I had pretty much convinced TH that I “deserved” a road trip – especially since I could not attend Maryland Sheep & Wool this year.

After looking over and seeing several people I REALLY LIKE will be vending, and since it it only an hour or so’s drive – and we have been talking about a Day Trip to Gettysburg….

That was until I read the “registration form”.

Okay, $10 non-member fee seems reasonable. Maybe even more if there are exhibits

But Pleassssssse – In what universe (and certainly in THIS economy) would anyone be willing to pay an additional “Non-Participating Attendee” fee of $65 PER DAY – PER PERSON (so now we are talking $150 just to drop in on less than a dozen vendors and maybe see of the usually excellent exhibits? ….

For that amount of money I could fly Southwest to Orlando for the CHA Craft Super Show this weekend

What were they thinking…

Wheat

Are you teaching or selling at an event? Do you want to make it easier for those traveling (this is vacation season) to find your shop?

Did you know that if your customer (and it is vacation season after all) so that customer may not be a local) has your 9 digit zip, that is all they need to enter for near perfect directions to your shop using MapQuest

They do not EVEN need your street address (unless, of course you use a PO Box for mailing)

I have not tried with either google or yahoo or any other ‘mapping” sites, but really might it not be worth the time to add those five characters to your web sites, email signature and other forms of marketing and promotion?

If you do not know your 9-digit zip, you can find out at the USPS Zip Code Lookup.

Hmmm, I WONDER if putting your 9 digit zip code into your key words would could help or hurt your search engine placement.

Just some things to think about.

Wheat

At least one or twice a week, some version of the question

Rather than continually trying to remember what I want to say – it is time to write the Wheat Wrote WHAT!?!? perhaps less than gentle stock answer in the form of a Sunday Sermon, about Getting Started in Publishing.

To give a bit of context, this is very general, and is really geared to only one tiny consideration in your journey to Pattern Authoring Professional. HOW and WHERE you plan to publish is NOT the focus – The PATTERN itself is.

Each time I see the “Getting Started in Publishing” question, it always seems best to start the answer by quoting the lovely, generous, and by anyone’s standard a rather successful knitting pattern author/publisher and distributor Jackie E-S of Heart Strings FiberArts,

“There is so much more to pattern authoring, than just the design”

I always like to start by asking the aspiring pattern author

It may be something I can do now, but what I have spent to earn over the years from Professional Pattern Editors is worth every penny it cost to have that experienced counsel.

IMNHO, The BEST place to START is the book that while “apparently” intended for Quilt Pattern Authors, is easily applied to all pattern types…

Nancy Restuccia’s

For “YARN” users, your second (but only one of MANY ) stop should be is to downloading a copy of the Designer Guidelines PDF offered at the Craft Yarn Council’s YarnStandards.com for information about the most commonly used abbreviations and some help with sizing.

BOTH of the Above you need to read, and keep re-reading “until your heads stop hurting” and then go back and read them again on at least an annual basis.

EVEN if you are NOT a YARN user, you can benefit from reading this document – after all, yarn is use a way to make fabric and other pattern authors for sewing and quilting USE fabric so much the same information “would be a good idea”

Now get some patterns from some of today’s top designers – preferably ones who also teach and/or whose work is often found in independent shops (your local shop) LSO’s Local Shop Owners are a tough crowd and they can not afford to carry what will not sell. Patterns sell because they are well-written, teach and oh yes, show something you or I want to wear or won

Study what is the same in each of them. Look for and make a list of the traits you find “common to all”

Make notes on what you WISH was in a pattern.

Think about how and when it is needed – remember Jean Leinhauser’s comment this past week in her Yahoo Group about some patterns putting special pattern instructions at the end and not up front where they may be most needed – forcing the consumer to “look around” – although if it means the user will have to read the directions before starting, I might have to rethink this one

There are many aspects of “packaging” or the nicer word: PRESENTATION (caps required)

And that is just the start… before you know it, you will be like me, with a 2 inch notebook – at least 1/2 of which is “universal” for craft pattern PRESENTATION – the other half is specific to the craft or at least the primary supplies (Yarn, Thread, Fabrics, etc)

Last but not least – I am told there is something to be learned for both Designers & Pattern Authors from the articles included in this blog’s entries in the It All Just Business category has been helpful to many.

Whatever path you choose, I truly wish you the best of success

Wheat

P.S. No I do not publish or share my notebook of check lists for pattern editing and preparation, any more than The Colonel is going to share his list of secret spices.

Am I the only one this concept bothers?

Does the answer “but we sent every one we could think of $250” just not seem quite right.

Someone please explain the “justice” of the following:
_________________________________
News Alert from The Wall Street Journal
—————————-
Sponsored by NASDAQ OMX
—————————-

A top Citigroup trader is pressing the financial giant to honor a 2009 pay package that could total $100 million, setting the stage for a potential showdown between Citi and the government’s new pay czar.

The trader, Andrew J. Hall, heads Citigroup’s energy-trading unit, Phibro LLC — a secretive operation that occasionally accounts for a disproportionate chunk of Citigroup income.
__________________________________

Given the government track record (can’t even run a cat house in texas without losing money) IF
this is how the Fed manages OUR money, I cannot wait to see what they will do if they get Socialized Medicine (okay I can wait, for years and decades and generations and forever would certainly be preferable) We the people of these United States will be the losers.

Healthcare reform without tort reform is going to be a death sentence and a huge tax on already struggling families and small business.

