tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9971279114946587242024-03-05T22:48:52.760-05:00Indie CEOAs independent artist, designers, and creatives with our own businesses, we are indeed Indie CEOs. This blog addresses many aspects of small independent businesses from marketing, selling, business organization, blogging, and more.IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-45482046077879904592013-02-06T10:59:00.000-05:002013-02-06T10:59:00.156-05:00Mind Mapping - the Best Entrepreneurial Tool for Creatives…Ever<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDC3j_Rx2zP_NyOtsTPmcvg2XqbfZFZp3bgdP5jNHJaJEBDU6MwRkhm7NwUMs4JWjebAlEW76OUIQeQkg8_53KZUfqqUmGNtswBYu-41F-adwzMjgUmYqz5Bela5YJ5K9Emkteu5zquyw/s1600/Project_Plan1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDC3j_Rx2zP_NyOtsTPmcvg2XqbfZFZp3bgdP5jNHJaJEBDU6MwRkhm7NwUMs4JWjebAlEW76OUIQeQkg8_53KZUfqqUmGNtswBYu-41F-adwzMjgUmYqz5Bela5YJ5K9Emkteu5zquyw/s400/Project_Plan1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Have you ever used <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_mapping" target="_blank">Mind Mapping</a> as a way to "brain dump" all of your ideas onto a surface so you can sort, categorize, prioritize, and pick through them?<br />
<br />
I have known about mind mapping over the years but never explored it until now. It is not only fascinating, but also so very easy for the creative mind to grasp. It actually pushes your creative thought and gives all ideas a place to live!<br />
<br />
I encourage you to try out <a href="http://www.mindmeister.com/?r=42548" target="_blank">Mind Meister</a> - a free online mind mapping tool that also has a pro version if you want a lot of mind maps (you get three maps free).<br />
<br />
But, for me, I only need one for now. I am developing my entire <a href="http://www.gallerialinda.com/" target="_blank">GalleriaLinda </a>jewelry business strategic plan in one map. I find it easy to update it with those "flash ideas" that come to me with no where to go. I keep my mind map open in my browser the entire day and I put those ideas in my mind map for a later think tank session. <br />
<br />
Some of the categories I have created for myself are things that help me dig deep into why I love my <a href="http://www.gallerialinda.com/galleries-all.htm" target="_blank">GalleriaLinda Contemporary Handmade Beaded Jewelry</a> business and ideas to strengthen it:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Why customers buy jewelry</li>
<li>Why Linda makes jewelry</li>
<li>Why Linda sells jewelry</li>
<li>Distribution channels</li>
<li>Online marketing channels</li>
<li>SEO channels</li>
<li>And much more specific to GalleriaLinda!</li>
</ul>
Here is a view of my "in progress" idea board. I have blurred the map (it is not you) due to proprietary information but I wanted you to get the idea that it is OK to be messy, but important to document all your ideas as they come to you!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqVNKroZJJgPrsUKaLRnUrxp2p3HZ1mnkhfiEVgXG_Lcr6ICxUV9RYwg2-BKh2aJKcnA6O0GBmRgiPKR0DNwP61w3WnIATU7bHtbwd7WfHb96PynuZwsTi8r5skekUNYQmxxb_uimBzCM/s1600/GalleriaLinda_Online_Promotion-BLUR.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqVNKroZJJgPrsUKaLRnUrxp2p3HZ1mnkhfiEVgXG_Lcr6ICxUV9RYwg2-BKh2aJKcnA6O0GBmRgiPKR0DNwP61w3WnIATU7bHtbwd7WfHb96PynuZwsTi8r5skekUNYQmxxb_uimBzCM/s320/GalleriaLinda_Online_Promotion-BLUR.png" width="307" /></a></div>
<ul>
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<a href="http://www.mindmeister.com/?r=42548" target="_blank">Check out the MindMeister free mind mapping tool</a> and try it out. This is a perfect way for creative people to develop their business plan or to focus on only one aspect of your business, such a promotion.<br />
<br />
I would love to know what you think if you use it. And, how you use it. Leave some comments!IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-70497417073744642932013-02-02T09:00:00.000-05:002013-02-02T09:05:22.158-05:00Important $6000 Grant for Bridge Jewelry Designer Business<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEick8qsyGjEUkPqJcFFVgzsTyvp75sexwsz4SjDiHunDID3mqFYjrJrLYcZCqS3nWHppTQaF9bxNiSkIIS1DTctBB0G130yaoJBPyK4nM0O8c_Eki2xNHBp6no6bHD2meCk7B_gkRR0Rro/s1600-h/HalsteadBeadGrant.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5291208774163551506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEick8qsyGjEUkPqJcFFVgzsTyvp75sexwsz4SjDiHunDID3mqFYjrJrLYcZCqS3nWHppTQaF9bxNiSkIIS1DTctBB0G130yaoJBPyK4nM0O8c_Eki2xNHBp6no6bHD2meCk7B_gkRR0Rro/s400/HalsteadBeadGrant.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 220px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><b>Update: February 2, 2013</b><br />
<br />
It is time for 2013!! Think about it....getting a grant to start your jewelry business...so fun to dream and bring it to reality.<br />
<br />
Halstead Bead, Inc. awards a business grant to a new jewelry designer in the bridge
segment each summer. The grant awards $6,000 in start-up capital and
merchandise to a new design company.<br />
<br />
If you are starting a new jewelry
design business, please check out the 2013 jewelry grant application and
eligibility details!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/Grant/FAQ.aspx" target="_blank">Get answers to your questions on the Halstead Grant FAQ page.</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/Grant/Application/" target="_blank">Get the Halstead Business Development Grant applicatio</a><br />
<br />
Deadline: Postmarked between April 15 — June 9, 2013.<br />
Winner notification: August 2013 <br />
<br />
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br />
<b> Original post from January 14, 2009</b><br />
<br />
Have you ever thought about applying for a jewelry business grant? Anything is possible! The more you apply to, the better chance you have. If you qualify for this grant, it is time to get your application submitted.<br />
<br />
Applications are due between April 15 and June 17, 2009 and focus on <b><i>business skills</i></b> as much as <b><i>design talent</i></b>. The jewelry design business they are looking for is one that creates "<b><i>bridge jewelry</i></b>."<br />
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<div>
<div>
"<i>Bridge jewelry spans the gap between fine jewelry and costume jewelry. Bridge items are high quality accessories that can be worn every day. Primary materials are silver, copper, gold composite products, crystal and semi-precious stones such as lapis, onyx, turquoise, malachite, quartz, freshwater pearls etc. Bridge work can be strung beadwork or castings."</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant/Index.html"><span style="font-size: 180%;">Halstead Bead Grant Announcement</span></a><b><span style="font-size: 130%;">Call for Entries! Halstead Bead Sponsors $6,000 Jewelry Business Development Grant Prescott, AZ – January, 2009</span></b> –<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">Halstead Bead, Inc. is calling for entries to its fourth annual Business Development Grant competition for new American jewelry designers entering the bridge jewelry trade. The grant will be awarded to a winning candidate in August. The winner of the 2009 Grant will receive $6,000 in cash and merchandise as well as other benefits. All finalists will be eligible for a mentorship program that matches new designers with established and successful jewelry entrepreneurs.<br /><br />The Halstead Bead Business Development Grant differs from other jewelry industry competitions and awards because of its emphasis on business skills. Entrants must demonstrate not only extraordinary design, but also a strong business strategy. The application experience promotes the business planning required to make a jewelry brand commercially viable at the national level in today’s competitive market.<br /><br />Designers utilizing a wide variety of fabrication techniques including casting, lampworking, precious metal clay, beading, or metalsmithing are eligible to enter the competition. Candidates must be US citizens who began their businesses after January 1, 2006. Their design companies must focus on “bridge” jewelry which is the segment between costume jewelry and fine jewelry that includes accessories in sterling silver, semi-precious stones, crystal, freshwater pearls and other similar materials.<br /><br />Complete application details can be found at </span><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant"><span style="font-size: 85%;">www.halsteadbead.com/grant</span></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">.<br />Candidates must submit a design portfolio, business plan, resume and answers to several questions. Applications must be received between April 15 and June 17, 2009. The grant website also includes several helpful articles on launching a national jewelry brand as well as information on past winners and finalists. Previous grant winners include </span><a href="http://www.bridglandstudios.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 85%;">Bridgland Studios</span></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">, </span><a href="http://www.bellebrooke.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 85%;">Belle Brooke Designs</span></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">, and </span><a href="http://www.anandakhalsa.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 85%;">Ananda Khalsa</span></a><span style="font-size: 85%;">.<br /><br />The grant sponsor, Halstead Bead, Inc., is one of North America’s leading jewelry supply importers and distributors. The firm was established in 1973 and now supplies thousands of component resellers and jewelry manufacturers around the globe. Halstead Bead, Inc. is wholesale only and sells findings, chain, wire, sheet & beads for the bridge jewelry segment in sterling silver, gold filled, copper, freshwater pearls, gemstones, glass and Crystallized Swarovski Elements. </span></div>
<br />
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~~end of announcement ~~</div>
<a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/Grant"></a><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant/Application.html"></a><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant/Tips.html"></a><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant/FAQ.html"></a><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant/Resources.html"></a><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant/Press_Release.html"></a><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant/About.html"></a><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant/2008_Results.html"></a><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant/2007_Results.html"></a><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant/2006_Results.html"></a><a href="http://www.halsteadbead.com/grant/Press_Coverage.html"></a><a href="http://www.bridglandstudios.com/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"></a></div>
</div>
IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-65644754325001734772012-09-26T11:24:00.001-04:002012-09-26T11:26:43.104-04:00You're Gonna Have to Stand Out from the Crowd<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr multilinks-noscroll="true"><td multilinks-noscroll="true" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDMl4hPCkvogOLcm4z4eDmfrA1eNw2VvBOw3Bx_zz5NjGIB1HlYcA3ChrE5-ZuC8mJslEmUUBh_bL5tYBDypWJha-zjhorl1juMKzC8qCwFq_s1Iv9mvPUt1kwU6Vm_cZkBV9Ci-gRxV4/s1600/crochetbull.jpg" imageanchor="1" multilinks-noscroll="true" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDMl4hPCkvogOLcm4z4eDmfrA1eNw2VvBOw3Bx_zz5NjGIB1HlYcA3ChrE5-ZuC8mJslEmUUBh_bL5tYBDypWJha-zjhorl1juMKzC8qCwFq_s1Iv9mvPUt1kwU6Vm_cZkBV9Ci-gRxV4/s400/crochetbull.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dec. 27, 2010 - NYC’s Polish-born Agata Olek<br />
hit up the Wall Street Bull and encapsulated it inside crocheted neon.<br />
<a href="http://cnnmon.ie/fBS1Iv">http://cnnmon.ie/fBS1Iv</a> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Holiday Marketing 2012: The holidays are upon
is – can you believe it? And, it is still September! Every year, the frenzy starts earlier as savvy businesses
want to be the very first in front of you for marketing their products.<br /><br />With the exploding number of Internet businesses of all sizes, a buyer can find any product they want
online. For those of us with very small businesses run by us, solopreneurs, or by limited
staff, the din of our competitor’s “buy
me, buy me” can be overwhelming. Now, in September, is the time to work out
the plan to market our products online and off.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />I cannot give you a plan specific to your business to follow. You will need to study your competition, your targeted buyer
demographic, your distribution channels, and your goals for your business.<br /><br />However, I can give you some strategic ideas on how to approach your holiday buyers.
