This blog falls under the umbrella of Internet Marketing, and it is specialized for jewelry artists. I have, however, a new blog on Wordpress related to all things internet marketing, so I don't see any reason to continue (duplicate work on) two blogs.
Please update your bookmarks to my new blog, Jewels of Cyprus. I will keep this blog, however, for historical purposes, as there is plenty of useful information already and I have quite a few readers of this blog.
I welcome you to my new site!
Monday, 20 April 2009
Thursday, 5 March 2009
How to run a home based jewelry party business for fun and profit - a review
Wow this is a book I really enjoyed reading. Strange that I haven't come across it before, although I make jewelry for a few years now. I was browing Rena Klingenberg's site and found the link there and followed it and the rest is history. I'm really glad I did because this one is a real hidden gem.
I was about to write a review here of the book, but I think the author has done a much better job than me, she even posted the Table of Contents online, lol. Now talk about transparent! Over 100 pages of pure gold, plus what I really enjoyed getting are the nice bonuses (that we can't live without!): a nice logo pack which helps greatly in designing your own logo for your jewelry business, a pack of business letters including a consignment contract, woohoo!, and an Ebay marketing guide which is great if you're selling on Ebay - I don't, so I just quickly flipped through this Ebay book, it seems good but I'm not going to read it. But back to the book.
What exactly is this Jewelry book about? Well, in a nutshell, it is the ultimate tutorial for learning how to start and operate your own home jewelry party business. Although it focuses on jewelry parties, it really goes into all aspects of setting up the business: from chosing a name, to finding your best prices, to checking up on your competitors, to dealing with business licenses and all the business 'official' headaches, I feel that this book is one no serious jewelry home business owner should be without. And when the book has the backing of Rena Klingenberg, - and we know SHE is, well, I don't think I need to say more about it. Just go over to Lorry Ely's site and see for youself. And make sure you read the Table of Contents!
I was about to write a review here of the book, but I think the author has done a much better job than me, she even posted the Table of Contents online, lol. Now talk about transparent! Over 100 pages of pure gold, plus what I really enjoyed getting are the nice bonuses (that we can't live without!): a nice logo pack which helps greatly in designing your own logo for your jewelry business, a pack of business letters including a consignment contract, woohoo!, and an Ebay marketing guide which is great if you're selling on Ebay - I don't, so I just quickly flipped through this Ebay book, it seems good but I'm not going to read it. But back to the book.
What exactly is this Jewelry book about? Well, in a nutshell, it is the ultimate tutorial for learning how to start and operate your own home jewelry party business. Although it focuses on jewelry parties, it really goes into all aspects of setting up the business: from chosing a name, to finding your best prices, to checking up on your competitors, to dealing with business licenses and all the business 'official' headaches, I feel that this book is one no serious jewelry home business owner should be without. And when the book has the backing of Rena Klingenberg, - and we know SHE is, well, I don't think I need to say more about it. Just go over to Lorry Ely's site and see for youself. And make sure you read the Table of Contents!
Saturday, 24 January 2009
Free herringbone tutorials collection
In case you haven't checked my jewelry blog recently, I have added a collection of free herringbone weave tutorials for wire wrapping. It's worth watching and bookmarking, particularly if you are still struggling with making that perfect herringbone wrap. These are all free.
Sunday, 21 December 2008
How to setup a Squidoo lens to market your jewelry
Web 2 is very 'hot', and Squidoo is a major part of it.
If you haven't yet used it to market your jewelry, you're losing money big time!
Currently there is a big love affair between Google and Squidoo, which means:
your Squidoo pages will be higher ranking in the Google search engines ->> more people will see your page ->> people will visit your page ->> people will BUY YOUR JEWELRY!
Let's face it. Cruising the jewelry forums and showing off your jewelry is great for uplifting your ego and gaining more trust in your work, but not that great for targeting people to buy your jewelry, since there is competition. Everybody is trying to sell their jewelry in the 'Show and Tell' threads (having your signature in your post, etc).
But the Search Engines are full of people WANTING TO BUY. So cater to them!
Setting up a page in Squidoo is completely free, very quick and you can add links in your Squidoo page to your main jewelry site.
I've found a great video tutorial on how to set up your Squidoo lens. Just tailor it to your jewelry, add links to your online store, put pictures of your jewelry there, make it interesting for visitors to read your lens from beginning to the end, so not only Search Engines, but also other Squidoo users might become potential customers, and you're off to a good start.
Enjoy.
If you are looking into integrating advertising your jewelry on Web 2 social media, which includes much more than Squidoo, Rena Klingenberg has the best book around. I have reviewed her book here. And yes, in case you are wondering, I did purchase her book, it was worth every penny (or cent) :)
If you haven't yet used it to market your jewelry, you're losing money big time!
