East Fork Farm is operated by Dawn Robertson and her family. They raise pastured poultry, eggs, lamb, fish, and other animals. The farm also has vacation cottages. Dawn discusses how she uses a monthly newsletter and website to market the farm's products and vacation rentals. The newsletter provides updates on where customers can find the farm's products and tells stories about the farm. It helped the farm start an indoor winter market. The newsletter and website provide recipes, pictures, and information on prices and locations.

1. Social Media
East Fork Farm
Dawn Robertson

2. 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.

3. • 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

4. East Fork Cottage
Farm
Vacation
Cottages
Meadow Branch Cottage

5. Why a newsletter???
• Push to the customer
• Guaranteed to hit their inbox
You’ve got mail!!!
• Can contain a little or a lot of information
• Where we’ll be this weekend
Asheville City Market closed for the Thanksgiving Parade. Come see us at the North
Asheville Tailgate Market
• Tell a story
• Ultimately we do this to sell what we have

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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)

10. Newsletter Tips
• Link to your
website or blog
• Tell a story –
engage your
reader
• Pictures pictures
pictures!!!

11. Newsletter Tips
Selling food?
Include recipes!!!

12. Newsletter Tips
• Every newsletter state where you’ll be

13. Newsletter Tips
Add pricing information
This is a great way for vegetable farmers to keep
the customer informed of products available

14. Newsletter Tips
Keep it personal

15. Success!!!
• Statistics

16. Website
Why?
• Place for people to “land” for semi-static information
• Tells what you do
• Pictures, pictures, pictures
• Tells what your selling
• Contact information

17. 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

18. 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
 SmallFarmCentral.com
• $30 / month
• User friendly
 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

19. Vacation Rental Marketing
•
•
•
•
•
Our website
ASAP website
VRBO
RomanticAsheville.com
HomeAway.com
•
•
•
•
HomeAway.com
TripAdvisor.com
Flipkey.com
VacationRentals.com
Link cottage(s) on everything ...website, newsletter, facebook, blog

20. Questions