Positive Yarn

If you’re already blogging about your business, kudos to you. Speaking from experience, I can sympathize that it takes some investment in time and effort. However, I recently came across a study that supports the idea that all the hard work is worth it — especially for a female-dominated industry like needlework.

The 2009 Women in Social Media study (download the PDF here) was released in late April by BlogHer, iVillage and Compass Partners. It found that women are nearly twice as likely to use blogs than social networking sites as a source of information (64%), advice and recommendations (43%) and opinion-sharing (55%), while they are 50% more likely to turn to social networking sites (Twitter, MySpace and Facebook, to name just three) as a means of keeping in touch with friends and family (75%).

Because blogs are regarded as trusted sources of information, the study found, they now have a considerable influence on consumers’ purchasing habits: 45% of survey respondents stated that they decided to purchase an item after reading about it on a blog, for example. For the record, the study reviews and compares data from two user sample sets: a general population sample of more than 2,000 U.S. women aged 18-77 years against a BlogHer Network sample of more than 1,000 women.

What does this mean to you and your current online presence? If you’re not blogging, you could be missing out on an opportunity to establish yourself among customers (and potential customers) as an expert in your category, and sharing your knowledge of product and technique in ways that bring more traffic to your site and to your register. If you are blogging, it’s a wake-up call to examine your habits — updating on a regular basis, for example — to see whether you’re getting the most out of what you’re doing.

While the survey underscores the idea of readers looking to blogs for product endorsement, not every post needs to be an infomercial for your business. By sharing a personal story now and then, you’re letting your readers build up a rapport with you. In turn, their comments shed some light as to their values and priorities, and can even help you tailor future marketing efforts. For example, if you have a wry, witty gang of usual commenters, you can likely predict that using a dry humor will go farther in your next promotion than if your feedback took more of a serious tone.

Another important finding from the study is that women are spending approximately 39% less time reading newspapers, 36% less time reading magazines and 30% less time watching TV.

A generation ago, customers may have swapped “What’s new with you?” stories as you stood behind the counter and rang up their purchase; these days they’re more likely to be learning about your latest anecdote as they sit at their laptops in their pajamas at a decidedly non-business hour. But they’re still just as interested in the tidbit now as they were back then — they’re just receiving it in a different way. Even better, your blog and Web site are reaching potential customers around the world.

For an even more in-depth look at the results of this survey, I defer to a post authored by the wonderful Anita Campbell, editor of Small Business Trends, an online publication for everything small business. But I’m also interested to hear your take on blogging for business as well. Are your customers getting out of your posts what you intended? Are you? Share your thoughts below, or email me at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com.

The next time you feel you aren’t making headway on a project, think of Joanna Lopianowski-Roberts, a San Francisco needlework artist who took on the Sistine Chapel as her inspiration. Her husband timed her progress over an eight-year period, and found it took her 3,572 hours total. Take a look at the article and photos from the UK Daily Mail. (It’s beautiful, to be sure, but am I wrong to want to outline some of the figures?!)

In addition to some great press and a sense of artistic satisfaction, Lopianowski-Roberts’ 40×80-in. masterpiece yielded another side benefit: She published three related guides: Creation of Adam in 2005, and In the Footsteps of Michelangelo: The Sistine Chapel Ceiling in Cross Stitch and Companion Volume to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Ceiling in Cross-stitch, both in 2006.

Lopianowski-Roberts admits that in the beginning, she often wanted to give up on the project, as most of us feel at one time or another about projects — needlework and otherwise. But her solution was to create a goal of an average of one hour of stitch time a day, and to hold fast to it. Today, she has an heirloom (or a windfall, if the right buyer comes along) and the satisfaction of a job well done.

There are four lessons I see here from a marketing and customer service point of view:

1. Her story might inspire one of your slower-stitching students, who is frustrated by how much she has left to go. She (or he) should instead look at how much has been done so far.

2. It’s a nice marketing hook for busy beginners who think they don’t have time to stitch. “Just an hour a day, or even a week,” you might point out, “and look what you could accomplish!”

3. For an experienced stitching class, it might be fun to, as the article says, “clinically time on a stopwatch” how many hours it takes each student to complete a project. Perhaps there’s even a prize at the end of the instruction period for the person who was the fastest (yet most accurate), and a gag gift for the slowest stitcher.

