Stand Out in a Crowd...

How many business cards have you received in the last year and how many do you still remember? I’m learning that business cards should look professional but still have unique flair. That means not having too much going on as far as graphics, while still being attractive. As an artist, my business card is an extension of my work, and I want to be able to market myself the right way. Here are some tips I’ve learned while researching business cards:

• Only choose the best paper for your business cards. Thicker heavier paper is better as it looks more expensive and professional. 

• Use colorful printing, prices have dropped, it does not cost much more than standard two color cards. 

• Use a tagline that will quickly let the person know what your product/skill is. 

• Put a picture on your business card. Studies have shown that people are more likely to hold on to a Business card with a photo on it. It could be your picture, a picture of your product, or a combination of both. Picture cards get attention! 

• Do not use a premade business card design called templates. The more people who use these templates, the more your card starts to look like everybody else’s. You want to have a business card that stands out, not one that gets lost in the crowd.

I’ve learned that if I want to use good business etiquette and good marketing then I need to start handing out more of my business cards. This will help me to conduct my business in a much more professional and efficient manner. There is nothing easier or more profitable than using business cards in a marketing strategy.

Cheers!

Lori in Blue Ridge, GA

Atlanta Artists and Crafters - New Meetup

Clipboards used for Jewelry Display

While chatting with some fellow Etsy sellers, we were discussing how much we all love creating our art, but we all need to focus some of our time on selling it. I found a new Meetup group in Atlanta called "Art Biz in the 'Burbs"; the sponsor will focus on creative ways to advertise and market our creations through digital, social, and traditional media. Additionally, we will discuss galleries, gift shops, shows, art walks, and exhibitions. Together, we hope to expand our visibility and increase our understanding of the ever-changing art market.

If you are in the Atlanta, GA area and would like to join the group, I've included the link to the Meetup site below.  The first meeting is on Monday March 18 in northeast Cobb. 

http://www.meetup.com/Art-Biz-in-the-Burbs/ 

Increase your impact as an Etsy seller…

Many times, when I go to another seller’s profile to decide if I want to follow their tweets, I find tweet after tweet saying, “Buy my (whatever)…”

Does that approach work for you? Dose it move you to purchase from that person? I believe Sellers need to recognize that hitting the potential buyer over the head with a sales pitch isn’t a good use of the limited time you have to connect with your reader. It’s time to come to terms with what social media can and can’t do for you.



(Necklace by one of my favorite Etsy shops: Tiger and Hare)

First of all, does your communication emphasize relationship building? I believe you'll become more successful with your Etsy sales if you concentrate on building a relationship with your followers/friends, circles, etc. Here are some ways to do that…

1. Don’t be a salesman. Refrain from peddling your wares to those you communicate with on the social media sites. (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Blogs, etc…)

2. Focus on communication. Don’t talk to others. Instead, talk with others. Twitter is not all about you. It’s about communicating with others. If you are sending random messages out into the world saying, “I made a necklace. Buy my necklace,” people will see your avatar and ignore it.

3. Understand that buying is not impulsive anymore. On average most people must hear about your work several times before they decide to take a look or make the purchase. They may hear about it through your blog, through the occasional reference to it on Twitter, through a facebook post, etc. Instead of sending potential customers running by hitting them with the hard sell, just make sure you have good exposure for your work by participating in a variety of activities on-line, such as forums, blog parties, giveaways, or submitting your work to publications.

4. Don’t be frantic about marketing. Rather, spend your time building relationships with those who read your blog or those who follow you on Twitter or Facebook. Let them get to know more about you through your blog posts or tweets. Once they know you, they’ll start pulling for you in your Etsy endeavors, and will help to bring other readers to your blog and shop.

5. Spend some time on others. Blog or tweet about the accomplishments of others, talking to and commenting about others is a good way to build good relationships on line. Be generous on line and you will build good and lasting relationships.

By putting emphasis on helping others and reducing the effort of hawking your wares, you just might build the relationships you need for repeat purchases from your shop.

If you have some good indirect sales tactics, leave a comment for others to try.

"Pin It" to your blog........

