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Sale Consignments - Part 3

by Molly Clubb | Jan 23, 2013

Getting the Most for Your Sale Consignments

This series of Blog posts will focus on consignments and promoting your sale consignments to try to ensure the highest selling price. Today's focus is on keeping your conisgnments in front of people at crucial times before the sale.

The most economic ways to market your sale consignments are internet based. Internet markeitng is also one fo the only ways you can measure the results your advertising dollars are getting.

Some of the most popular forms of internet marketing within the Longhorn Industry include:

Email blasts

Offered through virtually every organization and registry (including Hired Hand), and something you can do on your own as well, e-blasts go out to hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Longhorn enthusiasts and put your sale consignment in front of them whether theyr'e at their computer, on their mobile device, etc.

Eblasts typically range in cost from $50-$100. The goal of the eblast should be not to overwhelm the viewer with information in front of them, but rather interest them enough that they click through to your website. The reason that you want the reader to visit your website is becuase you can then measure the results...You can see how many people came to your website becuase of that eblast. If Hired Hand is supporting your website data you can see how long they stayed, what animals or links they looked at, etc. You can even narrow down your site visits to specific parts of the country. All of this data is valuable it seeing 1. if the eblast was a good investment and 2. if there is a good amount of interest in your sale consignment.

When designing or having an eblast designed my advice is DO NOT go for the "ad" look. Do not email out a flattened graphic with a link on the bottom that says "click here for more info." This does not make it easy for the reader to find what they're looking for. Instead, use a nice graphic header that is similar to your website or will help to build your brand and pack that eblast full of as many links as you possibly can. That way, if the reader is interested in the sire or dam, the service sire, the consignment itself, etc. they can EASILY get to that portion that interests them. The key is making it easy for the reader and end user. Links may not always look as visually nice as a printed ad or graphic but they make it much easier for the viewer to interact with your eblast which is the overall goal.

Here is a portion of an eblast that Stotts Hideaway Ranch recently sent via Hired Hand. As you can see the eblast is clean and simple and offers readers a variety of links to choose from for easy access.

Another piece of advice about e-blasts would be to do more than one. Look at the date of the sale and backtrack on the calendar. One e-blast may focus on the consignments general information, perhaps another on her service sire or noteable offspring, and perhaps another on just reminding people to attend the sale and look at your consignment in person. Try not to send out eblasts for one sale that people may confuse with an earlier sale though however.

If you'd like help or have questoins about e-blast campaigns please don't hesitate to contact me.

Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest...the list goes on and on. In the Longhorn Industry Facebook seems to be the most widely used form of social media by fellow breeders and the best part is (for now) it's FREE! Similar rules apply to Facebook as the e-blasts. Give people a reason to click the link or photo you're posting. Don't include too much information in the post or it will not get as many reads. You want to use Facebook as a "teaser" to drive people to your website - to your sale consignment. Don't be afraid to make multiple posts spread a few days and weeks apart as well. But also don't be too "salesy."

For other blog posts that can share more Facebook advertising and posting tips check out these previous Blog posts from Jaymie and I:

Unique URLS and Facebook

How to Create a Facebook Fan Page

If you're utilizing Twitter to market your consignments just remember to keep it interesting and short.

We'll be covering more ideas for Pinterest in a future post.

Your Website

Your website itself is an important tool in promoting your sale consignment. Many breeders will feature a "Consignments" tab as part of thier main menu while others will feature sale consignments on the homepage, keeping it up to date and relevant. However you choose to market your sale consignment(s) on your website it is so very important to make sure the information is up to date, measurements and breeding are accurate, progeny are being shown off well (if she's a mama) adn that you make it easy for people to research her service sire as well.

I would encourage Hired Hand users to create a separate page for each sale that they consign animals to. Within that page promote the date and location of the sale and link to the sales' website if applicable. On your page place 1 search results module (animal section) for each consignment. Above that consignment place a Content Section where you can share or repeat sales comments, important measurements, breeding, etc. incase a user reads there before clicking on the tabs below the animal. Then also add a search results module for the Service Sire, AI Sire, etc. This will allow the viewer to easily access the future bloodlines they may be purchasing. If the consignment is out of a well-known sire or dam, almost include them on the page (don't take for granted they'll click on them from the pedigree). This way you're giving users multiple ways to find out the most information about your animal. Finally, consider putting a Contact Form module on each consignment page or under each consignment. Or, at the very least, make sure you have your phone number listed and a link to your email so the viewer can easily contact you.

If you need any assistance with adding animal Search Results modules to your pages please don't hesitate to contact Jaymie or I today for help.

Mobile Marketing (Text Messaging)

This is a new service now offered by Hired Hand. With so many of us tied to our mobile devices we thought text messaging would be a great way to reach breeders regarding consignments, sales news, tech tips and more. Hired Hand customers can now send out text messages to our subscribers for a minimal fee. You can send a text encouraging subscribers to visit your website, check out your lot(s) in the sale catalog they just received in the mail, etc. And, as always, with your monthly stats from Hired Hand you'll be able to track this form of advertising by seeing if there is an increase in your site traffic from mobile users.

If you'd like to try our Mobile Marketing please contact Molly today.

You can also sign up to be a subscriber here for only $25/year (non-customer rate $40/year).

Here is a screen shot from a website for Split Rock Cedar Ranch that will be going live any day. As you can see Mike chooses to display his Consignments under his Sale Pen tab but then also breaks down his Consignments for each sale by title. Once a user clicks on a specific page they can easily access his consignments for the sale they are going to attend.

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