Marketing Your Small Business - 1

I took a short hiatus from my small jewelry business the past month, to give myself time to evaluate if what I have been doing has been effective or not.  Many times we get so caught up in the frantic drive to have our business be successful that we forget why we started the business in the first place.  Sometimes it is necessary to step back and take a hard look at what we are spending our time on and whether or not that is really what we want to be doing.

If I evaluate what it takes to be successful in marketing my business I quickly see that it is really easy to be drawn up by the opportunities that the  internet offers for getting exposure and drawing views.  With twitter, facebook, blogging, seo optimization, etc. it is easy to get so busy keeping up with them all, finding the newest and best sites to join, posting in forums etc. to spend hours each day that we tell ourselves are "productive".  It gets daunting trying to figure out which ones really are! It seems like there is a huge community of internet sellers - targeting other internet sellers as their customers - because who else is at all these places?  I plan to do a series on this blog about marketing opportunities and would love to have your input as to what you think your best venues have been.  Which ways are you finding bring about the best results for your business?

I'm in another Treasury! Thanks to Irina Photography!

I want to thank Irina of Irina Photography for including me in her most recent treasury! I spent some time learning about treasuries just yesterday, after another gracious Etsy member featured me in a Celtic themed treasury, which I believe resulted in the sale of a vintage pendant that I had in my shop.

Irina has some incredible photos for sale in her Etsy shop! Even though it is snowing like crazy outside and we probably already have 14" on the ground- glancing at the photo makes me think of the first spring tulips breaking through the snow!

Check out her shop to see the other interesting photos she has in stock right now!  Gosh I wish I could take photos like that!

If you get a chance leave a comment to let me know what you think about her picture above.

Get a Free SoopSee Account - Great for Etsy Shops!

Occasionally I come across something that will help Etsy, Artfire, 1000 Markets, etc. sellers to broaden their exposure or help them boost traffic to their shops.  We all know that both blogging and twitter accounts help us to get exposure for our online shops, but now there is something new!  I recently signed up for a SoopSee account - it is free (they do have a premium account as well) and basically turns your Etsy shop into a complete website!

Check out my SoopSee pages at: Divine3Designs , notice the orange bar across the top.  This site lets me add all the things that Etsy doesn't!  I can import my twitter and blog accounts and actually have links to those pages on the front page as well.
It is like having your Etsy shop converted into a complete website.  You can add the things that Etsy currently has no provision for.  Suggestion- sign up- you have nothing to lose.  Sign up soon so you can reserve your shop name- before someone else gets it!

The site is currently in Beta- that means you can expect more functionality and features soon! So check out SoopSee soon!

Adding "Gadgets" to your Blog

Several new Bloggers have recently asked me how to add "gadgets" to their blogs.  This is really fairly easy to do!  Get the "code" from whatever website has the gadget you want to ad.  Usually they will have it ready for you to click on and "copy" then:
1. Click on the "Layout " tab on your blogger dashboard
2. Next click on the "add a Gadget" link

3.Now Choose the type of gadget you want to add:

4.Now just give it a title (your choice) and paste (right click in the big box) the code in to the box

5. Save
6. Preview and then save on your layout page if you are happy with it.

Now you can go back and move it around by clicking and holding down your mouse button  then dragging your new gadget  to wherever you want it to be on your blogger page!

Hint- If you like a gadget you see on someones blog- usually it has a link to its makers website- allowing you to grab one for yourself!  Some sites let you customize it and then they generate the special code that has your chosen features in it!

Featured: The Moss Garden

Think snow!  Many are predicting that this will be a snowy winter to remember so I wasn't really surprised when a sprinkling of rain turned to sleet and then some snow flakes just briefly fell from the gray sky on Thanksgiving morning.  It was brief, and then the sun came out and it was all but forgotten.  Then I saw these lovely earrings with the hollow glass balls, like swirling snow. With the unmatched snowflakes (no two are alike) they instantly brought back the snow! These are from an Etsy shop called "The Moss Garden".

The shop owner, Victoria,  (from Montreal, Canada) says: "  I'm currently majoring in wildlife biology at university, so I am very interested in making jewelry with a zoological or botanical theme. I also call the Pacific northwest my home, so a lot of what I love and make has something to do with the ocean or the forest - Ucluelet, British Columbia is my favourite place on the planet. I am applying to veterinary school this year and I would one day like to work in the field of conservation medicine with endangered wildlife."  Looking through her shop it is not surprising to see that many of her jewelry themes reflect the things she loves.

I also congratulate and encourage Victoria's industrious nature as a student, who probably has a very full schedule, and yet is making and taking the time to create and sell her lovely jewelry!  Her jewelry would make lovely gifts for anyone but would be especially appreciated by the people on your list that care about conservation and wildlife issues and know that they can help support someone working her way into a life of service as a vet.  If you are curious and want to know more about her (and see some really nice photography too)- read her blog!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I was very thankful for my family who helped make this holiday a time for memories and reflection.

Encouraging Small Businesses

I wish I could send a bouquet of lovely roses to each of the men and women who have started their own business in the past year or two!  Congratulations to you for taking the initiative to help the economy by becoming a small business.  Most people don't know that more than 70% of the working people in the USA work for or own small businesses! 
It is not easy and most of the time we start our small businesses while we are still working another job or have been laid off from a job we've held for years.
I would like to encourage each of you to hang in there - as it takes time for most small businesses to grow to where they can support you and your family.  I think on average it is two to five years of long hours, and hard work.  But the prize is that if you stick it out you can survive and even thrive.  When the times are hard- just remember that someday you will take pride in the hard times and how you worked through them.  It takes inspiration, perspiration and perseverance to do anything that is really worthwhile!  So keep it up and know that I am thankful for your efforts as I believe that the US economy hangs on what small businesses do in the next few years!

Featured: Terrabella Accents

Warm exotic breezes, that's what I'm thinking about when I look at this gorgeous picture of vanilla bangles! Actually, today was overcast, windy, cold and gray here in VA, thanks to tropical storm Ida. I think that's why I really enjoyed looking through Terrabella Accents Etsy shop today.  Her items brought back wonderful memories of turquoise water and sailing in the West Indies.

The selection of gifts in this shop is incredible. Browsing there, is like going on a mini vacation!

From the shops profile: ["terrabella" means "beautiful land" and perfectly describes the setting in which I live. Our country has different natural resources in the different regions. We have volcanoes, fresh water lakes and lagoons, beaches in the Pacific Ocean and Carribean, mountains, and rivers. Each small picturesque town has its own traditions and foklore.]

Go ahead- take a break - you deserve a little vacation!