themerriweather council blog - Page 2 of 161 - turning crafty tendencies into profits

January 31, 2019

Episode 082: Launching a New Product Line

Amy’s used her personal experiences to identify a gap in the market and create a new product. Listen to learn about launching a new product line.

It’s always a treat when I get to chat with people who I’ve known for years online but never actually SPOKE to. How crazy does that sound, really?

Launching a New Product Line to Fill a Gap in the Market

On today’s episode I am speaking with Amy Richards of Amy Richards Illustration. She is one of my Etsy Training Course students AND she is a Council Member. Most importantly she is a super talented artist with a lot of passion.

Amy’s used her personal experiences to identify a gap in the market and create a product that will speak to others who feel that gap. I think this is something all small business owners should constantly be trying to do – this is where small businesses come from. I hope you feel inspired by her story!

In this episode:

Meet Amy
Amy’s new product line inspired by her journey through sobriety
How Amy planned and produced this line
What Amy is doing to prep for launching this new line
Amy shares a little bit about being a Council Member
More!

Thanks so much for listening, and be sure to check Amy’s shop and follow her on Instagram.

What I Learned About “Self Care” in 2018 and My Experience with TalkSpace App

I’m discussing how the TalkSpace App helped me cope through hard times in 2018. I truly hope that someone who needs to hear this, hears it today.

Can I be honest for a minute? Hope so because I’m going to be. I really debated whether or not to publish this episode. I recorded it. I sat on it. I thought about it. I decided not to post it. Then I had second thoughts. Then I spoke to a few people about it. Then I decided to edit it and see how I felt. Then I decided not to publish it. Then I spoke to the people again. Then I decided to publish it.

So. 2018 … not a great year, honestly. 7/10 would not repeat.

TalkSpace App

In this episode I’m discussing one of the tools I used to cope. I truly hope that someone who needs to hear this, hears it today and feels a little bit more confident or motivated to get help if they believe they could benefit from it.

You can find the TalkSpace App in the App store and on Facebook.

My Experience with the TalkSpace App

You will hear me talk about a dark time I experienced in 2018, albeit vague as I chose to spare you the nitty gritty details and my experience with digital therapy. Since that took up sufficient time, I did not extrapolate on what happened next in this episode. So, please know that I am feeling MUCH better these days. The dark time that was causing me a lot of turmoil has mostly ended and I am better equipped for dealing with myself.

It’s important to note that there were some significant highlights in 2018, including seeing my beloved Backstreet Boys in Vegas before they end their residency, being a bridesmaid in my beautiful friend Meagan’s wedding and moving to one of the most wonderful places I have ever lived. So don’t you worry about me. AS Taylor Swift would say, “I’m doing better than I ever was.”

And just so you know, this episode is completely not sponsored in any capacity. No one asked me to do this, no one paid me to do this. No one is getting a commission or points or credit from this. This is just a plain and simple recap of my good experience with a service.

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January 24, 2019

Episode 080: Marketing Lessons from Taylor Swift’s Reputation Tour

The last time Kimber and I spoke about Taylor Swift you all LOVED it. You loved it a lot. Not as much as I love the Backstreet Boys, but still a respectable amount. It was one of the most listened to episodes last season!

I think the reason you loved it so much is because it’s really fun to look outside your industry for inspiration – and because, really, who doesn’t enjoy a little Taylor Swift from time to time?

Regardless of where you stand in your feelings about her music, there is almost no denying that Taylor Swift is a marketing maven. Kimber even wrote up a nice extended version of the show notes for that episode which you can read right here.

The marketing power and inspiration of Taylor Swift is what Kimber and I spoke about last time and it’s what we are talking about again on today’s episode.

Last time we focused on her Reputation album release – the things she did ahead of it’s release and the way she got everyone’s attention each step of the way. This time we are talking about her Reputation Stadium Tour, the experience of it, the marketing involved and the ideas we absolutely LOVED.

In this episode:

Kimber and I fan-girling over Taylor Swift
Some stats about the Reputation stadium tour
More numbers
Marketing inspiration from the desk of Taylor Swift. (Or should we say stage of…?)
Some of the things we found most memorable about her marketing campaign for the show and album.
More fan-girling.

You can find Kimber on Instagram where she mostly shares about her embroidery work, but there is definitely the occasional foray into Taylor Swift adoration. And please check out her shop, it’s pure amazing in thread form.

Enjoy!