Before you can effectively market your jewelry you need to identify your Target Market. The buyers for any product can be divided into Market Segments. This is usually done by gender, age or socioeconomic factors. By targeting specific market segments you increase your chances of success. For instance, do you plan to sell your jewelry primarily to budget conscious students or to moneyed, empty-nest boomers?
If your customers are students, you probably want to keep your price points low, your designs a bit edgy and your advertising viral. (That just means using social media like facebook, twitter and word of mouth to spread the word without spending a lot of money). If you’re targeting affluent boomers you can use more expensive materials but you should carefully consider how older women dress. They usually prefer longer necklaces and shorter earrings. They also like to pin brooches to jacket lapels. For boomers, building your brand with advertisements in conventional magazines can be a good strategy.
At any time, we can find the exact same Nina Designs pendant and chain combo marketed successfully for radically different price points. This is possible because the designers are selling to completely different Market Segments. If you are selling on Etsy, you need to keep price points relatively low. However, if you are selling High Fashion, people won’t buy if your prices are too low!
If you have an established business, try to identify what Market Segments make up the bulk of your sales. Look carefully at your marketing campaigns. Are you spending your dollars in the right way to reach your target market? In the early days, we spent most of our money advertising in magazines. As our clientele became more web savvy, we invested heavily in Search Engine Optimization. Recently we have moved into Social Media to reach out to the Market Segment of Young Designers, who might not attend Trade Shows or read Trade Magazines. What works for you?
Nina,
these are great points. I also like to tell folks to look at what you like to do and then pinpoint your market. If you have a vintage style, perhaps an older or Etsy market would work for you. If your style is more modern and high-end materials, like real gold and gemstones, you can target a more up-market clientele.
Examining your target market also can be applied to when you are approaching press — if you are more about a more thrifty clientele, your work probably won’t appeal to Vogue magazine, etc.
But most of all, do what you enjoy, and most likely your customer will be people *just like yourself*.
peggy
Comment by Handmade Jewelry by Peggy Li — October 29, 2009 @ 1:04 am