march meet the maker : day 29 : self promotion

day 29 : self promotion

ah promotion - one of the elements that i struggle with, for a variety of reasons. it's not that i'm not proud of what i make [because i totally am!], but i sometimes feel like when i share my items i'm forcing them upon people who might not be interested, especially in terms of social media. 

inviting people to "like" my facebook page was one of the scariest things i've ever done. granted - most of them are my friends and they're happy to support me, but still - scary. 

creating a public account on both instagram and facebook? scary. public means it's out there and people can get to it and see it and comment and maybe even share it. that's something that has been terrifying when i feel like i'm not "legit" enough to consider myself a small business. [my accountant tells me i'm definitely a legit business, so no worries.]

launching my website was super terrifying as well as exhilarating at the same time. seeing so many of my own creations in one space was great - and knowing people could shop from it was an added bonus.

one thing that has made it a little easier for me to promote myself is sharing photos of my colorful setup. showing how much passion i have for this business does make me happy, even if i'm self conscious when i do it. 

i love the touches of color i've added along the way. at the beginning of last season i made this awesome banner that i'm so proud of. then i added the banner which matches my business cards and tells people [from far away] what i have available. then i added in colorful containers instead of plain wooden boxes. 

at events and shows i've gotten a little more comfortable posting and sharing where i'm at as well as items i've got with me. i realize that the only way that people will know to follow and find me is if i tell them. 

it's getting easier and easier - and when i have repeat customers come back or share items they've gotten from me, it makes my heart so happy! i do little happy dances. for real. every single time. 

so i'm trying everyday to remind myself that the people who "like" my photos, tag me on social and share my products [by sending snail mail!] truly do care and want to support me. 

my biggest challenge now is actually getting some creating done and busting out new products! i'm really looking forward to some creative time this week.