All designers should strive to be original and develop their own ideas. Unfortunately many successful designers find that others imitate their work.
The laws on copyright should be straightforward and easy to apply. But in fact copyright law is complex and an expert lawyer is often needed to advise as to whether there is a legal claim or not. In many cases there is no legal claim because the law does not protect ideas themselves but only the details of their expression. This means that only the closest of copies can be dealt with successfully on a legal basis.
This situation leaves many creatives feeling violated and without adequate redress. It takes an emotional and financial toll, often on very small businesses who do not know where to start to resolve a situation. There is nothing new about all this. It been a serious problem in the creative world for a long time. But it seems to be happening more and more now – not just by big businesses but also often by individuals.
“I first met the people who came up with the designs that were very similar to my work at a fair I was selling at one Christmas. They asked me if I was going to run workshops and funnily enough I had been planning to arrange some for the following year and was flattered to be asked. One of the women then proceeded to book in and take part in virtually every class I arranged, her friend came less frequently but I soon knew them well, we became friends.
I had wanted to get my own raku kiln for ages and found a man who will bring the raku kiln to you and do a day’s firing with you to get the hang of it. I had been to many Raku firing days before in London but I hadn’t been “in charge” of the proceedings myself. As a “thank you” to these two women for being so supportive of my classes I invited them to the day at my house when the kiln was coming. Raku is highly addictive and they were soon hooked.
As one of the women had a big garden and no immediate neighbours we arranged to do some firings in her garden during the summer. We also invited two other friends of mine to join us. I was by now selling my houses to several galleries and needed to build up some stock. I had also had the idea for the rainbows and when I unveiled those at one of our gatherings everyone agreed they were unique and a good idea.
I soon found I needed to fire much more often than the frequency that we had been firing together as my houses and rainbows were proving a big hit with the shops and galleries I work with. I had also begun writing stories about them on Instagram and was gaining popularity. So I began doing it at home and not as a group activity.
During that summer I was asked to do a fair locally which happened to be in the village where one of the women lived. The woman who was initially most keen on pottery had developed an idea that was looking quite pretty in clay and I asked her if she wanted to share the stall with me. She didn’t bring any raku fired pieces with her and I had joked with her before we did the stall that I hoped she wasn’t going to turn up with houses and rainbows … Ha ha ha. We met up less after that and apart from a Christmas meal we shared with the other women we had been raku firing with I don’t think I saw them again.
From then on I was raku firing at home with my husband helping me and I didn’t give them a second thought. I assumed they had moved on to another hobby and frankly I was too busy with my own work.
It wasn’t until the following September that a couple of people asked if I knew what they were up to and had I seen their work? I said I had not and so one friend showed me a photo from the new ceramics page they had set up on Facebook under their new business name, which clearly showed a collection of raku fired houses and rainbows and captions about how they were looking forward to taking part in various fairs that Autumn. They were also screen printing on clay which is my other signature style and offering workshops for people to learn from them!!!
I felt sick, as if I had been kicked in the stomach. I felt so betrayed. I was confused, I was in shock. I showed a few close friends the photos to check I hadn’t somehow not seen the image of the rainbows correctly. But no, I had and everyone I showed it to was indignant on my behalf and asked me what I was going to do.
I wanted to phone them up or email them but my feelings were too raw. I felt as if someone had stolen my identity. I also couldn’t understand how they could be so stupid as to imagine it was ok to use the ideas that someone who taught you had had and to think that it would be ok. I knew a request to stop from me would probably fall on deaf ears.
One of my best friends from school is fortunately now one of the world’s leading IP lawyers and she offered to write them a “strongly worded letter” which she did, pointing out, after extensive research, that I was the first person to raku fire a rainbow and would they please cease from making anymore.
I know I am not the first person by a long way to make a ceramic house, but it was still shocking to think that someone I had taught and who lived a stones’ throw from me saw fit or had such little imagination they thought it was ok to make them too. I posted a post on Instagram which made me feel better. It wasn’t naming or shaming anyone but it was my own way of handling it all. Even though they denied they had copied me to all and sundry, they retaliated by blocking me and seemingly most people I knew on their social medias. Not that I wanted to look at what they were up to and I was glad they wouldn’t be looking at mine.
They employed an IP lawyer who sent a letter back claiming that as there was a 10% difference in my rainbows and theirs they should be allowed to continue. As for the houses, we know there are lots of people who make houses so there is nothing I could do about that.
I didn’t particularly want them to stop because it was legally wrong I wanted them to stop because it was morally wrong and it was so upsetting.
I couldn’t be bothered with any more letters as I knew my work was reaching more and more places and that people were beginning to associate my name and my stories with my houses and rainbows and so I knew I had to concentrate on building up my own reputation and stockists. Their work wasn’t a financial threat to me and I had yet to see it in any shops for sale so I thought the best plan would be to build on my reputation locally and nationally and concentrate on building my brand.”
(c) Amanda Banham – raku ceramic rainbows
What I learnt from this and what I’m doing now.
“The whole episode affected me in so many ways. I went completely off teaching adults. I was worried about going out of my house for a short while as I knew if I bumped into either of them I would probably cry! I felt miserable that two people I had thought of as friends were now no longer my friends and I felt cross about all the negative emotions they had made me feel. I have always been so, too (?) trusting of people and this has slightly changed that, maybe that is a good thing!
I don’t have a clue what they are making now or indeed whether they are still making ceramics as I have mentally blanked them out. I am teaching my first adult class for a long time in a few weeks and am asking everyone to sign something to say they won’t be seeking to financially gain from any of the pieces I teach them to make and that they won’t be setting up shop making raku rainbows!
If you are starting out in a new creative venture I think it’s natural to emulate the work of the person who has taught you initially, after all they are your immediate reference point. But when you come to selling your work and setting up your own identity take a good look at your influences and references. If they are derived from the work of someone you admire then you may quite possibly end up being too heavily influenced. Then make a cup of tea, have a chocolate biscuit and go out into the world for YOUR OWN inspiration and ideas.
As a potter the last place I look for inspiration is pottery or potters. I take walks and I look around me. I look at films, textiles, architecture and fashion. I like finding ideas in the everyday and I am confident in the provenance of my own designs.”
What to do if you are in a similar situation as Amanda? And what not to do?
We asked Margaret Briffa IP lawyer and Founding Partner of Briffato explain to us in more detail what to do and what not to do:
“This is a classic case of someone being inspired by another designer’s work and making their own version. The closeness of the parties here makes it even more distressing than usual, but as Amanda has rightly acknowledged she may not have a legal claim but she strongly feels morally that what has happened is wrong.
As stated in the introduction to this story this scenario is very common. So how should you react if you find yourself in a similar situation? My tips would be:
Get hold of the offending piece if it is available for sale at a fair or shop or download images if being sold on line. That first step secures the evidence and gives you a chance to properly examine the offending design before deciding what to do.
Take professional advice as to whether you have a legal claim or not and use an expert IP lawyer. A number of law firms, like my own firm Briffa, offer a no charge consultation to review just this sort of thing and let you know your options.
Be sure to find out your legal rights before taking any action. Firing off a letter which is incorrect can land you in hot water and make a situation worse. Conversely even a consolatory letter can count against you where you do have a strong legal claim.
As well as the legal rights and wrongs consider what you want to achieve. Do you want the other party to stop what they are doing, pay you compensation or a licence fee or something else? It’s important to find out what is possible and what would suit you as a resolution.
Think outside the box. Often designers get stuck on the outrage of it all and fail to move on to see how they could use a situation to their benefit. They fail to consider what commercially favourable outcome they could get from what has happened. A simple example is where a retailer has copied you, where the solution may be to persuade them to purchase from you in the future instead of from someone who has taken your idea.
Consider what other tools you have to beat the cheats. Someone who has taken your ideas may not be prevented from selling but they can’t sell under your brand or claim them as the ‘original’. Make sure you build value in your designs by making customers wants the original from a recognisable and named brand. Take steps to protect your brand in the same way you would your designs.
Don’t spend money on a legal dispute unless you are on firm ground and you can not only win but recover your costs from whoever your opponent is. An expert lawyer will let you know if this is possible or not.
Don’t resist that cup of tea and choco biscuit and getting out into the world advocated by Amanda here. Quiet reflection on your own strengths and what is best for you going forward is an excellent tonic at a trying time.”
The Design Trust would like to thank Margaret Briffa for adding different options and solutions to this guest post by ceramicist Amanda Banham.
Do you recognise Amanda’s situation? What did you learn from this guest post and Margaret’s practical advice? We would love to hear from you in the comments box below.
Please note that we manually monitor any comments and The Design Trust has the right not to publish comments if we think they are inappropriate or inflammatory.
Do you know what to do if somebody copies your work? Do you know the difference between design rights and copyright? Do you know who owns the copyright to your images?
Understanding basic intellectual property is crucial for creatives. Not just to avoid that somebody might copy your work, but also to stop you from infringing other people’s IP – often without realising it. Did you realise for example that you need written permission if you want to use a quote from somebody else in your work?
But it’s not just about protecting yourself. Your IP rights can make you some serious money! Could you license your work?
However very few art schools teach intellectual property and copyright beyond the basics. And to be honest it’s pretty complicated set of laws!
In this blog post we share the best intellectual property and copyright resources for creatives in the UK. Some books first and then organisations that you can turn to.
Copyright Law For Artists, Photographers and Designers – Gillian Davies
This is a fairly short book (only 100 pages) but it’s super helpful to give you the basics of what intellectual property is. Gillian is a fine artist and printmaker as well as a legal editor, giving her a unique insight into copyright law for creatives.
Copyright Law For Artists, Photographers and Designersis a very practical introduction and one of the best intellectual property and copyright resources out there. It’s full of practical and real-life examples. It shares the often quirky nature of intellectual property and clearly explained case studies across all the different creative disciplines.
As the book was published in 2010 it doesn’t deal in great detail with the current challenges of online infringement and social media, but it gives a very thorough but practical introduction to intellectual property for creatives.
Do/Protect – Legal Advice for Startups – Johnathan Rees
This short book, Do/Protect by the DO Book Company covers all aspects of legal advice, from legal structures, to raising finance, contracts, e-commerce and social media and also intellectual property rights. It’s an easy and accessible read.
Intellectual property organisations:
ACID – Anti Copying In Design
ACID is a membership organisation that provides advice to its mostly creative business members, and it’s a campaigning and lobbying organisation around intellectual property issues. They provide free legal advice to members. Using their logo on your website or during events can deter copyright infringement. And you can use their secure IP bank to provide 3rd party evidence if you have been copied. The also publish a useful regular newsletter and magazine, and regularly attend and host events and workshops around intellectual property issues.
ArtQuest
ArtQuest’s website has very useful Art Law section on their website explaining law for creatives, including intellectual property rights, contracts, legal resale rights. ArtLawTV is a series of short videos with interviews around IP issues.
The AoI – Association of Illustrators
The AoI is the main membership organisation for illustrators and as part of your membership you can get free IP advice.
Briffa & Co
Margaret Briffa set up Briffa & Co, a specialist IP law firm for creative businesses, in 1995 in London. They work very closely with other IP organisations such as ACID. On their website you can find various useful blog posts, short videos and other intellectual property and copyright resources, and you can book a free consultation session there too.
