With more than 6 million members on Twitter, you’re sure to find more than one of your customers tweeting. While Facebook seems to be growing fastest among baby boomers, Twitter has captured Generation X. Since many of us find some customers in this group and we’re looking to add younger quilters to our industry, this micro-blogging tool is a great addition to your marketing tool box. Here are five tips for using Twitter in your business.

1. Share stories about your business, service or product. If you have announced a new book or pattern, share a link to the press release on your site. If you’re a shop owner and you added new classes, tweet that. If you’re a longarm quilter and added new photos of your customer’s quilts to your site, tweet that. Since Twitter limits you to 140 characters, shorten your web links with a service such as bit.ly.

2. Share stories that you find about our industry or the art world in general. It could even be something new and good about one of your customers, such as winning a prize at a quilt show or releasing a new book.

3. Retweet useful information from your followers or those you follow. I’ll often find something that one of the people I follow tweeted that is worth passing along. Be sure to credit the person you are retreating. On Sunday I retweeted an offer for free e-cards with a work of art from the Guggenheim collection.

4. Ask questions to engage your customers. It could be something like, who is your favorite designer? Or, do you wash your fabrics before cutting? The goal is to create a conversation.

5. Share something inspirational. This could be a favorite quote or a link to a YouTube video. Sharing something humorous is a good idea, too. This can sometimes make someone’s day.

6. Handle customer inquiries. This could be pre-emptive, as in tweeting if you find a problem in one of your patterns or books. Or if one of your customers found a great solution or work-around to something, tweet that. You may get direct messages on a problem. It’s fine to answer the specific person, just be sure you address it also through Twitter. Larger companies to check out who are cited as good examples on customer service on Twitter include Comcast and Zappos.

If you are interested in learning how to use Facebook to grow your business, join us in our upcoming Social Media Marketing course.

Little Quilts for Big Occasions
Sandi Colwell
Leisure Arts, $9.95

With Memorial Day just passed and Independence Day around the corner, I enjoy using my red, white and blue wall hanging to add the right touch to the holidays. I also have a Christmas quilt and a Thanksgiving table runner. If you are looking for a cute wall hanging to celebrate holidays in your home, this collection of seven small wall hangings from Sandi Cowell will fit the bill. Sandi offers patterns with valentine’s, Easter, patriotic, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and birthday themes. Since I have a big birthday coming up next month, I have my eye on the sampler of six cupcakes.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Have you joined the Facebook revolution? According to socialnomics.net, if Facebook were a country, it would be the third largest in the world. It continues to attract large numbers of baby boomers, and that would be a big part of the readership of this newsletter. Here are some reasons to join if you haven’t already or to expand your reach if you are already a member.

1. Your start-up costs are very low. Joining and using Facebook is free, so your only costs involve your time. In the beginning, you’ll spend more time – it’s like anything else new, it has a learning curve. Once you are up-to-speed, you’ll be able to use your time more efficiently.

1. Relationship building is faster. Because you are communicating several times a week or even more often, people get to know you sooner. And, knowing someone leads to liking and trusting them. All marketing is about relationship building, Facebook just lets you get there faster.
2. Your customers are on Facebook (and Twitter). In today’s interactive Web 2.0 world, you have to go to where your customers are. And, it’s not just your customers. You can also find influential people in the industry that you want to connect with, and you can do this on Facebook.
3. You should have a fan page in addition to your personal profile page. Why both? Facebook requires you to start with your personal profile. Personal pages have a limit of 5,000 friends, fan pages do not, so you’ll be able to reach larger numbers of potential customers with a Fan Page. Fan pages also are fully indexed by Google, so that helps with SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
4. Secure a vanity URL for your fan page. This will make it easier for your fans to find you and extends your brand. When I did this for the International Association of Professional Quilters, I wanted to use IAPQ, only to find out the minimum number of characters was five. I ended up using www.facebook.com/IAPQFanClub. This makes it easy to refer people to our Fan page.
5. Be generous and share good content. If you blog – and if you don’t, you should – use the notes application on Facebook to import the blog to your Fan Page automatically. Don’t worry that your Fans already subscribe to your blog or even your e-zine. You never know where they’ll actually read your content. I could share several instances where I wrote something initially in our e-zine, it was posted on the blog and the comments came after an IAPQ member saw the post on Facebook.

Please share your experiences with Facebook below And, if you are interested in learning how to use Facebook to grow your business, join us in our upcoming Social Media Marketing course.

Vivacious Curvy Quilts

by: Dianne Hire
American Quilter’s Society; $26.95

Wow, Dianne Hire likes to play with possibilities!

Once she gets you started with learning her curvy techniques, you are in for some fun. She begins with explaining how to cut gentle curves from stacked squares (or rectangles) and then how to piece them. After that the fun begins with where you cut your curves and the number of colors you use.

