127 - Laryssa and Liz on How to Share Updates With Confidence

Summary

Podcast Title: Success With Jewelry
Episode: 127 - Laryssa and Liz on How to Share Updates With Confidence
Release Date: April 21, 2025
Hosts: Laryssa Wirstiuk and Liz Kantner

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Introduction

In Episode 127 of the Success With Jewelry podcast, hosts Laryssa Wirstiuk and Liz Kantner delve into the art of communicating updates with confidence to build trust and engagement within the jewelry business community. Drawing from their combined 16 years of experience in jewelry marketing, they provide actionable strategies for effectively sharing news, handling price changes, promoting events, and leveraging positive business milestones.

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Effective Communication of Updates

The Importance of Clear Communication

Laryssa opens the discussion by emphasizing the significance of timely and clear communication with your audience. Whether it's announcing a price increase, an upcoming event, or a major business update, effective messaging is crucial for maintaining trust and keeping the community informed.

Laryssa [02:25]: "There's a lot of people who have things to communicate with their audience right now... And you want to make sure they hear those things."

Challenges in Communication

The hosts share personal anecdotes highlighting common communication pitfalls. Laryssa recounts missing a local Arbor Day event due to inadequate promotional efforts, underscoring the need for multiple touchpoints in messaging.

Laryssa [01:14]: "I didn't see it posted anywhere... You need to post more than once for it to get through to everyone."

Strategic Approaches to Messaging

Liz introduces the concept of responding thoughtfully to external factors affecting the business, such as tariffs. She advises against immediate, reactive communication, suggesting a more measured approach to ensure messages remain relevant as situations evolve.

Liz [03:38]: "I do not necessarily recommend reacting in real time... Sitting on it for a minute and being thoughtful about how you want to present that."

Laryssa agrees, highlighting the pressure social media can exert on businesses to respond swiftly, which may not always be beneficial.

Laryssa [03:38]: "You see everyone else reacting or it feels like if you haven't said anything yet, you need to say something."

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Pricing Strategy and Communication

Regularly Reviewing and Adjusting Prices

Both hosts stress the importance of routinely assessing pricing strategies, especially in an industry where material costs like gold can fluctuate rapidly. They advocate for building pricing flexibility into business models to minimize the need for frequent adjustments.

Laryssa [05:38]: "We know that the cost of gold is going up pretty quickly... so really thinking through your pricing strategy."

Liz suggests strategic pricing adjustments, such as increasing prices only on new stock while maintaining current prices for existing inventory, to avoid alienating repeat customers.

Liz [05:58]: "Maybe hold off increasing prices on existing stock, but move forward with new pieces."

Balancing Transparency and Oversharing

While transparency is key to building trust, Liz warns against over-communicating, which can come across as insecure or overly compensatory.

Liz [06:33]: "I see over sharing sometimes too, and it almost feels like compensating for something."

Laryssa concurs, advising that unless it's a significant price change, businesses might not need to announce every adjustment, comparing it to everyday price increases on products like flea medication.

Laryssa [08:37]: "Nobody told me that, and they're not gonna care to tell me that... it's just almost an expected progression of things in this economy."

Handling Customer Concerns

The hosts recommend preparing responses for potential customer inquiries about price changes and considering options like honoring original prices for loyal customers to mitigate dissatisfaction.

Laryssa [09:43]: "You could always maybe think about honoring that original price or have some sort of discount available for that person."

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Promoting Events and Major Announcements

Planning and Lead Time

Liz emphasizes the necessity of giving ample lead time when promoting events or announcements. She highlights how meticulous planning can prevent misunderstandings and ensure that promotions effectively reach the target audience.

Liz [10:46]: "Give people a lot of lead time... even with announcements, like price increases... it could be good to reach out to them one on one too."

Consistency and Repetition

Laryssa points out the frustration customers face when event information is scarce or hard to find, advocating for multiple promotional efforts across various channels to maximize visibility.

Laryssa [12:41]: "Putting some sort of runway together... make sure people know about them."

Utilizing Multiple Channels

The hosts discuss the importance of not relying solely on blanket marketing tactics. They suggest direct, personalized communication methods, such as one-on-one outreach and building a text message list, to ensure messages are received and engaged with.

