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  • From: Home Grown Kansas! <hgkansas AT sbcglobal.net>
  • To: Market Farming <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] consumer perceptions
  • Date: Sat, 19 May 2007 12:48:31 -0700 (PDT)

Our website is our best advertising tool.  We do a weekly E-Bulletin that folks sign up for on our website.  The E-Bulletin is sent out each week as a reminder to come to market and what will be happening at market.  www.oldtownfarmersmarket.com.   The E-Bulletin mailing list has grown at a steady pace over the years - there is also a media e-mailing list that is sent out at the same time, along with the vendors email list.  Lot of competition for folks time -  you got to remind them that you are there. 
 
We did a newsletter for three years.  Lots of time to produce and not as effective as the email list.  You gotta keep it simple.  Our web site address is visible on every thing we do. 
 
Elzie
Wichita, KS

Lynn Wigglesworth <lynnw1366 AT hotmail.com> wrote:
I started collecting e-mail addresses of my farmstand customers last year,
with the thought of doing a newsletter. An astonishing percentage of my
customers don't have a computer (mostly older people). Many who do have a
computer wanted me to snail mail them the newsletter anyway. I haven't
done a newsletter yet, partly because of the work and expense of copying
and mailing them.

What I do, though, is advertise on all the free "where to find local food"
websites, and I have gotten a couple calls through them.. I also have
business cards and a brochure with pictures of the farm. I have a large
board with pictures and little blubs about the farm, but I had trouble
with the wind blowing it around last year at the Farmers' Market...with
just a table, there was nothing to fasten it to.

Lynn Wigglesworth
Peasant Farmer
Tioga County, PA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Simon Huntley"
To:
Sent: Saturday, May 19, 2007 12:43 PM
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] consumer perceptions


> I've been following this discussion on educating consumers with
interest.
>
> As an interested party and as someone who has helped run a market farm
for
> two years (and make marketing decisions for that farm), I would like to
> extol the virtues of having a farm website to educate your customers.
One
> member in the discussion said that she doesn't have time to grow food
AND to
> educate customers, but I would like to agree with another person and say
> that as an owner of small business you don't have the luxury of allowing
> other people do your marketing -- if you believe in your product, it
should
> be a joyful experience to share your story and why you are passionate
with
> your customers.
>
> So, as for the website -- get a website or make a website, spend some
time
> during the winter adding content that tells the story of your farm and
why
> your products are special, and throughout the season while you are busy
> farming, your website will be speaking for you. Obviously I am saying
this
> as an interested party, because I developed a service that provides
websites
> to farms -- so I believe in the power of technology to tell your story
for
> "experience-based" farms like yours.
>
> It is just as valid to build your own website or go through another
service,
> but I provide a website on your own domain (www.yourfarm.com) for about
> $20/month, depending on options. This is a fully-managed option that
does
> not require any technical skill. You just login to a control panel in
any
> browser and you can add news, products, recipes, photos, and more.
That's my
> plug...
>
> But as someone who has worked markets and helped put a vegetable
operation
> in the black -- Tell Your Story all the time, get a website and make it
> vibrant and interesting, get to know your customers and never let go of
> them! Give people a reason to go out of their way to buy from your farm
> because it is very easy to just go to the local supermarket and get
> everything they need in one place.
>
> --
> Simon Huntley
> Lead Developer, Small Farm Central
> info AT smallfarmcentral.com
> http://www.smallfarmcentral
>


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