4. With today’s stitching software, you can chart just about anything — including Michelangelo. Survey customers to see whether they’d be interested in a class on how to use the software, or even a one-on-one tutorial on how to turn their parents’ wedding photo, for example, into a stitchable work of art.

Join the conversation! Talk back to me below or via email: positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com.

My marketing debut was a careful mix of multimedia — and hot pink!

Beyond the weather, what was hot at The National NeedleArts Association’s (TNNA’s) recent Summer Market in Columbus, OH? Plenty.

On Friday afternoon, for example, retail sales and marketing guru (and psychologist) Jim Dion gave a fantastic keynote presentation, “Thriving in Tough Times.”

Dion offered attendees some basic psychology techniques to not only reach their customers, but to make sure their current employees and future hires always kept customer service top of mind. He also warned of the dehabilitating nature of running discount sales. “They’re like crack,” he quipped. “Fifteen years ago, if Macy’s ran a 10% off sale, you’d have people lined up outside the door. We’ve trained consumers to wait for less. Nowadays, what’s the percentage level we need to get our ‘fix’? Usually about 60% is where we start thinking ‘Oh, that’s maybe worth it.’” To combat the issue, he said, sell the value of your service and expertise: “They’re not just buying a skein of yarn; they’re buying into your brand.”

On the show floor, buttons and bracelets (both ribbon and yarn) were all the rage. So were interchangeable knitting needles and crochet hooks, being offered by the likes of HiyaHiya-USA, Colonial Needle and Denise. Chunky yarns and big needles, like the size 50(!) sets from BagSmith, were touted as being customer-friendly because they worked up so quickly. Sock patterns were everywhere, too — the better for customers to use up their oddball yarns in their stash, of course, and come back to your store for more.

A lot of “practical” products were on display, such as Stirling/DBH’s small totes and luggage tags to needlepoint. Among Nordic Needle’s latest wares were magnets and ready-to-stitch greeting cards, as well as just-for-fun items like neon tatting shuttles and designer lanyards. Appalachian Baby was getting plenty of attention for its infant Spa Robe pattern, knit with all-organic yarn; while The Knit Kit team was hard to miss in their black T-shirts and hot pink hair (their attire coordinated well with the kit’s availability in black this year).

Knit. introduced an interesting organizer: The Knit. Scrapbook. Debra’s Garden not only had a needle gauge pendant line to debut, but also a special-edition needle gauge that donated a portion of the proceeds to an animal rescue organization.

On Sunday, TNNA’s Yarn Group and Yarn Market News magazine bookended the gotta-have-marketing theme nicely by having retail marketing consultants Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender present “Creating Connections: Straightforward Solutions for Uncertain Times.” The pair, known for their entertaining interaction with the audience, presented several marketing solutions for retailers to easily implement when they returned to their shops. One particularly interesting tidbit from their presentation was a statistic they used from the Direct Marketing Association: Customers consider it to be acceptable to be contacted every 20 days. With many consumers spending more time on their computer than watching TV, Bender notes, it’s high time to start thinking about sending a regularly scheduled e-newsletter or e-mail announcement to your customer base. As long as you have valid, call-to-action content (an exclusive sale invitation, for example, or a print-and-save coupon), you can “train” customers to actually look forward to your news hitting their in-boxes.

As an exhibitor, I must say that my husband and I had a ton of fun meeting attendees and getting along with our “neighbors” (shout-outs to Miranda, John and Betsy of Weeks Dye Works, Ralph and Stephanie of Stephanie J’s Designs, and the gang at BagSmith, among many other folks). I had several great conversations with some forward-thinking needle artists about how to get the next generation interested in stitching. One good start, of course, is TNNA’s Pathways into Professional NeedleArts college internship program — whose participants were able to attend the Market and delight in all they saw and learned.

I hope those who nabbed our brochure at our booth like what they see — and even if they don’t end up using our services, are inspired enough by what they learned at the show about what makes good marketing in this industry.

I drove home from The National NeedleArts Association Summer Market in Columbus this week in my husband’s car. His CDs were scratched beyond belief, so I was stuck with the radio tuner scanning furiously for a station as I drove through traffic. I decided I had had enough and locked in on National Public Radio. NPR is not always my first choice, but the “All Things Considered” program often has interesting information to share.

I was not disappointed. One of the stories discussed the release of a recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts. The biggest finding by this government agency seems to be that while attendance at concerts, art galleries, craft festivals and other cultural events is taking a hit, participation in arts and crafts is still going strong — even if it is being done by less people. (Listen to the package here.)

