I had read several posts on various craft forums about using Facebook to help promote your business. I read good posts and bad posts. Still I wasn't sure if FB would do much for my jewelry business, but I thought I'd try it. It wasn't going to cost me anything and it was easy to use!
My on-line store is done through Etsy and recently they added a feature in which you can publish your new listing to your FB page instantly. I've been using this feature and it has really helped gain exposure to my jewelry. I have over 300 Facebook friends so when I add a new items to my store and then in turn publish that info to FB, I am getting another great advertising tool for FREE!
By adding my listings to my personal FB page as well as to my FB business page, I am creating more exposure for my jewelry. Since adding my links to my personal FB page, I have gained more sales and have opened my jewelry line to an entirely new audience that otherwise might not have seen my jewelry. Friends and family who didn't know I had a jewelry business now do and they in turn have been sharing my links with their friends and family!
So when someone asks me what I think about using FB for business, I say definitely use it. It has opened doors for my business and helped me reach more customers!
Let me know how using Facebook has helped your business! And if you want to add me as a friend on FB, feel free, the link is on the side of the blog!
Until next time...Blessings! ~ Dawn
Showing posts with label etsy store. Show all posts
Showing posts with label etsy store. Show all posts
8.17.2009
5.08.2009
New Article on Handmade News
A new article has been posted at handmadenews.org. Hope you will check it out and tell your fellow craft friends about it as well!!
http://www.handmadenews.org/article/index.php?id=738
http://www.handmadenews.org/article/index.php?id=738
4.13.2009
Leaving Your Mark on Various On-Line Sites
I've noticed through Google Analytics that lately, several hits to my Etsy store have come from the Relay for Life website. Your probably wondering why, so let me explain a little.
I donate a portion of my sales to the American Cancer Society. I don't really advertise that I do this, I just quietly give back. I decided to do this when I started my business because cancer has affected too many in my family and also too many friends and I felt it was important to give back, much like I give to my church. I've been blessed and I pass it on. While it's not a lot, it is something and every little bit helps towards finding a cure for this terrible disease.
I've participated in Relay for Life, been a team captain and more for the past few years as well. I posted probably two years ago on the Relay for Life site about creating a Cancer Awareness bracelet that our team was selling to help raise funds. And since that time, I still get hits from that post to my website and now on my Etsy store. I had no clue that sharing that idea would lead to exposure for my site. That certainly wasn't my intent when I posted the idea on that site!
Posting to various websites, leaving blog comments, etc., can lead to more exposure for your business. While I thought my personal post on this forum board was just sharing a fundraising idea for our Relay team, its turned out to be a lead for my store and I still get several requests from people wanting to purchase these bracelets or have special orders of these bracelets in certain cancer awareness colors.
Keep in mind when you are posting blog comments, responding on message/forum boards, using the forums section on Etsy or any other type of on-line media outlet, you are leaving your mark and therefore, you are probably going to be driving traffic to your store.
Make sure that when you do this, your posts are relevant, pleasant, and make the reader maybe want to find out more about you and you store as well. Don't ever leave rude comments or post something negative about a competitor on these types of posts either. That just makes your business look bad.
Next time you go to post, give it a couple of minutes of time and put some thought in to you. You never know what it might lead to! :-)
Until next time...Blessings! ~ Dawn
I donate a portion of my sales to the American Cancer Society. I don't really advertise that I do this, I just quietly give back. I decided to do this when I started my business because cancer has affected too many in my family and also too many friends and I felt it was important to give back, much like I give to my church. I've been blessed and I pass it on. While it's not a lot, it is something and every little bit helps towards finding a cure for this terrible disease.
I've participated in Relay for Life, been a team captain and more for the past few years as well. I posted probably two years ago on the Relay for Life site about creating a Cancer Awareness bracelet that our team was selling to help raise funds. And since that time, I still get hits from that post to my website and now on my Etsy store. I had no clue that sharing that idea would lead to exposure for my site. That certainly wasn't my intent when I posted the idea on that site!
Posting to various websites, leaving blog comments, etc., can lead to more exposure for your business. While I thought my personal post on this forum board was just sharing a fundraising idea for our Relay team, its turned out to be a lead for my store and I still get several requests from people wanting to purchase these bracelets or have special orders of these bracelets in certain cancer awareness colors.
Keep in mind when you are posting blog comments, responding on message/forum boards, using the forums section on Etsy or any other type of on-line media outlet, you are leaving your mark and therefore, you are probably going to be driving traffic to your store.
Make sure that when you do this, your posts are relevant, pleasant, and make the reader maybe want to find out more about you and you store as well. Don't ever leave rude comments or post something negative about a competitor on these types of posts either. That just makes your business look bad.
