Thanks for popping by - it's great to see you here! I'm Lisa and I'm honoured you're wanting to find out more about who I am & how I can help you with marketing & selling in your creative business.
These are some of my most frequently asked questions which I hope will address any potential queries, concerns, fears or apprehensions you may have about being here!
So let's get started ...
Q: Who am I & what do I know about marketing?
A: Creative Craft Marketing is owned by me, Lisa Barton. I'm a longstanding professional, qualified and experienced marketeer of 25 years and am proud of my coveted Chartered Institute of Marketing's Diploma in Marketing qualification and for being recognised as one of the first prestigious UK Chartered Marketers back in the 1990's.
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This is me (on a good hair day!)
My own marketing career spans two & a half decades of employment in marketing positions in both the private and public sectors in the UK and overseas where I've practised marketing for clients in education, publishing, local government, medical & veterinary, construction, logistics, infrastructure, childcare, telecommunications, travel, manufacturing, creative as well as consultancy & FTSE 100 companies.
In addition I also hold post graduate qualifications in business, marketing, management and finance and my personal interests include entrepreneurship, psychology, sales, personal growth, motivation & coaching.
In my spare time, I'm a wife and mummy to four (yes four!) young girls. I'm happiest when I'm travelling, creatively writing (I'm half way through the first draft of my first novel!) creating mixed media art, scrapbooking & art journalling, preserving memories, reading and extending my understanding of the world.
I've also been a contributor of marketing, sales & business articles for a variety of online and printed creative & business industry magazines including Craftseller so you have seen me around in various guises online!
I'm also a published author with my e-book guide to Marketing Creatively: 50 marketing & sales boosting ideas for creative business success' currently for sale on Amazon.
My brood. Yes my husband is slightly outnumbered!
I help, support, empower and lead fellow creative business owners to become more successful in their businesses and I'm brimming with ideas, inspiration and advice for you on attracting new customers, boosting sales, retaining existing customers, increasing awareness & visibility, writing content that sells, blogging, list building, leveraging social media or getting to grips with your to do list, managing time, productivity & expectations or confidence boosting that I'm eager to pass on to you.
Q: What do I know about creative businesses?
A: On starting my family 13 years ago I transitioned to self-employment (wish I'd done it sooner!) and for the past 13 years have been following my own creative path and running several online creative businesses alongside teaching, coaching and writing creative business programmes.
I've earned my creative wings as a cakemaker, face painter, cardmaker, scrapbooker, art journaller, creative writer, artist, creative coach, crafts tutor and girls craft & pamper party entertainer as well as working on an independant basis for Stampin Up!, Stella and Dot, Phoenix Cards, The Body Shop & Scentsy scented wax & warmers so I have plenty of hands on creative marketing & sales experience, tips & tools to pass on!
I've written over 1500 blog posts including free craft tutorials, craft business tips, special offers & YouTube videos and welcomed over 200,000 blog page views, 2.3k Pinterest followers, over 2.5 million Google+ pageviews, over 2000 facebook fans & followers and members of my online creative clubs and daily growing blog subscriber lists. In person I've taught hundreds of creatives both creative & marketing & sales tools and am currently creating empowering artistic & business creative retreats in the UK for 2016.
I've been busy supporting fellow creative businesses just like yours to enjoyably, simply, inexpensively, creatively (no underhand or inauthentic tactics here!) understand how to professionally market, sell and promote themselves & their businesses effectively with minimal budgets, limited investment, few resources and limited time (only passion, truth & motivation required!) - check out some of my testimonials!
I work with creatives, crafters and handmakers at all stages of personal & business development ranging from startups, no more than an idea stage, those that have only been trading a few months or years as well as long established creatives wishing to refresh, renew & rejuvenate their marketing & sales efforts in light of recent industry changes.
Q: How can you be sure I can really help you?
A: Being creative & running my own businesses myself means I've experienced first hand & completely understand the issues you face striving to authentically & genuinely harness your passion and motivation to market, sell and promote your products professionally, visibly, uniquely & intuitively in the rapidly changing, ever expanding, competitive global marketplace.
To put it simply - I totally get what you're going through - I've been you, I once was you. I've learnt how to impress, sell & gain support to succeed by spending hours and hours researching, learning, trial & error, tweaking, listening to feedback and honing my skills which enables you to benefit from all my knowledge, experience and hard work without having to do it all yourself.
I can show you exactly what you NEED to do & what NOT to do to in marketing your creativity based on everything I've ever done, seen, learnt & been guided on.
And of course, I'm a fully qualified marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, had a 25 year marketing & sales career and run my own creative businesses so have literally walked the walk myself.
Q: What can you expect from me?
A: There are a variety of ways I can help you depending on what you need ranging from free, simple, authentic & easily actionable marketing & sales ideas and inspiration you can immediately implement in your business to joining me on my Facebook page or in my facebook clubs & groups.
I offer 1-2-1 advice consultations to help you get to grips with your creative marketing, your confidence, your productivity, your planning and strategy, your product range, positioning and promotions or I can work alongside you on a longer term basis keeping you up to date, on track, focused and supported.
Q: If you're not sure you can afford the time/money/effort required ..
A: As I'm working daily in the creative & marketing industries I know my services are packed with exactly what you desire and offer great value, stacks of learning, are simple to implement, easy to understand, affordable and as up to date as possible with the latest marketing and sales techniques to get your business up to speed.
It's taken me 25 years and tens of thousands of pounds to acquire all the knowledge, experience & know how and I'm offering that to you at a fraction of the cost.
It won't be long before all businesses catch on to the value of marketing & promoting themselves holistically, personably and in alignment with their unique core values and beliefs - will you have left it too late to stand out to your customers as being different and the person they are DEMANDING to buy from?
Q: If you'd like to find out more ...
A: You'll find me hanging out socially online (one of my favourite places!) at Facebook, Twitter, Google + & Pinterest .
I host the Marketing Creatively Facebook page which is updated several times a day with even more useful behind the scenes marketing & sales information, motivation, inspiration & thought provoking articles - remember to like & follow if you like what you see to ensure you get your daily dose in your newsfeed.
You can also join my Creative Craft Entrepreneurs facebook group to exchange tips, network & learn from other like minded creative & craft businesses. Every Wednesday I host a free for all, ask whatever you like mid week marketing matters Q&A session which you're most welcome to join in with. I also run a weekly tagging session that exposes my audiences to your business for free!
And if we're not connected yet - track me down here - I'd love to get to know you & keep in touch even if I'm not the right fit for you at this time.
Q: So how do you get started with me?
Simply decide which of my services is the best fit for you & your business first - you'll find them outlined in detail on my 'ways I can help grow your business ' page. We can take it from there. Whichever option you choose I'm really excited & honoured to be involved in your climb to the top.
You can also purchase my Marketing Creatively: 50 business boosting tips for creative, craft & handmade business success' e-book on Amazon here
One last thing ...
I know that our unique creativity is an extension, expression and reflection of our own values, beliefs, inspiration, talents, abilities, aspirations & passions - in fact they are very much like our own precious heart sourced babies.
Therefore I'm honoured and so pleased that you would even consider me to help you seek the answers to how to realise & reach your creative dreams & to allow me to assist with your marketing hopes, dreams & aspirations and help your baby grow up. A heartfelt thank you.
Like to try before you buy?
