Osborn Fiber Studio

Ah, marketing. I have a love/hate relationship with that word. It’s a concept I tend to *get*, in that I recognize when it’s done well, but I’ve been very slow to start engaging in it. Mostly because it makes me feel like a bit of a tool. But I guess if anyone else thinks that, they don’t have to fall for it, and I should stop caring so much about what people think anyway. Isn’t it hilarious that I have to think less about myself to engage more in what is essentially self-promotion?

Anyway, as I said, I’ve been dabbling. I’ve been posting these posts to facebook forever, using Ravelry ads more and more, and I have an email list for new patterns that come out. All fairly harmless, voluntary, and non-threatening. But I’m expanding…

• I tried facebook ads: a waste.
• Making my own ads for the page, and trying to change them with some frequency – I like that they add a little color to the page, but I’m not sure they’re not too garish.
• I put up some Google ads that I think are nice and discreet, though I hope the Google Mafia doesn’t hunt me down just for telling you they’re there.
• I’ve been posting more about the business and less about the state of my navel. Sort of. Not sure that’s an improvement.
• Oh, and I’ve got things set up to start advertising for the Pentecost Mystery KAL, though I’m not going to really post about it until Easter. I feel that would be liturgically ridiculous.

The newest experiment is a facebook page. I think I finally get now how they aren’t pointless, and it was easy to make, so no loss either way. Here it is: go ahead and click on it; it probably won’t hurt you. It is actually helpful if you like it, because even if you only sort of like us, your friends will see that I exist, and maybe they will like us too. Then we TAKE THE INTERNET BY STORM AND START ROLLING IN CASH. Not really at all. But it would be nice to, you know, sell some of the yarn we keep compulsively dyeing.

In future, I need to keep up on the Ravelry ads, which is always a bit trying, and maybe experiment with ads in ravelry groups. A long term goal is to lift my photography past mediocre, so the patterns garner more attention. And I need to change the banner at the top of this page, though I’ve completely forgotten how to do it.

I’ve been at this for over two years, but I’m completely self-taught in all this stuff and have no idea what I’m doing. Any of you enterprising individuals out there have some tips? What’s worked for/not worked for/surprised/disappointed/offended/thrilled you?