Fun Software Training Even I can Afford

Oh my. Does software training sound dry and boring to you? Expensive even? Homework-esque? Drudgery?

Well, I have a resource for you that I have used since the late 90s and just love it. www.Lynda.com 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.

Starting out with the basic business and graphic software, they now have a tremendous line-up of expanded titles that touch Selling on eBay, Making Money with Podcasts, and OpenSource.org. There is a treasure-trove of good, fun, video training to be had at Lynda's!

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!

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 course outline that you can view along with free video peeks into certain chapters.

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. 

At Lynda's you can:
– Stay current and keep skills sharp
– Learn innovative and productive techniques
– Access over 910 online courses, 24/7
– Learn from experienced instructors
– Gain confidence and marketability
– Learn at your own pace: Stop, rewind, replay

Have fun!

Charity Giving for Business

One of the things I love about online networking is meeting others who are street-smart marketers. One such friend is FairyCardmaker on iCraft.ca. I discovered a great two-part blog series that she wrote on charity giving for business. It is right on point.

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.

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.

From the FairyCardmaker Blog:  Business or Pleasure?
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!

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:

• Part I: Selecting a Charity
• Part II: Selecting a Manner of Support

Online Sellers, Start Your Engines: Are You Ready?

It is hard to believe that October is knocking at our door this week! Although I plan ahead for the holidays, it always creeps up on me! Are you ready? For artists and crafters who are online sellers, it is especially important to be organized.

Many of us work day jobs and work our online business in the extra hours. Others of us have children and families that need our time, over and above our shops. Therefore, we must be organized. Here is a checklist to help you. See if you are ready for the holiday rush!

First, take a deep breath. Think about what you want to accomplish this holiday, both for business and family. Write all of it down on paper. Then, start crossing off some things. Be realistic with your time. The holidays are the busiest for your shop AND for your family. Don't shortchange both by taking on too much! Here is your list for your business!

For a printable copy of IndieCEO's Holiday Checklist for download - click here.

Product

• Determine the designs you need to start to create or finish before Oct. 30
• Plan to expand your inventory in numbers - 50 to 100 items is a good start, more is better
• Add a "stocking stuffer" product line that is lower priced - create many and promote them heavily for increasing visitor traffic to your shop
• Order all supplies needed for these designs (mailing times and availability may be limited during the holidays for urgent orders later)
• If you exhibit and sell at craft shows this time of year - take that into consideration for product inventory volume for your online shops - don't be caught short with your online inventory
• Schedule on your calendar, "appointments" to create and finish your designs, photography, and listing - help family to understand that these are real business appointments - even if it is 1 hour a day

Shipping

• Order shipping materials - bubble mailers, boxes
• Obtain the Priority shipping boxes from your post office NOW (if you use them) - availability will be limited later
• Obtain a stack custom forms from your post office now - may not be available later
• Check your label paper or sticky paper stock for printing out PayPal shipping labels
• Check your shipping tape stock
• Design and order or print/cut the components for your product's finished presentation - jewelry boxes, organza gift bags, earring cards, ribbons, stickers, etc...

Packaging

• Will you add a free gift or sample in your orders? If so, plan now to make or buy
• Will you be offering holiday wrapping? Figure that process out - pricing, how to list, etc...

Online Shop

• If you sell on multiple venues, decide strategically where you will post your product lines - you may want some of each type of product on all venues or you may want to keep the venue shops more specialized - just know what you are doing
• Create your shop announcement now while your head is clear and not rushed - keep until you are ready to post
• Tweak your shop's policies. Be sure they are clear, especially return/exchange policies
• Tweak your shop's "About Me" page - update it for fresh content
• Tweak your shipping profiles - at least check them out for accuracy
• Determine a "buy by date" for receipt of items by December 22nd or earlier and add to your shop announcement, policy page, and all your listing
• Retake photos that are gray-ish or not so good - re-stage older product - it will make them look like new listings

Marketing, Advertising, Promotion

• Order business cards, post cards, thank you cards, etc... now (to include in your packages and to hand out)
• Design, print, and cut anything you need, such as earring cards, backing for cello bags, etc…
• Decide on any sale incentives - sales, discounts, incentives (BOGO, etc...), free shipping
• Do you send customers holiday cards? If so, organize now, address envelopes, or if ecards, gather email addresses
• Do you send out holiday newsletters? If so, organize now by writing the content, getting the format design completed, and gather email addresses
• Write up your holiday sale incentives marketing blurbs and decide where and how you will post or distribute (blogs, Ning, shop announcements, twitter, Facebook, ProjectWonderful, advertising, etc...)
• If advertising online, create your graphics especially for the holidays
• Prepare fliers or post cards with these incentives - to drop off around town locally
• If you are on a venue like Etsy, determine your relist budget for November and December - you may want to bump up the number of times during the holidays
• On the venues where you sell - look into in-house holiday promotional opportunities offered - make decisions on budget
• Always have business cards with your online URL with you and hand them out freely during the holidays - these could have your incentive on the back if you wish
• Give business cards to friends to hand out during the holidays

The Most Important of All!