Currently there is a big love affair between Google and Squidoo, which means:
your Squidoo pages will be higher ranking in the Google search engines ->> more people will see your page ->> people will visit your page ->> people will BUY YOUR JEWELRY!
Let's face it. Cruising the jewelry forums and showing off your jewelry is great for uplifting your ego and gaining more trust in your work, but not that great for targeting people to buy your jewelry, since there is competition. Everybody is trying to sell their jewelry in the 'Show and Tell' threads (having your signature in your post, etc).
But the Search Engines are full of people WANTING TO BUY. So cater to them!
Setting up a page in Squidoo is completely free, very quick and you can add links in your Squidoo page to your main jewelry site.
I've found a great video tutorial on how to set up your Squidoo lens. Just tailor it to your jewelry, add links to your online store, put pictures of your jewelry there, make it interesting for visitors to read your lens from beginning to the end, so not only Search Engines, but also other Squidoo users might become potential customers, and you're off to a good start.
Enjoy.
If you are looking into integrating advertising your jewelry on Web 2 social media, which includes much more than Squidoo, Rena Klingenberg has the best book around. I have reviewed her book here. And yes, in case you are wondering, I did purchase her book, it was worth every penny (or cent) :)
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
How to make and add a 'Buy' Paypal button to your Blogspot blog - video tutorial
Ever since I've added a Paypal button on my blog for selling my jewelry - that was moons ago -, I was asked how to add this button, since others wanted to follow suit as well. I've helped several people on various jewelry forums, but I was always lazy to write a tutorial - or god forbit, record one :)
I've just come across a VERY GOOD Youtube video tutorial on teaching you to do just that, so I'd like to share it with you. No matter what you are selling on your blog, the steps are the same.
To continue from where the video left off, which is actually placing your newly created Paypal button to your blog post, this is what you further need to do (very easy and quick steps).
1. You've already copied the html code as instructed in the video, right?
2. You are on your blog post with the picture of your jewelry and the description added. Now click on Edit HMTL (this is the tab right next to Compose, at the right handside top corner of your blog screen).
Now this is your html view of your text. If you also added a picture to your post, showing off your jewelry, you will find also stuff like 'img src'...etc. This is normal.
3. Go to the very end of your post, and simply paste your code there, as the last thing at the bottom. That's all.
4. Now to preview your new cute Paypal button, simply switch back to 'Compose', scroll down to the end of your post and there you have it.
5. Publish your post as usual, and click on it, as you want to test that it actually works. It should take you to Paypal, and you will see a screen asking you to login, and at the top of the screen you will see the amount you have entered in one of the steps shown in the video.
This means that you have done everything right, and the next person who will want to buy directy from your blog, will not have any troubles in doing so.
The whole Paypal button process should not take you longer than 3 minutes. I do it all the time.
In one of my next posts I will show you how to add the Paypal button to your Wordpress blog.
I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, or you have any questions, please leave me a comment :)
I've just come across a VERY GOOD Youtube video tutorial on teaching you to do just that, so I'd like to share it with you. No matter what you are selling on your blog, the steps are the same.
To continue from where the video left off, which is actually placing your newly created Paypal button to your blog post, this is what you further need to do (very easy and quick steps).
1. You've already copied the html code as instructed in the video, right?
2. You are on your blog post with the picture of your jewelry and the description added. Now click on Edit HMTL (this is the tab right next to Compose, at the right handside top corner of your blog screen).
Now this is your html view of your text. If you also added a picture to your post, showing off your jewelry, you will find also stuff like 'img src'...etc. This is normal.
3. Go to the very end of your post, and simply paste your code there, as the last thing at the bottom. That's all.
4. Now to preview your new cute Paypal button, simply switch back to 'Compose', scroll down to the end of your post and there you have it.
5. Publish your post as usual, and click on it, as you want to test that it actually works. It should take you to Paypal, and you will see a screen asking you to login, and at the top of the screen you will see the amount you have entered in one of the steps shown in the video.
This means that you have done everything right, and the next person who will want to buy directy from your blog, will not have any troubles in doing so.
The whole Paypal button process should not take you longer than 3 minutes. I do it all the time.
In one of my next posts I will show you how to add the Paypal button to your Wordpress blog.
I hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, or you have any questions, please leave me a comment :)
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Cool free tool on domain search
When you start up your jewelry business, you most probably start with Etsy.com. However unless you're really 'making it' (which rather few of them do), you'll end up being one of the many thousand of sellers there, who have to struggle being noticed by people. Plus you might realise that Etsy is one of those sites that might live forever, or close shop tomorrow. Plainly put, it's not yours. Those who want to get out of the Etsy anonymity, they decide to open their shop under their own name, or website.
