Hands down, one of the most crucial tasks of your business is marketing, but have you considered alternative strategies such as tutorials?
No matter what kind of business you run, you know that it is always important to spread the word because the more visitors to your website, the more potential sales. Likewise, the more people you have coming into your brick and mortar shop, the more potential customers.
But marketing is not always the most fun or interesting part of a business. And let’s face – it can be downright difficult at times, especially if you have thin skin. Think about it: you pitch to a magazine, web site, a magazine, or even a TV producer and then you never hear back. Immediately, your brain gets flooded with negative thoughts, “This sucks. Why doesn’t ____ like my product? What am I doing wrong? How do I fix this?”
Whether you are frustrated with the lack of responses to your press pitches, or you are simply tired of pitching your products and services over and over again in the same way, you can make things fun and your pitches more successful if you’re willing to think outside of the typical marketing box.
So, instead of pitching the same “this is my newest collection and here’s why your readers will love it” idea again and again, you need to branch out and try something new.
“Okay, okay. I hear you. But how the heck do I do that?”
Teaching through tutorials
Creating original tutorials, also known as how-to articles, that are in line with your business can get you big press coverage; and if you do it right, will also bring in highly targeted traffic (that means dollar signs and potential customers for your business). That’s your new marketing strategy!
You should be pitching tutorial ideas to those big sites, blogs, and magazines with large readerships to get your foot in the door. Editors are much more likely to welcome a pitch that can actually help their readers as opposed to one that just tells them about another product they should buy.
Why? People like to learn. Sure, they enjoy being entertained and notified of the coolest gadgets, but they also like to be educated (and I’m not just talking about a history lesson). Everyone has passions and interests outside of their work life, and let me tell you a little secret…
People spend BIG money on their hobbies and passions.
So, if you can share a little nugget with those people about something they are already interested in, via a tutorial, then you can drive more traffic to your website and bring potential customers through your doors.
The trick is creating a tutorial that is in line with your business
Here’s an example: If you have a dog walking business, you should be pitching articles about dog behavior. Approach your local news channel or newspaper with a tutorial like this: How to teach your dog any trick in ten minutes or less.
If you get a feature, people watching the local news (or reading the paper) that also own a dog will be interested. AND you’ll also be further interesting those pet owners who don’t have a lot of time on their hands (that’s the ten minutes or less part). This is exactly who you are trying to reach with a local dog walking business, so it’s perfect! Make sure the article or television feature includes information about how people can find you, and you’ll start hearing from local dog owners that are pressed for time and really need your services!
Final tip: Make sure that you get credit for your hard work via a link back to your biz, whether it’s a web feature or in print (and even for television). It’s pretty standard, but sometimes you have to ask. So, make sure you do because you want interested parties to be able to find you quickly and easily after they read what you have to say (or watch your segment on TV). If they like what they see, they’ll bookmark your site and keep you in mind the next time they want to buy. Or better yet, they might even buy something after their very first visit. Sometimes that’s all it takes.
Not sure how tutorial pitches can work for your business? Tell me a little about your biz in the comments, and I’ll think of a tutorial pitch just for you.
Funny how that works out sometimes, huh Michelle!? 🙂 I looked over your tutorial and you have lots of photos and text that detail the step by step, which is great. The next step would be promotion. So, depending on your niche, you may want to reach out to bloggers with a similar style to your own and let them know that you’ve created a tutorial to see if you get any bites. Good luck!
-Brittni
This is interesting as I have just literally posted my very first on line tutorial in relation to one of my crafts. I would value any critique and promotion that you would offer.
Thanks in advance
Hi brittni
I liked your article. I’ve had this idea for a while to do a gift tag making tutorial but havnt done it yet- was thinking of posting it on my blog but I don’t have many followers so wondered how to get more people to see it.
What do you think?
Hey Carole! If you are worried that many eyeballs will see it if you run the tutorial on your own blog, consider submitting it as a guest post to a blog or site that has a large readership instead. Just make sure that they will include links back to you as part of your guest post (if they won’t include links to you, I wouldn’t recommend going that route). Now, if you’d prefer to go ahead and run it on your blog instead of submitting it as a guest post, reach out to craft blogs and alike after your post goes up and ask if they’d be interested in mentioning it. If you want a list of specific blogs, flickr groups, etc to submit your tutorials to just email me and I’ll send it to ya. 🙂 brittni(at)papernstitch(dot)com
hi Brittni
thanks for the info, I’ll try and get it done soon and figure out which route I want to go with it, I would love some suggestions on who to contact once I’ve done it.
