Ready For the Holidays - Pt. 5

Getting the Word Out

We’ve covered a lot up to this point and there is always more to know. I’ve made several banners preparing for the upcoming holiday season and a few to represent the upcoming fall season. During the past week I’ve given thought to how to get the word out, ‘It’s that time of year.’

Last year I instituted a lay-a-way plan in my shop for items over a certain dollar amount. Now is the time to announce you’re ready to do custom made items to assure delivery for the holiday. Get out your mailing list and notify your customers you’re ready to accommodate them for the holiday. Let them know if you’ve added a new line. You can do this by sending out a brochure, postcards or use your blog. If you don’t have a blog, start one.

This doesn’t have to be a costly event. You can make each of these items by using your Microsoft Publisher program. I use Microsoft PowerPoint to make my banners, you can also use Paint, but I find it difficult to work with.

Insert your logo or your holiday banner, pictures of your featured items with descriptions, no prices (you want to bring them to your site).

Offer coupons to repeat customers, free shipping on select items for a limited time. Put links to your store in all your social networking profiles. Offer gift wrapping if you don’t already.

Post new items on your blog, people love to see what you’ve done or what you’re working on.

With all this in mind, remember there holidays throughout the year and you can even invent some of your own.

I hope this helps your holiday season a little brighter,a little easier and prosperous for you.

Have fun putting your shop together and keep me posted, I would love to see what you've done.

Above is one of my new holiday banners, made using PowerPoint and clipart from Microsoft.com, it's free.

A New Site - HandemadeNews

I know you guys have been wondering where I've been. I had to take a break, but I have been creating. I've made several items in the past month and I've been working on some patterns of my own.

There's a new site on the web, HandmadeNews. I found the site while checking my store on ArtFire. It's a nice site with open, reasonably priced ad space. The space is $2.00 per unit blocks starting as low as 5,000 clicks averaging a low price of $10.00 for your ad space.

You can run your ads on several pages of the site, the choice is your's but please, when you upload your ad don't do what I did. I wasn't satisfied with the pic I used and now there's a blank space there, so be sure your add is exactly what you want it to be.

The service is quick and easy to use. They boast their readers are primarily Caucasian females ranging from ages 18-49, most without children. Got any ideas?? I hear your thinking. Their marketing is targeted towards crafters, artisans, buyers and sellers of all things handmade

So people get over there and check it out. Grab a piece of the advertisement at such a small fee it's hard to pass up. Get in on the ground floor, there is plenty of space. Let me know what you think.

The Weekend

The weekend was great. I could hardly sleep, the anticipation of passing out my marketing materials laid heavy on my mind. I was up at 7 a.m., checking email and waking kids. Only to my surprise there was only one home, the youngest but the tallest.

I was unable to get the fliers I wanted, the price wasn’t right and I didn’t have enough ink to print my own.

That was okay though, I went with my bookmarks. I had to shop for school uniforms, so that gave me the opportunity to stop a three libraries going to and fro. I asked permission to leave
my bookmarks on the counter, it wasn’t a problem. I also took the liberty to browse a bit and leave some in books. We have to be creative in our marketing techniques.

Now to see what happens. Everything takes time. Put in the energy and eventually it pays off. I'm in the market for a house, I during a viewing, I found myself talking to the owner about my business and how the space could be used to help me work better. when I told them about Etsy, they got excited. They were interested in handmade. I actually made a pitch not just for myself, for all of us that use Etsy as our store front.

I designed and printed the bookmarks myself with a program called PrintMaster. It can easily be found and installed onto your computer and you can import your own artwork. This I like very much. I found my copy at Wal Mart and it also can be purchased online from Broderbund. I have 3 copies. They offer it online without a disc, it’s a download stream. The disc is best, just in case your computer does what mine does. It’s notorious for viruses. I take it out, have it cleaned, request my data be saved and somehow or another it disappears.

Notice the rose, it’s my brand. I carry it throughout all my projects, labels, hang tags, etc. A brand should be recognizable where it's seen, like the design on the Coke can. When people see it they know it's you.

What did you do this weekend to promote your shop?

Breast Cancer Awareness month is fast approaching, so I decided to pull out all my pink to start my Awareness projects. Seriously thinking of just making ‘All That is Pink’ a part of my shop. As with all health concerns it takes more than a month, it’s a daily battle.

As always, comment. Better yet 'Communicate'.
Sherryl