Liz [13:56]: "Building up like a text message list... SMS feels personal. It's direct. It's highly likely they'll see it."

Making Information Accessible

Laryssa shares an example of a designer who effectively listed upcoming events on their Instagram page, making it easy for followers to find and remember important dates.

Laryssa [13:56]: "Having all the upcoming events listed... was so easy for me to understand to see what was upcoming and then I could put them on my calendar."

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Leveraging Positive Business Developments

Promoting PR and Achievements

Both hosts agree that celebrating and promoting positive business milestones, such as press features or awards, can enhance a brand's credibility and reach. They advise integrating such achievements into regular marketing content to keep the audience informed and engaged.

Liz [15:31]: "Not just set and forget, but like you could bring that up semi regularly too."

Laryssa [15:31]: "Remember when it was featured here?... PR-ing your PR."

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Key Takeaways and Best Practices

1. Consistency is Crucial: Regularly update your audience with important information without over-communicating.

   Laryssa [19:13]: "It is really important to be consistent."

2. Be Clear and Direct: Ensure your messaging is straightforward to avoid confusion and maintain trust.

   Liz [16:16]: "Repeating yourself essentially and make it less about you."

3. Use Multiple Communication Channels: Diversify the platforms used to share updates to increase the likelihood of reaching your audience.

   Liz [14:15]: "SMS feels personal. It's direct. It's highly likely they'll see it."

4. Balance Transparency with Brevity: Share necessary information without overwhelming your audience with excessive details.

   Liz [18:05]: "Brevity is really underrated too."

5. Personalize Communication: Engage in one-on-one outreach to make customers feel valued and considered.

   Laryssa [14:23]: "Make sure this information is clear and somewhere that people can find."

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Conclusion

In this episode, Laryssa and Liz provide a comprehensive guide on how jewelry designers and entrepreneurs can confidently share updates with their audiences. From handling price changes thoughtfully to promoting events through strategic communication channels, the hosts emphasize the importance of clarity, consistency, and personalization in building and maintaining trust within the jewelry community. By implementing these strategies, listeners can enhance their marketing efforts and foster stronger connections with their customers.

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Listen to the full episode here.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to the Success with Jewelry podcast, where we invite you inside our conversations about business success and marketing for jewelry designers and entrepreneurs.

[B]

We're Larissa and Liz, jewelry marketing experts with a combined 16 years of experience in jewelry marketing and proven track records in helping jewelry brands meet their goals. When you listen to or watch this podcast, you get an intimate and exclusive peek behind the curtain of all the things you wish you could know about earning success in this industry.

[A]

Welcome to episode 127. In this episode, we're diving into how to effectively communicate news with your audience. Whether it's price increase, an upcoming event, or a major announcement, these moments can feel overwhelming to share. But when done right, they build trust, boost engagement, and keep your community in the loop. We'll explore how to approach messaging with clarity and confidence, the best channels to use, and why repetition is key. We'll also talk about timing, transparency, and how to make sure your updates actually get seen and heard. Plus, in the bonus content, we'll share how to act on the positive things happening in your business, from leveraging press and awards to celebrating milestones with your audience. Hey, Larissa, let's get into it.

[B]

What a great topic to talk about right now because there's so much to be communicating.

[A]

There's so much to be communicating. I actually. So there was this little Arbor Day event in my small town that my dad. My dad's on the tree board and he told me about it and I was like, oh, tell me the timing of it. And I couldn't go because I had meetings and stuff like that. And I was like, I didn't see it posted anywhere. And he's like, oh, well, they did an Instagram post. And I was like, dad, I. You need to post more than once for it to get through to everyone. I just need to say it's very.

[B]

Cute that your dad is on the tree board.

[A]

I know. It's like, I just love a small town, small community life here. But I couldn't make the Arbor Day event because it was not on my calendar.

[B]

You cannot assume that someone is going to see one Instagram post and that they're going to take action from that.

[A]

I doubt the town has a big budget for marketing, but it could have been in a newsletter. It could have been a couple of Instagram posts. You know, it could have just been more out there.

