213 How to Tell People What to Do in a 3-Step Plan
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Release Date: 05/31/2023
377 Practical Ways to Get More Referrals From Your Farm Customers
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Most farmers will tell you that word-of-mouth is one of their best sources of new customers. But there's a big difference between being grateful for referrals, and intentionally creating more of them. In this episode, we're talking about how to put an engine behind word-of-mouth. I'll share a whole bunch of practical ways farms can make referrals easier, more natural, and more likely to happen—without needing complicated software or some fancy loyalty program. More importantly, I'll show you how to think strategically about who you ask, when you ask, what you give customers to share, and...
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376 What Should I Call This? How to Name Farm Products (So That They Sell)
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Could changing one word on a sign or product listing make a product sell better? Last week at our Farmer's Bag Toledo pickup, I noticed something strange happening with two kinds of onions sitting right next to each other. Customers kept choosing one—and passing over the other. Then one of our volunteers made an observation: “I wonder if it's the name.” That comment made me think, "Oh I've got to do a podcast about this!" Because as farmers, we often name our products based on what we call them -- i.e. the variety in the seed catalog, the technical name of the cut, or whatever makes...
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375 The Five Transformations Farmers Really Sell
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
What if your customers aren't actually buying your vegetables? In this episode, Corinna shares a personal story from her son's Air Force Basic Training that reinforced a key marketing principle, and it has nothing to do with farming. If you've ever struggled to know what to say in your emails, on your website, or in your social media posts, this episode will help you uncover the deeper reason people choose to buy from your farm. Eventually all business owners realize that customers don't buy products... they buy the life those products help create. You'll learn how to identify the...
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374 Behind the Launch: How Farmer's Bag Toledo Went From Idea to Sold Out
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
How do you go from a random idea... to selling out a brand-new food access program in just a few days? In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the complete behind-the-scenes story of launching The Farmer's Bag Toledo. You'll hear how one unexpected meeting planted the seed, how the right partnership changed everything, why we chose to beta test instead of trying to make it perfect, and all the practical work that happened behind the scenes -- from pricing and logistics to technology, funding, naming, messaging, and launch strategy. If you've ever had an idea sitting in your notebook...
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373: The 7 Essential Offers Every Farm Business Needs
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Imagine asking the first runner in a relay race to carry the baton from the starting line all the way to the finish. No winning team would do that. Yet many farm businesses unknowingly expect one offer to do exactly that. In this episode, I introduce a simple framework that completely changed the way I think about marketing: The Offer Portfolio. Instead of relying on one offer to attract new customers, create first-time buyers, build loyalty, increase order value, and generate referrals, you'll discover the 7 essential offers every farm business should consider -- and the unique role each one...
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372 Dealing with Dread: The Hidden Marketing Obstacle That's Keeping Farmers Stuck
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Have you ever found yourself putting off the very marketing task that could help your farm grow? Writing the email. Launching the promotion. Recording the video. Raising your prices. Building the sales page. You know it needs to get done... but every time you think about it, you feel that heavy sense of dread. In this episode, I share a personal discovery that is challenging the the way I think about procrastination, marketing, and business growth. After catching myself avoiding two important projects this month, I realized something surprising: I wasn't avoiding the work. I was avoiding the...
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371 Re-Broadcast: Use This Weekly Checklist to Sell More at the Farmer's Market
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
This podcast is for all of you who go to farmer's markets!! This episode is a rebroadcast! I first recorded it two years ago, and I decided to share it again, because it needs repeating! Do you want to walk away from the market feeling like you did everything you could to maximize sales that day? Here's a fact: You're going to sell more at the farmer's market if you do a little bit of preparation in the sales strategy department. In this episode, I'm sharing my checklist of "things to make sure you do" before you hop into the truck and head to market. Things like: create a weekly special...
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370 Finding the Friction That's Costing You Sales
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Every farm has friction. The question is… can you see it? Friction is anything that makes buying from your farm harder than it needs to be. It shows up in every business—often in places we've become blind to because we know our own systems so well. The good news? You don't have to eliminate every point of friction to see results. Sometimes removing just one obstacle can make a meaningful difference. In this episode, I'll introduce you to the concept of becoming a Friction Detective. Together, we'll explore the most common places friction hides in a farm business, the questions you...