British Library IP Centre
The British Library IP Centre regularly organises intellectual property workshops and masterclasses in their Central London location, where you can also go for free confidential 121 advice. The have got some good basic articles on their site on how to protect your work, copyright, patent, trademarks, registered and unregistered rights. One of the best intellectual property and copyright resources that are available for free.
DACS – Design And Artists’ Copyright Society
The Design and Artists Copyright Society is the UK’s leading copyright and collecting society for artists and visual creators. It provides rights management services for artists, beneficiaries and heirs, through pay back, artist’s resale rights and copyright licensing. You can find useful fact sheets and blog posts about licensing and resale rights on their website.
The IPO – Intellectual Property Office
The IPO is the official UK government’s body responsible for intellectual property and one of the best online intellectual property and copyright resources available. On the gov.uk website you can find useful articles about IP as well as online training and tools, and a two-day masterclass into intellectual property that being hosted across the UK.
The have published a series of free booklets, including: IP Basics, A Designers’ Guide to Protecting Your Creativity, and A Photographer’s Guide to Copyright through their helpline on telephone 0303 123 113.
Have you used these intellectual property and copyright resources yourself? Do you know of other books or organisations that are helpful in this area of intellectual property? Then do let us know below in the comments.
Now we are ready to dive into launching your creative collection successfully!
Step 1: Why launch products at all?
Many creatives just post pictures of their new products online or bring them to an event. The problem with that (very common!) practice is that you aren’t making the most of the launch op to work backwards from your launch so that you can prioritise when to do what, from designing and producing, to deciding on price and materials, to getting your images and website up to date.
Launch when your clients are most likely to buy. It makes sense. And you know that. If you launch your new website
A launch deadline will get you focused, and more importantly: keep you focused! Having a deadline will help you to get focused and to stop procrastinating. It will help you
Having a launch process will focus your efforts more effectively. Being very clear who your clients are, what they really want to buy, the price level they are prepared to spend, and researching the market BEFORE you start creating and designing your collection will increase your chances of success greatly. Plus it will save you a lot of time, money and energy.
You will create more buzz and noise if you focus on launching collections 2-3 times a year. Instead of just putting some images out there of your new products, you will know that it is worthwhile to make a noise and create a marketing and social media campaign. And maybe you will be attending an event too or (re-)launch your website?
A proper launch is a great way to stay in touch with your potential and existing clients, and to get noticed. You have got a reason to get in touch, so use that opportunity! Approaching your contacts through a well-thought out launch plan, with invites in the post, emails and social media will increase traffic to your site and is more likely to lead to sales
Create your own launch plan: Set a date for your next product collection launch. When is the right time for you to launch? When are your clients most likely to buy from you? Top tip: Check out when the trade shows are.
WHY it is important to create and launch launch a product collection properly, instead of a couple of products being added to your website. It will help you to focus more and you are much more likely to get the results you want. Think and plan more strategically about what your clients want, create a more confident story, and present your products more confidently. And consumers, collectors and trade clients (both galleries and shops) love collections too!
WHAT the products in your collection are: describe each product in detail, including the type of product, materials, colours, size, themes/inspiration etc. You can ready about what makes a good collection here.
WHO the most likely clients for your collection are: Describe your dream clients in detail: what age and gender they are, when and where they will be using your products (really useful when styling and photographing your work!), what they will really like about your products (the so called ‘client benefits’), what they will say or feel about your products.
WHEN your dream clients are most likely to buy from you: Very often consumers and trade buyers purchase at specific times of the year. Many designer makers will sell most between September and December, so be aware of when the best time is to launch your new collection. Do you want to launch your collection at a major exhibition, event or trade show? It’s much easier to launch your collection at a time in the year when your dream clients are most likely to buy. Go with the flow, not against it!
How you will position your product collection? What are your brand values? Will your collection be exclusive or affordable, bought as gifts or more as art pieces? What do you want to be known for? And how will these values be communicated in your branding, photography and packaging? It can be really useful to research online and in galleries and shops what other creatives have done to create a certain strong feeling around their collection launches. It’s not just the product, but how they have displayed and presented their work that makes it much more powerful.
WHERE your consumers will be able to buy your products. Will you be selling via your own website and shop only, or via selling events too? Then make a specific list. If you are planning to sell wholesale, then start making a list of at least 20 specific retailers, shops, online boutiques etc. Do your research and find out where people can buy similar products like your own. This is the start of your database.
What will be the best way to reach those clients and retailers or galleries? Will you be contacting them directly or via selling events and trade shows? What PR will you be doing? What emails will you send to them? What’s the best social media tool for your event? Start brainstorming about what the best ways are to reach your dream clients.
Create your own launch plan: Start your own mini-launch plan. Get yourself a notebook or create a document on your computer and write the answers to these questions down:
WHAT will you launch? Describe the collection, the individual products, and the key elements such as materials, colour and the story behind the collection. What makes it stand out in the market?
WHO is this collection for? Be as specific as possible. Describe 3 – 5 different client types, and also identify around 5 potential stockists (if you are planning to sell wholesale) or online shops.
WHEN & WHERE will you launch? Why did you choose that date? Will you launch online via emails and social media, will you do an event, or approach a stockist to do a gallery launch?
POSITIONING in the market: What price point will your collection be at? Affordable, middle or expensive? What will make your collection different from what’s out there in the market already? Why would potential clients be interested?
WHERE do you want your products to be available? Be specific. Which shops or galleries, which online places, which events will you attend? Identify at least a list of 15 potential places to sell. Do they match up with your positioning in the market?
HOW will you reach your potential clients? Start to identify some direction e.g. will it be direct contact, email, social media, wholesale brochures, event invites?
This mini-launch plan is the fundamental starting point of marketing and launching your collection successfully. You will be adding more detail to your launch plan at the next stages.
Step 3: What are your financial & marketing goals for this launch?
What do you want to achieve with launching your next collection? More sales of course, but what about raising your profile, opening doors with galleries that you haven’t been able to sell to yet. What about getting press coverage?
So, think about:
What are your specific goals? What would make the launch of your products successful?
How many sales do you want to get with your launch?
How and where will you sell your products? Think about the so called ‘routes to market’: will you sell direct, online, wholesale via galleries and shops?
Start identifying your own SMART goals for your sales and marketing.
SMART stands for: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound, which basically means that you will need to put a number and date on your goals.
So, instead of saying ‘I want to get more stockists’, or ‘I want to sell more on my Etsy website’, you state: ‘I want to get 5 new stockists by September’, or ‘I want to increase my Etsy sales by 20% this year’.
And don’t forget to include a financial forecast! How many products do you aim to sell at what price level? Don’t forget to use the wholesale price when selling to trade, and the retail price when selling direct! Confused about pricing terms, check this blog posts out.
Create your own launch plan: Add to your mini-launch plan your financial and marketing goals:
Create a financial plan, specifically for your launch. What sales do you expect in the next 12 months? Split them up quarterly or monthly even. How many products do you aim to sell and at what price level? How many will you sell direct and how many to retail? What will the marketing costs be for your launch? Will you exhibit at a trade show or craft event? Will you relaunch your website or need new images? Do you need to improve your branding and packaging (to be able to charge the prices you want)? Plan this out.
Add more detail to your marketing plan and get more specific about your clients. Compare your financial goals and how many products you need to sell with your marketing activities. Are your sales forecasts realistic? What additional marketing do you need to do? Focus on contacting clients direct if you want to get sales, rather than relying on social media.
Don’t fantasise but try to be as realistic as possible at this stage.
Very often when you are defining your goals you will realise that you need to do and learn a lot between where you are now and where you want to go. That’s normal.
Research is a great and hugely inspiration part of the design process!
Step 4: Add some juicy marketing launch activities
To make your product launch a success you will need to work on your marketing. Many creatives don’t like marketing or are even scared of marketing. Do you believe in these 6 marketing myths? Then read this blog post to help you overcome them and make your launch more successful.
The most fundamental marketing tip I share with my clients is: “People only buy from people they know, like & trust”
Identify specifically what you can do so that your potential clients get to know you, like you and trust you:
How can you become better known? Who do you want to get known by specifically? Identify specific client types (see above) and places to sell your work (see above). Who do you need to approach and how will you do that? Think about sending a good introduction letter with images of your work to potential stockists or inviting clients with a postcard to your Open Studios. Sending something in the post has a lot of impact – far more than relying only on social media.
How can you get people to like you, and in fact in the current climate you need people to fall in love with your product. ‘Liking’ isn’t enough! Don’t try and please everybody but focus on your niche. Create a confident brand through great images and styling that really attract your dream clients. How can you show some of your unique personality in your website, images or emails?
How can you get people to trust you? Does your website and stand look professional (and up to date)? Is your branding really super clear and reflect your values and those of your ideal clients? Do you share your training and experience on your ‘About me’ page or in a CV or artist statement? Have you won any awards or did you get any great press coverage recently? Are you sharing proof that you can be trusted through testimonials on your site or on LinkedIn? Are you asking your Etsy clients for 5-star feedback? Do you promote your stockists via a stockist list or via your email newsletter or social media? Do you use a reliable payment provider for online sales?
Specific marketing activities for your launch often depend on your financial goal, your type of product, your ideal clients and which route of market you have selected.
For each marketing launch activity specify:
What’s the purpose of this activity e.g. to get in touch with existing Etsy clients, to approach 15 journalists, or to get more traffic to your website or to get people to attend your Open Studio event.
Who is this activity targeted at? Be more specific e.g. what would you do for existing clients and what about people who have recently signed up for your newsletter, or who follow you on Instagram?
When will you do this by? What’s the deadline? Think also about how long it will take. Any jobs that take longer than 1 day can be split up to make your plan for detailed.
Who is responsible for doing this activity? Do you need help or support? Clarify what you need to do or learn.
How much will it cost? Think about exhibition costs at craft fairs or trade shows (which can be very expensive!) but also photographing your work, printing a new business card or brochure, or sending out 100 invites in the post.
This takes a bit of time the first time you will create your own marketing launch plan, but this will become a really handy to-do-list for later use too, where you can ‘tick off’ each of the marketing tasks that you will need to do for a successful launch.
After you have created your marketing action list start to allocate physical time in your diary. This will really help you to get it done!
Create this action list about 3-4 months prior to when you want to do your launch, to allow yourself enough time to work on these strategic marketing activities that will make your product launch much more successful.
Step 5: Create a launch plan
Finally you are getting ready to launch!
From the broader business, financial and marketing goals we are now getting into the detail.
Emma Lacey Ceramic Mugs
Why is it a good idea to create a launch plan?
In the run up to your launch there will be so many things to think about that’s it is good practice to create a plan in advance so that you won’t forget anything, and know what to do and when.
The plan is to make you feel less overwhelmed and stressed out, and more in control and excited!
So what goes in your launch plan?
1: Your SMART launch goals
We have mentioned this before, but they might have changed a little over time.
So, what do you want to achieve?
For example: £5K in sales in total in first 2 months, get 8 new stockists in the 3 months after the launch, get 10 press mentions in the next 6 months.
2: Decide on a launch date
When are you planning to launch your collection?
Is this a good time to launch from your client’s perspective? Is this a time when they naturally tend to buy your product? Are there any trade shows or selling events where you want to launch?
Is this a realistic time plan for you or have you started too late?
How will you communicate this launch date to your audience?
3: Before your product launch
You have worked on your fundamental marketing plan to lay the foundations for a successful launch. You will now benefit from that strategic work!
The closer you get to the launch the more your main focus needs to be on marketing actions. No more making and creating please!
