Craft Business Ideas

Beading-Arts.com Will Feature Fiber Jewelry – Deadline Aug 20

James Dillehay — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:53:36 +0000

Check out this publicity opportunity if you make fiber jewelry:

www.Beading-Arts.com

Cyndi L from www.beading-arts.com wants to hear from artists who create jewelry using fiber or fabric who would like to have their work featured on www.beading-arts.com in September. Your work does not have to be exclusively made from fiber, but should contain a significant amount.

Examples would be micro-macrame (with or without beads), woven, crocheted, or knitted jewelry. You can send Cyndi up to three images (72dpi res) of your work, and your artist statement about your pieces along with a link to your site, and your name as you would like it to appear. Please note – your personal statement should not be a word-for-word copy of text already on your website – Google doesn’t like duplicate content.

Please put “fiber jewelry” in the subject line of your email and send all entries by August 20 to query-iq4@helpareporter.com

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Tips When Shopping for a Canopy Tent

James Dillehay — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:45:38 +0000

Summer craft shows can be brutal, in more ways than one. I just added a new article about how to choose a canopy for your craft fair booth display. If you don’t have a canopy yet, there are several parts to the decision process that will make or cost you money down the road. A few of the points described:

Your canopy tent must be sturdy to withstand winds. But it should also be light enough that you can manage it yourself.

It should be white (not colored) to let natural lighting enhance your craft work.

The roof should be peaked not flat so that water drains away from your booth.

Read the complete article on shopping for a canopy tent.

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20 Percent Off Sale at Red Hot Hooker Night

James Dillehay — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:03:35 +0000

Julia Chambers is participating in Red Hot Hooker Night (meaning CROCHET) on Etsy tonight – Wednesday April 28th from 5-11 pm CT.

There will be a lot of sales in the RHHN category and she is personally offering 20% off anything in her Etsy shop from 5-11pm only. Julia just picked up the last of her designs from consignment and wants to make room for new designs coming out this year.

She will be working on loading more into her shop today in preparation for the sale. Working on the photos now. Most of her work are OOAKs, so if you like something get it while you can.

The official RHHN announcement doesn’t go out until tonight, but Julia would like to share with friends in advance so you can plan.

Help Julia ring in the new and let your friends know? Spirit Jumpers get discounts for their Spirit Jumps. Contact Julia directly if you are interested in something for a Spirit Jump.

Again, the sale doesn’t begin until tonight: 5 – 11pm CT!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PixieWorx

Ooooh, and Julia’s Modified Railroad Choker was picked for a black ‘n red treasury. You can see it here

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Webzine Wants to Interview Authors, Artists, Musicians

James Dillehay — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:12:10 +0000

Webzine wants to interview Authors, Artists, Musicians in an upcoming article. Deadline is April 30. The full article is on CRAFTSU.com http://www.craftsu.com/forum/topics/webzine-wants-to-interview

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Blogger Seeks Hip, Stlyish Products to Review

James Dillehay — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:52:42 +0000

Blogger looking for hip, stylish products and gift items to review for SweaterBabe.com blog readers and the 26,000+ discerning women who subscribe to our email newsletters. See article post at Craftsu.com, the network to buy and sell crafts.

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Reporter Looking for Mothers Day gifts under $50

James Dillehay — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:18:12 +0000

Reporter looking for unique Mothers Day gifts under $50. Help mom feel like a million bucks without breaking the bank. Hurry as deadline is April 27. Full article post at Craftsu.com buy handmade network

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Blogger Looking to Feature Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Gift Ideas

James Dillehay — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 22:23:01 +0000

Blogger looking to feature Mother’s Day and Father’s Day gift ideas- Deadline April 27 CRAFTSU.com: where shoppers go to buy handmade and interact with artisans who sell crafts.

