Archive for August, 2008
August 27, 2008 at 11:22 am
· Filed under handcrafted jewelry, handmade jewelry, handmade jewelry business, unique jewelry, wholesale jewelry ·Tagged articles, blogs, business, copper jewelry, handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade jewelry, online marketing, unique jewelry, wholesale jewelry
Handmade jewelry-handcrafted pins brooches-dragonfly jewelry
If you make handmade jewelry or have a retail store that sells handcrafted artisan jewelry you need to be online! With millions of handmade jewelry websites how do you get your product seen online? It’s not going to be easy and it takes a lot of hard work, not to mention time. If you pay someone to get you to the first page it’s going to cost you. If you do it yourself it will take time, effort and a lot of reading, but it will be worth it and its kind of fun. Even though the competition is fierce, there is still room at the top if you want to play the online marketing game. Let’s play!
So where do you start? The first thing you will need to do is take great pictures of your handmade jewelry. “A picture is worth a thousand words” or not. Make sure the photos are in focus clearly showing your design. Don’t put jewelry on a rock or a hunk of wood, although it is very natural and artsy, it is too hard for people to make out in the seconds you have to catch their attention online. Your handmade jewelry should be on a plain background so it stands out clearly.
Now you need a website, if you’re just starting there are lots of free blogs out there. I prefer the WordPress.com, mostly because it’s easy and has lots of plug-ins to do all the SEO work for you. Once you are up and running you can invest more into the site but we are trying to save some money and do it all for free, for now.
Read, read and read more; you can never have too much information. The web is filled with great information; every time you see something new do a search until you understand what it means. SEO is the most important part of getting good search engine rankings. Make sure to have meta title, description and keywords tags. Don’t forget image alt attributes as well. Do your keyword research and write it into your content.
Off-site SEO factors means links to your site. This is probably the hardest and most time consuming because you need to get related sites to link to you. Make sure your site is ready and has good content that other sites will want to link to. Stick with it and bit by bit links will come. Check other related sites link pages to get more links. Make sure you have your target keywords in you link information.
Do all these things then continually read and update your site as you go; this is a continuing process always needing to be tweaked. Check your statistics to see what is working and what isn’t. Change the things that aren’t working.
Time is also an important factor. Everything takes time so try not to get frustrated when things don’t happen overnight. Patience is a necessary virtue in handmade jewelry and online marketing. Good luck to you in all your online marketing efforts!
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August 21, 2008 at 12:17 pm
· Filed under handcrafted jewelry, handmade jewelry, handmade jewelry business, home-based business, small business, unique jewelry, wholesale jewelry ·Tagged handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade jewelry, handmade jewelry business, wholesale handmade jewelry, wholesale jewelry
wholesale handmade jewelry-handcrafted barrettes-butterfly jewelry
If you have a retail store or boutique these days you have to stand out from the crowd. With so many products available, providing handmade jewelry and unique gift ideas for your customers makes your store stand out and people take notice. Variety is the key to great sales. Provide your customers a wide range of styles, shapes, colors and prices. Offer a choice of materials; stones, beads, shells, resins and metals. You will find that casual sales become repeat customers if you select a great variety of unique handcrafted jewelry and gifts that will suit everyones personal style! Aim to give your customers an unique shopping experience, unusual high quality products and excellent personal service.
Where do you find suppliers for wholesale handmade jewelry and gifts? You have lots of choices but obviously the easiest and fastest way would be online. Just Google or Yahoo! search “wholesale handmade jewelry” to find suppliers for your store, can’t get much easier than that! You can also search “handmade jewelry directories”, most web directories even have a separate section for unique handmade jewelry. You can search anywhere, anytime; whenever it is convenient for you. Today you can find everything you need online without all the expenses of attending the traditional Wholesale Jewelry and Gift Shows. Everyone has a contact us page so you can ask any questions you may have if its not already in the FAQ. Online companies try to give you as much information about their products as they can. This is hard to absorb in the hustle and bustle of shows but comes naturally when you are relaxed and interested in the product. You will know the special features and techniques used to make the handmade jewelry and gifts. This information will help you to sell the products better.
If you are more a hands-on type, wholesale jewelry and gift shows are the next best option. At these shows you will see the actual products but attending these shows can be quite costly, tiring and they are only held at certain times of the year. The wide range of products available might overwhelm first time buyers but you’ll quickly learn how to narrow your search to find the items you want to see. You may just find that you can sell the handcrafted products better when you have made a connection with a real person. Pay attention to how they sell their products to you and you can carry that over to when you are selling their products to your own customers. The better the personal connection with a product, the better your sales will be!
