A Tale of Three Dancers–or why “marketing” is NOT a dirty word

March 12, 2009

Let’s get hypothetical for a moment, shall we?
Meet Dancer A–Let’s call her Miz Diva. She’s all about the money, isn’t she? Her web site is just over the top, full of exaggerated claims about her classes (become a pro in 3 easy lessons!) and her experience–”I’ve been teaching for 47 years” (oh really, [...]

Read the full article →

Just Call Me Uppity

March 12, 2009

  We’ve all heard it before–from friends, family, co-workers, other dancers. It’s insidious. It eats away at your soul. It diminishes your art and your creativity. It’s a philosophy that goes back generations, centuries even. The Starving Artist.
“You can’t make money with dance.”
“You have to suffer for your art.”
“You should do it because you love [...]

Read the full article →

Basic Belly Dance Marketing, part 1: What are you really selling?

March 12, 2009

There’s an old saying in marketing that goes…You’re not selling a drill, you’re selling holes!
Think about that for a minute. You’re not selling a drill…you’re selling holes.
No one wakes up thinking “hmm, I wonder what kind of drills are available today.”  Instead, they wake up, get some coffee, head out to the job [...]

Read the full article →

Basic Belly Dance Marketing, part 2: who are you selling to?

March 12, 2009

So, how do you make sure your prospect chooses you over your competition?
Let’s go back to our universal law of marketing…You’re not selling a drill, you’re selling holes.
Pretend you’re looking for a drill because you need some holes. You flip through the pages of Drill Digest and come across this amazing advertisement. It’s got [...]

Read the full article →

What Those Impressive Business Words Really Mean

March 12, 2009

I’m curious. What happens when you hear phrases like “business model” and “market analysis?” Does your heart race? Do your palms get sweaty? Do you feel a little queasy?  Or do your eyes just glaze over?
I used to feel that way, too, until I figured out what those words actually mean.
Here’s a short “real [...]

Read the full article →

Why you have to SELL your product–even if it’s free (and how to do it)

March 12, 2009

When I was teaching weekly classes, I had a standard policy that your first class with me was always free. I had a number of reasons for doing this. People need to feel safe and under no obligation when trying out something new, and even if the dancer had significant experience with other teachers, that [...]

Read the full article →

Basic Belly Dance Marketing, part 3: How to get them to buy in 3 easy steps

March 12, 2009

  You know what you’re selling (holes, not drills…see part one) and You know who you’re selling to (oil drillers, not sheet metal drillers…see part two)
So, how the heck do you get them to buy?  Here’s how–
Step 1) You show your target audience that you understand their unique problem.
Step 2) Demonstrate your unique solution [...]

Read the full article →

29 Ways to attract business with an email list

March 12, 2009

Why do you need to build an email list and use it regularly?  Because 90% of sales happen long after that first exposure to your product or visit to your website. There are 100 reasons someone might land on your site and then not take action–maybe the boss just came in the room (time [...]

Read the full article →

Are testimonials tacky?

March 12, 2009

Belly dancers are acutely aware of their image. We have to be so careful not to come off as too sexy, or not sexy enough, blah blah blah…because of this, we often shy away from testimonials in our marketing. After all, we don’t want to brag do we? We can’t have people thinking we thing [...]

Read the full article →

Next Entries →

SeriousSewing Like History? Make it!