Don’t worry. We’re here to help. This post includes suggested sessions that focus on one of the following areas:

Business Operations and Management
Sales, Revenue Streams and Profitability
Branding, Marketing and Promoting Your Business
Craft Shows
Handmade Community
Publishing for Handmade Businesses

First, consider where you could use improvement or what areas of focus might have the most impact on your business. Are your business operations in order or could they use some brushing up? Do you enjoy the creative side of your business, but cringe when it comes to sales? Or maybe you’re interested in connecting with and growing your local handmade community. Keep reading- we’ve got you covered.

More after the jump.

Want to focus on the nuts and bolts of your business and how it operates? Try these sessions:

>—— Thursday ——<
10:45am–Making the Not-So-Fun Stuff Easier So You Can Save Time and Sell More with Willo O’Brien

1:45pm–Crafting Green with Becky Striepe and Shannon Mulkey OR Licensing 101 with Jeffery Everett and Jon Wye

3:15pm–Nerdy Tech: Understanding SEO and Analytics with Tara Gentile OR The Press: How to Get and Deal with Coverage with Kelly Rand and Christine Ernest

4:45pm–Legalities of Starting your business with Diane Leigh Davison OR Show Me the Money! with Caitlin Phillips

>—— Friday ——<
10:15am Goals and Intentions with Kari Chapin OR Pricing your Work with Megan Auman and Tara Gentile

11:45am–Storytelling in Marketing and Business Creation with Tina Seamonster OR Wholesaling 101 with Kasey and Kelly Evick and Rhonda and Elijah Wyman

1:45pm–How and When to Hire Help with Jon Wye, Rhonda and Elijah Wyman and WIllo O’Brien OR Best of Etsy Success with Danielle Maveal

3:15pm–Copyright vs. Trademark with Diane Leigh Davison

4:45pm–The Importance of Photography with Miranda Lievers OR What the Creative Business Owner Can Learn from Improv with Amanda Hirsch

>—— Saturday ——<
9:30am–The Language of Successful Sales with Caitlin Phillips

11am–Leveling up Your Site with Video with Willo O’Brien OR Dress up your Products with Packaging with Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidolt

Looking to improve your sales or just want to understand and enjoy the process more? Check out these talks from speakers with a passion for sales that lead to profit.

>—— Thursday ——<
10:45am–Making the Not-So-Fun Stuff Easier So You Can Save Time and Sell More with Willo O’Brien

1:45pm– Shameless Self-Promotion with Debbie Stoller and Laurie Henzel OR Etsy Shop Critique One-on-ones with Danielle Maveal (pre-registration required, additional fee)

3:15pm–How to use Light in your Product Shots with Miranda Lievers OR Nerdy Tech: Understanding SEO and Analytics with Tara Gentile

4:45pm–Show Me the Money! with Caitlin Phillips OR Etsy Shop Critique One-on-ones with Danielle Maveal (pre-registration required, additional fee)

>—— Friday ——<
10:15am –Pricing your Work with Megan Auman and Tara Gentile

11:45am–Wholesaling 101 with Kasey and Kelly Evick and Rhonda and Elijah Wyman

1:45pm–Best of Etsy Success with Danielle Maveal OR Your Craft in Galleries with Jaime Zollars and Diane Koss

3:15pm–Email Marketing with Amy Ellis and Sharon Teng OR Etsy Shop Critique One-on-ones with Danielle Maveal (pre-registration required, additional fee)

4:45pm–The Importance of Photography with Miranda Lievers OR What the Creative Business Owner Can Learn from Improv with Amanda Hirsch OR Etsy Shop Critique One-on-ones with Danielle Maveal (pre-registration required, additional fee)

>—— Saturday ——<
9:30am–Popup Shops and Temporary Shows with Kim Dorn and Christy Petterson OR The Language of Successful Sales with Caitlin Phillips OR Etsy Shop Critique One-on-ones with Danielle Maveal (pre-registration required, additional fee)

11am–Dress up your Products with Packaging with Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidolt

Make awesome stuff and need help getting the word out? Need to be more consistent and efficient in your marketing? The experts leading these sessions will surely impress you with their depth of knowledge, inspire you with their creativity, and challenge you with their brazenness.

