Showing posts with label branding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label branding. Show all posts

Thursday, May 10, 2012

#SFEtsy Catch Up - May 8th





Suggest a topic for a future chat or vote for topics you want to see here


If you missed our chat on Tuesday (Branding with Story, hosted by Genevieve from LightboxSF), don't worry, you can  read the full transcript here. You can also login to create a list of your favourite tweets from the chat.


If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

The Savvy Entrepreneur: Does Your Business Sustain You?

At Lightbox SF we believe a sustainable business is one that supports the life you want to live and is a joy for you to work in. This refers to how much money you need the business to make, what you end up doing each day, who you’re working with, and how much time it demands. Both Shelly and I believe there should be plenty of room for friends, family and yourself. Your business should not control your life; you should control your business.

Can you imagine what that looks like? To decide how many hours you work and still make the amount of money you want. To spend the bulk of your time doing the things you love and have those tasks of pure drudgery handled by someone else. It’s hard to picture isn’t it?

Most of us don’t work in sustainable businesses. We spend more time than we want to, perform tasks we abhor, and often don’t even make the money that we should. Why?

I believe it’s because our perception is off. We may think that we have to work really hard for things that are worth it. We believe we aren’t worth what we really want to charge. We believe that no one else can do things right or we can’t afford to hire the ones who can. I’m guilty of these same thoughts.

This is why when we start a client off thinking about branding we get them to focus on their strengths and passions. They often look at us a little funny and question how turning all their attention on themselves will help them build a better brand. It’s not so much about focusing on yourself as it is building a business that allows you to use all your best qualities and put them out there in a way that customers can’t help but be drawn to.

People like to support those who are passionate and excel at what they do. Take the time to set yourself up to be in this position. If you go to work each day in a business you don’t believe in or don’t enjoy, your customers can tell. You might still do a great job, but if someone else comes along with more passion and energy you’ve lost them as customer.

Let your passion and strength shine by building a business that supports the best in you and allows you to have the life you always dreamed of. 


Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.

If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Friday, May 4, 2012

#SFEtsy 8th May - Branding with Story


This week, to celebrate the launch of their new e-course - Ink Yourself, Genevieve from Lightbox SF will be hosting our tweet chat!

You're probably already familiar with some of Genevieve's words of wisdom as she posts here on this blog regularly, for The Savvy Entrepreneur column.
On Tuesday she will sharing more tips and promoting a discussion about branding, specifically in relation to your story, considering such things as how we define branding and how to decide which details to share, as well as working out what makes you different from everyone else.

If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Savvy Entrepreneur: How the Big Picture Makes the Small Stuff Easier


One of the first exercises I assign to my clients is to write out the big vision of their business in the form of an ordinary, but ideal day in their life. I ask them to write out in as much detail as possible what it will look like from the time they wake up to till their head hits the pillow.

Taking the time to describe the larger vision for your business is like drawing yourself a roadmap to the future. It not only sets up goals for you to work toward, but it gives you a framework that helps guide the choices you make each day. Working on your business without having a vision of what you want it to be in 1, 2 or even 5 years is like getting in the car and driving with no destination in mind. You might have amazing experiences and visit great places, but you still won’t be any closer to where you’re going.

When I use the term vision I mean more than just having an idea of how much money you want to bring in or a clear description of your product or service. These are definitely part of the equation, but you should also be clear on your overall mission, what the business stands for, what your ideal role is, and the details of the business that you just won’t compromise on.

Your vision is the best possible future of your business, the big picture with all the details filled in. How does their work mesh with their personal life, who are you interacting with, where are you working? What types of employees do you want or do you even want any? Do you want to make everything by hand or will you manufacture multiple items or even whole lines? Does your business keep running when you take a vacation or does it shut down for a week or two?

By imagining and sketching out the big picture, the incredible dream of your creative business you’ve given yourself something to live up to and work toward. Having a clear vision allows you to take ownership of the choices that need to be made in an entirely different way. Instead of wondering if a particular project is right to take on you can measure it against your larger vision. Does it fit in? Instead of feeling beat down that sales aren’t quite what you want them to be, you look to your target market and ask how you can serve them better. A vision brings focus and clarity to what’s really important and the short-term goals become clearer when you know what it is you’re striving for.