I was reading a great blog this morning, that pointed to another blog, which led to reading another, and on to another, ...(you know what I mean) until I landed on this great blog. Julie Ann's blog, Julie Ann Art, is a wonderful collection of DIYs, tutorials, and overall blogger inspirations. She even has cute puppy photos (I'm a sucker for cute puppies). Did you see my new "Pin It" button at the bottom of each of my blog posts?  Julie Ann's tutorial showed me step by step how to add the button. It was easy to follow her instructions and understand her screen capture images even with my limited HTML skills.  Check it out!

Social Marketing: Facebook, Twitter, or Blog?

Are you still pondering whether or not social media matters for your Etsy business? According to a recent social media survey (by BlogHer, the women’s blog network) roughly 68% of the 79 million adult women in the United States who use the Internet participate in social media at the very least weekly.

Interesting Finding #1: Tweet Less....Women use social networks like Facebook more than anything else, with blogs their second choice. Forums and discussion boards come next, with Twitter bringing up the rear (remember this if you’re tempted to think Twitter is THE be all and end all of your Etsy marketing).

Women’s weekly internet participation by activity:

Social Networks (Facebook, My Space, etc.): 75%

All Blog Activity (Read and Write): 55%
Forums or Message Boards: 40%

Status Updating (Twitter): 16%

If you were looking solely at raw numbers above, you’d conclude the most important place to market your Etsy products is Facebook, right? Well … not necessarily.

Interesting Finding #2: Blogs Have the Most Influence on Purchasing…

It’s not just about how much time is spent in an activity; it’s what is accomplished in that activity. Do updating friends and family with the latest baby picture or recipe play into their purchasing habits? Probably not.

The survey found that women who read and post to blogs are the most actively engaged. They spend the most time online. Over 80% also participate in social networks like Facebook, and over one third of bloggers also participate in Twitter. But more to the point, those who blog are more likely to be tech savvy, on the leading edge of trends, and invest time searching for new products online. Those who participate in social networking sites like Facebook are motivated to spend time there more as a matter of staying in touch with family and friends.

The way I interpret this: you get the maximum reach in sheer numbers from social networks like Facebook, but you achieve the most influence from blogs.

Interesting Finding #3: Women Look to Blogs for Information…

The research showed that women are more likely to go to social networks like Facebook for beauty, entertainment, and dating advice. But for the majority of other categories, including product reviews and product gift ideas, they look to blogs.

Depending on the nature of your Etsy business, focus on Facebook or MySpace may be worth it — if, for instance, you are in the entertainment business. But for most things, such as if you are selling craft supplies or selling home décor items, blogs could give the best return on time invested.



No Bead Store?

My husband and I took a much needed trip to the mountains this past weekend. We stayed in the lovely little town of Highlands, NC at the cozy Mitchell Lodge. I love the slower pace and the cooler temperatures in the mountains, it’s so relaxing.

Wherever we travel, I always visit the local bead store to pick up some treasures that might not be available in Atlanta. To my surprise I found no bead store in Highlands. The community seems to be the perfect place for a bead ‘lounge’. A place to not only purchase beads and findings, but a place to sit and work on projects with friends, host a girl’s night out, or take a basic beading class. A place that serves beverages and has all the tools needed to complete a project.

I love this sign in front of a favorite bead shop in Virginia.

Highlands is a small town (3000 permanent residents) that swells to 25,000 to 30,000 seasonal residents during the spring to fall months. I call it the “reverse snowbird” flock. The town is at a very high elevation and is in one of only two temperate rain-forests in the continental US. The weather is mild in the summer months and the landscape is lush and green. The wonderful weather attracts retirees from Florida who want to escape the heat and hurricane threats of the summer months. Generally the retirees are well off, interested in the arts, and have a lot of free time. It is also a place for Atlanta folks to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life for a weekend. And two Universities have extension programs in Highlands so younger creative folks also live in town. I believe this would be a good demographic for a budding creative bead business.

I love this logo from a favorite bead shop in San Francisco that closed in 2009 

SO, why hasn’t someone jumped on this yet? Why isn’t there a cool bead “lounge” in Highlands? I don’t have the answer yet, but I’m starting my research this week. I’d love to be the bead shop owner is this lovely place. Take a peek at my previous blog post about Highlands, NC by clicking here. Cheers!



