Here ’s the thing — your farm has to make money . That is , if you desire a farm taxation ID numeral , your farm involve to produce income at some point . And you do want that number , because it relieve farm purchase from tax and makes you eligible to receive certain grants . You do n’t have to show a profits ( thank goodness — farming does n’t often put you in the blackness ) , but there ’s no reason you should n’t make as much money as you’re able to in the spare-time activity of farm income . Marketing helps this happen .
Whether you grow tulips , turnips or tenderloins , consider take your farm ware to the sodbuster ’ marketplace . Also take a few extra steps toward market your market place stand to new and existing customers . In this innovative age , infinite way live to portion out the story of your farm and keep stakeholders in the loop for minuscule to no investment funds other than a computer and an net link .
1. Make a Website
It has never been gentle to build and maintain an attractive website for your business as a merchandising tool , with web - base templates promptly available . And many of the avail are free to use with a domain that includes the military service ’s name . Two good examples of free World Wide Web hosting servicing areWeeblyandWordPress , which offer no - price service levels . If you ’d wish to step up to sell CSAs or reserve items online , Squarespaceoffers low - price , gentle - to - use online retail services .
What should you put on your site ? A simple blog can help people survey along with your farm ’s seasonal goings - on while keeping customers up to date on what products you ’ll have usable at the next market . An “ About Us ” page can help customers feel more affiliated to you , their granger , and a page dedicated to recipes gives market shopper ideas for using your farm product . And an image gallery is a must — masses know farm photos .
2. Use Social Media and Email
Sure , some mass consider ( and not without merit ) that societal media is an malign scourge of our time , but it ’s a necessary evil if you aim to attract and occupy grocery store customer . Facebook , Twitter and Instagram are the big three , but you may choose which platform work best for your merchandising efforts in the variety of farm communications . On our farm , we habituate Facebook extensively to transmit with customers . We post update and use the service as a way to let peculiar customers demand us questions . Our Instagram page has been a rattling style to share our hard work and well-chosen days with citizenry .
3. Shoot Video
You ca n’t scroll through your Facebook feed for longer than a min without encountering a video . That ’s because picture is an optimum cock for engaging client and a great shaft for selling . You do n’t need a motion picture school degree to make a fun little farm video — just pull out your phone and hit “ record ” when the chickens are acting zany or the flower are dancing in the wind . you’re able to upload your television as - is or learn a little video editing to fancy thing up . ( Some computer even come with motion picture software installed . )
Slideshows are another effectual way to share words and images from around the farm . RocketiumandLumen5are free and intuitive platforms that let registered users upload photos , add text and choose music . With this material , the site generates a TV that can be shared on social media or your farm website .
