7 Ways To Make Them Want You

Some people think that just having a super cool product is enough to make people want to buy it. Maybe you have done your research and know your customer, packaged it super cute, posted it on your website, sold it to a store or two and are now waiting for the rest of the world to find you. Good for you for getting it done and out there……but now comes the fun….. and hard part.

I know that a lot of you are thinking, “What is she talking about? The hard part was actually getting it made!” Yes, I agree, that can be hard, fun, challenging, creative, and invigorating. But the sales part – otherwise known as getting buyers to want you is the second half of the equation.

Since I am a bootstrapper, and in the trenches every day just like YOU working on my accessory line, I am always trying new sales strategies as everyone needs to fill the pipeline ALL the time.

Here are my Top 7 ideas to get your product out there for FREE so that buyers WANT you.

These are ideas you can use over and over with new “launches” each week to keep your customers intrigued and coming back for more.

1. Take a photo of your product in use. People need to be shown how to use it. Even if it’s as simple as note cards, suggest sending a handwritten (gasp!) note to someone each week thanking them for something they did for you. Come up with ways to use the cards other than as thank you’s. With the ease of email, we need to remind people about these “old fashioned” ways!

2. Send this photo out in your newsletter. Instead of always trying to “sell” your customers something, give them ideas of how to use what they already have or start giving them the idea that they NEED to have it. TIP: I switched from Constant Contact to Rate Point earlier this year and they have an automatic feed of your newsletter to your twitter page. One less step and you can customize the tweet……and they are cheaper. And no, I don’t get referral fees from them!

3. Post this image with some great text on your website. Changing the images weekly gives people a reason to visit more often (and hopefully purchase) if they are guided there by a clever photo and ideas of how to use your product. You may catch them needing a hostess gift or birthday present……they will need to hear from you often to remember to buy from you.

4. Post the image with your clever text on your Facebook Fan Page. You can even ask your fans to share the ways they use their note cards. Or even ask them for the creative ways to reuse or repurpose cards they receive. This creates interaction on your page which in turn creates more visibility and drives potential fans to your page and hopefully to your website to purchase.

5. Twitter it – Facebook just launched an automatic update of your posts to twitter. It should be on your fan page. Easy to set up. How easy is that? One less step to getting the word out.

6. Post these ideas on your blog. NO brainer here right? If you are connected on Network Blogs it will auto update it to Facebook and twitter for you.

7. Other ideas: Poll your Facebook Fans, see what they like about certain products you make or are thinking of making. Find complimentary companies on twitter and FB and make friends with them. You might be able to do a cross promo with them and drive fans to each other. Be sure to tweet about useful info not just about buying your products. Retweet (RT) things you find useful. You can use the search functions on both FB and Twitter to find good matches for you.

Written by Sarah Shaw