Design possibilities are endless as she leads you through 11 design projects. I had a favorite – circular curves with windmills. The book includes lots of photos for inspiration and some nifty tips, including one on using kitchen tongs to help with any fear of free-form rotary cutting.

Look for the book at your favorite quilt retailer. Here’s a link to Amazon if you would like to learn more about the book.

Many of us travel as professionals, whether that is to teach or vend at shows or to enjoy quilts made by others. Don’t we sometimes vacation around the shows we know about! And, of course, tipping is required on these trips.

Here are some guidelines gleaned from David Nagle’s article in the current issue of The Professional Quilter where he went on an imaginary quilt show trip.

• Cabs or paid shuttles: 10-20% depending on whether you have bags.
• Baggage handlers (Skycaps, hotel bellhops): $2 for the first bag; $1 for additional bags.
• Maid service: $1-$10 a day depending on type of hotel.
• Restaurant: 15%-20% of the bill depending on service
• Complimentary hotel shuttle: $1-$2 per person

During your stay, you will encounter many instances where someone does something extra to help you out and that requires a tip. In your travels, be sure to keep track of all the tips you give, as they are tax deductible – and carry lots of dollar bills.

Please share your thoughts on tipping on our blog. You can read more of David’s article on tipping in the Spring 2011 issue of The Professional Quilter. It’s one of your benefits as a member of the International Association of Professional Quilters.

Simple Pleasures in Redwork
Kathy Schmitz
Leisure Arts; $19.95

If you have not tried embroidery, this charming collection of Kathy Schmitz’s patterns is a delightful place to start. The book includes 10 patterns ranging from a simple pincushion to an 11-block wallhanging.  The book includes instructions to embroider along with stitching diagrams for 18 different embroidery stitches. I particularly liked “Sing,” a hanging sachet with a caged bird worked in green, red and black floss.

I’ve been sending out an online newsletter, or e-zine, for more than six years. It’s a terrific way to keep in touch with our IAPQ members as well as other professional quilt, fiber or mixed-media artists, and creative entrepreneurs who use our resources. Here are six tips to make your e-zine work for you.

1. Clarity. Be clear about your goals and your audience for your ezine. Why are you creating this e-zine and who are your writing it for? If you start with that in mind, you’ll find that it’s easier to write your articles and include relevant materials. You can even keep a specific person in mind (someone in your target market) and write directly to that person.

2. Content. People read your e-zine for the content you deliver. The more relevant it is to their lives and/or business, the more likely they are to continue to follow you. Readers resonate with how-to’s, lists, problem solving. It’s OK to promote yourself or your products, just don’t let that be the focus.

3. Consistency. Be sure your e-zine has a consistent look issue to issue. You also want it to go out the same day of each week. Your readers look forward to its arrival and notice if it doesn’t come as expected. This one currently goes out on Wednesdays. The best days for delivery are said to be mid-week. That may not be true of your audience. How do you find out? Survey them. And, how often should you send your e-zine? Weekly gets the best results, then bi-weekly.

4. Call to Action. Every e-zine should include a call to action (CTA). What do you went someone to do after reading your e-zine? It could be to apply a tip you give them or it could be to look at your art or it could be to take you up on your special offer on quilting.

5. Connection. We all like to connect with like-minded people. After all, we buy from people, not an invisible company. Start your e-zine with a brief story about yourself to connect to your readers. Don’t just connect on a personal level, connect also to the issues of your target market. And, speaking of connection, look for ways to make more connections. This could be by using a “forward to a friend” method or including a signup form on the home page of your website.

6. Compelling title. Your e-zine title should make the topic clear and compel the reader to open it. Spend some time looking at the titles of e-zines you get. Which ones were you curious to open and which ones did you ignore? Just as with the content, people like how-to’s, numbers, benefit statements.

Please share your thoughts on e-zine success on our blog. And, if you don’t have an e-zine yet, be sure to check out our upcoming Internet & Social Medial Marketing Teleseminar. We start with getting your e-zine in place. In case you missed it, that was my CTA.

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
Please do! Just be sure to include the blurb below.

Morna McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Professional Quilters, an association to help quilters, fiber artists and other creative arts entrepreneurs build business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://www.professionalquilter.com.

Guide to Judged Quilt Shows
Andi Perejda, editor
National Quilting Association $20

Ever wonder what’s involved in putting on a judged quilt show? This guide written by eight NQA Certified Judges, including Scott Murkin, Professional Quilter columnist, gives you a behind-the-scene look at the process. The intent of the authors is to offer a guide for those guilds or organizations interested in holding a judged show. The book covers everything from finding your venue to hiring judges to handling the quilts’ acquisition and return and more. This will be a handy reference for those guilds ready to make the move from an exhibition to a judged show. It will also be useful as guilds expand and find the need for a more professional approach to judging. The Appendix includes an 18-month timeline to follow for judged shows, a sample contract for judging and sample judging forms.