You might want to ask yourself these thoughtful questions:</span></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Why is my product
special or better that my competition’s? Or is it?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Would I want to buy
my product over my competition’s product? If so, why? If not, why?</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What extras can I
offer my targeted buyer this holiday season? Could that be an extra free service,
free gift wrap, or other? What would be valuable to them?</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What would be a
trigger for my targeted buyer to seal the deal? Price? Design? Extras? Usefulness?
Quality? Local? </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What are the
challenges that my targeted buyer faces during the holiday rush? How can I
solve that problem for them?</span></span></li>
</ul>
Answer these questions and you will have an outline of your core marketing strategy. From there, craft your marketing message to include these points and get the message out there!<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span multilinks-noscroll="true">By the way, to add to my own holiday strategies, in addition to <a href="http://icraft.ca/gallerialinda" multilinks-noscroll="true" target="_blank">GalleriaLinda's iCraft.ca shop</a>, I have reopened <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/gallerialinda" multilinks-noscroll="true" target="_blank">GalleriaLinda's jewelry shop on Etsy</a>. Please take a look! I am loading in over the next two weeks so please check back. </span></span></span></div>
IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-84190071073130256352012-07-18T10:27:00.000-04:002012-07-18T10:27:00.115-04:00When Your Blog Goes "Poof" - It Can Happen To You!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrSOeW02yQpNU4vLXP16EHKazEu7SWiG1NV7KmVRuF8r9mkXLjUPcAoAtC6i4DokdOTy0ZJEOD3gh39EOQ97DmxY5Jftj83Ekic5PyuMPLiE8nhuKr2IWKGA8RPwP2bbEWsN1z3FScdI/s1600/FIRECRKR.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="When your blog goes poof - it can happen to you." border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPrSOeW02yQpNU4vLXP16EHKazEu7SWiG1NV7KmVRuF8r9mkXLjUPcAoAtC6i4DokdOTy0ZJEOD3gh39EOQ97DmxY5Jftj83Ekic5PyuMPLiE8nhuKr2IWKGA8RPwP2bbEWsN1z3FScdI/s400/FIRECRKR.png" title="" width="328" /></a></div>
Earlier this year, I opened my browser and went to this blog. Horrified, I found a message that said the blog had been deleted! I was stunned and I tried to log into the blog's back office but to no avail.<br />
<br />
Frantically trying to find some sort of Blogger tech support (there is none), I ended up in a Blogger forum and posted my problem. <br />
<br />
The moderator was quite helpful and said that there are times that the Google bot will erroneously tag a blog as a spam blog or as a blog that is breaking the TOS, none of which this blog fit. He started the Blogger reinstatement process for me to get the blog back online.<br />
<br />
I was livid as the days went by and no blog. I knew my scant traffic would be non-existent when I finally did have a blog again. And, my ads would be totally trashed.<br />
<br />
It took almost two weeks to get it back online. Even then, I had a lot of work to do to make certain links and widgets got back to working, do some things to get a little traffic back online, and then to jump-start the Project Wonderful ads again.<br />
<br />
When a blog goes down, the decline in traffic, rankings, klout, and everything else beneficial is quick and very tedious to get back when it is back online.<br />
<br />
This was an eye-opener. Of course, we don't think this will ever happen to us, but since we are using a free blog platform, we are at the mercy of the owners of that platform.<br />
<br />
Since that day, I have been working on a self-hosted blog. Work is slow as I have a day job, but soon I will be able to control the fate of my own blog on my own web hosting.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmabwV72wQH5aqNBgupgklkBiggD-063gxJRKo6fq1Mk0cUE7-hv1_uD8745mIGmU0uNuat1_PEiTxmB1Ba57EqWMQUi9GYPQknwduJSbUBQZ1Ooi0Cn0019Ma1R2giUlQR-VBuCg2XeU/s1600/CreativeWebBizLogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="www.creativewebbiz.com" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmabwV72wQH5aqNBgupgklkBiggD-063gxJRKo6fq1Mk0cUE7-hv1_uD8745mIGmU0uNuat1_PEiTxmB1Ba57EqWMQUi9GYPQknwduJSbUBQZ1Ooi0Cn0019Ma1R2giUlQR-VBuCg2XeU/s1600/CreativeWebBizLogo.png" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://creativewebbiz.com/services/make-a-wordpress-website/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Free Tutorial to Install a Wordpress Self-Hosted Blog!</span></span></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I took a FREE ecourse on how to install a Wordpress blog onto my own web hosting from <a href="http://creativewebbiz.com/services/make-a-wordpress-website/" target="_blank">CreativeWebBiz.com. </a>The lessons were so easy and step-by-step that the installing onto my web hosting amazingly simple. Check it out if you want to go that way for your blog.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, just be aware that this happens all the time. If you use your blog for income in any way, it is smart to create your own self-hosted blog.IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-32138127659855053792012-07-14T14:48:00.004-04:002012-07-14T14:55:27.729-04:00Tips for Branding Your Online Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX5hWt8kCOjFokLGAnszmQM89BF7kCm4jGB_GliwrAy9sGfFPeEj7qzYASn6oghMl65eHqpG9d_EB7CE0saOhF-3PqA6bYGzkb_PV6HYIEIfqKvrUwXIPSMy5ksFbGjLS-7ItCn2HAtik/s1600/Ready2Mail-sq2-72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX5hWt8kCOjFokLGAnszmQM89BF7kCm4jGB_GliwrAy9sGfFPeEj7qzYASn6oghMl65eHqpG9d_EB7CE0saOhF-3PqA6bYGzkb_PV6HYIEIfqKvrUwXIPSMy5ksFbGjLS-7ItCn2HAtik/s400/Ready2Mail-sq2-72.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
A lot of us started our handmade businesses from humble beginnings of creating items for ourselves, family, and friends. After much encouragement from this group, we took the plunge into the world of online selling.<br />
<br />
With so many handmade/supplies/vintage selling venues available today, it is no wonder that we might be watering down our own brand and not even know it. We should not brand our business with the name of the venue where our products are at this time. This can change over the years.<br />
<br />
Why have a brand? Why protect that brand? Branding a business is one of the most important strategic marketing tasks that you can do.<br />
<br />
A brand is your reputation, your recognition, and the soul of your company. It is that split-second understanding of who you are and what you do. It matters not if your business is "just" a hobby business - if you are selling online, you will benefit from a brand.<br />
<br />
A brand can consist of the name of your business, a logo, and/or a byline motto, slogan, tag line. As your business grows, your brand becomes your reputation.Your brand can be known for excelling customer service or stellar quality. A brand is more than a logo. It can be the essence of your business practices.<br />
<br />
The most important thing with growing your brand, is consistent use of your brand at all times and in all ways.<br />
<br />
Here are some tips for you about branding your handmade business:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Create a visual </b>that resonates with your business name and/or product. This can be your business name in fancy fonts, iconic logos, or a tag line that you consistently use.</li>
<li>Once you create your visual - <b>use it everywhere,</b> such as on your online banners for your shops, banners for your networking pages, business cards, avatar, blog headers, packaging, invoices, signs at craft shows, etc...</li>
<li>If you choose to use <b>a tag line, use it always </b>when you use your business name. An example, would be "Susie's Pet Apparel - for Stylish Pets Everywhere!" </li>
<li>If you send out press releases on new products or other business news, be sure to be <b>consistent with your brand decisions</b>.</li>
<li><b>Purchase a domain name with your brand name</b> and point it to your venue shop. This is very important to use YOUR domain name in all your branding efforts and not the links to the venue shop. </li>
<li><b>Use YOUR custom domain link in all your materials</b>, online, and business cards. </li>
<li>Another tip is to <b>create your domain name with words that tells us what you are all about</b>. An example of what not to do is my domain (LOL) - gatllerialinda.com - I need to change this because it tells us nothing. It would be better as GalleriaLindaHandmadeJewelry.com instead. </li>
<li> If you have your own website, utilized consistency with your strategic brand decisions. </li>
</ul>
I read a lot of forums on several of the most popular handmade selling venues. I always see that some sellers are branding the venue and not their shop. Your venue shop is just a rental space and is not "yours." You want people to search for YOU and not just find you accidentally through the venue. Your business is who you are and what you do, so brand your business - not the venue. <br />