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Is Your Craft Business Ready for the Online Reality Show for Entrepreneurs

James Dillehay — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:33:18 +0000

Publicity opportunity: “Online Reality Show for Entrepreneurs – Deadline April 19.” Read the full post on CRAFTSU: Buy Handmade:

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Buy Handmade Using Google

James Dillehay — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:19:00 +0000

I just learned today that Craftsu.com is ranking higher than Etsy and Artfire on Google for the phrase ‘Buy Handmade’ see complete post at buy handmade article on Craftsu. Don’t know how long that high ranking will last, but it’s not bad for a site that’s only a few months old. If you are looking to sell crafts online, you won’t find a cheaper venue – it’s free.

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PR Opportunity – Looking for the Best Mother’s Day Gifts

James Dillehay — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 17:36:32 +0000

Looking for the Best Mother’s Day Gifts

Media Outlet: The Fabulous Finds

Deadline: 11:00 PM EST – 22 March

Query: Heather Polke is looking for 25 Fabulous Mother’s Day gifts… she wants unique and creative products to share with her readers…Keep in mind her readers are trendy, hip moms who have an flair for style…send your product idea by email to query-5vy@helpareporter.com

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Sell Crafts Wholesale and to Consignment Shops

James Dillehay — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:45:09 +0000

Sell Crafts Wholesale

For craft business owners looking to sell crafts wholesale, there’s a new guide that’s full of start up help. It’s also for craft businesses already selling to stores, but want to see some improvement in their craft sales.

Selling crafts in quantity orders can grow your craft business faster than selling one item at a time. A couple of good wholesale accounts will buy far more than one retail customer.

The problem is that if you are not ready to sell crafts wholesale to stores, it’s difficult to make it work. You need to know about pricing, packaging and planning.

How to Sell Your Products Wholesale is an ebook that will save you some of the headaches and lost cash trying to enter this market unprepared.

You’ve got questions:
Is selling crafts wholesale right for you?
How do I price crafts for wholesale?
How much profit can I expect?
How do store owners like to be approached?

How to Sell Your Products Wholesale answers those questions and more. It will show you how many craft business owners lose wholesale accounts – so you can bypass this all too common pitfall.

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New Publicity Opportunities for Craft Business Owners

James Dillehay — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:49:38 +0000

Today was unusually good for publicity opportunities for craft business owners. Normally, I find one ever couple of days, but for whatever reason, there were a bunch. In fact there were 6. You can read them at Craftsu.com, my other site for shoppers looking to buy handmade.

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Free Handmade Product Review

James Dillehay — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:40:38 +0000

Vishruti will put a free handmade product review up on the blog http://promotingetsysellers.blogspot.com/ along with a link to your website.

Contact – vishruti.dev@gmail.com and write FREE PRODUCT REVIEWS in the
subject line. Click here to read the original blog post announcing this offer.

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Art Licensing Networking Group

James Dillehay — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:00:14 +0000

Most of my readers are craft artisans but I know some of you are fine artists. If that’s you or you know an artist, check out Artoflicensing.com a networking group for those involved in art licensing.

From their site description: “This is an online networking group dedicated to Artists, Illustrators, Designers, Product Manufacturers, and Licensing Agents in the ART LICENSING industry. Network, exchange helpful ideas, links & resources, report on trade shows, trends, share info on marketing, copyrighting & licensing processes.”

Related page about the best book I’ve come across for understanding licensing your art and design.

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Craft Business Optimization Tips

James Dillehay — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:48:47 +0000

Every new business comes with learning curves and a craft business is no exception. Sometimes it can all seem to be just too much to take in when you are starting out.

When you feel overwhelmed, slow down. Break down your immediate goal into the simplest action steps and schedule those actions and then just do them, one step at a time. Taking baby steps will not only help alleviate stress, it will give you benchmarks that let you feel good about your progress.

Another way to optimize your craft business is to pay attention to past customers. One of your most important assets is your customer list. If you don’t already have a contact management system in place, set one up now so you can collect and maintain your customer list. You can use Microsoft Outlook or Act! or any simple spreadsheet program.

Stay in touch with your customers by mailing out postcards or flyers of new pieces several times a year. Make sure you include ways people can contact your craft business and place orders.