Create a list of marketing actions that are directly related to the launch:
Again, make a to-do-list of all the things you want to do in the same way we did previously. Think strategically about who you want to reach, and what the best ways are for doing so.
In the last 4 weeks before your launch you will need to focus on these marketing activities.
4: Launch week
Your launch week will be busy and chaotic, so make sure that you are ready and look after yourself.
Get support from others.
It needs to be fun and exciting, a celebration of all your hard work, not close to a burnout!
Similar to the action plan you created before the launch you create actions and planning, but this time you go into great detail and create actions for each day of your launch week. The closer you get to launch day the more specific you will need to be.
If you are launching at a trade show or selling event then you will be busy selling in this week.
If you are doing an online launch then you will need to be ready too for delivering orders, answering questions, following up.
If you are doing both at the same time then you might look into automating some of your marketing and social media, such as email newsletters that can be pre-planned, blog posts that can be launched automatically, or tweets (I use an app called Buffer for this, and I highly recommend it!).
Anything that you can do and get ready before the launch week is a bonus!
5: After the launch
Often the hard work now really starts!
Fulfilling orders, answering questions, following up with (trade) clients who didn’t come to your event, invoicing, …
It’s crucial that you focus on getting the orders out of the door and following up.
It’s a good idea to plan a review meeting with yourself about one week after the launch. Take some time off to plan ahead and to take stock:
Evaluate against your launch goals. If you set SMART goals it’s fairly easy to see if you succeeded or not.
If not, what extra marketing and follow up do you need to do now? Use the momentum that you have created to keep your contacts informed. It often takes a little while before people buy, so you need to stay in touch. Don’t think it’s a failure if they don’t buy straight away. Selling is a process of building relationships with your audience and clients.
Write down what went well, and what you would do better next time. You will be surprised how much you forget about the nitty-gritty of a launch campaign, so make sure that you go through it in detail and write it down.
And what’s next for you? How can you follow up with clients who showed an interest but didn’t purchase (yet)? What other clients might be interested in your products? What could you improve on in the entire process of launching your collection? What other products could be included in this collection? What will your next collection be about?
Many creatives are notorious for not celebrating their achievements.
Very often ‘it’s never good enough’, and the have already moved the goal post before they have finished their previous project. Don’t! It’s so important to celebrate and mark your progress on this business journey.
Even if it didn’t all go to plan with sales, you will have learnt a great deal, and hopefully got a lot more subscribers to your website, increased your profile, or gained in confidence.
What did you gain?
And that’s it! That’s how you launch a product collection successfully!
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Do you mostly use social media to promote your creative business? Do you realise that email marketing is about 10x more effective to reach the right clients and to get sales?
Do you know why? Here are 8 reasons why email marketing is effective for your creative business:
1. everybody in the world has an email address
Almost every human being in the world has an email address. That’s a fact.
You might think that ‘everybody’ is on social media … but do you realise that there are 3x more email accounts in the world than Facebook and Twitter combined?*
2. Your email contacts want to hear from you!
You might not like the ‘new’ GDPR rules but email works … exactly BECAUSE it’s permission-based.
ONLY include people on your email list who have given you permission to get in touch via email.
In fact this is a huge advantage of email marketing: People have deliberately given you their email address details. That means that they are interested in what you do, and want to hear about your news, events and product updates.
They might have bought from you in the past or they have met you at an exhibition or trade show. Your regular, creative and useful emails reminds them of you and your work, helps generate brand awareness, and builds your relationship with your past and future clients.
Did you know that the average email has an opening rate of around 20% while the chance your Facebook followers see your post is less than 6%?*
Your social media posts are fighting often with 100’s of other social media posts. The chances that they’ll see your Instagram or Facebook page is to be honest fairly slim. But the chances that you reach their inbox are pretty good!
Start to think of your email list subscribers as the VIP’s they actually are! They want to hear from you, that’s why they signed up to your list in the first place.
Marketing costs on social media such as Facebook and Instagram can surprisingly add up. It might not look like much to boost your post for a fiver here or there, but do you actually get any results? Do you really know what you are doing? Google Ads and similar services have huge potential to drive the right traffic to your site, but they can cost an awful lot too if you don’t have your targeting right. But to achieve that you probably need to hire a social media expert or do some learning yourself!
Email marketing is much easier to understand and track, and can be part of any marketing plan. Many Email Service Providers (ESPs) such as MailChimp, HubSpotand sendinblue are free to use for smaller subscriber lists, so ideal for small businesses.
Even if you only get one sale from an email that’s a great result as you won’t have spend a penny to achieve that. Yes, email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach new customers and maintain relationships with current consumers.
4. You are only one click away from that online sale
Email marketing is just perfect if you want to sell online! Because it’s literally one step away from getting visitors to your online shop or website.
If you email your clients at the right time of the year wonderful pictures of your creative products then they are much more likely to visit your online shop. They don’t have to move (which would be the case if they are reading a magazine article with your products) or do anything special. In just one click they are on your site and can purchase. So so easy!
Keep your emails simple, short and visual.
One beautiful image of one of your creative products. Add 50 words of text. Add one simple link directly to the right page.
That will get you more online sales than long rambling emails about your life as a creative.
As Henry Ford famously said: “Half the money I spend on advertising is waste, the problem is I do not know which half.”
With some forms of marketing you can never be certain if it has been effective. But with email marketing, you can easily see how effective your communications have been:
You can measure how many people opened your email and clicked through to your website.
You can see when people opened your email, or how often.
How many people unsubscribed from your list. (If you send irregular emails you will have more unsubscribes than when you are regularly in touch!)
Where your clients are located.
With more sophisticated email software (such as ConvertKit or Drip) you can connect directly to your ecommerce site and see how much your contact has spend with you so far, and on which product categories. They can even give you suggestions of the best time to send your future emails based on previous performance, or give you recommendations on better subject lines to increase your opening rates.
This kind of real-life data can really help you to make your email marketing even more effective because you can get detailed information on how your email campaigns are performing, learn from your mistakes and make adjustments. Check out your email metrics to see how effective your marketing is.
6. Aim your emails at exactly the right people
One of the most common email marketing mistakes is to send the same email to everybody on your list.
No! Instead make sure that you either allocate manually new and existing email contacts to specific lists (e.g. create lists for: existing clients, for Etsy clients, retailers or press, or who visited you at a specific event) or when they sign up for your email list so they can allocate themselves to specific lists (Do they want to get more details about your upcoming events and new product launches, or do they want to get special offers or hear more about your commissioning process or your upcoming craft workshops? Create different sign up options on your registration form.)
Segmenting your email list will help your potential clients to receive the exact info they requested.
And for you it’s really useful to know what they are interested in and what info they want to get from you via your emails. (And no, it’s not just about getting discounts!)
Using lists and segmenting your contacts into different groups will allow you to make your emails much more personalised and targeted. And therefore your opening rate, click rates and actual sales and orders will be much higher. A great result again!
7. Email marketing will get you clients … not just ‘likes’
But when it comes to converting people into customers or supporters, email marketing is a far more effective medium. According to McKinsey, email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter. The Direct Marketing Association found that email marketing has a Return Of Investment of 4300%*
You probably already noticed this yourself … you get lots of interest on your Instagram. But do any of your followers actually buy from you?
8. Use automation in a personal way
One of the best ways to make your email marketing more effective is by using automation. This might sound boring and robot-like, but actually this can really help you build your relationship over time (!) with your ideal clients for relatively little time input.
We at The Design Trust use automation in our email marketing especially when people sign up to get more details about our online workshops or newsletter. We have created a so-called auto-responder which get triggered when somebody registered for one of our email lists. When we set the email or workshop registration forms up we create a sequence of emails that we will send to our new contact over a period of a few days or weeks.
We try to be really helpful in all our email marketing so they might be additional resources around the topic they are interested in, or a series of popular blog posts that we recommend. We often ask questions too in these emails so we get a two-way-correspondence going rather than just us talking at them. We encourage the new contacts to get in touch with us if they have any questions. That way we get to know them better and provide some good old-fashioned customer care!
Over a few days or weeks we will give additional useful info in bite-size chunks, and by the end of the sequence the chances that this new contact has visited our website, understands what we really do and how we do it, or remembers us next time they want to improve their creative business skills is much higher.
And these small actions together are all crucial to get ultimately more sales and bookings!
We write these autoresponder emails once and update them regularly, but they get send out automatically, and therefore are a very effective way to stay in touch and get known for what we do, and to educate our potential and existing clients.
Why not check out if your email provider allows you to create auto-responder? And spend some time to create a simple sequence of emails for when people sign up to your email list. It’s a very good use of your time!
*The stats in this blog post come from the Campaign Monitor Report 2019.
We hope that these 8 reasons why email marketing is so effective to get sales will inspire you to take action. Come on, dust off that list of people who want to hear from you, use an ESP service that works for you, write a nifty email message that is friendly and helpful, and hit send!
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Are you starting or growing your own creative business? By yourself? There is so much to do, isn’t there?
Do you feel overwhelmed by all the different jobs that need to be done? Making, marketing, keeping up to date with social media, doing your own finances …
And that is before all your other responsibilities … of having a part-time or full-time job, looking after your kids or elderly parents …
Do you feel like you work hard but you don’t get the important stuff done? Two steps ahead, three steps back?
You aren’t the only one struggling with time and being productive!
People are often surprised to learn that The Design Trust is actually a very small business run mostly by one person (me!) with some additional freelance support. I also have a family with two growing girls. The only way for me to get it all done is to be super focused and organised.
Want to know how I do it? (And no, I am not superwoman!) Here are my 14 personal productivity tips for creatives – to get more done in less time …
Get yourself a nice drink to go through this epic blog post. Yes, it will take you a couple of minutes to read, but you will have the tools to be more productive afterwards!
1. Focus on your niche
If you want to be more productive then you do need to focus. It’s as simple as that.
So, let’s get started with some of the most strategic productivity activities that you can focus on.
Firstly: Focus on your niche.
A niche is the combination of what you do best + love doing most + who you do this for: your ideal clients.
Basically: if you want to get more productive then focus on your special talent + those people who are most likely to be interested in buying from you.
The reality is that less than 1% of the general public is going to be interested in what you do. If you try to reach ‘everybody’ then you will be wasting an awful lot of your time, money and energy!
If you focus on your niche instead then you are much more likely to get interest and ultimately sales. You won’t be spreading yourself too thinly. By focusing on a smaller group of potential clients and people you want to work with, you will …
get to know your ideal clients’ needs quicker
become an expert and people love to work with experts
become more efficient and effective in what you do for them because you understand their needs and you can batch produce similar products
be more likely to create products or services that your ideal clients love to buy
stand out in the market more because you specialise (because you don’t try to appeal to everybody)
raise your profile faster because it’s clear what you do, and the right people will see you regularly in the right places.
Instead of being a small fish in a big pond, create your own pond!
Stop trying to be everything for everybody, and focus on what YOU do best and who wants to pay you for that. This is one of the most fundamental productivity tips for creatives; not just to improve your productivity but also your marketing and even the prices you can charge potentially (because people are prepared to pay a premium for experts!).
GET INTO ACTION:
What is your niche? Define clearer what you do and for whom.
What do you need to focus on?
What do you need to let go of?
Can you clarify this on your website, your ‘about me’ page or your social media introductions?
