before... in fact scored a couple of jobs off of it while unemployed this past year. Luckily I start my new full time, permanent gig on Monday!

Cheers,

Andy

[Windom Leather]

Thanks Daniel, I look forward to seeing more tips from you.

[savvydreambuilder]

Really cool and so on the money.

thanks Daniel.

[randyandclaudia]

Right on! enjoyed your post.

[Chit]

Appreciate the great advice, especially for someone like me who is starting out with leather works. Thanks!

[veedub3]

I can agree with everything except #3. I think the decision to build your own website, depends greatly on if you have the skills to do it. Just because you are pounding leather does not mean that that is your only skill set and that you can not create a great functional website. If you have no idea where to begin, nor the desire to learn, then by all means yes farm it out, but how can you just say "Don't build your own website"? If you use that logic then why craft handmade goods out of leather, why not just farm it out? We weren't born leather workers we learned and honed the skill and the same would be true for building websites. Comparing root canals and building websites is like comparing bananas to mangoes. A bad analogy IMO, and I like how confident you are that anyone that attempts to build their own website will "screw it up" as you stated. That statement couldn't be further from the truth. As a web Designer myself, I have seen a lot of horrid sites done by beginners, but I have also seen a lot of really great ones, also done by beginners. I am a Moderator on Web Design Forum and I get asked daily to critic websites. I tell them how they can better the site, and for those that are way off, I simply suggest they farm it out. You have to know your limitations. Building a website is not nearly as hard as people think as long as you understand and follow the simple rules.

As for elance, and the other gazillion similar sites offering those types of services, make sure you do your due diligence. I have had several occasions where sites I made for clients were copied by members of elance. They copied the design layout, even lifted the images off my clients site, but what they did not know is that I hide tracking info in my images and if they are stolen and used elsewhere, I will know it!

Karina

oops...didn't realize this was an old thread when I posted.

Edited January 28, 2013 by veedub3

[WinterBear]

oops...didn't realize this was an old thread when I posted.

It may be an old thread, but you've grabbed my attention. How does one hide tracking information in one's pictures, and how does one trace those marked images? And what does one do when one finds that someone has stolen images?

[Sylvia]

Thanks Ray: I'm also a marketing person. I'd like to point out one thing you didn't include. "word of mouth" Be good to your customers and they will be good to you and tell everyone they know about your service, products,etc. Alternatively... they can give you bad press as well.

Anyway, thanks for sharing. While I don't fully agree with everything you've listed, I think you have provided some great information.

[veedub3]

It may be an old thread, but you've grabbed my attention. How does one hide tracking information in one's pictures, and how does one trace those marked images? And what does one do when one finds that someone has stolen images?

I use a a service called Digimarc. Click the link and you can read on how easily it's done. I am also a Web Designer/Photographer and it is very important for me to protect my images, so using a service such as this is essential to me. There are several other sites similar to this one, but this is just what I choose to use.

When I find one of my images being used without my permission, the first thing I do is contact the company who designed the site. This info can usually be found in the footer somewhere. When I contact them the excuse I always get is that they got the image off Google but that does not fly with me. I demand they remove my image immediately and they have always complied. They know they stole it so they don't put up a fight at all, and the last thing they want me to do is to contact their client about it.

Karina

Edited January 29, 2013 by veedub3

[prc77ro]

The violators would be reported to the copywright office as copywright infringement is violation of federal law. Also keep in mind that, as I understand it, even if you have not formally registered a copywright for a photo, literary work etc they are all STILL copywright protected. Technically it is copywright infringement to copy and paste original photos that you like or think are cool from one website to your Myspace/Facebook/etc. page. Oh and copywrights are good untill 70 years after the originators death.

If the works are in the public domain ( basically historical designs such as Bowie knife blade patterns, and I would guess western belt patterns, holsters and carvings) then those are not copywright protected.

[JMazone]

You can disable copy and paste functions for pictures sometimes. You can also do a reverse image search on Google to make sure your photos are not being used. If they are being used without permission you can send a cease and desist letter and ask the owner of the site to take down the photos in an email. If they refuse go and find an attorney because it is copyright infringement. As a full time blogger, I can attest that many laws have been created to protect images online.

You can add a watermark to your photos via Photoshop. I hope this I helped.

[leder arbeit]

Hi, Great advice! And especially on the you tube. I will try it soon. How I make an alligator belt. www.alligator-belt.com. Or Edgemon crockett alligator belts.

[MuddyClearWaters]

I can't stress the importance of YouTube. I'm only just getting on it. My GF worked at SPIN MEDIA making the horrible internet celebrity gossip news. YouTube is such a powerful advertising tool as well as a great way to make a little extra cash. You can get paid per view, just be careful you don't use music you don't have the rights too, or they get all your cash!

[Austyn]

This is great! helps me a lot!!

Thanks!