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Posted by jib, on August 29th, 2010
by Brad Severtson
I once had a young lady bring three engagement rings to my bench. She wanted me to design a pendant using all of the diamonds and her gold. Not such an unusual request. But the fact that none of the rings showed any wear was a bit perplexing. I began asking a few probing questions. Two of the rings represented broken engagements and the third a very short marriage. She referred to these rings as her collection. I pondered the emotional investment she had in her collection. With this piece perhaps, she was just beginning her collection. There was a difference between the pieces I was about to melt and cast into something else and the pendant I designed and built. It was a matter of who did the choosing. In this piece of jewelry she was giving herself a present. The intent and the message of the piece were her own.
I’ll contrast her with a man whose motto could easily be, “The one with the most gold, silver and diamonds at the end of the day wins.” He, hands down, has more gold, silver and diamonds than anyone else I’ve ever met. His collection is thought of as inventory, both raw materials and finished jewelry. He owns several pawnshops in a couple of states. He and his son are both graduate gemologists. They are very knowledgeable jewelers with considerable experience, far more than most. For him collecting jewelry is the family business. His goal is to turn the revolving collection into a profit. He is very good at accomplishing his goal.
It has been my pleasure to have both of these collectors as clients. They are opposite ends of the spectrum. Frankly I’m more interested in her second piece, in her collecting, than I am in adding just another ring in the showcase for him. I am more interested in jewelry being a personal statement or expression than it being a commodity.
The closer your jewelry collection gets to being an expression of the collector – you – the more fun and excitement you’ll get to experience. You will also be more motivated to increase your knowledge and gain in experience.
Before it begins to sound like I’m critical of the business owner mentioned, let me tell you about his personal collection. In one of his safes are two small boxes. Both of these ring boxes hold about 50 rings. The first box is nearly half full of pieces he says he has grossly overpaid for. Each piece is a story of someone he has helped. The other ring case is for diamonds with trigons on their girdles. This collection can only be appreciated with a scope. One more statement on their collecting – his son put himself through school with his baseball card collection. They will agree with my statements about personal expression and collecting.
Brad Severtson is an artisan and jeweler who has been practicing his trade for over three decades. His passion is for the artist craftsman designers and for the small business owners they became. He writes a blog on these matters here.
This article sponsored by
Copper Works by Brad Severtson
Hammering Out A Living
Posted by jib, on August 29th, 2010
by Helena Kaufman
Part 1 – How to ‘talk’ to your readers
If you accept that what works to attract and maintain a thriving business is a clear, well crafted message, then you appreciate that it must speak to your readers’ interests and resonate with them. It is about ‘them,’ not simply you, your offerings or passion for your art.
If business communication is marketing, then sales is the conversion of your readers to buyers.
Enter email.
More than 75% of business today takes place in email. Given the volume YOU receive, you might wonder if what you send is read, tossed or ever considered.
Now is not the time to back off or disappear. Now is the time to:
- Be consistent to show persistence and reliability
- Send quality content to increase your open rate and to convert more readers to buyers
OK! Know that your message will evolve continuously from feedback in all the places Artisan Ally columns suggested you take it to, for practice and profit. To give the mail you send high impact and a personal feel, consider this:
- Contacts have shared their email for THEIR benefit, not yours. Resist sending frivolous news, gossip or factoids. Interesting, useful, solution offering content will increase both your open rate and conversion to sales.
- Use the singular form in your writing. Avoid the language or the mindset of ‘hello everyone’. It’s just you and me talking 1:1 right now, isn’t it?
- Write as if you are sharing your marketing message with a friend. Envision your reader.
How often to send?
Pick a schedule that suits your news, events, plans and product offerings. Be consistent with the expectation you set and what you can truly manage, be it contact once a week or once a month.
More specifics on maximizing content next issue!
Helena
Helena Kaufman is a writer and communications trainer. In 1982, success at promoting, marketing and writing about 200 artisans launched Helena as an event publicist. The designers who sold at the Annual Manitoba Christmas Craft Sale exhibited original functional and decorative pieces in fibre, pottery, metal, oil, paper, wood, distinctive wearable art and more. Helena worked to raise their profile, bring media attention and increase their sales. She now shares some of that savvy in the Artisan Ally series. Helena’s writing and communications site can be found here.
