Whether you are a start up company or financially strapped from the recession, guerrilla marketing can deliver great results for very little money. When I was in High School and College, I used to carry my jewelry around in a shoe box. I would take it out before classes, on the bus, at intermission in the theater, at Cafes. The moment I opened the box, women would flock to me, asking to see my earrings. They would call their friends over and pretty soon we were having a party. I never had to “Sell”. Women love jewelry, they will take any excuse shop. All you have to do is show up. People knew I carried the box with me and they started asking me to come to parties. I even had one woman insist I bring out my box at her wedding! Just last week, I caused a traffic jam at the airport parking lot because the attendant wanted to buy the earrings off my ears.

Here are a few guerilla marketing tips:

1. Always wear your jewelry! It is a great conversation starter and will lead to effortless sales.

2. Have at least a few samples in your bag at all times.

3. Carry PostCard size Business Cards with a luscious photo, your website address and a discount coupon.

4. Cold Calls are not as bad as you think. Saunter into a boutique draped in gorgeous jewelry and you can usually get an appointment to show your line.

5. Aggressively pursue Free Press. Peggy Li has great tips for this on her
blog.

6. Team up with a clothing designer to do a casual Fashion Show in a friend’s garden. If you both invite all your contacts you can double your mailing list.

7. Team up with other craft artists to throw a Holiday Craft Sale party. Everyone needs to buy holiday gifts and it is always more fun to support your friends. If you make this an annual event, you can build a following.

8. Try selling at your local Farmer’s Market. The fees are low, the traffic is heavy and there isn’t much jewelry competition!

9. Offer to set up at Charity Events and donate a percentage of your sales to the cause. Donate a piece to the silent auction to generate interest.

10.  Consider selling on Consignment at your favorite boutique or gallery. Cash strapped store owners might be reluctant to take a chance on a new line. Consignment eliminates their risk. Once your jewelry has a track record, you can renegotiate.

Bonus Tip:  Ask your biggest fan to throw a Jewelry Party and give her a credit for 10% of anything you sell. Identify possible hosts in different cities and develop an annual circuit.

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?