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These tips just scratch the surface of branding your business but is the most basic start to a good relationship with your business!IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-60753875040672144902012-06-20T08:04:00.000-04:002012-06-20T13:08:34.577-04:00We Seem to Have it Backwards - We Must Find Our Own Online Traffic<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JFzk28-at1nfiKQsmhrgUy3rmNFZFAkFIqyxsZJY1nlqCf_QCqwdxgAM0xtzDFTrcMaOzYeRb_7B2dKw9LVxndY18UbZ7I_Fz6QV_HFMAOFvLKVw6qTfOpzg-TvvPGgdWQ7ybRtaJT4/s1600/inbound-marketing.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0JFzk28-at1nfiKQsmhrgUy3rmNFZFAkFIqyxsZJY1nlqCf_QCqwdxgAM0xtzDFTrcMaOzYeRb_7B2dKw9LVxndY18UbZ7I_Fz6QV_HFMAOFvLKVw6qTfOpzg-TvvPGgdWQ7ybRtaJT4/s640/inbound-marketing.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr align="right"><td class="tr-caption">Infographic from SEOmoz</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;">We seem to have it backwards! Most of us that sell online on Etsy, Zibbet, Artfire, Shopify, Bonanza, and a zillion other selling venues - we have it wrong.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;">So many times I see in forums that there are no views, asking what they are doing wrong, and wondering when the traffic will kick in. "Build it and they will come" is not what happens online. You have to work at it hard and consistently if you want to reap the benefits of traffic.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;">It is OUR responsibility to drive traffic to our own shops or our own websites. The venues will bring a certain amount of traffic, but it is like thousands of people milling around a mall and your shop is way back in a dark corner.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I found an excellent article titled </span><a href="http://www.johnfdoherty.com/11-ways-drive-gobs-traffic-website/#" target="_blank"><i><span style="font-size: small;">11 Ways to Drive Gobs of Traffic to Your Website</span></i></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.johnfdoherty.com/11-ways-drive-gobs-traffic-website/#" target="_blank"> </a>by <b style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.johnfdoherty.com/about-john/" rel="author" title="Posts by John Doherty">John Doherty</a></b><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> that you should read. John is a professional SEO consultant and a photographer. He was pleased for me to share this with you! The article covers all aspects of how to get traffic to your site: </span></b></span></span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Search </span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Email marketing</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Content marketing</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Social networks</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Webinars</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Q&A sites</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Direct, referring links</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Forums</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Video</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Comment marketing</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Blogging</span></b></span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">News, PR </span></b></span></span></li>
</ul>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Not all on this list will be appropriate for everyone, however, if you take four of them and work it, you can see rewards. This is such a great overview of all the opportunities that you have to bring people to your sites! </span></b></span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="post-meta" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://gallerialindashowcase.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Be sure to visit my other blog GalleriaLinda Showcase for a variety of posts about jewelry and life! </span></a></b></span></span></div>IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-29004517936273388852012-06-16T09:03:00.001-04:002012-06-16T11:42:02.985-04:00A Point of View<div class="separator" multilinks-noscroll="true" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqjPOG6z0P_70TUV0_IGyJHJVlBEzqE7Pt_-pk3JYo_yLHSkQj2I8HE2sDuxIweZYj2ogHDhk8c9psv2o69nKzKJkA1e3HwueWZT253hyhDLDuSkot1bBg0vQPf7J9E88vyZYn4KE6zQ/s1600/23_DGM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" multilinks-noscroll="true" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3EsYW_t_ZOMgAOGBku_WQ3VLmEWb-7NvtKoK-xzsKYg5Ays08cxpdNxouoQ_O_0EGWM4_c_Lc0iiXBMyuS8Gw-B8_B_LFnma2TczLoyVjAPwX0yw_kpTEmD-wJTJFfedkWH5MAi3NDA/s1600/GalleriaLinda-necklaces-earrings.jpg" imageanchor="1" multilinks-noscroll="true" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3EsYW_t_ZOMgAOGBku_WQ3VLmEWb-7NvtKoK-xzsKYg5Ays08cxpdNxouoQ_O_0EGWM4_c_Lc0iiXBMyuS8Gw-B8_B_LFnma2TczLoyVjAPwX0yw_kpTEmD-wJTJFfedkWH5MAi3NDA/s400/GalleriaLinda-necklaces-earrings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Have you ever watched Project Runway? (My favorite TV Show)!<br />
<br />
It is a challenge for fashion designers, who are given specific criteria each week to produce the best fashion creations. Recognized industry leaders and designers judge the efforts to come up with a winner.<br />
<br />
Throughout each week, the term "point-of-view" is used. It is important to each designer to clearly state their fashion point-of-view through their creations.<br />
<br />
I have pondered that for a while, as I never heard that term relative to design work. However, I have come to the conclusion that the term helps us to understand and to define who we are as artists and designers. Our work needs to shout out that point-of-view.<br />
<br />
<div multilinks-noscroll="true">
We each have a unique style. I remember one of the greatest compliments I ever had about my jewelry was someone saying "I knew that necklace was GalleriaLinda!" At the time, I did not consider that the person had recognized <a href="http://icraft.ca/gallerialinda" multilinks-noscroll="true" target="_blank">GalleriaLinda's Handmade Jewelry design point-of-view.</a></div>
<br />
This all plays into your marketing message. Think in terms of your own point-of-view in art and design. In your marketing, tell people about what makes you unique and what makes your creations recognizable as your unique work. Not features and benefits, but true design uniqueness.<br />
<br />
How would you explain your own design point-of-view? Step back and look
at your work. Likely, there is a unique style that emerges. Start writing down
keywords to describe that style. Not all keywords will fit all of your products, but you know what you want to attain in each design. <br />
<br />
For example, the keywords I would use for my <a href="http://www.gallerialinda.com/" target="_blank">GalleriaLinda handmade jewelry designs </a>are:<br />
<ul>
<li>Chunky</li>
<li>Contemporary</li>
<li>Modernist</li>
<li>Minimalist</li>
<li>Colorful</li>
<li>Geometric</li>
<li>Vintage beads & components</li>
</ul>
This point-of-view will evolve and change over the years and so should your marketing message!IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-42836100673804890142012-06-12T09:25:00.000-04:002012-06-12T09:25:02.716-04:00Color Inspiration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxxj-4ZRzkdO1_Jhma66fAtiMiEoporAqDc58IUE-JSsgzkYjNFAUfUgvCxMx53Kh26lFBriGYvH323xu_3CeeVdmMGAc4N11LN6hh7w2-Shynq6bqbi-0AhSGq1bhMNi6A9apZydfkI/s1600/pinterest-com-Color+Palettes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="GalleriaLinda Handmade Jewelry Design Process" border="0" height="181" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxxj-4ZRzkdO1_Jhma66fAtiMiEoporAqDc58IUE-JSsgzkYjNFAUfUgvCxMx53Kh26lFBriGYvH323xu_3CeeVdmMGAc4N11LN6hh7w2-Shynq6bqbi-0AhSGq1bhMNi6A9apZydfkI/s400/pinterest-com-Color+Palettes.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
As artists, designers, and artisans, we all find inspiration in many places and from many things. I am an avid Pinterest surfer and it recently dawned on me that when I see these vibrant and gorgeous photos and pictures, I think in terms of beads!<br />
<br />
For each one of these photos, I can envision lovely jewelry with rich bead colors. So, I started a board just for "Color Palettes" that I can view to start the design process. Each of the photos or items are gorgeous in their own merit and their beauty does not escape me for what they are. After squinting at them (yes, squinting! A technique to get the strategic look) I see clearly the color palette.<br />
<br />
Try it! Then go design your artistic creations from this inspiration. And, follow <a href="http://pinterest.com/gallerialinda" target="_blank">GalleriaLinda Handmade Jewelry on Pinterest!</a><br />
<br />
For great <a href="http://www.zibbet.com/gallerialinda" target="_blank">vintage beads, Czech glass beads, be sure to stop by GalleriaLinda's Bead Shop.</a><br />
<br />
<br />IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-88006469891810884212011-12-31T11:17:00.000-05:002011-12-31T15:33:16.356-05:00Be Real!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhxJDZL1mqKmezVlzZvIBXN4IFPX7SfVztt180uGSOx9t3zffX3Nic2gyPkv3vIKdcuN1WiDUVAOWdGPz94EJ4VBnrSa-NwyKXkw1H2dPTnSyiLzAtGCe75j132hf7MiVoBpURIJj89k/s1600/aaa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLhxJDZL1mqKmezVlzZvIBXN4IFPX7SfVztt180uGSOx9t3zffX3Nic2gyPkv3vIKdcuN1WiDUVAOWdGPz94EJ4VBnrSa-NwyKXkw1H2dPTnSyiLzAtGCe75j132hf7MiVoBpURIJj89k/s400/aaa.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
It is the new year and the traditional time to review the past business year so we can look forward to a successful new year for our handmade and artisan businesses.<br />
<br />
This is not going to be a post about making strategic plans, updating your business plan, or other brain-twisting exercises to implement.<br />
<br />
It is a post about reality.<br />
<br />
I am, by day, a strategic marketing communications professional, who works with small businesses to help them push forward with their branding and market recognition. The core component to my consultation is.....reality.<br />
<br />
Be real with your expectations of your business and the expectations of your customers. From there, all else falls into place.<br />
<br />
I could stop there and leave you with that wise message, but I will explain a bit to grab this concept.<br />
<br />
<b>Be Real with YOUR Expectations of Your Business</b><br />
Take an audit of what you do within your business framework. For example:<br />
<ul>
<li>How much time did you give to your business last year:</li>
<li>How much time do you have to give to your business in reality?</li>
<li>How much money did you put back into your business last year?</li>
<li>How much money do you really have to put into your business?</li>
</ul>
If these are out-of-balance, you should readjust your thinking and expectations.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Time and money may make a business.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> But, it is HOW you spend your time and money that makes success! </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<b>Be Real About the Expectations of Your Customers</b><br />
You should know your customers well enough by now to know what they expect from you. If you have sold one, two, or 202 items, you can see a trend.<br />
<ul>
<li>Much of what customers expect from you is driven by you! </li>
<li>Now is the time to figure out if your customer interaction and service process is working best for both of you.</li>
<li> If not, change it so it works best for the customer AND for you. </li>
</ul>
The expectations of your customers are set by your communication messages and your actions. What do you tell them? (policies, shop announcements, advertising, blogs, etc...) And, what do you actually do? (shipping times, quality of goods, exchanges, packaging, etc...)<br />
