My life feels like a strange dichotomy. At least in some ways.
If you have read this blog for any time at all, you'll likely know that I pretty much hate sales. Truth is, I pretty much always hated sales. I don't like selling; I don't like "self-marketing" and I don't like having to deal with pushy salespeople.
Having said that, I can look back on my life, and determine that I have been in some form of sales pretty much since I became an adult. Ironic, no?
Hello! It was right in front of my window, looking at me!
What People LIKE... and What People BUY
Of course, having been in the business of selling pretty everything from merchandise to to art to workshops to ideas for more than 40 years, you eventually get the hang of what sells and what doesn't sell. Of course, I can't tell you whether the next specific consumer product or idea will become a mega hit... I just have some broad intuitive feelings.
What I have specifically notices, is some of the meta patterns that have made themselves noticed, in the course of having sold on eBay for over 20 years.
Yes, I said twenty years. My eBay account is actually so old the account number is only 5 digits long... eBay currently has more than 180 million active users.
But I digress.
Nigella blossom
Can I Make Money With That?
The thing that consistently sells the most and the fastest... are those objects or ideas people believe they can take and use to make money with. For example, when I sold "small lot" jewelry findings, everything sold fast, to an eager horde of weekend jewelry makers who were hoping to make money, using my supplies.
What sells not quite as well but almost as well, are things like collectibles and antiques that people buy because they like them, for sure, but they also buy them because they believe these things will hold value or increase in value. Think collectible coins, stamps, other vintage collectibles. Secret here is that they aren't made anymore, so the supply is finite.... and often dwindling.
Things that generally don't sell well — and we feel "surprised" — tend to be the (non-essential) things that are really nice or really pretty or or otherwise appealing, but they don't actually do anything to either help boost people's public egos or to help them make money.
Bird feeders in the evening sun
There are exceptions, of course!
The exception here would be items priced low enough that they fall below people's "I have to think about it" threshold... usually $3-5 here in the US or in Western Europe. I tend to use the "grand latte" rule of thumb... if it's the same or less than a Grande Latte at your local Starbucks, you generally aren't stopped by the price.
Sounds odd, I know, but hold remarkably true!
In a strange and twisted sense, this is also an object lesson in why artists are almost always starving. We may love everything they make all right, but we just aren't actually willing to spend money on it.
Thistles, blooming...
The NewSteem Connection? But, of COURSE....!
Now, because it's almost impossible for me to write a post here without also making an aside commentary into how the subject matter relates to Steemlandia, let me not break the trend now!
People who create beautiful and insightful original posts about something that readers generally have an appreciation for our often get lots of appreciation it but the posts are seldom well rewarded.
On the other hand, the 4,573rd post about "how to use Steemit to make lots of money," or the latest iteration about how blockchains work — in which we have moved three lines of code, since the previous update — typically end up in the trending list on a pretty regular basis.
See how that holds out?
Yes, I am being excessively cynical here! I have to admit that things do seem to actually be changing somewhat for the better, with the advent of #NewSteem.
Didn't think I'd ever say that, but it's true...
Thanks for reading my random ramblings, and hope you all have an awesome weekend!
(Another #creativecoin creative non-fiction post)
Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this platform.)
Created at 190913 14:20 PDT
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I always look at things and think "how does that even sell." I don't have much of an insight into that world.
Progress is progress baby steps or a giant jump. The changes I’m seeing I hope have enough momentum to remain in the long run of habits.
I never have much understood why people buy what they buy. And I know a lot about sales and marketing... but I still don't "get" what motivates many purchases... other than the reality that many people are purely motivated by their egos and by a need for instant gratification, all the time.
So far, the changes seem pretty positive. And the "tribes" seem to be kicking a bit of life back into the community... seeing some people post who haven't been around in months and even years.
I am continually amazed, surprised, and flabbergasted by the things that some people will buy. It's just mindboggling.
From a steem perspective I think that getting people to your blog is part salesmanship and part engagement; you need to engage so people know you're there and relevant, but people also need to be drawn in. I hate the "sales" approach too, so I try to focus on engagement and decent (I hope) content. Small growth so far. We'll see how it goes.
I try mostly to just be myself. I could very easily have sold out and tried to find some "formulaic" method of posting for popularity, but it just doesn't appeal to me.
I'm hopeful all these different tribes will get people interested again. Seeing some "old faces" posting again, which suggests that maybe #NewSteem IS working.
I have grown into I REALLY don’t care to follow trends or trendy posts. I really don’t care on the nonsense others upvote here which leave me wondering if there is commonsense, individuality, etc... I find Steemit trends downright boring and oftentimes childish. So I may be in the minority but I will vote for entertaining content of different types. My tastes is very eclectic and I am not interested in mass mind numbness.
I'm with you on the childish bits... I am often baffled by what motivates some people, as well as by the petty personal vendettas many seem to go on.
I just hope that there is room enough here for all to have their small niche they can fit into, and still feel like it is worth their while to be here.
Where else would they be though? Why not be here with the potential to earn something for their efforts?
Anyone who owns a blog at theirdomain.com will make nothing but advertising revenue if they really want to go that route... but the amount of ads one would need would probably do worse for the site than good..
Not to mention - you need the traffic in order to get approved for displaying ads at the best paying ad exchanges anyways...
At the very least, one should be cross-posting to STEEM anyways, a penny earned is a penny gained, use all available avenues to grow your network and reach.
I really enjoyed your random ramblings. You 'sell' your post with the eye catching pictures along the way.
I recently sold 4 pictures that I displayed at a group art exhibition. I am so excited by the honour that those 4 people bestowed on me. They paid good money for non essential items to beautify their homes.Their enthusiasm encourages me to keep on painting.
Many congratulations on your sales! It always makes me happy to hear of artists who sell their work!
Loved the nature shots. BTW, I studied Marketing in college and I hate sales too!
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Same here! I have a degree in finance and most of a degree in marketing... and yet? Here I am...
Thanks! I love nature photography.
Hi @cuddlekitten! Cute as always!