This exercise is also one of the first in our branding e-course, Ink Yourself: Using Story to Make a Bold Impression. We’ve designed this 5-week guided e-course to help you dive deep in the big vision of your business, realize your strengths, get intimate with your ideal customer, and bring it all together into a guiding statement that makes showing off your awesomeness a breeze.

Each week you’ll receive a new lesson that you can work on at your own pace in your own time. In addition to the lessons you’ll also have access to a live forum where you can interact with the other participants getting feedback and sharing break-throughs. And we’ve scheduled a group call to encourage even more interaction and get all your questions answered. We hope you’ll make friends as well as get clear on your brand message.

The course starts May 21st and the last email will land in your inbox on June 21st, but you’ll have through the first week of July to access any of the materials you may have missed, ask questions about the lessons or receive responses to any of the work you’ve done.

Currently we’re giving away one spot in the course, details are on our blog. You have until Monday, May 7th to get your name in the drawing. However, if you don’t want to leave anything to chance, you can sign up right now!


Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.
If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Business Workshops Coming in April

I've got some great workshops coming up in April that I wanted to make sure you all knew about.

The first is a repeat of our DIY Marketing at TechShop SF with a different name, DIY Innovations in Personal Marketing. This 2-hour workshop will redefine what a business card looks like, show you why stickers and the laser cutter should be your best friend, and give you a whole new way to look at marketing materials. We'll spark your creativity and show you the tools you need to create business cards, portfolios, leave-behind gifts, and packaging that not only showcase your work in the best possible light, but express how unique you are. Armed with numerous examples, money saving tips, and firsthand experience, marketing pros Genevieve Robertson of Lightbox SF and Shana Astrachan of Shana Astrachan Jewerly will cover the basics of creative marketing and teach you how to make yourself memorable.

Saturday, April 7 2 - 4pm, register now.

Then there's two workshops happening at Parisoma, a co-working place in, yes, SOMA.

The Brand of You will dive deep into how to find your unique story, your ideal target market and how connecting those two will help you to stand out in the marketplace. We'll talk about the big vision, your personal strengths, and how to define your ideal customer.

Tuesday, April 10 6 - 7:30pm, sign up here.

Following that is Crafting an Online Presence. This workshop will discuss how to bring your blog, website, newsletter and social networking together to present a unified brand identity online. It will assume some familiarity and experience, but not expert level with all platforms and will focus mostly on the types of content to post and how to build a strategy that will help you reach and sustain your goals.

Tuesday, April 17 6 - 7:30pm, sign up here.


Genevieve not only writes The Savvy Entrepreneur she is the Co-Founder of Lightbox SF where she empowers creatives to take over the world. Check out the blog or how to work with her.


If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Katy or Steph about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Branding E-Course Just In Time For Back To School


It's back to school time and if you're anything like me September always brings on feelings of needing to take a class, add a new skill, or at the least visit a bookstore (I was an English major). If you're feeling the urge to learn, especially something new related to your business, you're in luck. Lightbox SF just launched a new e-course focused on defining your brand identity and target market called Ink Yourself.

This is the first phase we walk all of our one-on-one clients through as we feel it is the most crucial of building blocks for a successful creative business. After all it's hard to market a business you can't sum up in a simple sentence or to a group of people who's needs you don't understand.

For Ink Yourself: Discover Your Unique Story we've taken the information, advice, and insight we give to our clients over the first 2-4 meetings and packaged it into 5 weekly installments of a lesson, assignment and follow-up. The idea is smaller digestible chunks, but in a shorter period of time. Each Monday you'll receive an email with a link to download that week's lesson and assignment. Then on Thursdays you'll receive another email with further insights and a little added motivation. We've also set up a forum so that you can share questions, experience and successes with the group. We want to you to finish this course with new friends in addition to a more polished brand and clear idea of your target market.

The course begins this Monday, September 19th so register now!



I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve [at] lightboxsf [dot] com




If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Connecting With Customers - What Marketing is Really About

For many marketing still has the slimy connotation of trickery, of being talked into something. In a way I get this especially given that many see advertising as synonymous with marketing. You might have seen the recent YouTube video where the ball girl makes an amazing catch and the later disclosure that it was produced by an advertising agency for Gatorade. Stunts like that definitely leave us a little jaded.

