Research, Research, Research

Visit your target shops first. You’ll need to determine if these shops match your wares. What types of items do they carry? Are they cutsie? Hand-crafted? Mass produced? What does the store ‘feel’ like? Does it match the feel of your items? Could you see your items in this store? Do your items seem price appropriate? Be sure to pick up contact info as well as the name of the person in charge of purchasing!
To Make an Appointment or Not?

The very best way to approach a store owner or buyer is to walk in. You won’t be giving them your schpeel at this point, just introducing yourself and setting a future appointment. Stopping by is much better than calling as it’s easier for them to say “no” on the phone. Plus, they can’t see your items over the phone.

WARNING: whatever you do, don’t try and sell your items at this first contact. No matter how great your product is, the store owner/buyer may not have time to discuss everything at this point. If they do have time, they’ll tell you then. Best idea is to just make an appointment for a later date.

When you go to make your appointments, bring your handcrafted items along. Take only one or two…you don’t want to overwhelm the owner/buyer. Have a wholesale price list with you featuring photos and details of all of your items. A brochure is always a great idea. Right away, they can see a sample of your items and have the prices in their hands.

Professionalism is a Must!

Do your homework on your presentation. Everything counts at this first meeting. This is definitely a time where the old saying, “you never get another chance to make a first impression” is true.

Love your items. If you love your items, it will show when you are selling them. Be positive. If the owner/buyer decides not to buy anything…just remember that there are other shops. Plus, they may change their minds later. You never know when a customer will come in asking for your type of item…and your name will come to the business owner/buyer! Leave a business card and a brochure for the shop to keep on file. Always check back with them from time to time, either in person, or by phone or email, to see if they’d like to order some of your merchandise.

When you plan your wardrobe for your appointment, think of the shop. You’ll want to match the shops feel. Classy shop requires classy appearance. Relaxed shop might call for khakis and a relaxed approach. If you make wearable art, like jewelry, or quilted clothing, be sure to wear some of your own creations.
BE ON TIME. NEVER, NEVER BE LATE. Enough said.

Confidence builder: Remember that the worst thing they can do is to say “no.” If so, there are other shops out there! Shops and stores are always looking for new and different…that thing that will fly off the shelves! By showing them your items and wares, you might be introducing them to THAT thing! You are doing THEM a favor!

Forget it. Twitter is PEOPLE. Being real people. Some people are cool, some are dingbats, some are All Business All The time, some only ever talk about themselves.

But here’s the beauty of twitter — you are surrounded by real people. Think for a second… picture in your head someone you admire. I don’t mean like your mom, I mean like someone who you wish you could be when you grow up. Someone who is a few steps ahead of you on the career ladder. Got someone in mind? What would you give to be in an elevator with that person? What would you say if you could have their ear for a moment? (probably not “LOOK WHAT I JUST LISTED: http//www.buymystuff”)

Twitter is the elevator.

It doesn’t mean if the other person might not be a jerk, or might ignore you or whatever, but it gives you the opportunity to make a connection with someone who would otherwise be out of reach.

How do you begin?
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If you’re starting from scratch, you want to connect with a few people. Not a few hundred, a few. Think of magazines that you like, blogs you follow, people you admire, and maybe a friend or two. Don’t just follow a ton of Etsy people. The point is to widen your circle, not just move to a new location. Watch them have conversations — see who they talk to, and follow the interesting conversations. Want to talk to somebody? @reply them. It’s that easy.

After a while, widen your circle. Friday is the big day where people recommend others. Most people are kinda dumb about it and just list a crapload of people without giving you any reason whatsoever, but the good ones look something like this:

#FollowFriday @CopperLeafSt because she’s an uber-cool artist, and a fun person!

The point is to tell others about people you find interesting, and give them a reason to like them too.

How do you post links on Twitter?
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you don’t. Just don’t. No really, don’t. You will make more friends, more real connections, have more people genuinely interested in you, if you avoid spamming them. Really. People who are interested will click on your page, and you can put your link there. They’ll find it.

What if they don’t look?

Then they don’t. Breathe through it. This is about making meaningful connections, not annoying people.

But if I don’t post links, how will I make sales??

