16 Sep Should I Use Limited Releases as a Marketing Tool?
Standing out in a crowded craft landscape has only grown increasingly more difficult. More craft businesses sprout up every day, both online and via brick-and-mortar locations, and jockey for the attention of eager crafters. As a result, differentiating your craft business has become more of a challenge for craft retailers and business owners. Enter limited releases as an essential marketing tool.
Limited releases have become one of the best methods for generating excitement and increasing sales for your craft business. Limited product releases play on the scarcity principle, in which consumers place greater significance on rare items. Any time you’ve been swayed into purchasing something that flashed “LIMITED TIME ONLY” or “LIMITED EDITION,” you’ve been influenced by the scarcity principle.
New Products vs. Limited Release Products
Everybody enjoys a new product release—it’s fun to experience something new, and it gives customers a sense of being part of a community when they commit to a new product or project alongside their fellow crafters. New products can be very useful for exciting your existing customer base. You can craft newsletters, blogs, and social media posts counting down to a new product, invite followers to join your newsletter list to learn when new products launch, and develop ad campaigns promoting your new product.
But a new product is very different from a limited release product. Limited release products impart a sense of exceptional exclusivity. When a limited release launches, the assumption is that it is already in low supply. A limited release product plays on both the excitement generated from something new, and the excitement of exclusivity and rarity. Limited release products are perfect for:
- Boosting sales around the holidays
- Attracting new and curious customers
- Generating excitement on social media
- Bolstering your newsletter list
- Launching new ad campaigns targeting lookalike audiences
Small Batch Limited Releases
Are you an independent maker who can only release items in small batch quantities? Knowing your production capacity is smaller than a larger manufacturer should factor into your marketing strategy.
The limited release strategy could be your best marketing tool for building up your newsletter list and social media following. Announce upcoming releases on social media and encourage followers to register for your newsletter to be the first to hear when the next batch of products is released. Use countdown tools built into platforms like Instagram to remind followers of release dates.
As an independent maker, limited releases are likely part and parcel of operating your business effectively. It’s probably not intentional, but that just means you should utilize all of the positive possibilities of the limited release model to bolster your business.
Opportunities with Limited Release Products
When developing your limited release product strategy, remember that the goal is to use your limited release product to attract and keep customers. The limited release product is the sweet nectar in your business’s flowers—and your flowers need to be perennials! The buzz might be short-term, but you should aim to keep those bees coming back year after year.
There are several strategies to employ for supporting limited-release products and encouraging repeat customers through limited releases:
- Create a landing page for your limited release product, with newsletter registration to learn more about the upcoming release.
- Develop in-store and online branding for your limited release product—and remember to include terms like “limited release,” “exclusive,” or “limited edition” in your branding. If you have an exact number of units, include that in your promotions.
- Include any information about the manufacturer and processes (Is it made by hand? Constructed from specialty materials? Does it have a story?)
- Create and include a special hashtag on the product packaging to invite customers to share their projects online.
- Collaborate with other craft makers and retailers to develop exclusive limited-release kits. Each participant in the limited release can market and promote the products on their channels, allowing each participant to grow together and share their audiences.
With a limited-release product, consider the possibilities of specialized packaging. Does your limited release contain a set of unique items? Could they be issued as “blind box” items, like Labubus and Smiskis? Blind box items are products sold in opaque containers; collectors don’t know which item they will get until they open the container. This is referred to as probabilistic selling, where customers aren’t sure which product they might get. It instills an air of mystery and uncertainty, and can even encourage multiple purchases. Pairing the scarcity principle of limited releases with the gambling/lottery aspect of blind box items (will I get the one I want??) can further increase excitement and drive sales.
Limited Releases as a Regular Business Model
We’ve mentioned that limited releases may be the default business model for small-batch producers because it’s their only means for selling their wares and keeping up with demand. However, all craft businesses should consider how the limited release model could fit into their overall business strategy.
Beyond generating excitement during both the busy holiday season, when competition is high, and the slow summer season, when sales tend to slump, limited releases can easily become a regular offering for creating a steady flow of revenue for your business.
The Witchy Stitcher is a cross-stitch pattern design that features limited releases as a sales strategy. When stitchers join The Witchy Stitcher’s Patreon channel, they gain access to a free pattern every month. Some of these patterns eventually move to The Witchy Stitcher’s online shop, but many retire to “the graveyard” a month or two after release. They remain in the graveyard for a minimum of three months, and then some return to the Patreon as limited release exclusives (during a “graveyard party”) or become permanent shop patterns.
This performs two functions:
- Attracting new stitchers to join The Witchy Stitcher’s Patreon to secure new monthly limited-release patterns
- Ensuring existing stitchers remain on The Witchy Stitcher’s Patreon to secure old limited-release patterns that might resurface
This strategy of monthly limited releases could easily be applied to:
- Small batch yarn dyers—think exclusive colorways released as mini skeins with the option to revisit those colorways in the future, depending on popularity.
- Knit, crochet, embroidery, and quilt block pattern designers, releasing exclusive patterns and re-releasing retired patterns using The Witchy Stitcher’s strategy.
- Weavers like Hello Hydrangea. She utilizes a subscription model that releases new projects to subscribers every month. After a certain number of months pass, those projects become available in her online shop as individual items.
- Lino and woodcut printmakers, creating a limited run of original prints.
Limited and exclusive releases can be a powerful marketing tool for generating excitement, driving sales, and increasing brand awareness. Need help strategizing how to incorporate limited releases into your marketing schedule? Stitchcraft Marketing is a marketing agency of crafting experts. We customize every program to showcase your brand, engage your customer base, and generate sales in a way that is nothing less than magical. If you’d like to work with us, contact us today to get started!
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