Tip #3

Taking a “GOOD” Photo of your Item

This is one of the MOST important things you can do as a sales woman!!! You want to give the BEST impression possible of your item, and a good photo is always a great way to do that!!! I know some place use models to show off their items, and these are always AMAZING photos for your products. BUT not everyone can afford to “Give Away” their items to do this, so I will give you a few pointers that make for a great DIY photo. Let’s get to it shall we!?!?

1. Backgrounds ~ These are always a great way to ensure that your images look professional!! Even with a Regular Joe camera, a neutral background, like colored paper or wood flooring, can make all the difference. You can even try outdoor areas like decks, clothes lines, grass, etc….
2. Lighting ~ Make sure you are taking your photos in a well lit area!! Too dark and the product will be hard to see, same with an area that is overly bright!! You may also need to soften or turn off the flash on your camera to reduce glare.
3. Props ~ Props are always a great addition to ANY photo!! Even something simple like glitter or confetti can add pizzazz!! If you have a manikin head or large doll, these are great for taking photos of Headbands/Clips & Hats. Dress manikins are great for clothing items like Dresses, Shirts, or Tutus.  Don’t be afraid to invent new ways to spice up your photos with some props!!
4. Photoshop or Paint Shop ~ This is for the more advanced photo taker. Programs like Photoshop or Paint Shop can be used to add more color with borders or watermarks (preventing your photo from being used by others).  Also a great way to put a name with the product!!!

Hopefully by following these helpful tips you can start producing 

quality images of your products!! :-)

Tip #2

 “What is the best way for me to promote my business & especially gain  more fans on my FB?” 

Question E-mailed in by Jennifer F.

Looks like now is the best time to talk about how to be a good Facebooker!!

There are MANY different ways for you to advertise your business and gain fans, you just need to know how to work them. Here are a few helpful tips on improving your Facebook networking skills.

• Your fans are watching…..Anything you post, like or comment on could be seen by your fans!! Take this as an opportunity to show your customers how fun & interesting your page is.
• Don’t just “LIKE” every page out there, choose ones that fit your “target market” or compliment your own goods/service. Example: If you make aprons, seek out cooking or baking pages.
• Spend time looking through your  Fan Page’s “home” page and interacting with relevant posts in its stream. By commenting on the content of pages  that compliment your own products,  you will be seen by their audience.
• DO NOT SPAM PAGES, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF COMPETITORS!!! If you are looking for pages to share your products on, try the pages whose sole purpose if for your networking needs. Example: Open Walls like those of Craft Crazy Designs or Rapid Promo’s to name a couple.
• Don’t like or comment on things you do not actually like. Seek out items that you actually do like/enjoy.
• Don’t Copy & Paste messages…..this is spaming and you can get in trouble for doing it!! Instead try to be more social and chatty. Instead of the usual 1 word comment, try using a statement instead.  (Don’t ask stupid questions, give it a little thought before you post it!!)
• When liking new pages, try to stay away from the passive “new fan here” comments. Instead look trough the page and find something your like to comment on or comment on one of their existing threads - join the conversation, don’t fly post. This is also a great way to be seen  since the new Timeline has hidden away the “recent posts by others” from the mainstream.
• Sharing content from complimentary pages on your own is a great way to show up in their news feed and get noticed. BUT, only share content that may be relevant to your fans and that you think they would enjoy. Don’t overdo it either, this can lower your “Facebook edge rank” (how many people actually see your posts).
• “Like Ladders,” “Marches,” or “Strolls” can be a great way to earn a little free advertisement for your page, BUT the fans earned are NOT “true fans.” The fans earned from these types of networking are mostly filler and not customers.
• ALWAYS keep in mind your target audience!! Some connections may be a waste of time, so don’t be afraid to unlike a page if you no longer think their posts are relevant.

By being sociable and active, you can give your page a voice and start bringing in potential customers. 

Now, for the advertising bit of our submitted question…… what type is best for you??

