The New Website

So as I announced last week I am working on building a site for my Etsy shop. After having read Jordan's post on websites, I decided that I had put it off too long. In honest I had. I have been working on building sites for others since high school, but I found it very intimidating to work on my own. My favorite college professor said once that the hardest person to design for is yourself. I agree. I always see the flaws and what else I could do to make it better. This means it is never done enough to put content on. But I finally did it. I created a site I am happy with. I am working right now on embedding my blog. I am not sure how I am going to do this yet.

So I want you to think about your business.
Do you have a site?
Have you considered having one made?

I took Jordan's advice to heart. You need to think about the end user. Take into consideration that this site is a promotional platform for your work. You want the user to come and stay for a while. So work backwards. As a shopper in your store what features would you want to see. If it is easier go to someones shop and do this exercise. I prefer a well laid out gallery with links to the product. I enjoy a blog to read that involves subject matters related to their art and their life.

(This is not officially a Business Sense, but I am tagging it that way so that it is easy to find.)

Business Sense: Advertising with Craftcult.com

Craft Cult is a "Etsy helper" style site. They are the proud Heart-o-matic service, which allows you to monitor the popularity of your store and single items. It is a prettier more friendly version of Analytics. It allows you to track the flow of visitors, but unlike analytics that is the only information you get. Now the real amazing part is it allows you to separate the views an item might get and the hearts. I use this is a way to gauge the actual popularity of an item.

This is a very popular tool used by many Etsians. I know I learned about it through several shop owners and I like them pass it on to others. So this is a high traffic site.

Pricing
Craft Cult offers two styles of ads. There is the top carousel rotating image gallery. Then there are the two sidebars that have a list of eight images that switch out. (I myself have only done the side bar.) Craft Cult offers a variety of flat-rate packages starting at $15 going up to $55.

What was my experience?
I went with a seven day sidebar ad for $15. I figured this would be a great starter. Since they offer a flat rate, I didn't have to worry about surprise fees. This made this test run seem safer to me. Also, knowing that they are high traffic made it more appealing.

Here is the ad I ran:

I am in the bottom right.

Trackable Results
Here is the important stuff.

My average hits per day when I have not listed a new item is anywhere between 1 and 14. To me this seems like normal average visits if you are not promoting your store. So I consider this my base line of comparison.

I ran my ad from September 25th through August 31st. As per my google anayltics, there is a huge jump in visits. After having talked to the wonderful people at Craft Cult, they let me know that the busiest days for them are Monday and Tuesday. I assume this is because those are the first scheduled days for people after having been out all weekend.

Here are the number:
Wednesday the 25th = 21 unique visits and 2 shop hearts
Thursday the 26th = 29 unique visits and 1 shop heart
Friday the 27th = 30 unique visits and 5 shop hearts
Saturday the 28th = 12 unique visits and no shop hearts
Sunday the 29th = 29 unique visits and 3 shop hearts
Monday the 30th = 23 unique visits and 3 shop hearts
Tuesday the 31st = 10 unique visits no shop hearts

I didn't think to track item hearts. I intend to on my next trial with them. Now I didn't get a sale out of this. But, I did manage on the slow days (the 28th and the 31st) to still almost hit the high end of my non-advertising visits per day. And, on the busy days it doubled and sometimes almost tripled.

So final verdict is that this is a great site to buy on-line advertising. Since money for my store mainly comes from sales in my store I will use this advertising mainly near holidays. I am currently looking for some free sites to advertise on. If you know of any please let me know.

Business Sense: Online Advertising

I will admit that I don't have a lot of experience in this field. In fact, I am learning this in a very hands on manner. So I figured I should write about my experiences as I go. This way people, who may also be looking into but a little cautious, can see what I have done. So first there is the learning the jargon section of it. Here is the Wikipedia Article that covers it. Now for my basics:

Methods of Payment

CPV (Cost Per View):
This means that every time your ad is displayed on the website you will have to pay for it.

CPC (Cost Per Click)
This means that every time your ad is displayed on the website and someone clicks on it you will have to pay for it.

My preference at this point is a flat rate or a CPC (Cost Per Click) situation. I am going to be doing articles on different sites that offer advertising as I go. So this will be an on and off again article chain, but they will all by tagged with Online Advertising

What sites do you advertise on? What are your preferences?

Business Sense: Last Call

So I seem to have run out of ideas for this line of articles. I know there is a lot more out there that I haven't covered. So I am giving you a chance to give me ideas. I figure there might be issues that you have run into and want advice, or a second opinion on. Just leave a message and I will find an answer for you.