The book is available from Amazon or directly from the National Quilting Association.

As always, Quilt Market is inspiring. Fabric companies have new lines to show, pattern designers have their latest releases, and new products are introduced to the quilt industry. Here’s some of what I saw.

1. Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star. Following up on her success with the Rapid Fire Hunter’s Star, Deb Tucker has introduced a ruler for this block.

2. Big Beautiful Bugs! Andover Fabrics introduced this latest line from Lonni Rossi that features moths dragonflies and bumblebees, bugs with wings. The bugs, all drawn with dots, are available in 3 colorways: spa colors; red, gold and black; and green and brown.

3. Shabby Chic Hits Quilt Industry. Rachel Ashwell of Shabby Chic fame has released a line of cotton quilt fabrics. The 46-SKU line is her first for quilt shops and will be followed by a home dec line. Rachel told me that she was humbled by the tradition of community of quilters.

4. Quilt Designed Hot/Cold Bags. Kona Bay Fabrics introduced a line of hot/cold  bags in 11 designs. Available in two series, the Great Northwest and Elegant Beauty, the bags retail for $8. These would be perfect for shop hops that want to include a meal.

5. Bag, bags, more bags. We continue to see lots of bag patterns. Sometimes I wonder why, and then I remember a bag always fits! I also saw lots of patterns for aprons and little girls’ clothes.

6. Water-soluble, iron-on, pre-printed guides for crazy quilt stitches. These came in kits with wool pieces, threads and the guides. I saw people on the plane using the product and the results were lovely. They were from Sew Cherished.

7. Lots of bright, clear colors. I really like the clean look of today’s fabrics,  and I found lots to like in many booths. I particularly liked the display in Michael  Miller’s booth with the story boards of the colors that went with the new lines.

8. On the gift side, I liked the lotion bar from LaviShea. The bars melt with your  body heat and absorb quickly and completely without leaving a greasy residue, perfect for quilters and fabric.

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include the blurb below.

Morna McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Professional Quilters, an association to help quilters, fiber artists and other creative arts entrepreneurs build business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://www.professionalquilter.com.

Lots of our IAPQ members have published books, whether that’s through a traditional book publisher or self-published. Today we can go even further and skip the printed page and publish solely in an e-book format. Regardless of the format you use, marketing is key. Yes, if you use a traditional book publisher, they do much of the marketing. To ensure the highest level of success for your book, you need to do marketing on your own. Here are tips to market your book.

1. Call your local quilt and book shops and ask if they’ll host a book signing for you. Look for unusual places to do signings. For example, maybe your quilt book features quilts with dessert names. Try a signing at a local bakery. I remember talking with a novelist who was doing signings at the airport. Talk about a captive audience. Don’t forget to promote the signing with news releases.

2. Sponsor a contest. If your book is about adding embellishments to quilts, have entrants post photos of their work on your website and award a prize. You could even have viewers vote to get more people involved.

3. Set up a blog hop to promote your book. I mentioned the blog hop recently in conjunction with a post on blogging. You approach several other bloggers and ask them to review your book or interview you about your book on their blogs, introducing you to a wider audience.

4. Print bookmarks that include the cover image, details about the book and a link to your website. Leave these on tables at shows, and ask your local shop owner if she’ll put them out with other literature. Be sure to include a link to your site on the bookmark in case someone wants more information.

5. Look for opportunities where you can be interviewed about your book. I can think of three right off the top of my head: Art & Soul Radio, American Patchwork & Quilting Radio Show (previously Pat Sloan’s Creative Talk Network), and Creative Mojo with Mark Lipinski.

6. Get others to sell your book for you. Many other teachers or lecturers offer books to their students. If your book compliments their topic, ask if they would consider carrying your book. Several years ago I sold books in the IAPQ booth for one of our members who gave a “Meet the Teacher” talk in Houston. She didn’t have a booth and wanted to offer her students a place to purchase the book. As soon as her talk ended, I was inundated with buyers. This was definitely win-win for both of us.

7. Create a Fan Page on Facebook just for your book. This lets you promote the book and encourage conversation among the book’s fans. Encourage sharing of photos of quilts made from the book. Share your tips for success with the projects.

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?

Please do! Just be sure to include the blurb below.

Morna McEver Golletz is the founder and CEO of the International Association of Professional Quilters, an association to help quilters, fiber artists and other creative arts entrepreneurs build business success. Her weekly e-zine offers tips, techniques and inspiration to help you craft business success from your creative arts passion. You can sign up for a F.R.E.E. subscription at http://www.professionalquilter.com.