Come Join Us At Indie Junction!!

Indie Junction is a new social networking site that provides a place where indie artisans across all genres form a synergy that helps each individual achieve their goals within the handmade industry. This network was the brain child of two indie artisans, Nicky of Ambient Girl Designs and Deb Hall (me) of Zur Designs. Together we had a vision of a gathering place for artists to share, collaborate, and support each other through cross-promotion and sharing of resources and ideas. That's why the key words for this site are: Create. Love. Explore. Collaborate. Support. Learn. Grow.

The site is a bit over a week old at this posting but already boasts over 130 members! Already when you log on there is a feeling of excitement! There are photos of new artisans every day, people are gathering in Chat to exchange ideas, take a break while they are working, or even eat lunch together...virtually. The discussion forums are active and already filled with useful information; anything from marketing strategies, getting more fans and followers to Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, to photography tips that are useful for all of us selling through an online venue as well as the array of talented photographers gathered there. There is even an Indie Cafe in the discussion forum where people talk a bit about what's going on in their lives whether it has to do with their art or not. I am here to report...these people are hilarious!

The Indie Junction Blog is part of our plan to feature all of the wonderful artisans that join Indie Junction. We are in the process of creating a schedule of artists and three will be featured each week! It's such a talented group...you are going to be amazed at the work you see here! Barring any unforeseen circumstances, we will begin these features starting the week of January 17th...so be sure and check back there soon!

You can also follow Indie Junction's Twitter Channel! We will be keeping you up to date on the features and all the new exciting things ahead for our site and its members!

Membership at Indie Junction is open, so simply click here, sign up, and start customizing your own page with photos, music, and depending on your selling venue, a little version of your shop! Once you're settled, come over to Chat and exchange ideas with other artisans or just hang out! Or join in on the forums, start your own discussion, or chime in at the Indie Cafe! Come join us at Indie Junction! We'll be waiting for you there!

Let's Talk About Facebook

According to recent statistics, there are more than 200 million active users on Facebook, half of which log on to Facebook every day. An average user has approximately 120 friends and more than 4 million users become fans of pages every day! Rather staggering numbers! I know what you are saying...I said the same thing a few years ago...how does knowing that my friend Jason has joined the group "I Love Bacon" help me market my indie handmade business? The answer of course is setting up a Facebook Fan Page and then utilizing that page in conjunction with your personal Facebook page to connect with your customers, and form a solid community with other handmade artisans.

I decided to use Facebook for my business to accomplish the following goals:

1. Gain exposure to people who are searching for my products
2. Connect and engage with current and potential customers
3. Create a community around my business
4. Ultimately be able to promote other content that I create whether it be my blog, tutorials, webinars, etc

Some of the great features built in to Facebook are you can use third party applications to launch your Etsy mini or Artfire Kiosk on your fan page for instance. You can post all the links where fans can find you on Twitter, your personal blog, and at your Etsy shop. You can post topics to your own personal Discussion Board that will help link users together. Topics can include: share your Etsy Shop link, do you have a Twitter channel, do you have a blog...this can generate a value to your fan page for the readers within the handmade community and help them further their efforts to receive more traffic to their online selling site.

First things first...they way Facebook is set up, everything evolves around an individual Facebook profile. The profile represents the individual and is held under your individual name. Around this profile, you can create a Facebook Fan Page to represent your business. Here are some resources that help you set up your Facebook Profile:

• All Facebook
• VideoJug
• Squiddo
  

Some resources to help you set up your Facebook Fan Page:

• Socialbees
• Rants and Raves of a New Age Chick
• Etsy Storque

Okay, your profile and fan page is all set up...now what? Well, for your personal profile...go out and get some friends! Here's a few tips on how to go about it:

• Start with your center of influence--your friends, family, colleagues
• Join some groups on Facebook and make friend requests of members who share same interests--Etsy groups for instance are a great way to connect with fellow artisans and buyers too!
• Once you begin to get friend confirmations Facebook with send you an email that the person has confirmed you as a friend and will give a list of some of the friends they have that you might be interested in. That has a snowballing affect and you end up with a nice group of targeted friends within your interest group.