Having your own website to sell jewellery is a big plus, because you are the sole owner of it, you can do anything you want with it, you don't have to respond to anyone else, but you. If you don't post items 5 times a day, you won't go to the 250th page buried down the line, but you'll still be there for anyone who cares to visit your site. You no longer depend on anyone else.
Plus you can advertise your site much more efficiently, unlike on Etsy (or Dawanda, or any other shop front), where you can't do any SEO management.
If you decide to take the plunge and get out of anonymity, the first thing you need is a domain. A domain is plainly put the name of your site that comes after the http:// part. It is very important that your domain is relevant to what you are doing online, so that Google can index your site fast, and people who are searching for say 'jewelry' will find you right away. Of course, there is more to it, but that is the first step.
If you are selling your handcrafted jewelry, and your domain name is www.discountshoes'.com, well you'll only be seen in Google searches if somebody is looking for 'discount shoes', i.e. shoes on the cheap.
So how do you find a good domain name, relevant to what your business will be, and how you go about actually getting that domain name?
First thing first, you need to search for a domain.
I've found a pretty cool (heck, extremely cool!) free tool that does it all: searches for available domain names based on the keywords (simply put the relevant words that you are interested in, such as jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, artisan jewelry, you get the gist) you enter and it searches the internet for a domain name that is actually free for you to register. For example, you can't just go ahead and get www.jewelry.com, because that is a very sought after word, and that is 110% already taken (haven't actually checked if it's taken, but I am totally confident that it is).
The cool tool is called BustAName, and I urge you to go ahead and just play with it. It's free.
Now, how do you use that tool?
There are two ways to use it.
1. Word Combiner - here you simply enter one at a time your keywords and after each one press Add. As soon as the search program finds an available name based on the words you input, it will list it for you. If you don't like it, add some more words, it will find something.
2. Quick domain check - if you already have some names that you'd want to take, but are not sure if they're available, just type them one at a time, and again, the software will search automatically the internet and let you know instantly if it's available or not. Hm, just tried something, jewelryniche, and the .com domain is gone, but the .org and .info are still available...(hint hint). Make sure that you enter at least 2 or more words that go well together, because you will simply not find any longer domains with 1 word only (say jewelry.com), they're all taken. That's why I said before that I won't even look, coz I know it's long not available anymore.
Now after you've found the domain that you want your website to be located at, next step is to register your domain. I have a domain registered with Godaddy. To be honest, I find it's the best. However, if you've heard of others that you'd like to try, at the bottom right handside of the screen, where it says 'buy domain through', just pull the drop-down menu and you'll see each domain registrar with their prices. Note that the prices are per year. This is how much you will pay per year for your domain.
I already have my Godaddy domain, and I'm sorry I didn't find earlier this tool, because I would have saved myself about $4. If you go to the Godaddy website and register a .com domain, for example, it's about $10 per year. Not much, granted. But if you can save $3 or $4 in the process, why not take action immediately?
Tip: once you get the domain, you need to also host it somewhere. Since it's something you have to do, no way around it, you might as well buy a package of domain name + hosting, it's cheaper than if you go shopping around on the net finding the best deal. Plus if both are done at the same place, it's easier to get support. Afterall, you want the domain to be yours for a while, since you're in it in the long run, no?
So once again, since this post got pretty long, here is the link to BustAName. Go ahead and play with it :) Did I already say it's free? :)
Having your own website to sell jewellery is a big plus, because you are the sole owner of it, you can do anything you want with it, you don't have to respond to anyone else, but you. If you don't post items 5 times a day, you won't go to the 250th page buried down the line, but you'll still be there for anyone who cares to visit your site. You no longer depend on anyone else.
Plus you can advertise your site much more efficiently, unlike on Etsy (or Dawanda, or any other shop front), where you can't do any SEO management.
If you decide to take the plunge and get out of anonymity, the first thing you need is a domain. A domain is plainly put the name of your site that comes after the http:// part. It is very important that your domain is relevant to what you are doing online, so that Google can index your site fast, and people who are searching for say 'jewelry' will find you right away. Of course, there is more to it, but that is the first step.
If you are selling your handcrafted jewelry, and your domain name is www.discountshoes'.com, well you'll only be seen in Google searches if somebody is looking for 'discount shoes', i.e. shoes on the cheap.
So how do you find a good domain name, relevant to what your business will be, and how you go about actually getting that domain name?
First thing first, you need to search for a domain.
I've found a pretty cool (heck, extremely cool!) free tool that does it all: searches for available domain names based on the keywords (simply put the relevant words that you are interested in, such as jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, artisan jewelry, you get the gist) you enter and it searches the internet for a domain name that is actually free for you to register. For example, you can't just go ahead and get www.jewelry.com, because that is a very sought after word, and that is 110% already taken (haven't actually checked if it's taken, but I am totally confident that it is).
