Decorative Couture Piecing

Threads Magazine has a cool technique that I thought some of you may want to try. It involves piecing fabric without disrupting the flow of the lightweight fabric.

I have never tried anything like this but definetly want to once I get some free time.

A little Behind

I know I promised some post on marketing and have yet to deliver them but right now we have some stuff going on that needs my attention. I hope things will resolve quickly and I can get back to posting and other things.

For those of you who read blog and pray we would appreciate your prayers.

Valentine's Day Gift

If you are looking for a cute Valentines day gift check out the find I posted about on my other blog. It is a darling bracelet!

Looking for a card? Etsy again has you covered. Susan a dear sweet lady I know in real life has a card shop with beautiful cards and other paper crafting items plus she does custom work!


If you have never been to Etsy you are missing some very cool and unique gifts!

Cat Attack

No this not a formal post more of a blurb or unloading of sorts.

You see I had some great quotes marked in a book to share in a post and a few minutes ago when I went and grabbed the book from my nightstand I found all the little post it flags out of the book and on the floor with kitty teeth marks on them!

Can I scream? Silly me for thinking I could leave a book out. All too often I forget that she thinks the entire house and all the contents in it belong to her.

Branding part 2

What is branding and should you even bother? First branding is why Starbucks can charge more for a cup of coffee than most places and it is why when you think coffee shop you usually think Starbucks. That in itself should help you understand that every business should consider branding. Also keep in mind that whether you try to brand yourself or not, you will. Your customers will develop an opinion about your business. I for one want to try to control how I am branded.

What does branding do for your company? Branding builds equity and that equity has inherent value. In other words it a well-established brand makes you think up front that it has more value than a lesser known product. Take my skirts for example, you see one of mine and one made by Old Navy, instantly you will assume the Old Navy one is better. Why, because The Old Navy name and label carry equity that Hearts & Home does not.

I want it now! Keep in mind you can build up your name or label but it takes time. Over time an image begins to exist in your customers mind about your product and you decided rather it is positive or negative. Customers will define your product by its quality, reliability, price, durability and many other factors that you may have never thought of. What we want is for customers to choose our product over similar ones in the marketplace. It is important to understand that before you can build your brand you must understand it.

As you come up with your strategy some things to keep in mind are:

1. What do you want customers to associate with you?
Quality
Service
Value

2. What is your brands personality?
Friendly
Easy to work with
Good terms

3. Who is your target audience?
4. Who is your competition?
5. What attributes does it have?
6. How does it compare to similar products on the market?
7. What are your brands strength and weaknesses?
8. How far do you want to take your product?

Cleaning Up the Site

I am sure you cannot tell but tonight I have been working on cleaning up this blog and adding some things. For starters I got rid of the affiliate links, old adds and outdated banners. I switched my archives to go backwards and best of all I have added a cool gadget!

Scroll down and look on my right side column.... there it is Google connect! Go ahead and click on it so we can connect!

Branding

What happens when you see golden arches, an apple with a bite out of it, initials hp, or a cow named Elsie? You pretty much instantly know the product. Why is that? It is because of successful branding. These companies spent/spend millions to make sure we know who they are without even reading their names. What mom hasn't been in the car and drove past McDonald's and heard their child cry out "I want McDonald's". Is it because their two year old is a genius and can read, no it is because of branding!

While these companies can afford it what is a small business or a cottage industry to do? While I may not have millions or even thousands to spend on marketing with a little creativity and work I can still brand myself and so can every other home based business.

Hearts & Home has been open for about 6 years but it was only within the last 2.5 years that I began trying to build up our name and develop a repeat customer base. In that time I have found some things that really work and I have found other things that were expensive and offered almost no return.

Monday I will share a little more about getting started on marketing including some quick, simple and almost free ways to get your name out. Wednesday I will share a tutorial that most cottage businesses that have a physical product will want to be sure to stop back by for. Friday I will share some for keeping track of customers and how to encourage repeat business from them.