Blogging About You, Your Handcrafted Jewelry and Your Business

If you are new to the blogging arena, it can be a little overwhelming. There are many free blogs like this one as well as paid ones.

I have tried WordPress (my hubbie loves and I'm not too fond of) and Blogger. My hubbie also researched TypePad and was impressed but still ended up with WordPress.

At this point, I run quite a few blogs...
1. Designing-Diva Jewelry Buzz
2. Steal My Baubles
3. Jewelry Marketing Tips
4. I'm planning an entrepreneur blog as we speak....

Once I got going, I wanted to know about all the widgets you can add to make your blog more exciting.

I found Debbie Weil's blog very useful and right now she has a free blog writing tips for download. Woohoo. We all love freebies. I also like how she explains why you need to use certain technologies like RSS, videos, etc...

I also like the widget, Snapshot, where when you hover over a link it gives you a mini preview of that page. How cool is that! :)

Plus, there is the revenue side...having ads from Google (aka Adsense), paid/sponsored ads...., etc...

What's your favorite widget? Share with us at Jewelry Marketing Tips!

SEO & Page Rank-Resource

Got an early present in my e-mail inbox. Here is a link to an 87 page report on SEO and page rank...ie.how to get your website on page 1 for your keywords!!! Woohoo!

Now, there is a product for sale in this report but it is NOT necessary. It will just take a little more work and time. If you like things set to be somewhat automated, then SEO Elite may be for you! :)***NO, I am not an affiliate! I just like this report and thought it was worth mentioning!***

Here is the link for the SEO Report to download.

You can thank Mr Shawn Pringle for this freebie.

Last Minute Marketing for Mother's Day Sales

From the Jewelry Seller, Mr David Weiman...

4 WAYS TO MAKE LAST-MINUTE MOTHERS’ DAY SALES
With just a few more days until Mom’s special day, it’s still not too late to get a
quick marketing campaign going. Here are 3 things you can do to capture the
procrastinators:
1. Send an e-mail to your list offering last-minute shoppers special
quick-shipping options. Several of the major shippers (like FedEx) offer Saturday
delivery.
2. Sell gift certificates that Mom can use to pick out whatever she wants.
This gets the last-minute shopper off the hook because they leave the
decision-making up to Mom!
3. Offer free delivery in your local area.
4. Offer free giftwrapping. This simple extra means a lot to last-minute shoppers.

Promote Yourself Online-Emerging Jewelry Designer

I want to be recognized as an emerging jewelry designer and so do you. Do you have a website? Then check out this amazing opportunity for indie emerging jewelry designers with an online boutique.

By having your family, friends and customers vote for your website and handcrafted jewelry, they have the chance to win a $500 shopping spree and you have the chance to have your jewelry showcased at Fashion Week in NY! If that isn't a dream come true, I do not know what is!!!

You can place a banner like this one on your blog and website to encourage online visitors to vote for you.

Good luck!

Have any other ways to promote yourself???

Marketing Articles For the Handcrafted Jewelry Artist

I found two great articles that I would like to share. They both apply to any business and NOT just handcrafted jewelry artist.

Learn the subtle art of networking in the awesome article from one of my favorite reads, Go To Marketing Strategies.

Another great article that includes a video on marketing jewelry to women on the "Learned on Women" blog. She has other great articles and dispels some myths about how women shop! Very interesting!

Enjoy!

I'm off to market so my posts will be erratic for a few days!

Photographing Your Indie Handcrafted Jewelry for Your Web Site

It really is true a picture is worth a thousand words and what does the second one say...

It YELLS amateur. What am I looking at anyway!

Photographing my jewelry for media and my website are something that I struggle with and continue to struggle with. I know that I have posted about this before but I just can NOT stress enough how important clear crisp pictures are to your potential customers and media exposure.

Table Top Studio offers wonderful tips for photographing jewelry no matter what your medium (silver, glass, crystals, etc...)

Rena Klingenberg at Home Jewelry Business Success Tipsalso has some photography tips for photographing jewelry.

Check out Ganoskin's article on jewelry photography

MK Digital Direct also has a photography tips for jewelry section.

These are just a few resources that I have used to educate myself on how to improve my jewelry photography which is a continual work in progress.

The things that made the BIGGEST difference for me were...
1. Getting to know & love my camera
--adjust white balance
--adjust depth of field
--adjust exposure

2. Proper lighting
--I use daylight bulbs that run at 3000k. I purchased them off eBay for about $6 each.

3. Photo tent
--Helps diffuse the light.

4. White Card Stock
--used to custom white balance prior to shooting photos of jewelry

5. Keeping a Photo journal
--documenting settings for each shot
--tedious I know but it has made a big difference over time especially since I shoot silver, gold, glass beads and crystals! :)

Hope this helps another frustrated jewelry artist! Let me know if you have any other resources I should know of! Please and Thanks!

ShowCase Your Handcrafted Jewelry Here

I just discovered a great site to show case your most handcrafted jewelry whether or not you have a website....Mintd!

This place is ONLY for indie & hand crafted designers and the jewelry category currently has less than 40 designers with a broad range of designs and price points.

Even though I have my own virtual jewelry boutique, I have used their FREE version and listed 3 of my most popular designs.

You can upgrade and it is VERY REASONABLE. For 100 works put up it is $100/year (if I remember correctly!!!) This would be a great place to start if you do NOT have a web site and you want to test the market.

Just remember no matter where you have your handcrafted jewelry for sale, you have to market it. The mentality, put it on the web and they will buy it, will leave you frustrated and with NO money !You need traffic, traffic, traffic---think of it like location, location, location in the brick & mortal retail setting! ;)

Check out Mintd and all the talent and please if you have any other places to showcase your wearable art, do share!!!