I am also trying to come up with another series for my blog. If you have any ideas of what you would like to see let me know. I want my blog to always be useful to you and entertaining.

Again, if you have a question and need an answer let me know by leaving a message.

Business Sense: Packaging

Lets play a game... Name that companies packaging. The little teal blue box is famous. It is a simple color. It isn't highly decorated. The most the company does is a simple text logo on the center of the lid and it is wrapped in a simple white bow. It is the purest form of package design out there. It is classic, simple, colorful, and easily recognizable.

These are the key concepts you want to shot for in your stores packaging. There are several resources for packaging online. You should think about your product and what it requires. The packaging I have for my Ring Blossoms is very different from the packaging I use for my embroidered cuffs. My cuffs in general are very sturdy and don't need a lot of protective packaging. I do however like to send them in a card stock paper box. This way I don't worry about anything getting damaged. For my Ring Blossoms I created a fold over card that I attach to a clear plastic resealable bag. They look like something you would find hanging from a hook at the store. If someone wants one wrapped as a gift, I use a paper stock box and use a bit of matted cotton to puff the ring up.

However my needs are going to be different from another Etsy seller. Someone who does pottery for example is going to need protective packaging to be included. Think about how you would receive a vase sent from Target. It would come in a cardboard box. Inside you would have a molded piece of Styrofoam or corrugated cardboard supports. Those would be taped in place to keep the vase from moving. Since you cannot mold Styrofoam to each piece, you can consider buying large blocks and cutting them to generally fit. Or, you can buy packing peanuts. If you have an issue with this places like FedEx can help you find the best option for your piece. You can then look for those options at a cheaper price and do it yourself. Consider the one trip to FedEx as research.

If you have clothing you are sending consider a simple piece of tissue around your folded garment and decorative twine. You could also use a sample piece of fabric you have left over and make pouches that button shut. This is a great idea and feel free to use it.

Just remember you want you packaging to be consistent. Pick a theme and go with it. You also want to consider how reusable your packaging can be. If you want to "be green" try to make it a functional piece as well. The pouch your shirt arrived in might be useful as a travel piece. If you have creative ways to reuse your packaging, suggest it on cute little note card. People will love the time you took to make their item so special.

Also consider offering Packaging as an added item in your store. This way if people do not want it, then you do not have to worry about the cost. It also gives them the option of not paying for it with the item. The customer also has the option of not having to wrap the best birthday present they have ever seen for their bestfriend.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any creative ways to package your items.

Business Sense: Vacation mode

Summer is coming up. The warm weather leads most of us to take time off. We leave our jobs, homes, and lives behind for a little bit of time without stress. It is that time where we don’t have to worry about picking up our mail. We don’t have to worry about bills getting paid. This is just time for us. So the last thing you want on your mind is your Etsy store. You want to know that the people who can find your store aren’t wondering where their goodies are. So I wanted you to consider the Vacation Mode.

First and foremost, there is the on and off switch. So I use this to preset my announcements. You are able to do this as soon as you know the dates of when you will be away.

Then there is a Vacation Announcement. It will replace the Shop Announcement your store currently displays. You want to make sure to have a few things. Have a short hello message, then an announcement of you Vacation. I usually put a title of the vacation. To be honest, I title everything. Then you want to add the dates. Give yourself an extra day or two at the beginning and the end of the vacation. You will need the dates to pack and unpack. Don’t rush.

Then there is a Convo Auto-Reply. This is the message anyone will get sent when they send you a Convo. This is important. If someone has a question about an item in your store, then you don’t want a potential client wondering if you care, because you do care. Take the time and write a letter to all potential clients. Let them know what dates you will be away from your store. Let them know a little about yourself. If you are open to it talk a little about your vacation at the end of the letter. Make sure you use the same dates as the announcements. Use the same vacation title.

You, Me, and the Camera

It is true. The image you take of your product is worth a thousand words. It can tell a person that you take yourself serious. It can tell them that you took the time to make your item look amazing for them. So I am going to take a moment to tell you what everyone else is going to tell you. The image you take can help you get or cost you a sale.

This is a good site about digital photgraphy: www.studiolighting.net/

Here are the best articles I could find on the subject:

This is a good tutorial/article about lighting your products: Studio Lighting

Here is a YouTube video on Lighting... Smick Product Photography Tutorial

Another good YouTube video... Episode 17 , a review of studio product photography tricks

Here are two articles I dug up on the Storque Etsy Blog:
The Right Camera

Give Props: How to Style Your Photos

Business Sense: Buying Online

On this subject, I will admit I am torn. I do encourage people to have a relationship with their local shops, the people involved with them, and the groups that meet at them. Your local support is extremely important. This is true of any specialty or local craft store. Many of these stores will host workshops and classes. These are important you will learn skills and meet people.

