By Sue DiFranco
Copyright © 2004 Sue DiFranco/Fun Facts PublishingMany large scrapbooking manufacturers are constantly being
asked
to donate product to the hundreds of scrapbooking events that
occur every year. Understandably, they can't accommodate all
requests, and have to decline some.
However, smaller manufacturers and product designers can capitalize
on these scrapbooking conventions, crops, retreats, and events,
that occur just about every weekend across the world. Donating
your company's products, along with promotional material, can be
a fairly inexpensive way of getting the word out about your business,
and getting your product into the hands of dedicated scrapbookers!
First, you'll need to locate upcoming events. We launched a new area
on FunFactsPublishing.com specifically for event organizers to post
their donation requests. They list the date, location, how many
attendees are expected, and what they will do to help promote your
business. Take a look at these requests, including several for
ongoing events, here.
You can also find events listings at the following Web sites:
http://www.scrapbookaddict.com
http://www.scrap-source.com
http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com
http://www.scraplink.com
http://www.scrapjazz.com Decide what events are good fits for your product. If you want to appeal
to a wide audience, you’ll want events that have many attendees.
If you have a line of Christian themed products, you might choose events
held by Christian groups.
Contact the event organizer and, depending upon your budget, offer to
send promotional product for giveaways. If you can afford to, send enough
products for every attendee. If not, send a few "larger" products for
door prizes. The biggest thing to remember, though, is to request that
flyers/brochures about your product be put into every gift bag, and/or
handed out to every attendee.
Flyers can be fairly inexpensive to produce, and combined with the price
of the promo products you send and postage, this type of marketing can
save you thousands of dollars over expensive magazine advertising. Of
course, make sure you include some sort of
promotional code on each flyer, such as a
coupon that says "Mention Code 444 to receive 10 percent off." This will
help you track where your customers are coming from - which flyers are
working and which are not. Good luck! |
