Summit of Awesome- class outline.

 For those of you taking the class in the virtual labs or following along in the class room, I'm posting the outline for my portion of the class.

Feel free to ask me any questions and join in on the etsy labs!

Product Development & Branding Outline and Worksheet.

There are 2 components to product development.

1. The Creative
2. The Practical.

 The creative is your voice.  Make sure that you’re making something that feels good to you.  And whatever your creative process is, be open to looking at your work from different angles and perspectives.  If you can take your best seller apart and make it differently, will it turn out even better? 

The practical is, well, the practical.  Here are a few questions to help guide your design process. 

1.What can you make? If it becomes a success, can you make it 1000 times? 10, 000?

Is there wiggle room in your cost margin to get it made elsewhere? 

Is your goal to make one thing that sells for a million dollars or, one thing that sells a million times?

Do you want to be a manufacturer?

2. What is the competition making? 

Are they able to sell it?

How does their price compare to yours? 

How is your product different?  How is it the same? Can you add, subtract or alter something in your product to make it stand out? 

How are you going to put your artistic signature into your work?

3. Does your design have marketable integrity?  

Can it change and grow as the trends change and grow?  How flexible is the design?  Can it be reworked to meet a custom request?

4. Can it be the center for a full line of retail and wholesale designs?  Is it strong enough to stand on it's own? 

5. Is there leeway in your budget for awesome packaging?

What can you add in your presentation that will set it out in front of the competition?

Be prepared to understand that the packaging can easily be part of the product, sometimes a little something extra will set you miles ahead of the competition. 

Branding.

What is it?  What does it mean?

What is a brand? 

It’s a logo.

It’s a label.

It’s a slogan or a jingle.

It’s packaging.

It’s an addition to your product that clarifies style or use.

It’s how you photograph or present your work.

It's a sense of style

It’s something extra (Les Schwab gives away free beef)

It is also, targeted advertising. 

The right branding defines your work and your sense of style.

Sales start when people know what you are selling and when you know who you are selling it to.

Deciding on the right branding is easiest when you know your target market.

Take a few minutes to answer these questions about your product, When you have all the answers, rewrite them into different paragraphs and sentences, see what you can gauge about your general customer from the answers below.  You can also ask friends and family to answer the same questions and get a broader perspective on you work.

 

1. Who are your products for?  Do they have a use? 

2. Are they feminine?  Masculine? Androgynous? 

3. Are the a gift, a tool, a personal item?  All of the above?

4. What age group is most likely to buy them?

5. What is their price range- dollar store?  Fine art? Mid-range? Impulse buy?

6. Do they appeal to an international market (important if you are online)

7.  Do they have a niche?  Recycled? Baby Item, Kung fu?

8. Do they have a definitive style?

9. What 3 adjectives best describe your product?

Now use those answers to answer the most important question, who are you selling to?

Your customers should always be in your mind when you develop new products and packaging-  “is this something they would buy?” 

There is no sense in developing a brand and strong name if you are going to keep changing your focus.  Go back to product development and find where you are strongest, use your creative assets to enhance your brand. 

Create logos, packaging and presentation with your customer in mind. 

Pick venues, retail outfits, advertising and websites that attract people like your customer. 

Building a brand is more than just a cute name or funky design, it is also about placing your product and your logo, your items and ideas where your customers are most likely to find them. 

Branding is intuitive as much as it is tangible.   Maintaining a strong and fluid presence through everything you do will help you build a solid brand.  Streamlining your products to fit your brand will only enhance your business. 

Key Points:

1. Develop your products to the best of your ability
2. Redevelop them.
3. Choose new products that follow the same line of development.
4. See how you can give them something extra.
5. Choose new products that fit within your brand.
6. Define your target market
7. Put your name on everything.
8. Create a logo, insignia and packaging that define your product and your style and that resonate with your target market.
9. Make sure everything you make meets your demographic and fits into your style.
10. Repeat repeat repeat.  Build a strong brand through solid labeling and repetition.

Thanks so much for taking my workshop- if you’d like more in depth information about your own work feel free to email me for consulting information.

Ryan McAbery

Littleputbooks.etsy.com

Littleputinfo@mac.com

 

 

 

 

Comments

[bbrunophotography]

This information is priceless. So generous of you to share it, Ryan. I believe the moment a person steps into a shop, that first impression is embedded. Your woodblocked images left that on me. I've never seen art like that before.

I'd say you have the edge on branding!

[DoodleKreations]

Ryan, I missed the class. But thank you for sharing this information. Its so thought provoking and makes newbies like me take a hard look at what I want to do and how I want to go about it.
Thanks again, will be back to read your posts!

[Anitra Cameron]

Ryan, this is just GREAT information. Thanks for sharing it!

[michael ann]

wow, i am printing this out and pinning it to my wall! this is certainly one of the most helpful things i've ever found about branding, thank you :]

[karen cox]

This is so wonderful. You are so generous.

Karen

[Kristine]

Thanks a bunch for taking the time to put this online - I was in the virtual labs and really gained a lot in this session. :)

[Sarah]

Thanks Ryan! This was a super helpful workshop and I appreciated the notes on your blog to follow along. See you around Portland!