Now for the flip side of the argument:

Money is tight for a lot of people in today’s economy. We find ourselves trying to make a dollar into two. So why should the money we spend on our supplies not work just as hard. This means you have to find places that will give you a discount for bulk orders or shop wholesale. I have recently started shoping online at Fire Mountain Gems. Since I keep most of my craft receipts I was able to go back and compare my “shop purchases” with my new “online orders”.

I learned two things. Shopping online is safer. I am not walking around a bead store able to touch the shiny objects. This means that I can look at the picture and not have the impulse that if I don’t buy this now it will be gone forever. There is also a convent link that lets me look at a list of items and a total. This means I pick the items more carefully. I make sure that I get what I need and maybe a few specialties. I also don’t like the sites that require a minimum purchase. I find that I am usually unable to make the minimum purchase due to an inability to get all of the money in one place.

I shop on a site called Fire Mountain Gems. They have a large selection, but this isn’t the main reason. I shop there because they have a tiered discount system. There are four tiers based on the number of items in you cart. This affects the item price of everything in your cart. And, they are upfront with all of their costing. And, since they use a tiered system for discounts they don’t inflict a minimum purchase.

So I want you to consider a few things…

Where do you shop and why?
How much do you get for your money?

Business Sense: Bookkeeping and Records

Finance is the core of a business. You need money to create an item, you need money to list the item, you need money to send the item, and you receive money from the customer. This is the pretty cycle that our money takes when we have an Etsy store. It is actually true of most stores. We the creative people selling our goods have to be aware that the government only wants to see the cycle.

Things to keep in mind:

Receipts
You want to keep them, all of them. If you are buying supplies, reference materials, booth space, organizational tools are all important. I suggest going to Target and getting a receipt folder. I sprung for the sexy one with 12 pockets and a cute blue polka-dot pattern. You can list them as the months of the year. At the end of the year pack everything into month labeled envelopes and those into a larger envelope. Then you can put those away and not worry about them until tax time.

Records for Supplies
You need to keep a list of supplies that go into your pieces and cost. Make sure if the item comes multiples in a pack that you divide the price by the number in the package, then round up to the nearest penny. I have many supplies that are .007 for a single bead. Keeping track of this will do several things for you. First it will help you make sure that you never loose money on a piece. Second you can make sure that the profit margin you are receiving stays consistent in your shop. Third is it allows you to keep tabs on what items you have and need to restock. I have an excel sheet that I have uploaded to Google Docs and a copy on my iPhone. The records of what goes into your piece might also be useful at tax time.

Business Sense: Getting your cards out there… now what?

You have designed, ordered, and received your business cards. They are small slips of heavy weight paper that announce to the world that you have a store. You are a person to be taken seriously. So now what? How do you get your business cards into the hands of others? Here are a few simple, yet creative ways to get your cards into the hands of others.

The Public Bulletin Board
Most small restaurants, some grocery stores, and many small boutiques have a “public” bulletin board. They are a small space where people can post for local businesses. This is a great place to display some of your cards. I suggest keeping a small box of attractive pushpins, business cards, and if you don’t want to push through them a way to display them on the board. I suggest hitting up an office store for a display you can mount.

The Dinner Check
The waiter/waitress has taken your plate and come back with a small booklet and a receipt to sign. You flick your wrist and leave your name on the paper. Now you have a choice. You can get up walk away from the table, or you could consider pulling out your business cards and leaving one behind. Think about it. You never know if this person could become your next best customer.

Your Cheerleaders
In some cases this might actually be a group of cheerleaders. Right now one of my best advertisers is someone on the softball team of my old high school. But in general the people promoting my store the most, other then me, is my mother and best friend. They believe in me, and they believe in my art. That is what you need to find. You need to find the people that no matter how many pieces you show them they are still amazed. You need to first show them how much you appreciate them. Then you need to give them as many cards as they will take. You should also give them a piece for free to display. I give my mom jewelry all the time. Because people will see it, ask about it, and they will glow as they tell people about it. That is the best advertising you can ask for.

Meet and Greets
I have my blog, facebook, twitter, and store website listed on my cards. I want the little buggers to do as much for me as they can. I want people to be able to find me. And, I want people to go to my shop. So when I am out talking to other people I always keep business cards for others. I also wear my own jewelry, so that people can ask me about it.

