285 Boost Your Farm's Revenue with Value-Added Products: Insights from Kendall Ballantine
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Release Date: 10/30/2024
323 The Secret to My 60-Cent Leads — How I Found a High-Performing Facebook Ad by Accident
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Local Line is my preferred e-commerce platform for farmers. Are you looking for a new solution for your farm? I can't recommend it enough. Easy-to-use inventory management, great customer service, continuous improvement, and a culture dedicated to equipping farmers with marketing expertise. 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: MDF2025. Head to my special affiliate link to get started: If your marketing to-do list is starting to...
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322 Using Collaborations to Market Your Farm with Erika from Taste the Local Difference
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Podcast Sponsors: Local Line is my preferred e-commerce platform for farmers. Are you looking for a new solution for your farm? I can't recommend it enough. Easy-to-use inventory management, great customer service, continuous improvement, and a culture dedicated to equipping farmers with marketing expertise. 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: MDF2025. Head to my special affiliate link to get started: If...
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321 How to Engage Customers While They Wait — Improving the Bulk Meat Buying Experience
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
If your farm sells bulk meat, you’ve probably experienced this challenge: a customer places their deposit… and then has to wait 4–6 months before pickup. That’s a long time to keep someone excited, informed, and connected. But what if that “dead zone” in your customer journey could actually become your secret weapon for building loyalty, reducing buyer’s remorse, and increasing repeat purchases? In this week’s episode, I sit down with Breann Detweiler, a pastured meat farmer in my Farm Marketing School. During a private 1:1 call, we workshop how to build a...
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320 How to Create a VIP Customer Strategy for Your Farm Part 2
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Last week we mapped out what your farm’s VIP program could look like. This week, it’s time to bring it to life. How do you structure it? Communicate it? Track it? And… what if someone loses VIP status? If you've ever wanted a loyal sub-group of "superfans" who promote your farm, buy regularly, and feel deeply connected to your brand—this episode gives you the blueprint to build that community on purpose. What You'll Learn in This Episode: The 4 different ways to structure a VIP system (and how to choose the right one) Simple methods to track VIP customer behavior without fancy...
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319 How to Create a VIP Customer Strategy for Your Farm Part 1
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Have you ever walked into a place so often that the staff knew your name—and your order? There’s something magical about being recognized and treated like a regular. It creates loyalty. That’s the idea behind a VIP strategy—and your farm needs one. In today’s episode, I kick off a 2-part series that helps you create a plan to identify, reward, and retain your farm’s most valuable customers. Part 1 is all about figuring out who those people are, and what kind of behavior you want to encourage more of. You’ll learn: Why your business needs a VIP strategy What behaviors to track...
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318 How Farmers Can Use July 14 to Create Buzz and Sales
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Have you every wished for a fun excuse to surprise your customers, build some goodwill, and boost mid-season sales? Well, what if I told you that July 14th is National Give Something Away Day—and it might just be the perfect opportunity to try something new, spark some joy, and get people buzzing about your farm? In this episode, I show you how to use this quirky, under-the-radar holiday to your advantage—with a list of 8 creative giveaway ideas you can steal, tweak, or flat-out copy. Whether you want to build customer loyalty, generate excitement on social, or increase traffic to...
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317 The Farm Stop Model: How This Ann Arbor Store Sells Local Food 7 Days a Week
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
What would happen if you merged a grocery store and a farmers market—and gave small farms a seven-day-a-week sales channel that actually pays them what they’re worth? In today’s episode, I interview Alex Blume, Marketing Manager for , a mission-driven retail concept based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that’s redefining how local food gets sold. Their innovative “farm stop” model helps small and mid-sized farms grow by giving them access to retail space 7 days a week—without the staffing or wholesale markups. Alex shares how the consignment model works, how they support over 250...
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316 Why Your Middle-Priced Product Sells Best: The Compromise Effect Explained
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Local Line is my preferred e-commerce platform for farmers. Are you looking for a new solution for your farm? I can't recommend it enough. Easy-to-use inventory management, great customer service, continuous improvement, and a culture dedicated to equipping farmers with marketing expertise. 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: MDF2025. Head to my special affiliate link to get started: Marketing doesn’t have to feel...
