244 Sales Funnel Audit of Shady Brook Farm - Beef and Chicken
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
Release Date: 12/13/2023
My Digital Farmer | Marketing Strategies for Farmers
What if I told you I recently ran a 7-day CSA Chicken + Pork Share promotion on my farm, using only email, a private Facebook group, and a simple promotion framework? It went REALLY well, exceeding my sales predictions. If you’ve ever thought about launching a monthly meat share — or already have one and want to sell it more consistently — this episode is your behind-the-scenes look at how I design, organize, and execute a high-performing farm promotion from scratch. I walk you through: How I structured the product How I worked with my partner farm How I decided pricing, timing,...
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Last summer, I got invited to be on TV. Exciting, right? Then they asked a simple follow-up question: “Can you send over your media kit?” And I froze. I didn’t have one. I wasn’t even totally sure what should be in one. Fast forward to this winter, as I start doing more speaking, partnerships, and visibility work for both my farm and My Digital Farmer -- I realized this was a gap I needed to close. So I invited someone back on the show who lives and breathes this stuff. On today’s episode, I’m joined again by Erika Tebbens from Taste the Local Difference. If Erika sounds familiar,...
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What do you do when your customer just… stops paying attention? This week’s episode was inspired by a walk on our farm -- and a stubborn dog who found a vole in the field and completely tuned me out. Calling louder didn’t work. Waiting didn’t work. What finally worked was walking back out to her, getting in her line of sight, and offering her the right treat -- something she actually wanted. That moment sparked a powerful realization about customers who go quiet (and what actually brings them back). If you’ve ever looked at your email list or customer list and...
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Every January, we’re told to start fresh by setting goals, building plans, and fixing what didn’t work last year. But what if that pressure is the very thing that keeps us stuck? In this episode, I’m inviting you to try something different—something simpler, deeper, and far more sustainable. Instead of resolutions or rigid goals, what if you chose one word to guide your year? In this episode, I walk you through the practice of choosing a one-word intention—and how that single word can become a lens for your decisions, your energy, and the way you show up in both life and business. I...
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When I first started teaching farm marketing, I noticed something right away: most farmers weren’t struggling because they were “bad at marketing” — they were struggling because they had never been taught how to do it. They were winging it, trying to piece things together from YouTube videos and Instagram posts, and feeling defeated when sales didn’t budge. Farm Marketing School was born out of that gap — a place where farmers could learn the skills, systems, and confidence they need to market their farms well. And since enrollment for next year is now open, I wanted to...
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In this week’s episode, I sit down with Farm Marketing School member Patty Kloft of Lonely Lane Farms in Oregon — a long-established, family-run operation producing grass-fed beef, pork, lamb, and goat. Patty’s story is one of evolution: from a wholesale-focused farm to a thriving direct-to-consumer and retail business with more than 200 value-added meat products. We unpack how Patty scaled her farm while balancing family life, managing a USDA-certified processing facility, and developing consistent marketing systems to support a growing brand. 💡 What You’ll Learn in This Episode: ...
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What would it feel like to generate $250,000 in revenue from your farm in just one week? In this episode, I take you behind the scenes of our biggest—and most important—promotion of the year: our CSA Early Bird Renewal Campaign. We just wrapped up the 2026 launch, and the numbers are in: ➡️ 265 shares sold in 7 days ➡️ 234 of them sold in the first 24 hours 🤯 ➡️ Average order value: ~$950 ➡️ Platform: Local Line (and nope—no crashes!) If you're wondering how we got hundreds of customers to show up, click, and commit on Day One, you're going to want to listen to this. ...
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Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and you might be thinking, “It’s too late to pull off a holiday promo.” But guess what? It’s not. This time of year, your customers are already in buying mode -- planning meals, prepping for gatherings, and looking for unique local gifts. Which means there’s money sitting on the table right now for your farm. In this episode, I’m showing you how to grab it. In this week’s episode, I’m giving you plug-and-play ideas for last-minute Thanksgiving offers you can launch this week -- even if you feel behind. You’ll learn: 🥕 How to...
info_outlineJanuary 10, 2024
Today we do one of my favorite things: we interview a farmer and audit their sales funnel.
In today's episode, you'll hear from Adam Henson of Shady Brook Farm. Adam joined my Accelerator program this fall to build out his email nurture sequence and sales sequence for his meat sales. As you listen, I want you to hear how simple his sales funnel is. Sometimes we think that we have to have a lot of irons in the fire, but in reality, in the early years of setting up your business sales flow, you're just layering in the main players: the website, the weekly email, the nurture sequence, the product ladder, the attraction strategy and message.
Although Adam will tell you he isn't at his finish line yet, I wanted to show you a farm that is well on its way. Listen for some of the strategies that are working well for him. Notice the importance of the buyer's journey at the point of sale, and knowing your customer's pain points. I'm sure you'll find some marketing gems in this episode!
This podcast was sponsored by: The Thriving Farmer Podcast. In this top-rated farm podcast, you'll learn the latest tricks and strategies of successful farmers, strategize with in-depth interviews with leaders in the industry, and connect with stories of farmers just like you. In our interviews, we focus on building farms that last, on setting up systems, knowing your customers, building your team, and creating a work/family/life balance. With over 15 years of farming background, your host Michael Kilpatrick has the experience and authority to bring you practical advice, ask the hard questions, tease out the gold nuggets, and help share what it’s really like to build a profitable, sustainable farm.
Subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts or visit: https://www.thrivingfarmerpodcast.com/
Today's Podcast Guest:
Today’s podcast guest is Adam Henson of Shady Brook Farm in Canton, NC.
Adam is a fourth generation cattle farmer running a cow/calf operation in a grass based production model along side his wife Jada. his dad and grandmother are stake holders in the operation as land owners and in having a small interest in the cow herd. In 2012 Adam made the switch from the commodity system to a direct to consumer model offering grass fed and finished beef under their own label. Since then they have added pasture raised eggs in 2013 and pasture raised chickens in 2015. In 2022 they switched their laying hens and meat chickens to an organic/soy free feed.
They sell at a local farmer’s market on Saturdays, maintain an online store connected to their website, publish a weekly email to push customers to the online store and farmer’s market, as well as offer some small scale subscription services.
Some of the resources mentioned in this episode:
Join my free email list! https://www.mydigitalfarmer.com/subscribe I have a great "Crash Course in farm marketing" 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.
Sign up for Farm Marketing School at https://www.mydigitalfarmer.com/fms - 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 marketing elements in your farm business like: building a promotion calendar, auditing your sales funnel, updating your home page of your website, building your first email nurture sequence, and practicing different types of offers. These projects are designed to be completed in under 30 days, so that you slowly build your marketing system piece by piece. To see what courses are currently inside of FMS, or to try out Farm Marketing School for a month at mydigitalfarmer.com/fms Cancel your membership anytime.