• Put on your Santa hat, grab a cigar, and have a hot toddy and holiday cookies!

Wishing you the very best selling season - ever!

~Linda

Why Your Business Needs Social Media

Why social media for your business? This may have the answer! I came across this slide show with a great message about businesses and social media.

Unfortunately, you will need to step over a few "F" bleeps but you will find inspiring content that I really felt important to share. (This is a good example of how you conduct yourself for business on social media. Be professional at all times. In this case, the message is more important than the "F" bleeps but how much more valuable this piece would be without them).

In the middle of the slide show, there are excellent stats on the major social media sites that will amaze you. It is my opinion that social media is growing into huge monster that is chaos. We as a community are now trying to bring chaos to order through learning how social media can be effective, both for personal and business use.

The business use of social media holds so much potential for YOU.

If you are a business owner that says "Why do I care about what people eat for breakfast?" - you are missing the point by light years that can effect your business plan for years. Social media is no longer for teenagers. It is for businesses, huge and small, to make their mark in the world and connect with customers.

It is a conversation, not an ad. Just remember that!

As one commenter (TechCrafter) below offered - it is especially well-suited for "reputation management." How true. How critical.

A good place to start to see what has been said about you or your business is http://www.socialmention.com.

And, to set up a Google Alert at http://www.google.com/alerts with your business name and key words.

Find IndieCEO and GalleriaLinda on social media:
IndieCEO on Twitter
GalleriaLinda on Twitter
Linda Harrell on Twitter
GalleriaLinda on Facebook
GalleriaLinda on Blogger
Plus many other networking site!

What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

View more documents from Marta Kagan.

Online Sellers: Make Your Shop Components Work FOR You!

What better place to start our marketing thinking than to discuss all the components that create our shop?

Each component uniquely works together to draw a potential customer into your shop. Did you realize that for a lot of potential customers, our shops become our only visible brand, or even more often, our product page becomes our only visible brand and is all the visitor sees?

Someone will click a link directly to a product through a Twitter link, search engine, or forum link and NEVER see your whole shop with your announcement.

The importance of ambiance and “look” of your product and shop page is critical for that first impression. Will it draw them in or drive them away?

Here are some shop components that are important to that first impression. I have comments by each to get you thinking

Shop Name – hopefully your shop name is something easy to remember and easy to spell to make it easy for someone to find you online – someone who didn’t quite remember your shop name!

Avatar and Banner Design – the design of your avatar and banner really sets the theme for your product backdrop. Is it casual, formal, professional, cute, cartoon, or whimsical? Any of those are great and can compliment your product designs.

Profile – filling in you’re your profile to the fullest helps to present you, the artist/crafter, as serious about your business. It is just good business practice. Be sure to keep SEO in mind for each of your specific selling venues.

Shop Announcement – this is a great place for you to shine and to show us your personality. Tell us about your product, your materials, your skills, or your policies. Keep it concise and keep SEO in mind here too for each of your specific selling venues.

Photos – there is always buzz about the ability to take quality photos. This is critical. A good photo will draw someone into your shop that otherwise would not visit. Keep practicing with the camera and photo editing software!

Secondary Photos – please have more than one photo of your items. Even I get frustrated when there is only one! Minimally, you should have a front and back photo. Sexy side angles are always artsy and you can have fun staging your product.

How You Order Your Product Photos in Your Shop – Huh? Is this a component? Yup. Put matching and complimentary colors together as sort of a cross-promoting effort. Put matching designs together. You get the picture!

Product Titles – there is the opportunity for Search Engine Optimization here. Let your titles tell us what the product is. No fancy “Dawn at Midnight” romantic names in the titles. They are useless there.

Product Descriptions – ah…you knew we would get to this. Maybe it is a challenge or maybe you just throw a couple of facts in the description and go with it. This is as much an art as your craft. Entice your customer with your words.

Number of Products in Your Shop – it is true! The more products, the more interest in your shop. More products in the shop make you look busy, professional, and like an artist or crafter who really cares about her/his craft.