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315 What's a Thank You Page in Farm Marketing?
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Back in high school, I was that kid—the one who planned elaborate treasure hunt parties for my friends. I loved the thrill of creating a roadmap and leading them from clue to clue, always pointing to the next step. And honestly? That’s what a great thank you page does, too. A wise mentor once told me, "You're always taking your people somewhere..." In this episode, we’re talking about the most underutilized page in farm marketing—your thank you page. Whether it appears after someone signs up for your email list or buys your product, your thank you page isn’t just a...
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314 The Power of a Beta Test in Marketing
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Have you ever had a big idea for your farm business—but you didn’t act on it because it felt too overwhelming or risky? That was me. Until my coach said five simple words that completely shifted my thinking: “Just put a container around it.” In this episode, I share how we beta tested our new Chef’s Line of prepared foods—and how using the concept of a beta test gave us the freedom to move forward without fear or perfectionism. If you’ve been sitting on an idea because it feels “too big,” this episode will show you how to test it, refine it, and build momentum with less...
info_outlineAre you creating value-added products and selling them in your farm business? After hearing this episode, you may decide to get started!
"Value-added" refers to any agricultural products that have been processed or enhanced in a way that increases their market value. This could involve transforming raw farm products into something more convenient, shelf-stable, or unique, thus making them more appealing to customers. For example, turning fresh vegetables into pickles, making jams from fruit, or creating bone broth from animal by-products are all considered value-added because they offer more convenience, flavor, or functionality compared to their raw form. These products often allow farmers to increase their profit margins and diversify their income streams.
In this episode, Kendall Ballantine from Central Park Farms dives into the world of value-added products and how they transformed her direct-to-consumer farm business into a thriving operation. Discover how these simple innovations can create new revenue streams, support business growth, and help farms stay afloat during the off-season.
Tune in to learn:
- How Kendall turned chicken bones into bone broth, chicken pot pie, and over 40 other freezer meals for her online store.
- Where to start with value-added products.
- How to come up with value added product ideas.
- Creative marketing tips to entice buyers to buy your value added products.
- Common mistakes farmers make when they first start out with value-added.
- How to price your value added so you remain profitable.
This conversation is packed with actionable insights to inspire your own farm business!
Today's Guest: Meet Kendall Ballantine.
Follow Kendall's marketing tips at www.instagram.com/
Her website: www.onlinemarketingforfarmers.com
Workshop: Increasing Revenue with Value Added Products
Workhorse Collective, Kendall's Coaching Program
Podcast Sponsor:
This podcast was sponsored by Local Line, my preferred e-commerce platform for farmers. Are you looking for a new solution for your farm? I can't recommend it enough. Easy to use inventory management, great customer service, continuous improvement, and a culture dedicated to equipping farmers with marketing expertise, Local Line should definitely be one of the e-commerce solutions you consider as you switch. 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: MDF2024. Head to my special affiliate link to get started: www.mydigitalfarmer.com/localline
Some of the resources mentioned in this episode:
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Farm Marketing School - my monthly online marketing school membership just for farmers. Farm Marketing School is an on-demand library of marketing workshops and project plans that will help you build some of the most important parts of your marketing system: building a promotion calendar, setting up your Google Business Profile, auditing your sales funnel, updating your home page of your website, building your first email nurture sequence, acquiring and deploying testimonials, writing great weekly email promotions, nurture emails, onboarding emails, and practicing different types of offers. You get to chose what you want to study and build each month. These projects are designed to be completed in under 30 days, so that you slowly build your marketing system piece by piece. Use the step by step project planner and resource folder to help you jumpstart your work. Take advantage of my new marketing crash course inside or take the onboarding assessment tool to help you identify where your funnel is broken and what project to do first. To see what courses are currently inside of FMS, or to try out Farm Marketing School for a month at mydigitalfarmer.com/fms Start and cancel your membership anytime.
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