A lot of people wince at the mere mention of a press release and can only think of the costs involved in producing one and submitting it to the relevant people, but you really can do it yourself. Once you have done the initial work of sourcing the right contacts that you think will be interested in your news, and find out what information they need then you’ve done most of the work yourself for nothing!

Why send a press release

The reason for sending out a press release is because you have something to say – new business, new product/service, an event, an award/achievement etc. Once you have sent that press release, don’t repeat yourself with something too similar.

Preparation

The preparation for writing a press release is to work out the appropriate magazines, newspapers, websites, radio stations etc to send it to. If you send out your release to EVERYONE then it is a waste of time. It is also worth becoming familiar with the publication to make sure that haven’t already run a similar story recently.  Find out how the particular journal likes to receive press releases and who might be the best person to send it to such as the journalist who deals with homewares etc.

Content of a Press Release

The key to a good press release is to get to the point, not too much waffle and have great pictures, although don’t include hi-res ones as they will just clog up their inbox and won’t go down very well! About a page should be long enough and 2 pages at the very most.

Give it a snappy headline, but not too pretentious or unbelievable, just something a bit quirky or funny to catch their eye.

The first paragraph should be a summary of the whole release – who, what, where, when and why – all the key information (1-2 sentences, 240 characters).

The next paragraph will give more details of the story and so should contain more information relevant to the summary (300 words).

Then include some quotes from the owner/artist/designer/yourself relevant to the subject – “i enjoyed making this because….”

The final paragraph will provide information about the business. This could your elevator pitch (huh? your spiel you give when someone asks you what you do. A 30 second summary of your business and why it is so great).

Below all of this will be ‘Note to Editor’ and this will be details of what else can be made available as bullet points, such as hi-res images, samples, background info, facts and figures if necessary, prices and stockists.

At the bottom will be the contact details of who the press can contact if they need to – be specific on who they should email/telephone so as they don’t get passed off.

 Finishing It Off

Once you have done it make sure you spell check it and give it to someone else to read to make sure it is ok. Add a covering note to briefly explain why you are sending it, and try to find out the journalists name to make it even more personal. Journalists like the little extras so making things personal can make all the difference – send them samples or something just for them, a personalised sample etc. Following them on Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin can add to getting to know them.

You can send your release as a letter or email but if you do send by email give the subject field a good title to encourage the journalist to read it and not just ‘press release for ….’

Even once reading this i’m sure a lot of people will still feel overwhelmed at doing this and so look for a pr service which will do it for them, but make sure you shop around and the best way to find someone is to go on recommendation.

Heres a lovely example of a press release for Central St Martins Graphic Design Degree Show

Have you dealt with your own press release and been featured in a publication? let me know as id love to share it.

When you are planning to get going with your small business and have realised that you have a good product to sell the next step is to make sure you minimise your costs. Think of all the things that you have to pay out for and then see if you can get them cheaper, from materials to ink cartridges, equipment to internet access – everything!

Source cheaper supplies

Finding cheaper supplies does not necessarily mean reducing the quality of your materials you use but finding them at a cheaper price, such as wholesale or trade. If you have a regular supplier find out if they have trade accounts, or simple ask them if you could have a trade account. This may mean that you might have to spend a minimum amount on each order or buy items in larger quantities than you are used to. Consider how you use the product – if you have to buy a minimum of 100 of one thing but you rarely use them then it wing be a good saving.

By buying trade it is also worth considering bulk making your products and so using up your supplies more effectively.

Use your time more effectively

Try to make sure you don’t spend too much time doing one thing without letting the quality slip – time is money and this can be factored into your product pricing, but you don’t want to make it too expensive because you spend so much time on it. Again, bulk making may be worth doing as then the process can be sped up as you get used to making something. When I was painting the furniture I found I wanted the finish to be perfect and so kept touching things up. I had to stop myself as I was spending too much time on it and knew I wouldn’t be selling it for very much.

