Keywords and Links

As an online presence and a store owner we rely on search engines to bring our customers to us. How can we use the search engines to our best advantage? I've written about keywords before, but they are important enough for another article and I will include links here as well.

Keywords are how our customers find us. What are keywords? Keywords describe your item. I make handmade clay jewelry, so the keywords, for my store items, would be, polymer clay, handmade clay jewelry, clay jewelry, polymer jewelry, North Shore Clay Jewelry, North Shore Clay, I think you get the idea. Use these keywords throughout the text of your site. What makes it tough sometimes is that some words are so obvious that they are only implied and are never stated often enough. Like your town name, state, or brand name. So let me go back to my keywords and revise the list now with the keywords that I left out. North Shore, Lake Superior, MN.
Be sure to use these "implied" words often throughout your text, certainly more than once.

Regarding links. Search engines consider incoming links as signs of popularity and will move you right up the list in a quick fashion. A successful tactic is to guest author an article at another site in exchange for a link. Exchange links with a fellow crafter. Etsy has many wonderful store keepers who help with this all the time. http://Etsy.com

A final word regarding your online profile. It is much better to use a few tools wisely and consistently than be spread so thinly that you can't keep up and have outdated information. Find out what works for you, what you have time for, and remember that keywords and links are, well, key!

Finding New Customers

Having an online store is simply not enough. But the question is, how do you find customers? The answer is simple, but it does take some work on your part. Go to the sites your customers visit. How do you find them you say? You ask. Then you go to those sites and engage in meaningful conversation with them. The operative word here is "meaningful". You are not trying to make a sale when you are visiting these sites that your customers visit. You are building a relationship. For example, if one of your customers frequents Flickr, and is interested in photography, figure out how it relates to your line of work and meet them there. Then you can decide which tools to use to best reach your potential customers. When you meet your customers on their turf and are interest in what they are interested in and can talk with them about those things, it will be a natural extension that your sales with climb.

Craft Brokers

Craft Brokers look for quality design and execution, good value and most important, realistic production schedules. A craft broker might be a good idea is you have a minimum production of $1,000.00 a week and your crafts are unusual or extra special. Craft brokers usually charge 20% commission on each sale.

Craft brokers are only really geared towards to people who have done well and tested products at retail craft shows and are looking to get into real volume wholesaling. A key ingredient in getting your product to sell in catalogs is they have to have a different spin. Even people who have already mastered their media and are doing well in retail craft shows need that extra zing.

The best and most innovative products have come about when someone has come into their studio or office on the weekend to make something really special for a close friend that is different from their regular line. That is when the best products are created.

If you have a product that can fill a need, do it effectively and sell it in volume, a craft broker might be something you want to check into.

As always, craft on!

Make What The Customers Want

I wear the necklaces I make all the time. I usually wear the ones I like the best. When I first started making necklaces from clay and I wore them, I really didn't get much feedback. Now when I wear them, I get lots of attention. People ask me about my necklaces. They comment that they like them. And I try to remember to take my business cards with me everywhere I go.

Today, I wore a different clay necklace that I have made. It is a fish. The clay fishies are really cute, but just not my style of jewelry. Anyway, I got more comments on that little pink fish than on any other necklace that I have worn over the past six months. What lesson can I learn from this? What should I be thinking about when I am creating my clay jewelry?

Just when I think I know what will be a great selling item. Things change. I think that's a good thing. It will keep me on my toes. But I need to remember to always think about what my customers will want. What I like, is not necessarily what my customers will like.

Keywords

Okay, business owners, I've seen websites where we can pay big bucks that will help us find "keywords" that our customers use to "find" our products. What do we as "salespeople" need to know about "keywords" to better sell our products? Again, any ideas?