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Amy Brummond | Episode 585
Amy Brummond is the clay enthusiast and self-taught potter behind Pine Zen Pottery. She loves combining color and pattern in her work. Amy practices yoga and meditation daily and gets outside as often as possible. She currently resides in Minnesota–where she lives with her husband and two sons.
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Is marketing something you put your mind to? Do you think, How can I spread the word?
Definitely. Using Instagram as that platform has been a serious goal and an intention for the past year. Part of that has been sharing process has been pretty much a large part of it because I wanted to show people how much work goes into creating the surfaces of my work. And then also trying to commit to posting…I was posting at least once a day, sometimes twice a day. I have kind of toned back a little bit, but you know, it depends on the week, but I try to post regularly.
What is regularly for you?
I would say at least three to four times a week. In the past it has been daily. But sometimes that can feel too forced, you know, and I want to be authentic and share my authentic voice creatively and as a person and my process and what I am going through.
When you are sharing your process are you just trying to let people know who you are so they are more interested in buying from you? Is that the thought process?
Well, I enjoy doing the videos, maybe it’s for my own satisfaction. But also I think I am a maker representing the handmade community and I want people to know how much work goes into making something from the very beginning. It starts out as a flat slab and these are all the steps that go into making a mug. It’s involved.
Do you research your audience so you know what they are looking for?
I do not. I do not research my audience. I mean I look at my insights but they are kind of all over the place and I haven’t found a huge amount of benefit from the insights, to be honest.
Have you determined what to look at in your metrics to determine how well you are doing?
Not really. Because the thing that I’ve struggled with, with Instagram, is the constantly changing Algorithm. So things that were working for me before don’t necessarily work today. So I am pretty much just trying to keep connecting because I like the community of Instagram and connecting with other makers and other people.
Do you look at what your “competitors” or other makers are doing and try to do what they are doing in the way they are presenting their work?
I would say that most of us are flying by the seat of our pants and if someone has some sort of success in the way they are marketing themselves… I don’t know, I can’t say that there is someone is specifically someone who is doing something in the way I want to do it. I actually don’t think it works like that because the way someone else is getting success with their marketing doesn’t necessarily translate directly for it to work directly for you. I do think the thing that works the best, especially on Instagram, is authenticity and trying to connect over trying to sell. I mean, if I am going to have an update , I am going to tell people about it, but I feel more positively about Instagram when I am using it to connect and when I am using it from my own authentic voice. Instead of using a different maker’s way of marketing. If that makes sense.
So does that mean you are trying to build engagements and relationships through what you are doing in social media?
For sure! Yeah, I mean, I feel more at peace about it, if it is about connecting. You know what I mean?
What do you find to be more productive in terms of engagement, videos or still shots? or questions? Or both or what?
Videos for sure. People love videos. There is just no way around it. I have done a lot of time lapse which really collapses the process but I have been trying to balance that with more IGTV videos so that people can see more full length part of the process. I think the problem with time lapse is that it fits within a minute and almost makes the process look too easy sometimes.
What is one of your favorite family activities?
One of our favorite things to do is go to Minnesota’s north shore. It is right up on Lake Superior and we will just go agate hunting, just hanging out on the beach, but both my boys love agate hunting. It is like treasure hunting basically because they are hard to find but when you find them, they are such a cool rock.
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Instagram: @pinezenpottery