>—— Thursday ——<
10:45am–Branding and Identity with Jeffery Everett

1:45pm–Shameless Self-Promotion with Debbie Stoller and Laurie Henzel

3:15pm–The Press: How to Get and Deal with Coverage with Kelly Rand and Christine Ernest OR Nerdy Tech: Understanding SEO and Analytics with Tara Gentile

4:45pm–Blogs, Books and Magazines, Oh my! with Kate McKean, Lish Dorset and Kari Chapin

>—— Friday ——<
10:15–Booth Set up and Display with Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidolt

11:45am–Storytelling in Marketing and Business Creation with Tina Seamonster

1:45pm–Your Craft in Galleries with Jaime Zollars and Diane Koss OR Best of Etsy Success with Danielle Maveal

3:15pm–Email Marketing with Amy Ellis and Sharon Teng

4:45pm–Social Media 101 with Lish Dorset and Willo O’Brien

>—— Saturday ——<
9:30am–Podcasting 101 with Tina Seamonster and Jason Nelson

11am–Leveling up Your Site with Video with Willo O’Brien OR Dress up your Products with Packaging with Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidolt

Intimidated by craft show applications or the idea of setting up a booth? Maybe you want to organize your own.These sessions are for you:

>—— Thursday ——<
1:45pm–Craft fair Organizing with Rachel Bone, Andrea and Robert Tucker

4:45pm–Show Me the Money! with Caitlin Phillips

>—— Friday ——<
10:15–Booth Set up and Display with Shauna Alterio and Stephen Loidolt

11:45am–Craft Fair Applications with Rachel Bone and Andrea and Robert Tucker

3:15pm–Event Sponsorship with Kim Dorn and Christy Petterson

4:45pm–What the Creative Business Owner Can Learn from Improv with Amanda Hirsch

>—— Saturday ——<
9:30am–Popup Shops and Temporary Shows with Kim Dorn and Christy Petterson

These sessions will help you make connections and learn about ways to grow the handmade community.

>—— Thursday ——<
10:45am–Community, Mafias, and Street Teams with Rachel Bone, Jen Menkhaus and Isaac Watson

1:45pm–Craft fair Organizing with Rachel Bone, Andrea and Robert Tucker

>—— Friday ——<
4:45pm–Social Media 101 with Lish Dorset and Willo O’Brien

>—— Saturday ——<
11am–Connecting to Your Community with Isaac Watson

Think publishing is the right avenue for your business? Explore the different platforms available or even pitch your craft book in one of the following sessions.

>—— Thursday ——<
3:15pm–Pitch Your Craft Book One-on-ones with Kate McKean (pre-registration required, additional fee)

4:45pm–Blogs, Books and Magazines, Oh my! with Kate McKean, Lish Dorset and Kari Chapin

>—— Friday ——<
11:45am–Storytelling in Marketing and Business Creation with Tina Seamonster OR Pitch Your Craft Book One-on-ones with Kate McKean (pre-registration required, additional fee)

3:15pm–Brainstorming and Recording Stories with Tina Seamonster

>—— Saturday ——<
9:30am–Podcasting 101 with Tina Seamonster and Jason Nelson

11am–Leveling up Your Site with Video with Willo O’Brien OR Pitch Your Craft Book One-on-ones with Kate McKean (pre-registration required, additional fee)

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Need a break from the business side and looking for some creative inspiration? Try any of the workshops, participate in the Crafty Throwdown and experiment with the projects and supplies in the Make Something Awesome area. More details about these hands-on, creative options at the summit will be posted next week.

So, who’s going to what? Still stuck deciding between two sessions? Tell us in the comments.

A handwritten promo captured on Instagram by user Danielle Designs

What’s that fifth limb you’ve been sprouting for the past year or three? Oh, that’s just your Smartphone, a small communication device with an importance so all-encompassing it might as well double as a heart monitor. Recently, the  boom in photo sharing apps provides another reason to be obsessed, both for their ability to turn anyone into Irving Penn and their business bolstering implications. The most discussed photo-centric software of the moment is arguably Instagram — an app that melds social media with photography and Photoshop. It’s addictive, easy to use, and changing the way people connect, share creative content, and market in both the large and small business industries.

