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The Business of Knife Making A forum dedicated to all aspects of running, managing and legal operational issues relating to the custom knife making and custom knife selling industry.

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  #1  
Old 01-09-2006, 01:09 AM
bcpayne bcpayne is offline
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How can I get my profile published

How can I get my profile published. I'm still working full time and all the rest I devote to knife making. I would love to make knives all the time but first I got to develope clientell by getting my name out there.
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  #2  
Old 01-09-2006, 07:10 AM
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SharpByCoop SharpByCoop is offline
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Contact the editor or manager of any magazine you are interested in. They all have contact pages in the mags. Ask THEM what it would take. (Good photo of you and your work with a short bio?)

Good luck!

Coop


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  #3  
Old 01-10-2006, 07:06 AM
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Ed Caffrey Ed Caffrey is offline
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Getting noticed can be a time consuming task. I know this is beating a dead horse, but it's all about paying your dues. This includes sending in GOOD photos to the magazines, being seen at shows and knifemaker gatherings, and getting your knives in the hands of those who can, and will spread the word about your work.

Getting a profile in one of the major publications is not as easy as it might seem. With the quality and quantity of makers today, your work has to "shine" to be noticed. If you can't take GOOD photos yourself, then spend the money to have a professional photograph your knives. Prior to getting that first photo of one of my knives in a magazine, I estimate I spent about $1,000 on photography, and much more than that traveling to various knife shows. In the knife world it is as much about building your personal reputation, as it is about the quality of your knives. The importance of your integrity cannot be overstated in this business! Work hard to establish a good reputation and guard it jelously. I tell students this: A good reputation is the hardest thing to achieve, and is the easiest thing to loose.
Getting your face and your knives into those places were the media can see both is extremely important in your quest to become known.


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  #4  
Old 01-31-2006, 06:47 PM
woodwalker woodwalker is offline
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when i get some realy god knives made, i have plans on etching them with a url to my website i want to start, then pawn them at a few pawn shops in my area. that way, i get paid for them, and i get the word out.


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  #5  
Old 03-17-2006, 10:08 PM
tmiller5087 tmiller5087 is offline
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Speaking of web pages....there are about a billion of them......how do you ones with web pages promote them? i have one (not knife related) I so far have had minimall success getting visitors to it.
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  #6  
Old 03-19-2006, 11:56 AM
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Shakudo Shakudo is offline
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the internet is a strange place to advertize sometimes.search engines look at a great number of items for placement rank. text,photos,links to and from other sites,keywords,etc. if you are lucky to be placed on the fisrt page of a search,you could possibly recieve more visits than the 5th page. although just getting hundreds of hits a day doesn't always translate into a large number of sales. business cards and flyers can also help to add to visitor traffic.
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  #7  
Old 03-19-2006, 12:09 PM
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SharpByCoop SharpByCoop is offline
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I don't care too much about search engine placement. I care more about getting my site recognized by my target audience. Post often, have a clear signature line with your site, advertise where it counts (notice that flash banner of mine on your KNET screen every so often? Worth every penny...), and do whatever it takes to get publishers your work.

For me I knew well in advance the power of the net, so my business name has a dotcom signature. I am easy to find because of it.

The handmade industry is not like the production industry, so page listings are not as key as SOLID name recognition.

Coop


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  #8  
Old 05-15-2006, 12:04 PM
tmiller5087 tmiller5087 is offline
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I have found a very profitable way to promote my web page. Perhaps some of you are familar with auto surfs. Not only do I get my webpage viewed by thousands of ppl per day I get paid to advertise by veiwing others webpages (only takes a few minutes) a day. Great way to make money actualy. I am surfing in order to buy a KMG lol.

How they work is You can join them for free and advertise your site. What makes them sweet is You can buy advertising units from $1.00 to $12.00 each. once you do you become eligiable to earn up to 24% of what you spent on your advertizing per day.

They are all different and pay different amounts. Plus some are downright scams I lost my first earnings because I was in the wrong surf. So one wouldn't want to put more into it then they can afford. But either way You still get your web page viewed.

