Viral Marketing - Almost Not War of the Heathens Related Post -

What started as the Great Soap Debate of 2009 between ClemartDesigns and Misty, spawned a whole new line of soaps in our shop, "Etsy Inspirations", which in turn has spawned the infant beginnings of a trend in viral marketing.

It was innocent. A bit of fun at the end of the Great Soap Debate, and Misty said, we'll make Clem a Soap all her own, to match her logo. Blue and Orange, part creamy, part clear, scented with Pomegranate and Orange.

And thus it was born: The Clem.


It was a bit of fun in our days. We gave the Clem its own Section in our shop.

Then word spread, and before you knew it we decided that it would be fun to do it for others of our chatter friends as well. Many followed "The Original" and had 2 layers, 1 glycerin and 1 Goat's Milk, to pay homage to their beginnings in the Great Soap Debate.

Before you knew it we had added:

The 2Kute: Known for making adorable baby items and awesome scrubbies and soap savers. Her soap is a dual layer of baby blue and bright pink, scented with Bedtime Bath Type, a relaxing blend of lavender and musk that will wash away all worries.



The FaeriedTreasures: Known for her beautiful sparkling jewelry inspired by legends of days gone by, her soap is bright white and sparkling in all its Faery beauty, scented like clean cotton, comforting as warm linens just out of the dryer.



The HeartsABustin: Dual layers of blood red and creamy white, smelling of strawberries and cream. In a beautiful victorian heart, it encourages bright happy feelings, like when your heart explodes in love at the beginings of spring!



The Lindab142: Quite and reserved, a bit of a mystery, but also a creater of lovely glass jewelery...her soap is dual layers of purple and white, scented softly of lavender and vanilla.



The DoubleDippedSweets: Renowned for her heavenly caramel and chocolate coated pretzels, 2lb double dipped apples, and other mouthwatering goodies, what better scent could there be than the ice cream that makes everyone happy: Neopolitan! Three Layers of soapy goodness in Chocolate, Strawberry and Vanilla.


And then there was the Jupita, and our creativity sprang free of the clutches of paying homage to the Clem. Because Jupita loves all things coffee, and hey, its coffee, its caramel, its all Jupita: Its scented like a Caramel Macchiato, layers of gold and white, drizzelled with soapy "caramel". You can't lose.


So... After all that soapy goodness, how, you may be asking, does this qualify as viral marketing. After all, viral marketing is, according to Wiki: techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes...

Well, as I said, its still in its infant stages. But thus far, many of those we've created soaps for, have linked to their soaps in their twitters, their blogs, their own shops.

Some have taken it a bit farther. Jupita, for example, has created the Misty and the Amy, bracelets done in her very unique medium of upcycled Starbucks gift cards (told you she was all about the coffee!).

FaeriedTreasures is so busy touting her soap that its already sold once....and both she and Jupita are talking about ordering samples of their soaps to send out with their orders.

So yes folks... when people talk about "marketing" in the forums, and everyone complains about not having the funds to do "real" marketing and promotion. Sometimes a little creativity is all that you need.

Just make sure you have the permission of the people who "inspire" your creativity to use their names, likenesses, etc in your promotional efforts. And don't feel bad if they tell you no. Just keep on truckin. We've got 7 more lined up to be created this weekend, and I'm planning on convo'ing a couple of sellers that I admire to get their permission to use their names in a few other Etsy Inspirations.

And of course, if you must use the idea, give credit where its due. lol