Direct Marketing
Lessons from
Glenn Elzinga
In 1993, Glenn and Caryl Elzinga began their direct-to-
consumer business by selling conventionally raised beef
in retail stores, restaurants, and farmers’ markets. Glenn
admits these outlets were not financially profitable but
were invaluable learning opportunities that would pay off
later when the couple began selling beef products online.
“Selling in farmers markets helped me understand not
only my customers but also what their interests are and
helped me conceptualize how they wanted the product
presented,” Glenn said. e Elzingas learned there was a
demand for organic, grass-fed beef raised on sustainably
managed land and that selling locally wasn’t going to
pencil out.
Aldersping.com, named after the Elzingas’ ranch outside
of May, Idaho, gained momentum in the early 2000s,
but the couple needed to differentiate their products
from the rest of the online beef sellers. At the same time,
Glenn began digging into books written by leaders in
forward thinking land management, like Aldo Leopold
and Wendell Berry, and began moving away from
conventionally raising beef. Glenn and Caryl certified
organic in 2003 and the online business started turning
a profit soon after. e Elzingas’ land stewardship
practices became Alderspring’s online brand identity
and differentiated its products in a crowded market.
Aldersping cattle are either raised on the place or
sourced from other certified organic operations. e
Elzingas, with the help of their seven daughters, son
in-law, and hired range riders, move yearlings through
Alderspring’s summer range using a management style
they refer to as “in-herding”. e range riders keep the
Alderspring yearlings on fresh, high-quality forage, and
manage wolf predation as well as prevent over grazing
and damage to riparian areas.
Customers are willing to pay a premium for Alderspring
organic beef finished on diverse, high-country grasses.
PRODUCER PERSPECTIVE:
Selling in farmers markets helped
me understand not only my
customers but also what their
interests are and helped me
conceptualize how they wanted
the product presented.”
ABOUT GLENN AND CAROL
Glenn and Carol Elzinga run the Alderspring Ranch
in May, Idaho along with their seven daughters
and son-in-law. e Elzingas have over 25 years of
experience marketing their beef direct to consumers.
“
BY KATE RASMUSSEN
COVID-19 RESOURCES:
e Elzingas created a free guide to help producers
start selling their own frozen beef products online in
response to the COVID-19 crisis: www.alderspring.
com/grassrootstartup/shipping-in-five-days/
e Elzingas now sell the majority of their beef online and
ship products across the country from their warehouse
in Salmon, Idaho. Most Aldersping customers are health
conscious, and many suffer from chronic illness and
prefer beef raised and finished in a natural, chemical free
environment. e main page of the website reads “Wild
wellness. Delivered.”
e Elzingas’ land ethic differentiates Alderspring beef
but consistent work on the website’s Search Engine
Optimization (SEO) is their main strategy for successful
online marketing. SEO increases traffic to a website
through search engine results. Search engines like Google
and Bing use many factors to rank websites on their search
result page and keywords are a big one. Publishing content
with relevant keywords keeps Alderspring.com ranked
on the first page of an “order organic beef” and related
Google searches. Since most users don’t look past the first
page of search results, investing time into SEO is critical to
building an online beef business.
In addition to keeping their website updated, the Elzingas
consistently post to their social media accounts, update
their blog, and send out newsletters. Alderspring’s social
media presence and blog posts allow the Elzinga family to
engage with customers, and newsletters give them an avenue
to run regular promotions. Glenn recommends putting
most online marketing efforts into a newsletter. Instagram
and Facebook are important but investing too much time
into them can be risky, as users’ social media feeds become
crowded and algorithms change. Since producers control
the newsletter, it’s a safer long-term bet. Glenn sends out
two newsletters a week and includes weekly promotions to
move cuts of meat that aren’t selling well.
e Alderspring ranch has been featured in Forbes Life
more than once and has also made it into the food
section of the New York Times. Although the Elzingas
have received a fair amount of publicity and ship orders
from their warehouse at a steady pace year round,
Glenn wants to be clear this model is not a fast track
to huge returns relative to the investment. For Glenn
and Caryl, the investment is worth it because of their
passion for creating a food product that revolves around
health from the soil up. To producers starting out in
direct marketing, Glenn’s main recommendations are
“understand who you are selling to, test your product
on the market, build relationships with customers, and
have a great photographer on hand.”
WHITNEY MACMILLAN PRIVATE
LANDS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM
A PUBLICATION OF THE
GLENN’S RECOMMENDED WEB
MARKETING AND SEO RESOURCES:
e Social Media Examiner Podcast
www.socialmediaexaminer.com
Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World
by Michael Hyatt
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by
Being Remarkable, by Seth Goden
Photos by Melanie Elzinga
