Marketing

 

air horn

When I took a marketing class a bazillion years ago, the definition of 'marketing' was given as sharing information while 'advertising' was paying for media - ads on radios (yes, those were still a thing in those days), newspapers (ditto), tv, magazines.  Now it would be FB ads.  Or ads on apps.  

Once I had the concept of 'sharing' what I was doing, getting the word out about my weaving, then books, became a lot easier for me.

I wasn't trying to 'sell' something, I was just 'sharing' what I was doing.  And btw, here's where you can buy if you want it.

As an introvert, sharing was a lot easier than buying an air horn and yelling at the top of my lungs (so to speak) trying to find buyers.

In 1994 when I first got onto the internet, which was still primarily educational in those days (I know, what a concept!) sharing was how you got the word out.  You still had to be careful because if all you ever posted about on the chat groups was your sale-of-the-day, people would rightly call you out.  

So I got pretty good at folding actual information and my want-to-be-paid-for work into a conversational style.

It was an approach that felt comfortable to me and one I practice to this day.

Or at least, *more* comfortable.

It's one reason why I won't accept payment to promote other people's products on this platform.  I reserve this space for me - my thoughts, my hopes, my trials and tribulations.  Only IF I feel a product made by another creative person is worth someone's consideration, will I share *their* work, here.  I never ask for payment because this platform is for *my* opinion.  Not because I have sold my platform space to someone else.

But I also use it to promote my products - mostly books, right now, and my online classes.

It is also why, if Facebook starts charging me for using their platform I will be leaving.  Since they already make a shittonne of money selling ads to people, they do NOT need money from their product (us) to make a billionaire a trillionaire.  

Just saying.

So, if you find out about a small 'maker' that you want to support but maybe either can't afford or don't need what they are making, you can do them a favour and share their info on your social media.  

We have forgotten that no one is an island.  We thrive because other people support us.  When times get tough, working together is how we survive.  We seem to have forgotten that.