deep
in
New
York
at
Midnight........
I love beading and taking pictures of my work. Many lovely necklaces, bracelets, earrings and odd pieces will be posted here along with links to my favorite bead related sites. I may even stick in an odd hand crafted item from time to time because doing the same thing day after day gets boring! Have fun looking!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Red on White Doily
I started this doily with the full intention of getting it done for Valentine's Day. Obviously, that didn't happen. Are you like me? Everything seems to take twice as long as I expect it to and the older I get, the longer it takes!
This piece measures just over 9 inches square. It can be found on my Etsy page by clicking on either of the pictures of it.
Today I also listed earrings to match my black evening necklace. Click on the picture to find more information about them too.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thank You To Beyond Baffled
Jessie from http://beyondbaffled.blogspot.com/ sent me this blog award. She has a very nice blog with some great posts about the miniature world. Check her out when you have time.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Formal Evening Black Beaded Necklace
This is one of those WOW pieces I just couldn't wait to finish so I could share it with you. It felt elegant in my hands as I made it and it came out beautifully. My Hubby thinks it would look good in red. I'm thinking maybe Sapphire blue. What do you think?
For a better look and more details click HERE
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Selling On Handmade Sites Such as Etsy
I am the web leader for a team of jewelry artists on Etsy. We started up because all the other groups were filled. Over the Valentine season there was a lot of moaning going on in our group because sales were terrible. I took time to look over everyone's shop and found a lot of things in common that are being done wrong. Here are some of the things that need to be worked on in general. The comments are geared towards selling jewelry on Etsy but they would apply to anyone selling just about anything on a similar site.
The number one, and most important thing is pictures. I can't stress it enough. You need to have those 5 spaces filled with bright, clean, clear shots of your items. It is sometimes very hard to make a Treasury because I can't find good pictures that fit my theme. I'm thinking maybe others are having the same
problem.
Get or make a light box. Set your camera on a tripod or a pile of books or anything you can to keep it steady. Find some source of good lighting. If all you have is a window on a sunny day then wait for the sun to shine. I'm afraid I'd never get any pictures taken if I had to do that. We've had maybe 2 days of sun this month! If you have an Ott light, or natural light bulbs they work quite well as a substitute. Do not yeild to the temptation to use the flash on your camera. The glare it creates makes for a less than desireable result.
Look at what the top sellers do for their pictures. I don't claim to be a top seller, but I try to follow their examples. Lay your items on plain backgrounds. Get down to table level. Get in close. If there is an obvious back, show it in one shot. Get a nice hanging shot for your necklaces and earrings. Use a necklace display manequin if you can. I just have black and white. When I can afford one, I'm going to get a tan one. I hate trying to get a good picture on black. It just doesn't work well.
Use a photo editing program. There are free ones available online. I used Picasa. It works the best for me. Don't be in such a hurry to get the item online that you allow yourself to use a bad photo. If it looks "iffy" to you, it is going to look terrible to others. I was taught one major thing. "Get it in the lense." If you don't get a good shot in the first place, no editing program available will fix it. If your pictures aren't great, do them over.
Moving on. The other main problem I am seeing is descriptions. I HATE writing copy, but it has to be done. What is special about your item? If there's nothing special chances are it's not going to sell. What is is made of? Be sure to include both the metals and the bead types. What is the size? I've seen a lot of jewelry listed to sell worldwide that only provides the measurements in inches. The US is just about the only place that knows what an inch is! Use metric. If you can't convert in your head, there are places online that will do it for you. I have about a half dozen 6 inch rulers that are both centimeters and inches. They're great and they were free from Fire Mountain. I just lay my earrings on them and I get both measurements to list.
Make sure everything is filled out on your Etsy page. Profile, location, policies, etc. Don't present yourself in an unprofessional way. Approach your page as a business even is it is only a hobby.
This last paragraph could have contained a bit more. I stopped short for fear of hurting some feelings. If selling online is simply a hobby for you and you don't care if you sell anything or not, then share that it is just a hobby. Personally, I probably wouldn't buy from someone who approaches their craft this way. If you really want to sell, present yourself as a professional who really knows what they are doing, even if you are sitting there in your PJ's and have only sold a few items. Buyers won't take you seriously if you don't.
Some of this is my opinion, some is proven fact. It's a good start at taking a second look at any web site you have that just isn't moving your product. I'm off to create!
Sandy
The number one, and most important thing is pictures. I can't stress it enough. You need to have those 5 spaces filled with bright, clean, clear shots of your items. It is sometimes very hard to make a Treasury because I can't find good pictures that fit my theme. I'm thinking maybe others are having the same
problem.
Get or make a light box. Set your camera on a tripod or a pile of books or anything you can to keep it steady. Find some source of good lighting. If all you have is a window on a sunny day then wait for the sun to shine. I'm afraid I'd never get any pictures taken if I had to do that. We've had maybe 2 days of sun this month! If you have an Ott light, or natural light bulbs they work quite well as a substitute. Do not yeild to the temptation to use the flash on your camera. The glare it creates makes for a less than desireable result.
Look at what the top sellers do for their pictures. I don't claim to be a top seller, but I try to follow their examples. Lay your items on plain backgrounds. Get down to table level. Get in close. If there is an obvious back, show it in one shot. Get a nice hanging shot for your necklaces and earrings. Use a necklace display manequin if you can. I just have black and white. When I can afford one, I'm going to get a tan one. I hate trying to get a good picture on black. It just doesn't work well.
