So why listen to me...get the information from these handmade indie business experts instead! Here are some great resources...an eclectic mix of websites, blogs, individual posts, and other forms of advice all providing useful information about promoting your online shop. These are in no particular order...just some useful links to give you an arsenal of tools to help you along the way.
Timothy Adam Designs--this blog, his Handmadeology site, and his various groups and forum posts across the Internet provide a wealth of information about driving traffic to your site, furthering your understanding of how to use social networking to enhance your business, the fundamentals of selling on Etsy and Artfire, and much, much, more. He is in the process of launching a new site, Handmade-Review.com is a site where handmade sellers and buyers can go to read reviews by the handmade community about handmade selling venues. Timothy also sponsors an "Etsy Top 10" promotion to help Etsy shop owners gain exposure in the marketplace. I can't say enough about the wealth of information you can find simply by following this man around the Internet!
IndieCEO--I first ran into GalleriaLinda on Twitter, followed her to the iCraft.ca forums and ultimately landed on her IndieCEO site. There is information about marketing, advertising, blogging, and preparing your business for the holiday season...plus much, much more! Again, just follow her around the Internet and learn as much as you can from her...IndieCEO was where I linked up with Timothy Adams!
Web Sites Work--this site is hosted by Rita Juhlin who runs the Home Based Jewelers Directory and Blogspot. Again, there is a wealth of information on this site including such topics as driving traffic to your site, getting the most out of your advertising, and there are a lot of great tools to incorporate into your website and blog. There are some great inspirational passages on this blog as well...we all need encouragement along the way as we work hard to achieve our dreams. Spend some time with Rita on her site...you will be very glad you did.
And here's a list compiled from a great deal of list posts along the way about driving traffic to your site:
- Use Twitter
- Use Facebook
- Join MyBlogLog
- Use StumbleUpon
- Use Digg
- Try Out Some of the Other Social Networks
- Make list posts
- Improve and update the look of your site
- Post entries rich in content
- Use a ping service
- Leave comments on blogs in your niche
- Write articles and press releases
- Participate in forums in your niche and put your URL in your forum signature
- Link to other bloggers in your niche
- Include your blog URL in your email signature
- Use pictures in your posts
- Post videos, especially video tutorials
- SEO your blog
For you jewelry artists out there:
Jewelry Business Blog and Home Jewelry Business Success Tips both by Rena Klingenberg and both are goldmines for information about a successful jewelry business whatever business model you choose to follow (i.e. online, craft fairs, etc.). She has an e-newsletter that is just great and some really great books for your resource library. Rena was my first resource when I was getting started and I still pour through her information on a regular basis.
MarketingJewelry.com--Dr. David Weiman, a psychologist who provides insights into the jewelry customer. Sign up for his free newsletter and take advantage of some of his webinars, books, and courses to learn the ins and outs of selling jewelry and making the proper relationships with your customers.
Well, that should keep you busy for awhile! Have fun!
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