Hank Murrow on mon 8 oct 07
On Oct 8, 2007, at 9:09 AM, Rider,Francis - Art Studio Technician wrote:
> Hi Paul
> I would really recommend getting a booth at the upcoming NCECA
> conference in Pittsburgh PA. You get to interact with 3000 to 4000
> serious ceramic artists, potters, Professors and all the big names
> in ceramic suppliers.
>
> Francis Rider
> rider@ltcc.edu
Dear Francis;
Last I heard the booths were going for over $2000. A fee like that
means you have to move a LOT of tools to make it worthwhile.
Cheers, Hank
www.murrow.biz/hank
Tom at Hutchtel.net on mon 8 oct 07
> --- You could have a Commercial Booth at the next 'nceca', which is
> expensive, heartwrendingly expensive, ball-busting expensive, and takes
> the
> many hours for making the inventory, the logistics for Travel and
> accomidation, and the week or so in a motel or other while there, away
> from
> home...but, being there allows some definitely good exposure, and
> experience.
>
>
> 'Suggestion' , singular, really...since the 'nceca' is a tough Nut to
> crack
> for a small outfit...and or one does 'well' there, meaning one comes home
> only three or five grand in the hole, looking at Bills one can not pay,
> dishes and laundry one had not done before leaving, and gets back to work
> with renewed appreciation for just how sweetly our economic system works
> for
> anyone doing anything honest, sensible, and earnest.
>
>
Geez Phil......
Sounds like doing street fairs with pottery for a living. See our blog
Tues pm.
Tom Wirt
Hutchinson, MN
twirt@hutchtel.net
www.claycoyote.com/blog
Paul Nicholas on mon 8 oct 07
Hello CLAYART members. It's been several years since I left CLAYART, but I
am back and I have a question for anyone who cares to answer. It's
regarding pottery tools that I make. It's part of my income and I need
some input on advertizing. Money has been tight these days and I was
wondering if anyone had some good ideas on how I could spread the word
about my tools. I sell them on ebay but I would like to somehow draw
attention to them on my web site without spending a bundle of money. Any
and all advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Paul Nicholas
www.mtpleasantpottery.com
pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET on mon 8 oct 07
Hi Paul,
Your Wooden Tools look very nice and inviting in every way.
You have obviously applied experience, insight, patience, skill, and lots
of planning to be making the variety you offer.
As far as how to spread-the-word about them -
--- You could offer a small Medly for 'Trial' use and feedback
This is a good way to learn more about how they may be changed, how new
shapes may be invented to add to the larger gamut, and, or, if any change is
called for at all for any of them, and, a good way for Potters to get to try
them, and see how they like them.
With this, possibly, the understanding could be, that interested applicants
would have a small medly sent to them ( possibly a medly they elect from
your various ones, three, four or five Tools say ), and, after trying them
for a Month or sixweek, they may keep whichever one they like, as a
courtesy, and, they send the others back to you. The postage for sending the
others back, would be considerably less than the value of the one they keep,
so all is fine there, or fine enough...and it is easier on you that way, and
easy for them. All you need to do is keep track of a bunch of papers which
record who got what, when, what they had to say about them, and so on.
Of course, they may wish to keep all of them, or more than one, or they may
wish to Order some different ones in addition, in which case, the
understanding would be, that any in addition to the one gratis one, they are
free to purchase, and the ones they already have, may be purchased sans what
had been the postage to get them there.
--- You could have a Commercial Booth at the next 'nceca', which is
expensive, heartwrendingly expensive, ball-busting expensive, and takes the
many hours for making the inventory, the logistics for Travel and
accomidation, and the week or so in a motel or other while there, away from
home...but, being there allows some definitely good exposure, and
experience.
I guess that exhausts what little imagination I have to form ideas or
suggestions.
'Suggestion' , singular, really...since the 'nceca' is a tough Nut to crack
for a small outfit...and or one does 'well' there, meaning one comes home
only three or five grand in the hole, looking at Bills one can not pay,
dishes and laundry one had not done before leaving, and gets back to work
with renewed appreciation for just how sweetly our economic system works for
anyone doing anything honest, sensible, and earnest.
In a different line of thought, but important, I would suggest you to have a
Steel Stamp made, which will allow you to actually impress your Name and
locationneatly and clearly on each Tool. Not a hot 'Brand', but a proper
'Stamp'.
This way, anyone looking at one critically, sees who you are, sees there is
an actual U.S. person who made it, sees where you are ( city and state) and
sees the Tools are not from red china or some other annonymous
who-knows/who-cares, fly by night, here today-gone-tomorrow, fast buck,
schloky, white slave, prison labor, middleman racket markup on other's
misery, or whatever unwholesome else of place.
Good luck..!
Nice Work...
Phil
l v
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Nicholas"
> Hello CLAYART members. It's been several years since I left CLAYART, but I
> am back and I have a question for anyone who cares to answer. It's
> regarding pottery tools that I make. It's part of my income and I need
> some input on advertizing. Money has been tight these days and I was
> wondering if anyone had some good ideas on how I could spread the word
> about my tools. I sell them on ebay but I would like to somehow draw
> attention to them on my web site without spending a bundle of money. Any
> and all advice would be much appreciated!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Paul Nicholas
> www.mtpleasantpottery.com
David Hendley on mon 8 oct 07
Clayart is a good way to let potters know about your products
is you have tools for sale! If you contribute regularly to Clayart
include a tag about your tools in your signature.