Pricing – yep, another component you would not expect. First impressions make eyes go to price. If the overall price impression is not good, people move on.

OK, pick one to ponder until we meet again and tell me others that I may have missed. Watch for more posts on each of these in detail!

Online Sellers Can Have Economical Computer Resources!

For those of you who may have missed a previous list of good computer utilities and software offered on the Internet for FREE...here is a refined list for you!

These can be useful for any small business, but are especially useful for online sellers who do not have the resources to purchase hundreds of dollars of computer programs in order to manage their listing process.

I have not tried all of them but have been gathering them from recommendations from personal contacts at large corporations, forum users, and technical experts. Some are online, others are downloads.

These are all available for Windows. A very few may be available for MACs. If you have any to add that you know are "clean," post here and I will add them! They are FREE!!

I use a variety of these for my Contemporary Beaded and Silver Wire Jewelry shop - GalleriaLinda, and find them to be excellent choices!

Knowledge, Computer Tips, Q&A - User Friendly

• http://www.komando.com/

Computer & Online Education

• http://www.lynda.com ($25/month, no contract, unlimited access to ALL learning - a GREAT resource - sample training videos here: http://www.lynda.com/home/freeTraining.aspx - highly recommended - I purchase one month about once a year and learn!)

Computer Maintenance and Protection - install and use all (Good, robust, free programs recommended by my computer tech)

• http://www.superantispyware.com/

• http://www.malwarebytes.org/

• http://free.avg.com/ (good, free antivirus - USE IT!)

• http://www.ccleaner.com/ - deletes temp files, frees up space

• http://www.komando.com/downloads/categories.aspx?cat=Security - more excellent choices

Free Email Addresses

• http://gmail.google.com/

Business Suite (word processing, spreadsheet, etc...)

• http://www.openoffice.org/

PDF Generators

• http://www.cutepdf.com/

• http://www.primopdf.com/

Graphics Editors

• http://picasa.google.com/

• http://www.gimp.org/downloads (robust alternative to Photoshop)

• http://www.photoshop.com/express

• http://www.splashup.com/

• http://www.picnik.com/

• http://www.fotoflexer.com/

• http://www.rsizr.com/

• http://webresizer.com/

Animated GIFS (usable for online ads)

• http://www.gifmake.com/

Advanced Graphic Layout

• http://www.inkscape.org/ -save as .eps, not open .eps files. Can edit Illustrator files

Business Charts

• http://ganttproject.biz/ Gantt Charts (timelines)

• http://www.lovelycharts.com/

Convert a PDF to a Word Document

• http://www.somepdf.com/

File Extension Viewer

• http://www.irfanview.com/

Share/Sync Files from Another Computer

• http://www.foldershare.com

Send Large Files via Link

• http://www.dropio.com/

• http://www.yousendit.com/

• http://www.megaupload.com/

Covert File to Another Format

• http://www.zamzar.com/

Make Full Screen Shots of Web Pages

• http://www.thumbalizr.com/

Stock Photos (free or cheap)

• http://www.bluevertigo.com.ar/bluevertigo.htm

• http://www.sxc.hu/

• http://www.istockphoto.com/

• http://www.canstockphoto.com/

• http://www.dreamstime.com/

Free Web Pages

• http://www.webs.com/

• http://www.tripod.lycos.com/

• http://www.wix.com/

Conversions

• http://www.onlineconversion.com/ Convert Anything to Anything Else

• http://www.psinvention.com/zoetic/convert.htm Metric & English Conversions

• http://www.convertworld.com/en/ Convert Anything to Everything

Glue Advice! Glue "This" to "That"

• http://www.thistothat.com/

ZIP Utility (zip up multiple files into one file)

• http://www.tucows.com/preview/194312 (QuickZip)

Find "Spyware-Free" Software and Utilities Here:

• http://download.cnet.com/

• http://www.tucows.com/

• http://www.komando.com/

Weathering the Economic Storm

We have gotten through the first quarter of 2009 and now, almost the second quarter. How is your shop weathering the economic storm?

Last fall when the economy slowed down, GalleriaLinda made a commitment to expand products to offer more items that were lower price but still high quality. Because I make jewelry, I decided to start a line of interesting earrings using high-quality Czech glass, vintage beads, and sterling wire that were priced $12.99 across the board.

In the last few months, I have connected with several new customers that wanted earrings to brighten their wardrobe!

This strategy was one that you could say met the needs of the economy and was considerate of the customer. A lady can update her wardrobe with $12.99 earrings and not spend a fortune.

