{Image from The Pixel Prince on Etsy}
With Christmas approaching, I’m wondering whether it’s better to be naughty or nice. I think it’s best to have a good combination, so I’m going to play Santa and give you 7 naughty business tips:
1. Make people lust after your products by engaging all five senses.
Have you ever watched a commercial selling a high fat, high calorie burger such as a Big Mac? Are you thinking about the amount of calories and fat or are you thinking about how it tastes, smells, feels, and looks? That’s lust. According to Sally Hogshead {author of Fascinate}, lust is the trigger that turns, “I really shouldn’t” into “I really shouldn’t, but I will anyways.”
2. Behave as if you’re the best at what you do.
If you were the very best mixed media artist, would you sell your art for less than what it’s worth? Would you submit your art to magazines or would you assume that you’re not good enough? Would you interact with other artists with confidence?
Now, I’m not saying you should lie. I’m assuming that you rock at what you do and that you know your stuff.
3. Evoke curiosity.
The first emotion that people experience before buying a product is curiosity. If you sell gourmet candy, don’t reveal your secret ingredient. If you’re a dance teacher, make a bold statement about results you guarantee without revealing your method such as, “I’ll teach you to waltz in just 2 lessons.”
4. Include social proof to increase business sales.
People want what other people want and have. If you don’t believe me, go read a psychology book. You can get more people to buy your stuff by showing that other people love it. Include testimonials from happy customers on your website. If your product made it to the front page of Etsy, use that badge as one of your pictures. Let customers know what your top selling products are. If over 1,000 people have bought your fiber art, put that in your profile. Basically, brag baby.
5. Make the purchase urgent.
We all procrastinate. It’s just human nature, so you need to give people a reason to buy your products today. For instance, if you sell limited edition prints of your art, include a statement that you only have five left. Again, don’t lie. If you have 50 prints to sell, don’t say you only have 5 left. If you sell products on Etsy, put a statement in your shop announcement that includes the last date people can buy in order to receive their products by Christmas. If you teach people meditation, ask if they’re ready to take the steps to dramatically reduce their stress level today.
6. Limit access.
People like to feel special and part of a group. If you limit access to your products or services, the people who buy feel special. For instance, if you have a local yarn shop, you could have premium shopping parties where only your premium customers are invited. During these parties, customers are served refreshments, given a free gift with their purchase, and given your best customer service.
7. Encourage bad behavior.
When you’re told that you can’t have something, does it make you want it even more? Encouraging bad behavior is all about helping people indulge in their guilty pleasures. For example, if you sell chocolates, you could name your sensual dark chocolate, “Better Than Sex Chocolates.”
What are you going to do to add a little bit of naughtiness to your business?
All of the tips are really good, but I think number 2 is the one that can influence us the most personally, besides the business itself. If you decide to play with it and be a little bit more confident in you work then you are at the moment (besides targeting better customers, investing in better advertising, etc.) when you start working with clients or selling your products, your beliefs about it can easily change.
I remember when I first started consulting (not so long ago) that I really wasn’t sure how good I was or whether I could do it. But after a few clients and some positive feedback I was able to see that I really did know it and that I was actually great at it. It’s not about lying, it’s about taking a plunge to believe in yourself…and set the prices you want, get better clients…
Hey Stella,
I also recently started consulting–and after my first session, the client emailed me to tell me what a difference I had already made in her business. Even though I was confident that I knew what I was doing, that definitely helped me realize that I was really good at it.
It’s so great to get that kind of feedback. And, it definitely helps boost my confidence.
Thanks so much for stopping by to comment and leaving your feedback 🙂
Yes, it definitely works. 🙂
You’re welcome. I like your blog a lot. Easy going, but also with to the point, valuable info.
LOVE this! I’m a new seller on Etsy, and I think it can be difficult to be confident just because there are so many amazing OTHER sellers out there. This really drives home the point that if you don’t believe in yourself and your products/services, who will? Thanks for the empowerment 🙂
Thanks Jessica! It’s definitely overwhelming when you look at all of the amazing talent in the handmade community…but you have to believe in yourself.
Very insightful article!
I appreciate the reminder to evoke all the sensory modalities; it’s what we’re all taught in business school for brick and mortar retail, and of course, it should also apply to online venues. I think Etsy sellers have really picked up on these subtleties well, especially through the artful listing photography and the imaginative descriptions. Whereas, on Ebay, photography is streamline, without photo props or artistic backgrounds and the descriptions are often sparse and to-the-point.