One of the surfs I am in I put in $100.00 . It pays 10% per day for 15 days. In this surf on saturdays you can reinvest any portion of the money you earned for the week back into it. This is called compounding by doing this one can turn $100.00 into over $400.00 in a month. Thats what I have done and I was just paid. I put it all back in by buying more advertizing units so by the end of next month I should have close to a $1000.00. Sucha deal. Great way to make money if only to buy knife makin supplies and advertise knives.

The above sight is by invitation only So if this sounds like sumthin you would be interested in please PM me( don't want to be accused of spamming you all) and I will give you the details on what all you have to do ( like sign up at certion pay processors). there are a couple other surfs I could reccomend with honest ppl running them also.

If you don't have a web page to advertise no problem you can startout by advertizing the knifenetwork or the PP.
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  #9  
Old 05-16-2006, 01:33 PM
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garrisonknife garrisonknife is offline
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Check out makerprofiles.com/knives. You can a get a free profile there that includes pictures and contact info.
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  #10  
Old 06-26-2006, 04:53 PM
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MCarter MCarter is offline
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I recently wrote a couple of profiles and shot pictures of a couple of well-known knifemakers and sent them to Blade. Blade's response was "we are up to our waist in profiles".


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  #11  
Old 10-05-2006, 11:42 PM
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One thing nobody seemed to mention...

Be ready for the exposure!!! If you do make it into Blade or Knives Illustrated, be ready to seriously kick it into high gear. You'll have all kinds of people knocking at your door wanting your knives and willing to make short term orders. Chances are they won't be willing to wait too long for them either, especially if this is the first time anyone has heard of you. They'll get irritated that you can't keep up with the demand. Word gets out, and now you just lost all the "attention" you were trying to gain.

It sounds a little rough but it's true. Speaking from experience...

If I had to do it over, which I might, I would just go local first. Friends, family, co-workers, a couple local knife shows, maybe hit up local gun and knife shops. Slowly get your name out there. What would also work good is if you have family and friends that are not local, say cross country. If you give them a knife as a gift and they show it off to their friends, your now getting the word out cross country. One thing I always try to do is, any time I sell anything always give them 2 or 3 business cards. That way if a friend of theirs likes your work they can contact you using that information.

Chris Nilluka
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  #12  
Old 10-06-2006, 09:06 AM
waredbear waredbear is offline
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Cool

Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisinbeav
One thing I always try to do is, any time I sell anything always give them 2 or 3 business cards. That way if a friend of theirs likes your work they can contact you using that information. Chris Nilluka
Business cards are cheap and under used. Don't give out 2 or 3 cards...give out 5 or 10. Ask them to give them away. Always carry several with you and give them out liberally. I used to preach at a small town church. I kept a box of cards on the back table and encouraged everyone to take some and keep them in their wallet or purse and to give them out. Make sure you have all your contact information on the card and any important information as to the type of knives you make. You also want to make sure the card is attractive...not just plain words on a blank card. You can also have a magnetic sign made-up and stick it to your car/truck or create a window sticker. That way you advertise your business everywhere you drive.

Good Luck
Reid Allen
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  #13  
Old 10-11-2006, 01:49 PM
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Les Robertson Les Robertson is offline
 
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First, ask yourself what am I doing this is different? Why do I deserve a profile in a magazine?

Your competition is 3,000 - 4,000 other makers just in the US.

Chrisinbeav had an excellent point, be ready when your profile gets in a magazine.

MCarter, as one who is currenlty writing profiles for Blade I can tell you that Steve Shackelfor (the editor) is required to have all of his articles set 18 months in advance. Consequently anything you send to him know (if not scheduled) will at best get in April 2008, thats right 2008!

You may have better luck with KI, Tactical Knives or Knife World.

If you want to get a profile in a magazine you need to be doing something different and unique. As well it doesn't hurt to have people whispering in the editor's ear about you. Collectors, dealers and other makers are your best bet for this.


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