Mainly Fishin' Posted August 27, 2020 Posted August 27, 2020 I have made a few different lure molds that have been working fine for pouring baits as a hobby but I want to start selling the lures that I make to more people. Any advice on how to market my products?? I realize that I will not make much, if any money off of this hobby I am doing because I enjoy making lures. Thankyou! Quote
Super User Fishes in trees Posted August 28, 2020 Super User Posted August 28, 2020 It would seem to me that first you have to create a demand. Drug dealers do this by giving away free product, then getting folks addicted, then they have a captive market. This business model can apply to marketing soft plastics. If there are any influential fishermen in your neighborhood, give them some free baits to test, then see if any demand happens. Any bait shops in your area? Give them some product at extremely attractive prices, in return for prominent display space. What is it about your baits that makes them "special". I recall in the mid 80's, I worked for a time at a tackle/gun shop in Columbia, MO. A guy cam by one day and offered us a decent deal on soft plastics - home made ribbon tail worms, sickle tail worms & sickle tail lizards. Allegedly they were "Indian made" and "drenched in Lunker Lotion". Turns out it was a basement project by a couple of guys who were a quarter Cherokee. Who knows what "Lunker Lotion " was, best I could tell it was an olive oil, anise oil and garlic salt mixture. We sold out our purchase in a couple of weeks, but no one returned to get more - mostly because the worms were nothing special. Inconsistent plastic - some were too fragile, some didn't wiggle enough, very few in each sack were perfect. They were really slimy and they stunk, but no one thought this was a great idea. This was 5 years or so prior to Powerbait hitting the market and after that, a Missouri company did do well with a garlic formula that really stunk (Chompers). At there time, the only scented worms that any one knew of regional were the Mann's flirt flavors, and they smelled good. So, there is a way - just find a way to create demand and a way to identify your baits as "special". 3 Quote
camman Posted August 29, 2020 Posted August 29, 2020 I'm wondering if you give sample bags to those Monthly Tackle Box companies. I'm guessing a lot of stuff they get is either for free, or even some of the new companies may pay them for some of the promotional advertising. The other option is to look for people who have a youtube channel with a large amount of followers. Again provide free baits as well as you will probably need to pay them to use your baits, but again it may drive interest. Also assuming you have a website up already? If not thats probably a good starting point. I had a friend who use to pour baits for a hobby and ended up a few local small shops to sell the baits. I don't think he really made any money but enough to pay for his hobby. 1 Quote
Super User Choporoz Posted August 29, 2020 Super User Posted August 29, 2020 Facebook Fishing Flea Market 1 Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted August 29, 2020 Global Moderator Posted August 29, 2020 Catch fish with them, get other people to catch fish with them, post videos and pictures of fish getting caught with them. That's all I've done and it's been pretty effective. You're right though, you're not going to make much money doing it. 1 Quote
Super User Munkin Posted August 30, 2020 Super User Posted August 30, 2020 On 8/27/2020 at 2:49 PM, Pure Maine Fishing said: I have made a few different lure molds that have been working fine for pouring baits as a hobby but I want to start selling the lures that I make to more people. Any advice on how to market my products?? I realize that I will not make much, if any money off of this hobby I am doing because I enjoy making lures. Thankyou! You need to study up on marketing. There are1k guys out there making baits so you need to do something that wants them to buy your baits. I have looked into this myself and I am going with uniqueness with lead lures. Remaking discontinued lures and things that everyone is looking for and some unique creations. Allen 1 Quote
Mainly Fishin' Posted August 31, 2020 Author Posted August 31, 2020 On 8/28/2020 at 9:29 PM, Choporoz said: Facebook Fishing Flea Market I that putting my lures on Facebook marketplace would be a great starting point considering how many people are on Facebook. Maybe after I sell a few I will get reviews on my product and start to market them to more of an audience. On 8/28/2020 at 11:42 PM, Bluebasser86 said: Catch fish with them, get other people to catch fish with them, post videos and pictures of fish getting caught with them. That's all I've done and it's been pretty effective. You're right though, you're not going to make much money doing it. I have made a few YouTube videos showing how they work on my small YouTube channel. I do not have much of a following so it will take time. Quote
Super User Munkin Posted September 1, 2020 Super User Posted September 1, 2020 On 8/28/2020 at 9:29 PM, Choporoz said: Facebook Fishing Flea Market It gets a lot of exposure but there is also a ton of people selling. Some of the stuff others are selling on there I make myself so I know what it costs. There is no way they are even making minimum wage. You just need to differentiate your baits from the masses. If I started making soft plastics I would look into regional baits and colors. Allen Quote
PourMyOwn Posted September 1, 2020 Posted September 1, 2020 On 8/31/2020 at 1:35 PM, Mainly Fishin' said: I that putting my lures on Facebook marketplace would be a great starting point considering how many people are on Facebook. Maybe after I sell a few I will get reviews on my product and start to market them to more of an audience. I have made a few YouTube videos showing how they work on my small YouTube channel. I do not have much of a following so it will take time. What's your channel called? I'm next door in NH, I'll watch. Quote
Mainly Fishin' Posted September 1, 2020 Author Posted September 1, 2020 9 minutes ago, Munkin said: It gets a lot of exposure but there is also a ton of people selling. Some of the stuff others are selling on there I make myself so I know what it costs. There is no way they are even making minimum wage. You just need to differentiate your baits from the masses. If I started making soft plastics I would look into regional baits and colors. Allen Thankyou for this advice. I am always trying to make my lures unique. 3 minutes ago, PourMyOwn said: What's your channel called? I'm next door in NH, I'll watch. My channel is Pure Maine Fishing. A small channel with hopes to grow! Thankyou 1 Quote
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