Bringing visitors to your farm can be a good way to promote your products and develop lasting connections with customers. Offering on-farm experiences requires two layers of marketing: first, promoting the on-farm experience, and second, promoting farm products. Whether you’re trying to sell cooking classes, farmstead cheese, CSA shares, a farm stay, or something else, these resources will guide you through best practices in marketing.
Best Practices in Agritourism Video Series
Value Added Producer Grant Recipients
Writing a Marketing Plan
- Marketing for Agritourism (PDF)
- General Marketing Plan and Other Resources
Vermont Small Business Development Center - Marketing Plan Template (PDF)
UVM Extension New Farmer Project
Introductory Tools for Digital Marketing
Booking Platforms
Social Media - Choosing Your Channel/Making a Plan
- Social Media Marketing for Direct to Market Farms - University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension
- Social Media Best Practices Guide (PDF) - Alex Tursi
- Campaign Planning (PDF) - Alex Tursi
- Building a Social Editorial Calendar (PDF) - Marketo
- Social Media for Farmers: Tips, Tricks, & Tools - Upstart University
- Creating a Social Media Strategy - Good Eggs Marketing
- Facebook Marketing (Webinar and Resource List) - Vermont Fresh Network
- Instagram Marketing for Farmers - Kate MacLean, Longest Acres Farm
Leveraging Social Media for Events
- Checklist for Event Marketing (PDF) - Vermont Fresh Network
Social Video
- Webinar and Resource List - Vermont Fresh Network
Hashtags
- Blog Post on Hashtags - Vermont Fresh Network
Websites
- Webinar: Website Planning for Restaurants, Food, and Farms - Holly Mechanic, Flavor Plate
- Whats Attracting Visitors to Your Website - Good Egg Marketing
- Boost your Local Search Rankings with Google My Business - Good Egg Marketing
Email & e-Newsletters
- Email Marketing Webinar- Sarah Webb of Shelburne Farms and Laura Olsen from Green Mountain Girls Farm.
Search Engines
Visual Content - Digital & Otherwise
Social Photography
- Ten Photo Tips for Food and Farm - Vermont Fresh Network
Working with a Professional Photographer
- Webinar and Resource List - Brent Harrewyn
- "Small Business - Photos" (PDF) - Community Capital of Vermont
Tools for Graphic Design
Working with the Press
How to contact the media
- How to Write a PR Pitch - The Hustle
- How to Write a Press Release (PDF) - from Cision
Customer Service
Happy and satisfied customers are key to success, and planning should begin well before your first visitor.
- Customer Relations
Cornell University - Customer Service (PDF)
Tennessee Cooperative Extension, 2005
Fact Sheets and Guides
- Customer Relations (PDF) - Cornell Cooperative Extension
- On-Farm Customer Relations - University of California Cooperative Extension Small Farm Program
Other Resources
- Marketing Your Enterprise - University of California Cooperative Extension
- Marketing 101 for your Agritourism Business (PDF) - Rutgers Cooperative Extension
- Marketing Agritourism While Providing Quality Service (PDF) - Rutgers Cooperative Extension
- Webinar: How to Stand Out in a Crowded Market - Vermont Fresh Network
- Webinar on Events You're Attending - Whitney Lamy and Mark Ray
- Sample Checklist for Marketing Events - Vermont Fresh Network
Marketing Platforms
- Dig In Vermont Listings of agriculture and culinary experiences that are open to the public in Vermont.
- Farm Stay U.S. The official site of the Farm Stay USA Association with a listing of authentic farm and ranch stays throughout the US.
- Eatwith.com and eatfeastly.com. Websites that connect travelers looking for authentic dining options with hosts who offer meals in their homes.*
- Vermont Vacation. Be sure to post your events on the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing’s official events calendar
- KidsVT.com. This calendar provides information for parents and families about local activities. Events listed in the calendar are typically free or low-cost activities.
- Front Porch Forum Calendar. An important communications resource in every Vermont community. Consider posting an event or buying an ad.
- Agtours.us. Design and operates farm visits around the US.
- FarmStayPlanet. Lists and books farm stays with maps for us region and other parts of the world. It has a list of filters where you can find a farm based on your preferences (pet friendly farms, wine tours, hikes, etc.)
- Agritoursim World. Listing and booking. Lists farms by usa states, internationals, events and farm activities This can give you ideas on what are the must common offerings and what is more unique.