Most entrepreneurs tell me that marketing and self-promotion are two of their least favorite aspects of owning their own business. They would much prefer working on their product or service than spending time trying to find customers to buy it. However, most find that “just build it and they will come” philosophy works best in Hollywood movies.
In my recent discussions with Women Entrepreneurs I have found a young entrepreneur who appears to be a natural at marketing and promotion. In the few months she has been in business, and without a business background, she has managed to get her work featured in dozens of websites and magazines and in 14 stores. She has had art shows and exhibits. Her work is now hanging in private and public collections in over 22 countries. She has a range of prices and products from original paintings to magnets, jewelry and notecards as well as one of a kind, hand painted dolls that incorporate her characteristic style. 
Alicia Rosam, owner of Ali J , agreed to share with MoreThanWEKnow some of her secrets to marketing success.
Alicia, tell me about your business.
I’m an artist and an illustrator. I would consider my business as commercial illustration. It started in May 2007. I create various ranges of products from textiles to prints of artwork, products such as magnets and I also exhibit artwork. I will also be expanding my business to clothing products in the upcoming months so the range is quite varied.
You’ve gotten a lot of exposure in the short-time since you first opened your Etsy shop. I’ve heard other Etsy entrepreneurs express frustration with getting noticed in a crowded marketplace. How have you been able to stand out?
I find most people rely on the Etsy listing process to get noticed. But in reality they have to advertise their products off site. On site most of the people looking are generally other sellers. 
I don’t assume anything, I ensure that as many people that come across me will know what I do. I see Etsy as a booth at a craft fair with no promotion, so there are no customers, just other sellers browsing the stalls. With a little bit of word of mouth, links, features and general displays, suddenly there are crowds moving past with the occasional person stopping to purchase something.
In the end it is all down to me, not anyone else to determine my success. I’ve sold so much and achieved so much solely because I’m driven by passion and motivated to achieve everything beyond my wildest dreams.
I want to keep doing this. In five years time, I want this to stay a full time occupation. In order to do that I need to establish myself in a strong manner which I guess my buyers will interpret as confidence and security.
Due to Etsy I’ve had wholesale accounts, consignment opportunities, worldwide collectors - I’ve sold to 22 countries, exhibition opportunities, magazine features, major website features (Domino, Decor8) and so much more.
Besides Etsy, what promotional strategies do you use?
My next biggest promotional tool has been myspace with live artist painting events (hired to paint in front of a crowd), art exhibitions, charity exhibitions, major website features (V-Raw), teaching opportunities, and group art exhibitions.
How much time do you put into promoting versus creating your artwork and illustrations?
For every hour I paint, I market my work for an hour. Since I am a commercial artist I need to sell my work in order for it to remain a fulltime occupation. Without anyone knowing my products existed, I wouldn’t be able to sell at the quantities that I do. So I consider my marketing to be an essential part of my business.
I try really hard with my promoting. I also realise that it isn’t something that you can stop doing. You are constantly competing with other people for attention. For me I’m still very new at this and still building up my name as well as my customer base. In another year or so I believe I can scale down and redirect my marketing but for the moment I have to do it on a daily basis if I want to get noticed.
Ali, your education is in art. How do you know so much about business and promotion?
LOL! I learnt everything myself. When I started I decided that I was going to put 
absolutely everything into my work. I’m not the type of person who wants to look back one day and wonder ‘what if’. I always strive to do my best and achieve every single goal I’ve set for myself. This has always been the case in everything that I do.
I started selling my goods on the internet in May 2007 (7 months) but didn’t officially become a business until November 2007. I’ve learnt so much in that time and every week I’ll make it my aim to learn about a certain subject. This week it is mailing lists.
I find it keeps things fresh and it helps me propel my business into the future as a long term goal. I find out as much information as I can about everything, and I also read about different business ventures and tune them to my own work to make it relevant to me.
I’ve still got a lot to work on, but I’m finding now that I don’t have enough time to do everything I need to. Before my business can expand much further I’ll have to hire staff in the new year to help with the administration side of it all. From then anything is possible.
Where do you get most of your customers?
Most of my customers on the internet are from word of mouth and press features. I’ve been featured in a phenomenal amount of blogs and websites across the past couple of months, some on a daily basis, so new people are finding me every day.
I’ve had a lot of my products on my etsy site featured on websites. A complete list of my press features that I’ve been able to track is on my online resume. I get contacted mainly through my blog but I find a lot of people also contact me through Etsy. I’m gaining huge exposure in the world, and without Etsy I would have missed out on most of these wonderful opportunities.
In stores I find that most people find me via word of mouth when a friend purchases a work and then tells everyone else about it, so they come and purchase it too. It’s very rewarding.
Tell me about some of the avenues you’ve used to promote your business.
There are so many free ways to advertise your site on the internet. I’ve posted images to flicker deviantart and myspace .
For every site that I sign up to I link my blog and I use that as my main promotional site. I get a huge amount of traffic to my blog and my etsy store when I continually remain active on all of the other sites. I also ensure I participate and that I’m active in forums, art websites and art challenges such as Illustration Friday.