An example of an Instagram promo by jewelry maker I Live to Create

Chances are you’ve long been familiar with Instagram. The free application is so popular that it reached 1 million users only two and a half months after it’s launch. According to TechCrunch, it’s now adding 130,000 new registered users per week for a current total of over 2.2 million. At first only for iPhones, an Instagram API was recently developed to enable compatibility with multiple platforms and other apps. “…the Instagram community is building a rich visual history of the world. It’s only natural to find ways of encouraging talented developers to build interesting ways to explore the data,” says a release on Instagram.com

Needless to say, it’s ability to capture images that can then be altered by applying toned “filters” is an incredibly fun way to document life and instantly share photography online. Users can follow each other’s Instagram photo stream the same way that people “follow” one another on Twitter. Images can also be marked with #hashtags so like-minded Instagramers can find and track shots of interest. Blog platforms have developed plug-ins that allow instant streaming and uploading from the Instagram app to websites. In light of these features and the high quality of Instagram photos, bloggers and independent business owners are opting to leave their heavy and complicated DSLRs at home.

Instagram product photos by Etsy user I Live to Design

When it comes to creating graphics for promos, snapping images for their blogs, or even capturing product shots for their online stores, Instagram can provide everything an independent business owner needs to get ‘er done. For example, jeweler I Live to Create is an Instagram user and independent designer who creates promos for her Facebook page using Instagram images of her wares. She also uses the app to take funky product shots for her Etsy store.

Another innovative development on the Instagram forefront is Postagram, a new capability that enables users to print their Instagram images as postcards for $1. A write up over on Wired.com explains, “Postagram takes your Instagram photos, lets you add a message (up to 140 characters) and then mails a printed copy to anyone, anywhere in the world. The picture is printed at 300 dpi on heavy photo paper and comes surrounded by a postcard, from which the print can be popped out. Each picture costs $1 to print and send, and you have to do nothing but choose the picture and pay.”

Image of paper cubes using Instagram images by Printsgram. Found on Printsgram.com

Printsgram is a similarly exciting printing program that sends a user PDF files of their Instagram images for printing. A user can select different poster sizes, foldable paper cubes and even stickers for free.

Looking to maximize your Instagram use? In addition to the software innovations existing inside the plastic shell of your phone, gadgets and accessories are aiding the Smartphone’s metamorphosis into full-fledged professional camera.

- The Glif is a tripod and kickstand in one that props and stabilizes an iPhone 4 so it’s camera ready.

-This tutorial from Instructables teaches you how to deconstruct a disposable camera lens to create a clip-on macro lens (a lens that allows very close range shots of a subject).

- And to round everything out, this article from PC World offers general tips on How to Improve Shooting with a Camera Phone.

While nothing may come close to the crisp quality and tonal range of a $1,500 + DSLR,  innovations in media and technology, such as the Instagram app, usually mean that concurrent evolutions in marketing and business are not far behind. Could this impact the way we create business cards or memorabilia for craft shows? Have any advice or insight on camera phone apps or other related developments? Please keep us all in the know by commenting below!

Image by Flickr user TheChemicalKid~

Your online store is brimming, your business logo is eye catching, and your Facebook page is updated more frequently than a NASDAQ news reader. So why aren’t the sales rolling in?  Well, your business may not be visible enough to potential customers through email blasts and Google, and you may be wasting time tweeting your shop updates, says this recent study by Forrester Research and GSI Commerce.

The report captured and analyzed data on online shopping habits between mid-November and late December 2010 (basically, the Holiday shopping rush). What they found about social media and it’s effectiveness at connecting shoppers to potential purchases could shift how you choose to spend your time promoting your wares online:

– Social media, such as Facebook pages and Twitter, isn’t the fuel behind most sales.  In fact, less than 2% of buyers arrived at an online store via a Tweet or status update. How could this be so? Most people log onto these platforms to chat with friends or to browse photos — not to go shopping.