When viewed through the lens of the recession and the fact less consumers have disposable income, the numbers make sense. After all, it’s what you probably already know about your customers: Their projects are a form of entertainment that have a practical side benefit of becoming clothing, décor or gifts for their friends and family. You have something to show for your time investment, more than just a ticket stub. That said, it should be interesting to see whether the numbers will tell a different story the next time the NEA does the survey, after we’ve perhaps turned a corner on the economy.

According to a press release, “the 2008 survey was the NEA’s first attempt to measure attendance at performing arts festivals, use of community venues, and attendance at Latin/Spanish/salsa concerts. This fall, the NEA will release a full summary report of survey findings, including regional data on arts participation. In the next year, the NEA will release more topic-specific reports on the roles of age, race and ethnicity, arts learning, Internet use, and arts creation and performance. In advance of those reports, the NEA is making raw data and detailed statistical tables available to researchers and the public. The tables highlight demographic factors affecting adult participation in a variety of art forms. Another table ranking types of music preferred by adults is also included. The entire survey questionnaire and the raw data and user’s guide are available both on the NEA website and on CPANDA, Princeton University’s Cultural Policy and the Arts National Data Archive.”

Here are some results highlights, with my comments in italics. I’d love to hear your thoughts on them, as well, if you’d care to comment below or email me directly at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com:

• Attendance at the most popular types of arts events — such as art museums and craft/visual arts festivals — saw notable declines. The U.S. rate of attendance for art museums fell from a high of 26 percent in 1992-2002 to 23 percent in 2008, comparable to the 1982 level. (It’s interesting that they lump the events together, as my personal experience is that recent trips to museums have not been crowded, but craft-oriented festivals always seem to be jam-packed. Whether those visitors are there to browse or spend is a study in itself.)
• Fewer adults are creating and performing art. For example, the percentage of adults performing dance has lost six points since 1992. “Weaving, crochet, quilting, needlepoint and sewing” remain popular as crafts, but the percentage of adults who do those activities has declined by 12 points. Only the share of adults doing photography has increased — from 12 percent in 1992 to 15 percent in 2008. (This number just underscores the need to reach a broader audience. People still enjoy hobbies, but perhaps haven’t thought of needlework as a viable option.)
• Aging audiences are a long-term trend. Performing arts attendees are increasingly older than the average U.S. adult (45). The aging of the baby boom generation does not appear to account for the overall increase in age. (Older consumers still seem to be needlework’s bread-and-butter, as well. But does that bode well for the industry in the coming years?)
• Forty-five to 54-year-olds — historically dependable arts participants — showed the steepest declines in attendance for most art events, compared with other age groups. (Let’s hope they’re home working on their latest projects instead!)
• The Internet and mass media are reaching substantial audiences for the arts. About 70 percent of U.S. adults went online for any purpose in 2008 survey, and of those adults, nearly 40 percent used the Internet to view, listen to, download, or post artworks or performances. (This is probably the most important information, as it shows that consumers who are interested in the arts are also Web-savvy. Are they able to find you online, and if they can, will they like what they see?)

Literally from the minute I headed out of my hotel yesterday to fall in with all the other exhibitors who were scurrying around, setting up their booths, I’ve been swept up in all things TNNA. Yes, The National NeedleArts Association’s annual summer NeedleArts Market in Columbus, OH, is taking place all weekend.

I promise to write more when I get back, because there’s so much to report! On Friday afternoon, for example, retail sales and marketing guru Jim Dion gave a fantastic keynote presentation, “Thriving in Tough Times.” On Sunday, TNNA’s Yarn Group bookends the gotta-have-marketing theme nicely by having none other than Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender present “Creating Connections: Straightforward Solutions for Uncertain Times.” (This session, open to all of TNNA’s NeedleArts groups, is presented by Yarn Market News magazine.)

Still, one important fact I learned today actually had nothing to do with marketing or the needle arts: I now know to never, ever wear my horridly uncomfortable wedge shoes to a trade show again. No matter how cute they looked at 8 a.m., by 8 p.m. they felt like hot coals against my poor feet. Thank goodness for hotel whirlpools!

