DIYMarketingHowToTalkAboutYourProjectAndYourself

» mido 6/11/2006

» Phil Wolff 2/17/2006

» Julia Heatherwick 9/30/2005

» brian clements 9/29/2005

» Amy Raymond 9/28/2005

more...

-- Molly (Go Lightly) Ditmore

http://www.mollygolightly.com

- Have personal statement - a quick intro to you and your product

- be brief

- be positive - don't talk about what your thing isn't, talk about what it is.

- Spread yourself around, gain exposure

- create demand for yourself, but don't be available all the time, continue on your own path at your own pace - maintain a balance

- swag is easy - magnets, postcards, stickers (there are often kits for stickers and magnets at office stores)
- oneinchround - company makes buttons
- "It's sad when your swag falls apart, you don't want to do that."
- vistaprint online for cheap business cards, of course
- rubber stamps made in japantown

Consider making a card for yourself with your contact info, and then a "project card" (or magnet or postcard or whatever) to promote your project. These are good as leave-behinds, especially if you make them into something people actually want and will slap on their fridge.

Doing quirky things will set you apart
- her friend was a finalist in "Sassiest Girl" contest by sending entry in a pizza box filled with photos and oreos
- had "coolest entry" in comm arts by sending box full of barbie doll shoes for a Barbie-themed cd-rom

- Whenever you're giving something away in a public space, people will want it. Regardless of what it is. Even if it's tampons at Burning Man and the people wanting them are guys.

- Boilerplate: the same 2 to 4 sentences that you're always going to use. On press releases, on about page of site, etc. Always. It's something associative that people will remember, or can have their memory sparked with.

- Have letterhead or stuff to send out so you can send it out immediately (boilerplate, headshot, screenshot, etc.)
- Stuff in press kit has to be timely or no one's gonna care. And be charming, sound like your thing is the bee's knees.
- Don't send out press kit until your site is up or your community is populated.

- Tech geeks will help pimp your project at the beginning, but for some things (e.g. Dogster) they won't be your primary userbase. So go pimp your stuff in places where your users hang (Dogster, then go to ASPCA forums or somesuch)

- People search their names and stuff on Technorati and Google and etc so if you want to get someone's attention, use their full name in a post!
- if you have a tag for yourself, people will start using it (GO FIGURE!)

- Writing and saying "thank you" to people who link you up is good PR, and a nice thing to do, but it also starts opening those lines of communication which opens opportunities.

Q: how do you reach people who aren't necessarily online-ites?
A: trade journals, newsletters, bulletin boards, all the old-school channels and methods