– What does work? Email blasts and Search Engines, like Google, directly lead to most cash flow. Most people view shopping online as time consuming, vast and intimidating. They simplify the daunting task by following sales they’ve been sent through a mailing list, or by quickly typing their desired purchase into a Search Engine. According to the study, “More consumers who completed transactions during the holiday season touched email and search campaigns in their purchase journey than any other marketing tactic.”

– Almost 50% of online sales result from a shopper’s exposure to two or more forms of marketing, such as an advertisement on a blog and a promotional email blast.

– Online marketing shows even more results on major shopping dates, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday during the holiday rush. In these hours of insanity, shoppers abandon Google and scour their inbox for special seasonal deals they receive from email lists.

Is this shaking your social media fixed axis to the core? Are you angsting over all the time you spent crafting perfect tweet-length promotions? Here’s some takeaways from this study on how to increase the effectiveness of your online sales pitch going forward:

– Since shoppers rely on Search Engines as a way to source online content, and basically act as their personal shoppers, make sure your wares are some of the first to show up in search results. You can do this by working on your SEO (or Search Engine Optimization), which helps a search engine find and list your items through keywords and other metrics.

– Consider advertisements. In the handmade community, this could be as simple as connecting with other bloggers. A feature in a blog post is a genuine and effective form of promotion. Even inclusion on a list of “favorite reads” or “most read blogs”, which is usually posted to the right of a blog’s page content, can be enough to drive waves of traffic to your store.

– Email! Make sure to keep your customers informed (and excited) about your products via updates to their inboxes. Just make sure your blasts are newsworthy and appropriately timed, or they’ll veer into the annoying spam category.

– Schedule giveaways, coupon codes and sales at major shopping dates, like Christmas and Valentine’s Day. When coupled with a deal, a consumer based holiday will surely make business boom.

– Don’t give up on Twitter! Even though this study basically concludes that social media is ineffective at connecting shoppers to your business, there is no such thing as bad press! Twitter will remain a good way to quickly spread news about sales and to connect with customers on a personal level. Plus, useful or not, it’s still free and easy marketing!

How about you? Do you agree with these findings? What have you found helpful when it comes to increasing your sales and getting your brand out there? Let us know in the comments!

Is this man your favorite customer? (Screenshot from "The Room")

I loved all the responses and discussion my last post tipped off about discounts and whether makers should use them. As discussed in the comments, there’s a time and a place for coupons and discounts—one great example is using discounts to reward frequent customers for their support.

So who are your most valuable customers? I’m not just talking about hermione3918 who buys out all your Gryffindor scarves. I mean more generally—who are the kind of people who buy from you? What are they like?

Creating customer profiles—mini bios of fictional people based on the folks who buy your goods most frequently—is really helpful and seriously fun. This marketing trick is used in lots of fields, but especially in magazine publishing (which is my day job). If you search for magazines’ reader profiles, some of the info from media kits will be heavy on statistics. But a lot of magazines create ideal readers, who they keep in mind as they plan coverage, write headlines or consider redesigns.

When you know exactly who you’re speaking to, writing descriptions of your items and creating a Facebook fan page gets a lot easier. Does your audience have a sense of humor or are they stoic? Are they prim and proper or super casual?

For an example, my three “customers” are Allie, Diane and Jackson. Like cameo characters on “Law and Order,” these people are fictitious and any similarity to actual people is purely coincidental.

• Allie is a college student with just a few bucks, but she’s got a nerdy sense of humor and is likely to stockpile funny handmade cards and stickers. She’s probably got artist or writer tendencies herself—$10 says she is or was an English major. She shops at Trader Joe’s and reads McSweeney’s and the Onion. (The bulk of my customers are Allies.)
• Diane is an upper-middle-class lady who likes to support local arts organizations and buys presents for her friends—sometimes a bunch of handmade books at a time. She’s retired but doesn’t identify with the “ladies who lunch.” She shops at Whole Foods and reads a printed newspaper. (About 20 percent of my customers are Dianes.)
• Jackson is a middle-aged guy who seems out of place at a craft show. But he’s really into craftsmanship and asks a lot of questions. He comes of as not that interested then out of left field makes a big purchase. He shops at Kroger and reads nonfiction books mainly. (About 5 percent of my customers are Jacksons.)

