Marketing Strategy

Hi Veeky Forums. I am a craftsman, working mostly with leather and wood. I would like to make the move from hobbyist to professional. I've done some research and have pretty good business sense. I've had successful business ventures in the past, but they were foolproof and required virtually no marketing at all. So, that is an area I'm weak in. Do you guys have any helpful advice on how/where to market my goods? I was thinking maybe a facebook page. Eventually an actual website if business is good. Possibly local festivals and such. I don't know though, and I don't want to waste time and money on a lot of trial and error.

>I don't know though
>I don't want to waste time and money on a lot of trial and error.

1. create etsy profile

2. create pinterest boards with pictures of your shit

3. ???

4. profit

I've considered etsy and pintrest, but I feel like they are overly saturated with that sort of stuff. How would I have any chance of getting noticed there?

>having a business in 2018 without a website

I don't know, that's why I'm asking? And I don't want to waste a bunch of time and money on trial and error, also why I'm asking. If my current ideas are bad, tell me. If you have better ideas, let me know. If there are strategies to avoid, maybe a kind user will tell me the things I shouldn't do.

Maybe craft yourself up a fucking clue you jibroni

At the minimum you should have a website with photos of your work. Just a 1 page website would work. You should hire someone to make it.

And you should advertise on google so you show up when people Google key words about your business. Your website and phone number will show up. Then have friends give you 5 star reviews.

I intend on making a website at some point. My idea was to take advantage of the free options of creating an online presence first. If I get noticed, I'll invest in things such as a website, maybe ads if I see them making a difference. I want to start small and work my way up. If I can avoid it, I don't want to go into debt for a small and questionable business venture.

Look as much as I wanted to keep making crafting jokes and tell you to go fuck yourself, the Etsy suggestion was good. Just do that and stop being a little bitch you're acting like you're gonna fail before you even get started.

Here is an ltc address send 20 of those and I help you free loader
MFDJWViJtNia5JAsQ867yz568yeZr312fg

>have freelancer develop logo on fiverr.com
>register domain go daddy
>build simple site with squarespace
>open simple online storefront
>know your demographics and use social media platforms that they use
>do small, targeted campaigns with social sites ad platform

they're not free if you want to use them effectively - targeted campaigns cost $

Start on Craigslist. Post some of your work and say you’ll make custom chairs and shit for $500 or whatever. Typically people who do that charge less than fancy furniture stores, and people like the idea of having custom made stuff.
Get to know your local arts community cause they are always buying spaces in old run down parts of town and needing to fill them with furniture and stuff and they are usually rich kids who like to overpay for shit as long as it’s unique and local.

Craigslist won't yield as much as FB marketplace

cl has sketchy consumer connotations. people in the market for his goods aren't the same ones willing to get robbed for a ps4

Craigslist is good for all sorts of things. And most importantly it’s free. You should do both.

I was looking forward to more of your jokes and condescending comments user. I expect to fail at everything I do, I get the impression that I should change that mindset. Thank you for the advice, I'll get on making an etsy shop and figure out how to use pinterest. There's no chance of getting noticed if I'm not even there.

No, I don't even have any ltc in my portfolio.

This is essentially my plan for building a website when I get to that point. I'm pretty good at graphic design, so I thought I might try to come up with my own logo. If not, I have a good contact for things such as that. I'll have to do more market research to determine my target consumers. I also need to learn more about targeted campaigns. Very helpful advice, thanks.Free online classifieds are also on my list of ideas. As for the local arts community, there isn't much of one. My current location is pretty shitty in that regard. There are some places that might possibly be interested in consignment deals though (gift shops, tattoo shops, motorcycle shops, local general stores, etc.) The local population of rich kids and hipsters is quite low as well. My local customer base will likely be rednecks and bikers. I'm in a rural area. If I get enough money together, I plan to take a course in taxidermy. If that works out, it will make the idea of a physical store more realistic as well.

This. Craigslist isn't really used much in my area for anything. The most local craigslist page is for a city over 3 hours away. FB marketplace is a major player here, along with another classified ad site with a lot of local users (won't say the name as it would be a dead giveaway of my location)

Is Upwork or Fiverr worth using to hire someone? I would like a WP site but suck ass with CSS so don't mind paying to get rid of the problem.

Any user have experience using it? Do I have to avoid pajeets and anyone not featured or gold starred?

dude CSS is piss easy

You got any links for a brainlet.

Can it be copypasted into WP, yes?

I would guess using someone who is gold starred or featured would be more likely to get you a good result, but you'll probably have to pay more for their service. Using some random person would be more of a gamble. You might get a really good developer who is just starting out and hasn't had a chance to make a name for themselves, so is willing to do it cheap. Or, you might get an incompetent fool who took a web design class 10 years ago and thinks they're an expert. So, you'll pay less but you're gambling on quality.