Another stress reducer is to stop trying to ‘reinvent the wheel’ by learning from other craft business sellers. Read the community forum posts on the sites where you set up shops to sell crafts online. You’ll find answers to commonly asked questions and learn of resources.

Search for and read blogs written by sellers of the site you sell on, like Etsy bloggers or eBay craft bloggers or Artfire bloggers. Learning what other sellers are doing may help you avoid problems and increase your profits.

Reduce your craft business material costs by finding wholesale craft supplies

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How to Increase Perceived Value in Your Craft Business

James Dillehay — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:13:33 +0000

Lots of newbie craft business owners start out underpricing their items because they think of their pieces as commodities. But here is something a craft artist must keep in their thoughts: a commodity is an undifferentiated item that can be bought anywhere.

A handmade craft item can be transformed from a commodity by shifting the value elements in your displays, packaging and marketing materials.

If you want higher profit margins for your craft business, you have to differentiate your products. This can be done in several ways:

1. Quality. People will pay more for a better experience. Producing the finest quality work will convey a promise of pride and pleasure.

2. Branding. Enhance your reputation as an artist by way of including testimonials, awards, reviews, and education in your promotional materials.

3. Delivery. Make it known that your item is available for immediate delivery.

4. Scarcity: Statements like “this is a one of a kind item” or “this is a limited edition series” will evoke the scarcity response.

5 Guarantee. Take away the risk from shoppers and guarantee their satisfaction or you will return their money.

More ways to increase perceived value of handmade crafts:

Unlike mass produced items, handmade collectibles increase in value over time.

Create a sense of urgency: “Usually at events like here, a piece like this sells and then it’s gone forever”

Offer a wide selection: “choose from six colors”

Create themed lines: create items in themes like cats or dolphins or butterflies or whatever other theme someone might collect.

Compare the item to something of far greater value, like “That’s just like being able to buy a museum piece for the price of ____”

Spruce up your packaging. It’s true that people will pay more for craft items that come with fancy packages.

Feature your displays. Shining display lights on items at trade shows has been shown to increase sales for craft business owners.

Issue a ‘Certificate of Authority’ with each item you sell.

Promote your craft business with photographs and videos. Include more than one photo for a craft item. Show it from different angles.

How to price crafts

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New Service from BigCartel Provides Digital Delivery

James Dillehay — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:42:30 +0000

I know many of you write as well as craft so you may be interested in BigCartel.com’s new beta program called Pulley. Pulley allows you to sell copies of your ebooks and have them delivered to customers upon payment through your BigCartel store. Pulley is in beta, which means its not ready for prime time, but they are inviting testers. See the original post for details.

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National Endowment for the Arts Seeking New Logo Design Proposals

James Dillehay — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:32:46 +0000

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced a request for proposals (RFP) for a new “Art Works” logo – details are at www.arts.gov/artworksdesign.

Proposed logo designs must relate to the NEA in such a way that the proposed logo could stand alone or complement the NEA’s current logo.

Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. EST on Friday, February, 26, 2010. Send inquiries to Latonca Harris at harrisl (at) arts.gov or (202) 682-5476.

The National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to supporting excellence in the arts, both new and established; bringing the arts to all Americans; and providing leadership in arts education. Established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government, the Arts Endowment is the largest annual national funder of the arts, bringing great art to all 50 states, including rural areas, inner cities, and military bases. www.arts.gov.

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New Money Management Site

James Dillehay — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:40:35 +0000

Women have heard it 100 times by now: they still earn, save and retire with less money than their dear male counterparts. Here’s the thing — no one is going to fix financial inequity for women. Not the White House, not Nancy Pelosi, not even Oprah or Suze Orman.

Women have to recognize their own self-worth and create their own wealth by asking for higher salaries and by investing more aggressively. To support this, founder Amanda Steinberg and former New York Times finance columnist MP Dunleavey produce DailyWorth, a free daily email about money management for women. DailyWorth has been featured in Forbes, Inc and SELF magazines.

