HOW TO FIND A GOLDMINE OF CUSTOMERS
FOR YOUR HANDMADE BUSINESS
Everyone thinks their products will sell.
No one starts a business expecting it to fail.
When I started my first handmade business, I thought; my friends and family love my flannel pajama bottoms. Everyone wears pajamas. They’ll be easy to sell.
But what I discovered was…
It was easy to set up at a craft show and make a few sales
Keeping those sales coming after an event, or getting consistent sales online wasn’t so easy.
Craft shows create a unique shopping experience where people discover, and are open to buying, items they aren’t looking for.
Have I ever:
>> gone on the hunt for fabric-covered push pins
>> searched online for “monogrammed vintage teacup candles”
>> wondered where I could find a desk clock made from a slab of wood
No.
But when I discover them at a craft show, I thought they were cool and bought them.
My handmade business relied on the same type of sales in the beginning. So when I didn’t have the craft show organizer bringing hundreds of people to my business, I had a hard time making sales.
Outside of craft shows, I was responsible for finding customers.
And I didn’t know where to start.
Finding customers is the most challenging part of running a business
Creating new products is easy.
Selling when I had shoppers in front of me at a craft show wasn’t so hard either.
But finding more customers without signing up for more and more events was hard.
I wanted more customers.
But before I could find them, I had to determine who they were.
It’s not enough to simply list customers’ demographics
I was targeting females, 20 – 30 years old, earning a mid-level income.
I even went so far as to define details such as career and marital status.
But that information didn’t help me find customers.
Sure, I could walk down the street and find women in their 20’s or 30’s or head into an office to find women earning a certain level of income. However, those settings aren’t conducive to marketing and selling.
Simply being able to describe my ideal customer wasn’t enough to help me find more customers and sell to them.
I was missing one piece of critical information about my customers.
This one piece of information was the key to:
- finding an existing group of people interested in the products I was selling
- creating products they couldn’t wait to buy
- knowing where to find lots of customers
- attracting the right type of customers to me
- knowing exactly what to say in marketing and sales copy to grab my customers’ attention and get them to buy
HOW TO FIND A GOLDMINE OF CUSTOMERS will help you uncover that one piece of important information.
HOW TO FIND A GOLDMINE
OF CUSTOMERS
$5.99
This is a digital ebook that can be instantly downloaded
WHY MOST BUSINESSES ARE USING THE WRONG STRATEGY
*From the ebook’s introduction:
Seth Godin, one of my favorite marketing authors, uses an analogy to explain how most people operate a business: They create a key and then run around looking for a lock to open.
Your handmade business may have started this way too. If you created a product and then thought about the customer and where to find them, marketing is likely the most challenging part of your business.
You may find yourself constantly coming up with new product ideas, posting more frequently to Facebook, or spending more money on ads, hoping for a boost in sales but not achieving the results you were expecting.
You’re essentially trying your key in hundreds of doors without knowing what’s on the other side.
>> A room represents a market and each room holds a different type of customer
>> A lock represents what the customers in a room want
>> The key represents your business
There are thousands of rooms to choose from, so you must first narrow down which customers you want to access to.
Then you must know exactly what they want so you can create a key that unlocks the door to them.
Once you find the right combination, it’s like walking into a room full of hungry meatatarians and you’re selling juicy burgers.
It sounds easy enough right?
The problem is, many business owners are trying to open a door to an unprofitable or highly competitive market with a key that isn’t quite a fit.
You must choose the room wisely before you start creating a key for its lock. And that key must be a perfect fit for the lock; not just a close match.
Without customers, a business cannot survive.
Starting with the customer is one of the most impactful changes your business can make.
You can always adjust your business; it’s a variable. You can alter the products you make and change the way you market and sell.
You can’t change who a person is; they’re a constant. They are who they are and like what they like. You can’t force people to be interested in your products.
Start with the constant (the customer) and then adjust the variables (your business).
In this ebook, I’m going to teach you how to find the right customer to serve and how to build a business, or alter an existing one, to be the perfect fit for them.
HOW TO FIND A GOLDMINE
OF CUSTOMERS
$5.99
This is a digital ebook that can be instantly downloaded
EBOOK OUTLINE
This ebook is 59 pages, plus 14 worksheets
CHAPTER 1
There’s one key piece of information you need to know about your customers. This chapter will explain what the missing key is and how to apply it to your business.
CHAPTER 2
This chapter covers how to gather factual information about your target market. Then you’ll learn how to use that information to define an ambassador to represent your target market and help you create a business, brand, and products your target market falls in love with.
CHAPTER 3
In this chapter, you’ll learn how to uncover your target market’s pleasures and stressors and apply that information to your business so they feel a strong connection to it. Your customers will feel like you’ve been listening to their private conversations and you’ll have them saying: This is exactly what I’ve been looking for!
CHAPTER 4
This chapter will teach you how to meet and exceed your target market’s expectations when they’re shopping with your business. The shopping standards you uncover will help you create an experience that garners 5-star reviews and makes your products seem more valuable.
WORKSHEETS
This ebook won’t leave you hanging. Each section of the ebook ends with a step to complete, plus worksheets to help you organize what you’ve just learned and determine how to apply it to your business.
This ebook includes 2 worksheet PDFs:
- Editable PDF – you can fill the worksheets in right on your computer
- Printable PDF – for those who like to put pen to paper
FAQ
I have your other ebooks, is there new information in this one?