What does this mean for my business? When I’m making new things, I consider how my core audience of three would like it. Try writing up some customer profiles yourself! You might have one core type, or a half-dozen. Start thinking about the customers you meet at craft shows or the shoppers at stores you consign with, and ask yourself these questions:

• Where do they live?
• What do they do for a living?
• Do they have kids? Pets?
• How old are they?
• How much money do they make?
• How much do they spend on handmade items?
• What do they like to read, watch or listen to?
• Do they ride the bus or a bike or have a car?
• Why are they so into your work?
• What other things do they like?

Take a little time to brainstorm about your most valuable customers, and I hope you’ll post one of your mini bios in the comments!

I recently invited Maria Thomas, Etsy.com’s CEO to give a speech to the attendees at Hello Craft’s first annual Summit of Awesome in Washington, D.C. The Summit of Awesome is a conference where crafters and artists get to spend the weekend meeting, learning and making. When I asked Maria to address the group, I sent her many questions, but the main question that we were hoping she would answer was really very basic. Why Handmade? Why now? Maria’s answer was actually simple and one that I think we all should consider in our endeavors to make a living making things…

For reference, she first explained the business term Flight to Quality, which is the act of moving funds from riskier to safer investments in times of marketplace uncertainty or fear. Along the lines of a “flight to” something, she said that she believes that there is currently a Flight to Meaningful in the economy. That consumers are looking for meaning in their purchases. First of all, people want the things that they surround themselves with to have meaning, have a story, and a purpose. And second, people want the act of buying something to have meaning. Buying something doesn’t have to be a faceless trip to a giant store, but can be a way to connect with the person who actually made it.

Many crafters are already making their products, shops and customer interactions meaningful. It goes without saying that when a real person is selling something handmade to another real person, meaningful connections happen. But this got me thinking. What can we (as handmade sellers using any platform) do to make our shops/products/marketing more meaningful. If meaning is what our customers are looking for, we should keep this in mind with all that we do. We shouldn’t be looking to big business practices when developing our products and strategies, but instead, we should be finding our own way. A few ways that we can create meaning in our making and marketing right now:

Be Unique.

The first thing that you can do is create unique products. If people can’t get what you make anywhere else, you will be remembered. Consumers are tired of seeing the same things over and over again and this is part of why they buy handmade. Being unique is in itself meaningful.

Be a human first, a business second.

Just because you are conducting “business” when you sell something in your shop, doesn’t mean you have to act like a “business.” I don’t see people as customers, but as friends who like what I do. And I treat them accordingly. The same concept can be used in your marketing efforts.

Tell a Story.

For me the number one reason to buy something handmade is that that item has a story and a life separate from me. It was not designed by committee somewhere and then fabricated somewhere else. It was conceived and created by a single human being with a story to tell. Using your handmade shop or your products to tell a story or more specifically your story can be a powerful way to distinguish yourself in a sea of makers.

This piece was originally written for Mailchimp (More on them as soon as I am done product testing their service!). If you have an online shop, you can use MailChimp to send automatic email newsletters to your list every time you update it. More soon! Until then, you can sign up for a free account with up to 100 subscribers at http://www.mailchimp.com/handmade/.

Talk Shop is the series where we interview independent store owners from across the country, to get their inside take on running an independent business that supports the handmade community.

The Talk shop series went on a small hiatus since the holidays, but this segment is now back in full swing, and we’ve got some awesome shops lined up to share with you. This week’s Talk Shop features Spacecraft Brooklyn – a totally cool craft supply store and gift shop that also teaches craft classes for kids, dabblers and advanced makers of all ages.

Co-owners Stella Metzner and Cristina Dodd opened up Spacecraft in October 2008.  From eco-conscious and hard-to-find supplies, fluffy yarn, and printmaking materials, to totally freakin’ cute knick-knacks, toys, and crafting kits, this store is THE crafting hub of Williamsburg.