What is more valuable? Getting one possible sale, or getting a blog feature that might lead to many sales? Or developing a relationship with a mentor that can guide you through a solid marketing strategy? Or finding about a cool show that you’d just be perfect for? Or getting featured in a magazine? THINK OUTSIDE THE SALES BOX. I mean it.

You know how you always read the featured sellers & QYDJ people say that “word of mouth” has been their best marketing strategy?? And you think to yourself “well how the hell am I gonna get THAT to happen?” THIS IS HOW. But you ruin it if you spam links. People will talk about you all right, but it won’t be pretty. You may get lots of views, you may get lots of followers, but if the views are from bots and the followers don’t care about you, it’s not doing you any good.

get it?

The Real Things that can happen via Twitter:
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I use twitter a lot. I don’t have a billion followers, but the ones I have are quality. Here are a few of my experiences:

I follow a lot of business/ marketing people, because I learn a LOT from them, their blogs, etc. I’ve been a newsletter subscriber to one that I recently found on twitter. Turns out he’s coming to my state next week, and we’re going to do lunch. Someone who charges three figures an hour for business advice is going to be eating chicken salad with me soon. Is that valuable? um, hell yeah.

I work in metal, and follow/ am followed by people in the copper mining industry. A major copper blog did an artist feature of my work because we connected on twitter.

I met a super cool woodworker who I have collaborated with on projects. He’s also given me like a billion tips on how to improve the woodworking portion of my craft.

I connected with someone I admired who gave me a great lead on a killer gallery. In fact, I’ve had this happen with multiple artists. I make a point to give them suggestions, and they have returned the favor 10 times over.

And I’ve made amazing friendships with people from all over the world.

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Post provided courtesy of Copper Leaf Studios: http://coppermaps.com

There are 5 simple secrets that, if you implement in your business, will generate leads, calls, and new business:

• create a blog
• write and market articles
• write press releases
• build your presence on social media business
• Use Google maps

These 5 secrets will help bring you more customer prospects to your door. Why? It’s the simple fact that you and your business must be on page 1 of the search engines and primarily Google. You already know this and you already search yourself. What the many business owners that I have talked to don’t know is how to get on to page 1. These 5 simple secrets will dramatically increase your ability to get on page 1.

Why Google? Well if you go to http://www.alexa.com, you will see that Google holds the number 1 position in the world for traffic.

Google page 1 is where all customer eyeballs go. As the old real estate saying goes, ‘location, location, location’ so is this true with Google. And ‘location’ for Google is page 1. There are three parts to page 1 of Google. The top and right are the sponsored links, also referred to as pay-per-click. Businesses such as mine create Google AdWords campaigns and pay Google each time a prospective customer clicks on our ad. Underneath and to the left of the sponsored ads is Google maps. Page 1 only lists 7 businesses in the maps – so it is prime real estate and your job to get to be one of the elite 7 on page 1. Underneath the maps is the organics section. There are typically 10 organic listings. To have your business in this section is all about the content you are publishing on the web, where you send it out on the internet, and how well it relates to the search terms the customer has typed into Google.

Content created about you your business posted on your blog, written in articles, produced in press releases, shared in social media using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other highly ranked sites all work together to get you listed in the top 10 organic section on page 1 of Google.

Over time, you will experience a snowball effect and ultimately it will lead to more leads, more website visits and more phone calls.

The longer you wait, the more chance your competitors will beat you to page 1.

• Set up work stations: I maintain a designated area for packaging up orders with all necessary supplies and information within reach, for example. Each work station has the tools necessary to complete the task(s) from start to finish without leaving the area.

• Multiple tool sets: For essential tools, I find it helpful to have one in each work station as well as back ups on hand to avoid, “Oh no, I can’t get anything done, I lost my whatzit!” For example, I have a pair of sharp scissors for the car as well as each work station. I also keep a pair of cheap-o scissors in the bathroom and kitchen for the rest of the family to use instead of my nice scissors.

• Be flexible: Since my main craft is knitting with yarn, I have a few pairs of each size of needle. That way, if I’m working on a blanket and an order for a scarf comes in, I can just leave the blanket on its needles and start right away on the scarf with another needle set.