2. Is it urgent or important? Or both?
Are you constantly busy? Very rarely have the time to work ON your business or focus on the creative work you want to do? Do you spend hours on social media and emails or are you moving your business and life forward with activities that really matter to you?
My 2nd strategic productivity tip for creatives is to check if you are working on the important things.
Most human beings work on what presents itself as most urgent. It’s natural, it’s in our nature. We get a little anxious and want to get it done.
But this often means that we spend a lot of time on emails which means that your workload is being led by other people’s demands and deadlines, rather than your own.
I discovered in Stephen Covey’s classic self-development book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People this very simple but very effective time management and productivity strategy to help you take charge of your workload and what you really want to do and achieve (rather than being told by others what to do):
GET INTO ACTION:
Firstly, identify what is important and what is urgent, before deciding what you will work on. The best way to do this is by creating a diagram with 4 squares and label them as follows:
Urgent + important
Urgent + not important
Not urgent + important
Not urgent + not important
Get yourself a pile of Post-It notes and write every job on your to-do list on one piece of sticky paper. Do a brain dump of all the activities that you need to work on, not only business activities but also those relating to your life. Then look at all these individual jobs and allocate them to one of these quadrants (you can do this on the floor or a wall).
Just simply doing this quick brain dump in 10-15mins. can really help you to see what you have got on your to-do list. I do this exercise when I am feeling overwhelmed and don’t know what to prioritise. Instead of worrying and carrying so many activities in my head, I get them onto individual pieces of paper, which helps me to calm down and to get an overview. Then allocating them into these 4 groups helps me to prioritise what I need to work on immediately, in the short term and in the longer term.
This urgent versus important exercise can have a deep effect on your productivity and time management. Most people spend time on activities that are urgent. If you really want to do something about being chronically too busy, then Covey suggests this strategic time management approach:
Covey suggests that if you want to feel less overwhelmed you’ll need to spend 25% of your time on tasks that are not urgent but important – the more strategic aspects of your life and business.
This is about planning, preparing, developing your skills and avoiding crises. For example: your vision, improve systems, self development, marketing, relationships, your health.
If you do that then less things will become urgent because you are prepared. You will start to take charge of your day and make time for the important things in life and business, rather than responding and reacting to what comes your way.
Understanding this concept really helped me to become more focused and productive by making more regular time available in my diary to work ON my business and not just reacting to others.
I now try to focus on planning and finances on Mondays for example, when I will also have my meetings with people I work with and with my accountant. I check then if there are any invoices outstanding, and what I need to focus on that week and month. I get in touch with people. It also helps me to set boundaries between my work life and family life by being more aware of how important rest days are to create a sustainable business, and that I chose to spend time with my family in the evening and weekends rather than responding to more emails.
This exercise has also helped me to keep my own priorities clear and it has made it easier for me to say NO to people and projects because I know what’s important to me and my business (see below under ‘saying NO to meetings’ too).
3. Are you doing the right things at the right time?
If you want to improve your productivity then being effective as well as efficient is important. Are you doing the right thing at the right time? Many creative businesses are seasonal, with very specific busy and quiet periods. Knowing this can be a huge advantage so that you are not trying to sell at the wrong time of the year.
In a way running a business is like gardening. You need to make time for preparing the ground, selecting your seeds and plants for the year and plant them at the right time, you need to nurture them and take out the weeds (and get the slugs off too!), before you can harvest and you will have a quiet time again to replenish.
If you plant your seeds at the wrong time of the year then nothing will happen.
If you want to create a successful and sustainable and successful business then you need to start with when your clients are most likely to buy. Do you know? For many creative businesses the 3-months period before Christmas is when they will get the vast majority of their sales.
So, if you need to sell your products between September – December (retailers will purchase two months before consumers) then you need to work backwards from that to get ready. This means that you need to photograph your work in the Summer, and that you need to design and create ideally between April – July.
Becoming more aware of what you need to do at what time of the year will help you to be more productive and juggle the different parts of your business (finance, marketing, production) better. Instead of being frustrated by the quiet times of the year you can start to use these to get ready, or to do some extra business training.
GET INTO ACTION:
Are you doing the right things at the right time of the year? Do you know when your clients are most likely to buy from you, and when you need to be ready to launch new collections? Do you work ‘backwards’ from launches to identify when you need to photograph your work, promote it, price it?
Are you making the most of the busy and quiet times in your business? Not every month is a good selling month. Make sure that in the quieter times you work on your website and branding, or learn new business skills.
Do you plan your activities, or do you just do everything when it suits you?
How can you get better organised and be ready in time so that it is much more likely that you will sell your products and not waste your time?
4. Make time by blocking time
Time blocking is a really simple but a very effective productivity technique. Especially if you have got loads of different responsibilities or you ‘forget’ certain jobs.
The basic idea of time blocking is that you allocate ‘themes’ to certain days of the week or parts of the day, and that you put specific jobs together.
For example on Monday morning I focus on planning and finance, and I write or deliver workshops mostly on Tuesday – Friday mornings.
This blocking time technique will help you to focus (again!) and to stop multi-tasking. I make time for the important jobs in my business, and the less important jobs are done around them e.g. social media, not important emails.
Of course, not every week is a ‘perfect’ week, so often on Sunday evening or Monday morning when I plan out my week ahead I allocate different jobs to that week including writing, marketing, client calls. I put little sticky notes throughout my diary with specific jobs on them. That means I can plan recurring jobs months ahead, but at the same time, it gives me a bit more flexibility as I can easily move them from a Tuesday to a Thursday. My old-fashioned weekly paper diary might look like a yellow dotty duck, but this system works for me!
This is a major tip: You really need to block time in your diary to get the important work done.
GET INTO ACTION:
Get your diary out and start planning your next month.
What needs to be done? What is important? Think about strategic jobs that you need to focus on such as creating a database, reaching out to specific clients or photographing your work better.
How much time are you spending on marketing versus making?
What are the important jobs in your business (and life!) that you want to work on?
Start creating space in your diary for these jobs. What days of the week would work best for you?
5. Match the job with the right energy
Do you feel like you need to be in ‘the right mood’ for certain jobs? That you can’t really get creative if you have only got two hours?
It really helps to know how your personal energy works throughout the day and connect that to what you need to do.
Very often we waste our best energy and brain power on social media and emails in the morning!
The fact is that most of us are at our best before lunch time, after that our energy gets depleted. Make use of that knowledge: Do your ‘deep work’ in the morning, and easier and repetitive jobs in the afternoon or evening.
Daniel Pink researched what the best time is to do things, and when we are most likely to make mistakes, which he published in his book When – The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. Indeed not only are we more likely to be at our best in the morning but also we are more energised on Monday mornings than on Fridays (if we had a weekend break!).
I’ve used this knowledge about my own energy levels to my advantage. And although I am far from an early riser I do know that my brain is at its best in the mornings. So now I do most writing and creative thinking or big planning at the beginning of the day when I am fresh, and more repetitive jobs (such as emails, editing or social media) in the evening. This has had a major impact on getting stuff done!
When I want to develop bigger ideas, plan out new online workshops or ebooks then I know I need more and especially solitary time. My husband and two kids go a couple of times a year away for a long weekend to grandpa and grandma, so that I can have a solid 12 hours of working ‘it’ out and getting a good head start. Once I have done the ‘big’ thinking I can divide it up into smaller jobs that I can get done later.
GET INTO ACTION:
What would work for you? What energy do you need to get different jobs done? Look back at your diary and switch certain jobs around to the morning, and others to the afternoon or evening. This is one of the most useful productivity tips for creatives, especially if you have loads of different responsibilities and projects on the go.
And sometimes you just have to push yourself a little, stop thinking, stop waiting for the ‘right’ mood to appear and just create the ‘right mood’. Change your internal dialogue, put some relevant music on (whatever that is), and get started! You might surprise yourself with how easy it actually is to stop procrastinating!
6. Energy givers & energy suckers
Who or what gives you energy? Who or what sucks your energy?
Who are the radiators in your life?
Who are the drainers?
There are certain jobs, people and projects that give me loads of energy and inspiration. A joy to work with and for, and I will create my best work. Time seems to fly, and I get into the ‘flow’.
However … there are also people who suck my energy, who make me stressed, and who really tire me out. And then I get cross about them and myself in my head, having endless disagreements, taking even more time up than necessary!
It is not always possible to choose and select who you work (or live!) with, but I have found that as a small business owner I have got far more freedom in this than most employees. So I use that knowledge – I try to work mostly with people who inspire and energise me!
Especially if you are setting up your own business or have a stressful time (such as a trade show, product launch or a difficult project) make sure you surround yourself with people who support you, who are enthusiastic about what you do, who want to see you succeed. Some people might be scared of your potential success, or are worried about how your business will impact their lives. They might mean well but frankly, they aren’t very brave themselves or want ‘to protect’ you from any disappointments.
If you want to start and grow your own business you will need all the emotional support you can get. So if your nearest and dearest don’t offer this then find somebody who can be a critical friend – who will listen regularly to your stories, who will challenge you and inspire you, who keeps you accountable and who can give constructive feedback.
And it isn’t just about people. It is also about helping yourself, and finding something to do that ‘gets you out of your head’ and gets you doing things. A nice brisk walk, cooking a wonderful unexpected dinner for your partner, baking a banana bread with your kids, pottering in your garden, cutting down the hedge, putting some 1980’s music on and dancing like a teenager, … (yes, these are all personal examples that work for me …)
GET INTO ACTION:
Become more aware of who or what energises and nurtures you. It’s so so important!
Starting and growing a creative business is a challenge! Knowing what support you need is so important, and do ask for help.
Where can you find like-minded creative people to support you? We all need a little support at times – even the most confident amongst us. Don’t see this as a failure, reaching out to others and getting support is crucial on your journey.
Hint: OurBusiness Clubis a great online community to find ambitious creatives like yourself! But also check out our Facebook page for regular opportunities to meet others across the UK.
7. Make time for flexibility: Pretend Friday’s don’t exist
Do you struggle with getting everything done? Always got more on your to-do list then you can actually achieve?
I know. I know. I am the same!
The thing is that most of us are super optimistic in guessing how long a job takes. And then we run out of time. Especially at the end of the week!
The reality is that most of us don’t leave enough time in our diary for ‘unplanned’ activities. For things that will come up. Because … inevitably something will pop up! Classic case of not ‘if’, but ‘when’.
According to time management gurus CEO’s need around 2 hours each day for these emergencies.
So what happens if we don’t make time for them in our diary? They get pushed into our evenings and weekends.
Sound familiar?
I came across this time management / productivity tip a while ago (can’t remember the source, sorry). Keep your Fridays empty in your diary. Basically don’t put anything in them at all. Pretend they don’t exist!
So then you will have plenty of time at the end of the week to finish all those ‘loose ends’. You will have a bucket of time to deal with emergencies, administration, emails etc.
What’s interesting is that from a productivity point of view people who did this as an experiment actually didn’t get more done than people who planned their Fridays full. But what did happen was that people who kept Fridays free felt better at the end of the week because they felt they had done more and finished more jobs. Interesting indeed!
GET INTO ACTION:
How can you schedule more time for unplanned activities in your diary? You might not know exactly what you will be doing then, but you always have got the odd jobs to get off your to do list at last!
Do you recognise this behaviour and then end up doing loads of work in the evenings and at weekends? And feel guilty about it? We would love to hear from you, please share your experiences in the comments box below.
And have a go with planning more physical ‘flexibility’ or ‘catch up’ time into your own diary and let us know how you get on.