<br />
Once you align your expectations for yourself based upon realty with the expectations of your customers through communications, there will be much smoother sailing in 2012.<br />
<br />
Seek out small business owners who exhibit this balance. Network with them and let them share with you how they do it!<br />
<br />
Let's make 2012 the year of balance and being real. Best to you all for 2012!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-79104022376958597802011-07-24T12:11:00.004-04:002011-07-24T13:08:08.192-04:00Do I Really Need Social Networking for My Artisan or Handmade Online Shop?<div style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTf-PYV-vhp1pCn-SK9XddJdH-J9ImvChFMaYynuILxNT0xYvpTNAjLoYfnl3O-ijX4koGFinsAeb1RQCdkBRA-L9kVomOq42RljMjkNsCTnTImIhIueUBEHT2g0NX2VrWeLT_p-gz3a0/s1600/SHAKE-heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTf-PYV-vhp1pCn-SK9XddJdH-J9ImvChFMaYynuILxNT0xYvpTNAjLoYfnl3O-ijX4koGFinsAeb1RQCdkBRA-L9kVomOq42RljMjkNsCTnTImIhIueUBEHT2g0NX2VrWeLT_p-gz3a0/s200/SHAKE-heart.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" multilinks-noscroll="true" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" multilinks-noscroll="true" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span multilinks-noscroll="true" style="font-size: small;">As a follow-up to an IndieCEO post on social networking, "<a href="http://indieceo.blogspot.com/2009/06/social-networking-time-waster-or.html" multilinks-noscroll="true">Social Networking: Time Waster or Business Builder...</a>," I received a couple of excellent questions from <b multilinks-noscroll="true" style="color: magenta;"><a href="http://infusedxmoments.silkfair.com/" multilinks-noscroll="true">Infused Moments</a>.</b> <i><b>Be sure to check out her very cute shop!</b></i></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" multilinks-noscroll="true" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span multilinks-noscroll="true" style="font-size: small;">In my original post referenced above, I talked about networking sites like ning, IndiePublic, and other handmade and artist communities outside of Facebook and Twitter. <a href="http://infusedxmoments.silkfair.com/" multilinks-noscroll="true">Infused Moments</a> asks:</span></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>What about social networking sites like Twitter? Would that be a good one to have and maintain?</span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>What if you have an account on one of these social networking sites, could you just use that one or should you create a whole new one that is all about your online store? </span></li>
</ul><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>What kinds of edits should you make everyday on your networking sites? Like about sales, new products, etc..??</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="font-size: small;">This may be a long blog article but it is important information to consider, especially if you are new to online selling and social networking.</span></b></i></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>Overview </b></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">As an overview, I present these marketing subjects from a strategic level, since that is my profession. However, there are many articles on the web that discuss the tactical efforts for social networking and specifically for Twitter and Facebook for handmade. Search and you will find some great and useful information. A good start is to search on <a href="http://handmadeology.com/">handmadeology.com</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is important to look at your business from a strategic, big-picture viewpoint. It is the difference between being in the <i style="color: black;"><b style="background-color: white;">clouds </b></i>or being in the <i><b>weeds</b></i>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">If we step back and look at the big picture of what we are doing with social networking, how much time it takes away from creating, and how it might affect our overall sales in the future (<i><b>clouds</b></i>), we can decide what to do on a daily basis to get each individual sale (<i><b>weeds</b></i>).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Social networking accounts on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/gallerialinda">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/gallerialinda">Facebook</a>, and <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/lindaharrell">LinkedIn </a>have come to be expected for a business presence, both in the handmade community and in the corporate community. When our market niche expects something, we need to be there no matter the level of activity. I would suggest that a handmade shop needs to be branded on these sites with at least account profiles for business pages, even if consistent participation is not possible.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;"><b>Business or Personal?</b></span></span></div><ul><li><i><b><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span>What if you have an account (personal) on one of these social networking sites, could you just use that one or should you create a whole new one that is all about your online store? </span></b></i></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because the strategic objective is to brand your business shop and bring in “likes” and followers within your targeted customer base, your “business” activities need to be in your “business” name. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">There is nothing wrong with inviting your personal friends to like and follow your business pages/networks and there is nothing wrong with deploying business information through your personal channels to a small degree. However, keeping your business just that…..business, is the professional way to manage your shop’s branding. It also allows you to actually target your niche customer demographics. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">In other words, if you make cute widgettes for young women in the 19 to 26 age range, then those are the people you need to find online and bring them into your networks. If you make children’s items, find the decision makers - moms - and participate in “mommy” networks.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another example is that of my <a href="http://www.icraft.ca/gallerialinda">GalleriaLinda brand handmade jewelry</a>, I know that my buyers tend to be in the 30 to 60 age range and are usually career women or highly active in local communities. I have joined several online networks for local businesses and career women because that is where I will find this demographic.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;"><b>Which Network is Best to Start?</b></span> </span></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><i><b>What about social networking sites like Twitter? Would that be a good one to have and maintain? </b></i></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is my opinion that Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are the first and best strategic networking sites to have a profile account because these accounts are expected by consumers when they discover your business. They want to go somewhere online to find out the whole story. If you have a <a href="http://www.gallerialinda.com/">branded website like my GalleriaLinda Jewelry website</a>, they will look for that first. If not, then they will go to these others. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Consider your profile on these accounts as a mini-business card that, depending upon the site, can expand into your mini-brochure. This will provide branding SEO and can bring in friends and followers from your niche community of sellers and buyers.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you had to only choose one, my opinion is to have a business page on Facebook. Facebook provides a platform for you to have a mini-network all your own.Many selling venues have Facebook page code so you can even sell from your Facebook account. You can interact with people, invite them to like, and generally be the friendly chatty shopkeeper, while branding your business and nurturing potential customer relationships.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Twitter is a good way to get your links in front of a lot of people quickly, especially if you use hashtags. If you send out a tweet about a new listing with a link, just put #handmade or #yoursellingvenue to push your link out to hundreds of others over and above your own numbers of followers. Just be mindful of the 140 character limit. Twitter is social so be sure to "talk" to others to nurture relationships, comment on their links and retweet information.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" multilinks-noscroll="true" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span multilinks-noscroll="true" style="font-size: small;">With shop RSS feeds, you can set up feeds to Facebook and Twitter so every time you list one or two items, it feeds automatically to both with links to your item. Pretty nifty! I use <a href="http://www.twitterfeed.com/" multilinks-noscroll="true">http://www.twitterfeed.com</a> that can feed to a variety of networks. There are others as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" multilinks-noscroll="true" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span multilinks-noscroll="true" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" multilinks-noscroll="true" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span multilinks-noscroll="true" style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #134f5c; font-size: large;"><b>Why Update Profiles?</b></span></span></div><ul><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span><i><b>What kinds of edits should you make every d<span style="background-color: white;"></span>ay on your networking sites? Like about sales, new products, etc..??</b></i></span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I talk about updating your profiles frequently, this is to make sure that your profiles and branding are more SEO friendly to come up in searches. Google loves new content and ranks it higher than stale content with no activity or change. Any minor change you make to the content or by switching out photos refreshes it and deploys it out into Internet land one more time.