If things are going great with your art (or craft or consulting or whatnot) sales, tell everyone!
If things are not going so well, for the love of all that’s good in this world, find something positive to say! Please please please don’t tweet that your sales are slow or post in a forum that you have slashed your prices in hopes of getting a sale.
I’m reading a fabulous book: Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. In it, the authors discuss the principle of social proof– people will do things that other people are doing. Things that are popular are somehow more intriguing, more interesting. The buzz grows.
How could a simple change in words in sales pitch increase sales? In the book, they point to an accomplished copywriter and how she made a small change to an infomercial that resulted in a significant increase in sales.
“Please call now. Operators are standing by.” It’s a call to action, and, it is convenient that operators are standing by…
But this is better:
“If operators are busy, please call again.”
What’s the mental image? They are busy and people are buying their stuff. Genius. Read the book.
What does all this have to do with your tweets? With your forum posts? Everything! Don’t give folks the mental image that you are desperate for sales. Don’t lie, but you don’t have to tell everything you know.
Always find something positive to say about your business. Feed the buzz.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Point taken! I actually unfollowed someone’s twitter feed because she couldn’t stop moaning about how slow sales were and how she needed money for whatever. When what she needed was to read your article! Next time that happens, perhaps I’ll RT a link to here as a subtle hint?
Anyway, just came here through ScoutieGirl, I’m glad to have found you!
.-= Candied Fabrics´s last blog ..Rollercoaster Ride =-.
It always surprises me when people complain about customers and how slow sales are in public forums, with their shop name displayed for all customers to see. There are ways to pose questions about issues without coming across so negatively. Even though I am a vendor, I am still a shopper. When I see unprofessional comments by sellers in Tweets, Blogs, Forums, etc. it effectively turns me away from wanting to be their customer. However, a positive or thoughtful comment and approach gets me interested in them and their shop. Thanks for the post! -Dawn
.-= MairzyDozy´s last blog ..Dresden Blue Teapot Ornament, ready to ship =-.
Thanks for talking about this subject and the reference to the book. I’m going to start reading it today!