I hope that you have weathered the economic storm. I see that the economy is loosening up a bit, as sales seem to be more frequent!

Utilize Help and Information From Your Selling Venues

One of the ways online sellers can benefit from marketing and selling success strategies is through the selling venues that they use. You can find a lot of selling, promotional, and marketing tips in the venue's documentation that is very valuable!

The forums on each of the venues becomes a treasure trove of shared experiences about everything for selling online. Use it! Even if you just read, you will gain such valuable information that you can use. Read, read, read.

Today, I want to introduce the Sellers' Boot camp going on right now at iCraft.ca!

Sellers' Boot camp is a new admin-supported program started by Christine of PillowThrowDecor for sellers on iCraft.ca! Check out the iCraft.ca forum for lots of details on the Sellers' Boot camp program.

Christine not only produces the most elegant pillows for your home, but she is also a sales expert that creates energy that motivates!

She is the one that started the awesome "Odd Sock" category to move merchandise. Check out PillowThrowDecor's "Odd Sock" deals - unbelievable!

The Sellers' Boot camp program goes for 28 days with assignments for each day that will help you fill your promotional "bag of tricks" by the end of the month. The idea is to get into the habit of spending up to 30-45 minutes a day doing things that will help sales.

Retired from another career, Christine states that a part of her professional background is in sales training. She states, "As independent business people it is all about accountability. I do much better when I know there is a team of people marching along with me every day and are as committed as I am to doing assigned activities!

If you are considering trying iCraft.ca as your handmade selling venue, now is the time! Remember, if you use a referral number when you pay your one-time registration fee, you receive six months of shop fees free for an unlimited number of items! Shop fees are very reasonable. In case you need one, GalleriaLinda's referral number is: 1c28439c38!

Must go...off to boot camp!!

Community Directed Development - Does It Really Work? Would You Participate?

I had never heard the term "community directed development," but it is what drives ArtFire.com. From a business-branding standpoint, this is critically unique in the industry!

From ArtFire's mission found at "Community Directed Developement Puts Members in Control," I found this description interesting:

"....This type of social media, e-commerce, and community fusion has never been attempted or accomplished until now! CDD’s aggressive real time adaptation and implementation is much like putting a half built boat in to the water and assembling it while at sea; turbulence and challenge is expected and responsiveness is critical to success."

Do you like to be a unique part of the building process for a site that services sellers, as well as customers?

If you like this type of "give and take" selling environment, then ArtFire as a selling venue is worth consideration for your primary or secondary selling venue for handmade and vintage!

If you sign up with ArtFire from links on this blog...and you are verified as signed up with GalleriaLinda as your sponsor, and you post a comment, then GalleriaLinda gives you an opportunity for:

• Free advertising for your own "free ride ArtFire shop" on 1 web site and 2 blogs
• a drawing from a group of only 10 people to receive a custom marketing plan by Indie CEO for your unique business needs (see criteria here)

Here is an update from Indie CEO's post "ArtFire Shop & Free Custom Marketing Plan. How Can You Go Wrong?:

• 3 new verified ArtFire shops attributed to GalleriaLinda
• 2 new unverified ArtFire shops attributed to Gallerialinda (count only if they become verified)

Think about it! And, be sure to check out these Indie CEO resource pages:

General resource links
Open source and freeware software and utilities
List of 47 and counting, selling venues that you can utilize today

Enjoying the Fruits of Being "Business Frugal" with Open Source and Freeware Software

The financial atmosphere of our businesses is not the same as it was two years ago, or even one year ago. We are all looking for ways to save, cut back, and do more for less.

The Internet is a treasure chest full of useful, free tools for businesses. You just have to know where to look to find safe tools.

In the next few months, I will be bringing to you great resource links. It appears that I am an information junkie...and that is a good thing for you, because I want to share!

Over the last few years, I have read a lot of blogs, web sites, and forums and have bookmarked and documented oodles of great links for tools, web apps, software, tutorials, social media, advertising sites, and much more. The only thing is, I have to sort through and organize them, but I have started the task and I am so glad I did!

I found a great group of free software that will put any small business in good shape without spending a dime! Plus, you get free upgrades when available.

An office suite of software that rivals Microsoft includes word processing, spreadsheet, slide show, and more, PDF makers, a list of terrific image editors, chart makers, accounting, banner builders, animated GIF makers, and I could go on.

This is the first category to come and you can find them here on GalleriaLinda's resource page. The pages have been reorganized so take a look and then click on the red link for the free software page. This category will fill out too as I discover more in my treasure chest.

