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Thread: Marketing and getting your name/brand out.

  1. #26

    Default Re: Marketing and getting your name/brand out.

    I think marketing a non-commodiity product in very small numbers is tough for all the factors mentioned. A close analog is the often bizarre world of fine art, where tens of thousands of individual artists starve, and a very few become stars. Are the latter good marketers? Do they rub elbows with what are now called ‘influencers’? How is their work worth vastly more than others? What is the cost of entry to the top rank: advertising, ethical prostitution, finding the perfect trend wave to ride? Very high production before being ‘discovered’?
    Intermediaries, that is sellers, can’t promote anyone without having some sample work to display; this mitigates against low output builders. In my field, very often I’ve found that a large customer or reseller wants the product for free, and preferably in quantity. Not an option.
    Face it: the quality of your product is apparent to only a few people, and most of these can’t afford to buy. Other customers connect dollar value with unrelated factors, like rarity, death of the maker (!), or sadly, likely investment potential.
    I don’t have any great suggestions other than the herding cats one: form a trade association that becomes a (dues paid) marketer. I don’t like it eiither.

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  3. #27
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Colorado
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    606

    Default Re: Marketing and getting your name/brand out.

    Not exactly the same but very similar nonetheless is my other hobby making bamboo fly rods from scratch. I've been at it for 20 years and am still fighting an uphill battle of getting the rods into people's hands. Some of the approaches that have worked somewhat successfully have been donation of a rod to Trout Unlimited. There's an "Art for Gifts" exhibit every year at Christmas time at the local art center in our community. It's where artists of all types display and sell their work. I have had good responses there. Both organizations afford me lots of exposure to the public, albeit mostly local. But it gets me a few sales as well as word of mouth exposure. And then I also have a Facebook site which is used for blogging, updating with nice fishing pictures, and discussion of rod building. Every so often I stop by a fly shop with a rod and put it into the guys' hand and let them play with it. Sometimes I get a bite, so to speak, and sometimes not. The biggest thing is to keep working at your craft, improving with each new build and enjoy the process. Learning never ends, there's always more to know.

  4. #28

    Default Re: Marketing and getting your name/brand out.

    Quote Originally Posted by dorenac View Post
    Not exactly the same but very similar nonetheless is my other hobby making bamboo fly rods from scratch. I've been at it for 20 years and am still fighting an uphill battle of getting the rods into people's hands. Some of the approaches that have worked somewhat successfully have been donation of a rod to Trout Unlimited. There's an "Art for Gifts" exhibit every year at Christmas time at the local art center in our community. It's where artists of all types display and sell their work. I have had good responses there. Both organizations afford me lots of exposure to the public, albeit mostly local. But it gets me a few sales as well as word of mouth exposure. And then I also have a Facebook site which is used for blogging, updating with nice fishing pictures, and discussion of rod building. Every so often I stop by a fly shop with a rod and put it into the guys' hand and let them play with it. Sometimes I get a bite, so to speak, and sometimes not. The biggest thing is to keep working at your craft, improving with each new build and enjoy the process. Learning never ends, there's always more to know.
    Here’s a resource where fly fishing meets musical instruments (guitar). Sometimes you can make connections between two passions.

    https://www.petehuttlinger.com/camp
    "your posts ... very VERY opinionated ...basing your opinion/recommendations ... pot calling ...kettle... black...sarcasm...comment ...unwarranted...unnecessary...."

  5. #29
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    606

    Default Re: Marketing and getting your name/brand out.

    Looks great Mandobar. I might have new plans for summer vacation!

  6. #30
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Location
    So Oregon
    Posts
    1,010

    Default Re: Marketing and getting your name/brand out.

    What about archtop.com in Seattle ?

    Ask Joe what he thinks.

    And djangobooks also in Seattle. Very knowledgeable on archtops.

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