Yes, this ebook is all new information I haven’t shared anywhere else.
HOW TO SELL HANDMADE BEYOND FRIENDS & FAMILY does touch on the topics of target markets, niche markets, and ideal customers, however, I share new information and techniques in this ebook.
So if you have HOW TO SELL HANDMADE BEYOND FRIENDS & FAMILY but want to dive deeper into defining your target market and finding useful information about them, you’ll find HOW TO FIND A GOLDMINE OF CUSTOMERS helpful.
Will this work for my business?
I believe the advice in this ebook can work for any type of business. HOWEVER, it’s really important that you’re open to making adjustments to your business and are committed to putting in the work. If sales aren’t where you’d like them to be, what’s the harm in trying something new?
This ebook isn’t full of fluffy information. Simply defining a target market isn’t going to turn a business around or start generating more sales. That target market must be strategically chosen, information about them must be gathered, and then that information must be used to make impactful changes to your business.
If you think your business is different from most others, have already defined a target market and aren’t sure if this ebook will help advance your business, or you’re not sure what I mean by “being open to making adjustments”, please contact me 🙂
How useful can this ebook be for $5.99?
Don’t let the price or size fool you. This ebook has important information that has the ability to completely alter your business. With all the courses out there and people slapping high price tags on them simply because they can, I wanted to offer a different option.
I decided to create a “mini” ebook on the topic because I wanted to create a step-by-step plan that got straight to the point and was easy to digest and implement. Not only did I want to make it affordable to everyone, but I also wanted it to be an ebook you would start and finish, without feeling overwhelmed.
If you’ve read my blog, you know I offer great information for free. And if you’ve purchased any of my ebooks, you know I provide a lot of value for the price you pay. This ebook is no different.
My ebooks are guides. They’re for people who don’t want to sort through several articles to find all the information they need; they want it all in one place in an easy to follow, step-by-step format.
How long will it take to complete the ebook and its worksheets?
I created a “mini” ebook to be mindful of your time. I realize you have enough work on your plate, adding a month-long course or hours of content to consume each day is likely to only add to the overwhelm.
Not to mention…how many of those expensive courses full of multiple modules, hours of videos, and pages of worksheets have you actually completed? I’m guilty of having a few too many courses weighing on my conscience because I paid a lot of money for them and have yet to complete them.
I wanted to write an ebook you could read in a weekend so you don’t get a quarter of the way through, become overwhelmed with information and then leave the ebook on the digital shelf to collect digital dust.
This is a short comprehensive guide to finding your customers and implementing changes to your business. The ebook is 59 pages and there are 14 simple worksheets you’ll fill in as you go.
The topics of my mini ebooks (more to come) are small enough to consume and apply in a month (depending on your pace, you may take shorter or longer), and important enough to actually make an impact on your business.
Do you offer a printed version?
I do not have a printed version; I only have a digital version available. I understand the appeal of a printed version over a digital copy, however, as an independent author, the cost to print a short run of books and ship them would raise the price significantly.
Although, I know, it’s not the same as a professionally printed and bound book, many of my customers have printed my ebooks at home, or have had them printed at an OfficeMax/Office Depot/Staples/etc.
*Please note: due to the ebook’s copyright, some printing services will require a note from the author granting permission to print a personal copy. Please contact me if you plan to have one of my ebooks printed and I can provide you with written permission.
Do you offer refunds?
Because my ebooks are digital copies that are instantly delivered to your email’s inbox, I do not offer refunds.
If you have any questions about an ebook and whether it’s right for you, please feel free to contact me with any questions and I’d be happy to answer them!
HOW TO FIND A GOLDMINE
OF CUSTOMERS
$5.99
This is a digital ebook that can be instantly downloaded
WHO AM I?
I’m Erin, founder and one of the creative minds behind MadeUrban.com. I’ve been in the crafting industry over a decade now, with 2005 being the year of my very first craft fair. I started as the poster child for “craft fair don’ts” and grew into a successful handmade business owner selling full time through craft fairs, online, and wholesale accounts. That small business led me to my current dream career of helping others with their creative businesses and working for the cuddliest boss in the world… my cat Josh.
As a Visual Communications Design graduate, past Regional Visual Merchandiser, former craft show vendor, current crafty website owner and forever and always a handmade hoarder, I’ve learned a few tricks along the way. From methods taught in the classroom to techniques used by major retailers to bring in the big bucks, I’ve tested them all to see what works and what doesn’t.
I want nothing more than to see your small business succeed and to share every bit of information I can to help you along the way. I hope you love reading my advice as much as I love sharing it. Check out the blog if this is your first time visiting Made Urban. Read a few articles to be sure you like my style of writing and find my advice valuable. Over 15,000 people have joined my Newsletter and my articles are read by thousands each day, so I’m confident you’ll find value in my articles or ebooks too.
If you have any questions about the ebook, my articles, Made Urban or cats, I’d be happy to answer them!
DISCLAIMER
This ebook is presented to you for informational purposes only and is not a substitution for any professional advice. Although we strive to provide accurate general information, the information presented here is not a substitute for any kind of professional advice or free from any errors, and you should not rely solely on this information. Always consult a professional in the area for your particular needs and circumstances prior to making any professional, business, legal, and financial or tax-related decisions.