October 28, 2010

 ACE Newsletter

Using "Free" Promotions
 

by M Theresa Brown

Our art marketing articles occasionally appear on sites designed for another creative outlet: writing. As such I have enjoyed the kindred spirit of self marketing in all it's creative levels and families! It becomes rapidly apparent that artists, musicians and writers all face similar marketing challenges.

The one difference, initially, is what each group starts out with. Artists usually concentrate on individual creative pieces.  Musicians can have individual  physical appearances that are captured and sold with a CD of their performance. Writers create a book, but unless they get a nice large one time check, must rely on continued sales and royalty checks. Now think about their profit margin. Say a CD or book is $20.00. That leaves a profit margin of say...just $5-6.00 per item if self published even if they created the CD or book without the additional expense of an agent or publisher costs?  That's a lot of needed sales to recognize a profit let alone cover expenses if on the road promotions are included. It makes the profit margin of a visual artist look better and better!  On a similar financial playing field, an artist would be selling smaller duplicate versions of a creative product such as prints.

So getting back to "Free." Replace the word "writer" with "artist" and see where any of the following observations may be useful, helpful or a brainstorm to what you do. Never routinely dismiss an idea until you have tried it by the way. Nothing works if you don't try it!

Feature Article: How to Monetize "Free" 

(Oct 25 by Penney@amarketingexpert.com)
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These days, everyone talks about free content. "Give it away!" they say, but does this really work? Well, yes and no. As with anything, there has to be a strategy.

Recently I was on my morning run through our neighborhood and I noticed a number of garage sale signs (that's tag sale for those of you back east). One of the signs had a sign beneath it that read: We have free stuff! As I ran though the neighborhood I passed that house and noticed they put all their free stuff in the "Free zone" and already, even at that early hour, hoards of people were migrating there. I passed the other garage sales which were doing OK, but not great. Clearly the one with the free stuff pulled more people, but did it actually sell more paid merchandise? Yes. I checked in with the sale after my run to find most of the good stuff gone (note to self: shop first, exercise later). When I talked to the homeowner they said that the free stuff went fast, but as I noted each time I passed by, it wasn't junk stuff, it was actually good enough to make the garage sale shopper feel like they got a real deal. If it's junk and it's free, it doesn't really matter.

What's the lesson here? Free stuff can help you sell more of the paid merchandise, but you have to be careful, because some people just want freebies and that's fine. But they are not your customers. Here are some tips to help you maximize the use of free:

1. Why free? The first question you should ask yourself is why are you doing this? If you aren't sure, then free might not be right for you. Free content should be offered to help further your message, build a list, and get new people into your marketing funnel. If your model isn't set up this way, maybe it should be. If you aren't interested in this kind of a marketing model, then free probably isn't your thing.

2. Define how free can help: Figure out why you want to give free stuff. As I mentioned above, getting clear about your model will help determine if a free product is even worth your time. If it is, then you need to figure out how it will help you. As an example, we have a lot of free stuff on the Author Marketing Experts, Inc. site (www.ameauthors.com) but the free for us is designed to build trust. Distrust is rampant online, and in particular, in the book promotion and publishing industry. There are a lot of scams out there and so trust is important. Our free stuff builds our mailing list, yes, but it also builds trust.

3. Make sure it's really free: A lot of people have content that is purported to be free when it's not really free. What I mean is that you get a sliver of it, not even a piece really worth mentioning, but the stuff you want is something you have to pay for. If you want to do free, make it free. Find something of value and give it to your customers.

4. Make it something your end user wants: As I've mentioned a few times, make sure the free is something people want. If it isn't you a) won't bring in the right crowd of people (you'll end up just getting the freebie hunters, and b) you won't build your mailing list as fast. So, for example, give your readers something really substantial like an e-book or tips, or a workbook. Virtually any electronic product is easy to create and deliver. When I changed our freebie on the Author Marketing Experts, Inc. website, we quadrupled our sign-ups. So, what was the freebie? 52 Ways to Sell More Books. Now, as an author, isn't that appealing to you? Exactly my point.

So, what if you've written a fiction book? Well, consider this: 83% of Americans want to write a book, so what if you gave them a free how-to guide? You don't even have to create this yourself, you could partner with someone who has already created this. If you don't like that idea, consider (for those of you in the historical fiction market) doing a did-you-know piece on the history you're referencing in your book. The idea here is to a) give value, and b) give your readers something they will care about. Also, whenever possible, give your readers something they need to keep so it will remind them of you and your book: tip sheets, workbooks, reference charts. All of these things are pieces that your consumer may keep, which can keep you top of mind.

5. Take names: You should never give free away without asking for an email address. I see people do this all the time; they have a ton of free stuff but never collect emails. If that's the case, the freebies you are offering may be of great value to your end user but they won't matter to your marketing. Get emails. It's called an ethical bribe. You get something (their email) and give them something (the free stuff).