8. Stop multi-tasking
You probably have already heard this from the experts: multi-tasking actually slows you down.
It is scientifically proven that the time it takes to swap and change over between the two (or more!) jobs you are working on will really slow you down. Even a quick interruption of reading an email, might mean that it takes you around 8 minutes or so to get back to the job you are working on!
But, maybe like me, you actually love having different jobs on the go at any one time? But sometimes this can get a bit out of hand, so I remember this little story (sorry can’t remember its origin!):
Imagine that every job that you have to do is like a monkey running around.
There are nice monkeys, awkward monkeys, difficult monkeys, big monkeys and small monkeys.
It is your job to put the monkeys back in their right cage, and only when you have locked the monkeys up is your job finished. So you might be able to manage with 8 monkeys running around, but adding the 9th might turn it into complete chaos.
This metaphor really helps me when I am running around like a headless chicken to decide which ‘monkeys’ to put back in their cage first!
It also really helped me with a boss who was unable to delegate by jokingly asking him ‘Whose monkey is this, yours or mine?’
GET INTO ACTION:
What would it take for you to stop multi-tasking?
To focus and finish a job before starting another one? Have you got loads of unfinished business … then this time management tip is a great one for you to work on!
9. Work part-time or have some kids!
OK, I know this sounds a bit contra-intuitive but I actually really believe that I get more done BECAUSE I am really busy and have got kids!
As the saying goes: ‘Want to get something done? Ask a busy person!’
I run The Design Trust as a ‘part-time’ business as I have got two children. Most days I have only got between 9.30am and 3pm to work (and then evenings and weekends …). Having this very clear daily time structure really helps me to stop procrastinating and get things done.
Having clear boundaries will really help you to be more productive.
Too much time and freedom actually leads to procrastination.
Since I have had children I have found it much easier to say ‘no’ to jobs that are not suitable for me or which don’t pay the bills. I deliberately limit the amount of meetings I have (more about that later), and I regularly challenge myself at 2.30pm to get something finished before 3pm (when I have to go and pick up my kids). I make getting some quick jobs off my to do list a game, and it works for me!
Also, I have noticed that when I am really struggling and working very hard on solving a problem, that I find the solution when I am actually on the school run, cooking dinner or ironing school uniforms! Just a little bit of distance and physical exercise helps me find the answer. It’s scientifically proven that your unconscious brain will solve the problem for you when you are doing something with your hands, rather than ‘working’ hard with your brain on it.
So, having some boundaries in terms of time (because of family responsiblities, other jobs or whatever) can be really useful, rather than frustrating.
This leads us to the following productivity tip for creatives …
10. Set a deadline, and announce it publicly!
Setting deadlines can really help you improve your productivity!
Instead of never-ending-projects, get clear on WHAT you want to achieve and by WHEN.
Break big jobs down into smaller chunks and shorter time frames so that you can see your progress. Put deadlines in your diary and celebrate them when you achieve these milestones.
Having a deadline will really help you to focus (again!) and to build in more accountability.
And this is another counter-intuitive productivity tip for creatives especially: Take part in an event.
I have supported many designers and makers over the years getting ready for their first trade show or craft fair. I have seen how helpful doing a show can be to start developing your business. When there is a clear goal such as a show, then it becomes clearer what and when other things need to done – not just designing and making work, but also getting a website and other promotional material ready, costing and pricing the work etc.
Doing a show is a great way to create a time framework with clear (public) deadlines for you and your business – especially useful if you haven’t got any projects to work on and your diary is pretty clear.
One of the actions that really helps me personally to get accountability and to beat my procrastination is to announce a launch date in a very public way.
With big jobs such as launching our websites (have done that four times in the last 10 years!) or launching a new book or course, then announcing it to our audience in the run up with a date has really helped me to focus and to stop procrastinating. Because I feel I ‘owe’ it to our clients and my pride wouldn’t allow me to delay ….
GET INTO ACTION:
How can setting a deadline and especially creating public accountability help you to get things done?
Could you get the support from a friend or mentor to help you commit to a specific action or deadline?
11. Are you a perfectionist who is frankly ‘overdoing’ it?
I see many creatives work on jobs for far too long, they ‘over work’ it (which doesn’t actually make it any better!), filling up all their time with ‘work’ and making. If you have got two jobs on the go you will get them done in time, but the reality is that if you would have three or four jobs then you still would get them all done in time.
Time just seems to be filled up with ‘work’ – whatever that ‘work’ is …
Did you know that this has actually got an official name?
Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
Indeed: If you leave it till the last minute, then it will only take one minute …
Next time, just get some extra work in, the quality of your work might actually improve!
This is a really common problem, especially for new creative professionals – especially if they started as a hobbyist and are moving into turning their passion into a business. You love what you do. You make most of your time. But spend too little time on actually marketing yourself and the other aspects of growing your business. Often it is because you don’t really know what to do. You know about making, so that’s what you do.
Spending too much time on making something isn’t just a problem because you won’t spend enough time getting clients, but also because the time you spend on creating products isn’t calculated properly into your cost price, and therefore you won’t charge enough.
Wake up! If you want to create a sustainable, profitable business then you do need to spend around 40% of your time on making, 40% on marketing, 10% on administration and 10% on research and development/training.
GET INTO ACTION:
Are you aware of how much time you are spending on creating your products?
Are you ‘overdoing it’? Start keeping a time record of how long a project really takes, rather than guessing.
When you start a design project or commission, write down in a simple log on which days you worked, how long you worked on it and what you did. Log every single bit of research, phone call or email with the client, your meeting and travel time. Doing this properly will give you a really good insight into the time it takes to create a project.
12. Productivity tip for creatives = Make an impact
Do you feel like you have a never-ending-to-do-list?
Join the club!
To be honest we all have more jobs on our list (or several lists, or in our mind, and on our phone ….) than we are ever able to do!
When I feel overwhelmed I will often ask myself the question: ‘What’s the number one thing I can do to move this forward? What can I do that will make the biggest impact?’
I will then:
Do loads of small quick jobs in succession so that I can cross off loads of things on my to do list. I sometimes use an alarm clock set at 15 mins, or I use the ‘alarm clock’ of having to pick up my kids at 3.15pm from school and see at 2.45pm how many emails I can get done before I have to rush off. Make it a game!
Commit to working on something that I have been putting off for too long. Recently I had been deliberating about 3 emails that I had to send off. They kept me awake. They were in the back of my mind all the time. So one day I just decided to tackle them, there and then. First thing in the morning (see above!). And you know what? It took less than an hour to get these three emails done! And it had taken me weeks of worrying. Ahrghh!
Work on something strategically to help me save time in the longer term and to avoid chaos. (see above under ‘Is it important or is it urgent?’)
Build deeper relationships with potential and existing clients. Making time to meet people, talk to people or send something in the post. I need to market The Design Trust as much as you need to promote your creative business. Social media and emails are great for raising your profile, but actually making time to build a closer relationship with clients is important to connect, learn and indeed get clients. Sending an email to check if somebody is okay, or saying ‘thanks’ can really have a huge impact.
Work on something that I know will have a deeper impact then normal. I spend time on writing an email that I know will really resonate with my clients. It is scary, but sharing my own anxieties and worries often really connects with people. And of course, making the time over the years to create our diary planners took a lot of time (time I frankly didn’t have either. I really needed to make time for these big jobs!), but the impact on our business and our clients’ businesses has been phenomenal.
You see: ‘impact’ to me can mean different things on different days!
Do you want to reach a wider audience, or reach them deeper?
GET INTO ACTION:
How can you have a bit of fun and get as much done as possible?
What is important to work on today for you and your business?
What big but important projects do you need to make time for?
How can you build deeper relationships with your clients and stop wasting your time on social media?
13. Say NO to most meetings
What takes up a lot of your time that makes you feel less productive?
Have you noticed that most meetings take one hour?
But actually you might have finished the main discussion part within 10 minutes or so?
I live in North London and for me to have a meeting in Central London takes at least 45 min for travelling one way. So a one hour meeting often ends up being a three hour round trip!
And the reality is that I, as my own boss, don’t get paid for meetings (unlike the employees who I meet!).
Over the years I have had to become really ruthless with who I meet. (sorry, no ‘oh, let’s have a coffee’ for me, thank you!). So what do I do instead?
I try to see if we can meet online. I use a conference software called Zoom, which is similar to Skype, and that works really well. Often we have a 10 min conversation, can still wave at each other and talk about other things, but it saves me a lot of time in terms of travelling.
I have a clear agenda of what we need to talk about. In advance, I will try to focus on what the meeting is about via email. This helps to make the actual meeting more productive.
I try to block book (see above) meetings together and ideally after lunch (see above). Doing two or three meetings together (either in person or online) saves me a lot of time. Plus I feel in the right ‘mood’ to talk to people then too. It can get a little lonely because most of the time I work by myself from my home office, so having these meetings later in the day helps.
I go to trade shows, craft fairs and Open Studios to catch up with creative clients quickly. At a good event, I can meet many creatives and colleagues really easily. Sometimes a 5 minute chat and seeing their new collections is all that it takes. And I contact colleagues I want to catch up with in advance to see if they are attending and arrange meetings at the event.
If I don’t think it is a potential ‘match’ for The Design Trust I will try to refer people to other, more relevant, organisations.
This approach has really saved me loads of time!
And the meetings I go to now have a very clear purpose, are productive and I enjoy them much more as they aren’t a drain any longer!
GET INTO ACTION:
Ask yourself these questions:
Are your meetings as effective as they could be?
Are you meeting the right people?
Are you making the most of events to catch up?
14. Don’t do it all alone!
Somehow many creative sole traders think that they have to do EVERYTHING themselves …
Let me tell you: You can’t!
Focus (again!) on those things that you are best at, and get other people to do the other parts. I know that that might be difficult, especially when you are starting out, but it is very likely they will do them quicker and better than you!
I know, I still find it hard to let go and delegate. I am a bit of a control freak and perfectionist too!
But if you want to create a successful business then you can’t do it all by yourself.
As the African proverb says: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
GET INTO ACTION:
Firstly, look at your strengths and where you make the biggest impact. What you are really good at? If you want to grow your business then you need to become the CEO and your job is to coordinate all the different aspects of your business, supported by others.
Write a job description for yourself where you want to be in one year from now. What job title will you have? What are your main responsibilities and tasks during a typical week? Write job descriptions for other areas too, and group them as much as possible e.g. in marketing, production, finance.
Very often creatives talk about taking on an assistant without thinking it through what this person would do. Often it is a mini-version of themselves! That’s not very effective … and it’s unlikely that somebody has got all the skills you require.
Instead, break up the various roles and identify potential freelancers that can do specific jobs for you. Get a photographer to do your pictures (one of the best investments you can make!), ask a bookkeeper to set up your financial systems, work with a designer on your branding and website, ask a friendly copywriter to help you write your website or marketing copy, get help from others to do your domestic chores.
This doesn’t always need to be expensive. Often using an expert can save massively in time and minimise frustrations.
But also be creative and swap your skills or products with others – you might be surprised how open many others are for some bartering!
So, there you go! The Design Trust’s 14 productivity tips for creatives! Did you find this blog post useful? Where do you struggle? Did you try any of our suggestions to get into action? We would love to hear from you below in the comments box.
Are you looking where to sell your creative products online? What the best online marketplaces are for you and your craft or design products? What the best online portfolio site is to present your illustration, UX or product design skills?