The cool tool is called BustAName, and I urge you to go ahead and just play with it. It's free.
Now, how do you use that tool?
There are two ways to use it.
1. Word Combiner - here you simply enter one at a time your keywords and after each one press Add. As soon as the search program finds an available name based on the words you input, it will list it for you. If you don't like it, add some more words, it will find something.
2. Quick domain check - if you already have some names that you'd want to take, but are not sure if they're available, just type them one at a time, and again, the software will search automatically the internet and let you know instantly if it's available or not. Hm, just tried something, jewelryniche, and the .com domain is gone, but the .org and .info are still available...(hint hint). Make sure that you enter at least 2 or more words that go well together, because you will simply not find any longer domains with 1 word only (say jewelry.com), they're all taken. That's why I said before that I won't even look, coz I know it's long not available anymore.
Now after you've found the domain that you want your website to be located at, next step is to register your domain. I have a domain registered with Godaddy. To be honest, I find it's the best. However, if you've heard of others that you'd like to try, at the bottom right handside of the screen, where it says 'buy domain through', just pull the drop-down menu and you'll see each domain registrar with their prices. Note that the prices are per year. This is how much you will pay per year for your domain.
I already have my Godaddy domain, and I'm sorry I didn't find earlier this tool, because I would have saved myself about $4. If you go to the Godaddy website and register a .com domain, for example, it's about $10 per year. Not much, granted. But if you can save $3 or $4 in the process, why not take action immediately?
Tip: once you get the domain, you need to also host it somewhere. Since it's something you have to do, no way around it, you might as well buy a package of domain name + hosting, it's cheaper than if you go shopping around on the net finding the best deal. Plus if both are done at the same place, it's easier to get support. Afterall, you want the domain to be yours for a while, since you're in it in the long run, no?
So once again, since this post got pretty long, here is the link to BustAName. Go ahead and play with it :) Did I already say it's free? :)
Saturday, 22 November 2008
Digging for gold! A nifty little ebook on keyword searching
Lol, that's the title of the ebook indeed. I had a chuckle when I saw it.I love it when I find interesting tools that are originally targeted towards something else, but I can then use them for my own purposes. Like this ebook.
Digging for Gold is an ebook written by a Google geek (yeah, he knows what he's talking about) on how to find keywords - and I mean the really good keywords - with less or no competition at all. It's original taget market is the Internet Market niche, however we can nicely utilise it for our jewelry marketing as well. How?
Well if you're making jewelry, you have to market it somehow. Yes, you might say, I'm only selling through Etsy, Dawanda, Ebay, etc. Well then, ok, read no further :)
There are those of us though, who have either our websites, or blogs, or both, maybe our Squidoo lenses, that we want people to find us. Heck we need to sell our jewelry, that's whay we're here in the first place, no? We're not going to sell that jewelry to other jewelry makers, obviously, so we need to find our market outside, among the regular folks, who simply are out there to buy stuff. Word of mouth is great, but how much of that population does that comprise? I mean optimizing your website for 'jewelry' will be DARN hard, since if you Google that, you'll find millions (yes millions) of established sites out there selling just that. So you need to be THAT more specific!
Based on Rena Klingenberg's book on social marketing, I've started some Squidoo lenses as well, and it looks like the whole exercise is worth it. But one thing Rena doesn't approach that well is what exact keywords does the average, non hi-tech Jane Doe type in Google, to find some nifty jewelry to buy. Coz unless they know about my Marika's Jewelry on Dawanda, or type in the keywords that I used to set up my site or blog whenever I originally set it up, they might never find it, coz Google might never show it to them, since it doesn't find it relevant for the words the Jane Doe is typing in! What a wasted sale!
The TAKnique book shows you all the various ways to find keywords that people are typing in to find something in Google. Once you know those ways, how long does it take to work a bit on your site and optimize it for those very keywords? Of course, if she types in 'dog food', and you've optimized it as such, but when she gets to your site, you're selling beaded jewelry, she'll run away as fast as her mouse clicks allow her! Got my point? So obviously you need to find keywords around whatever you're selling.
One of my favourite tips was about how Google is lying to you, lol. Had a gigggle at that one!
One thing you need to keep in mind though, is that the book does not approach jewelry! So unlike Rena's book, which is specifically for jewellery, don't expect to be lead by hand on jewelry specific keywords! This guy gives you the techniques, tips and tricks, and it's up to you to apply them to your site. But it's so easy!
Oh I forgot the price. This gold digging book is only $17! I mean you pay for a specific instruction on how to make one piece of jewelry about the same! And yes, if you're asking, I'm advertising this book as it's good!
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