[B]

Definitely. Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

But anyway, that. That was just like a side note, but I.

[B]

There's.

[A]

There's a lot of people who have things to communicate with their audience right now, and whether it be price increases, which everyone should be. If you're not looking at your pricing or haven't looked at your pricing in the past six months, you should. But also like events were coming up on like event season. I feel like there's a lot of pop ups and trunk shows and, and markets and things like that upcoming. So those are things to, to share with your audience as well. And you want to make sure they hear those things.

[B]

I do want to throw something into the ring that we could talk about today too. Before I forget when the tariff stuff was announced and I know that that's a big, a big can of worms to open, but I did notice people like reacting in real time. Um, and I don't necessarily recommend that approach. I think when there's some kind of big news that affects your business, especially if it's something outside of your control, also maybe like sitting on it for a minute and being thoughtful about how you want to present that because the situation may change over time too. So I think I want to work that into this conversation also.

[A]

That's something I've been thinking about too. And it's, you know, outside of, you know, something like the tariffs, having a knee jerk reaction in general is sometimes not the best move. The, the tough thing I think in this day and age with social media is that you see everyone else reacting or it feels like if you haven't said anything yet, you need to say something. People are like waiting for you to say something. I think that that kind of pressure makes it hard.

[B]

I agree. Yeah. Because you probably see other people talking about it and in the moment you probably feel something too that you want to express. But it is sometimes better to like take a beat.

[A]

Yeah. Although you know, sharing news is important or sharing things with your audience is important, you want to make sure that you're communicating with them because it builds trust through transparency. You want them to know what's going on, you want them to understand, you know, what your doing inside your business, what might affect them. Also like what's upcoming, where can people see you, where can they shop from you and things like that.

[B]

But you want to think it through. Totally.

[A]

So I guess one of the things that I'm guessing you've been asked about this a lot too, or I've been talking to clients about this a lot too is communicating price changes, which is another thing to like, you know, to your point earlier, Larissa is like to take a beat on to like really look through your pricing and when you do price updates. And this is not an episode about pricing, but to think about giving yourself padding so that you're not constantly changing. Like, we know that the cost of gold is going up pretty quickly. So having a little bit of ability to let the gold go up and not have to, like, keep changing, keep changing, keep changing your prices. So really thinking through your pricing strategy.

[B]

It probably depends on your, like, production schedule too. Like, one tactic I see is maybe holding on, increasing prices on existing stock, but moving forward. Like, if you regularly are introducing new pieces, just build that into the pricing moving forward. So it's, it's a business strategy decision that you have to consider too, and.

[A]

It'S something to really think about. And it's also like, pricing in general is also a mindset thing because there's a lot of concern about, like, oh, well, if I raise the price, people aren't going to buy this anymore or people are going to be alarmed by my price increases and stuff like that. And it's, you need. The price is the price. You know, the price of everything's going up. The price of gold and materials is certainly going up. So you need to price appropriately so that you're able to pay yourself and create a sustainable business, like underpricing or undercutting other people isn't going to serve you in the long run.

[B]

A misstep that I see sometimes with this is that, yes, it's important to be transparent and authentic and honest, but I see over sharing sometimes too, and it almost feels like compensating for something or like you're really working hard to justify whatever the thing is that you are announcing, taking a beat, pulling back. You don't have to say all the things like, this is a lesson I've had to learn in my business. Just be direct, be honest. We don't need a novel here.

[A]

Yeah. And there is like, I understand to a point, like, if it's maybe one of your first major price changes in your business and you, maybe you're, you know, your clientele doesn't necessarily follow the news cycle or understand that gold's going up, educating on what's happening. I understand that piece of the puzzle, but you're right. You know, I think that thinking through the way you communicate with your audience is important and just being straightforward. I don't think, I think you're right. I don't think you need like a huge, you know, narrative. And I think that you don't have to overthink it. Like, a lot of I find overthinking goes into these conversations about price changes. I Think that also, like, you know, sharing that you're. If you're doing, like, an across the board price change, I think that that could make sense, but I don't know that you need to do it every time. So I talked to a retailer and designer once, and they were like, every year, look at your prices, add to 10% and, like, move them up, you know, or, like, look at what you need to do and. And raise your prices. If you're doing that yearly, I would say you don't need to, like, email your people or, like, let your audience know. Every single year. Oh, it's the beginning of the year. I've looked at my prices. I'm raising them again. You know, I. I don't think you need to do that.