Here, Metzner dishes the goods on Spacecraft, and invites all crafters and handmade connoisseurs to visit this one-of-a-kind, out-of-this-world shop!

Tell us what Spacecraft Brooklyn is all about:
SPACECRAFT is a unique craft-making and supply boutique located in the discreetly stylish Southside of Williamsburg Brooklyn.  We cater to children and adults of all ages and skill levels with our menu of walk-in craft projects, daily and weekly workshops, and sign-up courses.  We also offer private instruction in sewing, crochet, knitting and any other requested subjects that people are interested in.  We have an amazing back yard that serves as an additional venue for hosting parties, barbeques, and outdoor workshops such as tie-dye and batik.   The front of the store is where you’ll find all the fun craft-making materials, books, kits and gifts for purchase to DIY at home.

Do you have any sort of background in crafting or the arts?
Stella Metzner grew up in a family of artists and designers.  She attended the Rudolf Steiner School for 15 years where she learned to sew, knit, crochet, sculpt, paint, book-bind, weave, and much more.  She further developed her love of craft and hand-making objects when she attended the California College of Arts and Crafts.  It was there that she learned to incorporate these childhood talents into fashion designs and later into a career as a stylist and designer.

Cristina Dodd also began creating at an early age, learning traditional crafts like quilting and cross-stitch from her grandmother and making decoupage, macramé, leather crafts and more at summer camp.  Cristina learned set-building and costume making in high school and went on to earn a degree in Photography.  After spending several years as a custom black and white printer and freelance photographer, she moved into the realm of corporate event planning where she was able to successfully combine the use of both creative and business skills.

This combination of over 35 years of arts and crafts experience, and becoming mothers to two energetic boys, has provided Stella and Cristina the amount of experience and determination necessary to open a store like SPACECRAFT.

How does your business support independent artists and crafters and/or the handmade community?
We support this community in many ways:

• Our store sells craft supplies to this community.
• We host craft night events that feature artists/authors as instructors and promote their books, websites, etc.
• We show/sell the work of local artist/crafters as a gallery display in our shop.
• We host many free craft events to just get people together crafting and/or learning new techniques
• We support and promote local for-profits and non-profits such as BAGS FOR THE PEOPLE (www.bagsforthepeople.org), who are furthering the craft movement, but do not have a space to operate out of.
• We network and create connections among many individuals and organizations in order to enrich the “community” aspect of the crafting.
• We work with local school and community groups to ensure that the future of craft continues to grow.

Who are your favorite designers?
Callie Janoff (Church of Craft),
Maura Madden (Crafternoon),
Kayte Terry  (Complete Embellishing),
Faith Blakeney (99 Ways book series),
Faythe Levine (Handmade Nation),
Jenny Hart (Sublime Stitching),
Kathy Cano Murillo (Crafty Chica),
Amy Sedaris (I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence),
Martha Stewart, Stencil 1, Jana Kennedy (Knickers and No Fur Coat). Esther K. Smith (How to Make Books),
Heather Ross (Weekend Sewing),
etc…

How can local designers and crafters get involved with Spacecraft Brooklyn?
They can come by and hang out with us anytime during open hours (M-F 10am-6p/Sa-Su 11am-7pm) or come to one of our evening events and craft with us. They can also call us any time at (718) 599-2718 if they would like to set up a meeting regarding a specific topic.

A good way to check out what we have going on is to go to our website www.spacecraftbrooklyn.com and check out the calendar, or sign up for the weekly newsletter at info@spacecraftbrooklyn.com. Below is a link to see a recent newsletter (you can also subscribe through this link).

What’s the most unusual item(s) for sale in your shop?
The paper and journals made from Elephant Poo.  It’s called Poo Poo Paper.  It’s our thing. We love how it looks and it saves trees!  We also have some other great tree-free papers made from coffee, lemon, mango and bananas.  Another weird favorite is the skull and crossbones latchhook kit.  The light up knitting needles are fun too.

Any advice for those interested in opening up their own boutique?
Make sure it’s something that you love because you will be involved with it all of the time…even in your sleep!

