Promoting bagstab |
||
I was wondering how the website is being promoted - that is, advertised? I found out about bagstab via my subscription to theartlist.com
Also, why must one be a member to vote on the designs? Would there be more public response if registration wasn’t required?
Kitty,
We are listed with theart list. We also continually post on Craig’s list art section. That’s about it. We do have fliers going out to schools as well. Do you have any ideas? We all could certainly use the help.
As far as the registration to vote is concerned, we have to have somewhat of a filter to keep same person - multiple membership that could make the contest unfair.
Let us hear what ideas you have to promote this place, I believe if we continue at working the kinks and such this would be a great site for a great concept 
.
Kitty,
We are listed with theart list. We also continually post on Craig’s list art section. That’s about it. We do have fliers going out to schools as well. Do you have any ideas? We all could certainly use the help.
As far as the registration to vote is concerned, we have to have somewhat of a filter to keep same person - multiple membership that could make the contest unfair.
Let us hear what ideas you have to promote this place, I believe if we continue at working the kinks and such this would be a great site for a great concept
OK - now I get it with the registering to vote. Shame there isn’t another way to filter out multiple votes.
As for promotion, how about getting in touch with Drawn! The Illustration & Cartooning Blog?
I have seen threadless and bountee featured there, as well as other contests and such.
Good luck!
Bagstab Staff,
You might want to try connecting on blogs and working with artist and bag retailers offering affiliate sales and wholesale programs.
Artist incentive programs, such as discount codes offered for friends and associates and/or discounts and free bags depending on how many sales each participating artist makes for Bagstab.
I believe strongly that networking on bag/fashion blogs and forums to create a buzz is the wisest, most cost-effective method for promoting Bagstab and its product line.
Also the Bagstab market share is limited due to its brand identity. Bagstab has a great concept for the art enthusiast buyer. However, the site will not appeal to many e-mall type shoppers, who seek that vogue, high fashion experience when buying on line. Many buyers do not appreciate knowing where a product comes from, only that it represents their sense of fashion identity.
I’m not suggesting to change the Bagstab website, but creating a second retail e-store with a bit more glitz that appeals to fashion-oriented buyers, rather than the just the art crowd.
These are all proven marketing methods that are intended to create more than just incidental sales, but a growing momentum.
Brooks Wm Taylor
Professional Artist and Business Manager
Bagstab Staff,
You might want to try connecting on blogs and working with artist and bag retailers offering affiliate sales and wholesale programs.
Artist incentive programs, such as discount codes offered for friends and associates and/or discounts and free bags depending on how many sales each participating artist makes for Bagstab.
I believe strongly that networking on bag/fashion blogs and forums to create a buzz is the wisest, most cost-effective method for promoting Bagstab and its product line.
Also the Bagstab market share is limited due to its brand identity. Bagstab has a great concept for the art enthusiast buyer. However, the site will not appeal to many e-mall type shoppers, who seek that vogue, high fashion experience when buying on line. Many buyers do not appreciate knowing where a product comes from, only that it represents their sense of fashion identity.
I’m not suggesting to change the Bagstab website, but creating a second retail e-store with a bit more glitz that appeals to fashion-oriented buyers, rather than the just the art crowd.
These are all proven marketing methods that are intended to create more than just incidental sales, but a growing momentum.
Brooks Wm Taylor
Professional Artist and Business Manager
Dear Brooks,
Great ideas!
It always amazes me that the development is always a process instead of a project. We find ourselves always trying to find the right balance in the design and development of Bagstab.
I for one like the idea of the more glitzy e-store but then the rest seem to think that there needs to be continuity. So we strive for balance as both has their merits. Opening another e-store is deemed not cost effective but I believe what you will see these upcoming months is another shop renovation which should favor the glitz. This is because we find that the biggest buyers at Bagstab are the passerby visitors. Most of them drawn in by the various marketing we do. So we need to cater the shop more so for them. We are also preparing to implement discount codes for designers as marketing incentives for their cloud. Unfortunately all these will have to be addressed during the down months after the holidays as everyone is currently hands on at the moment.
