Get your banner! Get your Avatar!

I had once been told by a great marketing genius (From Marketing Mama's 101, Jackie Ladner), that you should have a consistent banner and graphics to depict your shop/store. Well, I didn't believe her and I wanted different graphics for each of my stores- Hmm.... I think she was right! I have found that it is difficult to keep the banners straight- I get confused on what goes where, etc. Also, my customers do not recognize this as the same company. So, She was right, I was wrong! I have looked at all my banners and Just can't decide- I have been creating mine through a free banner service (Banner Maker)- if you check the archives you will find the post that discusses how to use and create your own banners.

Now that my business is starting to take off- I think I need one, select banner to represent the store. However, I will use a different banner for each of my blogs- thus, to keep those straight and not confuse my readers. Each of the blogs is so different, - one is for marketing, one is for personal wellness/life change, and one is for family friendly and reviews of products...

However, in searching for the perfect banner to represent my company, I want to ensure that it is something I will keep forever. It is not good to change your look constantly. I have finally figured out my best packaging of my product strategy, so it is time to find the perfect representation. I have scoured several different banner sites, shops, etc. One that I think you could all try, be happy with, and is completely affordable is Heartland Graphics- see the link below. Give it a try, browse, let me know what your think. I still haven't made the official CHOICE for mine yet- but when I do, I will let you all know.

In the meantime, check the graphics out... If you sell handmade, I think you will find the underlying theme they have at Heartland will go well with your products!

You can create a slide of your items, see more....

Spotlighting the Fuzz B

The Spotlight is up and running... So, if you have a grand opening, a sale, or any contests/giveaways you want to promote...go to the link below, scroll down and complete the submission requirements. This is free, and only requires your assistance in tweeting, and promoting by posting the banner! check out what's up there now! Some great sales are currently underway....





This week I want to introduce the newbies to selling online to a great resource... The Fuzz B. This is an excellent spot to sell your wares, and a great option for promoting. There are a few things that make the Fuzz B different from other venues:

1. At the Fuzz B you can create your own unique marketplace- Not just a store, but a market category in which you can allow others to sell under. All of your store items do not have to go under this category, but you can place several. For example, you have likely heard of cafe handmade? That is a marketplace that contains multiple items from various vendors... Or Cotton Candy Marketplace? I even have a Mommy Tyme Gifts Marketplace. You can design, list, and link this marketplace to any social network you choose... Exciting, eh?

2. Another cool option with the fuzz b is the ability to promote all of your various stores (not just Fuzz B stores) from one single page. You can add your widgets from various sites like Artfire, Winkelf, Etsy, etc onto your Fuzz B page. Crazy! This simplifies your life, as you can just list one URL for promoting items at all your various venues. It also allows for you to promote your blog, your website and more! (see my example at http://fuzzb.com/MommyTyme)

3. There are various pricing options- all very affordable. You can try a shop for free, too! How can you beat that? Then if you enjoy the ease of access, friendly environment, and supportive team, you can upgrade to a regular store, and more!

Oh, and don't forget you can create a widget store that you can post anywhere... See mine below!



See what is happening at the Fuzz B






Stop by my Fuzz Hub page and check out more great things you can do at the Fuzz B!


http://fuzzbearthmarketplace.ning.com/profile/Valerie

Free store? Venue? and Network?

So we have been talking about joining social networks to promote and opening your selling sites.. So, I was just informed the following site is now free for you to sell and you can also join the social network that it works with for free! The two are intertwined, offer you fantastic resources for selling, a great bunch of people to shoot the breeze with, talk shop with, and learn from... This is really an exciting opportunity. So, check it out ...


Visit I Love Artistry Arts













Similarly, the following, Made It Myself, or MIM is also free and has an adjoining social network. Besides that, there is a paid Gift shop site you can participate in. So, take a moment to check these out, also..





Visit Made it Myself on Ning



Good luck in your store and social network choices. Once you have made a few, feel free to post them in the comments and advertise them to our fellow readers... This is a great way to promote your network and your selling sites... Can't wait to hear where you've set up shop!

Make More Sales Series- Phase 1

Ok, so you have a product you want to sell? Well, let's get it out there! First you need to choose a venue to sell your product. If it is handmade, there are several choices like Made it Myself, Etsy, Shop Handmade, Winkelf, and many more (see the tags and links at the bottom). You need to consider, how much are you willing to invest in selling venues. Some are 5-10 bucks, while others are free. However, a free store is useless unless it has traffic, and a large widely publicized store is useless if it has too much competition and others have the same product as you... Thus, the dilemma. So, you will need to explore each store to determine what is right for you. One thing I initially did was to sign up for every store I could find, place my items then just see what happens.... I have now waited about 4 months and am in the phase of narrowing down my store outlets. Attempting to keep up with several stores is difficult and it is hard to track your inventory. Furthermore it is time consuming to list products everywhere. So, figure out which stores you want to try, set them up, and wait a few months to figure out which is the best venue for your Product!











Do you have other selling venues? Post or comment them to share with our viewers/subscribers/readers....




