Designer Tip: Stop Being So Excited

photo credit: Lotus Carroll via photopin cc

Are you in an excitement rut? Are the opening sentences on most of your new release and sales posts about your digital scrapbooking kits about how excited you are about your news? Are your product descriptions and blog posts heavily focused on your creative process to create a product or your desire to bring it to market?

This is a very easy rut to fall into because it IS exciting and fun to release new products and announce big sales. Some of the projects you all are doing are massive and getting to a successful release date on them feels like a reason to celebrate a significant accomplishment!

However, our marketing really shouldn't be about us. It should be about what our customers can gain by buying our products, reading our posts, participating in our challenges, entering our contests, downloading our freebies, etc. 

This is an idea of I somewhat recently became aware of and it has sort of become a little challenge to myself as I compose marketing messages. It takes a little bit of stepping outside my mental box to change my point of view toward YOU and how YOU benefit from exposure to CUDigitals' marketing tips, tutorials and product purchases. Because at the end of the day, if I did not feel our store and blog has something of value to offer you, why would I be doing it? 

I am certainly excited to show off the jaw-droppingly awesome things the designers have brought to the store to help your digital scrapbook design business. I am honestly squealy excited every week when I send out the newsletter!!

But is that what YOU want to know about the products? Likely not.

You probably want to know that our newest items are some or all of the following:

• high quality
• versatile
• time-savers
• unique
• a great value
• something you don't know how to make yourself
• the exact theme you were looking for

These items are some of the same things your customers need to know about your products, too. I challenge you to try and make shift toward the content of your offerings and how it fills a want or need for your customers. It takes some mental effort but I believe it is worthwhile to connect with your audience in a different way and to adjust your focus off yourself and on to the value and service you are providing to others.

Here is an example of a common marketing message among digital designers.

I am excited to announce the release of my Ultimate Amazing Product Line. I have been wanting to create this as a personal pet project of mine since last year and I have finally gotten the time to finish it. I have filled this collection with all the things I love and I am fairly convinced that since I love these things, you will also and feel an irresistible urge to buy them as a massive bundle right now before I even get to the end of the post. My work here is done, thanks for your purchase. Don't forget to open my next email because I  know you are simply sitting around waiting for me to make something new that you will feel compelled to buy immediately.

OK. That's a little over the top, but if you have a look at the ideas I've exposed, you may see some of yourself in it: the message you are sending and the underlying ideas behind it.

Now an example of a customer-focused message.
The Ultimate Amazing Product Line is now available at XYZ Store. This collection can be your go-to source any time you want to record every day memories, create a large themed photo book or project or simply to round out the embellishing on a page. With this collection, you have the choice to select just the items that suit your needs or collect the entire bundle in one convenient purchase. 

or

Spring is here and that often means a focus on refreshing, new growth and possibilities. What a great time to record your thoughts and memories on this lovely time of year, whether it is your annual spring cleaning party or the first bloom in your garden. Refresh your stash with a breath of digital fresh air that you will delight in working with when you gather the items you want from this fresh new collection.

See the difference? The second and third examples talk about what the kits could be use for, why they fill a want or need and explain some of the perks (versatility, fresh fun, certain theme, etc)

These are just some ideas on how to shift your mindset into your customers' seats. If you give this a shot or have some feedback on this idea, I would love to hear from you in the comments!

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