So thank you for your suggestions and they are well taken. Keep them coming.
Alex Chan
Alex,
I look forward to the “new” look. Sounds like you have some similar ideas already in the works. Anything that we can do here to help, just let us know.
I assure you, also, that I do not speak from a textbook understanding of marketing, but real world experience of over 20 years in business. The idea of “continuity” in this case, as you will find eventually, is another word for limitations or a narrow opinion of one’s own brand and its ability (or necessity) to reach broader markets today. I think your product’s potential is being vastly (if not dangerously) underestimated. Let me explain…
Think about the hotdog vendor with a street cart versus the hotdog chain. If the cart vendor is on the corner of downtown New York, he can do great business for himself. Plenty of profit to sustain the vendor’s income needs. However, the hotdog distributor is not impressed and must provide his hotdogs to more or bigger vendors to make a real profit. Therefore, he is forced when a hotdog chain moves onto the block to sell to him exclusively, putting the cart vendor out of business. The artists in your business model are the distributors of your hotdogs. In your current business, few artists make any real profit compared to you, the vendors.
You have a great product and a compelling hook. Letting buyers and artists vote on what they think is chic, gives some customers a sense of power and participation in the creative process. But surely, you understand that only a small percentage of buyers care about this novelty. Others, perhaps more, want to believe they are getting something in-vogue, new and exciting created by a classy fashion designer. True, your idea is too meritorious to abandon. But no good idea goes un-stolen. You want to start the chain process, before someone else gets the bright idea to stride past you and take all your hotdogs away. Your hotdog distributors are in the business too for the profit, though in this case, lots of start up artists seem happy just to see their art on the internet.
But what happens when a competitor who sees the broader picture, and thus can sell more hotdogs, moves onto the block? Someone like me with the knowledge to start a dozen e-malls and an ebay store offering up to 40% royalties to the artist? Fortunately, as a Christian, I love producing art rather than stealing good ideas. But how much time and money does it cost to start a website? Compared to a brick and mortar store the cost is nothing, especially for someone who already has the printing capability that you have. Say a China-based competitor with a few million yuan, some chic-appeal e-stores and a PayPal account.
All I am encouraging here is to think laterally as well as vertically. You may have a preconceived, ideal look and feel for your completed “start up” business plan, but I suggest that in the 2010 internet marketplace you are already there. This has great potential and you’ve proved it - for everyone who is looking for that next great idea. By widening your base you secure market share and increase word-of-mouth momentum for your brand, which by nature increases your sales and secures the loyalty of your artists. And after all, their talent is what sells your otherwise black nylon bags, right?
Hey, I’m on your side. I’m just trying to help my own works sell, just like you. I’m just trying to give my family a little better life, just like you. What do I have to gain by spending a half hour typing out this letter, if I was handing out bad advice? Wouldn’t that just hurt my commissions? Consider the investment: One guy or gal, one day per week (after the holidays) to build a mainstream e-store for the fashion-oriented, traditional shopper. Where’s the time going otherwise, into maintaining the status quo?
I know you didn’t ask, so I’ll stick to submitting art in the future, because I like you guys and hope the best for you. But I just thought after months of observation that I’d offer up some Marketing 101 advice, then shut up. 
Blessings for success and Merry Christmas,
Brooks
P.S. Your free shipping ad for the Thanksgiving Holiday is still up on the site. It has been proven that some potential buyers feel uncomfortable giving out their credit card info or risking losing their money to businesses that don’t maintain up-to-date control over their websites. Look at it from their perspective. You could have gone out of business after Thanksgiving and not yet shut down the site. Again, its that 2010 e-store shopping mentality. Fast-paced and trusting, as long as they’re preconceptions and values are met and the buying experience is seamless.
