[166] Pricing & Branding with Megan Auman

  My friend Megan Auman has been running her eponymous jewellery line for over 12 years. She also, like me, teaches makers how to craft successful businesses. It was a pleasure to chat with her in this episode – we talked pricing, branding, marketing & more! We highlight the difference between the ‘one to many’ and ‘1000 true fans’ marketing/business growth strategies; why you don’t need to manufacture problems to sell handmade; and, why social media may just be one of the lowest return-on-investment marketing strategies. Listen now:   Highlights and quotes from this episode: * The myth of the starving artist mindset is unrealistic. * “Sell for an amount of money to sustain your business and sustain your life” {Megan} * Makers can’t compete on price so we need to compete on other things. * “We are not a commodity and we need to compete on something other than price” {Jess} * “There is a lot of fear around raising prices – you just have to be brave about it” {Megan} * Jess and Megan share anecdotes about their fears of raising prices – and the strong payoffs. * “My most valuable people are the ones that have been on my (mailing) list for years and buy” {Megan} * Consider what marketing strategy will best fit your business: * One to many strategy – one core product with limited repeat customers, get new customers again * One thousand true fans – build a core audience, keep giving them new things * “Some people are going to love my work, some people are going to hate my work, but I’m not going to manufacture a problem just to get those people who don’t love my work to suddenly feel like they need my work” {Megan} * “If you are selling a physical product or object, you should be spending 80% on your photography and 20% on that writing” {Megan} * “You need to have beautiful photos – it is what will stop the scroll when they see a beautiful image” {Jess} * Put some personality in your images and brand them with a consistent photographic style. * Social media is probably the lowest return on investment of your time and energy. * Pinterest marketing and SEO are great ways to direct traffic but don’t forget a blog! * Blogging your content can be easy – take the Instagram image, add some keywords, add a couple of sentences and publish. Then share this information on Pinterest etc. * “A brand is an emotional connection built over time” {Megan} * Make sure every photo you post supports the core emotions your brand is about. * What stories can you tell that help communicate the emotion of using your product. * Find out more about Megan Auman on her website.