Business Sense: Store Policies

I myself had to go to the forums on this question. What do you say in the policies to make the buyer feel at ease? So I learned a few things in my adventures into the grand world of Policies. First the top sellers on Etsy all have detailed policies where the customers know exactly what to expect. They let the customer know as much as they can about how they handle their business. Because we have to remember that Etsy is as much about the business as the handmade craft. So I tried to put together a list of questions that you should consider when you go to write your own.

Payment
~ What kind of payments do you accept?
~ When do you expect payment?
~ When someone does not pay you on the timeline you lay out how will you handle that?
~ Do you make concessions on your expectations if the buyer contacts you?

Shipping
~ Where do you ship?
~ What methods of shipping do you use?
~ What form of packaging do you do to protect your product?
~ Do you offer mail insurance?
~ Are there locations you cannot or do not ship to? Why?
~ Do you offer gift-wrapping for sellers? What do you charge for this?

Refunds and Exchanges
~ Do you offer a refund or exchange?
~ Under what situation do you offer one?
~ If you do not offer one, make a polite statement about why you do not. It will make the customer more comfortable.

Additional Policies
~ Do you consider an equal exchange with other Etsy sellers?
~ Do you frequently get the same question about an item? List them.
~ Is there anything special about your products that your customers need to know?
~ Do you do custom items? How do you handle this? Are there time line considerations?

Business Sense: The Facebook Fanpage

With Facebook as one of the top social networking sites, large and small businesses have found the power of word of mouth in the day and age of web 2.0 sites. It is easy for a person to mass forward a favorite game, site, company, or product on to all of their friends with a few steps. So it pays to have your business out there in the network. It is also a good way to keep your fan base updated by giving them options to view photos, a calendar, and links you find helpful.

And, if you have read my post on Twitter and the uses of Twitter, you might ask yourself what benefit do I get at having one over the other. But that isn’t really the way to look at it. I have both. I have a Twitter account (StrungOutBeader) that updates my Facebook Fanpage (StrungOutCreations on Facebook). This opens me up to two markets. When I post an update on Twitter it will put me on the open channel so that everyone will read it. Then it will update my Fanpage automatically to let the people who follow me have the same information. Ta-Da! I get to keep both valuable and I get to do half the work.

So back to the Fanpage… Lets go over a few basic options that the Fanpage offers that you cannot get on Twitter.

Photos: Facebook allows you to create galleries and host images. This is a valuable tool because you can upload images of your work with links to the item in the description. You can also upload images of the creation of the item. This gives the audience more of a feel for you as a crafter and not just a seller. The wonderful thing about hand-made is that there is a face behind the item. You get a story about the creation.

Calendar: This can be used to promote Sales, Events, or Give-A-Ways. You can also give people a heads up when you will be on vacation so that they can make their orders before or after. You can also use it to let people know about weekly blog posts or craft shows you will be attending.

Reviews: This works the same way that Feedback does on the Etsy site. It allows a person to commend you work. This gives other people the chance to see how much your fans have liked your work.

Now that I have hopefully talked you into how wonderful these pages are you need to know how to create one. Since I have become wordy again I found a YouTube tutorial on the actual creation. After watching it I think it is a great reference. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvcnpBNym10

Business Sense: What is...

Site: http://www.google.com/analytics/

I am going to start with a few of the basic questions, because this article will only be useful if everyone starts off with the same base of information. And, I want people to get the most out of this article. I am also going to later do a set of tutorials on how to set up Google Analytics for you Blogger account and your Etsy store. Now you have to own a Google Account to have access to this feature. So if you choose to go with using Google Analytics you will have to set up an account first.

So what is Google Analytics?
Google being the wonderful internet company they are offer a wide range of features. One of which is Google Analytics. It is a free service that allows people to track information about the websites, blogs, or accounts they maintain on the net. You are able to track the number of visitors, hits, and other extremely valuable data that most people will not have access to without the use of a web analytics service.

Why do I need Google Analytics on my blog?
Blogs are all about readers. And unless a person makes a comment on a blog you will not be aware of them. They are the faceless crowd. But, with Google Analytics you can not only count them in your list of consistent readers, you can learn more about them then you would have thought valuable. You can use the map overlay to see where you have a following. You can use the most visited links to see which articles you write are the most popular. This allows you to gear your future articles towards similar topics. This allows you to have a better understanding of your readers, which is the most valuable thing you can have.