While the obvious argument is that not all advertising needs to be such a set-up, I would also argue that marketing is very different than advertising on many levels. I define advertising as talking at your customers and marketing as talking with your customers or connecting with them.

There's nothing underhanded in marketing. You're defining a customer base, identifying their needs and communicating how you can satisfy them. You are letting them know that you have something they already wanted and were looking for.

To do this successfully you need to know who your customer base is, where they're searching and you need to communicate the value that you offer. Marketing is explaining why they would want to choose your product over a competitor's. I see the ruffled feathers again, you're thinking sales, talking them into buying your product. Stop!

If you can clearly state the benefits of your product or service and how it's different, not necessarily better, than the competition, not only does the decision become clear, you leave it completely in the hands of the customer. If you've communicated well and they don't choose you, it only means they weren't the right customer in the first place.

Marketing is telling the best possible story to the most interested person. To market well you need to find your unique story, your target market and then connect with them by sharing that story.


I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com
If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Customers - You Can Learn So Much From Them

Shelly and I have been taking on a lot of new clients lately, yeah for us, and it's made me shift my focus a little on what it is people are really looking for when they come to us. This is great because it's allowed us to focus more and also kickstart the development of a few products that have been gathering dust.

I bring this up for two reasons, first I think we can all learn from our customers when we listen to them, but this shift has also given me some insight into how and why people buy.

Learn From Your Customers

I want to encourage you to really look at what your customers are buying, what sort of feedback they give, and what they're general comments are. This insight will not only allow you to continue to produce meaningful products that sell, but will help to define your target audience.

Knowing who you're selling to allows you to find new needs you can fill, reach more of your audience, and more successfully market your business. If you realize that everyone who's buying your jewelry is over the age of 40, looks at your $60 necklaces as impulse buys, and lives in Marin County you'll know you're wasting your time trying to get into a hipster Mission boutique. Yeah to knowing where to focus your energy.

Additionally if you start getting feedback that buying your notebooks makes customers feel good because they're buying sustainably and they get tons of compliments about their great taste, you can use that in your marketing to attract even more customers who want to feel that way.

Ask for feedback, interact and be sure to note both what's working and what isn't. You may find that your favorite items just don't sell, but that little trinket you created to use up some scrap is your biggest seller. Use that knowledge to help you decide how to best put your creative energy to use.

Observations on Buying Habits

I can't profess to tell you that I know the secrets of why and how people buy. If I did I would be laying on my private beach in Mexico drinking a beer and eating guacamole instead of writing this blog post. Just saying. However, I have noticed a few things in the last year in trying to second guess my clients and give them what they want.

People really like something tangible they also like added value. Many of you are selling a product and are already working in the tangible, but I challenge you to also create a tangible benefit. Besides your product what do customers get from choosing you? Are you solving a problem? Do you fill a need? Do you confirm their image as cutting edge, a foodie, or socially conscious? The benefit you find is your added value and the answer to the question, "Why buy from you and not your competition?"

Those of you selling a service know this is sometimes a harder problem to solve. If you're offering consulting or coaching the results vary based on the individual and how much energy they put in, but if you can structure your services in such a way that you can offer tangible results if steps are followed the value of your service becomes more clear. And don't forget the added value part. You also have a distinction from your competition, key into the customers that want that benefit.

To put it simply you need to be as clear about what people are getting for their money as you can. Be sure to let them know about the additional warm fuzzy feelings, boost to cred, and self-care that come along with the purchase.

30-Minute Consults

If you're struggling with how to figure this out for yourself, Shelly and I can help. A lot of what we do is provide the outside perspective to look at your business and really key in on those added values and target market.

On Saturday, April 30th we're offering 30-minute free consultations between the hours of noon and 2pm. Book your session to get some initial insight and feedback as well as discuss how we might be able to help you further. Just send me an email and we'll book your time now.



I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com
If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Marketing Your Art By Telling Your Story

In preparation for our upcoming workshop Shelly and I have been spending a lot of time talking about what branding means and how to define it for yourself. Our discussions have brought up some really interesting ways to approach one of the biggest questions a creative entrepreneur has to answer. So I thought I’d share a few thoughts to get your mind working and give you an idea of what our upcoming “Marketing Your Art By Telling Your Story” workshop will be like.