Let us all pray that Common Sense

And as long as I am being political, let’s also make sure that not only does the Government NOT get between me and my doctor, but let’s see that they also do not get to force THIER Beliefs on mine. Abortion is a choice that should be made by the woman, her doctor and in consultation with an involved potential father. NOT by some bureaucrat.

Call your congressional representatives NOW and support those who have the guts to risk say no to Socialism.

Wheat

It is my sincere wish (but without much hope) that the following will NOT be seen as a personal attack in any way shape or form.

This message is posted here, so you will have to guess which group(s) inspired it – there are more than one or even three or five….

However, some “announcements” over the past year have bothered me and so caused me to “think about it” quite a bit.

YES I do know how my delete key works, in fact TH says he does not know of any other actual incidence of needing a new keyboard because the DELETE KEY wore out – something I have managed to do twice. Perhaps I need to develop a gentler touch with more than just my words

It is of concern to me that many a new designer might think what they see in these groups, meant to help find their footing on the journey of becoming a professional in the Needle Arts, as how they can best “go on” in other venues.

What a ‘working professional’ needs/wants is often different than what our consumers prefer.

It is with this in mind that I don my new flame proofs and sincerely hope we can have a conversation about the Who, What, Where, When and WHY (and How) of making such announcements.

As we each prepare a product or other “new release” type of message here are some of the things I think each of us needs to consider

WHO is the audience – and what is acceptable signal to noise ratio of that group.

Not all that long ago, Tink was criticized for advertising her books in a designer group, or products that would be helpful to any working professional. When it became an issue for even one member of that other group, she stopped any mention of her e-books or other similar products that would be very helpful to those just starting out. But, it was clear that the group “did not want to hear it”

Artists ?? I personally think of groups like QuiltArt and FreeFormations as gatherings of those who have advanced their skills to take their projects to the next level – But mostly produce “one-off” (yes, I do know many also write books, teach, and otherwise are “stars” within their particular niche(s)

Designers ?? these groups might also include those who do create original designs but do not actually produce the Chart/Pattern – so what they need is different too.

Pattern/Chart Author? Those who actually produce not only the design but also the instructions, packaging, presentation and may or may not offer their products for sale at wholesale

Independent Shop Owner? Why constantly post ads seemingly geared to shops in a designer or artist groups?

I have no objection to “paying” sponsors offering the occasional sales message – after all they have paid for that privilege, although I do find it annoying when someone who has not paid for that right does it anyway, thinly if at all disguised as “asking for help”

If your product “works for both” then you should be using other designers as examples of your services – not shops.

If your product is useful to more than just one of these groups, you STILL need to create a message geared to their interests and needs, not yours.

Designers and Artists can be the worst – although not so much now, many domains we maintained the “designer” did not want anyone to know they did not do it themselves. Why I will never understand because the skills to design and develop a web site are very different.

We have provided a wide variety of professional services to many different businesses over the years and it has always been my position that if they want someone to know we did the work, then it is up to them to recommend us. Otherwise, long as their bills were paid on time, that was and is fine with me. Well I did draw the line once or twice that is a long story for another day

WHAT is the purpose of the message –

Maybe because many of the members of this group are not just beginning their journey to becoming a working professional Pattern or Chart Author – that some feel it is good to announce all their new releases of such, simply because many in the group are still more consumer than producer.

WHERE am I posting

Rarely would I post in a consumer group about some service I offer, because the purpose of that group is not to sell my services, but to help other “practitioners of the needle arts” to reach a successful conclusion ot their projects.

WHEN (how often) especially when/how often I am posting the “same” message.
Personally I think in a professional group such as EITHER DBiz or NWBiz, no more than once a month – lest you be perceived to be filling the group with your personal promotional messages.

Personally, if you have new product announcements more often than quarterly, then you should have a newsletter built from the names of people who WANT to receive it rather than using a group that is not your personal “news” list.

>>> I do not mind “QRS Stitching is pleased to announce our new products for JULY releases can be viewed at: http://itsalljuststring.com/new-products/
<<< WHY are you posting? The answer to that “should” be different for each and every place you post a message. Rarely would I post in a consumer group about some service I offer, because the purpose of that group is not to sell my services, but to help other “practitioners of the needle arts” to reach a successful conclusion to their projects. Believe me, if you analyze the amount of time spent in these groups as compared with the volume of sales generated, well, we all will see those “help” messages are a lot more a labor of love to promote the craft, than an investment in future sales

So, if I want to write about a new product, then I am going to have to put in the effort to make that product part of a how-to, response public or private. And, I really think it needs to be about a NEW product, not just a derivitive of one we already offer.

So, certain recent somewhat interesting accusations (exactly how does someones inability to find evidence of a business relationship constitute its existence) I have “stopped” posting in retailer groups about products we sell Wholesale to the Trade and limit my product recommendations to those we sell in our Retail business interests. Products and ideas that are directly contributing to our RETAIL business(es) bottom line – if another benefits, well I do rather like the theory of abundance most days.

The necessity remains, NO MATTER WHERE, I may be, it really may be necessary to”tailor” the message for each group (as this one will be before posting “to the groups”) Another reason why this rant is here and not in any particular group – so no poor hapless list owner has to deal with the potentially emotional and irrational responses.

Thanks for listening and I would welcome hearing what each of you has to say about how and when you want to be reading promotional messages.

JSTTA – Just Some Things To Think About

Wheat