Now you need to get followers for your fan page! A nifty way to start is to invite all of your friends and family to become a fan. There is a quick and easy way to make this request right on the fan page on the far left; there's a link that's called "Suggest to Friends" that will pull up a list of all your profile friends and send invitations to become a fan of your fan page. This is a wonderful way to start getting fans to your page. Other ways include:

• Join a thread (or start one) in Etsy forums requesting Facebook Fans
• Join one of the groups within Facebook such as "Etsy" and post to the Discussion Page all topics concerning Facebook Fan Pages
• Tweet about your Fan Page on Twitter
• Post it on you blog--encourage people to join using a giveaway or some special incentive for Facebook Fans
• Put a Facebook Fan Page Badge on your blog--readers can quickly get to your fan page and become a fan in a few easy steps
  

Once you have established your fan page, you owe it to yourself to begin using the wonderful analytics option that you can access right from your page called Insights. As we all know, a key component to any marketing activity is measuring and analyzing the results of your efforts. Utilizing Facebook Insights as well as Google Analytics for measurements outside your page, here are a few metrics to consider:

• Reach--total number of fans, group members, or friends
• Engagement--the level of engagement and number of conversations with potential and current customers and fans. Insights, lets you track valuable metrics such as page views, wall posts, discussion threads, and photo views.
• Impact on Sales Funnel--the number of visitors from Facebook to your website that convert into customers and sales. Use a marketing analytics program such as Google Analytics to track the impact on your sales directly related to your Facebook Fan Page.

You can also use Facebook Insights to monitor the demographics of your fans and use this to tailor both your fan page content and your business products themselves to suit your target market.

Facebook is a tool for connecting people with those around them. And, as with any social media tool, handmade indie business owners have an opportunity to use Facebook to expand their online footprint and engage with customers directly. The end result is increased traffic to their online selling venue and ultimately increased sales. More than that, it can promote the feeling of collaboration and community which is such a vital part of the handmade industry itself!

So my Facebook Fan Page is here...how about yours? Post yours in the comments following this entry and I'll be sure to become your next fan!

Timothy Adam Webinar On Driving Traffic to Your Etsy Shop

So Tuesday night, October 13th at 9PM EDT, I attended Timothy Adam's webinar that covered topics involving driving more traffic to your Etsy shop (although it could apply to any online selling site). The material was awesome! Tim and his colleague Andy Drish began with the premise that there were over 1.5 million items listed on Etsy per month. Given that staggering number, it is necessary to develop new marketing strategies to drive traffic to your Etsy Shop. That is not to say that the tried-and-true strategies are no longer effective such as renewing items in your Etsy shop every day; this is just no longer enough to get seen due to the proliferation of items available for sale. As a matter of fact, Tim stated that renewing certain or all of your items (depending on the amount of items you have in your shop) gives buyers the impression of a fresh shop that is open for business each and every day.

In addition to the renew strategy, Tim also mentioned what we all know is important--the photos of our products. Without buyers being able to feel or touch our products, we have five pictures to convince them that this is the item they want to buy. I know for myself, I have a bunch of photos that need replacing because they don't show how beautiful the item really is!

Pricing was also discussed and Tim pointed us in the direction of the Etsy calculator tool that helps you determine the right pricing for your items. Andy explained the phrase "price framing" to us which simply put means that people like to regress to the mean when purchasing products. This bit of psychology can be very helpful for those of us who struggle with pricing!

Offline marketing efforts were also mentioned such as art shows, fairs, and utilizing business cards to get the word out there about your online selling shop.

