Advertising "Honey for sale"

[Chef Isaac]

I was wondering if anyone has ever placed an add in a paper to tryt to sell honey????

there is a paper called "The Nickel Ad" which is a free paper to people and it is somehwat reasonable in price to palce an add.

the reason I ask is that I live in a community in WA State that I cant not have a sign out in my yard saying that I have honey for sale. I just moved up here and I do not know anyone.

I do plan to peddle honey where I can but I was wondering if the add thing ever worked?

[Robert Hawkins]

Chef try the warning sign. "Beware! Honeybees at work."

Hawk

[Chef Isaac]

Robert: for some reason, I think that would get my kicked out. Just a thought!

[Gardenpro]

Newspapers may be a little 'distant', why not try ads at any message boards around your area.
If your newspaper is really local/small town then I'm sure it'd work.

[PA Pete]

If you can't advertise, find a place with a built in crowd of the kind of shoppers who might buy honey. I plan to sell mine (if I ever get any) next year at our local farm stand - he already sells produce from other folks in the area (the peach guy up the street for one), and doesn't yet have any honey smile.gif There's also a weekly farmers market one town over I'll investigate if needed.

Good luck!

-Pete

[Donna Marie, Honeybee by the Sea]

Chef, do you have a local health food store? Don't know the quantity of honey you are selling but here folk like the local raw honey for allergy and just pure goodness. They are always clammoring for more. Just a thought. Cheers Donna

[BubbaBob]

1) If you live in or near a small town where the local paper is a weekly, you might find the classified ad rate to be attractive. It is here and I run an ad 52 weeks a year.

2) You might not be allowed a sign in your yard, but you can put a magnetic sign on your car/truck...that way you advertise everywhere you go, not just at home in the yard.

3) Local farmers markets are great...and usually cheap/free. Besides selling there, be sure to hand out flyers on how to get ahold of you when the market season ends. Our market is Saturdays, the last being the last Sat in October. I have customers that call me to be sure I'm home, then drive 10 miles out of town to buy honey when the market isn't open.

4) Wear an "I'm A Beekeeper" cap. I think Brushy Mountain sells them.

5) Make sure your local extension service office knows you are available for swarms. If you have bees, and catch swarms, the extension agent will have you in mind when the subject of honey comes up in conversations with others and he'll mention you perhaps.

6) Sounds crazy but I send flyers 2-3 times a year to the local pediatritions and family practice doctors. Some tell their patients with allergy problems to buy my honey to help. Obviously in this case the flyer needs to emphasize the "raw unprocessed" aspect, with an explanation of why that is important so they don't go telling their patients to go to the local grocery and buy Sue Bee.

7) Business cards/flyers on every bulliten board in town...restaraunts, grocery stores, the local gym, the auto parts store, reality offices, etc.

BubbaBob

[Chef Isaac]

Do you know the doctors? I have thought it would be good to show up to stores in person rather than trying to call them.... espeically in organic stores and health stores. I do not want to be brushed off as a person selling food like most people are in the food industry.

what would you consider to be a rood rate per week?

We have a local paper but than again we have The Nickel Ad too which might be cheaper.

I have made a brochure for retailing and wholesaling. I am trying to figure out if I shoudl take pictures of the honey jars and place it in the brochure but that again, if it is in color, it would look nice but increase cost for color. If I do not use color, it might look crappy.

Right now, I am peddling honey to my family, coworkers of my moms, friends, my coworkers, and some businesses. I havent really scratched them arket yet for ideas. It all takes time.

I do have a "honey for sale" sign that I am goign to put in my car tomarrow. It fits perfectly!

I was wondering if you could email me a copy of the letter you send to the doctors as I woudld like to see how you worded it.

[honeyman46408]

Chef
When we have a club meeting here at the house I set an empty complete hive at the end of the drive so BKs can find my house and have people stop and buy honey=just a thought :D

[James Henderson]

Ebay???

Build you a website (don't forget to add the meta tags with robot directives) advertising your honey. Ask local website owners (kayaking, hiking, birding, gardening, etc.) to link yours if only on a seasonal basis when your are selling your honey. You could offer a small container of honey as payment. Apple orchards which have sales stores may be a good place to sell some jars.

[BubbaBob]

My local paper charges 20 cents/word, 10 word minimum. Classified under "miscellenaeous" catagory. Be sure the first word starts with an "A" if possible...most classifieds are alphabetized.

I'll shoot you a copy of the letter...just remember, while it needs to be professional (you ARE talking to doctors), it also needs a "homey" touch, not corporate junk.

The first time you hit the docs, do it in person, not by mail...and you WILL NOT get to talk straight to them...they are busy seeing patients...but your presence will be noted. For the few whose receptionists do not pass it along, follow up a week later through the mail. Then a mail reminder every 3-4 months...different letter each time with different info to keep it interesting. Doctors in my town are as knowledgeable as a lot of beekeepers thanks to my letters.

Remember, interesting to you is not necessarily interesting to them...if you have a friend that is a doc, run each iteration by them for their response.

More later.

BubbaBob

[Lew Best]

Chef wrote "I do have a "honey for sale" sign that I am goign to put in my car tomarrow. It fits perfectly!"

A good friend of mine got some magnetic signs for his truck a coupla years ago; have his name. a bee graphic, phone number, honey for sale (of course) & said he seels a lot! Also had a guy stop us wanting a removal done; said it happens all the time. Carries honey in his truck when he's not sold out; has about 140 hives IIRC. I'm waiting till next year to order mine; no honey this year due to the drought.

Lew in TX

[Chef Isaac]

I really enjoy selling honey and I cant wait to explore other markets and hope to sell to them too! I just need to figur out an approach and make some time to do it.

[power napper]

Thanks everyone for all the tips on selling honey. This is the first year ever that we have an abundant supply of wildflower honey, and the way the girls are working it looks like we will have to extract four or five supers of goldenrod and aster honey. Nine hives now and six are producing surplus honey for us. We will bee advertising for the first time next week, has only been word of mouth and homemade sign at end of the dirt road so far.

[Morris]

Isaac, Let the people you work with know that you have honey available. Perhaps a bulletin board at work too.

[Mitch]

Just for everyones info.I sell at the local farmers market evey saturday morning.I live i a small town bout 10,000 and maybe 30,000 in the county.I sell about 400 lbs alone just at the market.I take a box with different size of containers every where i go.You would be surprised how much honey you can sell at the local watering hole but be sure you ask the owner first.Word of mouth so far has been good.

[Mike Mundy]

I'm able to sell all my honey either at the office or to friends at church. The best place to make new friends has always seemed to be church. The rest of my honey I either keep of give away. This is the next best way to make friends... Why not take a small bottle to each of your neighbors... in a short while you'll have lots of new business. Good luck!!

[Matthias Smith]

I know a guy who placed an add in our local paper trying to sell some hives.Lots of people called him wanting honey, in fact he sold out and had lots of orders for next year. I would give it a try to but I already sold out for this year at the local farmers market.
good luck