There are two grocery stores equidistant from my house. I’m a pretty serious cook and I buy a lot of fresh ingredients each week. Both stores carry high-quality produce, meat, and fish. Both are clean and have friendly, helpful staff and good prices. But every week, when it’s time to do the significant shopping for…
Why Every Customer is Important
Imagine you own a brick-and-mortar shop. You sell craft supplies and you’ve spent a good deal of time carefully selecting your inventory and arranging the shelving system. Your shop looks great and you’re really proud of it. It’s a Saturday afternoon and there’s a good crowd browsing and shopping. A woman comes up to…
How to Reassure Potential Customers and Help Them Overcome Objections
Have you read The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau? It’s excellent. Real, actionable steps to improve your online business, launch a new product, and build a community of customers. I’m taking many of Chris’ ideas and applying them to my own creative business. Right now I’m focusing on writing an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). I’ve…
Why It Shouldn’t Bother You When Someone Admires Your Work and Says They Can Make It Themselves
You spend countless hours developing a unique product, refining it, tweaking the pattern, sourcing the perfect materials, taking beautiful product shots, writing winning marketing copy for the listings, and cultivating a community around your work. And then, one afternoon you’re sifting through Pinterest and there’s your image of your beautiful handmade product, the basis of…
How to Keep Your Customers In Mind When Creating New Products
I got an email the other day from someone who was considering purchasing my Magical Molly & Bronco Ben hobby horse pattern. This potential customer asked me how much I thought it would cost to make a hobby horse using the pattern. At first my reaction was, “Come on, can’t you figure that out? It’s…