I used to think branding was just about logos and colors. While this is definitely a part of the mix, I now know that branding is also about an experience. So that’s one way to approach defining your brand. What sort of experience do you want your customer to have? Are you about luxury, convenience, or solving a problem?

Brand can also be about lifestyle. This is where knowing your target market comes in. Your messaging, packaging and interactions with the customers need to support their lifestyle. Are you targeting busy, working moms or active, outdoorsy college students? Not only are their needs different so is what they’re attracted to.

While creatives and artists are often very closely associated with their brands, creating a brand identity can also be about creating the best version of yourself. Your target market will often view this as the idealized version of who they want to be. Everything that you do surrounding your product or service can make them feel as though they are achieving that ideal.

There’s a lot to think about when creating a brand identity. Some of it is about external factors and perfect personas, but a lot of it is about your unique qualities and passions. By using what is uniquely your story you can stand out in the marketplace. In our workshop, “Marketing Your Art By Telling Your Story” we’ll help you find that unique story and show you how to use it to create a personalized marketing strategy.

Both Shelly and I will lead this 3-hour workshop and we’ve limited the attendance to 15 people so that everyone will get plenty of individual attention. You’ll gain a greater clarity on your brand identity as well as developing action items for a purposeful marketing strategy.

When: Thursday, March 24th 6-9pm
Where: a.Muse Gallery, 614 Alabama St.

Sign up now to be one of the lucky 15 people to attend this workshop!



I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com


If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Is Your Website Marketing For You?

This is the last in my series on “Are You Ready To Market Yourself?” and this week I’ll focus on building marketing into your website. Once you get customers to your website you need to keep their attention and turn them into loyal consumers. Does your site do that?

Tell Your Story

I can’t stress how important this is. You are unique and the story of why or how you do what you do is worth sharing. It’s what will set you apart from your competition. So make sure you’re telling it on your website, especially in you about page. In the first piece of this series I linked to a great article on writing your about page. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend you go and read it.

But who you are should also come through in the language you use in your product descriptions and how you explain your shop policies. Let it all be personal and let it paint a picture of you. If customers get to feel like they know you just from visiting a few pages on your website then you’re doing it right.

Share Your Successes

Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn, after all this is your website. Put links to any press you’ve gotten or Esty treasuries you’ve been in. Make pdfs of the magazine pages or take screenshots of blog coverage. Any little mention is worth sharing.

Testimonials are another great way to get customers to trust you. If they can read the words of “someone like them” it’s that much easier to make the leap to purchase. Most people like to be followers rather than leaders, testimonials let them know they’re not the first, but that they’re also joining a very satisfied group of people.

If They Want To Talk About You Let Them

I also highly recommend setting up a page for the press, not to be confused with a page that shares the press you got. I call ours “Newsroom” and it’s where I post press releases that I send out to the media. You can also set up image galleries for writers to request specific images to use. If a writer stumbles across your blog make it easy for them to find all the information they need, your store, something about you, events that you’re participating in, etc. This can be in various places around your website, but if you pull it all together for a writer you make their job that much easier and they’ll love you for it.

Be Social

We are curious and social creatures by nature, we want to connect and know more. Make it easy for people to find you on various social networks. If you use Facebook to share sales and giveaways let customers know that and make it easy to like your page. Something like “To be first in line for monthly discounts make sure to like me on Facebook” works really well. Same goes for Twitter make it easy to follow you and give visitors an idea of what types of things you tweet about.

If you send out a newsletter make sure the sign up field is above the fold of your webpage and tell customers what they’re in for. If you make it seem exclusive or give the preferential treatment, people are more likely to sign up. Give away an ebook, share newsletter only tutorials, or give subscribers advance notice of sales or trunk shows.

If there are any other social networks you belong to share those too. It might be your Flickr stream that entices an undecided buyer because they saw that you went to the same town in Mexico that they did earlier in the year. Or perhaps your bookmarking of articles on fringe artwork in Delicious allows a writer to see your paintings from a whole new perspective.

In short let your website be your flashing beacon of everything you are and offer and let it shine with your personality.