Do You Know Your Top Keywords?

  I just wanted to share a few things I learned from a fellow blogger…

I wanted to get my items closer to the first page of results when an Etsy buyer does a search on a specific word. My category is really saturated (bead jewelry), hopefully some small changes to the title and tags will at least help my items’ position in the search results.

First, I took a look at my Top Keywords in “Shop Stats” on my Etsy account page.

- I selected “All Time” from the drop down box and took a look at my top keywords. These are the words I should be using in my titles and tags. (For example, mine are lampwork earrings, ceiling fan pull chain, and lampwork beads.)

 Items in my Etsy shop that fit the Top Keyword categories.

Second, I've started editing my listings using the Top Keywords in my Titles.
- When appropriate I placed the Keywords at the beginning or as close to the beginning of my titles as possible.

Third, I also used the Top Keywords from my Titles in my Tags.
- Having matching keywords in my titles and tags gives me a double dip in the search!

Fourth, I put my Top Keywords in my item description.
- Search Engines such as Google draw from descriptions, I’m trying to put the Keywords as close to the beginning as possible. 

Fifth, I’ve started to pay attention to the Google Search preview when listing an item.
- The Google Search preview shows what will be displayed when the item comes up in a Google search. Top Keywords should be visible in the preview.

Google Search Example:

Handmade Lampwork Bead Earrings Cinnamon Spice by LorisGlassworks

This chic set of earrings features handmade glass lampwork beads using an earth tone color scheme, matching solid cinnamon color beads, copper beads and copper....

TITLE EXAMPLE:
Old Title: Cinnamon Spice Earrings

Improved Title: Handmade Lampwork Bead Earrings: Cinnamon Spice

TAGS EXAMPLE:

Tags from the Title: Lampwork, Handmade, Cinnamon
Repeat! Repeat! Repeat!

The rest of the Tags: Copper, Brown, Caramel, Chocolate, Cabin, Fall, Autumn, Rust, Terra Cotta

I hope this information is helpful and your items hit the first page when a word search is entered. 

Good Luck and Cheers!

Lori

Resources:
There are lots of great articles in the Etsy Blog! But this one is especially relevant.
www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/putting-your-shop-on-top-etsy’s-most-relevant-search/
More:
www.etsy.com/blog/en/?s=relevancy

Something to work toward....

Just like every other serious Etsy seller I have dreams of becoming one of the Etsy “power sellers”.  A shop that has thousands of purchases and is continually listed at the top of the leader boards.  To me there is nothing more thrilling than seeing my sales number increase when I login to my shop. I’ve spent hours reading information on how to optimize sales and market my shop.  But alas, sales are slow at the moment and I have to remind myself that slowdowns are normal.  Even though I’m feeling a little deflated at the moment, the sky is not falling!

So in the mean time, before I become an overnight sensation (just kidding, I’ve got a long way to go to achieve Etsy stardom), I’ve decided to work on a mailing list.  Every time a customer makes a purchase, I have an opportunity to build a valuable mailing list. I’ve been wasting a prime opportunity to stay in touch with my customers and possibly earn more sales from quite possibly the easiest people to sell to.

When sending the initial email, I will let them know about my latest designs, make my message short and sweet, and let my customers know that I won’t be sending them further email without their permission. Hopefully this will remind them that I’m still here, give them a reason to browse my shop again and offered them the chance to opt-in to receive future offers.

All in all, there are plenty of ways to deal with a sales slump on Etsy, this is just one way to turn the trend around. What have you done to help your business during slow sales times? Let me know in the comments below.



Twitter Following...Part Two...

My Second Step- Clever Following

As well as building up a good number of followers, it really is critical to make sure you seek out the right kind of audience for your products. If all of your followers are fellow sellers, it’s unlikely that your twitter activity is going to translate into sales very often (unless you’re a supply seller etc), or it might mean that you have to put in a huge amount of effort to get any results because your approach is not the best possible.

This part requires thinking outside the box a bit and working out your target market. Once you have some ideas about who your target market is, there are two main strategies I’d recommend for finding people to follow (in the hope that they will follow you back).

