Marketing

[JJ Roberts]

It was suggested to me by Ken Hurst when visiting a gun show to take samples of my work and business cards..and now I went a step further and had a jacket and vest with my name on the back. It worked out well. Keep up the good work.

Yours truly,
JJ Roberts
School of Artistic Engraving
Manassas, VA
www.angelfire.com/va2/engraver

 

[pilkguns]

Wow JJ, that brings back some memories.

I remember I used to have some Western shirts with pearl snaps that I always wore to gun shows that had my name embroidered on the back in an outline of Tennessee. I have'nt seen them in years, I wonder what happened to them.

But yeah, back when I was getting started around 83-86 I was doing one gunshow a month, all over the US. I did shows in Orlando, Nashville, Tulsa, Charlotte, Vegas, Dallas, Birmingham, Roanoke and in between. It was all good fun, and I took my hammer and chisel and potter's wheel vise and gave a show at the show. It generated lots of spectators, and lots of questions and in the end a few real customers. Would those customers have came without all the noise of tapping? probably but its hard to say. At the same I was doing the photo publicity thing, submitting pictures to various magazines like Guns, Blade, Guns and Ammo, etc and also the annual Guns Digest, and these photos of my work in publishers ink gave my work an added credibility when showing it customers first hand. A cover of a magazine like my first in 1985
http://www.pilkguns.com/images/photos/coverGUNS.jpg
was a really big "proof" of credibility to would be customers.

But the reality was you still had to be there, you had to interface with client and get the job done in a timely fashion, and as your work improved, you had to keep marketing yourself because you had to find new customers to pay the higher fees for your improved work. Engraving customers are like a big pyramid. There are thousands of folks at the base who will spend $100 -$300 on a job. As you climbb higher there are hundreds that will spend $500-1000 for a job, As you go higher still there are fewer that will spend $1000+ and the numbers get real slim when you are looking for 10 and $20,000 engraving jobs at the top of the peak. Normally you have to pay your dues working upwards to get to those clients who will finance your best work.

 

[JJ Roberts]

We mustered up some good advice from everyone so far. I belong to a number of gun related organizations:
VA Arms Collectors, The Bull Run Muzzle Loader's Assoc., The American Long Rifles, The NRA, Parker Colletor's Assoc., L.C. Smith Collector's Assoc., The German Gun Collector's Assoc., and Firearms Engraver's Guild of America (FEGA). Between the organizations and the gunshows I find I get a lot of support. Yesterday, I got a special invitation and went to Winchester, VA for a large private get-to-gether of muzzle loader enthusiasts. Most of the firearms were 18th and 19th centrury with some contemporary. I know Andrew Biggs and Kent Synder would have loved to have joined me there..there was so much to see. I saw some old friends and made some new ones. Keep up the good work.

Yours truly,
JJ Roberts
Manassas, VA
School of Artistic Engraving

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Hi JJ

That sounds like a wonderful muzzle loaders thing you went to. Some of those old guns are just beautiful and when you see the quality of the contemporay artists today, it's simply mind boggling. There's a real thing of beauty in the lines of the old style flintlocks and percussion guns that makes them still highly attractive today. I guess that's because good design is timeless.

Those cartridge guns will never catch on!!!!

Cheers
Andrew

 

[BrianPowley]

Here's my humble opinion:
When it comes to marketing, you are marketing yourself and your skills.
You are adding value to somebody's personal property.
Nobody really "needs" anything engraved, but most people "want" something engraved.
You are creating the ideal "Win-Win" situation with your knowledge,experience and skill.
I have a real passion for this art form, and I'm not the least embarrassed or ashamed of sharing my enthusiasm with a client. I hope you have a real passion for this art form as well.

I'm having so much fun at engraving that I coined this phrase:
"They pay me in gold, for something I'd do for free."

For me,this actually started out as a hobby 27 years ago. Today, I engrave full time.

A few of the rules I set in place for me:
1.)Be very honest-----if you can't perform your "magic" on a certain item----don't try and don't be afraid to tell your customer you aren't able to do it. People detect sincerity and B.S. rather quickly. They will respect you and your limitations.
2.) Under promise and Over-deliver. If you tell them it'll be done in 3 weeks--try to get it done in two weeks ,not 4.
3.) Insist on either a deposit, or full payment. Never return anything until it is paid in full...NEVER!
(There are times when you will develop accounts with reputable businesses----you'll know when it is fairly secure to do so.)
4.)Treat everything you work on as if it was your very own.
5.)Thank your customer-----he picked you first.

Brian