In case you missed the previous articles in this series, here’s the links:

Are You Ready To Market Yourself?

Branding: It's All About Experience and Benefit

What Does Your Website Say About You?

Customer Service - Do You Know What Your Customers Experience?




I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com


If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Customer Service - Do You Know What Your Customers Experience?

In my third follow up to “Are You Ready To Market Yourself?” I want to talk about customer experience. In the original piece I listed things to think about that pertain directly to your website, but in looking back on it now I should have mentioned customer service in general. I realize very few of us are in the position to have a store front where we’re dealing with customers directly, but there are so many facets of what we do that are still customer service. Every time you respond to an email, answer the phone or mail out a purchase you are providing customer service. How does it measure up to the image that you want to create?

So going back to the original question of whether or not you’re ready to market yourself, I’ll take it one step further and ask, What would happen if your business doubled overnight? Will the systems you’ve created hold up? Do you need to worry about your website crashing or running slowly? Will you be able to handle all the sales and inquires in a timely manner?

While a doubling of sales overnight is an unlikely scenario, looking at your business from an outside perspective will help you see where holes and soft spots are. My fiancé is in the mobile game business and when they get close to launching a new product, they hire people to play the games with the intention of breaking it. They are looking for a link that doesn’t work or that crazy series of actions that shuts things down. What would these testers find on your site or in your customer experience?

Website

I will go here first because it’s often our first point of contact with our customers. Last week’s article gave you a lot to think about regarding the look and design of your site. So let’s take it a step further and really look at how the customer engages with your website. Is it primarily set up as an online store? If so, is the checkout process easy and secure? Are descriptions of the items easy to find, up to date, and useful?

Maybe your website is more personal and focuses on your blog and you process. Is that clear from the start? Is there an easy link for people to find what your selling whether it be products or services? Do they have to fill out a form to ask you a question or can they just click a button and type away?

It should be as easy as possible to find the information that you want them to find. Actively direct customers to your store or to sign up for your email list, whatever your main objective is. Assume two-thirds of your visitors will never get to the bottom of your first page and most will only scroll down an inch or two.

Email

What happens before and after the purchase is just as important as the checkout process. Maybe someone is interested in custom work and they send an email inquiring. Do you have a standard reply that answers all of the basic questions? Does it set you up to continue the conversation? Do you check email often enough to respond with 24 hours or less?

This last one is probably the most important. People are generally impulse shoppers and if they don’t get the information they need to decide to purchase within a day they usually move on.

If you are clear in all of your communications and give as much information as you can up front you will make the experience easy and pleasant for your customer and they will be more likely to part with their hard earned money.

Phone

If you give them the option you will undoubtedly get people who will just pick up the phone instead of emailing. You do not need to feel tied to your phone, but you should have an outgoing message that makes it clear they’ve reached the right person, that sounds professional, and even gives them an idea of when you will get back to them. It is perfectly ok to say something like, “I am unable to return phone calls until after 6 so please leave me a number where you can be reached in the evening and the best time to call.”

I won’t harp on phone skills, but will say be professional, make sure there are no obvious distractions when you call back, and be prepared to get all the information you need to go to the next step.

Packaging

A friend of mine ordered her wedding dress from a major retailer online. It was already stressful to her that she wasn’t able to try it on first, but she loved the photos and was pretty sure this was the right dress. However when it arrived it was crumpled in a bag and poorly folded into the cardboard box. She almost didn’t try it on because she was so disappointed in how it arrived.

I tell you this because it matters.The packaging is part of the experience and it’s more than just ensuring that what’s inside is protected. Does your customer feel like they’re unwrapping something very special when their order arrives? Is the packaging distinct enough that they know exactly what it is before they even look at the label? Think of the Tiffany’s blue box, it almost doesn’t matter what’s inside. You don’t need to spend a ton of money on the packaging, but make sure there is some obvious care and the personality of your brand shines through.

Complaints

I hate that I have to bring it up, but it’s the ugly part of doing business. Someone is always going to be unsatisfied and complain. They may do this by phone, scathing email, or vicious comments on your website. However, if it is a public complaint your other customers will notice how you handle it more than they’ll notice what was said.