Do you need help with how to select the best online creative marketplace for you and your work?
Before you can decide which online marketplace or portfolio site is right for you and your creative business, you will need to do your research, and ask some pertinent questions – of yourself and the website owners. There are three areas that you need to focus your research on in particular:
1. Is this online market place right for my creative work?
Firstly, check if your own creative products or services are a good match with what you see on the site. Is the positioning right with what you want your business to be known for? You can learn so much from this quick and practical market research:
Who is showing and selling on this website already?
Are they offering similar products to your own? Is the price level similar to your own? Is this a good niche site or a very popular site attracting a broad group of visitors?
Are your peers or role models showing or selling here?
Do they attract the kind of clients (trade and or consumers) you are looking for? How popular is the site?
How easy is it to find your competitor’s work? Is the site professional looking and easy to use?
In addition to this desk research you can do some further market research:
Check Google or social media for any negative comments or reviews of the site from buyers and sellers. But don’t believe everything you read online!
Ask your peers how they find using a certain online retailer and get recommendations.
If the match isn’t right then don’t be tempted to sell with them.
Selling on the wrong online marketplace can be at the least frustrating (due to lack of sales), and at the worst it can damage your brand!
2. Are the numbers right?
Every week I get approached by new online marketplaces and shops for creatives who want to get promoted via The Design Trust website to attract more sellers like you. To be honest I ignore most of these emails!
If they look promising then I ask them to provide me with some numbers. And I suggest that you do the same if you are comparing various online places to sell your crafts and designs online.
Contact the online retailer or online marketplace and ask any questions you might have. Professional businesses will be more than happy to give you any information you might need. You can even do a credit check or research Companies House records.
I always ask them the following questions:
How many people sell on their site?
How much website traffic do they get?
What sales do they get in a year?
What is the average order value of sales?
Connected with these are questions like …
Who is behind this site (e.g. staff, management, and potential financiers)
What is their background and expertise? In particular in terms of growing an online market place.
How much money do they spend on marketing the site and the brand?
Where do they focus their marketing, and is that where your potential clients hang out too?
It might not be easy to get detailed answers to all these questions, but you will soon get a broad picture about the professionalism, expertise, and potential of a site.
Don’t be afraid to ask the other questions by email, if you can’t get the info online.
3. How does this site work? For you and your clients!
If the positioning matches with yours, and the numbers add up, then it’s time to start looking at some of the practicalities of working with the online market places you might want to sell through:
What are the selection criteria (if there are any)? What kind of products or images are they looking for? Do they want exclusive products? Do they want personalised products? Some sites (such as NotOnTheHighStreet) are very specific about what they want for their site and what images you need to provide. Make sure that you read the registration info thoroughly before applying.
What are the costs? Is there a signing up or admin cost? Is there an annual or monthly fee? Is there a minimum period of signing up? Are their listings fees per item? What is the commission rate and how is this calculated? Is there a mark up? How easy is it to get out of the contract if needs be? Evaluate the costs versus the potential of extra income and exposure for you. Make sure that you read the terms & conditions and never sign a contract that you don’t understand!
How does the buying process work exactly? Are they keeping stock or you? Are they purchasing stock (most often not)? Who is responsible for providing images (most often you)? Who is packing and posting products? Who will do the invoicing? Who is responsible for transport insurance? How are returns handled? When will you get paid? How will you get paid? Will you get paid in pounds or how is the exchange rate being calculated? Are there special offers or deals and have you got any influence on that?
How do they teach you how to sell more online? Have they got fact sheets, videos or workshops that you can attend? Can you speak to somebody to get personal feedback?
Do they offer any additional services and support? For example Etsy provides a very comprehensive online blog called the Etsy Seller Handbook full of practical blog posts on all aspects of selling online (which is brilliant for anybody wanting to learn how to start selling online or to start selling more online!) and you can get individual feedback on your Etsy shop too or join a local group to get advice from other Etsy sellers. Other online marketplaces offer opportunities to sell at events, get extra PR or discounts.
Are they a reliable and credible company? How long have they been selling? Have they got a bricks and mortar shop as well? Is there a clear address and phone number to ask any questions? Have you checked their records with Companies House? Do you trust this company? Do they behave professionally when you are in touch with them? Online buying is more risky for potential clients. So, if you don’t trust them why would your potential clients purchase from this site?
Deciding which online place is the best for you and your creative products and services is a very personal process.
Based on your research and the answers to all these questions it will be easier for you to make up your mind what the best place is for YOU to sell online.
They are a great way to get information about opportunities, they inspire us to get things done and motivate us with the latest tips about running and growing creative businesses, and they feed our soul with things we are passionate about. And sometimes we like them just because we love gorgeous images of creative products or want to have a giggle!
We have selected our own favourite email newsletters for creatives – to inspire you and to make your own newsletter more exciting (!) and for you to subscribe and get extra news and creative business tips and inspiration.
1854 is a digital media company that publishes British Journal of Photography, the world’s oldest and most influential photography title. For stunning images, and the most beautifully designed read with sophisticated editorial, their newsletter is inspiring, educational and a feast for the eyes.
Austin Kleon
Known as ‘A Writer Who Draws’, Austin Kleon’s emails make you smile. He is the best-selling author of books like Steal Like An Artist, and his emails are in the same recognisable style – full of his creative work, observations and blacked-out word collages. He has over 85k subscribers getting details about new art, writing, and interesting links every week. Definitely one of our favourite email newsletters coming from a creative!
Crafts Council
The weekly round-up from the Crafts Council HQ. An easy-to-read compilation of what is happening in the world of crafts in the UK, who said what (incorporating an online article), what has been made (usually something quite extraordinary), a selection of great opportunities open to makers for exhibiting, selling and competing, plus a profile on an upcoming event. You can also select the kind of news you get; the general round up, maker opportunities, and / or updates on cultural, economic, political, and technological research that affect makers and the craft sector
Crafts Curator
If you are interested in handmade, sustainable design-led products from across the globe then check out Irene Vermeulen’s Crafts Curatorwebsite. Her regular newsletter shows gorgeous images of handmade products from around the world, together with trend forecasts and information about international trade events.
Creative Boom
An independent online magazine that celebrates and supports the creative community, set up by designer Katy Cowan in Manchester. Creative Boom‘s focus is on art, crafts, design, illustration, and photography. The weekly newsletter shares emerging and established talent, resources such as the latest tools and books, interviews with creatives and inspiring workspaces, and tips and insights to help you at every stage of your career. They also throw in the latest travel and shopping ideas, recommending creative products, destinations and cultural events.
Creative Review
From the print / online magazine Creative Reviewcomes a free daily weekday newsletter with an extra dose on a Sunday. Really interesting and varied curated content with creative insight – inspiring stories from creatives across all media; creative inspiration – reviews and previews of exhibitions; and the fantastic CR podcasts covering everything from music to advertising.
D&AD
D&AD aims to inspire a community of creative thinkers by celebrating the best in design and advertising. They host Professional Awards, which are recognised globally as a creative accolade with the famous Yellow Pencils. As a non-profit advertising and design association, all profits go straight into programmes such as New Blood, which inspires the next generation of creative talent. Their weekly newsletter includes videos on diverse aspects of running a creative business from presenting your work to digital marketing.
GeekOut
We love this newsletter! It’s fun and easy to read and breaks down all the latest social media marketing news into bite-sized chunks. Matt Navarro’s Geek Out weekly newsletter curates all the latest social media platform news, tips, tricks, tools and new features. Keeping you ahead of what’s what!
Girls Night In
This is self care straight to your inbox. Girls Night In is based around the concept that the busier your life gets the more you have to look after yourself. So, every Friday you receive an email gift in the form of interesting reads and trustworthy recommendations on articles, books, recipes, products, and more. And relax!
Hole & Corner
A lifestyle brand celebrating and promoting creativity, craftsmanship, heritage, and authenticity through digital, events and retail, Hole & Corner is dedicated to stories of craft, beauty, passion, and skill. Hole & Corner’s entire ethos and approach is to create and share content that is the antithesis of algorithm-driven media.
Every Sunday morning, they share a newsletter that leads with a story from their archive to provide you with the escapism/joy/insight/inspiration (or all of the above) that was originally intended. They also share regulars such as ‘My Hole & Corner’ and Listen Weekly themed playlists, as well as keeping you up-to-date with events and recommendations.
Later
If you want to keep up with what’s going on in the world of social media, then sign up (along with 4 million others) to Later’s super informative newsletter. Later is an all-in-one social marketing platform for the top social platforms. It enables you to plan, analyse, and publish your content. The email out twice a week fantastic trends, tips and tricks across all social media channels.
Living Beautifully
Alan Moore’s Beautiful Businessis a regular newsletter to share and inspire a different way of looking at the world. What would our world look like were we all to make it a little more beautiful?
Newsette
This is for women everywhere. Compiled by a media company and creative agency with the aim to empower, motivate, and inform women every morning, TheNewsette content is engaging and digestible news from beauty to business to interviews, all with a cheeky twist and all for free.
The Doers
The Doers is a brand marketing consultancy, founded by brand marketing consultants, Jess Sims and Laura West, and powered by freelancers. They send out a monthly, easy to read and navigate e-mail with useful freelancing tools, places to work from, essential hashtags, business tips and tricks and more!
The DO Lectures
The Do Lectures is an annual event taking place in Wales. Three days of inspiring talks for a group of about 50 people covering money, fitness, time-management, and figuring your sh*t out. In other words – to get you DOING! The talks are filmed and then made available for free. A weekly newsletter includes some of these talks – an inspiring curation of stories. The Do Lectures were set up by David and Clare Hieatt who also run Hiut Denim company in rural Wales.
The Hyphen
Author, podcaster and educator, Emma Gannon’s relatively new newsletter is perfect if you are interested in living “a life more curious”. The Hyphen arrives in your inbox on the first Sunday of each month and is full of tips for your working life, insights into the creative industry, and suggestions for podcasts and books.
The Marginalian
Created and still written exclusively by Maria Popova, The Marginalian(formerly Brain Pickings)covers art, science, psychology, design, philosophy, history, politics, anthropology, and more with the aim of using these different disciplines to enhance our understanding and ability of how to live, and how to live well. The Sunday newsletter contains Maria’s choice of the most interesting and inspiring articles across all topics, whilst the Wednesday newsletter highlights one essay from Maria’s vast archive – a pick-me-up for heart, mind, and spirit.
What are your favourite email newsletters for creatives? Do share with us in the comment box below as we would love to add some more practical business advice tips, inspiration, and humour to our inbox!
You have spent all your time preparing for a major craft fair or design trade show. You have made the work. Spent ages on the display, finding the right plinths, the right lighting. You have focused entirely on the creation of your work and the presentation of your stand.
And now, a week before or on the day (!) of the show, you are panicking – you haven’t done any marketing for the event! You realise you need to get some last-minute marketing tips for craft fairs, and to take action to get visitors to attend, to get sales, to get commissions!
This is a detailed and very practical actionable blog post! Full of last-minute marketing tips for craft fairs and trade shows that you can do – right now! With no costs or on a very low budget, and crucially very limited time involvement required from you!
Did you know that eventS ARE one of the best marketing tools FOR creatives?
A good-quality niche event is one of the best places to find your ideal consumers! These are the people that are most likely to buy from you, so make the most of the opportunity and get them to sign up to your email list to stay in touch.