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you are active on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you will not need to update your profile itself if you are tweeting and posting, which is your updated content. If you are inactive, then it is a good idea to tend to your profile once a week.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is an SEO strategy to be found more readily online and in searches. These updates can be minor tweaks, a series of planned tag lines you switch out, an introduction to a new type product, or just a mention of what you are working on and when customers can expect to see them in your shop. It does not need to be extensive – replacing a sentence or an avatar or photo is fine. Consistency is the key. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;"><b>Conclusion!</b></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Now for the big question that we all want to know!</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Will these social networking sites bring in sales? </span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The quick nutshell answer is….yes and no. It depends!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">It depends on so many variables, such as your product, your followers’ demographics, and your consistent network activity. Many sellers say they do get sales through Twitter and Facebook and they work them hard. The key is having people follow you who are interested enough in your product to buy in the first place (your niche customer demographic). And THAT is the puzzle.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thank you <a href="http://infusedxmoments.silkfair.com/">Infused Moments</a> for the great questions that can help all of us! </span></div>IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-18936583317606770902011-03-16T13:12:00.000-04:002011-03-16T13:12:37.551-04:00Pricing Your Handmade Products Can Be Challenging<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cz0vE8ZQmyw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Pricing my <a href="http://www.gallerialinda.com/">Gallerialinda handmade beaded jewelry</a> is often challenging. There are many thing to consider, such as hard costs of materials, time, markup for retail, and a phantom price that the market will bear. So, your costs + time + markup may not equal price that sells the item.<br />
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Usually, after figuring out my whole cost formula, I will then search the Internet for similar items using similar materials to see what is listed and if I can, research what has been sold (although some venues will not show the sold price). From there I will throw a dart at the board and come up with a price that I think is market-friendly.<br />
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Here is a great video from Dr. David Weiman on pricing your jewelry. It will translate to any handmade item you create and is worth viewing. He makes a case that artisan, handcrafted jewelry makers should charge more for their jewelry, because the right buyers will pay more for it.<br />
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It is all about marketing to your specific buyer that loves artisan products. That is the key!IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-68267345461995336892011-01-01T10:46:00.001-05:002011-01-01T10:47:18.076-05:00Strategic Trends for Online Selling and Handmade Communities for 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSc3R2MWOnHWsWqNQXJhgHSgn3V5__dCyCgRwW6m2qSgtOCUPFGyW6_QN2syet218O97wyRs4PW-jAYQZsAB45M2fAZZClMc_bi6lS2oi8G7SNJJlSQGf06Ix5MNAKtE57O0ab-dm2Eo0/s1600/023_DG3+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSc3R2MWOnHWsWqNQXJhgHSgn3V5__dCyCgRwW6m2qSgtOCUPFGyW6_QN2syet218O97wyRs4PW-jAYQZsAB45M2fAZZClMc_bi6lS2oi8G7SNJJlSQGf06Ix5MNAKtE57O0ab-dm2Eo0/s320/023_DG3+copy.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>Everyone is talking "trends" these days. The new year always brings about predictions and opinions on what our world will look like and how our business will fare in the coming year.<br />
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Here are some specific strategic trends that relate to online sellers and the handmade community as "solopreneurs." You can read the enhanced article with details on <a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/12/29/hottest-trends/">FoxBusiness.com</a><a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2010/12/29/hottest-trends/">.</a><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;"><b>Wishing you a profitable 2011! </b></span></div><ol><li><b>Organic, green initiatives</b> and renewable energy will continue to be among the hottest investments and trends.</li>
<li>Financing will continue to be difficult into 2011; most small business will turn to non-bank asset-based lending and pay more on the amount borrowed. <b>Lenders will screen out businesses that don't have a solid business model.</b> </li>
<li>Unemployment will continue to rise. <b>Small businesses will continue to lead innovation in the marketplace</b>.</li>
<li>More Fortune 500 companies will <b>market to women specifically</b>. </li>
<li>The <b>distinctions between online and offline will become irrelevant</b>. </li>
<li><b>Brands will have to play well with others</b>, as companies have less and less control over how, when, where and with what other products their brands are experienced.</li>
<li>We will need to move from thinking about individual products to <b>thinking about cohesive experiences </b>and must continue the evolution of integrating online and offline brand experiences.</li>
<li>We have to <b>get into the mind of our customers</b> so that we are <b>delivering brand experiences where, when and how they want them.</b> </li>
<li><b>Increase in apps usage</b> as more and consumers use smartphones in their business as well as their personal life. </li>
<li><b>Cloud computing</b> can be a phenomenal innovation for working collaborations to enable solopreneurs and small firms to work in real time to leverage resources with great efficiency. </li>
<li>People will <b>talk less and text and e-mail more</b>.</li>
<li>Solopreneurs who took jobs to survive in 2008 and 2009 will <b>relaunch their practices or other new entrepreneurial endeavors.</b> </li>
<li>The number of networking groups you can join will continue to increase, forcing those <b>groups to be more strategic about their message and the value</b> they provide.</li>
<li>Allowing information seekers to <b>replay webinars and live events</b> at their convenience will continue.</li>
<li>More <b>peer-to-peer business planning</b>. Because of the need for prompt business idea validation and feedback, startups may emerge as key components of business planning for next-generation entrepreneurs. </li>
<li><b>Business plans will start to appear in a more compact and digital form</b>., making them more accessible to potential funders, mentors and potential customers.</li>
</ol>IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-31612387704200809162010-11-28T14:47:00.000-05:002010-11-28T14:47:39.538-05:00New Look - Revamping for 2011 - And New Graphic Resources for You<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhH_htS3Ya8jDcvQO-LSPsIlBUMdiH88pEbHC5oI-NmT9yoZkGCGUiMV7fC8hQcNsS2t-OZ7jeUd-lu7QCIh_RS1FOBCQrcy9Yf91TyZ8LZYw9P9c-htPmRC5l5hFvis4UP63OIgrYAY/s1600/IndieCEO-Avatar-2011-125x125r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLhH_htS3Ya8jDcvQO-LSPsIlBUMdiH88pEbHC5oI-NmT9yoZkGCGUiMV7fC8hQcNsS2t-OZ7jeUd-lu7QCIh_RS1FOBCQrcy9Yf91TyZ8LZYw9P9c-htPmRC5l5hFvis4UP63OIgrYAY/s1600/IndieCEO-Avatar-2011-125x125r.jpg" /></a></div>I have been in an updating mode - a rework of "the plan" for 2011 for all things online: shops, blogs, profiles, etc... Here is IndieCEO's new banner look! I am rethinking shop banners and avatars too. It will take some organization to get all of them changed on all the networking profiles.<br />
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Large corporations will update their logos and look every 5-10 years. Even if they keep the same images, they will freshen them up a bit for a current look.<br />
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With the IndieCEO banner, I wanted to achieve an artistic look, but a current look and a bit edgy. The image of the hands reminds me of potter's hands. The grunge text adds to the edge and the great mix of deep colors contrasting with selected lighting adds drama.<br />
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Here are some free graphic resources I use for all my work and hope you will find some uses for these too!<br />
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There are many <u><b>free fonts </b></u>to be had online but I seem to keep going back to <a href="http://www.fontsquirrel.com/%20">fontsquirrel.com</a> as they always have what I need - quick and easy.<br />
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For <u><b>free textured backgrounds</b></u> - especially the grunge backgrounds, I just love<a href="http://lostandtaken.com/"> LostAndTaken.com</a> and use them frequently.<br />
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For your holiday shopping pleasure, there are <b>new, awesome, "off-the-wall" earring designs in <a href="http://www.zibbet.com/gallerialindaloft">GalleriaLinda's loft shop on Zibbet. And, a 10% off - free US shipping promo too!</a> </b>These are great inexpensive "Secret Santa" gifts gatherings at work, clubs, groups, or church!<br />
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Wishing you a great holiday selling season!<b><br />
