The Pink Samurai Talks Keeping Your Enamel Pin Game Strong

You might have noticed that enamel pins are having a bit of a moment. Austin, TX based illustrator Beckly Helms of The Pink Samurai is here to help you keep your pin game strong. Becky talks a lot about enamel pins from manufacturing and dealing with factories but we also go deep into Instagram and how to use the platform to sell all those enamel pins! Not just for pin makers, trust me if you are on Instagram you don’t want miss to this episode!

Listen in to my entire conversation with pin maker and Instagram guru Becky Helms on the Creative Queso Podcast Episode #30

The Pink Samurai

Ya’ll when Becky Helms talks Instagram I listen. On the podcast I often talk about the need to be not only creative, but also the need to be great at business and social. Don’t let all the pink kitties and kawaii cuteness fool you – Becky is an astute business woman and knows how to best use the platform to sell product. We even have an Instagram lightening round covering…

Bots – Bad, Good or Necessary Evil?
Hashtags – Is there such a thing as too many?
Captions – Long and Heartfelt or Short and Sweet?
IGTV – Lights, camera, make more business action.
Stories – How many is too many or not enough.
Scheduling Tools – We both use Planoly.

PLUS we of course talk about queso in Austin, business mindset, ways people can use all of her Instagram tips and tricks for ANY business model not just enamel pins. AND there are cute cats meowing in the background!

Enamel Pins 101

One of the most fascinating things about Becky is that she has an online class called Enamel Pins 101. If you sign up through my link you get 15% off! You can watch any of Becky’s free You Tube videos about enamel pins and know that she is an expert on the topic. When I had enamel pins made Becky is who I went to!

Not only does this episode cover enamel pin questions like whether you should deal with a middle man or go straight to the manufacturer we also talk about a few of Becky’s favorite pin makers including…

BA Few of The Pink Samurai’s Favorite Pin Makers

Luxcups Creative (Did you read Libby’s Taco About It Tuesday interview)
Nutmeg and Arlo
Sugarbones
Stacey Martin Tattoos
Shoal
The Clever Clove
Rather Keen
Em & Sprout
The Pink Samurai Black Halloween Tree

Petting Cats Doesn’t Pay the Bills

As Becky says: “I started focusing on the things that brought me joy that also bring in money for the business. Because petting cats brings me a lot of joy, but it doesn’t pay my bills”

The entire podcast episode with Becky is full of amazing nuggets like this one. Even if you have never made an enamel pin in your life and have not plans of ever producing one for your business there are so many great take aways to be had that relate to any small business.