Social Media

East Fork Farm Dawn Robertson

East Fork Farm

• Stephen and Dawn Robertson along with their two daughters Autumn and Madison have owned and operated East Fork Farm for 18 years.

• We raise: – Pastured poultry for meat (chicken, turkey, duck,

guinea and goose) – Free range chickens for eggs – Pasture raised lamb – Rabbits – Pigs – Pond raised trout – Milk cow

Farm Vacation Cottages

East Fork Cottage

Meadow Branch Cottage

Why a newsletter??? • Push to the customer • Guaranteed to hit their inbox

• Can contain a little or a lot of information

• Where we’ll be this weekend • Tell a story

• Ultimately we do this to sell what we have

You’ve got mail!!!

Asheville City Market closed for the Thanksgiving Parade. Come see us at the North

Asheville Tailgate Market

Personal experience • Time spent – average of 2 hours • Frequency – depends on what I’m trying to

accomplish – usually once per month • Challenges

•TIME •Story line planning •Pictures •Just plain getting it done especially in the summer.

What can come of the newsletter? • Winter 2011 – we still had product to sell

and needed a way to market it. • Weekly newsletter and had customers

place orders with drive through service at the UNCA campus.

• After a couple of weeks – 4 other vendors joined us and we listed their products as well on the newsletter

• Diane Saccone of the YMCA helped us with an indoor location

• That market is now the Indoor Winter YMCA market that hosts 45 vendors All established from an e-newsletter

Newsletter Tips • Newsletter signup on your

--Website or blog

--Farm table --Store front

Note: get a phone number as well in case the email address bounces or is unreadable

Newsletter tips

• Always use your logo – It takes 5 visual / auditory experiences to remember a

brand

• Name clearly at the top (if it is not clearly in your logo)

Newsletter Tips

• Link to your website or blog

• Tell a story – engage your reader

• Pictures pictures pictures!!!

Newsletter Tips

Selling food?

Include recipes!!!

Newsletter Tips

• Every newsletter state where you’ll be

Newsletter Tips Add pricing information This is a great way for vegetable farmers to keep

the customer informed of products available

Newsletter Tips

Keep it personal

Success!!!

• Statistics

Website Why?

• Place for people to “land” for semi-static information • Tells what you do • Tells what your selling

• Pictures, pictures, pictures • Contact information

Website – getting started • Intimidating and Expensive

– $1000 and up for professional development • College student help – inexpensive assistance • Do it yourself!!! Keep it simple

– Start with one page – Add your Logo – A little bit about what you do – Pictures, pictures, pictures!!! – Contact information

Do it yourself website providors Godaddy.com

• Hosting – free with website builder • Domain – free with website builder • Web builder - $12 yearly startup • Mobile website built automatically

Wordpress.com • Free!!! • Hosting $7.95 / month if you want a dot.com • Lots of tutorials online to get you started • Can be used as a blog or static website

SmallFarmCentral.com • $30 / month • User friendly

Vacation Rental Marketing • Our website • ASAP website • VRBO • RomanticAsheville.com • HomeAway.com

Link cottage(s) on everything ...website, newsletter, facebook, blog

• HomeAway.com • TripAdvisor.com • Flipkey.com • VacationRentals.com

Questions