The Power of Social Media

A friend shared a link to an article about how to best utilize social media to promote your creative work.  I'm already doing a few thing right, it seems.

I have two Facebook profiles, one personal, one business, and the two are linked together.  I have a blog and I post links to each new entry on both profiles.  In theory, if each friend shared it with two friends, and those two friends shared with two friends....and so on, and so on....it could mushroom fairly quickly.  Last year I wasn't as consistent with my blog as I'd planned to be but that will improve in 2012. 

The article writer recommends sharing some of your product listings, just not so many that people get tired of being bombarded with them to the point where they start ignoring them.  She also suggests highlighting & sharing the work of others.  Oh, another bonus point for me!  I've been doing that already.

Since I work full-time, my opportunities to partake in social media are limited to evenings & weekends.   I have, however, found myself drawn into spending more of that time on facebook or blogs when I really should be doing other things.



Perhaps planning ahead more would help me out, like sitting down on weekends to prepare a plan for the upcoming week.  I could possibly write (or draft) several blog posts and decide what new products I want to list on Etsy. 



Yes, it could be said that I'm currently limiting myself to a niche market and I think I do need to broaden my horizons a bit.  One thing is certain though; the image I project out there in cyberspace is the real me.  I'm a social butterfly in person, so that just naturally extends to the online communities.

Most importantly, I have fun with it.  I enjoy connecting with new people and learning new techniques & perspectives from them.  It keeps me continually evolving, for the better, I hope.

If you'd like to read the aforementioned article by Jess Van Den in its entirety, click here.  If you'd like to learn more about the inspiration behind the copper social media necklaces of Kirsten Denbow Designs, click here.

New Year's Resolutions

  - Post to the blog more regularly (so far, so good).

  - Update the website and put together a marketing package so I can promote my products to new age & pagan shops and, hopefully, get some good wholesale customers.

  - Better utilize Etsy, an online market for crafters, adding new items every week.

  - Spend time exploring my spiritual path, whatever that may be, wherever it leads me.  I have a new blog dedicated to the journey, called Jasper's Journey.

  - Organize my house, corner by corner, room by room, and eliminate all the excess stuff that is weighing me down & holding me back.

My aim is to dedicate some time each day (or most days) to all of the above resolutions.  Darn, I think that I may be already falling behind on that goal.  Better get on that right now.

Selling on Kijiji

Always looking for new online markets for my products, I began to consider Kijiji as a possible avenue.  Having no experience with it, I turned to my partner (Jerry Penner, The Chain Mail Guy), who's had moderate success selling there.

Here are the tips he gave me.....

   - Read the Terms of Service. Learn what you can and cannot sell there.  Some items, like knives, are forbidden.

   - Search for items similar to what you want to sell before listing.  Find out what other people are offering, for what price. You will be competing with them.

   - List your item in one local market only.  Listing the exact same item in different markets is a no-no.

   - Be prepared for hagglers. Price your item with 15% - 20% wiggle room.

   - Remember that if your price is higher than someone else selling something similar, you may not get any response at all.

   - Use pictures...good pictures.  Adding a photo (or two) is free on Kijiji and greatly enahnces the number of responses.

   - Use clear, simple English.  The people reading your ad may be illiterate, half-drunk, or don't have English as their primary language.

   - Answer as many questions as you can right in the ad.  If you get queries after the ad is posted, it's easy to edit your ad to include those questions & answers as well.

   - Remove your ad when you've sold your item.  Ads do not automatically expire.

   - If you are listing an item in a section that gets lots of listings, your item will quickly get pushed down the page.  You can solve this either by posting in a nearby location with less traffic or going for a premium listing.  "Bumping" your listing to the top page again is an economical way to get your item listed first again.  Price is $2 each time.

   - Make your ad engaging.  Look at what everyone else is doing and *don't* do that.  Dare to be different, to stand out from the rest.

   - Offer free delivery within a certain radius, or throw in an extra something if they buy before a specific date.  Offer a warranty; it can be as little as 1 week.

   - Expect to be contacted by people who want you to sell your item for less than half your asking price.  Hold firm on these people, and tell them about the quality of the item.  You likely won't hear from them again.

So, is Kijiji the place for me to sell my products?  I'm no so sure.  Perhaps I'll concentrate more time & effort on Etsy, where I've had some success.

Pantone Colour of the Year

Explosively loud and exceedingly bold, Tangerine Tango has been announced as Pantone’s 2012 colour of the year.   Sophisticated but at the same time dramatic and seductive, Tangerine Tango is an orange with a lot of depth to it.

Daring as it may seem, Tangerine Tango can be an excellent staple colour for both clothing & accessories and even home decor.  A versatile choice, the orangey hue complements a spectrum of colours including yellow, purple, blue & green and flatters all skin tones. 

Time for all the jewelry designers out there to search through their bead stashes and start creating co-ordinating pieces to wear with the bold & brash colour of the year.

Unexpected Finds in Unexpected Places

My partner and I stopped in at a 'surplus' store over the holidays.  You know the kind; dark, dingy places that carry a little bit of everything and a lot of nothing.  He needed some components for a 'thing' he's making, don't ask me to explain what it is, 'cause I couldn't.

Anyway, I was browsing up and down the aisles, minding my own business, when I came upon an unexpected find.  To my shock and surprise there was a whole section of Swarovski crystal beads, pendants & flatback gems!  Now admittedly, the selection was not spectacular.  Obviously, these ones had been slow sellers at the big chain stores, otherwise, they would not now be here in front of me.

The prices were incredible too, a screaming good deal!  I picked up a shopping basket and started adding small packages to it.  The cashier asked me in jest if there was any left on the shelf.  LOL  Really, I didn't get that many.  There are still plenty left for others.

I have no clear idea in my head yet what I plan to do with the beads & pendants but I could not pass up such a good deal.  The flatback gems are the perfect size for some of the pewter cloak clasps and pendants I sell.

Proof again that you should always be on the lookout.  Keep your eyes open.  You never know what unexpected treasures you will find in the most unlikely places.