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Craft Business Owners Over 50 with Etsy Stores Wanted

James Dillehay — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:13:57 +0000

If you have a craft business on Etsy and you are over 50, AARP magazine wants to know about you. for a possible story. Laura Daily is trying to track down craftsmen and craftswomen age 50 and older who use Etsy.com to market and sell their handmade wares. Email Laura query-2a9 (at) helpareporter.com with your name, contact info and the name of your Etsy shop.

Get more help with how to sell crafts

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Hipknitized.blogspot.com Blog for Knitters

James Dillehay — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 03:00:45 +0000

Just came across Hipknitized.blogspot.com, a great blog for knitters. This stay at home mom posts free patterns, pictures of her work, lists of craft shows in her area and a look into her everyday life.

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Sell Crafts on TalkMarket

James Dillehay — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:29:49 +0000

Sell Crafts on Talk Market

Sell crafts at Talkmarket.com , a television shopping channel hosted by artists, designers, inventors, and creative retailers where they personally introduce their creations through videos created with the site’s video making technology. Shoppers get to see the products demonstrated and meet the people behind the creations.

Talk Market was founded by TV shopping channel veterans who recognize that there are millions of amazing products out there that might never get the chance to be on a TV shopping channel. Craft makers can sell crafts online through brief video infomercials.

The site supplies you with an automatic video creation technology to improve your video presentations. The site charges 20 percent for craft sales plus credit card processing costs of 3 percent. They also have an affiliate program where you can earn commissions.

Learn more ways to sell crafts.

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Using Twitter for Branding Your Craft Business

James Dillehay — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:42:25 +0000

Successful craft artists think about branding their businesses when promoting. Twitter provides a very fast way to build your personal brand, if you use it wisely. What you tweet represents you. I was asked to contribute to the blog post here which features 8 great ways to brand yourself using Twitter.

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Mobile Credit Card Processing

James Dillehay — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:46:39 +0000

Craft Show Mobile Credit Card Processing

Does my craft business need mobile credit card processing?

If you sell craft items at craft shows, fairs and festivals, you will lose sales if you fail to offer customers the option to pay by credit card (If you sell only online at eBay, most buyers are used to paying with PayPal, so you don’t need mobile credit card processing.)

How can my business accept credit cards?

How do you obtain the right to accept credit cards? Usually, you just apply. For festivals and other public events, you may want to consider getting mobile credit card processing through a merchant account where you can accept credit cards with cell phone access.

What is the best credit card processing company?

The first criteria is that the proccessor adheres to credit card processing standards. Your bank probably offers small business merchant accounts and that’s a good place to start since they know your history. Since there is a credit check involved in the application, it may be easier to get approved where you already have a checking account.

You can also google the phrase “mobile credit card processing” to find other providers.

Always research any credit card processing service before signing up with them. Learn if they are a legitimate provider and have a + business rating. Beware of credit card processing free offers. They may indicate a scam.

If you are new to accepting credit cards, don’t worry as most providers include some kind of merchant account education.

There are good reasons to offer a variety of payment options.

1. Customers like to pay for their purchases in a manner of their own choosing.

2. Providing a choice of payment options makes you look like a trustworthy business.

3. The more options you provide, the more credibility you borrow from trusted names like….Visa Mastercard Discover American Express PayPal (your customer’s bank if you accept personal checks.)

If you sell online from your own website, consider providing a “mail order” form webpage for those people who don’t want to use a credit card online. And for sales offline, offer your customers mobile credit card processing.

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CraftyCraftersExpo.com Craft Show Approaching Deadline

James Dillehay — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:43:58 +0000

Spaces available at the Crafty Crafters Expo, but the deadline is approaching. All vendors are eligible for a special drawing of $25 of their crafts booth space at a future Expo.

They are also taking applications for February. After that there won’t be an Expo until May, July, September and finally November and that will conclude the 6 for the year.

They are getting applications also for their Festival in August. Applications and information about the fest is available online at links below at The World of Faeries site.

www.theworldoffaeries.com
www.craftycraftersexpo.com

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