Today I went to the Kent State University Museum in Kent, OH, with some of my favorite folks — several people from my local Embroidery Guild of America chapter and my own two little girls, who went through even the “boring” spots well-behaved. (I’m so proud!) I thank my friend Cindy, who gave my daughters beads for every room they went through, culminating in enough beads to make two beautiful bracelets. That seemingly small token kept the girls occupied when the grown-ups were taking a bit longer at the exhibits than they would have liked.

We went to the museum to view its fantastic embroidery exhibit, and it certainly did not disappoint. When I got home this afternoon, I jumped online to see whether the museum’s Web site had even more about “The Art of the Embroiderer.” For the record, it does — see here.

But I also discovered another interesting section of the site. The “Care of Historic Costume and Textiles” got me to thinking about shops who offer restoration and cleaning services. I ask of those of you who do this service, are you marketing it as much as you could? After all, this is an area of expertise that few professionals can successfully offer.

Are you using search engine optimiziation (SEO) keywords for your Web site, terms like “embroidery restoration,” “needlepoint repair,” and “antique needlework”? Are these kinds of terms sprinkled liberally throughout not only your site, but your business cards, signage and brochures? Even on your receipt copy?

Are you reaching out to local museums and needlework guilds and associations to make them aware of your service? Are you offering your expertise to speak at association meetings about simple ways they can conserve some of their older treasures? Are you reaching out to local media about how your shop offers this service, and some simple preservation tips for readers?

If you’re already doing this, or if you’re doing other creative marketing techniques in this regard, I want to know! Comment below or email me at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com.

How are you marketing to Dads and Grads this month?

I know they’re not exactly your typical target market, and that’s the point. Customers are looking for unusual (but cost-effective) presents to get their loved ones, and there’s no reason why your inventory can’t compete with adding another tie to Dad’s collection or an engraved pen for the newly minted grad (who’s texting all the time anyway and no longer writes with ink).

Here are just a few ideas to get you thinking outside the box for a couple weeks:

• Kit up a collegiate theme: Whether it’s eighth graders who are going to the big bad high school in a couple months or the new high school graduate who was just accepted to a local university, show your support for their favorite teams with a scarf pattern next to bins of yarn in local school colors, for example. Interest may lead to a junior stitching club that gathers at the shop every week this summer to finish their projects in time to wear for the first football game of the season. And it’s not just for kids — teachers, moms, grandmas, aunts, etc. can all get in on the fun.
• Make a basket: You don’t want those college freshmen going off to school and being bored, do you? Let your customers know that the needle arts are proven to reduce stress, and their favorite student can stitch away their cares before the big exam! A basket or your canvas bag brimming with care package favorites like cookies and crackers, plus shop specialties like basic needles, an array of pretty yarns and a project journal, can make an unusual but much appreciated gift for the student who stitches.
• Hold a contest: You can go humorous (”Why my dad should start stitching with my mom, reason No. 1: He’s here all the time holding her purse anyway.”) or serious (”My dad actually loves stitching more than my mom does”), depending on what your customer mix is, but a short essay contest that nets the winner a shop gift certificate or a riff on the aforementioned basket full of goodies just in time for Father’s Day could be just the ticket to liven June sales. Maybe offer a 10% discount on their shop purhase just for filling out the form right there in the shop about the dad, husband, son, nephew or other male stitcher (or stitch widower) in their lives.
• Keep it simple: Hold a half-day class that lets kids stitch a bookmark suitable for giving Dad on his big day. Let the moms wander the aisles or try making one themselves if they’re new to the project. Volunteering to do this at the local library can both broaden your audience (keep those business cards handy!) and give you a few extra pairs of helping hands if you don’t want to tie resources up at the shop.

Have you marketed to Dads and Grads in recent years? What works, what doesn’t? Sound off in the comments below or email me at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com.

For some reason, the planets must be aligning for me to get the message that Scouts are a worthwhile program.

In about a week, my 9-year-old is attending a Girl Scout day camp at the bequest of her best friend, an avid Scout. I signed the check a month ago with some trepidation (will she come home with an application form and some Thin Mints to seal the deal?). But I was assured by the troop leader that she could be a “non-Scout” and still enjoy the week without any pressure.

Then this morning, I received an assignment to write a press release in an unrelated industry about an important product donation that benefits some Boy Scout camps out West. My husband, who made it to the Webelos level and 25 years later still fondly recounts his Pinewood Derby memories (to anyone who’ll listen), was duly impressed.

