Craft Artist? Home Organizer?I don't know what to call myself, on paper or in conversation.

Question

I am a Scrapbook and Paper Craft Artist, as well as faux-finishes on walls and furnature...

I also do Home Organization and Home Staging services.

I want to market my services, as I am terribly passionate and have been told I am talented. I have been becoming more and more busy with friends, and family, I feel I am ready to make a career out of these freelance art projects...I feel confident in myself and my business...but don't really know:A)what to call myself, and B)how to market my services, and what should I call my business?

Answer 1

You have two separate things going, so you have to be very careful not to dilute your brand. You may want to devote half of your time to each, until one starts to make more money than the other. Then you can see how you would have to divide your time.

I make handmade paper and use it to make stationery and also cast objects, and it's not a good seller. Most "crafty" things are not, because they're fun to do, but people wouldn't own any except what they do for themselves. BUT people might pay you money to teach it. For marketing, you can launch a website and also go around to craft stores and your local adult ed to offer classes.

Pick a name that tells people right away what they will be getting. Don't be too cutesy because a lot of your customers will be men.

For the organization and staging, you may first have to convince people they want it. Give away some services and then get testimonials on how much time and money it saves them. Do your research. Meet with realtors (pay them for their time or offer them a freebie) and ask if staging makes a difference. Write your materials based on what they tell you.

You could join the local chamber of commerce and other business organizations in your town. The members always try to do business with the people they're having breakfast with. Here is how to handle your local newspaper: Write an article talking about yourself in the third person, as if it's written by a reporter. Send it to the business editor of your local newspaper. Guaranteed they will call to sell you some ads, but make sure that an article about you is part of the package. It's ethical. You are news!

A nice website is an important part of the package. For your crafts, you can start with a freebie site and then upgrade to paid when the money starts coming in. But for your service business, it's important to be ad-free right away. I only pay $7.00 a month for up to 5 different websites, plus $9.00 a year for each dot com name.

Good luck and have fun. Being self employed is the BEST!

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Answer 2

How about calling yourself a "mixed media artist"?  Check out the website for MOO where you can upload pictures of your work to put on business cards you design yourself.  As for marketing and name, I will leave that to others.  Word of mouth is very powerful.