Awesome. Yep, no problem. Just email when you are ready and I’ll send you some suggestions.
-Brittni
This is great advice. As a blog reader I am always looking for tutorials that will teach me how to do this and that, but I also run a blog myself and find it really difficult to write posts that could attract readers, apart from telling them how to make a hand fan. Only self-promotion comes to my mind…
My blog is on the link above. Could you suggest something for me? Thanks in advance 🙂
Your fans are beautiful. You can create tutorials that have nothing to do with fans that still fit the style and aesthetic of the fans you sell. Maybe accessory diy projects would be a good fit? Or what if you appealed to the more cultural aspects of diy? Or if you want to go the fan route…What about a series of basic paper fans that have a much simpler look and feel? Aren’t they a variety of techniques out there? Your handmade fans that you sell will look far more complex and people interested in fan techniques might also be interested in purchasing a fan from you if it is more complex than they think they can make on their own. Hope that gets the wheels turning for you.
-Brittni
Thanks for the advice! 🙂
Great idea. I think the hardest part is being able to make a video that truly targets your customer without “giving away the business for free”.
I own a boho chic crocheted clothing line. I made a couple of videos on how to wear my items and I also did one on how my company was ahead of the trends for Fashion Week 2010. (I was ahead this year as well). Is there another type of video I should make instead?
I also sell some of my patterns. I’ve made one video with instructions on how to start crocheting. Is that enough or should I make a series?
Thanks for the information.
You have already done some fantastic things with tutorials Joede. So kudos to you. But if you are feeling like you want to push things further, a video series would be fantastic. I don’t know a lot about crochet myself (I confess), but what about doing a series of short videos that show various crochet techniques? I don’t think that would be too revealing because you wouldn’t be instructing viewers on how to make an entire piece of clothing or an accessory for example. So, it wouldn’t compete with your line.
-Brittni
Brittni – Great article! I’ve struggled with this for awhile. I’ve wanted to do tutorials, but I’m not sure what people would want to learn from me. I illustrate food…and I’m not sure what to teach from that. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Lisa
Hey Lisa. First off, your illustrations are adorable. Love the simplicity. Second, I have a question for you…do you cook? Why not create some recipes that use the ingredients that you illustrate and post those on your blog? Recipes are definitely considered tutorials in my book. It would be a great way to tie your artwork in without running into the issue that Joede Brown mentioned about “giving the business away for free”. AND if you start attracting foodies to your blog to get recipes, they just might want to snag a couple of your illustrations for their home as well.
-Brittni
Thanks Brittni!
No prob!
I have been trying to come up with a tutorial idea for a long time so any help or suggestions would be great! Thanks so much.
Michelle
Hey Michelle. I looked over your shop. Since you do invitations and greeting cards a tutorial revolving around an event (like weddings for example) or holidays (Halloween, Christmas, etc) would be perfect. You just want to make sure that whatever diy project you decide to tackle, you can still infuse you cards or invitations in with it to get visitors to convert to customers. If that makes sense. So for example, choose tutorials that can compliment your products and “add on” to the project (like a Halloween gift that will need a card to go with it OR as a more specific example.. a simple tutorial for a do-it-yourself s’mores kit, complete with graham crackers, would go great with this card from your shop . If you can think about tutorials in that way, it can really help you grow your business.
-Brittni
thank you so much for the ideas:)
Michelle
What a great article! It is definitely a must-keep for me. I have a small shop and a blog, although I feel sometimes I run out of things to say about my products. I would love to garner more interest, but am not sure how I could create tutorials related to my work. The link to my shop is above. Thanks!
Hi Nicole. Well, a cross stitching tutorial would obviously be a good place to start for you. But why not think about creating a free printable that is very, very basic for a pattern that people can download and start using right away. It would be something less complex than the work you have for sale, but could definitely generate some attention for if that is what you’re looking for. You could even set it up so people have to join your mailing list to get the free download or have to retweet, etc before they can get it. So, its a win-win.