Following Followers- find people based on the publications, companies etc that they follow. For example, if you sell jewelry, you could find a fashion magazine on twitter and follow their followers- perfect target market just waiting for you! You can do this easily by using the ‘geeky follow’ feature on tweepi (or directly on twitter).

Search Using Keywords- you can use the advanced search function on twitter to find appropriate people to follow by using keywords they might tweet about, keywords in their profile, and based on location. So you could search for people in your city, people tweeting about a craft show or market that might mean they’re interested in handmade etc etc. Maybe try people who tweet about shopping and see if you can grab some shopaholics ;)

(Note- it can be good to have some fellow sellers to chat to on twitter to help you get the conversation moving and help you with retweets etc, I just wouldn’t recommend seeking out other etsians as your only strategy)

Click HERE to Follow me on Twitter.

"Home" Business say no more.....

Most Esty shop owners can’t afford separate studio space so they set up their work space at home.  It might be a dedicated space just for crafting, or it could be the kitchen table.  Working from the kitchen table doesn’t mean your work isn’t marvelous!   Don’t tell people you run a “home” business. Although 53% of small businesses are home based, many people still think of home businesses as unprofessional. Think of it this way: if you rented studio space at 33 West Main St. for your design business, you wouldn’t tell people you were in a “West Main Street” business. So, why say you are in a home business. Home is just the location of your work space. It’s the business – the product you provide – that’s important.  When people ask about my small business I simply say that I’m a jewelry designer and hand them one of my business cards... Enough said…

Creative Blocks.......

   I realized today that I’m in a rut, my shop sales are slow and I haven’t been motivated to create any new product.  I’ve spent many hours each day working on my marketing; tweeting, posting on facebook, reading blogs, chatting in forums, etc….

  A wise, very successful Etsy seller advised that I should keep updating my jewelry during the quiet period. “Most importantly, keep renewing and improving your craft; oftentimes we  handmade sellers take so much of our time marketing our items, we forget to look for new and interesting ways to create. This will keep people coming back to your shop and will make your marketing job a little easier!”  

  So, today I got out of the house for a hair appointment and a look around for inspiration. While waiting at the salon I was thumbing through a fashion magazine and noticed the bold, chunky, and natural materials being used for the designer jewelry.  On the wall of the salon was a painting with an incredible color pallet, my stylist had on a beautiful long rope necklace and the shop across the street had a window display bursting with spring colors. Creative inspiration was all around me I just needed to look up from my ‘marketing’ to see it.  I have a renewed focus…I’m off to the studio to create my next sale!

"I love it, but why so expensive....."

Recently I’ve had a comment from a friend about the prices in my Etsy Shop. I realized that my friend and hopefully potential buyer had been comparing my prices to mass produced items available at local retailers. She did not realize the time, effort, craftsmanship, and love that went into every piece I make. After our conversation I believe she had a better understanding of the significance of handmade items.I took a look at my shop. Did it immediately let the customer know that I’m a handmade artisan as opposed to a reseller? No really…..
Here are some tips to help establish the value of your craft:
- Does your profile state information about your process, standards and quality?
- Are you letting them know how your products are superior (I hope they are) to the commercially available products?
- Is your geographic location specific for those who want to shop local?
- Do you ever refer to yourself by name to establish a more personal connection?
- Do you encourage conversations?
Hopefully my work speaks for its self, but by adding a more personal feel to my profile and descriptions I hope that I’m establishing my shop as a place for quality handmade items.

Tweet you later!

I’ve been “tweeting” for about two weeks. I have made several new contacts and I’ve also seen some amazing artist’s work. I’m getting hooked on this micro messaging!

Think of Twitter as a means to get instant public messages out to your audience, whether it is an audience of friends or potential customers. Twitter is becoming an increasingly important platform for online communication and, yes, conversation. TechCrunch reported that Twitter has more than 1 million users and approximately 3 million messages are posted daily. WOW!

Was I mentioned in any of the 3 million?? What about my Etsy shop? This might be a good time to find out. Twitter provides a search engine that allows you plug-in company names, brand names, topics and even personal names. What is my buzz level? Are there any negative comments out there? If I were you I'd use the search engine to check on a regular basis. I’m checking now….

Tweet you later!