Most of these links (virtually all of them) come from recommendations from blog owners, forum posters, users, and technology web sites. I feel they are safe. In fact, many of them I have installed on my computer, but as always, it is your responsibility to be prudent with what you download to your computer. I recommend protection software.

Shiny new Project Wonderful ad boxes are ready for anyone who wants to take advantage of free advertising. Not bad for one evening - free software and free advertising. I believe that you are "Business Frugal!"

Pricing Your Products for Online Selling

Let's face it folks, a lot of you are "in business" because of the love of your craft, art, or design. In order to obtain exposure for your creative pieces, you have decided to sell things online, and boom...you are in business.

Along with the joy of creating are things that you have to do for the business end of the deal. We all struggle with the business aspect of things that must be done if we are to continue to create and sell. Pricing is one of those confusing topics. I see pricing in selling venues for like items that go from the ridiculous to the sublime. It can be confusing to a buyer to see like items with such a wide range of pricing and it shows that someone is not being realistic.

One of the first things I did for my GalleriaLinda Artist-designed Jewelry shops when I started selling online was to research pricing formulas for retail. I came up with several different ones. After studying them all, I decided to use one that best suited my business.

One pricing guide, Pricing Your Handmade Jewelry, impressed me the most with the details of pricing and is a resource guide from The Beading Emporium by Ebay powerseller cloudninecat. The guide uses jewelry as examples but you can easily translate the process to any product you may sell.

From a strategic standpoint, did you know that your pricing becomes a part of your branding? Are you known for inexpensive items, expensive items or moderately priced items? This is a part of "who you are and what you do," and how you position your products, your business, and yourself as an artist.

As you read resources and mull over where you fit, here are a few things to think about relative to your pricing:

• Know the actual cost of materials in a piece
• Know your annual operational costs (utilities, equipment, rent, etc..., so you can assign a percentage to each item)
• Assign a labor cost for your work (some start out at $8-$10/hr and work up as they become more known and proficient)
• Select a pricing formula that best suits your business in the moment - your pricing needs may change as time goes on - be flexible and fluid (be conservative if you are new to the craft)
• Keep in mind wholesale pricing for inquiries (don't price your goods so low that you cannot give any discount for wholesale. You may not want to wholesale at this time, but you never know if you will want to in the future - now is the time to be proactive and prepare)
• Research your product's competitors - it is very important to understand the market in which you are entering and what your competitors are charging for like items
• Research what has sold online that are similar items to yours - research frequency of sales and the prices, if available
• Understand your selling venue audience - some target those who spend a lower amount, others target a more affluent audience*
• Above all, once you work through this entire process and come up with a retail price, be realistic with what the market will bear (you may have to back down your retail pricing on an item if it is "priced out of the market," and this goes back to the importance of buying raw materials at the lowest cost)

*A note about your choice of selling venues: each venue targets a different type of buyer or audience. It is important for you to know what that is in terms of affluence, average price of sales, and the aesthetics appreciated from the buyer. See Indie CEO's post on selecting the right selling venue as a good resource to help you research these things.

ThePrettyPeacock has posted a good pricing article on her blog that is worth reading! Checking the blog roll of resources here on Indie CEO on the left side will unearth several articles on pricing.

Let me know through your comments if you would like to see more links on pricing handmade goods - I will research for you!

Sales, Orders, and Tax Organization for 2009

It's done. It has been procrastinated since the last week in December, but it is done. I pay my business taxes on a quarterly basis, but some pay annually or biannually and it depends upon how your business is setup.

I have a simple tax certificate that allows me to purchase raw materials without paying taxes on them at that time. This is because I will be collecting taxes from the customer on those raw materials once they are used in finished products and sold to a customer. More about that around April 15.

Today, I finished my quarterly sales taxes on orders I received and sent out in Q4 of 2008. My state has a state tax plus a county usage tax and each county can be a different percent, therefore, I had to do a bit of sorting, calculating, and merging to fill out the form.

I wanted to share with you GalleriaLinda's Sales, Orders, and Tax spreadsheet that I set up. It may help you and it may not. I have found that looking at and trying out a few of these kind of things can help you to identify what your custom needs are regarding your sales information. A call to your local tax office or accountant (even if it is hubby in the next room) will help you to understand what you will need to document.

Now is the time to get your documentation procedures in place so you are not left in a mess at the end of the year!

Disclaimer about the spreadsheet: I am not an expert at Excel. I do not know your state's tax requirements. I am not an accountant. I can barely add 2+2. SO, this is shared as a resource in concept for you to take and make your own.