An event is a great ‘excuse’ to get in touch with your potential and existing clients and to keep them up to date with what you are doing. It’s a very friendly way to continue promoting yourself to your existing contacts and clients.
It is a very soft but powerful way to stay in touch, drive traffic to your website and to build your profile and credibility with the people who already know you.
If you don’t market yourself properly before, during, and after an event then you are missing out on one of the best marketing opportunities you have!
Crafty Fox market at the Dogstar in 2015 – image by (c) Yeshen Venema
Action 1: Send 20 personal invites in the post (60 minutes)
People love to get an invite! Most people don’t like to be ‘sold to’, but we do love an invitation. Who wouldn’t like to attend an Open Studio to see 80 creatives at work in their own space? Visiting craft shows in the run-up to Christmas, smelling of mulled wine, is part of my let’s-get-ready-for-Christmas-experience. Especially now after the pandemic when we finally can start to go out again and meet creatives like you!
An event invite in the post is one of the best and most impactful marketing tools that creatives can use!
Of course, this takes time and you might be in a rush and it’s easier to send emails (see last minute marketing tool number 2!) but sending something in the post is far more effective because it’s more personal and will stand out much more.
Start with identifying 20 specific contacts. People who you really want to come to your event. And really focus on them. They might be existing or potential clients, agents, bloggers, journalists, gallery owners, retail buyers, ex-tutors, role models, suppliers or other people you really would like to show your work to. Don’t just invite your friends, invite potential clients!
Write a hand-written personal message with the invite saying why you would love to see them at your show. Make sure that there are some images of your work as well as your website details, in case they aren’t able to come to the show.
Send your invites in a hand-written envelope, addressed correctly to the right person (!). If possible use a coloured envelope (in line with your branding) to make your invite really stand out and memorable. If you are an illustrator you might even want to draw something on the envelope to make it even more special?
Why is this one of the most effective last-minute marketing tips for craft fairs and trade shows? Because doing your research, contacting the right people and being personal works. Yes, it takes a little longer, but it’s about the impact. It’s so much more likely that the receiver will remember you afterwards and that’s crucial because: ‘People only buy from people they know, like and trust’
Even if they are not able to attend the show they will start to get to know you and are more likely to remember you. People love getting post, because we all like to feel a little special. It’s pretty rare these days to get something nice in the post – it will get you noticed.
Haven’t got the time? Send 10 personal invites instead! (not joking …)
Action 2: Send a visual & short invite by email (30 minutes)
Beautifully designed email invites work brilliantly as a last minute marketing tool, as you can reach many people (depending on the size of your database obviously!) in a matter of seconds. You can either send an introduction email or a more visual invitation with images of your work, or both.
Do you realise that sending out targeted emails is about 10x as effective as doing social media?
If you have got limited time then I recommend that you focus on email marketing rather then on social media!
But … you need to try to avoid the spam folder and stop your recipients reaching for the delete button before they have opened your email.
Top tips to get your invite email opened and read.
I suggest that you don’t just send one email but actually a series of emails for events! You don’t want to spam but if you rely on only one email then that’s often not enough. Think about it as creating a sequence that slowly reveals the story of your event or new collection launch. Send an email a month in advance to announce that you will be doing the show and invite people to apply for special VIP tickets. Two weeks in advance send the main invite launching new work with some sneak peek images. A week before the show send an email explaining why you created this collection. Two days before the show send a quick reminder or countdown. During the show, send an email with ‘best sellers’ or quotes from visitors. And after the show, you can do a follow up to tell people you just did the show, and announce any final offers or answer any questions.
If you are planning to send out only one or two emails then I would suggest you send these roughly 2 weeks and 2-3 days before your show opens. If you have created specific lists in advance (e.g. existing clients, press, stockists) then you can tailor your intro email to them. Try to avoid sending generic emails to anonymous people e.g. ‘Dear Sirs’.
The best time to send your email is around 9am or around lunchtime midweek – this will be the most likely times that people will open them.
If possible use a professional e-mail management software such asMailChimp. This will allow you to personalise your emails, to create a branded design easily, and to send 100’s of them at specific times that suit you. Also with the GDPR rules, it’s a lot more likely that you comply when using a good email management software.
Use a catchy non-spammy subject line. Make it personal. Write something like: ‘special invitation to my first solo exhibition Memories’ or ‘Ceramicist John Blogs invites you to Handmade, 3 – 6 June’.
Keep your email short but enthusiastic. Tell people what to expect, who else is showing, what else they can do there. Be very clear about when it is (including opening times) and where it is. Give directions if necessary. Let people know if there is a charge too.
Include 1 or 2 images of yourself (!) and or your work to remind people who you are and what your work is like. Include them in the text (as a clickable link), not as an attachment (as this will slow down sending your emails, and people don’t like opening attachments).
Include your contact details and direct your reader to your website, especially if they are unable to attend the event. At the end of the email say: ‘If you are unable to attend my show, then have a look at my online shop xxx’. Finish your email in a friendly manner: ‘Looking forward to seeing you.’
Emails like this are not just a great way to get people to visit your craft fair or design event, but they can be a good reminder of you and your work, a non-threatening way to stay in touch with dormant contacts, and they can raise your profile and visibility.
So, even if you don’t expect your reader to be able to attend your craft event or design show … (because they live on the other side of the country) it’s still very worthwhile sending them an email or invite!
As a reminder that you exist. And as proof that you are building your creative career and profile.
Action 3: Send a postcard (30 minutes plus)
Postcards with a great image of your crafts or designs can be one of your best last-minute marketing actions! Either hand them out at your stand or send them to potential visitors before the show.
Postcards are very useful because of the imagery. It’s much more likely that your potential clients will remember an image easier than your business name, so a subtle reminder of your work on a beautiful postcard works very well. In fact, I prefer visual postcards above business cards for exactly that reason.
It is relatively cheap to design your own professional looking postcards through a wide variety of online websites, such as VistaPrint or Moo Cards. You can create and print address labels swiftly by using your existing database.
Obviously, there is a postage cost, but as people get so few nice items of post these days it might be well worth the investment!
Action 4: Entice visitors and creatE a special event offer (15 minutes)
Why should people come to your craft fair or your stand at that trade fair? You need to work a bit harder these days to get people into action!
People like to be treated specially, and most people like a treat. When you are sending out your invites, or even when you are at the show you can offer something special to your mailing list, your Instagram followers, or a specially selected group:
people on your database get a ‘2 for the price of 1 ticket’ offer in the run-up to the show
a 15% discount to previous clients who buy at the show with a special coupon that they find in the email
the first 20 visitors to your stand get a goody bag or special gift
a 15% discount during the show for your social media fans who can give you a code
free postage for people who come to the show but order online within two weeks after the show
free gift wrapping for customers at that Christmas craft show
run a fun competition from your stand e.g. guess the weight of your platinum ring or how long it took to fire your ceramic pot
10% discount for future commissions placed at the show
I have to say that I am not a big fan of giving discounts … I think you are worth every penny and you are probably already not charging enough (!), so instead of doing a discount look at how you can give somebody something extra such as the free postage and packaging.
Make people feel special, and create a clear offer especially for them. Use a coupon, email or code that they need to give to you to claim their special offer.
One of the most creative examples I have heard about was a jeweller who sent one earring to 5 journalists before the show, with the suggestion that they could come to her stand to pick up the second one at the fair! She was very successful in getting noticed indeed!
Action 5: Launch something new (30 minutes)
Events, exhibitions, trade shows, and craft fairs are all ideal opportunities to present new products or collections.
When you send your invitation, emails, postcards make sure that you announce what you will be launching. What products or colours are new? What is special about it? What is the story you can tell about this new range?
People love to be the first to know, so tell them, and give an extra reason for them to come and see you and visit your stand (PS retailers and journalists love this!)
At the bottom of each email you send, you can put an ‘email signature’. This is where you put your contact details, website address etc.
It is very easy to update these signatures through any email programmes. Usually, you can create a signature under ‘format’, and then apply it under ‘insert’. You can find more details about how to do it in your email programme in the ‘help’ box or Google ‘email signature’ + the email software you use to get instructions.
Why not update this regularly with information about your upcoming events? Simply add:
I will be showing at MADE LONDON Fri 26 – Sun 28 October at stand B3 Come and visit!
Use a highly visible colour that’s in line with your branding so that it stands out and will be seen by everybody you send emails to.
Action 7: Update your website, blog or online shop (30 minutes plus)
Before you exhibit at a craft fair or design show make sure that you update your website or online shop. If you are putting all this time, money and energy into doing a trade show or craft event, but your website is letting you down then you need to fix that asap. It’s very common that (trade) buyers attend a show, but aren’t ready (yet) to purchase from you. One of the first things they will do is check you out online. If your site is not up to scratch then your reputation will be damaged.
Doing live events such as craft fairs and design shows goes hand-in-hand with selling online.
One compliments the other.
Always include your upcoming (consumer) shows on your home or online shop page (if possible). Make it a special feature that is highly visible, not something hidden on your CV page. This is not just good to attract more potential visitors to your event but will be good for your credibility building with all your online visitors.
Create a special ‘events’ page on your website. Organise your events by date (latest one on top!) or location, and add the dates, venue, and link to the main event website too. Mentioning key events can help with getting found by people searching for that craft fair or trade show too. After the show, add blog posts about specific events in your ‘events’ or ‘news section’ on your website, with pictures of your stand and display. This will be a great record that can help build your story and credibility after the event has finished.
Always make sure that your online presence is up to date when you are doing shows. This is where (professional) buyers and the media might be checking you out prior to your event.
Your website is also the most likely place where people will go after the show to order. Very often during trade shows, buyers will see many potential clients, but will only place orders after the show. Or partners at a Christmas craft fair might prefer to keep their purchases confidential, so give them discreetly your business card with a web address for an online sale after the event.
Action 8: Share your story and pictures on social media (5 minutes each time)
Social media isn’t always great to get you sales, but it’s an excellent way to raise your profile and to drive traffic to your website!
In the run-up to your event share your progress with your followers. Show sneak peek images of your new collection or your creative process. I love seeing images of ceramics coming out of the kiln, or short videos of letterpress prints (including the noise!)
Share your excitement that you are keen to do a show, especially if you are a first time exhibitor, have been selected for an award or if it is a high profile show. Your passion for what you do should shine through as it’s very contagious and people love buying from real people at events!
Social media works far better if you have got good images. You are much more likely to be followed, ‘liked’ and shared. Don’t just include product images, but include close-up shots, work-in-progress images or what inspired you, photos and short videos of your studio or the place you work are popular too. Add some personality to your social media, but stay on brand. What do you want to be known for?
Include text on top of your image to make the Call To Action clearer (useCanva or Photoshop to do this!). Make it super clear in your social media WHEN the show is and WHERE it is. Do a countdown’ (e.g. in two weeks’ time, this weekend) as many people don’t know what date it is today! Include driving instructions or the main event website too. Use the location also as a hashtag as locals will pick up on that. #thingstodoinLondonthisweekend
Update your social media bio with details of the events you are showing at. Include their social media handle. When people search for that event then the chances that your profile pops up in their search will increase massively!
If you include a picture of a specific product then always include a clickable link (depending on the social media channel) back to the product page on your website. People want convenience, they don’t want to be sent to your homepage where they then have to find that product they were interested in! Social media is key to driving traffic to your site – make it as easy as possible for your potential clients.