• Organize supply and finished product inventory: If we have and properly use containers, shelving or another keep-it-neat system, we avoid having to hunt for ‘that one bead’ or ‘that journal I know I made months ago’

• Prioritize: If a task can only be performed at a particular workstation or time window (for example, my friend Erin Krug of http://www.etsy.com/shop/krugsecologic only brings out her soap making supplies when her small children are sleeping), then we must focus and work at maximum efficiency during that production opportunity (that includes  ignoring facebook!).

• Take good care of yourself: I work best when I’ve had enough (and not too much) nutritious food and have had a good night’s rest the night before. I drink water throughout the day because I find staying fully hydrated allows me to think clearly. It also seems to prevent stiff joints and aching muscles, which is so important for those of us whose craft involves repetitive motion.

• Take a break: I stretch, do a different task, move around (and walk down the hall to the bathroom after all that water, tee hee) for about 10 minutes of every production hour.

• Find a balance: Studies have found that we are at our most productive when we work “assembly line” style and concentrate on a specific task or set of tasks for a few hours, and then it’s best if we switch roles to alleviate fatigue and maintain speed.

I hope these tips help all my fellow worker bees as they hum along in their hives!:)

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Article contributed by Celeste (Crickets) of CricketsCreations

Unless you’ve been under a rock…for a while, I’m sure you know what a domain name is. Simply put, forwarding a domain name is like the signs you see at the end of streets, pointing to the house that’s for sale.  In this case, it’s the sign that tells the internet where to go to find your site.  So, instead of saying, “visit my site: http://sallyurbans.crossfirelite.com”, you can say, “visit my site: http://sallyurbans.com”.  When people type in http://sallyurbans.com, the internet will see the directions and take the visitor to your site!

Why this is such a good thing.  Basically, what is easier to remember: sallyurbans.com or sallyurbans.crossfirelite.com?    That’s why domain forwarding is a good thing.

Don’t have a domain?  Get one now!  GoDaddy is offering some specials on domain names!  Click here!

eWiro’s Twitter: Click here!

Have a great day!

A winner will be selected from this post on July 1st!

So, let’s hear your business questions!

Below is a sheet that will help you figure both your wholesale and retail prices.  Now, you don’t have to go with 2 times your wholesale to get your retail….you can use 1 or 4!  Just be sure that your items will sell at that price…and that you are getting PAID enough for your time that your business isn’t just a hobby.

Pricing One Item

• Cost of Your Materials (EVERYTHING it took to make one)     __________
• Time it takes you to make one item                                                      __________
• Time x Your Hourly Rate = Labor Cost                                              __________
• Overhead                                                                                                         __________
• Materials + Labor + Overhead = WHOLESALE PRICE          _________
• Wholesale X 2 = RETAIL PRICE                                                       _________

Now that you’ve figured out your prices, how do you feel?  Are you pleased?  Are you upset?  Have you compared “your prices” with that of a competitor to see where you stand? Can you add a little more to your “hourly rate”?  Or can you find more affordable materials to use?  Pricing will always require a little tweeking!

If your business is JUST going to be your hobby…your prices simply covering your expenses work.  If you are doing this for more than just a hobby, make sure that you are getting paid enough for your time!

Here are some awesome tips for doing just that!  Put these to use right now and you could have more fans by tonight!

• Point a domain to your FB page.  That’s right…if your business is Sally’s Urban Designs, you can purchase www.sallysurbandesigns.com and have it pointed to your FB page!  What this means is, if someone were to type in your domain name, they’d be directed to your facebook account!  GoDaddy.com is offereing some great prices on domains right now so the time has never been better to do this.  Click here!
• Create content JUST for fans.  Add content to your page that your fans won’t find anywhere else.  This will make others want to be part of the exclusive club!
• Create a hide and seek.  This is a really fun one…hide something on your page, (an image, a word, something) and have your fans seek it out.  When someone finds it, offer them a prize.   Even better, have them tweet about their winnings!
• Have some kind of regular drawing or contest.  Who doesn’t love to win something!
• Interact with your followers.  Don’t neglect your fans!  When someone writes on your wall, be sure to write back…on THEIR wall!

Have some facebook tips you’d like to share?  Comment and leave them here for others!