Have You Been Advertising?

Jewelry Discussion
1

Hi Roseann,

I launched a pretty thorough marketing and media plan in my first
year and it was really really successful; but I wasn't ready for
the production it created - I burned out a little, and have
re-evaluated my plan and slowed down a bit, because my creative
energy was being sapped and I'm not ready to launch into the big
production line thing.

Wow, that sounds wonderful :slight_smile: not that you got burnt out but that
your sales jumped so much. My goal is to sell my jewelry as a full
time endeavor and quit my day job. I would like to be making $100,
000 in 3-4 years from now (right now my jewelry pulls in about $12,000

  • $13,000 a year). I’ve never advertised before so I am keen to give
    it a try. How much did you spend on your campaign?
I did a combination of bought national media (in my target market
and demographic), earned national media (where you get your stuff 
featured in editorial layouts for free!), and local. Locally, I did
some trading with smaller magazines in my gallery locations. That
worked really really well.

I’m really interested in how you get a free editorial. Do you type
the story yourself and just send it to the editors? Do you send
photos? Or actual samples (base metal)? Is it best to call the editor
before sending materials?

Thanks so much. Your post was very encouraging :slight_smile:

2

I have done limited advertising, some news papers or local magazines
with introductions in to new markets one city at a time, lots of
business cards and giving a few pieces away to models. I advertise
in my local area, I advertise on occasion in Montreal, where my
other home is.

This is my tenth year in business and last year D & B showed that we
did $293,000 in the U.S. Our total business was over $500,000 world
wide last year.

When I am out and about, I give away lots of business cards, many
times I have trinkets in my pocket, if somebody does something nice
for me, they get one. If some body asks what I do, I give them a
card and if they say wow or awesome, I give them a trinket. The few
times that I am at a bar, I give away cards, the young ladies who
work at the libraries always get a card from me. You know the
librarians buy a lot of nice jewelry from me, the ones at the bar
generally don’t buy anything.

Because a piece of my work is on my card, I can hold it up besides a
lady’s face and say you would look really wonderful with this on.

Your best sales person is yourself.
Jerry

3

How best to advertise, and where to spend your precious dollars is a
good question. For a long time, I advertised in Metalsmith Magazine.
I pretty much had to drop my ads because of the price, but even so,
people still remember us there.

My business is not so much in selling jewelry, but in selling
workshops and classes. I talk to people at the grocery store, in line
at the bank, airplanes, etc. I always give out a card, but more
important, I get there name and telephone number. I always call them
back because I know they will forget. I am my best advertising for
the limited jewelry I wear, and I have sold earrings right off my
ears!

All the money in the world can’t beat great articles, like the one
we had in Lapdary Journal, or a simple catalog. I depend a lot on
word of mouth, but most importantly, I depend on the internet.
Everyone goes to the internet now for searching on classes. A good
web designer who understands the internet and who can make your
website fast and accessible, is priceless.

A local newspaper is great for advertising, but even better if you
get them to write an article about you. This doesn’t cost anything.

It all takes effort, persistence and most of all, PATIENCE.

Karen Christians
M E T A L W E R X
50 Guinan St.
Waltham, MA 02451
Ph. 781/891-3854 Fax 3857
http://www.metalwerx.com/
Jewelry/Metalarts School & Cooperative Studio

4 
        When I am out and about, I give away lots of business
cards, many times I have trinkets in my pocket, if somebody does
something nice for me, they get one.

What kind of trinket? I’m picturing keychains, or things like you get
from a gumball machine, like the rubber ball with a roving eyeball
inside.

But I assume that’s not what you have.

Elaine
Elaine Luther
Metalsmith, Certified PMC Instructor
http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com ™
Hard to Find Tools for Metal Clay

5 
  I would like to be making $100, 000 in 3-4 years from now (right
now my jewelry pulls in about $12,000 - $13,000 a year). I've never
advertised before so I am keen to give it a try. How much did you
spend on your campaign?

[I’m going to try to answer questions here quickly as I’m zooming out the door but want to get this done, so I apologize for any short/terse answers!]

Wow, that’s quite a goal! There have been some excellent posts on
the right percentage to spend on your advertising given your goals,
but I think given the economy and the risk, I’d start small unless
you have considerable cash to burn. Ads run from $400-800 for a small
local one to thousands and thousands for national placement. You must
be in a magazine consistently (3-6 times/year) before people start
responding. That’s a big chunk of change - a big risk. They want cash
up front usually, so are you prepared for that? I spent 20% of my
gross annual income, which I plowed right back into the business, so
I’m still not “making a living.”

    I'm really interested in how you get a free editorial. Do you
type the story yourself and just send it to the editors? Do you
send photos? Or actual samples (base metal)? Is it best to call the
editor before sending materials?

It’s EARNED media, not FREE. You have to work at it, it’s a
partnership between you and a publication. You never write an article
about yourself - that’s seen as rather cheesy.

In your marketing plan, which takes a long time to write and polish,
you have researched WHO you want to reach. Then you find the VEHICLE
(magazines, websites, art shows, whatever). Then you research how to
best get into those vehicles - do you buy ads? Find out when they
have jewelry shoots? I targeted high-end Western/cowboy/resort
markets. I chose Cowboys and Indians Magazine, bought some ads ($800
ads - very small, but consistent). Then I found out when they have
fashion shoots, called my AD rep and asked her to get me an
invitation. Then I sent in my jewelry according to their guidelines.
You have to send in your stuff and you risk damage. I had one piece
get scratched on the way back. No one’s fault. It’s cost of doing
business! Pieces you send should be considered advertising expense.

I have been consistently featured in the magazine, to great results.
But there are no guarantees! You can see some of the results on my
website.

I can’t stress enough that you need to work as a partner, be
professional, not act like a prima donna artist or complain about
photography or scratches or whatever.

I hope this helps, I’ll post more soon if I can.

Roseann

Roseann Hanson
Desert Rose Design Studio
www.desertrosedesignstudio.com
Tucson, Arizona
520-591-0508 voice/message
866-421-1813 toll-free fax

6

As a followup to my earlier post, I should note that I work with 6-8
different publications for earned media; only 1 of them do I have an
advertising relationship with - it helps certainly, but it’s not
necessary. You just have to get to know the magazine, it’s editorial
schedule, and their guidelines for submitting items, if they have
any.

Good luck!
Roseann

7

On the subject of earned media-- I’m going to jump in and point out
the Art Jewelry Magazine (my new employer) is always looking for
step-by-step articles from artists, as well as work suitable for the
Gallery pages, and other article ideas.

Take a look at the submission guidelines on the web site at
www.artjewelrymag.com/art/objects/pdf/artsubmissionguidelines. pdf
and put something together-- earn yourself some media!

–Noel