In the meantime, you will want to access social network sites to find resources, help, support, and friendships. Social networks should not be ignored. This is a wide variety of individuals who may not only be potential customers, but network guru's who can guide you down the right path. I belong to several. Many allow you to post your products, sell your products, post your links, banners, badges and more. That is what you need! So, find the social network that has the tips, members, groups, and forums you are looking for- not just for promoting, but for networking. I have listed several that I belong to, and feel free to sign up for these- tell them Mommy Tyme sent you. Next week we will work on RSS feeds, and your blog!


Visit StartUp



Visit Online Shopping Mall



Visit Artisans/Jewelry Designers Ltd.



Visit The Cafe Handmade Lounge



Visit Live Laugh & Love To Shop


There are so many, I can't list them all right here. But if you use the link below you can browse all of the Ning social networks to find what is right for you.


Visit Ning Directory - Promoting Ning Networks

Mommy’s gone overboard, AGAIN

In my attempt to market my products and advertise my items, I started spending endless hours scouring the web, free website submission services, joining social networks, etc. What has now happened is I have joined so many groups and signed up for hundreds of free web surfing sites that I actually spend about 2 ½ hours each morning just trying to catch up with my obligations to the groups I have joined. I then found Twitter. Wow! I thought this is a fantastic opportunity to advertise my items and my sales to thousands of people. That, of course, led to face book, my space and more….

 

So, what I have run into is about 240 emails each morning when I wake up that need answered. After that I have to check all of my stores (which I also went overboard on, and opened one in several marketplaces), then my pay pal account, and finally, as time allows, I get the chance to update my own website, blog, and add items to my store. This is crazy! I have put myself out there in so many places that I am spending more time on the web then I am on creating the projects I love.

 

So, this week I have decided to review, reduce, and downsize my outlets and marketing attempts. The reality is, that when you spread yourself so thin, the work you are doing is quantity and not quality. Just putting a badge or banner up on a social network page and showing a few pictures, really isn't what social networking is about. The idea behind the social networking groups is to show yourself to others, make friends (thus the word social), learn new techniques, ideas, share thoughts and more. Your social networks should not just be networks that you think you can sell yourself at, or that you think you can market from. Social networks are not designed for that purpose unless that is in the name and description of the network. Rather, the social network is designed to meet new people, make friends, and find similar interests with others that you can share. Somehow I have missed some great friendship opportunities on these networks because I am so busy trying to catch up with every network.

 

Another mistake is joining several free web submission services that require you earn credits by surfing pages. Joining one or two of these sites is truthfully all one person can handle if they only have 1-2 hours on the internet a day. If you are not familiar with these programs, the idea is that you surf and review other's people's web sites. You earn credits for each site reviewed. You can then spend these credits by having your website posted for others to review in the same program. This does bring traffic to your site; however, it is not the right traffic. That is the key. You want traffic to your site and stores of people who are interested in purchasing or shopping for your line of items. That is the mistake so many of us make. We think that the odds are in our favor if we get enough individuals browsing our sites, but reality is these individuals are viewing your sites for the same reason you are viewing theirs. Not because you are interested, but because you need credits. So, if you agree to these programs, make sure the program is one which allows you to choose your interests for the sites you will be viewing, and that allows you to plug your site into certain categories that a viewer can choose to look at. So, you would not want to list your site under web development if you are selling jewelry. Otherwise the people who are searching web development may look at your site, but they are not interested.

 

The same concept applies to your twitter messages. You don't want just any followers, you want the right followers. The same applies when you are searching twitter for people to follow. If you are interested in free web submission, and you type that in, that is what you will get. You can follow these individuals, but it may lead to you getting followers who are interested in free web submission services- not the true items you are marketing. So, at least once or twice a week you should look for twitter's that has key words relative to your items. Examples would be, "shop for jewelry", "green gem stones", etc. Or if you have bath and body products, "lotions on sale", "buy handmade soap", etc. Once you find the twitter's with these key phrases, follow them. Even if they are a seller, too, you may gain some of their followers by the follow list posted to the side. Make sure you tweet some general interest items once in a while, too. People want to get to know the seller, and short brief phrases allow some insight into your personality.

 

So, learning from my mistakes the past few months, my agenda is now to downsize some of my outlets. I am going to review all the social networks I belong to and reduce my participation to those that I really enjoy, those that I have made friends on, and those that have similar interests to my own. I have listed a few great sites below, and hope if you have time you will check them out! Second, I am going to withdraw my site surfing programs to only two. The two that I choose will allow the viewer to choose categories of sites they want to view, and categories for which they can list their own sites. Finally, I am going to review my twitter follow list and reduce to those that I actually want to read and follow. Hopefully, this will free up at least half of the time I currently spend on the internet and allow me to get back to Creating! I haven't been in the kitchen for a week to make a batch of lotion, soap, or melts. I have barely picked up my crochet hook! Without my time for those interests, I feel empty and lost.

 

I hope this helps someone else out there who find themselves being sucked into a variety of outlets, and unsure which ones to let go and which ones to pursue. There are only so many hours in the day, and the majority of those hours should be spent doing what you love. If you love marketing on the web, then you are fine, but if you love creating with your hands, you may want to consider downsizing.

 

 

 

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