[B]

It's. It's so funny.

[A]

How many other industries do not do this.

[B]

I was just ordering, like, flea medication for my dog yesterday, and I hadn't ordered it for a few months, and the price went up, like, $10. And I was like, well, nobody told me that, and they're not gonna care to tell me that. You know, it's just almost an expected progression of things in this economy.

[A]

There's a balance, like, there's a balance between, like, transparency and. And, you know, oversharing. I think it's just finding. Finding what works for you or what makes the most sense. I don't think people notice as much. I wouldn't. I might not even notice that price change in the flea medication because it's probably just, like, on my to do list. I'm just doing what I need to do and not, like, necessarily thinking about it. And I would say that very rarely is there somebody, like, looking on your website at the price of something and noticing when it goes up $10. Yeah. Or anything like that. But something you can do if you don't want to do a big announcement is to just have a response ready in case somebody does ask or somebody is concerned or somebody's upset about it.

[B]

That's a really great point. Yeah, because it's not like buying broccoli every week. So, you know, like, how much it costs and, like, you notice it. No one is buying the same ring every month and noticing how the price is changing. So to Liz's point, it would only be if someone had something on their wish list for, like, a really long time, and suddenly it's like, a few hundred dollars more. That person might be confused or upset.

[A]

And you could always maybe think about honoring that original price or have some sort of discount available for that person. But thinking through those types of responses is a really good idea. So it's ready to go. But outside of pricing, I didn't mean for us to get into pricing. It's one of the most.

[B]

I think it's a big topic right now.

[A]

It's a big topic right now and it's one of the things that I find designers have the hardest time with and really overthink. So yeah, pricing's a thing.

[B]

So the next thing for like promoting events and big announcements. This goes back to your tree example. You have to give people a lot of lead time. Even then this is something I get a lot. Like we'll have a whole multi week plan with a client for promoting or a sale or an in person event. And if the results don't meet the expectations, sometimes they'll think something was wrong with that promotion schedule. But it's not necessarily like it could just be it was the wrong day and people were busy or like the products didn't vibe with people and so they get discouraged from doing that kind of long promotion in the future because they think maybe that was the wrong direction. But I don't. Yeah, I think it's just part of doing business is giving people a lot of notice. I don't know if that makes sense.

[A]

What I just said and like repetition and letting people know it's happening. I get very frustrated when I miss an event or there's a designer that I wanted to see and I didn't realize they were in Asheville doing an event and I missed it. So I think there's a couple of things, you know, like just posting once the day of an event is not the right move because say I see it, I don't have childcare, I can't go, but I want to go. So really like putting some sort of Runway together and we have an episode somewhere, I don't remember what number it is, but about promoting a launch and you want to put a plan together not just for a launch but for like events you're doing too to make sure people know about them. And I think outside of just like posting and doing emails and having a plan for letting people know what you're doing, also reaching out to people directly, I think that goes a really long way.

[B]

Yes. You cannot just depend on the like blanket marketing to reach everyone because even if someone sees it and they're thinking about going or it's a maybe on their calendar, if they get a direct one to one invite, I it will make them feel really special and also serve as a Reminder.

[A]

And it's really great to like, make sure this information is clear and somewhere that people can find. I was talking to a designer today and we were talking about all the events she had coming up. And I went to her Instagram and there was this great post where it was just like listed the upcoming events. And that was so easy for me to understand to see what was upcoming and then I could put them on my calendar. It was right on her Instagram page. I think that when you have to like dig around for information, it's another really frustrating thing for me. I don't love when I can't find what I'm looking for. You want to make it as easy as possible for the customer to. And I have a passion for like supporting small business and going to like, you know, these craft fairs and events and stuff like that. And seeing artists I've never seen before, artists I love or just want to support or want to see. But not everyone's like that. Not everyone is out here trying to find the information. So you need to make it easy.