I have formulated the calculating cells for what I have in this spreadsheet. If you change or tweak this sheet, they may not work for you. I suggest you find a person proficient in Excel to be sure your calculations work well when you finish making it your own.

Blogging is an Art - What Do I Write About in My Blog?

The series "Blogging is an Art" continues!

• Should I start a blog?
• Will a blog help sales?
• What do I write about in my blog?
• Who will read it and do I need to promote it?
• Where do I go to create a blog?

Q. I am an Indie CEO. What do I write about in a blog?

This question often freezes up new bloggers. New bloggers know they want to blog, but when the blog is setup, writer's block sets in.

If you are new to writing especially, this is quite normal. Be encouraged, though, that the more you write, the easier it becomes, and the more you will enjoy it.

Keep your audience engaged with your content by keeping your topics focused. This goes back to your decision about your target audience and why you want to blog in the first place. What do you have to say? We discussed this in the first part of this series, "Should I Start a Blog?"

There is nothing wrong with wanting to write about everything! In fact, I encourage you to have several blogs that you can strategically use to cross-promote, thereby sustaining traffic on each (more about promoting in the next part of the series). I have this IndieCEO blog, plus my jewelry blog, GalleriaLindaShowcase.

Often, I think of topics and content at the oddest times, so I keep crazy notes about topics with a few little bullet points. These notes get me started on a short post when I have time to sit down and write. Remember that a post should be short. It is not an article.

Think about writing a shop/product/business blog, a crafty technical blog, and a personal blog and target specific content to each. If you decide upon a business blog, you might be inspired by the topics list below. (This is the abbreviated article and list. Download more ideas in the entire “Blogging is an Art – What Should I Write on My Blog?” article here).

Potential Blog Topics

• About you, your background, how you got into your business
• Your expertise as an artist, designer, creative
• Where you learned your expertise
• How you happened to become passionate about your craft
• What media or processes you have worked with, antics, experiences - could be fun!
• Your works in progress - include background and interesting facts that are not found elsewhere - this could be at least 50% of your posts if it is a promoting blog
• Tutorials are very popular for keeping readers and bringing traffic
• What you do locally relative to your business, such as shows, exhibits, etc...
• Interesting facts, such as a favorite cause you support through your business
• Where you are found or featured online

(Eleven more topic suggestions are found in the entire “Blogging is an Art – What Should I Write on My Blog?” article here).

Nimble Businesses Will Win in 2009

It is the first week in January 2009 and already I hear of friends being laid off of their jobs or salaries cut. When times are tough, the tough get going. Are you tough?

You are in control of your own universe. Make choices everyday focusing on those things that you can control and not those things that you cannot control. That makes a lot of sense, especially in these economic times.

As we gently dip our toe in the water of the year 2009, we realize that we are all in this together and are affected by the downturn in the economy. Many of our customers are spending much less, eliminating luxury items from their purchases, are anxious about their job security, and are facing losses in retirement programs.

I do marketing communications consulting work for a large real estate land office and you can only guess the challenges there. I appreciate so much the real estate broker I work with, as he is a staunch supporter of the marketing effort. His mantra is not to cut spending but to rev up marketing efforts in this sluggish market in order to be seen above the clutter. He will have the company well positioned at the time the economy improves and will win business in the meantime by being responsive to clients and their situations.

Realize that it is time for different business strategies.

Rigid business practices will not work anymore. Nimble business practices will win the business of 2009. What can your Indie Business do to review, rethink, and retool?

• Position your company to be above the clutter
• Position your products to be needed - take them from an impulse buy to a need buy
• Position you, as the Indie CEO, to be helpful, flexible, understanding, and supportive of your customers and their situations

Three pages of strategies are available to you by Indie CEO and GalleriaLinda's resource page, or directly Download this 3-page report on how nimble businesses can win in 2009. You can do it!

Painless New Year's Planning for Your Indie Business

It is time! The celebrations have given way to new days for our indie businesses. Away with the old and in with the new!

Has anyone ever asked, encouraged, cajoled, or otherwise arm-twisted you into writing a business plan for you business? Ah....I though not. My famous line is,"If you don't know where you are going, you will never get there." And, I could add, "If you don't know where you have been, you will repeat the same old results."

*Puts on marketing hat.*

Business plans are like math, even to me. They are boring, stodgy, stiff, suck-your-brains-out exercises that are supposed to help you direct your business strategy. Heck! A lot of us did not start this to be a business, anyway...right? GalleriaLinda was born out of encouragement from friends to sell. If you are selling anything, you are in business and you need to listen to this.