Next time you go to post, give it a couple of minutes of time and put some thought in to you. You never know what it might lead to! :-)
Until next time...Blessings! ~ Dawn
3.16.2009
Three Things to Remember for Any Business...
I saw this post the other day while reading through the Business Topics on the Etsy Forums section. It immediately caught my eye and I asked the author of the original post if I could share it with my blog readers because I felt it was some great information!!
This was written by the owner of NeatThings who has her store on Etsy at www.neatthings.etsy.com. I encourage you all after reading this artcle to check out her store as well. She has some great products like mini note cards (great for thank you notes!!) and cards and much more that could be helpful in your store!!
For now..here are three things to remember for those of us in business....
1. It doesn't matter if people hate you.
Some people are going to love you and your shop. Some people are going to hate you and your shop. If you're me, some people might want to kill you in your sleep and never see any reference to your shop again. At the end of the day, who cares what people think? The ones who love you will buy things. The ones who hate you will talk about how much they hate you to other people, some of whom will love you and buy things. It’s win, win all around. So be yourself and everything will be just fine.
2. If you blame the economy for your business failure, you'll never succeed in business.
I mean it this time. If business has slowed down and you're looking at the DOW and deciding that the economy is to blame for your failures, you might as well close up shop now. Sure, the economy may contribute. But other businesses like yours - on Etsy and off - are moving product. If it really was the economy's fault, no "luxury" good would be selling to anyone.Instead, take responsibility for your business. Look at those businesses that are selling. Figure out a way to promote or rebrand or change something about your business instead of blaming your failure on something you cannot control.
3. Artists complain, business professionals act.
You can bet your bum that Warren Buffet didn't become the "world's shrewdest businessman" by whining to the world about how horrible things were when he was getting started. Steve Jobs didn't whine about having only 3% of market share, instead he created a new product that became an empire (iPod, iPhone, iEmpire).Sure. Sometimes things are going to get you down and you might want to vent a little.
But if this becomes modus operandi (i.e. happens more than once per year), you're going to trap your tail in the great spinning wheel of failure.If failure isn’t an option, next time you're tempted to complain, think. Solve the problem. See if you can improve your situation in some productive way that doesn't involve burdening others with your misery.
You can either be buried by your problems, or let them catapult you to great achievements. The choice is yours.
This was written by the owner of NeatThings who has her store on Etsy at www.neatthings.etsy.com. I encourage you all after reading this artcle to check out her store as well. She has some great products like mini note cards (great for thank you notes!!) and cards and much more that could be helpful in your store!!
For now..here are three things to remember for those of us in business....
1. It doesn't matter if people hate you.
Some people are going to love you and your shop. Some people are going to hate you and your shop. If you're me, some people might want to kill you in your sleep and never see any reference to your shop again. At the end of the day, who cares what people think? The ones who love you will buy things. The ones who hate you will talk about how much they hate you to other people, some of whom will love you and buy things. It’s win, win all around. So be yourself and everything will be just fine.
2. If you blame the economy for your business failure, you'll never succeed in business.
I mean it this time. If business has slowed down and you're looking at the DOW and deciding that the economy is to blame for your failures, you might as well close up shop now. Sure, the economy may contribute. But other businesses like yours - on Etsy and off - are moving product. If it really was the economy's fault, no "luxury" good would be selling to anyone.Instead, take responsibility for your business. Look at those businesses that are selling. Figure out a way to promote or rebrand or change something about your business instead of blaming your failure on something you cannot control.
3. Artists complain, business professionals act.
You can bet your bum that Warren Buffet didn't become the "world's shrewdest businessman" by whining to the world about how horrible things were when he was getting started. Steve Jobs didn't whine about having only 3% of market share, instead he created a new product that became an empire (iPod, iPhone, iEmpire).Sure. Sometimes things are going to get you down and you might want to vent a little.
But if this becomes modus operandi (i.e. happens more than once per year), you're going to trap your tail in the great spinning wheel of failure.If failure isn’t an option, next time you're tempted to complain, think. Solve the problem. See if you can improve your situation in some productive way that doesn't involve burdening others with your misery.
You can either be buried by your problems, or let them catapult you to great achievements. The choice is yours.
Everything she has shared with you in these three points is very accurate! The success or failure of our businesses is entirely up to us. We need to remember these things and act accordingly when they arise! :-)
Until next time....Blessings! ~ Dawn
2.09.2009
Business & Marketing Review Service
I thought I'd take a few minutes and provide some more in-depth information about this new service I am beginning to offer for small businesses. I think some are thinking this is just a quick "shop" critique and its more than that as you will see below!
To start the process, we will send you a brief questionnaire. It will ask a few general questions about your business and what you are currently doing with your business in order to promote it along with some other general questions which will allow us to fully look at your business as a whole. This will then give us the chance to give you a full review of your business from your store to your marketing to how you ship your products and more after receiving your responses!