I have tried various advertising in the marketing of my how-to
extruding DVDs. As far as non-internet advertising, I think
the best value (most results per dollar spent) comes from
a classified ad in Ceramics Monthly magazine. I have had mine
running in every issue for a year and a half. Every time a new
issue comes out, I get a couple of orders for my DVDs.
I think it is important to let non-internet potters know about
your products. Believe it or not, there are still a lot of Luddite
potters who eschew the internet.
Once you move up from a classified ad, the cost of advertising
likely becomes too much for a small one-person operation or sideline
business. A 1/6th page color display ad in CM runs $600.
I don't know how much a booth at the NCECA Conference is, but
you would have expenses of thousands of dollars by the time
you paid travel, hotel, and booth fee.
The market for potters tools is really very tiny, and there is a
lot of competition, so spending a bunch of money for advertising
is pretty risky, IMHO.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
david(at)farmpots(dot)com
http://www.farmpots.com
If you still haven't - check out my EXTRUDE IT! DVD videos!
----- Original Message -----
It's part of my income and I need
> some input on advertizing. Money has been tight these days and I was
> wondering if anyone had some good ideas on how I could spread the word
> about my tools. I sell them on ebay but I would like to somehow draw
> attention to them on my web site without spending a bundle of money.
Rider,Francis - Art Studio Technician on mon 8 oct 07
Hi Paul
I would really recommend getting a booth at the upcoming NCECA conference i=
n Pittsburgh PA. You get to interact with 3000 to 4000 serious ceramic arti=
sts, potters, Professors and all the big names in ceramic suppliers.
Francis Rider
rider@ltcc.edu
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Paul Nicholas
Sent: Sunday, October 07, 2007 11:11 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Advice please. I make pottery tools.
Hello CLAYART members. It's been several years since I left CLAYART, but I
am back and I have a question for anyone who cares to answer. It's
regarding pottery tools that I make. It's part of my income and I need
some input on advertizing. Money has been tight these days and I was
wondering if anyone had some good ideas on how I could spread the word
about my tools. I sell them on ebay but I would like to somehow draw
attention to them on my web site without spending a bundle of money. Any
and all advice would be much appreciated!
Thanks,
Paul Nicholas
www.mtpleasantpottery.com
___________________________________________________________________________=
___
Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots2@visi.c=
om
Lee Love on mon 8 oct 07
On 10/8/07, Paul Nicholas wrote:
> Paul Nicholas
See Paul's tools:
www.mtpleasantpottery.com
Sell them Here Paul. Folks sell books, tools, travel
packages to China, etc here. You might as well too. They look
like very fine ribs!
--
Lee in Minneapolis, Minnesota USA
"We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant
facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For
a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and
falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."
--JFK
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
"For a democracy of excellence, the goal is not to reduce things to a
common denominator but to raise things to a shared worth."
--Paolo Soleri
Earl Krueger on mon 8 oct 07
Paul,
If you can afford thirty-five bucks, join Potter's Council.
You get
"Free online classified advertisement on Ceramics Monthly
website ($50 value) plus 20% off any subsequent print or
online advertisements
plus
Free ad in Potter's Pages newsletter (restrictions apply)"
At least that's what their website says.
http://www.potterscouncil.org
That's cheap advertising.
Earl Krueger
Elmira, Oregon, usa
WJ Seidl on mon 8 oct 07
Nice site Paul.
Being a tool junkie, I always appreciate someone taking the time to make
nice tools.
Yours are.
Have you considered adding your site to search bots such as Webcrawler
or Traffic Blazer?
There are bunches out there, and for most, registration is free (and we
all know free is good). You have to fill out a form,
then answer a confirmation email. This site was very helpful:
http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/resources/website_search_engine.php3
The bots I signed up for seem to have boosted the traffic at my "house
for sale" site, so I thought it might also
work for you.
Remember, the more people you can get to "hit" on your site, the higher
the major engines such as Google and Ask
will place your site in the search results. Use good metatags too (that
tip came to me from Gail Phillips, my computer/Web/IT guru)
Best,
Wayne Seidl
Paul Nicholas wrote:
> Hello CLAYART members. It's been several years since I left CLAYART, but I
> am back and I have a question for anyone who cares to answer. It's
> regarding pottery tools that I make. It's part of my income and I need
> some input on advertizing. Money has been tight these days and I was
> wondering if anyone had some good ideas on how I could spread the word
> about my tools. I sell them on ebay but I would like to somehow draw
> attention to them on my web site without spending a bundle of money. Any
> and all advice would be much appreciated!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Paul Nicholas
> www.mtpleasantpottery.com
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots2@visi.com
>
>
Charles Hightower on tue 9 oct 07
Develop a wholesale catalog and send it to places like Axner, Bailey,
bigceramicstore, etc. Better yet, call them up and get an appointment. Sell
them wholesale and have someone else make them.
