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

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!