Where do you shop, besides Spacecraft Brooklyn, of course.
Now that we are small business owners, we generally shop at and support other small businesses in our community.  We love Sweet William, Shoe Market, KCDC, Greenpoint Toy Center and Flying Squirrel.  We also buy from friends who have tables at local markets and on the street.

Any exciting upcoming events or sales going on at Spacecraft Brooklyn?
We have a super cool week of prison crafts coming up in honor of Martha Stewarts birthday during the week of July 27-August 2.  We will be making such greats as toilet paper dice jewelry, toothbrush shank sculpting tools, instant coffee paintings and applesauce container oil lamps.  We’re also planning a big birthday bash for Martha for the monthly event CRAFT ON DRAUGHT, which will be on August 6th.  We always have a number of new exciting workshops and craft fun that changes weekly, so make sure to check in with us at www.spacecraftbrooklyn.com or sign up to the newsletter at info@spacecraftbrooklyn.com.

Spacecraft is located at 355 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Check out Spacecraft online at spacecraftbrooklyn.com.

If you own a boutique, gallery or other place of business that supports the indie craft community, and want it featured in Talk Shop, email Kimberly at hellocraftinfo@gmail.com, with Talk Shop in the subject line.

Have you ever run into the problem of making with no one in mind to receive your handmade gift of awesome? So your thing of beauty ends up languishing away with no one to appreciate it?

Well no more! If you haven’t gotten around to trying your hand at selling, swap-bot is the perfect way to test your creativity out.

Swap-bot helps facilitate group snail mail and internet swaps. It removes the hassle of collecting swap participants and assigning swap partners. Once you sign up for a swap, Swap-bot will assign you a partner and someone else will be given your name. At the end of the swap, you will send off your lovely creation to your partner and you will be mailed something equally awesome from your other partner.

You can choose to enter a myriad of swaps from themed swaps, where people create and swap items related to the theme, to de-stash swaps, where you swap old crafting supplies. Each swap has rules that must be followed and if you sign up for a swap you must complete it! Imagine your partner thinking that they’ll be receiving a pretty sweet handmade item, but instead you blow them off. How rude!

You can even start a swap of your choosing, but are in charge of marketing and promoting the swap yourself. So if you want lots of people to join in, start working your networks!

A little marketing tip: No matter the swap, include a business or show card in the package. If your swap item is of exceptional quality, you might create some buzz around your work.

Have any experience with Swap-bot? Tell us about it in the comments.

Every one’s always talking about photos because taking great photos of your items isn’t easy but it is absolutely necessary if you want your shop to sell well & stand out.

I always say, ‘When in doubt, retake your photos!’ If your shop is slow, retake your photos. If an item isn’t selling as well as you think it should, retake your photos. If want to revamp your shop & give it a fresh look at the beginning of a new season or sale, retake your photos. If you are looking for a way to brand yourself & make your shop stand out, retake your photos.

Online shopping is a 100% visual experience. Customers can’t touch or smell or even taste your items, they can only see your items & read about them. So you want to make that visual something that grabs their attention & sticks with them!

You want to do this with not only every listing in your shop but all the things that are associated with your business: your banner, your avatar, your blog, online ads (such as ProjectWonderful slots) & your promotional items. & using your pictures on your promotional items is actually what I want to post about today.

(Two ‘post cards’ promos front & back that I made using photographs of the NEW flower hair clips in my AlwaysAmy shop.)

Every promotional item I use for my shop is customized with my own photos. If I am buying business cards from an online site or a local printer I NEVER just settle for any of the pre-designed, generic logo stuff. Why? Because thousands of other businesses are opting for that same logo so it doesn’t help me stand apart or make a unique impression. Because rarely, if ever, do those generic logos actually convey the feeling that I want to send out into the world about my business. (Which by the way is, ‘POW! You’ve gotta see this!’) & because, honestly, I’m not a logo kinda girl. I don’t have bazillions of dollars to paint the world with my logo & promo it until everyone knows it. & that’s what is necessary for a logo to really work for you. But I do have some pretty snazzy photographs & I think they say more about my shop in a glance then a logo (especially a generic one) could.