6. Make it easy to get: Don't make free difficult. What I mean is make it easy to get your free stuff. If people have to jump through hoops, they won't do it and the free stuff won't matter. For example - put your free stuff on your home page, or at least have a link to it, though I recommend using free stuff as an ethical bribe (as a way to get sign-ups for your newsletter). When you ask for their email, make it easy. A simple click or two is all it should take. Then, don't ask for too much information. If you ask me for my address, birthday, and whatnot I doubt I will want your free stuff that badly. Shorten the staircase. If you make it complicated, it's not really free. Just bait. If you bait your consumer in this fashion you'll lose them.

7. Make the free stuff work for you: If you give away something, make sure that it works for you. What I mean is that when you get our free stuff, we always make sure and remind folks of who we are and what we do. For a while we had a free Twitter e-book that always went out with our product catalog imbedded in it.

8. Call to action: Make sure that your free stuff has a call to action. You are collecting names and email addresses and building your list, that's great. But what do you really want people to do? Define what you want them to do, and then include your call to action in the free stuff. Let's face it, it's a good piece - designed to help your reader - but it must also help you. It's ok to promote your book on the last page, or encourage folks to do a consult with you if that's what you offer. You can also offer specials and change these periodically in the giveaway.

9. What will you give? People often ask me what you should give away, and I say, it depends: Who is your market and what do they want? Now, on our site you'll see 52 Ways to Sell More Books, which is an e-book we offer when you sign up for our newsletter. Do our folks want that? You bet. Why? Because they are authors and authors want to sell more books. A special report or e-book always makes a great freebie, maybe you have a white paper that you did on the industry; if so, offer it as a freebie.

10. Follow up! The best kind of free stuff is, as I like to call it, the gift that keeps giving. Auto responders are a great system but often underutilized when it comes to marketing. If you are collecting names and then never contacting your prospects again, what's the point? Our 52 Ways to Sell More Books is delivered over several weeks, and then when we're done, we deliver more quality content. People need to be reminded, and reminded again. Now, you can also funnel folks into your newsletter as I mentioned earlier. I do both. We have the auto responder and the newsletter. Think it's too much? Maybe, but our market wants information. Define what your market wants and then give it to them. If a newsletter and an auto responder is overkill, then scale it back. No one knows your market like you do.

The real key here is that free stuff can work well for you in so many ways, but free stuff without a goal is just free. Great to get free stuff, right? But then how is all of this hard work going to pay off for you?

If you still aren't a believer of free, try it for 90 days and see if it doesn't change your life. If you do it right, free will monetize your audience like nothing else will. The biggest reason is that in an age of pushing things on consumers, your audience really wants to sample what you have to offer before they buy. Free is a great way to do that. It's also a great way to stay in front of your audience, build trust, and develop a loyal following.

We hope that these free newsletters and articles have allowed you to look at selling your art from a new and different perspective.

Until Later!
Steve and Theresa

Thursday, November 11, 2010 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
http://www.jerrysartevents.com/th128.html

For optimum results, we encourage you to begin with Thursday's workshop and continue through Saturday!

Every artist needs this class! This is not your Internet Art Marketing 101 that's plastered all over the Internet by people who don't even sell their art. We have  our own step by step, month by month PLAN! We'll cover ALL the basics of what is important to start today and track you through November 2012!
We help you re-word your copy of your bios and artist statements in new or existing sites to "sell the sizzle, not the steak!" Bring copies of your current marketing tools-business cards, artist statements, bios, any brochures and photographic examples of your work.
We'll cover laying out our plan for your niche market, your website, blog and setting them up to work for you.
We will be providing our exclusive workbook and 10 Step Artist Business Plan at this class only!

Friday, November 12, 2010 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
http://www.jerrysartevents.com/fr132.html

Special bonus: Social networking! Now that we have the plan and the tools in place, we share with you the places online and offline to market your art product that really work and do not involve an Art Gallery! Every method and place we share in this session, we have utilized ourselves. No theory here! We know what works and what you need to do to jump start your success!

Saturday, November 13, 2010 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
http://www.jerrysartevents.com/sa131.html

 http://www.jerrysartevents.com/sa131.html
 

It's not enough to have a beautiful website, blog or art booth at a show. We'll share with you the tips and methods to turn browsers and visitors into buyers! Learn how to act, what to do and what to say both in emails and in person! Take the mystery and confusion out of selling your art and banish those self doubts forever!
Join us in role playing, we'll take turns, and learn how to reply and what to say to ALL of those questions that artists get asked!

Nothing will ever work if you don't try. And that is our attitude towards art marketing-creating something that you love to do and paying yourself while you do it. It's that simple