This article sponsored by
Chatterbrew.com
Share Your Stories
Posted by jib, on August 21st, 2010
 My Favorite MacGuffin
or Diamonds Are a Mystery Writer’s Best Friend
The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
by Doug Krentzlin
MacGuffin (məˈɡʌfɪn) — Term coined by Alfred Hitchcock for the item in a mystery or thriller that the characters, especially the bad guys, are determined to obtain. Some of the most popular “MacGuffins” in mystery fiction are diamonds or rare gems, mainly because they are so valuable and their size make them easy to smuggle or conceal.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle
The blue carbuncle, the title object of this classic Sherlock Holmes short story is, as . . . → Read More: My Favorite MacGuffin: The Blue Carbuncle
Posted by jib, on August 14th, 2010
by Helena Kaufman
Artisan Ally continues on the marketing theme with this series on how to start, manage, and keep up with the contacts and plan that help you build a profitable business from the beauty and love you create.
Welcome back to Artisan Ally. Our previous series looked at some elements of your strategy for communications. In review, we came to understand that:
• All communications relating to your business is essentially marketing
• Marketing can be a direct outreach at events you attend as vendor or delegate
• Marketing can be the contact you maintain via email, snail mail, . . . → Read More: Artisan Ally – Attract, Maintain, Resolve
Posted by jib, on August 8th, 2010
 My Favorite MacGuffin
or Diamonds Are a Mystery Writer’s Best Friend
The Maltese Falcon
by Doug Krentzlin
MacGuffin (məˈɡʌfɪn) — Term coined by Alfred Hitchcock for the item in a mystery or thriller that the characters, especially the bad guys, are determined to obtain. Some of the most popular “MacGuffins” in mystery fiction are diamonds or rare gems, mainly because they are so valuable and their size make them easy to smuggle or conceal.
Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon
Without a doubt, the single most famous MacGuffin in the history of mystery fiction is the title object of Dashiell Hammett’s 1930 detective . . . → Read More: My Favorite MacGuffin: The Maltese Falcon
Posted by jib, on August 6th, 2010
by Helena Kaufman
Artisan Ally continues on the marketing theme with this three part series on how to start, begin to manage and keep up with the contacts and plan that help you build a profitable business from the beauty and love you create.
Are we agreed that having a means to communicate regularly with a healthy list of contacts is a good thing?
Increased visibility is one advantage of regular contact and here is more of what it does:
- Raises your credibility
- Elevates your expertise
- Makes you more memorable
- Exposes your craft and design
- Increases visibility and image . . . → Read More: Artisan Ally – Convert Your Contacts into Customers – Part 3 of 3
Posted by jib, on July 24th, 2010
by Helena Kaufman
Artisan Ally continues on the marketing theme with this three part series on how to start, begin to manage and keep up with the contacts and plan that help you build a profitable business from the beauty and love you create.
So now you are thinking marketing and consciously noticing two types of information to reach out with:
What to say.
How to get it out there.
We can categorize these batches of thoughts as content and strategy.
Does it feel too ‘salesy’ for you?
Not everyone is comfortable with carrying out what they perceive as sales, or . . . → Read More: Artisan Ally – Convert Your Contacts into Customers – Part 2 of 3
Posted by jib, on July 14th, 2010
by Helena Kaufman
Artisan Ally continues on the marketing theme with this three part series on how to start, begin to manage and keep up with the contacts and plan that help you build a profitable business from the beauty and love you create.
In our last communication we looked at the opportunities stemming from going out to meet your market, live and interactive, where you meet, greet and sell over the days and hours of an event. Your sales there come from existing customers and the new ones who discover you. Some might have been referred to . . . → Read More: Artisan Ally – Convert Your Contacts into Customers – Part 1 of 3
Posted by jib, on July 4th, 2010
by Doug Krentzlin
Jessica Burnett is a jewelry artisan whose particular specialty is designing chain jewelry. “My husband bought me a chainmaking kit for Christmas in 2004 and I was hooked immediately,” she says, “I had previously thought it was all about the gems, and much to my surprise, it turned out to be all about the metal. The tactile quality of chain remains one of the most seductive aspects of jewelry for me. For many months I researched how to make my own links, the equipment required, how the math works when it comes to choosing link sizing – I relish . . . → Read More: Jessica Burnett – Interview
Posted by jib, on June 25th, 2010
by Helena Kaufman
What you must do to boost your success rate:
1. Prior to the event decide on your goals. This reduces overwhelm and preserves your energy for what you feel you need to get. Is it new contacts, sales, information, joint ventures, negotiating something? Leave buffer time for unexpected opportunity. Picture your success according to your own definition.
Contact people you want to meet – let them know you will be at the event, and where
Announce or promote your intent to participate and attend
Pack your product, samples and promotional materials as appropriate
2. At . . . → Read More: Artisan Ally – Meeting Your Market – Part 2 of 2
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