2 Hands Made This

Today, we're gonna be talking about planning, based on some wisdom that my father told me years ago that I never listened to. It was really like the eye roll when I was a kid. It wasn't until I got older, actually when I had my own business that I started listening to that bit of advice that he gave me and it was all about planning. And my dad used to say, You've got to make your plan. And you've got to work your plan. It's all well and good to talk about make a plan and work your plan. The h...

When people subscribe to your list, you’re inviting them into your community, your tribe. But the mistake that people make (a lot) is leaving your reader to figure things out for themselves. What should they do first?Do they know why they’re there?What should they do next?What’s in it for them?Leaving your reader without a clue will only make them frustrated, confused...and probably a little pissed off.Many just let their email service provider do the job with the automated “welcome...

With all your emails, content, and everything else that you're putting out there to the world. What better time to talk about headlines and subject lines.When you've read something. When something grabs your attention. What is it that makes you continue to read it? When the subject line or headline is generic or boring, if it's something that makes you think twice about, you don't read it. If it doesn't interest you. You WON'T read it.But when a subject line or a headline grabs your att...

I hear this question a lot from people..."How long should my marketing messages be?"When you're writing, whether it's your copy on your website, whether it's your product descriptions, whether you are writing a sales page (both long form and short form) they come in different forms. Same with landing pages, blog posts, social media posts, how long should you write them? And my answer to that is......it needs to be long enough that your reader understands what you're talking about, a...

Your brand is more than your colors. It's more than your fonts. It's more than the layout of your catalog or your product pages. When we talk about brand, the one thing that we don't really think about is the experience we want our customers to have when they read your messages.We want to be able to create an experience for customers, and that experience should be part of your marketing strategy. Your brand is about the experience. When people come to your website, what do you want to give th...

I love interviewing product makers to hear their story and to find out the marketing tips that have worked...and the ones that haven’t. One of the things I realized is that, you don’t know my product business story.So today on 2 Hands Made This, I’ll share with you the same things I ask my guests. And I’ll tell you about the marketing strategies that worked best for my product business (and yes, there are some ugly cries of failed campaigns too.)Kitchen table epiphany - remembering how you st...

When it comes to handmade businesses, Etta + Billie was my first maker crush!Yep, I was like a tongue-tied, school girl when I first met Alana Rivera. I mean, Etta + Billie has a big following, has a big list of well-known stockists and was doing all the business things far and beyond what I was doing in my product business at the time.And after hearing Alana talk about her business...I knew she was like the rest of us. Passionate about making product, courageous enough to make it a full time...

Marketing expert and copywriter to some of the biggest names in internet marketing, Abbey Woodcock has written million-dollar launch campaigns that skyrocketed these online businesses.I’ve known Abbey for a few years now, and as a matter of fact, she’s one of my mentors.But that’s not quite why she’s here today.Abbey is also venturing out in a new direction...as a maker (of sorts.)While most people are going the other way when they branch out in their businesses, taking their brick & mort...

She doesn’t sell nail polish...she sells confidence!This is probably one of my favorite lines from an indie maker! Why, because when it comes to indie brands and marketing, early on, makers look at what they sell...the features and the benefits of the product.As you become more seasoned in the industry, and as you put your big marketing bloomers on, you realize that you’re doing SO much more.Pam is a full-time nurse practitioner...and Stella Chroma is her “side gig” but don’t let that fool yo...

Her 2 hands make a lot of yummy things! And she’s continued to make a lot of yummy things for her clients as a personal chef.Certified Personal Chef and Owner of Tailored Taste Monica, Thomas is a graduate of the Culinary Business Academy, a premier member of the United States Personal Chef Association, and a ServSafe© certified food manager. In 2017 she was inducted into the esteemed Les Dames d’Escoffier, a membership-by-invitation philanthropic all-professional association.At the USPCA nat...