Product Video Captures Attention!

There are all kinds of video sharing and photo slide show utilities online for small businesses to use for their marketing.

One interesting online video utility I recently found is Animoto.

With photos, you can produce a 30-second video for free! When you become proficient at your video productions, you may want to make a full, unlimited video for only $3 each or get an annual pass for $30 per year.

I uploaded basic jewelry product photos just to see what the free plan would do. After doing this test video, I am now ready to figure out how to make it engaging. Some thoughts are to make it a "story," starting maybe with a photo or two of your location and photos of you working on your craft that are intermixed with the product photos. Title pages are good too.

There are easy ways to share your free video with MySpace, Facebook, and twitter, as well as upload to YouTube.

You can check out the GalleriaLinda.com Handcrafted Jewelery 30-second test video here. Remember, it has music that will start up and it is just a quick try. I see good potential and a great start to making this a useful marketing tool! Online video utilities make expanding your marketing toolbox to video easy.

If you have had success with other video production online utilities, please post here to share your experiences!

Weathering the Economic Storm with Earrings

Isn't that just like a woman? When the economy goes down, ladies buy earrings! At least I'm hopin'. Well, really, they are.

Last fall when the economy in the US was at a standstill, I made a decision to stock GalleriaLinda's iCraft shop with $12.99 USD earrings. That is not a huge investment, but still, earrings can be a great wardrobe brightener.

And, it worked. I have had new customers purchase earrings the last few months and I have been in an earring designing frenzy for a while, making up a storm!

A small business has to be nimble without devaluing the product. Adding a less expensive option to my shop made a lot of sense!

Participating in iCraft's Sellers' Bootcamp!

I am embarking on a high-energy Sellers' Boot camp in iCraft.ca!! Already, the sales strategies are electrifying!

This is a new admin-supported program started by Christine of PillowThrowDecor for sellers on iCraft.ca! Christine not only produces the most elegant pillows for your home, but she is also a sales expert that creates energy that motivates!

She is the one that started the awesome "Odd Sock" category to move merchandise. Check out PillowThrowDecor's "Odd Sock" deals - unbelievable!

The Sellers' Bootcamp program goes for 28 days with assignments for each day that will help you fill your promotional "bag of tricks" by the end of the month. The idea is to get into the habit of spending 30-45 minutes a day doing things that will help sales. You can check out the iCraft.ca Sellers' Boot camp forum.

Retired from another career, Christine states that a part of her professional background is in sales training. She states, "As independent business people it is all about accountability. I do much better when I know there is a team of people marching along with me every day and are as committed as I am to doing assigned activities!

If you are considering trying iCraft.ca as your handmade selling venue, now is the time! Remember, if you use a referral number when you pay your one-time registration fee, you receive six months of shop fees free for an unlimited number of items! Shop fees are very reasonable. In case you need one, GalleriaLinda's referral number is: 1c28439c38!

Must go...off to boot camp!!

The Tiny Fig's Tutorial on Placing Google Analytics for Artfire and Etsy Shops

Tonight is a good night for blog reading!!

The Tiny Fig, who has written great posts on running an online shop before, gives us an excellent tutorial on how to add Google Analytics to our ArtFire and Etsy shops.

Google Analytics will track your visitors and provide a variety of useful reports. You can see your number of visits, referring sites, key words used in searches, and much more!!

Read The Tiny Fig's Blog Tutorial on Google Analytics For Your ArtFire and Etsy Shops!

Waiting....for Black Friday....Another WHOPPING SHOPPING Opportunity!!

GalleriaLinda will be
participating in this
exclusive shopping event!

Go to GalleriaLinda.com NOW to find out about discounts in all the GalleriaLinda stores for a 20% to a whopping 50% of a large inventory.

And wait breathlessly for exquisite indie artists and crafters
to reveal their promotions for Black Friday at
TheLittleBlackBoxes.
I know I am!

Do You Moo?

Moo Cards are a new innovation and great for your marketing efforts! I wanted to share this discovery because they make a lot of sense in the marketing world of trying to stand out in the crowd. They look very professional!

The are about half the size of a regular business card and you can have 100 printed, each with a different photo (or with any number of photos if you wish).

Some sellers use them as business cards, earring cards, and collectibles. Your contact information is printed on the back.

They are a little more expensive than standard business cards because they are photo quality, but you will soon see how effective they can be.

My strategy will be to continue to use my printed business cards but use MOO for those special events, meetings, contacts, and times you want to impress, like meeting with a potential wholesaler. How great it would be to slip these in your shipping packages. They are so pretty and in a unique size that people may keep them just because they are beautiful.

You can see a variety of Moo Cards that people have ordered here and here. Learn about how to get your own Moo Cards here. These are great little coversation starters too and they can show 100 pieces of your jewelry!