Your tip about appealing to the senses, reminds me of how different online venues can be and how important it is that we realize what works on one may very well not be our best charted course on another.
Also, I like your tip on behaving as though you’re the best in what you do. After some 25 years in business I have found a new humility which I believe can only be fleshed out by someone with true confidence. I no longer need to ‘put on’ a brave face of confidence, but rather, I wear my humility earnestly and THIS is driving and propelling me to be honest, forthright and engaging with my consumer base: by asking them for the sale, asking them to support me in my business practices and in return I’m going to do everything I possibly and humanly can to roll out rock-star red-carpet-service and stellar products.
I also give permission to believe in myself, my artistry and the artistic endeavors of my fellow artisans who are part of our store collective. It allows me to relax and have fun in my approach to how I view my creations as well as how I engage my public. Man, it feels good to be a gangsta! (Or Kawaii Lolita! Or Cyber Punk or Rockabilly.) I create whatever I invoke, without
self-limitations or defeating thoughts.
And it’s not easy to quiet the voices of self-doubt. I hear more often than I would like to admit,
from my beautiful 25-year-old daughter how ‘ugly’ my wearable art jewelry is. It hurts terribly but I realize, I’m rolling out products I create from my heart and mind; I’ve built an incredibly deep, deep inventory, other people love it (especially and amazingly enough the 20-somethings to 70+) hearts it big time and while she is sleeping all day and partying all night, I am filling my orders…and… with the greatest reverence that others see beauty in my pieces.
Everything I do, every step I take to build, I do it with humility, earnestness and honest appreciation that I have the opportunity to at least try.
No worries, my hypercrytical, son hates my jewelry most of the time too. But I have to remember that it’s important for kids to be different from their parents to create their own identities. Ït’s easy to be a critic. Harder to be creative.
At least I did something today!
That really sucks that your kids don’t like what you make :[ My mom sews and sometimes she makes some outrageous stuff, but I would never tell her it’s ugly. Sometimes she asks me how to make it “hipper” and I tell her some things she can do–but I always do so knowing that it’s HER style.
I think your children have a lot of growing up to do!
(I’m 23 btw and I always tell my mom I’m proud that she’s creative…bc she passed it on to me!).
I love the support from Lina and MaeWood Studio. And, I really appreciate you adding to the conversation Danielle.
I believe that it’s actually a good thing when some people don’t like your stuff, because it means that your stuff isn’t vanilla. When you try to make stuff that appeals to everyone, it’s much harder to develop a true fan base. When you target a specific group, then it’s actually easier to sell.
I couldn’t imagine a family member telling me that my products were ugly–that would definitely sting–but I’d try to tell myself that the person isn’t my target market. And, then I’d have a glass of wine 🙂
Danielle, this is a wonderful post. Thank you!
There is no other way to create but from the heart.
As for my “support network,” my boyfriend and mom are gung-ho supportive. The rest of my friends and family? *crickets* That’s OK–it’s their loss, right?
Keep up the good work, and thanks for inspiring me today!
I am so inspired by this article! I’ve been looking for some new tips on how to better my etsy shop and these, though very naughty, seem like very practical things I can implement to make my shop more attractive. I do have very good feedback from customers so first I’ll post some of those in my “anouncements”. Then I’ll try to add the “lust” through better pictures. Last I’ll write out my bio so that my customers can be assured that I know what I’m doing and that I do not make jewelry just as a hobby. Can’t wait to see the results……
That sounds like a great plan of action. Let me know how it goes!
This is wonderful advice! In response to number two, I believe most people are taught, possibly on some unconscious or unacknowledged level, that if you think you’re good at something it probably means your standards aren’t high enough. Creativity is so subjective that it’s often hard to see the potential of your own aesthetic when compared to another person’s fully developed alternate aesthetic, and this kind of unhelpful self-inflicted competition can make it harder to follow your own muse to your particular and unique vision. If each artist treats his or herself as though they are excellent at what they do, it won’t only help the artist find the confidence to create, but it will also lead them down their particular path.
I love that Claire–thanks for adding that! It’s so true and a really good reminder.
I find that I sell a creepy eye line, that sells 10 times the elegant jewelry that are on the same page. I call them creepy, scary and freaky in my keywords. I am thrilled with my work, give excellent customer service and create something that only I can do. In a way, I’d like to duplicate myself, but after reading your article, I’ll be happy to sell everything I make and limit the availability.