Plus, I want my customers to actually SEE something they might find in my shop & a logo heavy promo or business card doesn’t give me a chance to do that. I want to use that business card to share my best selling item with them, not show them some swirly flower graphics (unless I was a graphic artist, then I might! HA!).

You have a very small moment to catch the eye of a potential customer & tell them about your business & what better way to do that then with a beautiful photograph? After all, a picture says a thousand words.

When I am making my promotional items, a lot of times I will let my photos stand virtually alone with just a bit of text information, the URL for instance, so my customer knows it’s an online site, possibly a shop. I add my tag lines & product information to the backs of cards so as not to clutter or detract from my photos when possible. I like to pick basic design layouts that draw attention to my photos with boarders or lines that lead the eye. I use the colors in the photographs throughout the design & in the text to pull it together.

For me, it’s all about catching the customer’s eye quickly with a big, bold photo & peeking the customers interest with just enough product information so they will follow that promo item to my shop.

I want every business card & button & magnet & post card & address label that I use to really show the care I take with my creations. To do that, I use (what I think) are the most alluring photos of the best selling items that I create. I put my best foot forward, as my granny always says.

(Two magnet promos I made for my shops. That robot picture gets me every time!)

I’m sure you are looking at my promo items & thinking they must have cost me an arm & a leg. Well, they didn’t. I have a very limited budget for stuff like this & I try to be a smart shopper.

I got all of these promo items from VistaPrint the last time they were having a huge ‘free stuff’ sale. I know a lot of people have bad things to say about that company & I am not here to argue that or promote them.

I will say that I safeguard myself when I order from them by using the PayPal Plugin Widget that creates a one time use Credit Card number & automatically withdraws the funds from my PayPal account. This ensures that VistaPrint never gets my banking account information. I also double check each order to make sure I haven’t checked any odd boxes or opted in for any of their extra services. I have been dealing with them for a lot of years & have not had problems but I know others have.

VistaPrint isn’t the only online printing company that has great deals on promo items & I’m sure with a little research you can find a business that suits you. I like them because they have tons of designs that you can customize & the cost for adding my own photos & making the promo items uniquely mine is small.

And while cost is something we all must consider, I have to say, if your options are between getting 1000 generic promo items for next to nothing or 500 unique & eye catching promos for a reasonable price then I think we all know which to pick. I mean really, when you see a group of random business cards which promo items inspire you to investigate a shop? Why would your customers be any different?

Another thing you need to consider if you are going to be using your own photographs on your promotional materials is time.

How long will it take you to distribute all the promo items you have? Will the items pictured (or something similar) still be in your shop?

You don’t want your promo items to be dated. You don’t want them to show an item that you quit making last fall. You don’t want them to lure customers in & then disappoint them. So when you are picking your photos you need to keep in mind that your promos might circulate for 6 months to a year. (Or you can hope.) Pick items that are true to your style if you only create one of a kind pieces. Or pick an item that you know you are going to recreate for your shop several times, if that’s possible.

I like knowing that I have an ‘expiration date’ of sorts on my promo items. This motivates me to move them on out the door! What good are business cards & stickers & buttons & post cards & magnets if they are just sitting at your house & not shouting to the world about your lovely little shop? Not much good at all really, so move them along!

I try to send out at least 100 promo items a month in a variety of different ways: swapping business cards with other Etsy sellers, sending coupons to people doing craft shows or making goodie bags, making Friendship Books, sticking them on bulletin boards, tucking them into library books, leaving them in public bathrooms & dressing rooms, adding them to my envelopes when I pay my bills via the mail, handing them out to strangers that I strike up conversations with & more.

Because no matter how you make your promos, how great they are or how much you pay for them, they won’t do you any good unless you put them into the hands of potential customers!

(An over sized post card I made showing off a variety of items from my AlwaysAmyshop!)

I hope the next time you are reordering business cards or are looking to purchase new promotional materials of any kind for your shop, that you will consider the benefits of customizing them with your OWN photos. It’s a great way to communicate with your customers without saying a thing.

{This was originally posted at http://always-amy.blogspot.com/}