I’m really not adverse to the concept of Scouting. I distinctly recall begging my mom (a former Girl Scout, no less) to join a local troop when I was in third grade, but being turned down because of the time commitment. While I was bummed at the time, as an adult I can completely see the logic in that. Still, something tells me that with my daughter’s persuasion skills, I stand a good chance of becoming an assistant troop leader by the end of the year.

With Scouts in mind, I started looking online for what crossover marketing opportunities there might be for needlework and craft shops this summer. Here are a few interesting links I happened upon:

• The Vintage Girl Scout Online Museum. Check out its Sewing Room — and its needlework projects in particular.
• Scouting Web offers a Sewing & Needlecrafts page, with logo patterns that would make teaching a local troop how to stitch a breeze. It can help them grow in confidence, from stitching a logo to maybe moving onto something like a Project Linus blanket or quilt.
• Studio 2B is a Girl Scout Web site that is aimed at teens (and thus, pre-teens). Check out the Sew Glam page, which is showing how to sew and knit as an independent project. Help a Scout with her badge — or pin, as some troops are moving toward — and you’ve got a loyal customer for life. Better yet, she’ll tell a friend, who tells her mom, who tells her mom’s friend…
• Prism Patches takes artwork submitted by troops and turns them into a custom embroidered patch. Kudos to Owner Chuck Packer for doing this service, but it got me to thinking about how this could be a great troop project for a shop to lead. Not that you’re going to get a gaggle of fifth-grade girls to completely satin stitch a patch, necessarily, but perhaps they could learn how to applique felt or cotton pieces together and embellish with some easy stitches.
• In an older post over at The Thinking Mother, Christine points out that the Boy Scouts and their sewing skills are not something to overlook. She gives plenty of great links to a variety of Scout sewing information, and also raises the concept of putting badges on a blanket that the Scout then takes to camp. I particularly like this idea because while a grown Scout may not keep the sash on display, having an old, well-loved blanket casually thrown over a chair is quite a common sight in college dorms or first apartments.

So now it’s your turn: What has your business done to benefit the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, or even other children’s programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America? I want to know! Drop me a line at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com or comment below.

Booth 1547. That’s where I’ll be June 13-15 at The National NeedleArts Association’s (TNNA’s) Summer Market in Columbus, OH. This will be Positive Yarn’s official debut as an exhibitor at the show, and I’m pretty excited! It will also mark the debut of my new logo, which takes it from my sketch to a 3D version.

I look forward to the Columbus show for many reasons, not the least of which is to put some faces with the names of tweeters and Ravelry folks I’ve met online. I hope to live blog while I’m there, so if you have news to share and are attending the show, I’d love for you to stop by the booth and fill me in! Even if you’re not attending this year, I’m always looking for blog topics — please comment below or email me anytime with your thoughts and ideas.

The New York Times’ decision to add a “social editor” this week to the masthead is being watched with interest by many in the media (Click here for an interesting open letter to the newly promoted editor, Jennifer Preston, from a columnist at The Washington Post). In a way, it cements the idea that social media phenomenons like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are not going away — even when we may tire of them. Their popularity may wax and wane, but they will likely find their eventual, respective footings in ways we couldn’t even imagine today.

For many, though, the issue is that social media outlets allow almost too much information out there, with limited filters. As David Houle, author of future-examining book The Shift Age, puts it for all these newly breaking technologies in general, it’s “as though we’re drinking from a fire hose.” So how does one hold back the flow? By having a set strategy of goals to meet with your efforts.

From a business perspective, check out this column from G. Michael Maddock and Raphael Louis Viton in BusinessWeek: The Smart Way to Tap Social Media. It quotes the authors’ corporate digital integration manager, Nicholas Kinports, as saying “It isn’t about making content go viral — though that would be a wonderful byproduct, should it happen — or creating the next great Facebook application. It’s about structuring, and in some cases restructuring, how a business views and interacts with its customer base. The modern consumer is savvy, aware, and fully able to make informed decisions, thanks to a wealth of information freely available on the Internet. The consumer of the near future will make purchase decisions based on information gleaned from unbiased peers and influencers. Social media is the latest tool through which these interactions occur.”

What’s your approach to this branch of marketing? Are you a dabbler or a master, as Maddock and Viton might ask? What do you find works, and what do you find turns you — or your customers — completely off? Comment below or email me at positiveyarn@goochandgooch.com.