Marketing. It’s a diluted term I hear thrown around by people who have never really sold anything before. I do have some experience with marketing as a consumer. Things that compelled me to buy something. I think that’s a great place to start. Save a record of the things that make me want to buy something and breakdown my thoughts later. Now that I launched my new product, I’m trying to find ways to get the word out. It’s the first time I’ve had to do anything of the sort and there is no obvious answers in this field. The problem is that everyone and their mom has an opinion on the matter. They all involve spending big bucks on expensive search terms and advertising teams and specialists. Well I don’t got big bucks so what am I supposed to do?
My product is selling exclusively on Amazon. The basic setup for Amazon’s advertising is to start an “automatic” campaign and set it to $50 a day. That’s the gist of what the internet tells me. Then after a month or something, I’m supposed to review all the terms and see which ones converted into a sale and generate a specific list for that. So I spend more money on the terms that sell and less on the ones that don’t. That makes sense. Ok cool, I can do that. But what else can I do?
I learned about product videos. I paid a hefty sum to get one made and the first version was great! The first version was a nice and relaxed 46 seconds. It matched the vibe of the being in nature and slow paced. But everyone says they want to know what it is in 15 seconds or less. Not a lot of real estate to capture attention. Thankfully, we got it done even though it looks rushed. I decided that a great place to throw up the video would be on Reddit. I figure since it’s such a niche product for backpacking groups, I targeted all the camping, hiking, backpacking communities. I felt it would be more relevant to their interests and would save me on cost per click to a cost per 1,000 impressions model. Like I said, I just want people to know about it. Converting a sale now isn’t the goal. It’s to generate interest and buzz so that people start talking about it. It’s the word of mouth that really sells products down the road. This is a type of soft launch. What’s next?
My plan is to get people aware and take advantage of people looking for presents during Christmas. There are a lot more people browsing the web with Christmas shopping and it’s a great place to incept the product into the deep layers of their subconscious. Right now, unfortunately not a lot of people are hiking or backpacking in winter. However, if I can get the seed planted now, I can grow it in the spring when the weather warms back up. When these people start getting ready their gear and planning their trips, they’ll remember they saw a product like mine and may think about buying one or recommend it for a friend. If that doesn’t work, then the beauty is that I get to keep trying.
I have some weird ideas floating around. Leveraging social media apps like TikTok and homemade commercials using the products for laughs. Free advertising with a following. Everyone I talk to is a social media expert. They tell me how to get more followers and they basically follow the latest trends. I disagree. I think you have to be the trendsetter. By marching to your own tune and beating on that craft can you come out above the sea of average humans. Everybody on social media want to be seen and heard. They want people interested in them and their lives. I personally gave up social media many years ago and I don’t really miss it. I’ll probably get back on for this blog or a product but I’m minimizing my digital footprint. I’m a person you’ll just have to meet in person to discover. I prefer it to be that way. I’ll keep you posted on my sales. Keep hustling.