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369 The One Metric That Tells You if Your Farm Leads Are Actually Worth Anything
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
What is a lead actually worth to your farm business? Most farmers know how many email subscribers they have. Far fewer know what those subscribers are actually worth. And that can lead to some very bad marketing decisions. In this episode, I introduce a simple metric called Earnings Per Lead (EPL) that helps you measure the value of the people entering your world -- i.e. whether they came from a Facebook ad, a farmers market, a farm tour, a referral, or a lead magnet. You'll learn how to calculate EPL, why it's different from Cost Per Lead, and how it can help you decide which marketing...
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368: How to Prioritize Your Farm Marketing When Time Is Tight
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
One of the questions I hear all the time from farmers is: "What marketing channel should I focus on?" Or: "If I only have a few hours a week, what's the minimum marketing I need to do?" But I think that's the wrong question. The real question is: Where should I invest my limited marketing time so it creates the biggest impact? In this episode, I share a simple framework to help you decide where your marketing time should go based on the three metrics that actually drive farm revenue: customer count, average order value, and order frequency. We'll talk about the four places marketing time...
info_outlineMay 31, 2023 by Corinna
Wondering why more people aren't buying your product?...
Well, it could be many things. But maybe your customers are confused about how to start doing business with you.
Imagine a brand new potential client finds about your brand. They're curious enough to go check out your website or store. They might even scan the website all the way to the bottom! But they don't take action because they can't figure out what exactly is going to happen when they click the BUY NOW button.
This is a problem I see time and again on company websites and messaging. (I am guilty of it too!) As business owners, we aren't making the whole process clear. We are so close to our product that we assume everyone knows how it works! But what if they don't?...
For example, a prospect sees your "SHOP ONLINE" button, but they don't understand how pickup works. Where or when are they picking up the product? Or do you deliver it? When do they select that option? So they don't click the button.
People will not enter into a state of confusion.
Our job as marketers is to eliminate confusion, and part of that means we need to proactively map out the journey for them BEFORE they even step into the call-to-action-button -- to help them see the critical milestones in the ENTIRE process from purchase to fulfillment.
What does this look like? One popular method for communicating this information is to use something known as the "3-Step Plan." In today's podcast, I discuss what this plan can look like for a farm business, and I share some questions you can use to help you figure out your 3 steps.
This podcast was sponsored by Local Line, the leading e-commerce platform for the local food system. Try Local Line for your farm today! Local Line is offering a free premium feature for free for one year on top of your paid subscription. Claim your discount by signing up for a Local Line account today and using the coupon code: MDF2023. Head to my special affiliate link to get started: www.mydigitalfarmer.com/localline
Resources Mentioned In This Episode:
I reference several examples of how the 3-Step Plan looks on actual websites. Check them out:
- SharedLegacyFarms.com/csa-membership <== my farm's CSA sales page
- WillowhavenFarm <== my farmer friend Tessa Demaster shows a Plan for a customizable CSA
- DallasOasis.com <== a wedding/event planner company
- Seven Sons Farm <== meat subscription box
- Chamberlain Law Group <== even my lawyer in Perrysburg, Ohio, is using a Plan section!!
Join my free email list! I have a great "email onboarding sequence" that will guide you through the marketing jungle over the course of several months. Each week, you'll get a new email with suggestions and tips to make your marketing better.
Accelerator Group Coaching with Corinna -- get on the wait list for this 15-member group Mastermind and Farm Marketing School experience.
Sign up for my CSA Academy -- and get access to my CSA member resource library to use for your own CSA (as long as you're a paying member). Use coupon code TRIAL to get your first month for $1.
Ten Common Farm Website Mistakes -- Use this PDF guide as a checklist to identify and troubleshoot common website messaging mistakes!
Find my Facebook group for farmers!
Follow me on Instagram for a daily IG story tip on marketing! @mydigitalfarmer