Terrance Lazaroff on tue 9 oct 07
If you have an ebay account you probably have a Paypal account. You can
make a small paypal on line store.
Terrance
WJ Seidl on tue 9 oct 07
Would it be possible, probable, or likely for (say) TWO people to
"share" a booth
at NCECA? Selling both their inventories from ONE booth? Maybe split it
down the middle?
If one were to come to a "gentleman's arrangement" with another
Clayarter regarding this, would it not only be to the
advantage of both tool sellers, but also to the potter's community at
large to have access to
not one, but TWO Clayarters selling tools? It would certainly be cheaper
to pay half a booth than a whole one.
Oooooh BABY!!! New! Bright! Shiny!! Caw! Caw!
(Mel, restrain yourself )
Best,
Wayne Seidl
trying to find stock for yet another set of fine fir calipers...
>> --- You could have a Commercial Booth at the next 'nceca', which is
>> expensive, heartwrendingly expensive, ball-busting expensive, and takes
>> the many hours for making the inventory, the logistics for Travel and
>> accomidation, and the week or so in a motel or other while there, away
>> from home...but, being there allows some definitely good exposure, and
>> experience.
>>
>>
>> 'Suggestion' , singular, really...since the 'nceca' is a tough Nut to
>> crack for a small outfit...and or one does 'well' there, meaning one
>> comes home
>> only three or five grand in the hole, looking at Bills one can not pay,
>> dishes and laundry one had not done before leaving, and gets back to
>> work
>> with renewed appreciation for just how sweetly our economic system works
>> for anyone doing anything honest, sensible, and earnest.
>>
>>
>
Paul Nicholas on thu 11 oct 07
I (we) have an ebay store. that is my wife and I. She sells misc. stuff
and my tools are listed there as well.
Check it out! http://stores.ebay.com/PS-Enterprises
Elizabeth Priddy on thu 11 oct 07
At your store, if you could seperate the tools from the other stuff,
it would help. I almost stopped looking at the first page bcause I
thought it was just books and other ebay stuff after the first group.
Iwould not want to search through a store to find them.
Maybe you can tag their names so that they always are first and
together.
Very nice tools from their appearance.
E
Elizabeth Priddy
Beaufort, NC - USA
Natural Instincts Conference Information:
http://downtothepottershouse.com/NaturalInstincts.html
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7973282@N03/
---------------------------------
Catch up on fall's hot new shows on Yahoo! TV. Watch previews, get listings, and more!
Jeanette Harris on thu 11 oct 07
>I (we) have an ebay store. that is my wife and I. She sells misc. stuff
>and my tools are listed there as well.
>
>Check it out! http://stores.ebay.com/PS-Enterprises
Paul, those are beautiful ribs and tools. Do you make custom ones as well?
P.S. To see just the tools, go to the left of the eBay page and
select "Pottery Tools" from the listing of categories. That way, only
the page with tools comes up.
Cheers,
Jeanette
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, or change your
>subscription settings here: http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots2@visi.com
--
http://jeanetteharrisblog.blogspot.com/
http://www.washingtonpotters.org/members/Jeanette_Harris/wpa_jeanette_harris.htm
Jeanette Harris
Poulsbo WA
Paul Nicholas on thu 11 oct 07
Elizabeth,
Thanks for the advice on the ebay subject. However, on the opening page of
our ebay store on the left there are category links that will lead you to
just the tools all in one spot. No sifting through the other junk.
Thanks!
Paul Nicholas
www.mtpleasantpottery.com/Tools.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Elizabeth
Priddy
Sent: Thursday, October 11, 2007 5:24 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Advice please. I make pottery tools.
At your store, if you could seperate the tools from the other stuff,
it would help. I almost stopped looking at the first page bcause I
thought it was just books and other ebay stuff after the first group.
Iwould not want to search through a store to find them.
Maybe you can tag their names so that they always are first and
together.
Very nice tools from their appearance.
E
Elizabeth Priddy
Beaufort, NC - USA
Natural Instincts Conference Information:
http://downtothepottershouse.com/NaturalInstincts.html
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7973282@N03/
---------------------------------
Catch up on fall's hot new shows on Yahoo! TV. Watch previews, get
listings, and more!
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, or change your
subscription settings here: http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots2@visi.com
Paul Nicholas on thu 11 oct 07
Correction for easier access to view my tools.
Use this link:
http://stores.ebay.com/PS-Enterprises_Handcrafted-Pottery-Tools_W0QQcolZ4QQd
irZ1QQfsubZ7QQftidZ2QQtZkm
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Paul Nicholas
Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 11:18 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Advice please. I make pottery tools.
I (we) have an ebay store. that is my wife and I. She sells misc. stuff
and my tools are listed there as well.
Check it out! http://stores.ebay.com/PS-Enterprises
____________________________________________________________________________
__
Clayart members may send postings to: clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
You may look at the archives for the list, post messages, or change your
subscription settings here: http://www.acers.org/cic/clayart/
Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots2@visi.com
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