If you find it hard to get things done in the day then make yourself a timetable for making, research, eating, kids etc this way you know what you should be doing when rather than finding you’ve spent the whole day ‘researching’ on Facebook and Pinterest!

When you get to the stage in your business when you need to take on staff then this may prove effective by ensuring you can stick to what you do best and someone else can do the bits that take up your time but don’t make you any money.

Keeping track

It is important to not only keep track of your costs and sales for your accounts but also ensures that you are not spending too much money on one thing, or making too much of something which isn’t really selling very well. Spotting trends can be useful to growing your business.

Minimising your costs helps to increase your profits so it is an essential step to take when changing a hobby to a business but most importantly have fun researching new materials and finding new products to help with your new enterprise.

ADDED: Just another little thing to think about when sourcing your supplies, make sure you consider import/customs costs, these can make or break your profit! – thanks to Stars & Scars Jewellery for mentioning it

Branding is essentially how the public see your business whether it is your name, logo, colours, tagline etc – it is the whole image and feel of the business.

A lot of people talk about how important branding is and how you need to get it just right, but when you are just starting out as a small business it doesn’t seem so important. There is so much more to learn and get to grips in the beginning that so many people just don’t ‘get’ branding and so dismiss it. This is sometimes the right way to go about it as branding tends to come when a business has a bit of age to it. This is not to say that you cannot start with a brand and even rebrand later on.

At the very beginning it can be hard to get a feel of where you are, where you want to be and how the public sees your business. As you start to find your feet then you can put more time and energy into discovering your brand.

Branding is not just a logo, a name or colours but everything all together including your reputation!  When I started Hmade I knew that I wanted it to be called something different to other blogs, perhaps even a made up word and so came up with Hmade, but I knew that not everyone would instantly know what it was. I then wanted a logo incorporated into the name with a handmade feel, hence the drawn H, and then to add even more information came the tagline – ‘people who make, bake & create’. This would ensure that new visitors would not have to trawl through the site trying to work out what it was about.

When I look through my top searched for keywords ‘Hmade’ is at the top, and so hopefully this means that we are creating a brand that people are starting to become aware of by searching for the name itself.

Why You Need Branding

You don’t need branding but if you want people to remember you, your business and where they bought the products from then it is something to consider.

How many times have you been asked where you have bought something only to say ‘someone on Etsy/eBay/Folksy etc’. A bit of branding in the form of a label on the product, an enclosed brochure in the package and a personalised shop page can all help in being recognised and remembered.

Your brand not only helps you be recognised but can also help you stand out from the crowd. With lots of small businesses starting up in the craft world it can be useful to your growth to be a bit different from the rest. It also adds value to your product. More people will by from a brand they recognise and know than a new, unfamiliar one.

Branding is something that will come with a growing business and may take time to be something that you are entirely happy with but can adapt and respond to how things change and are perceived, above all it should be exciting and not cost a fortune so take the time to go with it and see how things evolve.

Coming up ……. more on branding

I recently had an email from Anna Ward at Two Red Trees telling me about their new online business promoting and selling the work of handpicked artists and makers in the UK.

I thought I would share it with you as some creatives might be interested in joining (this is not a sponsored post).

“Two Red Trees was set up by artist Anna Ward. Living and working in Cornwall,  within a community of creative individuals, two things were clear – there was a wealth of beautiful handmade items being produced, and a lack of efficient routes to sell them.

It is a sad fact that many talented painters, art and craft course graduates, modern jewellers and sculptors turn away from their passion for creating because they simply can’t sell their goods effectively.

With galleries and shops reluctant to take on new artists, many creators have to go it alone, endlessly self-promoting at local art fairs or online, along with thousands of other artisans.

The decision was made to build a company that actively supported and promoted truly talented creatives. The sellers you see on our site have been through a very selective process. This means that you won’t have to sort through pages of low quality goods. We don’t charge our sellers to list their products, they’re here simply because we love what they have to offer.

We believe each seller on this site deserves to be here, and we’re proud to support each and every one of them”