</b>IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-59599479323216201162010-11-13T10:12:00.000-05:002010-11-13T10:12:10.512-05:00'Tis the Season to Know Your Customer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OzoZKYuVNC-NY7uotmDFx916N-3wEKEMrAsVuE-INQQVku_j229xv5OSgS5ny-3pycooGXbIUX7xramQL5CIeQ6ZseeBIKYrYFxH1NPp2U0qrrEzZhUjV-EZxG7UNzG4cLyfjJVVZbg/s1600/Customers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9OzoZKYuVNC-NY7uotmDFx916N-3wEKEMrAsVuE-INQQVku_j229xv5OSgS5ny-3pycooGXbIUX7xramQL5CIeQ6ZseeBIKYrYFxH1NPp2U0qrrEzZhUjV-EZxG7UNzG4cLyfjJVVZbg/s400/Customers.jpg" width="348" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We are into the heart of the holiday selling season! Although I am prepared as I can be for my tiny business, it always sneaks up on me. Preparations in July for year-end holidays just seem unnatural, but necessary! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The concept of "knowing your customer" has been introduced many times in this blog, as this is the heart of your business. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><b>To make more sales, you must bring your product to your target customer</b></i> - to where they work, play, and live. Through advertising and exposure direct to those who are interested, you eliminate the waste of effort and money.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="43" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFjjRMdzXOmcVhCXtWhfbjMOFEwT06hgOMcrK7LpKA_CrBkgvm3RHA3JAFsszubIuQmEWx_1SrWdlq6BVKIrrEGHG1U1nOjzc699w9xVq8zusZ__AOV4FGhdLDZByLruIEOLMjSBPMWk63/s400/Zibbet_blog-banner.png" width="400" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i><b><a href="http://www.zibbet.com/blog/2010.11.10/its-10pm-do-you-know-where-your-customer-is">IndieCEO recently wrote a guest post for the Zibbet blog</a></b></i> about this very thing. <i><b>Read more to find out methods you can use to figure out the customer profile for your product. </b></i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div>IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-53829227266544942522010-11-11T14:24:00.000-05:002010-11-11T14:24:22.736-05:00Fun Software Training Even I can Afford<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHzR3Mm1eB7ulzdnQ1yRjxfJj6n0fKCGSMf_aGCp9d6e-kthCvfN9t9hQBqQ4jXuI80np9fH-1KbMxrNiTmxpyAVxNS8wcwvVZFrN4qfEp4ved8UO0A0gMwQmnCt6wAOes1J6o5l7JZTQ/s1600/ITE_058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHzR3Mm1eB7ulzdnQ1yRjxfJj6n0fKCGSMf_aGCp9d6e-kthCvfN9t9hQBqQ4jXuI80np9fH-1KbMxrNiTmxpyAVxNS8wcwvVZFrN4qfEp4ved8UO0A0gMwQmnCt6wAOes1J6o5l7JZTQ/s320/ITE_058.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Oh my. Does software training sound dry and boring to you? Expensive even? Homework-esque? Drudgery?<br />
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Well, I have a resource for you that I have used since the late 90s and just love it. <a href="http://www.lynda.com/">www.Lynda.com</a> has been offering online video training for a long time and is well established. I have watched them grow over the years and am amazed at their current 910 courses.<br />
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Starting out with the basic business and graphic software, they now have a tremendous line-up of expanded titles that touch <i>Selling on eBay</i>, <i>Making Money with Podcasts</i>, and <i>OpenSource.org</i>. There is a treasure-trove of good, fun, video training to be had at Lynda's!<br />
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There are several payment plans but when I get a hankerin' for software training (and...I do), I will pay the $25 monthly fee (no contract) and have fun for a month then stop the subscription. Then, maybe I will pick it up for a month the next year. For that one fee, all 910 training titles are available to YOU!<br />
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If you do it this way, to get the most benefit, you will need to be organized for that one month. I actually schedule "appointments" on my calendar to carve out time to do this. Each course has a <a href="http://www.lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk3=true">course outline that you can view along with free video peeks into certain chapters.</a><br />
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As small businesses, micro-business, and especially us "kitchen-table businesses," it gives us an economical way to keep up-to-date with software and skills that will help us manage our own businesses. It will also make us more marketable in the workplace. <br />
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At Lynda's you can:<br />
– Stay current and keep skills sharp<br />
– Learn innovative and productive techniques<br />
– Access over 910 online courses, 24/7<br />
– Learn from experienced instructors<br />
– Gain confidence and marketability<br />
– Learn at your own pace: Stop, rewind, replay<br />
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Have fun! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilawtQrpZ6Dv80wpgmIX14g6YrJ63nmdH8c-bNUIgezY5YfOzN1BJtyjFpppeGP38i8cIgJwaytO83SY-TPTaErgL8bn0lEfE0CE2ngta8aaheJQ7fQLemF7X-K35fTr84hqsmAPF7aMw/s1600/ITE_077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-85810778950454897922010-11-06T10:23:00.000-04:002010-11-06T10:23:16.385-04:00Art Photography and Editorial Photography<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAyhIH8s5kk_D-yKRUBZIt3HyTLyc6dxKGbBhZPMZbOPkJekTcJY8XgV8Vh4V3GqhABF0yjaPJM_QIdz-ec2e2KLoEyGKI4lKkTsreegHpZZ0qIZmU-q73rfzihnBzKc2_XScJRlXMUY/s1600/John_Evans_Photography_03-weblge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhAyhIH8s5kk_D-yKRUBZIt3HyTLyc6dxKGbBhZPMZbOPkJekTcJY8XgV8Vh4V3GqhABF0yjaPJM_QIdz-ec2e2KLoEyGKI4lKkTsreegHpZZ0qIZmU-q73rfzihnBzKc2_XScJRlXMUY/s400/John_Evans_Photography_03-weblge.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><i>(All photos in this blog post are</i></span><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> ©2010 Copyright John Evans, All Rights Reserved)</span></i></span><br />
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There are many uses for interesting photos and just as many perspectives on how photography should be presented.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlW1sFZPDKcllHh0Hq11SNMtELpyqn4ZRuMZiTmu89BUZI38KClXoyavqCWb0N2MFt94CnAoOzlu5fz_xFCugEYtz1wYTIBczI1PEMvO3HBvEOJU1UnBkNnUH7UTWopPnnq8Uo8w_Q0E/s1600/John_Evans_Photography_02-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlW1sFZPDKcllHh0Hq11SNMtELpyqn4ZRuMZiTmu89BUZI38KClXoyavqCWb0N2MFt94CnAoOzlu5fz_xFCugEYtz1wYTIBczI1PEMvO3HBvEOJU1UnBkNnUH7UTWopPnnq8Uo8w_Q0E/s320/John_Evans_Photography_02-web.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
I wanted to share some great photos from a friend of mine,<a href="http://www.cbcworldwide.com/enhanced/index.php#pt=profile-agent,t=2,ti=Professional%20Profile,loc=%2Fajaxhtmlbin%2Fagent%3Fcbcpersonkey%3DEDG7355059"> John Evans</a>, who is a real estate agent, specializing in Florida land.<br />
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John amazes me with his "eye" for photography that allows him to capture the the real feel and flavor of the land he is presenting. <a href="http://gallerialindashowcase.blogspot.com/2010/10/artistic-photography-from-most-unlikely.html">You can read more about John's photography on the GalleriaLindaShowcase blog</a> and <a href="http://gallerialindashowcase.blogspot.com/2010/11/butterflies-for-fall-for-real.html">view additional photos of John Evans' in this post.</a><br />
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Purists in the art photography community will say that these photos (or any photo) should be able to stand alone on their own with little or no Photoshop editing. I agree that is absolutely the goal for art photography. Art photography presents that highly creative and technically skilled photographer, who has the critcal creative eye for composition and knows how to capture rich colors, lighting, and focus of the subject. Art photography sometimes makes my jaw drop with appreciation of those skills.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvWnKvOkJubCn4R7vmiEv0rPeOu2cJWQ4pdRvgb4TN1kstIx_-JwcfExaWHRI_fJS17VYfIYZGqbiDEQusqELq1-h0jFWIF65mP4m9FVTm8kUiYkTVstxQEHTtl48XXxBbghoKl2SA4q8/s1600/John_Evans_Photography_01-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvWnKvOkJubCn4R7vmiEv0rPeOu2cJWQ4pdRvgb4TN1kstIx_-JwcfExaWHRI_fJS17VYfIYZGqbiDEQusqELq1-h0jFWIF65mP4m9FVTm8kUiYkTVstxQEHTtl48XXxBbghoKl2SA4q8/s320/John_Evans_Photography_01-web.jpg" width="240" /></a>Photos that come across my desk are used in my designs for glossy magazine property brochures, such as the one for <a href="http://www.saundersrealestate.net/property/LakeDisstonRanch-FL.pdf">John's Lake Disston, Florida parcel of over 3,600 acres</a>. They are editorial in content and use. Some photos I receive from the agents are even "artistic" in the layman's definition, but require editing for print purposes. Many are questionable for use at all!<br />
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The photos you see here are indeed heavily edited in Photoshop for output on a variety of commercial printing equipment. The original photos would have had much less impact without the editing.<br />
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The photos we use have to look good to a layman's eye; satisfy the client, the agent, the marketing team, and the broker. The photos in these brochures are the conduit that sparks the reader to want to see more.<br />
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I work with dozens of land real estate agents who take their own photos of property listings. Most photos are "ok" but must have Photoshop editing in order to be used at all.<br />
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John is one in a million when it comes to property photos. He is not a professional photographer, but is an emerging amateur photographer who can take his photography to the next level!IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-19114497526587676222010-08-31T10:30:00.000-04:002010-08-31T10:30:37.062-04:00Run Your Business with Open Source: Illustration Software<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_3xb28BuBUSGMrFJAsEOouRHNYea4Gq-3oZ6GcZzcbwOwiZ-9cQGnrPCL_UUh4OcLYRVLqNu4xhTwVjde-9rdIu1jmeJyI13fTSAY-ouHQ9ewzkwPdW7dTnvPDerx0jkoG7XRYr8DUs/s1600/A04B9802.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq_3xb28BuBUSGMrFJAsEOouRHNYea4Gq-3oZ6GcZzcbwOwiZ-9cQGnrPCL_UUh4OcLYRVLqNu4xhTwVjde-9rdIu1jmeJyI13fTSAY-ouHQ9ewzkwPdW7dTnvPDerx0jkoG7XRYr8DUs/s200/A04B9802.gif" width="200" /></a></div><br />
If you are an illustrator with no funds for Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator to further your passion for drawing, here is a GREAT open source vector drawing program.<br />
