i got an excellent question in my formspring box after last week’s post on comments:
How do you know what blog is a good fit to target for your shop? I feel somewhat like I am shooting arrows into the dark. Do you have any suggestions to make the selection process easier?
this is such a fabulous question. you can comment, submit, stalk, and otherwise engage a blogger for forever – but if her readership isn’t your potential customers… you’re just wasting time. for instance, for everything i cover at scoutie girl, there is a laundry list of things i don’t write about – if you read scoutie girl, you probably have a pretty good feel for what might be on that list – children’s items, beaded jewelry (love it – just too much of it to fairly cover), bath & body, business products, etc…
of course, if you make those type of items, i still hope you read & contribute to scoutie girl.
to find the best blogs to reach your customers, you must first define your customer! this can be scary. because what you really need to do is narrow down a broad idea of who might buy your product into a very focused picture of who will buy your product. is it a mom who wants to feel pretty even though she wears sweats everyday? is it a guy who is buying a gift for his girlfriend? is it a 20-something gal who is obsessed with the 80s and the bangles?
get specific.
once you have that idea, run a google search for your ideal customer and tack on the word “blog.” once you have identified a single blog (or other media!!) that speaks to your ideal customer, take some time to go through their blog roll. the whole reason we have blog rolls is to highlight our friends and the people we look up to. most of those people are going to have similar styles and speak to your customer too.
go from blog to blog roll to blog to blog roll until you’ve got a list. subscribe to those blogs, read them whenever you have a chance, comment whenever something catches your eye, connect with the blogger on twitter or facebook. build a rapport. and then solicit a review or feature. this shouldn’t be a chore because this is the heart of where business, fun, and real life come together. this is why you’re in a creative biz to begin with, right?
spending the time to market yourself carefully and smartly means defining who you are, who your business is directed to, and finding out where they hang out. good luck!
{image credit: unconventional ida}
I’m Tara Gentile. I think big. I set lofty goals, execute ambitious projects, and get sizable returns. I'm not satisfied to stop at good-enough or moderately successful. I’m in the process of building a web empire. True tale. I can help you build yours too.
Hi Tara! I am sitting here typing this in disbelief because I am the one who wrote this question. Wow! I so did not think I would get this kind of response. Who knew a question could lead to a blog post? I am learning sooooo much from you right now and I really appreciate your openness to helping all of us who are new at this kind of thing. I have a lot to really think about now. Hmmmm…. I will be mulling this over for a while. I don’t really have much else to say, except that I love how you make me really think about my business. Thank-you!
oh hi wendy! i’m so glad it was your question! this is why i really love this new formspring thing. i was able to answer a question for you & help others at the same time.
thank you for all your kind words. and best of luck to you in thinking it all over. i try to never stop thinking it all through for myself… you can’t really with this whole internet thing!
thanks for the great question & inspiration!
Thanks for this great advice Tara; it will be really useful once I figure out how to define myself and my work! I can’t stop being inspired and branching out into new things. As I can’t focus on who I am or what I make, it makes it hard to figure out who my customer might be!
Mental note, must slow down, must get focused!
hey kylie! yes, slowing down is good. when it comes to your hobbies & interests, variety is great. but when it’s your business, finding your specific mission & goals is so important.
thanks for stopping by today!
Good advice. I’ve found it to be true no matter what size company you are either. When I was working in-house as a product designer, you could always tell when we became too vague about our end-consumer – products didn’t sell as well. But it was also because the product itself wasn’t focused! It’s not only marketing, but your product, that will benefit from solving who your customer is.
Now let’s just figure out how to do that to promote a blog as a product. I’m still wading through that one …
we’ll work on it, mari! i know there’s just a huge readership out there just waiting to find you. have you tried hooking up with cool mom picks?
Tara, I’m learning a lot, too; but also learning what I don’t know! Like blog roll and formspring. Is it best to just google terms I’m unfamiliar with (problem: they’re not in Webster’s Unabridged yet). Is it okay in a blog comment like this to ask for definitions?
Mari said “the product itself [needs to be] focused”. That cleared some things up for me. Just as a writer needs to identify their audience, I also need to have a mental profile of who I’m making my creative products for. Taking my creativity from a hobby to a business presents some challenging thought processes.
One other question Tara? Has blog replaced the term website, or is blog more specific to sharing communication? My apologies if these questions are out of place!
hey marcia! unless you’re telling me i’m a pretty awful person… nothing is really off limits here in the comments! i may direct you elsewhere or to one of my services or i may delay answering you because it gives me another post idea – but please feel free to ask anything you like!
blog roll – is a simple link list of blogs on a blog. i have on on scoutie girl (http://www.scoutiegirl.com) but it is all “visual” meaning the links are little images. you can find it on the left hand column under the header “friends.”
formspring – is a fairly new phenomenon of social media where you can register for an account and then let your friends & fans know that they can “ask you anything.” it’s basically a question & answer blog and it’s taken the design blog world by storm! i think it’s really great and i’m planning a post on it specifically very soon.
blogs haven’t exactly replaced websites… but the trend for 2010 is to front your business website with a blog. content is king in 2010 and blogs are the best way to generate massive amounts of great content! this is also a great idea for a post so you’ll see more on this very soon. thanks so much for the great questions!
You’re welcome! and Thank you! Not aw-ful, Tara….awe some! or Awe Lots … you are awlots!
Thanks for this post, Tara! I struggle with this issue all the time, so I was so glad to see you turn this question into a post – and a great answer. Now I’m off to start googling…
you’re quite welcome, kate! i think they are probably a wide range of paper goods/graphic design blogs that would be perfect for you. good luck!
hi tara, i am still struggling with this. all i can come up with is women who are looking for a happy/ whimsical piece for their home or maybe women looking to be inspired. i even asked my blog and didn’t feel like i was getting specific enough answers. is this because my art is not focused enough or because i am just not “seeing” something that is obvious? please help!
Hey Wendy! I think this is clearly something a lot of creatives struggle with because, well, we all too creative! I have an idea for an exercise for you. And I’d like to explore and report on the results in a very undepth way. So going to email you my idea this evening and then maybe you can get back to me with your thoughts and results? I think this might be end up being a very helpful resource for artists and crafters in building their business.
Cool with you?
that sounds great to me! i am looking forward to it.