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February Marketing Tips
I get by with a little help from my friends...here are some tips from me and some from some of my studio owner buddies I share almost daily e-mails with!
For February, use a doilie-painted bisque piece for a great window display and easy valentine project even a kid could do...lay a paper lace doilie on a plate or any flat surface and sponge paint red paint on top. Lift the doilie and you have a great lace heart or circle...depending on the doilie shape you chose. Write "I love you" or "Happy Valentine's Day" on top and it's an amazing display item.
Or go to the website "www.america.net/seasonal/valentine/language.html" for a listing of how to say "I love you" in all different languages. I am painting these on a platter for a window display.
The Artful Potter gears up with the local florist so customers can come in and paint a vase and the florist will add the flowers and deliver it for an additional fee. I will do this in my area as well!
Bisque in the Village gets large rolls of butcher paper from the local printer free (end of the roll) and uses them to paint birthday banners for whoever is having a party there that day. For example, if little Lauren is having a party there she drives up to see "Happy Birthday, Lauren" over the store
window. While this is great for the birthday child, it also reminds everyone else driving by that Bisque in the Village is a great place to throw a birthday party...and the banner catches everyone's attention! When the pieces from the party are ready to be picked up, Judy Buchanan, the store's owner, puts each piece in a clear plastic bag with a business card tucked in and tied
with ribbon then puts all the birthday pieces in a large white bag with "Lauren's birthday" written on it. When the birthday parent comes to pick up the pieces, they are ready to go and she can read whose piece belongs to what child through the clear bag and, best of all, the business card reminds the moms who had children at the party about the store.
Spring Break will be here in March...start gearing up with flyers to give to the schools like Susan Potter at Colors and Kilns does...she gives the kids a flyer a few days before school is out with a coupon to be used at her store, reminding them of a fun place to spend the holiday!
Minnesota Clay Company offers underglaze stamping inks. We have ordered a rubber stamp from the local printer that says "handpainted at Paint Yer Pottery, 972-248-0001" and this is to be pressed into the underglaze inks then put on the bottom of each piece. It shows where it was from if it was given as a gift and reminds the painter of your store name and phone for the future!
(800-clay-usa)
Think about classes that stem from things you already have in your store that will bring people in...such as a mosaic class from broken pottery pieces, or claybuilding from wet clay (tons of books available if you don't know how)
February is the time to advertise a summer camp for kids. We will be doing this...mostly clay oriented, but also other media such as paper mache, tie die etc.
We have a restaurant we painted some veggies and stuff on a platter for that looks great in their restaurant and we did it for free...but the catch is in the bottom right hand corner it says "Painted at Paint Yer Pottery!, Dallas" Because it is where you wait in line, everyone looks at it. Consider getting some of your pieces with little nicks or things you can cover up in painting and do a few for the local cafeteria. For example, one of the ones I painted had a contemporary picture of a coffee mug with a pie piece and ice cream and there was a small crack that I made into the coffee steam. I would not display anything with a noticable flaw because that won't help you advertise, but if there is a stain you can paint over or a flaw on the back that won't show, use these pieces in marketing rather than throwing them out.
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