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There are so many free sources online at this time that one could literally run a graphics business on freeware and open source software for business apps and graphics apps.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDv3aDQjbgfIlpZl5eOLwlqpN8mBc-oSDFlxYVKxA7rhKLj1pVwgDBbhHcy2TmPt8Ymq5pKUs2RVG37tXZPuKgpJwaATNH1fvNaKiU-tN2efLFGDSExuRyAlY9NzCUkRO7qE2EDUtz-rU/s1600/00207A.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDv3aDQjbgfIlpZl5eOLwlqpN8mBc-oSDFlxYVKxA7rhKLj1pVwgDBbhHcy2TmPt8Ymq5pKUs2RVG37tXZPuKgpJwaATNH1fvNaKiU-tN2efLFGDSExuRyAlY9NzCUkRO7qE2EDUtz-rU/s320/00207A.GIF" /></a>Scalable vector graphics are those that you can draw in a software program that can be resized without losing quality. Professional illustrators will use the likes of Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator to draw their images, then save as .jpg (or other) to be used online or in print media. However, the native file in the software retains the ability to resize up or down to create sharp, quality graphics.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoX7zF7Vog_V-LRyZQXFQcqWYCvMo5nWmlN68SULzqlT_0n6oWz2WUwhuxxxusLEZHBzygEUb3ZwKie_6le4tqjznutkqQXUirsbldE2hOiIDh4Sijpf53zvlRy9zVOjZopEc2k46ohPc/s1600/00199A.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoX7zF7Vog_V-LRyZQXFQcqWYCvMo5nWmlN68SULzqlT_0n6oWz2WUwhuxxxusLEZHBzygEUb3ZwKie_6le4tqjznutkqQXUirsbldE2hOiIDh4Sijpf53zvlRy9zVOjZopEc2k46ohPc/s320/00199A.GIF" /></a></div>I have not used <a href="http://www.inkscape.org/">inkscape</a> because I have the other two, however, reviews say that it truly rivals the Corel and Adobe Illustrator programs. <br />
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Give it a try and have fun! http://www.inkscape.org/IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-1147578606780739992010-08-30T09:30:00.001-04:002010-08-30T09:30:00.242-04:00TWITTER: Know Your Social Media Limitations<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53u7pOAi6o7g5lWD2I8bXOK4O2pyGU6GibPOK8tg67qh47EQSWqsnJn6BcXnumn6Myr3cLe6LSFv4M8mSjid8_A1nCKM1QhPFpPvKUzmvs9LLwZKhdXfW73k5iH9hHEcFRlR-fmIIUOE/s1600/Follow-mice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg53u7pOAi6o7g5lWD2I8bXOK4O2pyGU6GibPOK8tg67qh47EQSWqsnJn6BcXnumn6Myr3cLe6LSFv4M8mSjid8_A1nCKM1QhPFpPvKUzmvs9LLwZKhdXfW73k5iH9hHEcFRlR-fmIIUOE/s400/Follow-mice.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
I had an interesting question sent to me on Twitter recently. This person could no longer follow anyone and thought Twitter was having issues! </div><br />
<div></div><div>For those of you new to Twitter, there are "following" limits. Did you know that? Not many people new to Twitter do and it would help if they did.</div><div></div><br />
<div><b><a href="http://help.twitter.com/forums/10713/entries/14959">Twitter Help</a></b> offers this:</div><br />
<div><i>"If you've reached a follow limit, you can help yourself by reducing your following number until it resembles your followers number. Since the follow limit is based on followers/following ratio rather than time, you'll have to un-follow people before you're able to follow again."</i><br />
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Reducing your following numbers is easy with third party utilities - there are dozens. I like to use <a href="http://dossy.org/twitter/karma/">Dossy's Twitter Karma</a> as I find it easier than the others. You can find more by <a href="http://www.google.com/#hl=en&source=hp&q=twitter+unfollow+tool&aq=1&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=twitter+unfol&gs_rfai=CT5RYNQl5TIKUD5aCywSwhb1oAAAAqgQFT9DlWZY&pbx=1&fp=6480ba044cf61dc3">searching on Google "Twitter Unfollow Tool</a>."</div><br />
You can follow IndieCEO/GalleriaLinda here and I would love to have you as a twitter and Facebook buddy!<br />
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<b>IndieCEO Blog</b> - <a href="http://www.twitter.com/IndieCEO">http://www.twitter.com/IndieCEO</a><br />
<b>GalleriaLinda Handcrafted Jewelry & Beads</b> - <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Gallerialinda">http://www.twitter.com/Gallerialinda</a><br />
<b>GalleriaLindaLoft Vintage Jewelry</b> - <a href="http://www.twitter.com/GalleriaLoft">http://www.twitter.com/GalleriaLoft</a><br />
<div> </div><b>GalleriaLinda's Facebook Page:</b> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/gallerialinda">http://www.facebook.com/gallerialinda</a><br />
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<div></div>IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-7896289485460355682010-08-28T08:56:00.001-04:002010-08-28T08:58:28.998-04:00Edit, Edit, Edit....Make it Work!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXOCqKzb-U2QhiW3kBYKXSSL92JV6IJnUMFUNFdyAM3zdWIu0mFTogI5-HhUpbHu5eRZjCnihvJ-sFFlk8T3jmz1U-PRC2tAyYjVInTESWu8JuF_g0NuQ562jTAM4C84cSZaGRrXLuZs/s1600/NEcklaces-4x4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioXOCqKzb-U2QhiW3kBYKXSSL92JV6IJnUMFUNFdyAM3zdWIu0mFTogI5-HhUpbHu5eRZjCnihvJ-sFFlk8T3jmz1U-PRC2tAyYjVInTESWu8JuF_g0NuQ562jTAM4C84cSZaGRrXLuZs/s320/NEcklaces-4x4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>If you watch Project Runway on TV, you will know these words well!<br />
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Project Runway is a show of fashion designer contestants that participate in design challenges in hopes of becoming the big winner. Tim Gunn, the designer-contestant-overseer, reviews all work in progress and frequently says "Edit, edit, edit...." and always ends with "Make it work!"<br />
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And so it is that this is good advice for everything we do. As online sellers especially, we need to "Edit, Edit, Edit....Make it Work!" in all areas of our business.<br />
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I took this thought to heart the other day and made a plan to edit my shops and inventory. It is time! On <a href="http://icraft.ca/GalleriaLinda">iCraft.ca/GalleriaLinda where I sell my handcrafted contemporary beaded jewelry</a>, I have some jewelry designs that have not sold and are a year old or more that really do not represent my evolving design point-of-view (another Project Runway buzz word).<br />
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Pictured above is my evolving design perspective today and in the days to come, I will be selecting older items to either deconstruct and reuse materials, donate, giveaway, or place on another venue as clearance.<br />
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We must keep our shops fresh and current to where we are today and this is a journey, not a destination. I see that every six months an inventory audit is needed and <a href="http://www.gallerialinda.com/galleries-all.htm">GalleriaLinda's handcrafted jewelry, vintage jewelry, and bead shops</a> will be doing that!IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-10294025131200831512010-07-26T20:29:00.001-04:002010-07-26T20:32:07.151-04:00Announcing CentralFloridaOnline Where IndieCEO Contributes Articles<div class="separator" style="background-color: #0b5394; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLtr1chg93uoA1zoDfIWyf50pTZQ1y3_8RkAy1DqpkdOZSpFhODGAg2PDRhDbIQTL4E9jhfxTm3BhzTaQxh5hE6oO__Z-kPgQvn2FDBbQEwdE37CocRSae8MYGzMdgu1TWrcJXKjPmtQ4/s1600/Marialice_Business_Card_2+final.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLtr1chg93uoA1zoDfIWyf50pTZQ1y3_8RkAy1DqpkdOZSpFhODGAg2PDRhDbIQTL4E9jhfxTm3BhzTaQxh5hE6oO__Z-kPgQvn2FDBbQEwdE37CocRSae8MYGzMdgu1TWrcJXKjPmtQ4/s320/Marialice_Business_Card_2+final.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
You can find <a href="http://centralfloridaonline.com/2010/07/charity-giving-for-business/">IndieCEO</a> and <a href="http://www.gallerialindashowcase.blogspot.com/">GalleriaLinda</a> now on <b><a href="http://www.centralfloridaonline.com/">CentralFloridaOnline</a> </b>as an author!<br />
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Authoring articles about you, your businesses' services, or products is a great way to become known. Articles that will offer up informative topics that can be used by others is a goodwill gesture that will not be forgotten. Share your knowledge and people will appreciate you. And, every time you are posted online is an SEO target for people to find you!<br />
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I write for several blogs, as well as my own and have recently written blog posts for placement on CentralFloridaOnline. If you are from Florida, this is a great website to get Florida news, human interest stories, and happenings in Central Florida!IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-59603959384371598922010-07-25T16:26:00.000-04:002010-07-25T16:26:54.485-04:00Charity Giving for Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1x4zIsR3tHrqhX4RGR74zRrgR44LqVBCw8LR3tTv-7kp4XB2YFsVzpoEdos6LQXVu8MAtsU-33lRLadD-DOtERmMtsCLu8F1iCk6R3LM0zUXFPAELQmyLuZNkpR62JCt8yROo1lIXig/s1600/BUNNYa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR1x4zIsR3tHrqhX4RGR74zRrgR44LqVBCw8LR3tTv-7kp4XB2YFsVzpoEdos6LQXVu8MAtsU-33lRLadD-DOtERmMtsCLu8F1iCk6R3LM0zUXFPAELQmyLuZNkpR62JCt8yROo1lIXig/s320/BUNNYa.jpg" /></a></div>One of the things I love about online networking is meeting others who are street-smart marketers. One such friend is<a href="http://icraft.ca/fairy-cardmaker/"> FairyCardmaker</a> on iCraft.ca. I discovered a great two-part blog series that she wrote on charity giving for business. It is right on point. <br />
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Charity giving can be planned strategically as a part of your business plan. When working it into your objectives for the business year, you will not only be in control of how much inventory and investment you hand out, but also will have the ability to select charities that may benefit to your business.<br />
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As FairyCardmaker shows us, we can be specific in our planning for charity giving that may give us the opportunity for exposure to our products, advertising to a target group, or even develop other opportunities for our products. Charity giving is easy, welcomed, and helpful. It also can give your business a boost! I recommend this reading.<br />
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<div style="color: purple;"><b>From the <a href="http://fairycardmaker.blogspot.com/2010/06/business-of-charitable-giving-part-i.html">FairyCardmaker Blog</a>:</b><b> Business or Pleasure?</b> <br />
<i>Why not BOTH? Just because you are running a business to earn a living doesn't mean that giving to charity has to be a one-way trip out of your pocket. There are many ways that you can work charitable donations or time in to your business model. It's a win-win scenario!<br />
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The key to selecting a charity to support is knowing your target market. You can create a symbiotic relationship with a charity where the host is a shared target market. This topic will be covered in two parts:</i> <i><br />
</i> </div><ul style="color: purple;"><li><i><a href="http://fairycardmaker.blogspot.com/2010/06/business-of-charitable-giving-part-i.html">Part I: Selecting a Charity</a></i></li>