Why do I need Google analytics on my Etsy site?
Now apply this to your Etsy store. Through the referral list of links you can see what online ads have brought you the most views. You can see which articles you have written on your blog that is driving attention to your store. You can also see what items you have created that are getting the most attention. You can also see what locations using the world map where you have a following. The main thing I use this for the hits per day count. I try to keep an eye on the days where I have the most views at what interaction I have had with my store that day.

Business Sense: To Twitter or not to Twitter

This isn’t much of a question. So the answer is obviously: To Twitter.

Okay for anyone who might not have heard of Twitter.com, I will begin with a simple description. It is a sight where you get to post a simple message of 140 characters out into what is referred to as the great Twitter net. When you post something it can be seen on the public forum. It can also be seen on a person’s personal twitter feed after they have chosen to “follow” your feed. This is a fabulous source for free advertising and getting your name out there. It allows you to make sure that you presence on the net is consistently available to new people, who will click on the link if your post is intriguing.

Now onto some tips and tricks about it:

The Character Count: You only get 140. So you want to have a concise description of the item along with a link. An easy way to make the most of your characters is to use a tiny-url. I suggest tinyurl.com.

The always-visible Etsian: Also when you are not listing an item it is good to keep your presence in the viewers mind. Ask questions. You will be amazed how people will respond or at least consider your question. Ask people about their day. Ask people about their favorite colors for an item. Try to get them involved and make them feel like a friend and not just a potential client.

The Shout Out: Another good way to spread your name around the Etsy community is to pick someone you like or an item and post it to your feed. The best way to take the most advantage of this is to send a message to the Etsian you are helping to promote. They will appreciate the attention and will look around your shop. If they like it they may promote you or show it to friends.

I hope you find this information helpful.

(Now for a moment of shameless self-promotion: I have a twitter account for my blog and Etsy account called the StrungOutBeader. I would love to see you there.)

Business Sense: The Business of Business Cards

As a graphic designer, I know how important it is to get your name, brand, and company out there. If they don’t know about you, they can’t buy from you. It is just a fact of consumerism. This is no different in the world of hand-made goods. So this post is about the simplest tool you can use to get your name out there: The Business Card.

The first thing you need to figure out is what information is going to go on to you cards. Of course, you have your Etsy store name and online address since the point of this is to bring in new potential customers. Then you have to decide if you are going to list any other contact information. There is your personal name. On my cards I have my name listed so that when people try to contact me there is a sense of familiarity. I want people to feel like there are talking to a person, since that is what most of the hand-made movement is about. You can opt to add on an email address so that people can contact you outside of the Etsy site set-up. Many people will ask me about a contact phone number. I personally caution against this. Since you want you cards to be passed around from person to person, there is no telling who would end up with you private phone number. When and if you get to a point where you decide to have a business line, then I would suggest it.

So on my cards I have the following information:

Name: Alexis Roberts

Store Name: Strung Out Creations

Description: Hand Bead-woven Jewelry

Online Site: www.strungoutcreations.etsy.com

Now that you know what you want it to say it is time to find out what you want it to look like. I suggest personal designs always. I know, I know. It costs money. But the wonderful thing about Etsy is you can find people who are graphic designers as well as crafters. I spent a little time in the Graphic Design section under the Everything Else Category and found a wealth of designers. Many of the offer pre-made options that tend to run between $12 and $30 for a store set-up with business card designs included. If you have the extra money, I suggest finding an artist whose personal style matches the feel you want for your shop and going custom. You want the business card you hand to people to match the online storefront. This will give people the idea that they should take you serious as a seller, because you take yourself seriously. Also, since you are going through Etsy to develop your brand you will gain a friend in your designer who might have later advice.

Now where to get them printed. I personally use Moo.com. I have the MiniCards and that is the only place to get them. They are $20 for 100, and that tends to last me for a little while. If you choose to go with this style of card you need to let the person designing your card know. If not they will assume you are going to go with a standard format. Instead of going with a design on the back of my cards, I choose to use images from the items in my store. I find it is a great way to advertise items I have listed. Also you can let people choose the item back they like. I broke my cards down into five sets of twenty cards.

If you are going to go with a standard size, I suggest OverNightPrints.com. They are extremely reasonable and very reliable. Thier cards start off at the same $20 for 100, but since they offer bulk discounts it is better to order more at one time. You can get 500 for $35. Also if you sign up for their mailing list about every other month they send out a coupon for some printing discount. Always buy using the coupon. The more money you save means the more profit you are making.

I hope this helps. I know it is a lot of information to take in. But, your business card is truly one of the most important pieces in your self-promotion. Next time I am going to cover unique ways to spread them around, because they don’t do us any good in the box.