Handcrafted artisan jewelry will attract new customers to your store. Many jewelry artists have a loyal following who will seek you out in order to buy their favorite artists’ jewelry. Look to provide a range of products and prices. People generally look for that extra special piece once in a while; for anniversaries or weddings. Have some outstanding pieces for them and to draw people into your store. More reasonably priced jewelry will sell more often to more people. Pay special attention to what we call the “added value” jewelry – this is handmade jewelry that looks more expensive than it is. This is the impulse buy type of jewelry; who can say no to unique handcrafted jewelry that is affordable and you can wear it every day?
Your goal is to make your customers come back time after time to check out your great selection of handmade jewelry. Whatever the occasion handcrafted jewelry will continue to keep them coming back for more!
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August 13, 2008 at 2:31 pm
· Filed under fashion jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, handmade jewelry, handmade jewelry business, home-based business, small business, unique jewelry, wholesale fashion jewelry, wholesale jewelry ·Tagged copper jewelry, handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, handmade jewelry, handmade jewelry business, unique handmade jewelry, unique jewelry, wholesale jewelry
handcrafted jewelry-handmade earrings-wolf jewelry
We have been making handmade copper jewelry and gifts for almost 25 years. We have built our company from the ground up. We started with just a small table on the street, we had a retail store, we have participated in arts and crafts shows in Canada and the United States, exhibited at wholesale jewelry and gift shows and now we are online for the entire world! There is no overnight success in business; you need to build your business step by step on a solid foundation to ensure continued success.
A lot has changed over the years but we still find that the wholesale gift shows are continuing to generate increased sales. Exhibiting at wholesale gift shows is still the best way to get your product noticed. Buyers from all over the country come to the gift shows looking for new products and suppliers. Even if you come away with just sales leads, they are targeted and with a few follow-up calls you will make the sale. You are showing your product to a targeted market that has been established for decades. People go to wholesale gift shows to place orders and see your products first hand. Even the best photos cannot sell your product as well as you can.
Most wholesale buyers still find ordering online intimidating. At wholesale gift shows buyers see the product, touch the product and time and time again they order the product. They feel confident that they will be able to sell your products. The sale becomes more personal in a world that every day becomes more impersonal; there is nothing better than making the sale face to face. Buyers associate your product with you. The relationships that you build at the gift shows will continue for many years. We have found that many of our new customers are referred to us by our existing customers. There is no better compliment.
While online marketing opens the whole world for your wholesale products, it is still very important to have a continued presence at wholesale jewelry and gift shows. The majority of our orders and re-orders come directly from wholesale shows. We continue our online efforts to support our existing customers in Canada and the United States and we are making good progress to attract our targeted market from around the world.
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August 1, 2008 at 12:11 pm
· Filed under fashion jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, handmade jewelry, handmade jewelry business, home-based business, small business, unique jewelry, wholesale fashion jewelry, wholesale jewelry ·Tagged copper jewelry, fashion jewelry, handcrafted artisan jewelry, handcrafted jewelry, handmade bracelets, handmade earrings, handmade jewelry, unique jewelry, wholesale fashion jewelry, wholesale jewelry
Handcrafted jewelry-Unique handmade earrings-Floral jewelry
How do find your inspiration for your handmade jewelry, writing your blog or just plain living? Every one finds inspiration in their own place. We look to nature and the beauty that surrounds us every single day for our handmade jewelry designs. The colors of the sea, the greens of the leaves blowing in the wind, everything around us provides us with inspiration. We have even made earring designs inspired by buildings and architecture. There is no lack of inspiration if you just look around with an open mind. We can all be looking at the same scene but what makes an artist is that we will all see different things and create unique pieces of handcrafted artisan jewelry. I believe this is the most exciting part of the handmade jewelry process. An open mind and observation are the key not only to making jewelry but also living life to its fullest whatever you do for a living.
But what do you do when your pool of creativity seems to have dried up? Creativity is not something that can be pushed or you just get the same old things and it feels like your going in the same circle. It’s time to take a break from your every day life; go for a walk, visit somewhere new, get away from things that cause you stress and do something fun. You’ll be refreshed, inspired and feel a new enthusium for your work. Who knows, you might even have missed it!
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