Wordless Wednesday

Dinah's Friends

Kaeden Krafts


Purified Art


House of Six Cats

Coaching Handmade -Class Tonight!

Tonight I'm teaching the 1st interactive class on Coaching Handmade: “Using Mailing Lists & Newsletters for Effective Promotions”

This classes will be held tonight at 7pm Eastern time.

Coaching Handmade members can login just prior to 7pm to participate.

If you are not yet a member of Coaching Handmade and you are a handmade seller, there is still time to join: Coaching Handmade

Why Brand Your Business?

Having a concise, clear image that you project to your clients and customers is important in today’s market. More and more people are leaving the job market and creating their own business, whether by choice or necessity, so the competition continues to expand. Therefore it is increasingly important to stand out among your competition. You want your business to be memorable!

Customers remember images and feelings that are evoked more than just a name on a business card. What type of feeling do you want your business to evoke in your customers / clients? How do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be the first one your customer thinks about over your competition? Of course you do. But what do you want to be remembered for?

• Your excellent customer service?
• Your winning smile?
• Your product?
• Your prices?
• Your logo?

How are you different from your competition? What makes your business special? Ask yourself these questions and then look at the answers. Maybe you are already projecting a particular image. It is cohesive, or is it sloppy? Do you even have an image? Do you have a brand name? Do you have any sort of identity?

What about your services? Does each one have a different look, feel and image, or does it tie into the image of your business? Can you look at your services and see the brand name, image or theme running through each description? Choosing to use the same logo on all your materials, sticking with a consistent color theme and playing off a specific theme is part of branding.

What about your company? Does your image reflect your product? Do your customers recognize you by your business name or a product name? Are you consistent with your marketing message? These are ALL important questions whether you are starting a business or looking to expand your existing business. So, ask the questions, listen to the answers and create a plan for branding your business!

Wordless Wednesday

Tree of Life Bookmark by Studio 618

Sister Anita Wordsmith The “Queen of the Tiles”….
such a lovely person, but plays a “mean” game of “Scrabble”!

so fitting! LOL! by Nun of a Kind

"Billy Jean" by Elizabeth M. Designs

Follow Friday...

Check out these fabulous artisans:

left: House of Six Cats
top right: Jen Kiaba Photography
middle right: Jewels by Jules
lower right: Wilde Jewels

SEO Consulting for Handmade

What is SEO?

It stands for Search Engine Optimizing.

It is the process of coding your personal websites well in order for search engines to find you more quickly.

Do you have a website for your handmade business? Something other than online venues such as Etsy, 1000 Markets, Artfire, etc? if so, does it get the traffic you would like it to receive? The odds are that it doesn't. Working to optimize a website for the search engines, to not only find it, but to bring it up on the first few pages of the search is an artform in itself.

I have been working with business web clients for the past 5 years doing SEO consulting. If you would like to have your business website search engine optimized, contact me for details and to schedule a consultation.

coachinghandmade@gmail.com

I'm a part-time juggler...

That is the conclusion I've come to recently. With all the various projects I have going I realize that I really have another part time job - one as a juggler! LOL



I made a list of everything that I juggle on a daily basis:

• coaching clients & appts
  
• responding to emails
• returning phone calls
  
• twitter & facebook
• Coaching Handmade
• checking etsy, artfire, etc.
  
• filling, packing & shipping orders
• creating pendants
• going to the post office
• bookkeeping
• time with my boyfriend
  
• housework, cooking, etc
• and I'm sure there's more...
  

I guess it's just as well that I do not have children, then I'd have to grow another set of arms! I'd look like Shakti -

Today, I added another trip downtown and then to the post office, stopped for an iced mocha and finally headed back home. 5 minutes at the computer to check in turns into 2 hours because I'm blogging, which I have been neglecting too much lately, and responding to more wholesale requests.

Are you a juggler too?

What do you juggle everyday?

I want to hear your list. Take a moment, blog about your list, and then challenge your readers to blog their lists as well. it will be cool to see how similar or dissimilar we all are..

cool!