<li><i><a href="http://fairycardmaker.blogspot.com/2010/06/business-of-charitable-giving-part-ii.html">Part II: Selecting a Manner of Support</a></i></li>
</ul>IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-84052276751345899212010-07-17T14:15:00.002-04:002010-07-18T09:03:49.546-04:00Online Sellers: How Important Is It To You?...to have one page that you promote that will show all your shops, social media connections, and other widgets? It is pretty important to me. As online sellers, we can get pretty scattered across the Internet with multiple social media networks and multiple shops.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPk8YCi7VomljpZdokKWo2envIZOfLtlE26oxVuZCZazVOFn4xtIFY09Ak2pxTAOPisGlCDXJvzrAg_f5Ho-TUKBkq6NLx-bdWQ6KU2HVAgBmFybIVrwr54ALHt12PvxDiyKYmrXxHI2g/s1600/Zibbet-Recommended.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPk8YCi7VomljpZdokKWo2envIZOfLtlE26oxVuZCZazVOFn4xtIFY09Ak2pxTAOPisGlCDXJvzrAg_f5Ho-TUKBkq6NLx-bdWQ6KU2HVAgBmFybIVrwr54ALHt12PvxDiyKYmrXxHI2g/s320/Zibbet-Recommended.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Zibbet has made this possible. It astounds me (in a good way!) that the Zibbet philosophy is to give artists, crafters, artisans, vintage sellers, and craft supply sellers a place to gather all of their Internet presence and paste it onto one page to promote. They encourage that!<br />
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No more worrying about how/if you can link to your web site that sells the same items. No more worrying about promoting your bead shop from your jewelry shop. There is nothing to hide here. And, I love the openness and helpfulness of Zibbet admin when it comes to online selling and it is a welcomed breath of fresh air.<br />
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I have had <a href="http://www.zibbet.com/gallerialindaloft">GalleriaLindaLoft's Vintage Jewelry shop on Zibbet</a> for a little over three months now and have opened another <a href="http://www.zibbet.com/gallerialinda">GalleriaLinda Bead Shop on Zibbet</a> that will soon go "premium." The "Loft" shop is a premium shop and I am delighted in what I can do to help promote my tiny business.<br />
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I cannot fully express how much I love the look - very white, very clean, and very uncluttered, as an artisan community should be. And I can manage how large my product photos are, and the color of the Zibbet logo, and categories, and, and, and..... There are just too many features to describe right now and new features come on board weekly. Oh, and I just used the sale/discount/free shipping feature. Oh my goodness...no more editing EACH listing. One click and I am <i>done</i>!! There is a gift certificate feature too. Well, go check it out or I will talk your ear off. Zibbet is fairly new on the scene and traffic is building quickly and there is a certain excitement within the community.<br />
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You can check out my post on the <a href="http://gallerialindashowcase.blogspot.com/2010/07/vendors-wanted-florida-artists-artisans.html">GalleriaLindaShowcase handmade jewelry blog here</a>. It has screen shots to give you a taste of how you can promote your other shops (with photo widgets), your Facebook, your Twitter accounts, and anything else with widgets!<br />
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Right now, <a href="http://www.zibbet.com/GalleriaLinda/sell"><i><b><span style="font-size: large;">until July 20 - you can get a FREE month when you become a premium member</span></b></i></a>! <i><b>After that you pay only $9 a month until the 119 (at this writing) shops are gone (then the price goes up)</b></i>. <a href="http://www.zibbet.com/GalleriaLinda/sell">Click here to get started on Zibbet. Hope to see you there!</a>IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-31303193449234007982010-06-30T10:06:00.000-04:002010-06-30T10:06:54.052-04:00A Bead Giveaway Like No Other - 7-1/2 lbs of BEADS!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwGCUFcTmCDkOeHNo1H-GvB0gYZTtF_1qaJRkuqux4v7CnoEyYCGYT8TOzGxD-sw0n9_LIlRcXd-VkB6zGIiX0rGopVFrluV3w_HAapzDRgnn3spLgQlhAl2FFDwAHTAbXAfPom8Xs4vs/s1600/IMG_2665.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwGCUFcTmCDkOeHNo1H-GvB0gYZTtF_1qaJRkuqux4v7CnoEyYCGYT8TOzGxD-sw0n9_LIlRcXd-VkB6zGIiX0rGopVFrluV3w_HAapzDRgnn3spLgQlhAl2FFDwAHTAbXAfPom8Xs4vs/s400/IMG_2665.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>In my blog surfing, I found a great blog by Denise Yezbak Moore (<a href="http://deniseyezbakmoore.blogspot.com/">http://deniseyezbakmoore.blogspot.com</a>) and she is doing a HUGE giveaway of BEADS, beads, beads! Unbelievable styles and colors are in this giveaway.<br />
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How can you not enter for this? So, stop what you are doing and get over to her blog - run like the wind to enter! <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000;">DEADLINE is this FRIDAY JULY 2 to enter! Good Luck!</span></b>IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-19404260121864931852010-05-29T18:48:00.004-04:002010-06-18T19:03:26.006-04:00Diary Project 2011 - Fabulous Free Advertising for Artists<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvXYLbf6n1-0C84UrSvIo9VXR_ZgNsTOCTtVKSlRzD7bhAW7vpMiNbP2aHyspNPm9K2VnzGsacoZkW6N0DnfFI-LkPMDrvgqLtXKxz7BPm1WC-SaYYh-V_GqiQGx5au-fEAvcIVqSGVc/s1600/DiaryPRoj2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifvXYLbf6n1-0C84UrSvIo9VXR_ZgNsTOCTtVKSlRzD7bhAW7vpMiNbP2aHyspNPm9K2VnzGsacoZkW6N0DnfFI-LkPMDrvgqLtXKxz7BPm1WC-SaYYh-V_GqiQGx5au-fEAvcIVqSGVc/s320/DiaryPRoj2010.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> There are opportunities for <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">FREE</span></b> advertising and promotion all around us. Just keep up with a few artists' forums and you will always see calls for product and seller features. Keep your eyes open!<br />
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One such project that <a href="http://www.gallerialinda.com/">GalleriaLinda </a>has participated in for three years is the <b>Diary Project</b>, organized and implemented by <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=106038">Fantazya</a>, a long-time Etsy seller of handmade. The Diary 2011 Project is starting and dates are being offered now.<br />
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The diary is a calendar book, spiral bound, that has all dated pages created and designed by artists! The artists work their shop information into the designs and get year-round exposure for <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">FREE</span></b>. What a great concept this is!<br />
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And, it has been successful for years. Once all of the artwork is sent in, Fantazya coordinates the printing and cover options. These make GREAT gifts too.</div><div><br />
When you participate, you are NOT obligated to purchase the Diary, but you are simply a featured artist. Each page is a window of original art for each day of the year. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/diary2010/">See the Diary 2010 Project Flickr postings.</a><br />
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I highly recommend this, so go lock in a date today and you will receive an email with all the information and due dates. You will have year-round exposure of your web site or shop URL to people all over the world.<br />
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This year, the layout will be a little different. <br />
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<a href="http://www.fantazya.ca/diary2011.html"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Read all about the Diary Project 2011 HERE!</b></span></a></div><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><b><span style="color: red;"></span></b></span>IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-997127911494658724.post-52163952038687658422010-02-13T10:45:00.000-05:002010-02-13T10:45:52.887-05:00Local Artisan Market is Today! A Great Networking Opportunity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBv6WRF7pHRBN4Ak7OfFC5f-K8veZWTlq3SrupyC05Ut8FcQmdTtjvq_BRqmFCWc16OC2dsO0cw-ZeI0JrK6u8tsIThnh4u9HSUjiSIubZLPjP8EwyG-uM1Z_YkbekmtbsBpkpzlZEfE8/s1600-h/ArtisanMarket2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBv6WRF7pHRBN4Ak7OfFC5f-K8veZWTlq3SrupyC05Ut8FcQmdTtjvq_BRqmFCWc16OC2dsO0cw-ZeI0JrK6u8tsIThnh4u9HSUjiSIubZLPjP8EwyG-uM1Z_YkbekmtbsBpkpzlZEfE8/s400/ArtisanMarket2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Supporting your own local artisan community through your blogs, forums, and your attendance to fairs and markets gives you a great networking opportunity! You can meet like-minded people, either online or in person, and form friendships that will last a lifetime, as well as support for your art or craft. <br />
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Here in Lakeland, FL, we have an artisan market for local artisans that is held by Yia Yia's Bead Shop. The quality of artisans is great and the variety of handmade items is fabulous. These one-day markets are perfect for communities and artisans alike. This artisan market is held quarterly. <br />
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And, today is the day that the Artisan Market is open! The Florida weather is fabulous - cool, sunny, slight breeze, and no humidity - a perfect day to go. Local artists are displaying original art, pottery, paintings, jewelry, glass art, and more. If you go, meet Yia Yia's new neighbor, Red Door Wine Market and enjoy a glass of wine, beer or coffee! Photos are representative of work you will find there.<br />
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It is refreshing to see such creativity all in one place. I guarantee that you will find something you love. Owning something handmade is special because it is meaningful. Each piece is made with great care and an abundance of artisan creativity.<br />
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All of you can support Yia Yia's efforts in supporting our local artisan community too by becoming a Facebook fan and following on Twitter!<br />
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<a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/Lakeland-FL/Yia-Yias-Beads-Gifts/79682659302?ref=nf">Yia Yia's Facebook</a> - become a fan! <a href="http://www.twitter.com/Yiayiasbeads">Follow Yia Yia's on Twitter</a> too.IndieCEO / GalleriaLindahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06480784588327294927noreply@blogger.com2