This depends mostly on what you can afford!! If you are willing to pay a price, there are plenty of pages out there who offer to advertise your products for you to their audience. Some even offer off-site advertising as well. If you do not have the money to spare for a little extra exposure offered by an advertising business, then you may want to just simply follow some of the steps above and put your page out there yourself OR you could try entering your page in a free hosted Giveaway or Auction offered by another offering page (these may also land you some new fans). 

Tip #1

Album Auctions vs. Open Wall Auctions

Ever wonder if there is really a major difference between Album Auctions or Open Wall Auctions!?!?

Do you wonder which one will land you MORE Sales!?!? Or maybe you are NEW to both and are not sure how to join or what a good price to start your items at might be!?!?  Lets dive in shall we….

So, which of the two is actually the better Auction!?!? There really is no way of telling since both have their own perks & drawbacks. Album auctions are nice and easy for the buyers since it outs ALL of the items in ONE easy to use location; this is a HUGE advantage over Open Wall Auctions since these items usually tend to be scattered out over the Wall & a little harder for buyers to find. PLUS the items are up for grabs much longer than the usual few hours that an Open Wall allows. Another positive about both Auctions is the attention that is brought to it by all of the other participating Vendors, so you may land a few sales from fans of pages other than your own. One of the MAJOR setbacks of  Auction Albums is that they are NOT always free!! Some hosts tend to charge a small fee for posting your items in their auctions (these babies are tough to run at times)…..you usually will NEVER run into this problem with an Open Wall Auction since you are posting the items yourself. Unlike with Open Wall items, you usually need to spend MORE time checking and rechecking your items in Album Auctions….this is mainly because Facebook “Tags” or “Notifications” DO NOT work through the Fan Page-Fan Page OR Fan Page-Personal posting!! (This is a major pet-peave of mine since the majority of the Facebook populous does not understand that and simply do it anyways.) Overall, it is a matter of personal opinion on which one is better than the other….since they are both pretty much neck & neck in the pros & cons department, I leave it to you to decide the one you prefer more. 

Landing Sales as WAHMs is our #1 priority!! Which of the two auctions will get your MORE!?!? The answer to that is a tricky one. It is usually a 50/50 chance that you will or will not sell your items in auction. Even if you follow the suggestions we have offered to you in this Tip of the Week, we CANNOT guarantee your items will sell. That part is left up to the buyers!!

Even though we cannot guarantee your items will be sold, we can offer advice on the How-To’s of Auctions. If you are NEW to the whole auction experience, this is quality advice and you should read it!! When you join an auction you want your items to LOOK GOOD, so a quality photo is a key component!! This can be sure simple to do since it does not have to be that extravagant….one good idea is to place the item on a neutral or colorful background for the photo (bright colors can really make an item POP!). When describing your item for the auction, KEEP IT SIMPLE!! Not everyone likes loooooong winded descriptions that point out everything used to create the item, so keep it short and sweet. Determining a starting price for your item is another biggie!! You do not want to short yourself, nor do you want to make it unaffordable!! Personally, I try to start with what the item costs to make and factor in the time I spend/spent making the item. Also, try to make the Bidding Increments (amount buyers will bid up by from the starting bid) affordable too. For Open Wall Auctions, always…..ALWAYS add a link to your page!! This way if buyers like the items you have in auction, they are able to see what else you may have for sale. Usually hosts will provide a format that they would like you to follow when adding the information for your item(s). These are not to there to frustrate you, but to help things run a little more smoothly in the posting process… AND these are not always the same either, so be sure and to pay attention on how to set up your information as required by the host.  Hopefully these tips will help clear-up a few questions & make it a little easier for you first-timers out there. 

ALL NEW TIPS & TRICKS!!

We will be posting some helpful Tips for all you WAHMs out there!! 

Upon request, we will post a NEW Tip, Trick, How-To, What is it!?!?, 

or just some plain old Good Advice on running your business!! 

If you have a question or topic you want us to cover, don't hesitate to ask!!

We will be happy to hunt down the answer for you!!

craftcrazyd@yahoo.com