Some of the other places -
AMP - artists meeting place 
Illustration Friday Night
Monday Artday
Art Jumble
Three Thumbs Up Gallery
And others: T-shirt Design Competition Links, Designing T-Shirts, Artist A Day - Artist A Day - Art Submissions, Artist Reviews - Submit Art, Rate My Drawings - . Rate My Drawings . The Online Drawing contest - create drawings and rate drawings
Associated with Yahoo Groups:
Everyday Matters - also has a website & a superblog that you can have connect to your blog. It has a lot of e-mails and a huge amount of traffic. Just participate in the weekly drawing tasks of everyday objects.
Market My Art
Faerie Zine
Craft Connections
Etsy DUST (Australians only)
Etsy Seller
I am also a member of a huge amount of Flickr groups. Over 150+ groups at last count where I update my photos to those groups. Some of the big ones are -
Illustration Friday
Moytoy
Everyday Matters
Blah Blah Art Gallery
What else has worked for you?
I have submitted my illustrations to a few sites that then decided to feature me. I write a professional e-mail outlining who I am, what I do and either submit a link for them to view my portfolio or I attach images. Most websites and magazines will outline how to submit work to their sites or publications, so I ensure I follow their guidelines exactly.
So far I’ve been featured on every single one that I’ve submitted to, so it’s quite an experience. At the same time I only submit my illustrations to sites that are relevant to what I do. My images won’t suit a lawyers forum or a health discussion, so I ensure that I remain active with the target audience that I seek.
What originally inspired or motivated you to start your business?
It started when I had no finances, I was deep in depression and I had no idea what direction my life was moving in. I had previously tried to join the police force and after rigorous preperation and fitness training my application was rejected. In my darkest hours I picked up my pencils and started to draw. As a form of communication I started to put my art on the internet site called Flickr. From there it has been a whirlwind of amazing opportunities. 
What keeps you motivated?
Knowing that people enjoy my creations and like it so much that they have to own it and put it up in their new house. If I find that I start to lack motivation I’ll step back and have some time out to research the things that inspire me. Fashion magazines, celebrity magazines and interesting materials. From there I regain my passion.
How did you fund your business?
I started my business with nothing and I struggle each and every day. I don’t have a bank loan, I don’t have the knowledge of how to get investors and I didn’t have any savings. I fund my business every single time I earn something. If I earn $700 from a craft fair, $700 will go straight back into the business. I’m very lucky to have a supportive partner who is willing to let me establish my business and support me financially.
Who is your target market?
Females between 15 and 45 years old. Although I find that there are a huge amount of people who aren’t part of my target market that purchase from me so I’m constantly thrown off that figure.
What percentage of your business is online? What is your ideal percentage?
My online percentage currently is about 90%. I’ve got stock going into stores across the next two months (14 stores currently) but won’t see finances from that until the stock is up on the shelves. Out of those 14 stores only 2 are wholesale. Ideally I’d like to have 50% online, 50% stores and just continue to have my business grow and the volume of sales increase every month.
What is the biggest challenge you faced and how did you overcome it?
The biggest challenge that I’m facing at the moment is exhaustion. I’m only one person and I’m learning I can’t do everything on my own. I have so many products and such a varied range that each area is in itself its own business. I work seven day a week, 15 - 20 hours a day and I’m learning that I need to stay motivated, driven and passionate about what I want to do. I haven’t yet overcome it, this is my first Christmas and I’m working from 6am to 12pm every day with little time to see friends or family. Early next year I will start hiring staff to help with the administration side of the business to help free up creative time for myself.
What was the best unexpected thing that happened to you?
I’ve got far too many to list. I’ve had magazine features, publications, even a store in SoHo, NYC that has purchased both original artwork and prints. The biggest thing to date though has to be my solo exhibition where I sold half of the works on show. Considering I’ve only been creating my works for 5 months at that time, the gallery show was a resounding success and had a packed opening night. It was such a pleasure to see so many people enjoying my creations.
What do you wish you had known when you started?
I wish I realised just how much of the world was at my doorstep. I wish I had started this years ago instead of being depressed and lost in my life. I am so happy now, I love what I do.
Do you have kids? Do you work at home? 
No I don’t have kids and yes I do work at home. My working area is the family room, dining room and one of our bedrooms.
What is the biggest challenge of working at home?
My biggest challenge from working at home is switching off. I find that I can’t stop working, I’ll keep working all day and all night if I have to.
It would be nice if I could just close the door and drive home so I would be forced to stop. I find that I’m so driven by what I do and what I can achieve that I will keep working, and working, and working and my poor partner hardly sees me at all.
What advice do you have for other Women Entrepreneurs, or Entrepreneur-wannabe’s?
My advice is to follow your heart and your dreams. Don’t look for excuses, you can achieve anything you set your mind to. I’ve done it and I’ve achieved more then I could possibly imagine. Not only that but I wake up everyday excited to go to work. What could be better then that?
To see more of Alicia’s beautiful artwork and gifts, visit her shop Ali J.
To get my special report on 7 Steps to Sustainable Success for Women Entrepreneurs -> Click Here.
If you would like your business profiled on More Than WE Know please contact me at Liz (at) Morethanweknow (dot) com.
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