I was pretty happy to hear recently that I had won a Rezzie award in two categories — best kitchens and best dining rooms.  It is gratifying to be noticed.! But what made it even sweeter is that it validates my reluctance to do the kinds of  “marketing” that I consider a chore — such as participating in events (other than a couple of charity ones) and hunts, sending things to bloggers, etc.   The Rezzie awards on top of placing last year in the top 5 winners in the Avi Choice Awards (for furniture and for houses) mean that word of mouth is still king, and I don’t have to do that other stuff!

Now, I do some marketing: I have this blog, which is sporadically updated ( and also has some good help pages).  New additions to my Marketplace listings do automatically get tweeted, and I will tweet about some new thing now and then.  I do occasionally get invited to be featured in magazine articles or TV shows.

But mainly my only “marketing” is done directly to my own customers: sending my weekly notecard about new releases, updates, promos, helpful tips, gifts.  I like doing that. I appreciate my customers and I really like making gifts for them, passing along helpful tips, telling them about what I am working on.

All of which means that even in this age of instantaneous ubiquitous communication in every possible form — a friend telling a friend is still the most effective advertising there is. And that is a really good thing for me, and anyone else who just likes to spend time creating and taking care of business.