Blogoversary Party! {Day Five} Taradara Made It: Guest Post!

Welcome to day 5 of my Blogoversary Celebration...

Today, I'd like to introduce Tara, who is so artistic, with a great eye for detail. 
Her designs are simply beautiful! Tara is truly an inspiring lady.  
She has very kindly agreed to share some insight and tips with us! 

Thank you Tara.

Hi there, I'm Tara from Taradara Made It.

I thought I'd do a little different post today about selling online.

How many of you have struggled with getting your 'stuff out there'? Getting noticed, having people look at your store, buying your lovely handmade products? Lets face it, it's hard to have an online store and not have a product for people to touch, feel, and squeeze or smell ... and actually sell it online. So it is really key to have some kind of a marketing strategy to help you through.

Many of us are doing what we love and trying to make it, so we don't have a lot of expendable money to spend on marketing. We have to be smart where we put our money. We have to really think about the ROI {return on investment} before we put out the money on our marketing. The saying is true, "To make money, you have to spend money". Yes, very true, BUT, don't throw it away. You may make some mistakes along the way, however, you will LEARN very quickly from those mistakes because why? Because it cost you MONEY. Don't let it get you down, pick up your bootstraps and MOVE ON. I'm not saying not to pay for advertising, however, be smart on where you put your advertising money. If you're advertising on other blogs, don't be afraid to ask what their monthly stats are. YOU need to take care of yourself and decide for yourself where to advertise.

How about we talk about a couple of FREE ways to market or advertise your shop?

We've all heard this one ... WORD OF MOUTH. The BEST advertising one could ask for!!! Getting your product in someone's hands and having them rave about it! Not only do I send my customer what they ordered, I will often put a small little extra something in with the order, just as a thank you ... customers LOVE that! I ALWAYS handwrite a little note thanking them on their invoice {people LOVE the personalization of the handwritten note}. I ALWAYS include 3-4 business cards so they can pass them along to their friends. And I ALWAYS offer my new customers a discount on their next order with a coupon code. So, these are just a few little things you can do on an order that might just trickle through at the beginning, but watch what it'll do for you in the future. {great ROI that doesn't cost a whole lot}

Another FREE way to advertise or marketing yourself is FACE TO FACE. No, it's not online, however, we have become so focused on social media for marketing {which is still amazing} to where it has taken focus off of face to face marketing. If you are your only marketer for your business, I think you know what you need to do. I've become so tired of not speaking up when people ask me what I do or when they think I'm only a stay at home mom. I've come up with an 'elevator pitch', if you will, and I USE IT. I used to think that others didn't want to hear about another mom who has a home business ... well, screw it, I have one and I'm going to tell them about it {pardon the language}. Don't get me wrong, I do have tact and don't go around self promoting inappropriately. Be proud of what you do and not ashamed to let the world know what it is that you do! YOU ARE AWESOME!!

{there is great opportunities to market yourself face to face right here!!!}

Here's an example of what I would do: Standing amongst other parents waiting to pick up from elementary school, a conversation would start up regarding our day. {Keep in mind my boy just started kindergarten so I don't know a lot of the moms yet} When it came to me, I would tell them that that I sewed all afternoon and that I have a sewing business. Then, they say, "Oh, what do you make?" and I go for it and tell them all my products lines I have. Sometimes I will have my wallet with me and I'll bring it out and SHOW them. They LOVE that stuff! They are able not only hear about it, but touch it, see it, and feel it. If you don't make something that you can readily have available with you, just go with the verbal conversation and HAVE A CARD WITH YOU. You'll be surprised as they will ask you for one most of the time!

{my business card}

This leads me to my next point, ALWAYS HAVE YOUR CARDS WITH YOU. You don't have to carry a bunch, just a few wherever you go. Who else is doing it for you? Right?

Well, I hope this helps you a bit.

Thank you, Rochelle for including me in you 1st year blogiversary!! I look forward to reading comments and answering any questions you all might have.

I'd love to offer your readers 15% off my Etsy Shop with discount code MADE11

You can find me all over the place:

Blog: taradaramadeit.com

Etsy: taradara.etsy.com

Twitter: @taradaramadeit

Facebook: taradara

xo Tara