-Brittni
I’d love a pitch just for me! I make dog beds, collars and leashes and other pet accessories. I’m just getting my blog going and would love to draw readers. I also post for my local Etsy group so coming up with tutorials that draw on my business would be great. Any ideas?
Hey Mindi. Outside from tutorials, if you are looking to draw more readers, I would recommend posting some photos of adorable pets regularly on your blog. I see you are already doing this a little bit, but maybe you could turn it into a column? What do you think?
-Brittni
Hi, I’m an abstract artist.Ive been wanting to do some tutorials for my blog, but I find it difficult creating a tutorial on how to paint in abstract way, as Im not sure if its something that can be taught, as its a way of seeing and feeling… any ideas on this, or other areas u might see on what I could do for tutorials would be much appreciated.
Hi Jenny. I know exactly what you are talking about since I was an abstract painter myself, way back when. What about stripping things down even more and doing texture tutorials or even color mixing tutorials? Your paintings are gorgeous and there are lots of colors and layers in there. Breaking that process down into much smaller steps that aren’t so much about the way of feeling and seeing that you described would probably be more manageable for you, and will also give potential customers more insight into the work that you do, which may translate into dollar signs for you later. Make sense? Other ideas for you: how to frame a piece of artwork, how to hang a piece of artwork, how to create a wall art cluster, etc…focusing on art-related topics as opposed to just your painting techniques and style may be a good direction to head in as well because you’ll be attracting more art-lovers and collectors of all types (who may want to buy from you in the future) instead of just artists (which is who you might be attracting with the actually painting technique tutorials).
-Brittni
Wow Brittni! Thank you so much for sharing some great ideas for me. You have really helped me to look at things differently now. I was sort of blocked in my thinking and just needed this boost and It makes sense to me what you are getting at with sharing art- related topics.
I’m all inspired now the fog has lifted, thank you…..
I’m trying to get on this blogging train! I would love to do tutorials as well, but have no idea about what. I sell jewelry… I wouldn’t want to teach folks how to make what I sell, right? even though it is very simple to make : )
Ideas?
Hi Dawn. Right, you probably wouldn’t want to show people how to make what you sell (although I have seen that work in the past because there are always people out there who would rather pay you to make it for them than make it themselves). But I would recommend staying within the same style or aesthetic as your jewelry so you are attracting people with your tutorials that might eventually become buyers. How about fashion related tutorials outside of the jewelry realm? OR a tutorial for a diy jewelry stand or jewelry case (surely these diy projects would compliment your jewelry that you have for sale).
-Brittni
hello brittni,
once in a while, i have some diy or tutorials, but i am still trying to improve in that area. i like the idea of writing an article as submitting as a guest post. a bit scary, but i might try that. thanks for this post.
This is a really great article and fantastic advice Brittni! I have thought of doing tutorials but I can’t think of anything besides my own products which are hair accessories. Any ideas for what type of tutorials I could make that would draw more traffic to my site? I also like the idea of guest posting a tutorial another site.
Thank you in advance of your help!
Sorry CC. You url didn’t work so I wasn’t able to view your products to give advice. Let me know if you’re able to fix it and I’ll take another look.
-Brittni
Oooh, sorry about that. If your still able to take a peek here is the link https://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/home/ChichiChick
Thanks so much!
Brittni,
Wow, how generous of you to lend your ideas. I’m curious what tutorials ideas you would suggest for my prints and I Believe in Myself bracelets. And, are you recommending we produce video tutorials?
You rock!
-jen
Hey Jen. I am recommending you do whatever makes you most comfortable, whether its regular text posts with photos or a video tutorial. I don’t do video posts myself because I prefer to take step by step photos and write things out, but that’s just me. Everyone is different. So do what feels right to you.
As far as suggestions go…both your prints and your bracelets have an uplifting/ inspiring message. So what do you think about doing how-to articles (or videos) that are geared towards those very same things. Here’s an example: 5 ways to lift your spirits on a bad day. At the end of these types of “tutorial” posts you can include a few images from your collection to remind readers that you create products with that same positive, uplifting message…Make sense?
-Brittni
What if what you can do is not something physical but a service? Like… coaching or therapy?