That actually makes a lot of sense. The more polarizing {and less vanilla} something is, the more likely your target market will love it and buy it. Thanks for sharing.
Hi April!
#2 is one that I keep hearing from different places – I guess it’s time to listen up and start putting it into action more! 😉
These are some great tips – I really enjoyed the read! 🙂
Thanks Jess. I hope you do–I’ve checked out your website and you seem like an expert!
Thank you, April! 😀
I love all of these Suggestions! I want to print this out and keep it handy!
Gin
Excellent points. Using them is what makes marketing fun!
Wonderful, inspiring post! I’ll keep these tips in mind and I go forward today.
these are great, though i have a problem with the implication in tip #6 that your best customer service should be reserved for your premium customers. i think one of the core principles of building a truly successful business – one that involves customer service, at least – is to give all your customers your best customer service, all the time. the exclusivity idea’s great – i just don’t think your best customer service should one of the special perks reserved for that “premium” group.
Hey tiger! I completely agree–and I didn’t mean to imply that you shouldn’t give all of your customers amazing customer service. If you’ve read some of my other posts, you know that my main priority in my business is providing excellent customer service.
In tip 6, I meant to go above and beyond…for instance, if you usually have 3 employees working at a time, then for the premium party you might ask all of your employees to work, so each customer can receive lots of attention.
I love these tips, I am also a newish seller on etsy, there is work involved for sure, but I also think that even though we are on line shoppers, it’s important to accomodate people as much as possible, ie: special local pick up instead of shipping, and sending a quick email to thank the shopper and to invite them back. My best on line shopping experiances have been with stores that make me feel like i am actually in the store not in cyber world!
great tips…thx!
I completely agree Moxie! Thanks for sharing.
Awww yes, we DO like being naughty. The title caught my eye and it’s great advice.
good tips. I think it’s a good idea to be wordy. Who know’s what will trigger a search engine. if extra words in a description don’t cost more, why not?
At the Country Living Show, I saw an old man sell a $2500 Rocking Horse.
He did it with an extremely strong knowledge base and incredible passion
for what he did for a living.
Passion.
Strong Knowledge Base.
Real keys to selling.
So true. Thanks for adding to the conversation James.
This is a great post, but I wouldn’t mind hearing more about #1. Exactly how do you engage all 5 senses with something like my work, digital collage art? How do I make people taste and hear my work?
Hey Dave,
Thanks for stopping by. To answer your question: it depends on what’s in your digital collage art. Most people buy art, because they feel something when they look at it–and usually, that’s because it engages their senses. For instance, when I look at your “You keep calm, I’ll go surf” print, I automatically get cold, because the water looks chilly. I can almost taste the salt water and smell the salty air. And, I can definitely hear the splashing as the guy walks into the water. With art, engaging the senses is done when you produce good art. You can always add to this in your description.
Most people engage all five senses through the picture of their product and the description. You’ve already engaged the senses because your product is the picture. Then, if you want, you can take it one step further in the description–but it’s not necessary if the picture says it all.
Hopefully, that makes more sense to you 🙂
I’m a photographer, and I was wondering the same thing. This right here is excellent advice.
Thanks, April!
What a great new twist on what really is old and proven advice, I love it! 10 years ago, Guerilla Marketing could not impress enough, appealing to all of the senses. But I like the “naughty” concept..wonderful! Reminds me of the movie Chocolat and how her product was good, but it was the fact that it was naughty, or want against the grain of the tight laced community that really made it popular!
Mahalo!
Thank you for the Fantastic reminder of that which motivates us all…feelings! One of my favorite words in life is, “PASSION”. While it does have a naughty conotation 😉 for me it also describes a way of life…to live passionately, from the pieces I create, to the steps that I take and to the dreams I hold dear…if it is worth doing, it is worth doing with passion!
Great info. The title caught my eye. If you are looking for a “naughty” gift for any friends or family in a long distance relationship check out a book I wrote that is not on Etsy because it’s not handmade. Go to http://www.thepleasureisours.com
I love Etsy! Thank you
Only went naughty a wee bit on just a couple of my listings for the wine glass holder necklaces when describing them as “bikini style.” I guess I should get naughtier and just refer to them “as shapely as bikini bottoms”?
Or “as sexly shaped as bikini bottoms”?
Nice tips – I feel like bookmarking this list and checking it twice on new website/product launch 🙂