Message Starters for Marketing Success

When it comes to marketing your business, messaging matters! When I first started my home bakery, I honestly didn’t really market much at all and one of the main reasons was that I didn’t know WHAT to say. I also didn’t want to sound “salesy”. I was a bit embarrassed and unsure of how to message what I was now doing…I had become an entrepreneur and I wasn’t really sure if I believed in myself or my business yet. Maybe you feel this same way or maybe you have other thoughts and feelings that prevent you from marketing your business consistently. Or maybe you are marketing your business consistently but feel it is not getting the results you would like.

Whatever your scenario, you likely clicked on this resource because you would like to further your knowledge pertaining to this topic. Here are some ideas to get you started but if you haven’t taken the course “Master the Art of Marketing, I encourage you to do so. Even if you just listen to it while you are baking…this is one skill that we must all master in order to increase our sales and earn a consistent income via our home bakeries.

Most People Don’t Know About You

No matter how much we are shouting from the rooftops about our business, most people still don’t know about us. If we post on social media, send out a newsletter, hand out business cards, or engage in some other manner of getting the word out…we are still missing so many people. So many potential customers just didn’t see that Instagram story, or just were not at the market the day we were there, or are not on our email list. Also, even if they did hear our message, research tells us that they need to hear it 7-20 times before they will take the next step and actually move forward with purchasing so…..

Be Extremely Persistent with Your Messaging

Make sure you keep shouting your message from the rooftops and then do it again and again and again. I used to worry that I would come across as annoying. As if I had already shared that I would be at the market on Sunday so why say it again? But like I said above, most people miss the message. And those that didn’t miss it begin to see you as very serious about your home bakery when they hear you share again and again. You begin to be seen as a “real” baker, as someone who is not just a fly by night but someone who is making a real income doing this…this is your “real” job. It gives customers and potential customers a sense of confidence in you because you do not hesitate to share what you are doing, share what you have available for them, and you are seen as a legitimate business owner.

So Just What Should You Say? Most Humans Have Similar Desires…

So just what should you say? Let’s get into the actual messaging. When I message or market my business, I always try to focus on the common desires humans share. These are typically focused on beauty, love, experience, health, culture, success, and respect. Fortunately for us bakers, much of what we do revolves around many of those desires. Our food can be beautiful. It can provide love and experience. It can be cultural and it can provide health benefits. Think about the products you sell and determine which of those words your business really taps into. Maybe you provide only gluten free baked goods. Maybe you are a custom cake artist and provide beautiful works of art. Maybe your baked goods provide an experience for your customers. And no matter what, baking is always an act of love that can be shared with another. When you message your products, make sure you are aligning your message to the key needs and wants of humans.

Solve a Problem Whenever Possible

Many times our baked goods can also solve a problem for others. People do not hesitate to purchase when they know they are also solving a problem they may have. If you bake sourdough bread, make sure your messaging calls out that this will be a wonderful addition to their dinner or that it makes for amazing toast during those rushed mornings. If you are selling cupcakes, make sure you have something that can be used as a back-to-school teacher gift. The possibilities are endless.

Make Sure You Know Exactly Who Your Customer Is

Now that we’ve thought about the consistency of our messaging, the common needs and wants humans have, and how we might solve a problem, we can move to thinking about just WHO our customer is. Try to put yourself in their shoes. Who are they? Why might they purchase from you? For me, when it comes to my home bakery, my ideal customer someone who first sees my baked goods and likes how they look visually or they like the behinds the scenes videos I share. They then hear my message repeatedly and eventually decide to purchase to share with their family or friends. My hope is always that once a customer tastes my product, they will return to order again. That’s when my customer service policies kick into overdrive and I do all I can to ensure their experience is wonderful.

What Should Go Into a Message?

When you are ready to begin messaging your products, the following should be included in the message

A hook that connects to one of the human desires (beauty, love, health, experience, culture, success, respect)
A problem that’s being solved whenever possible
When your products will be available
How customers can order
Where customers can pick-up
How to learn more or contact you

If you’d like to see some examples, Think Pink Bakers have access to my Message Starter Template that will give you multiple examples for all many different types of scenarios and, trust me, once you begin to message with all of the above components, it will get easier and easier and become second nature! Happy baking, my friends.