By Lily Jones
When I was pregnant with my second child, I found myself dreaming of starting a business creating fun learning activities for kids.
At 5 months pregnant, I realized that if I wanted to make that dream come true I had to do it now. The idea of starting a business while pregnant and with a toddler seemed crazy, but starting a business with two young kids at home seemed impossible.
After I made the decision to launch Curiosity Pack, I put my intense second-trimester energy to good use: I organized a successful Kickstarter campaign that brought the first Curiosity Pack to life!
Then suddenly I found myself with a two-month-old baby, a three-year-old, and a ton of products, wondering what I should do next.
I was a teacher before launching my business, so to say I knew little about marketing would be an understatement. But over the past few months, I’ve experimented with lots of ways to get my products out there (all while spending the majority of my time at home with my kids).
Here a few strategies that have worked well for me:
Get PR Coverage
After shipping out my Kickstarter rewards, I decided to focus on getting the word out about my products. I signed up for two services that helped me get media coverage. The first was Help a Reporter Out (HARO), which sends multiple emails each day with info from reporters looking for people to interview for articles. HARO is free to sign up for and has connected me to reporters looking for education experts for stories. When I’m quoted in a story, it links back to my website and gets more eyes on my products.
The second service I signed up for is Get Media Happy. You pay a monthly fee for this one, but in exchange you receive daily emails with info on news outlets (mainly magazines) looking for products to feature. The postings are broken down by category and pitching the baby/kids section has gotten me some nice media coverage.
Blog Reviews
Because I make kid products, I get to dive into the wide world of mommy blogs. I seriously never knew how many mom blogs were out there until I started searching. Because there are a ton of blogs out there, it can be challenging to know which ones have the biggest audiences.
Some blogs have media kits that you can consult and I always look at their social media followings to get an idea of their reach. When I pitch a blog for a product review, I donate one of my packs in exchange for an honest review. If I’m not selective about who I pitch, I’d end up giving away a ton of free products! There are also many sites where you can pay for reviews, but that seems a little shady to me (I don’t want to pay for a good review!) so I tend to steer clear of those.
Other Selling Platforms
I’ve been experimenting with listing my products on other platforms, like Amazon, Etsy, and Open Sky. Since my main product now is the All About Letters Curiosity Pack, I’ve been selling some of the components of the pack on other sites but hoping to keep the majority of pack sales through my site. Although I get a better return on sales made on my site, listing on other platforms has expanded my reach. I also just learned about a marketplace for educational products called Educents, which I’m excited to try. Right now I’m trying out lots of different platforms as a way to figure out where works the best.
Social Media Ads
I’ve used Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest ads to drive traffic to my site, publicize sales, and spotlight certain products. I’ve found some success with product ads, but have also tried things like boosting my opt-in offer to increase my list size. Honestly, I get overwhelmed by all the different options and haven’t spent a ton of money on any one kind of advertising. So far I’ve found Facebook ads to be the most helpful. Again, I’m in the experimentation stage as I try to figure out which types of ads give me the most bang for my buck.
Guest Posting
I used to think that the only way to publicize your business are ads and reviews, but I’ve been learning there are lots of different angles to take. I’ve been using guest posting as a way to get more folks interested in what I’m doing and establish myself as a leader in education and parenting space.
I’ve pitched and written guest posts at places like BabyCenter and Mamalode. Though the pieces I wrote weren’t directly about Curiosity Pack, they provided a way for parents to get to know me and my bio linked back to the Curiosity Pack site.
No matter what approach I’m trying out, I try to approach marketing with curiosity.
Just like how kids’ learn best – I learn about running a business by wondering, exploring, experimenting, and reflecting.
Just like how kids’ learn best – I learn about running a business by wondering, exploring, experimenting, and reflecting.
Lily Jones is the founder of Curiosity Pack, a Kickstarter-funded company providing fun, educational activities that inspire a love of learning in kids ages 3-10. As a former K/1 elementary school teacher, curriculum developer and coach to new instructors, Lily uses her teaching expertise to help parents step into the almighty role they play in their kids’ education. Lily holds a M.A. in Education from UC Berkeley and resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, two kids and dog.
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