This is more than just a quick "store" critique. This is a chance for us to review your on-line blogs, ads, off-line marketing techniques and more and give you recommendations and suggestions in to your business as a whole.
If you are looking for a full in-depth review of your business and how it is working, then this service is for you!
Still have questions about this service? Feel free to contact me at shadesjewelry@aol.com!
Thanks, Dawn
To start the process, we will send you a brief questionnaire. It will ask a few general questions about your business and what you are currently doing with your business in order to promote it along with some other general questions which will allow us to fully look at your business as a whole. This will then give us the chance to give you a full review of your business from your store to your marketing to how you ship your products and more after receiving your responses!
This is more than just a quick "store" critique. This is a chance for us to review your on-line blogs, ads, off-line marketing techniques and more and give you recommendations and suggestions in to your business as a whole.
If you are looking for a full in-depth review of your business and how it is working, then this service is for you!
Still have questions about this service? Feel free to contact me at shadesjewelry@aol.com!
Thanks, Dawn
2.08.2009
New Service Being Offered
Just a quick note to let you know that I am now offering a new service for small business owners! Notice on the right side of the blog that we are offering small business reviews! After some requests from business owners and wondering if I would do personal reviews of their businesses, I decided that I would offer this service for those interested.
I'm currently offering it at a low price of $30 for a limited time. I feel this is a great deal as I will spend at least two hours or more reviewing all the information you give me on your business and I will then prepare the report which will give you detailed information regarding your business. This is a reasonable rate for probably 3 or more hours of work! :-) But I wanted to keep it affordable!
Feel free to email me with any questions regarding this new service! shadesjewelry@aol.com
Until next time...Blessings! ~ Dawn
I'm currently offering it at a low price of $30 for a limited time. I feel this is a great deal as I will spend at least two hours or more reviewing all the information you give me on your business and I will then prepare the report which will give you detailed information regarding your business. This is a reasonable rate for probably 3 or more hours of work! :-) But I wanted to keep it affordable!
Feel free to email me with any questions regarding this new service! shadesjewelry@aol.com
Until next time...Blessings! ~ Dawn
1.12.2009
Do you use the Etsy Forum Section?
Lately I've been seeing several posts from people about how they aren't sure Etsy is for them, they aren't getting any sales, should they close their store and on and on. Immediately I go look at their store to take a look around. :-) Some of these stores are great, others aren't, but that's for another topic!
One of the first questions I ask when I see these posts are "do you post in the forums much, especially the promo section?" If they say no, then I respond back!!
Etsy has created these forums for a reason...for us to use them to help make our stores great! I will admit when I first got started on Etsy I wasn't too familiar with this area, but once I found it, I found a world of information and help from some great stores. And I also discovered that once I started posting in the forums fairly regular, I also got some increased traffic to my store. I have met some great people, made some great friends and have found some amazing crafters, designers and artisans!
All the forum sections are interesting and can help your shop. Especially the promo section. Here you will find a lot of "lurkers" or "shoppers" who are looking for deals, new items and more. You don't have to be offering a sale or some give-away in order to post in the promo section. Go take a look around and see some of the things that are being posted. Familiarize yourself with this section and use it daily if you can. I can personally say that posting to this section has helped my sales. Posting every time in this section doesn't guarantee a sale, but it does keep your business name out there, it gets your store looked at and the best part--its free advertising!
The success of your store is entirely up to you. Etsy is giving you a chance to promote and advertise your store for FREE in these forum sections...use it!!! You can't just open the store and expect the sales to come rolling in, it does take a little work!!! ;-)
Blessings, Dawn
One of the first questions I ask when I see these posts are "do you post in the forums much, especially the promo section?" If they say no, then I respond back!!
Etsy has created these forums for a reason...for us to use them to help make our stores great! I will admit when I first got started on Etsy I wasn't too familiar with this area, but once I found it, I found a world of information and help from some great stores. And I also discovered that once I started posting in the forums fairly regular, I also got some increased traffic to my store. I have met some great people, made some great friends and have found some amazing crafters, designers and artisans!
All the forum sections are interesting and can help your shop. Especially the promo section. Here you will find a lot of "lurkers" or "shoppers" who are looking for deals, new items and more. You don't have to be offering a sale or some give-away in order to post in the promo section. Go take a look around and see some of the things that are being posted. Familiarize yourself with this section and use it daily if you can. I can personally say that posting to this section has helped my sales. Posting every time in this section doesn't guarantee a sale, but it does keep your business name out there, it gets your store looked at and the best part--its free advertising!
The success of your store is entirely up to you. Etsy is giving you a chance to promote and advertise your store for FREE in these forum sections...use it!!! You can't just open the store and expect the sales to come rolling in, it does take a little work!!! ;-)
Blessings, Dawn
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