But the meat of the webinar was about tapping into social networking sites and blogging as an effective means to not only develop a customer base but to create a community-based network within the handmade industry. Some of the highlights of information and advice he gave to us included:

• Use your blog as your home base and then send out to Facebook and Twitter sending them back to your blog in order to enhance the amount of traffic to your selling site
• Facebook is the fasting growing viral network out there and has the ability to show your network not only text but pictures to promote your work and the work of fellow artisans
  
• Utilize the Facebook Fan Page Insights to track your demographic information and see exactly where your fans are coming from
• Go out and find followers on Twitter by using directories like We Follow or follow who follows Tim on his Twitter channels so that you have a base of people who are truly interested in your industry and work
• Sign up for HootSuite which is an application that helps you manage your Twitter channels and actually has the capability of scheduling tweets for later so you can have steady timed tweets even if you are not able to be at your desk to tweet them!

The remaining part of the webinar was devoted to one of Tim's latest projects: Handmadeology University (HMU). This is a subscription based site that gives you all the benefits of Tim's knowledge and expertise plus the feeling of community amongst all other members of HMU. Here are some of the benefits you receive by being a part of HMU:

• Valuable ebooks about Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, Time Management, and Google Analytics
• 8 hours of recorded personal coaching calls
• Fabulous forums
• Tim's Product Launch Formula regarding building a solid email list
• A free webinar per month
  

And much, much more! Contact Tim Adam at one of his many places on the web for more information on how to become a member!
Here's an earlier post about resources for marketing and promoting your indie artisan business, in case you missed it!

So Don't Take MY Word For It--Here's Some Great Resources

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
  

Don't forget to click on the button in the right-hand corner of my blog to get some tips and advice from Erika Jurney at Try Handmade!

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!

Listings in Directories to Help Promote Your Online Shop

Targeted handmade directories as well as general directories are another great way to promote your business. As I stated before, many of the social networking groups and some selling venues have directories where you can list your business, website, and online store.

Some directories offer just a listing with salient business information and others allow you to post photos of your work; it just depends on how the site is set up.

Specifically for jewelry artists, I am listed in the Home Based Jewelers Directory and also listed on their blog. I am also listed on Find It Handmade--a directory for all things handmade. I have listings at Luna Craft who offers free craft business, craft website, and craft blog listings.

As far as general directories, I am listed in the blog and Twitter directories of Loaded Web, which is a directory of businesses, blogs, and Twitter users as well as Twellow, the Twitter Yellow Pages.

I must confess I haven't committed to the task of sitting down and doing a search of possible directories...I simply sign up to those directories that I run across through researching or something catches my eye on Twitter or a blog. I do have a list of sites compiled that I gathered while browsing that I want to check out and use a litmus test of sorts...checking the last update, trying out a few links to see if the directory is up-to-date and worth listing my business there.

I know in the online marketing world, there is some debate as to whether directory listings are effective but I can only speak for my own results...and I must say that when I check Google Analytics, I receive referrals to my Etsy site and to my blog from the very targeted directories I am involved in.

So the choice is yours...next snowy day when you are stuck inside, this project might look good to you and ultimately help your business grow!

Resources for Promoting Your Shop Through Online Selling Venue

So you've chosen an online venue, you've uploaded your photos, wrote catchy descriptions for each of your pieces, found some sort of pricing structure that works for you...now what? As soon as that warm and fuzzy feeling of looking at your storefront wears off; you are going to be ready to sell!

One of the first things I would suggest is that you take advantage of the community aspect of your chosen selling site. They are goldmines and have tons of information on how to promote your online store! The best thing to do is familiarize yourself with the forums and other resources and chat with your fellow artisans! Chances are they are either in the same place you are or have gone the same process and are more than willing to help. Some sellers--in the spirit of paying it forward--are willing to feature you on their blog giving you great exposure and a chance to promote your work!

There is information on the forums about setting up a Facebook Fan Page, a must have in the marketing tool belt, as well as selling tips from shop owners that helped generate traffic to their shops and ultimately culminated into sales. So spend some time absorbing all the information within your selling community and share some information of your own. It is collaboration at its finest!

In the end you need to process all advice and make your own choices but insight from others who have already been there is always helpful.