March 2009
50 posts
An Exercise in Guerrilla Marketing During Tough Times
This post isn’t really related to cupcakes or sweets, but more to blogging and how to better market myself.
Laura of HeyMissy sent me an email with the above title as the subject header. She thought it might be of some interest. To give a little bit of background, I have really become intrigued at the idea of blogging for profit or at least blogging for a wider host of readers. How does one do this? How does one become widely read? We’ve been corresponding back and forth for weeks now about these questions. We’re both considering signing up for Decor8’s blogger eclass and Laura is trying to help me put together an actual website…for potential clients?! *Stay Tuned*
The email content got me thinking and I thought I’d answer the questions for you here:
1. Write down the three questions you are asked most by your prospects and customers. The answers to those questions should be the starting point for the content on your website.
a) What flavors do you have? b) How much do they cost? c) Do I have to order a minimum of a dozen? {I realize the answers to these aren’t here on this blog, but I hope to have them up soon on my website}
2. Answer this question: why do you want a website in the first place? The more focused your answer, the more valuable your website will be to you.
I want a website so that I can turn baking, something I do on an almost bi-weekly basis and enjoy immensely, into a profit. If I’m already baking, for fun, to experiment and to learn, then why can’t I keep doing that… and instead of bringing my little experiments to the office sell them to someone?! I think there are people who just aren’t bakers, in the way that I’m no chef. Anything that’s not baked out of a box is too overwhelming for them. I want to bake for these people. Nothing over the top, but truly homemade. That’s pretty special now days.
3. List what you have on your website that will involve visitors? Is it a free newsletter to which they might subscribe? A sweepstakes they may enter? A daily or weekly tip that is emailed to them regularly?
What I really want for this blog is FEEDBACK. I want to meet other people out there with a crazy sweet tooth like mine. Maybe they’ve baked all their lives or maybe they’ve become self taught in the last couple years like me. I want a blog that’s interactive, exchanging recipes and tips. I really hope people will take a recipe I’ve posted, make it and then come back and share their experience. What worked for them or how they changed things.
For my *future* website I want a simple, no-fuss site to share my sweets with potential clients in the greater Sacramento area. I want to share cupcakes with everyone here because as far as I’m concerned the options are quite slim. I want it to be an easy and friendly way to contact me without a lot of gimmicks.
