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| Sourdough Classes schedule at the Northampton based Juniper and Rose Cookery School |
It's not as though I have pots of money to waste to see which ones people respond to and which people don't. Although I love social media with all my heart there but is only so many times a day you can bang your drum to the people that follow you before they get fed up of hearing which courses are available this week.
Ironically if I were not to have been working for the BBC for the past 2 years they would be able to interview me ... but perhaps in a few months time they will feel they are able to have me in.
I am wondering about the larger magazines. Country Living is lovely .. or Red magazine.. or are they just too expansive to advertise in? Does anyone have any experience advertising with them?
In the meantime here is the advert above for the local parish magazine. I wonder if it is too wordy? Perhaps making it look like part of the magazine is a mistake? ... who knows .. there are almost 200 people who read it .. maybe one of them would like to learn to make sourdough?
Getting a cookery School off the ground is a whole new adventure for me and I am nervous.. and excited... and nervous ... Happy New Year everyone!
x
I love the advert, I think it really does speak to the mood of the moment, and wish you every success in your new venture. I think you'll be fine.
ReplyDeleteHave you thought of approaching the magazines to see if they'd be interested in including you in some editorial? And how about the new magazines such as The Simple Things and Landscape. You'd be right up their street I think?
If you really want to advertise have you thought about the foodie mags? Good Food and Delicious Magazine? Plus, think of all the places that surround you. Milton Keynes, Leicestershire, Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire etc. They have those local magazines that come through the letter box. There is also Derbyshire Life and all the other Life magazines in the midlands. You want to focus on your target market rather than an expensive scattergun approach with the national mags.
ReplyDeleteBut there is also PR. You could send a press release to all those mentioned above plus the major magazines like Red. What story do you have? Why would it be interesting for a journo to write about you? What is your hook? You could even see if Milton Keynes citizen business pages would like to feature you as a business start up. Target the local press within each area.
I've been a a variety of courses from foraging to cooking to goodness knows what! As they are usually day courses they have to be within a reasonable drive for me and I imagine that most of your customers are going to be in the same situation. Have you thought about linking up with shops and suppliers? I'm sure many would let you put up a small poster or leaflets, particularly if you would consider doing the same for them. Likewise what about other people offering high quality courses in other areas (knitting, needlepoint, quilting etc.) you will probably have a similar customer base. I know I am always looking for new and interesting courses and find out about many of them from people I have met on a different course. Finally don't forget the library. I would be wary about spending money on national advertising, though national editorial is another matter altogether!
ReplyDeleteWould you like to guest blog on my blog? I don't have the coverage you do, I'm very small and not specifically food orientated but you would be most welcome. You can plug yourself as much as you like :)
Well i mentioned you on FB and twitter and have had one share of your link within 3 minutes :)
ReplyDeleteI have a few friends who've started new businesses and eachve approached the marketing differently. Do you have a local on line mums network, where I live there is a very active one and it really seems to get results. People advertise sales, wants, job vacancies and new ventures with quite a bit of success. I have another friend who took out small ads in one or two glossies like Country Living and then sent goodie bags and got several editorial mentions. Instead of goodie bags you could approach the cookery editor or crafts editor and offer a free course. Maybe your garden would be suitable for a shoot, you could approach the magazines on that basis and introduce your courses. It can take several tries with the press as I'm sure you know, but plugging away usually brings results. A concerted effort with a couple of mags is often better than scattergun. I'm sure it will be amazing, have a great 2013. GG
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Vanessa and good luck with Juniper & Rose. Have you been in touch with the Real Bread Campaign at all? They should be able to help.
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