craft your commerce Spring workshops
Beyond the Studio:
Next Level Digital Marketing
Want to see better results from your digital marketing efforts? Our Next Level Digital Marketing workshop series can help you make this a reality. These Spring 2022 CYC workshops will take your entrepreneurship learning to the next level. These classes are specifically designed for those already using digital marketing techniques but want to kick it up a notch, or see better results from your efforts.
The CYC Spring Workshop Series Beyond the Studio: Next Level Digital Marketing will feature the following:
- An in person networking event to kick off the series – Makers Mixer
- 5 separate virtual workshops that focus on digital marketing with an emphasis on higher level learning. Each workshop is designed to give you actionable items to implement into your creative business and see results.
- A 5 week in person Alpine for Creatives intensive designed to help you take your existing business to the next level.
If you are new to marketing or don’t use digital marketing in your business, we recommend you take our Marketing & Branding Essentials class first, before signing up for these workshops.
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Makers Mixer
March 16th, 5 – 7 pm
Center for Craft Assembly Hall
Join us on Wednesday March 16th from 5 – 7 pm, for an informal in person gathering of artists and creatives from the Western North Carolina region and beyond. This is a relaxed networking event that will include small bites and beverages along with information on our 2022 Spring Craft Your Commerce workshop series Beyond the Studio: Next Level Digital Marketing. Join us for a free and fun afternoon. This is an in person event held at the Center for Craft.
The Engine: How To Use Content Marketing To Reach Customers and Grow Your Business
March 25th from 2 – 4:30 pm ET
Via Zoom
Guest Presenter: Kim Robinson of 3pts
In this interactive workshop participants will be empowered with a framework to understand, use and maximize content marketing for their business. Participants will be provided with the foundational support needed for them to create content that resonates with customers and grows their brand.
Panel: The Power of Digital Marketing
March 30th from 4 – 6 pm ET
Via Zoom
Moderator: Sarah Benoit
Guest Panelists: TBD
Digital marketing is a rich, complex topic and a continuously moving target for most brands and businesses. Under the umbrella of digital marketing are a wide variety of tools and platforms, as well as communications strategies and approaches. All of them offer opportunities for growth and success, as well as risk, so how do you decide what the right path is when you’re promoting your products and services online? How can you be sure you won’t waste your time, money, and resources? Join digital marketing strategist Sarah Benoit as she leads a conversation with creatives and small businesses who are successfully marketing themselves in the digital world. Hear their stories and gain valuable insight about how you can build a stronger, more impactful presence online.
Instagram Deep Dive
April 1 from 10 am – 12 pm ET
Via Zoom
Guest Presenter: Liz Kantner
Attracting customers today via Instagram is key to building a strong online presence, but Instagram’s functionality and the algorithms change constantly. Liz Kantner, owner of STAY GOLD will provide a brief overview of Instagram and how to create consistent content on Instagram that will lead to sales. Liz will also illustrate what makes an engaging post that gets the attention of your followers. Learn how to develop strong messaging, strategically use the tools Instagram provides, key metrics to consider, write impactful calls to action and convert your leads to sales. The workshop will include time for attendees to hotseat their Instagram posts with Liz to gain live feedback.
Email Marketing Best Practices for Creatives
April 5 and 12 from 2 – 4 pm
Via Zoom
Guest Presenter: Sarah Benoit
Session 1: Email Marketing Strategies and Tools; Session 2: The Role of Your Website in Email Marketing
In a digital world where social media and online advertising seem to dominate the conversation, is email marketing still relevant? The answer is 100% yes, especially for any brand or business selling products online, managing a brick and mortar retail space, or both. Join digital marketing strategist and educator Sarah Benoit as she shares email best practices for creatives and small businesses. In session 1 you’ll review the basics of email marketing, discuss various approaches that you can take based on the size of your business, explore how to build your list with the future in mind, and watch a live demo of MailChimp. In session 2 you’ll dive into how your email list and website can integrate and work together to create a more highly engaged network of existing and potential customers. Learn the importance of website usability and how to give your email subscribers the best experience possible so they continue to engage and buy over time.
Selling on Pinterest
April 7 and 15 from 2 – 4 pm ET
Via Zoom
Guest Presenters: Andrea Li of Red Pin Geek
You’re a creator. You’ve always been good with your hands. The thrill of manifesting an object from your imagination is what gets you out of bed in the morning but marketing your business online? Not so much. Maybe you’ve already embraced Instagram but your reach is being tanked by algorithms and it’s not actually driving visitors to your site. Besides, your followers are already familiar with your brand. You need new customers and a place to get in front of them. Well, the good news is that there is a place, and it’s called Pinterest.
Pinterest might be for you if you’re frustrated by your declining Instagram reach, you wish you could spend more time making instead of engaging on social media, or feel like you spend so much time producing quality content for it to be irrelevant after 30 minutes of posting. Maybe it’s time to give your content more legacy so you can get back to creating.
Alpine for Creatives
April 20 – May 18th from Wednesdays 10 am – 1 pm ET
Center for Craft Morgan Boardroom
Are you ready to grow your creative based business and determine what your next steps are?
If so, Alpine for Creatives is for you! This 5-week course provides a peer-to-peer learning environment for you to assess your creative-based venture to date and address the opportunities and challenges emerging on the horizon. The course will guide participants through a comprehensive assessment of their experience producing and selling to date.
The Alpine Course will give you the opportunity to assess how things have been going in your business up to this point, while also visioning for the future. It will reconnect you with the “why” of your venture and help create in-roads to meeting both your short and long term goals.
This special Alpine Course is part of the Craft Your Commerce: 2022 Spring Workshop Series being offered by Mountain BizWorks. The series involves a networking event, five separate workshops, and one intensive course suited for existing makers. Alpine for Creatives is designed to help makers with an existing business take the tools, strategies, and resources gained from the series workshops and then integrate them into your business plan and practices to further your success.
Sign Up For The Series
The networking event and workshops are offered à la carte but we hope you will take advantage of the Series Pass and journey through the entirety of this integrative learning experience.
Pay What You Wish
Mountain BizWorks is excited to offer this series of workshops as a Pay What You Wish (PWYW) option. What does this mean? It means we recognize that the economic realities of the pandemic has put a huge financial strain on many households and we do not want price to be a limiting factor in order for creative entrepreneurs to benefit from our programs. In effect, we are trusting you to pay what you consider to be a fair price given your economic situation, beyond a $10 minimum placeholder. We hope this allows as many craft and creative individuals to be able to participate and grow their business skills leading to sustainable businesse
Scholarships
Limited financial need based scholarships are available. To apply for a scholarship please continue to this form.
About Craft Your Commerce
Craft Your Commerce is a Mountain BizWorks entrepreneurial program designed to connect, elevate and advance creative and craft-centered companies through a series of business training workshops and classes designed by makers for makers.
Questions?
Contact Gwynne Rukenbrod Smith, Craft Your Commerce Program Director at gwynne@mountainbizworks.org
Sponsors
Our Supporting Partners
This year’s Craft Your Commerce series would not be possible without the generous support from our partners and sponsors.
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