Use a photo editing program. There are free ones available online. I used Picasa. It works the best for me. Don't be in such a hurry to get the item online that you allow yourself to use a bad photo. If it looks "iffy" to you, it is going to look terrible to others. I was taught one major thing. "Get it in the lense." If you don't get a good shot in the first place, no editing program available will fix it. If your pictures aren't great, do them over.
Moving on. The other main problem I am seeing is descriptions. I HATE writing copy, but it has to be done. What is special about your item? If there's nothing special chances are it's not going to sell. What is is made of? Be sure to include both the metals and the bead types. What is the size? I've seen a lot of jewelry listed to sell worldwide that only provides the measurements in inches. The US is just about the only place that knows what an inch is! Use metric. If you can't convert in your head, there are places online that will do it for you. I have about a half dozen 6 inch rulers that are both centimeters and inches. They're great and they were free from Fire Mountain. I just lay my earrings on them and I get both measurements to list.
Make sure everything is filled out on your Etsy page. Profile, location, policies, etc. Don't present yourself in an unprofessional way. Approach your page as a business even is it is only a hobby.
This last paragraph could have contained a bit more. I stopped short for fear of hurting some feelings. If selling online is simply a hobby for you and you don't care if you sell anything or not, then share that it is just a hobby. Personally, I probably wouldn't buy from someone who approaches their craft this way. If you really want to sell, present yourself as a professional who really knows what they are doing, even if you are sitting there in your PJ's and have only sold a few items. Buyers won't take you seriously if you don't.
Some of this is my opinion, some is proven fact. It's a good start at taking a second look at any web site you have that just isn't moving your product. I'm off to create!
Sandy
Thursday, February 18, 2010
No Joke - This would be funny if it weren't so typical!
I had to share this with all of you. My blog is usually so, well - blah. I thought a bit of humor would perk things up a bit. It's sad that this happens way too often these days.
I am told this is an actual cake, made at a nation wide, everybody shops there, super store. I will refrain from actually naming them, but you can probably guess. To be sure, it wasn't Bloomingdales or Ace of Cakes.
I am assuming if you are smart enough to use a computer and navigate your way to my blog, you will see what is wrong with this picture, and it's not just the spelling!
I am told this is an actual cake, made at a nation wide, everybody shops there, super store. I will refrain from actually naming them, but you can probably guess. To be sure, it wasn't Bloomingdales or Ace of Cakes.
I am assuming if you are smart enough to use a computer and navigate your way to my blog, you will see what is wrong with this picture, and it's not just the spelling!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
For Those Of You Who Sell Online
Today I am going to share a few tips I have picked up to help you increase your views, and hopefully your sales. I had to learn these the hard way, so I thought I would share from my experiences to save some of you time and energy.
First, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Oh, how I hate to even see this term pop up! It seems like the rules change daily. Just about the time I get everything the way Google wants it, they change their minds. Must be run by fickle men. We women would figure it out right the first time - right?
A while back Etsy started promoting ways to increase your chances of getting picked up by Google. They have a detailed "how to" on their site. I went through and did what they suggested for most of my items. Recently I imported all of my Etsy items to Art Fire. After I did all of that the Art Fire administration tells us that Google will kick our items if they find two identical titles! So - now I have to change over 500 titles on one of those sites so they aren't the same and Google will accept them. What a pain! SO, if you are going to list an item in more than one place, anywhere on the Internet, be sure you change the titles to something different for every site. Oh , and have fun......(not)
The rest I have to share is for those of you selling on Art Fire only. I have figured out how to incorporate my mailing list there so people can sign up directly from my Art Fire page. IF I ever figure out how to do it on Etsy I will be thrilled, and sure to share it. I put a "how to" on my Art Fire blog. You can also find an how to for changing the look of your shop. Here is the address: Forbes Farm Art Fire Blog . I hope you find it useful.
I'm off to the studio to try and find some inspiration for something new. I'm presently stuck in a floral earring rut!
Have a good day all.
Sandy
First, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Oh, how I hate to even see this term pop up! It seems like the rules change daily. Just about the time I get everything the way Google wants it, they change their minds. Must be run by fickle men. We women would figure it out right the first time - right?
A while back Etsy started promoting ways to increase your chances of getting picked up by Google. They have a detailed "how to" on their site. I went through and did what they suggested for most of my items. Recently I imported all of my Etsy items to Art Fire. After I did all of that the Art Fire administration tells us that Google will kick our items if they find two identical titles! So - now I have to change over 500 titles on one of those sites so they aren't the same and Google will accept them. What a pain! SO, if you are going to list an item in more than one place, anywhere on the Internet, be sure you change the titles to something different for every site. Oh , and have fun......(not)
The rest I have to share is for those of you selling on Art Fire only. I have figured out how to incorporate my mailing list there so people can sign up directly from my Art Fire page. IF I ever figure out how to do it on Etsy I will be thrilled, and sure to share it. I put a "how to" on my Art Fire blog. You can also find an how to for changing the look of your shop. Here is the address: Forbes Farm Art Fire Blog . I hope you find it useful.
I'm off to the studio to try and find some inspiration for something new. I'm presently stuck in a floral earring rut!
Have a good day all.
Sandy
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