Social media is a great tool to network in advance with fellow exhibitors. Get in touch with exhibitors near you on social media to build up a rapport before the setting up day – this is especially useful if you are part of a group stand, are a first-time exhibitor or at an international event where you might not know that many people yet. Promoting other exhibitors you admire on your social media too is also a really good way to promote the event indirectly.
Don’t forget to tag the event organiser and use the event hashtag in your social media posts so that they will see it in their own timelines too. If you have got great pictures then it’s much more likely that they will re-use your posts and spread them even wider through their own social media networks. This is a brilliant way to get more and better social media followers or to get noticed in advance of the show by (trade) buyers and the press. People often search events using the event hashtag to see the kind of work that will be at the show and to see whether its worth going or not.
Prior to andduring the show share pictures of your stand, your display, the event, the queues, the people attending, the venue, the catalogue or the packaging, … Using short videos or do an Instagram Live from your stand can work really well too!
I often network on social media with specific exhibitors prior to attending a major craft fair or design trade show. I also find it useful to see images of stands so that when I am walking the busy aisles it’s much easier to recognise our social media followers in real life.
Action 9: Make time for event marketing (1 hour)
The key to making many of these last-minute marketing actions work is to make some time to actually DO them.
Most successful creative businesses spend around 40% of their time on marketing.
That might sound like a lot, but actually if you want your business to be known and you want to get more sales then it’s very likely that you are currently not spending enough time on marketing in a consistent manner, at the right time, to the right people.
If you have very limited time then I suggest you focus on the first two marketing activities and add some social media in too.
If you have got more time or want to get ready for your next show ‘properly’ then do work through this list above and see what works for you and your clients. Allocating at least one day per week to your marketing is a great starting point. Make regular marketing a habit! Many of these marketing activities are closely related to each other anyway and will support each other’s effectiveness.
You might be worried that you will turn into a spammer or overdo the marketing. But in my experience potential visitors need to be reminded when shows are on as they live busy lives. If you use these techniques in a personal and targeted way, with friendly and inviting language, you will be considered to be thoughtful – not a spammer.
One more thought about marketing … there isn’t really a ‘quick fix’ although all these activities will help you. To make marketing really work in your design or craft business you need to start putting your potential clients at the heart of your business, really getting to know them, really understanding what makes them tick, why they love your work, and then starting to create and communicate with them from that place.
If you come ‘out of the blue’, haven’t been in regular contact and start spamming people one week before a show with lots of promotional info or say ‘buy me, buy me’ then they will get very annoyed with you.
Only by building up real relationships with your clients will you become successful in your business.
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Remember: people only buy from people they know, like and trust.
What would you add to this last minute marketing tips for craft fairs and design events? Did we inspire you to take action and did you get a great result that you would like to share with us? We would love to hear from you! Share with us in the comments box below.
Are you looking for tips to get funding for your creative business or project? You aren’t the only creative looking for funding, money, and support. This is a very popular question!
My top tips to get funding for your creative business or project
In my career as a creative business adviser and trainer, I have been responsible for many grants projects and I was responsible for writing many successful grant applications for CIDA (Cultural Industries Development Agency) in East London in the early 2000’s, generating hundreds of thousands of pounds for local creative business development projects.
Here are my top tips based on my own extensive experience of fundraising for large creative and cultural projects.
Tip 1: Do your research!
There are no general pots of money available but there are grants or funding available for specific purposes (e.g. to explore a new material, for a creative residency, as a first time exhibitor at a trade show, …), in specific locations, for specific sectors, for specific age groups.
Check if you are eligible (!), when deadlines are, what the application procedure is, what the likelihood is of you getting the funding.
Don’t waste your time on applications that you are very unlikely to get. You will be surprised how often I have seen people fantasising about and applying for grants that they are not eligible for.
Stop procrastinating and wasting your time.
If you need money fast then actually getting clients and working on your marketing will have a far quicker and better outcome than trying to get funding!
Tip 2: If you want money you’ll need a solid financial plan
You will need to be able to convince any banks or funders of your knowledge and ability to run a profitable business or worthwhile project. Include a budget or financial forecast that clearly shows how much money you need, how and when you will spend it, and in case of a soft loan also how you are planning to pay your loan back.
Tip 3: Do you really want to do this?
This might sound like a stupid question, but I have seen many, many creatives over the last twenty years getting carried away with funding opportunities (that came to nothing).
Grants are often provided for specific projects and purposes, so make sure that this actually fits in your bigger plan, as I have seen people wasting lots of time on activities that don’t really fit in with what they are about, want to do or are actually good at.
Is it really worthwhile getting a grant of £5,000 for a project that takes you many months to implement, and which is not really what you want to do? I have seen creatives been driven away from their core activities by a relatively small pot of money. Having to do community workshops with the local population while you prefer to work on developing your own practice is a waste of everybody’s time and energy.
Tip 4: Get professional advice
Developing funded projects and writing grant applications is hard work, so get all the advice and support you need. Talk to grant officers at the funding organisation, attend funding workshops (if they are available), and even ask other creatives who have been successful before.
You need to give evidence of your experience creatively, but also in managing projects, budgets and people. If you are a very new creative business with limited experience and profile than it’s much less likely that you will get funding than if you are a well known creative.
Keep it small to start with. What could you do with £1,000 or £5,000 to show that you can handle these kinds of projects?
Have you got the financial facts and proof of your experience and credibility on paper? Who is on your ‘team’ that can provide this additional credibility? Who could you ask to be your professional reference?
Tip 6: See funding as ‘the icing on the cake’ not as ‘a means to an end’.
Getting funding for a project can be wonderful, but your main purpose as a creative business should be on getting clients, not on getting funding. Funding alone in the long term is not financially sustainable, you need to build a client base to get regular income.
Did you find these top tips to get funding for your creative business or project useful? Then do share on your social media with others who might find this post useful too, or ‘like’ it. Have you got any further questions or comments? Please share with us in the comments box below.
I have just graduated and want money to start my own creative business. I am in debt and need funding for my creative business to get it off the ground. Have you got a list of funders and funding for creative businesses like mine?
The Design Doctor for this real life question is Patricia van den Akker, Director of The Design Trust:
“This is one of the most popular questions that I get asked. The quick answer to your question is:
There is very little funding for creative businesses available in the form of cash.
There seems to be a bit of a myth that there is funding available to set up your own creative business or projects. Please read another Design Trust blog post Busting the Myth of Funding that covers that topic.
There is definitely no funding available to cover your debt. I think you might need to look at your money management, start budgeting your income and expenditure more precisely and potentially get in touch with your local Citizens Advice Bureau to tackle your debt situation as soon as possible.
Please sort your debt situation out as soon as possible and take responsibility to improve your financial situation. I know it’s hard, but it’s crucial if you want to make a living as a creative. Having financial worries is really tough and will stop you from being able to be as creative as you would like to be. And … if you have a record of debt then no funder will supply you with money as it’s too big a risk for them to take on.
If you need money quickly, I strongly suggest that you look at your marketing and develop your business ideas into a real business, rather than waste a lot of time to try and get funding (which is often far more long-term).
The reality is that most small (creative) business funding that has been available in the past ten years or so has been used to provide free business advice or training. There have been very few opportunities for getting actual cash that you can use as you wish.
General ‘pots of money’ are not available, but instead, it comes in the form of subsidised advice or support and for specific purposes.
Our recommended list of resources and actual funders for creative businesses and projects are:
The www.gov.uk website has general information about support to help you grow your small business, including a Finance Finder with some current national and regional funding opportunities.
The Crafts Council has limited it’s funding significantly in the last few years due to government cuts and does no longer provide business support or grants. Check out their website for details about opportunities & resources.
QEST (the Queen Elisabeth Scholarship Trust) provides one of the best training grants and developmnet support, but only for the very best of designer makers who want grants to develop their skills or travel abroad to learn from masters.
Cockpit Arts, London’s main designer maker incubation space very regularly offers awards sponsored by organisations or businesses to offer free or highly subsidised studio space, often with creative business development support.
The Arts Council of England offers various funding opportunities for creatives and organisations as well as the Develop Your Creative Practice programme which supports individuals who are cultural and creative practitioners and want to take time to focus on their creative development.
Creative Scotland’s Regular Funding Network. The aim of Regular Funding is to provide three-year funding support for a range of organisations that make a vital contribution to the current health and future development of the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland.
The Heritage Crafts Associationinvites craft practitioners and organisations to apply for small grants to fund projects that support and promote endangered crafts. There is a maximum of £2,000 available for each project and they work with you to develop and support your work.
The Department for International Trade features opportunities to export, to show at international trade shows at a reduced rate, and to get funding and practical support for exporting. Unfortunately most export support is only available if your turnover is above £100K.
The British Library & IP Centreprovides very useful online training (often for free) and business support workshops at their premises in Central London. Very useful around intellectual property and copyright. They also run grants & growth programmes for larger businesses.
Enterprise Nation is a membership organisation for entrepreneurs, with a wide range of free online training, meet ups & events, as well as grants.
More recently the government has started some new initiatives where you get so-called Start-Up Loans, which are soft loans. So this is not a financial gift, but these are loans that you need to pay back over time with a relatively low interest rate, and they come with additional business support as well. For example:
Start Up Loan for businesses in the UK who have been trading for less than 24 months.
Creative Industry Finance for cultural organisations and businesses in design and fashion who want to improve their business plans and want specific financial advice to grow their business.
The Prince’s Trust Enterprise Programme supports unemployed young people aged 18-30 to work out if their business ideas are viable and whether self-employment is right for them.
The reality with most other funding is that it very often is only available to charities or existing organisations. If you are an individual, with a limited track record, you will be very unlikely to be considered for these types of funding.
Recommended list of additional resources for funding for creative businesses and projects
Artquest, run by the University of the Arts, has got a very good range of creative funding and awards, especially for visual artists – search under ‘funding’ or ‘grants’
The Artist’s Information Company, formerly known as Artist Newsletter, has got one of the best listings for awards and grants (although you need to become a member to access certain information)
Craft Scotland has a good listing for grants and awards in Scotland, where there are in general more grants available than in England.
Although there isn’t ‘a pot of gold’ waiting for you, there are plenty of ways to get discounted or free business services.
You might also look into alternative ways of financing your business such as credit unions if you are looking for relatively small amounts of money.
One of the most interesting ways to raise finance recently has become crowdfunding. It can be great if you are looking for extra funds to attend a trade show or organise an exhibition, to publish your own book (some great examples of illustrators and designers who have done that), and also to create a small batch produced product (ceramicists, product designers, and furniture designers have done really well in this area). There are various crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo.
If you are looking for funding for equipment, then I suggest that you look at other ways of getting the equipment you need, as funding for this is very hard to get. Look at leasing your equipment (e.g. laptop) from the supplier whereby you rent the equipment and pay a monthly payment with interest. You won’t own the equipment, but very often any technical issues and updates are included. Alternatively look at buying second hand (although make sure that warranties are valid!), look at renting a studio that includes some of your equipment already (e.g. colleges are very often useful for that too), or check out a sharing site such as Ecomodo.
Did you find this blog post with our recommended funding for creative businesses useful? Then do ‘like’ it and share it with others on social media too.
Did we miss any additional funding for creative businesses and projects that you would like to share with others? Please let us know in the comments box below or do tag us on social media.
this very simple but very effective time management and productivity strategy to help you take charge of your workload and what you really want to do and achieve (rather than being told by others what to do):