[B]

So true. Could be a good use case for building up like a text message list. Also because email gets lost in people's inboxes, Instagram posts get lost. But like SMS feels personal. It's direct. It's highly likely they'll see it.

[A]

That's another episode we need to do. Larissa is about sms.

[B]

Sure, we'll add it to the list.

[A]

But yeah, so putting like I would look at, you know, right now. If you have events coming up or announcements or things that you want to share, look ahead to what's upcoming and back up from those dates and make sure you're talking about them and promoting them totally. Even with like announcements, like price increases, like if there are people that you know have been thinking to purchase from you or collectors, like, it could be good to reach out to them one on one too. I love a one on one outreach.

[B]

I like that strategy. Make it feel like a benefit for your customers, actually, so they have an opportunity to purchase before you increase prices. That makes people feel like you're being thoughtful, considering their objections or hesitations. So, you know, don't. When you communicate it, the most important thing is to not make it about you and to not make it feel negative. Make it feel like it's actually a benefit for your customers.

[A]

I've seen a few brands do that.

[B]

And I appreciate it.

[A]

The other thing to promote, which sometimes feels weird because the purpose of PR is to like put you in front of a new audience. But when you do get press. It's great. It's a great thing to promote and use frequently, not like all the time. But say a necklace was featured and there was a great article about it, you know, every time you're promoting that necklace, again, maybe like, oh, and remember when it was featured here? You know, like PR ing your pr?

[B]

Yes, totally. And not just set and forget, but like you could bring that up semi regularly too. Like work it into your content calendar. Because again, people miss things the first time you mention something. Not everyone will see it, especially now.

[A]

There's just so much noise. Um, yes. Okay, so, and then this is kind of what we say about all marketing, but being really clear about what you're trying to say and making sure that like, you know, you're really clear on it. And then, because if you're not clear on what you're trying to say, your audience certainly isn't going to be clear on it. And then consistently saying the thing within the timeframe that you've planned to say it in the lead up and keep.

[B]

Repeating yourself essentially and make it less about you.

[A]

That's hard. I mean, it is hard to write.

[B]

That way, but it's so true you.

[A]

Want to make it about them.

[B]

I think brevity is really underrated too. I. I kind of have mentioned this already in this episode, but man, people do not have time to read an essay. And again, I think that it almost comes across a little bit insecure. Like if you feel like you have to write a lot, so try to say the thing you need to say in as few words as possible without losing your voice at the same time. The jewelry industry, because people in it work with other jewelry industry people a lot, is a lot of inside baseball and we're used to talking to other jewelry people a lot and we forget that the customer doesn't really know anything and also probably doesn't care very much. So if you're giving them like a really inside look into the workings of like the gold prices or whatever, it's important to be transparent. Yes, but like they're not going to know what you're talking about.

[A]

Keeping that in mind is really important. I do find that granted, I follow all jewelry people, so I wonder if I have a skewed perspective. But I also find that a lot of jewelry people follow a lot of jewelry people and it's great to support your buddies and, you know, know what's going on in the industry. But I think that looking outside of it and following less of that so that we're not all, like, doing the same things or having this skewed perspective of, you know, people really understanding what you're saying. Because when you are marketing, you do want to talk to somebody who likely doesn't know very much about our industry.

[B]

Yeah. And that doesn't mean you have to give them a whole education either, you know?

[A]

Right.

[B]

Because I think that is a tendency also to assume they know nothing. And so then you're writing them, like, essays all the time about things like they don't need to know.

[A]

Right. All right, did we give enough here? Do we give enough advice here? I don't either. I don't either.

[B]

I'm trying to think if there's anything else we can say.

[A]

I wonder. Let us know if you feel like you are unable to effectively communicate with your audience. I guess the final point to just kind of wrap it up before we move on to chat to insiders is that it is really important to be consistent. It is really important to be clear about what you need to say, and it is really important to think about one on one outreach.

[B]

All good points.

[A]

All right. Well, hopefully this was helpful. All right, are you effectively communicating with your audience? Let us know. Visit successwithjori.com and if you love the podcast, we'd love to hear from you. Send us a message or leave us a review. Thanks for being a part of our community.