Good question Simone. You can very easily do tutorials with a service oriented business just as well as selling physical products. Think back to the dog walking business that I gave as an example in my post. That is a service based business. You just need to think about what kinds of offerings you have available for sale, determine what your target demographic is, and then create a tutorial or “how to” post that caters to that group. If you read through some of my other answers here in the comments you may get some additional ideas. Good luck!
-Brittni
Hi! I sew small items such as wallets, pincushions and also dabble in photography (photo cards, prints etc.) I have no idea what kind of tutorial to write? any suggestions?
thanks!
Hmm…since you work with small sewing projects, doing a tutorial along those same lines that does not correspond directly with the items you have for sale in your shop would be a good start Sue. Your photography is really beautiful by the way. You could also do something with that..I am running a little low on ideas at the moment after all these replies. So that’s all I have for now.
-Brittni
Hi Brittni
Your article is fantastic. I have renewed my blog and I’d like your opinion on tutorials I can do and especially how to get more readers to see my blog. Do you think I should contact with big blogs? I’m very lost…
Thanks in advance,
^-^
Hey Lu. Yes, I definitely think you should contact “big” blogs with possible ideas for tutorials when you have something lined up. This is a great way to get more traffic and exposure to your site than you might not have otherwise received on your own. 🙂
-Brittni
I have a hand dyed women’s clothing business, selling mostly at festivals. Back in the day, I was an obsessive crocheter and I have written a collection of simple patterns and crochet articles. I decided to start posting them for free on my blog to maybe get more traffic. Whoa! I went from practically nothing to like 500 hits a day.
I plan on doing more advanced projects and selling some supplies or kits. But I’m not sure what I can come up with that ties into my clothing line more… possibly some sewing projects while offering hand dyed fabrics? Dunno.
Hey there Bekki. You definitely hit the nail on the head there. Like I have been saying here in the comments and in the article, tutorials (and other how-to related posts, free downloads, patterns, etc) are really a great way to get more traffic to your site and you are the perfect example of that. Thanks for sharing your story.
-Brittni
Brittni, What an amazing post! I totally agree with you. My problem is…I feel like all the tutorials on photography have already been done. I’m not sure what new advice I have to give as I am still learning myself.
Hi Kristi. Thanks so much. You bring up a great point about tutorials that have already “been done” and you are not alone in this. This seems true of plenty of subjects and topics (not just photography). BUT the thing is everyone approaches things in a slightly different way. So, it feels fresh and new and slightly different with each person’s own perspective and way of doing things (if that makes sense). You might explain things in a slightly different way that gets to people to understand the step by step more or take photos in a different way or change a few steps in the process, etc. “There is more than one way to skin a cat” as the saying goes (which is a saying that I hate because I think its completely gross- but you get the idea). You’d be surprised at the stuff you already know that you think is SUPER basic that other people have no idea how to do (and would love to find out how). Hope this helps.
-Brittni
Hi Brittni,
Wow, what an inspirational article, and a great push in the tutorial department. I have known this is something I need to spend more time on, since it’s been about … two YEARS since I wrote my first (and last) free tutorial! Lol. So, yes, I think I need to do a tutorial on needle felting, since that is my specialty… Unless you have a suggestion for anything else? Thanks again for the very big help :o)
x, Val
Hi Brittni,
Great post! Since my work is so varied (dog tags, jewelry, wine charms, keychains, etc)., I always have a hard time deciding if I should market to the pet side or the people side of my business. Any ideas for me?
Thanks for a wonderfully inspiring post! Any help on ideas for tutorials for us? We handcraft and sell heirloom wooden toys and (just launched) a home decor line featuring wooden cutting boards and kitchen utensils. (We sell almost exclusively online and direct-to-the-customer).
“How to make a {insert some type of} wooden toy” is the obvious first thing that comes to mind, but it seems that would be competing with/taking away from our own products and sales…
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
🙂 Kathleen
Hi, love your articles and now I wonder if you can help me with my site/sales/marketing? Your idea of tutorials sounds like a fun way of reaching out to people, I am curious if you can think of something I can teach people as you view my website. Knitting is a well covered subject where I live so just another knitting course or blog seems unattractive ……..so I am a bit lost 🙁