I have a fun, painless informal business plan for you. Just answer the questions and you will be surprised at what you see on paper as your business. It is created to identify where you are now, where you want to go, and if you need to change anything. It is not a formal plan but valuable marketing tool for you. Pretend it is a fun quiz! I am calling it a "Think-it-Through list because that is what it is.

If you want to get fancy, you can go to SCORE.org to download great business templates for business plans and other business documents. After this exercise, maybe you will want to do a formal business plan.

Get your GalleriaLinda Painless Business Plan "Think-it-Through" handout today!

Blogging is an Art - Will it Help sales?

In the next few posts, I continue to work through some of the basics of blogging for you in this "Blogging is an Art" series, utilizing my background in marketing communications, as well as my experiences with blogging for GalleriaLinda.

• Should I start a blog?


• Will a blog help sales?


• What should I write about on my blog?


• Who will read it and do I need to promote it?


• Where do I go to create a blog?

Q. I am an Indie CEO. If I start a blog, will it help sales?

The answer is....maybe....it could...if you play your cards right.

My experience considers blogs to be a "soft marketing" strategy and there are many online sellers that have gleaned some sales from featuring their work on their blogs. These sellers are also successful in bringing in reader traffic that is their target customer.

What is "soft marketing?" Soft marketing is really relationship marketing, where you build a relationship over time between you and the reader. This builds trust, familiarity, friendship, and warm fuzzies. Who wouldn't want to buy from a trusted, familiar friend?

Here is a great 30-min audio on soft marketing from Blog Talk Radio.

Soft marketing includes those things that you do for your business that are not blatant promotional selling efforts. Blogs and Flickr photos are examples of soft marketing opportunities. Sales can be had through these methods and are the result of successful "schmoozing!" It takes time and patience but can be very rewarding, not only as a customer builder but as a friendship builder.

Some ways you can utilize your blog content to enhance soft marketing for your products are:

• Be friendly and professional


• Some personal content could be good but be careful to come across as a true professional that runs a viable online business


• Open the doors to your life as a business owner, artist, designer, creative - give a glimpse into these worlds


• Build your brand by optimizing your content for SEO (using appropriate links)


• Showcase your products and creations, giving history, information, and perspective beyond what is found in your shops


• Know where and how to promote your blog to your target audience


• Encourage comments to start a "conversation" with potential customers

You can also create your blog to be your own selling site!

This is good, especially if you do not have your own web site and do not care to list on selling venues or it can be an extension of your selling strategies. There are several ways to do this that include:

• PayPal "buy now" buttons - individual buttons from PayPal that you place by your item photo


• flogd.com - selling format that can be placed on blogs, Facebook, MySpace and other areas

Don't expect the money to come rolling in, however, you can make good strides in increasing views of your work, becoming better known, branding your business, and making friendship sales from your blog.

One last reminder is that you must bring in the right people to see your blog in order for the relationship marketing to work well for you. That is another blog series to come about finding your target customer, so check back very soon!

The "Blogging is an Art" series continues in the days to come.

Blogging is an Art - Should I Start a Blog?

As GalleriaLinda, I participate in a variety of indie arts forums online find many comments and questions continually brought up about blogging. The questions I see are about why to blog and the comments are about how to blog from a content perspective.

Over the years, I have created two blogs. IndieCEO is a business blog that is targeted to a specific audience - the Indie Arts business owners online.

My second blog, gallerialindashowcase, is my jewelry blog that is targeted to both my customer and other online sellers. While I consider it somewhat businessy, it contains lighter topics relative to creating jewelry, photography for online stores, some tutorials, and more.

In the next few posts, I will work through some of the basics of blogging for you in this "Blogging is an Art series".

• Should I start a blog?
• Will a blog help sales?
• What should I write about on my blog?
• Who will read it and do I need to promote it?
• Where do I go to create a blog?

Q. I am an Indie CEO and should I start a blog?

In short, the answer is YES!

Early blogs were setup to be fun, personal diaries with daily life antics that allowed friends and family to keep up with what you are doing. Today, blogs are big business.

Think about using a blog to enhance your online Indie arts business. Some advantages to having a good, targeted business blog include:

• Name recognition for you and your business
• Can set you apart as an expert in your field
• Great SEO & search support if you plan your blog with this in mind
• Features your work to your audience and works for you 24/7
• A place for potential customers to be sent by you to learn about you and your products/services
• An extension and enhancement to your web site and online plan
• An important part of your marketing plan if used correctly
• Once seasoned, a potential for utilizing advertising opportunities

WHY do you want to start a blog? Because everyone else has a blog? Because you want to use it to promote your business? Because you want to ramble on about your inner musings in life? Because you want to make it an extension of your creative expression?

