Danielle, Etsy Seller Education Coordinator, has been publishing a weekly “Holiday Boot Camp” to help online vendors gear up for the holiday season of sales. There are thousands of us vendors on the Etsy site, so trying to stand out from the crowd is an ongoing challenge. I'm finding her articles very helpful.
However, one point in particular made by Danielle that keeps tumbling around in my head is to identify one's market. Once you identify your target buyer, you can then cut to the chase and market your product more successfully to them. Now, that seems a no-brainer, right?
In previous sales in actual brick and mortar stores and galleries, I’ve had the most success with my Bondo Series and the Street Art Series. But when I cobbled together my online shop, those seemed too restrictive.
I have to admit that I do not know to whom I’m marketing my photographs. They don’t fit a niche. I offer a mish-mash of photographs.
I’ve noticed that some photographers’ photos have a dreamy or romantic quality. Some are strictly of nudes or figurative studies. Some are wholly architectural in subject matter. Other photo vendors sell floral photographs. Still others offer photographs of clouds, or birds, or balloons, or baboons.
So, do I narrow my subject matter or style down to appeal to a specific market?
Am I offering too many different photographs? Should I develop a KWest Studio 8 “brand” of photography and adhere only to my brand?
So, who ARE my target buyers?
I think I’ll pour a glass of Vognier and ponder this weighty topic. It may take two glasses.
Yes to the brand and your uniqueness ( you are the brand) ...what sets Kay apart? We look for an artist's work in part because we have an idea of what to expect from them. The subject doesn't have to be the same - but the style is usually recognizable. It could be as simple as your second photograph in your email...find the "K".
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I've been pondering a somewhat similar question myself, with my jewelry. My question is more ... do I make a more generic, 'vanilla' jewelry that may sell better, or the gritty, more steam punk, type of jewelry that I WANT to make? Because I've been trying to reconcile the 2, thinking I can maybe have 2 separate sides to my website to make everyone happy. Then ... Assuming I actually get my website up & running, & get my jewelry photographed, loaded & described, how do I keep the 2 sides of the website separate, or at least tick off the vanilla jewelry-likers as little as possible, so they'll buy what they like, ignore the rest, & come back for more?
ReplyDeleteOh well ... I'll figure it out eventually, one way or another.