Home   >   Daily Wire Jewelry Tips   >   Sales, Marketing, Shows, & Display   >   Wire Jewelry Forum: Building a Brand

Wire Jewelry Forum: Building a Brand

By on June 26, 2013
Print Friendly

by Narlene Allen, Wire-Sculpture.com

Wire Jewelry Inspiration for
June 26 2013

Building a Brand

Marketing & Selling Your Unique Creations!

Wow! Our readers are the best! What great comments last week!

Our topic last week – Price vs. Quality – gave us some great insights and suggestions on how to price your unique and creative items.  Pricing is always a tricky subject because it can rely on so many factors and sometimes those factors aren’t equal in everyone’s market. You have to test the waters – and from your responses – you’re all doing great! Good job!

This week: Building a Brand.  You have your unique product, you’ve crafted them with care, priced them reasonably for your area, and now how do you market and sell that product?

Let’s discuss:

  • What is Branding?
  • How do you create a “unique” brand image that best represents your product?
  • How do you turn that brand into sales?

Building a unique brand for yourself and your pieces can be a daunting task, but there are so many helpful resources. Take a moment and visit some our previous blog posts about marketing and selling your jewelry.

I’m opening this up to you – and I can’t wait to  hear what you all have to say on the subject.

Just as a side note: If you are still looking for some guidance, we have some great resources available for you on our website.  For example, take a look at our DVD series called The Definitive Guide to Selling Handcrafted Jewelry.

Now, it’s up to you! Ready…Set…Go!

Have a Wire Jewelry Idea you’d like to share? Click Here to submit your idea. You could be featured on our Blog!

Click to Receive Daily Tips by Email

 

8 Comments

  1. avatar

    Sanjay

    June 26, 2013 at 3:46 am

    I have really enjoyed reading your informative article and considering the points you made about fashion and silver jewelry ranges. Thank You for this excellent piece of writing about Indian jewelry online.

  2. avatar

    Donna

    June 26, 2013 at 6:10 am

    At first, I thought building a brand was the same as building a logo. And that’s important. The logo should definitely express something about the spirit of you shop or message – people should get not just the words, but a feeling about what you create. I understand now that branding extends to every aspect of business including how you talk and communicate with customers, how you write your bios and blogs, and more.

    • avatar

      Narlene Allen

      June 28, 2013 at 1:15 pm

      Donna, that is exactly right! Branding is about how you create a complete package for your product. Take Nike for example or Walmart. Not only do they have a logo, but colors, look, feel, text, packaging, even the little bouncy Walmart smiley face makes us think of Walmart. We wouldn’t dare think of Nike without the swish or someone running. That’s the brand. It’s what makes us as the buyer identify with that product or company. You have to put all of those things together whenever you put your products out to the public and they have to be consistent. You understand it wonderfully! Do you use branding?

  3. avatar

    Gale Lovell

    June 26, 2013 at 9:16 am

    My daughter is my best fan and decided she would market and encourage all her friends to get their own “AGale” bracelet. This catchy name is working for me and now customers are coming into the shops asking for AGale bracelet! Move over Ronaldo!

    • avatar

      Narlene Allen

      June 28, 2013 at 1:08 pm

      Very nice! Good luck the the AGale brand! That is a step in the right direction.

  4. avatar

    Gayle

    June 27, 2013 at 5:06 am

    Branding to me is being recognized as special in a field. My specialty is unique, lovely stones that have been thoughtfully incorporated into designs. I’m recognized in my local markets as a “go-to” person if you want gemstone jewelry. Anyone who visits my booth receives personal attention and explanations about the origins of “my” stones and how they inspired a jewelry design. This interests them and “proves” my expertise. My customers come back every week to see what’s new, to chat about minerals, to bring me a special stone to identify or wirewrap, and/or, to buy something they’ve “got to have.” I know if they don’t buy one week–they’ll do so another time.

    • avatar

      Narlene Allen

      June 28, 2013 at 1:07 pm

      Gayle: It sounds like you have carved out quite a nice niche for yourself. I think along with becoming a local expert, branding then takes that expertise and recognition and monetizes it. It sounds like you’ve been able to do that to a small extent. Thank you for the great comment.

  5. avatar

    Grace

    June 29, 2013 at 9:08 am

    I’m Just a hobbyist, but in my profession, I am a full time Realtor. Building a brand is, to me, a way to make a recognizable presence in your chosen market–whether that market be crafts and jewelry or, in my case, real estate. Today, building a brand means being present across a bunch of different social media sites, keeping in constant contact with your clients and customers and constantly updating your marketing to incorporate new pieces into your advertising. While I do sell homes, about 50 percent of my day is spent branding myself with blogs, Facebook pages, answering questions on real estate websites and email newsletters to my current and former clients. Because I spend so much time doing this, it seems like second nature to me, yet it is a complete mystery to my fellow crafters. The one person in our group of over 100 crafters who markets her jewelry at the same level that I do for real estate is extraordinarily successful with her line, selling more than 100 pieces per month. But it takes work and dedication, and that can be off-putting for many artists who I find are somewhat shy about constantly bringing up their goods and brand. Remember, you must “touch” your potential customer with your marketing material at least 7 times before they make a sale, so start blogging, writing and face booking now! Also send newsletters at least once each month to your clients with promotions–secret code gets 10 percent off, etc. Your efforts will pay off in as little as 30 days if you are doing this diligently. I know, I am in the top 10 percent of all real estate agents in my market. Good luck everyone!