All of these are good, but my experience suggests that it is best if you pick one reason why you want to blog. If you don't know where you are going, you will never get there. If you don't know who you are writing for, no one will read it.

Some things to think about before you actually start your blog are below:

• Why do I want to blog? What is my core reason - pick one. Everything else will fall out of this one objective.
  
• Do I want to blog about business topics, personal topics, a targeted craft topic, a specialty topic, or all the above?


• Who will be my target audience? Fellow indie artists? Friends and family? A targeted group within the arts community? An outside group supporting a cause? Or all the above?
  
• Where will I find this audience?


• How do I plan to promote my blog?


• Who benefits from the blog? Me? Them? Others? All? (goes back to why you want to blog)
  
• Do I have time to nurture this blog with rich content that is interesting to my target audience?

Once you have worked through this, you will have a better idea of how to plan your blog. Blog planning can be as simple as understanding what you want to do with your blog from the questions above, or as complex as a written plan to include promoting and marketing methods; advertising; statistics review, measurement and improvement; content editorial schedule, and more.

Check back for the rest of the "Blogging is an Art" series!

Selling Venues Galore!

It wasn't but a little over two years ago that I was looking for a way to post products online for GalleriaLinda without doing the auction thing. I really dislike the auction process, although many sellers love it.

A friend of mine in another state who does not even make crafts, told me about Etsy.com. A friend of hers discovered Etsy and was setting up shop, and told her, and she told me. That is how we find out a lot of information! At that time, there were very few venues online that I found, other than Ebay, which was not an option for me.

Since then, and since Etsy has been a successful pioneer and benchmark in targeted handcraft selling, a lot of venues have popped up. Now, there are a variety of venues to select and the decision can be overwhelming. I personally found and documented almost 50 selling venues...not including auction sites.

You might be interested in the post on the INDIE CEO blog called "Selecting the Right Online Selling Venue" that will give you a few pointers on where to start when thinking about the best selling venues for your products and customers.

For traffic ranking on many of these selling sites, GalleriaLinda found Shiny Adornment's blog post here.

For your use, here is GalleriaLinda's List of 47 Selling Venues. At this writing, this list is just a list. It does NOT include auction sites and there are likely a few more to add.

The venues listed can be categorized into what can be sold, US sites, sites from other countries, those that bring in traffic, those that don't, and various other categories.

There are so many other things we can research on each, such as traffic to each as Shiny Adornments posted, as well as demographics, fees, listing limits, payment vendors, and much more.

Why do I care about all of this? Simply, to keep up with competitive research and to see where my target customer shops.

I have a feeling that many readers have blog posts that may present some of these. If so, please leave a comment with your blog post URL.

As you work your way through this list, I would love for you to comment back about your impressions of the venues that you like or dislike.

If you currently sell on venues on this list, please let me know about your experience in the comment section!

Warning...You Are Entering a Business Dead Zone....

WARNING!! You are entering the business dead zone....

That vacuum is what we call the last week in December. As the wrath of the main holiday is over and we are left in a steaming pile of gift wrap, clutter, and lethargy, we struggle to get back into our routines. And, there is more!! Here comes the New Year's holiday. Oy!

The short week between the Christmas holidays and New Year's Day is a business dead zone. While there are people who work this week, many don't and vacation times make many desks empty. What does this mean for you? It means that you cannot move forward with much that involves other business associates, whether they are vendors, employees, or customers.

In my many years in the corporate business world, I discovered early on that business does not crank up from the holidays (here in the US, at least) until about January 15. People are recovering from the holidays and are slow to get into their routines. Years ago, I quit the frustration of trying to “do business” during this time and started PLANNING for this welcomed slow time.

This is a GOOD TIME for:

• Remembering your customers, writing notes
• Nurturing your online marketing plan
• Updating, checking all of your online venues for policies
• Continuing education
• Updating and researching certifications
• Creating new products
• Planning out new services
• Catching up on administrative work, like taxes, data input
• Updating your business plan (yes, you heard me!!)

For my marketing consulting business, I am planning out my scheduling and working on obtaining new clients locally.

For my GalleriaLinda.com online jewelry business, I am implementing and nurturing my online marketing plan that is outlined in my business plan (yes, you heard me!!).

This is the time to make the slower business activity work to your advantage!

Even though you may not make the sales you desire, what better time to use this vacuum than to enhance your business through planning that will increase your business throughout 2009! Happy New Year!