You do not necessarily need to buy into the adage, “The customer is always right,” but it will serve you well to find out what they want and do your best to give it to them. Often all a customer needs is for you to notice that they didn’t get what they wanted, sometimes an apology is in order, sometimes a replacement, and sometimes just kind words. Be as gracious and humble as you can and you may even convert them into a loyal customer because they know you will take care of them.

Boy Scout’s Motto

I have my own addition to it, but it serves me well, “Always be prepared for the worst case scenario.” If you take the time to imagine the worst and know how you’ll respond, you will come out of any situation looking gracious and professional not harried and overwhelmed. Go through the buying experience from a customer’s point of view, ask your friends to test certain features or read through your prepared responses. If you find yourself getting the same questions over and over again, set up a Frequently Asked Questions page. It will make you and your customer’s happier.

What systems have you implemented to make your customers feel special?

Here are links to the other articles in this series:

Are You Ready To Market Yourself?

Branding: It's All About Experience and Benefit

What Does Your Website Say About You?

Is Your Website Marketing For You?



I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com


If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

What Does Your Website Say About You?

This week’s follow up to “Are You Ready To Market Yourself?” will focus on your website and user experience. This won’t be the ins and outs of building a store or setting up shopping carts, instead I want you to look at your website from a user’s point of view. What sort of message are you sending and what sort of experience are they having?

First Things First

As we’re all aware, first impressions are lasting. This counts for websites too, maybe even more. When a customer is looking for something particular and finds your website they have no preconceived notions of who you are or what you do. They do however form them as the page is loading. How long does that take? Are there too many large images that take seconds to load? Are they immediately assaulted with google ads and flashing banners? I hope not.

Those first few seconds, and yes I do mean seconds, on your website can make or break a client. Most people only spend a matter of minutes on sites they like and visit regularly. On your site if they can’t find what they need quickly or don’t want to wade through too many bells and whistles to get to the information, you’ve lost them.

A quick aside - While flash can make some pretty interfaces and landing pages, I highly recommend against using it. A flash website or intro often takes precious time to load and these days no one on an iPad can even see your site. That’s a lot of people to cut out with unnecessary design.

So take a quick look at your website from an outsiders eyes. What is the first thing you see? Is it inviting? Does it give you a sense of what this business or artist is about? Most importantly, does it make you want to see more?

Navigation

This is the most important part of your website. I mean it, really. Most of your visitors are on your website for a purpose, they want to know how to contact you, they want to see pictures of your work, or they want to know when your next event is. Can they find that information on the first page or with one click? If not you should seriously consider fixing that.

I like pretty things and I can appreciate websites that are “designed”. But unless the purpose of your site is to simply be a thing of beauty, then you’re going to loose potential customers who don’t “get it” but were still thinking they wanted to buy your jewelry.

Is your navigation bar easy to find? Do you need to scroll to see it? Are the words easy to read and figure out where they’ll take you?

Photos

Bad photos or a complete lack of are another instant turnoff for new visitors. If I can’t really tell what color those earrings are or see the detail of that ring I’m not going to buy it.

The key things to remember when choosing photos for your website:

  • Are they well lit? You’re looking for true colors, soft shadows, texture and contrast. You want the image to pop and still show the finer points?
  • Do they have a sense of scale? For anything to be worn a photo on a model is a great idea, then the buyer can tell how long the earrings are, how the front of the blouse hangs, or how sheer the fabric is. (It’s also not a bad idea to include dimensions in your descriptions.)
  • Are they in focus? If you do nothing else, at least make sure your images are in focus, please!

If you have not read Etsy’s Guide To Photography, stop now and do it!

Links and Proofreading

These two go together because they’re one in the same. The most often unnoticed mistakes are dead links and typos. Not only should you be proofreading all your text over and over again, you should be testing your links.

I would wager that every time you read a section of your website you find one thing wrong or out of place. I make a habit of looking at one page a week that I haven’t visited recently just to make sure everything is as it should be. I often find an extra space, missing comma, or just a headline that wasn’t formatted right. That’s usually on my 4th read.

Same goes for links, check them and re-check them. Sometimes you misspell a word in the address or you move something and don’t get everything updated. I’ve also had my web hosting service change things on the back end and suddenly a page isn’t where it should be.

It never hurts to be too careful. And one day you will look at a page and honestly be able to say everything is as it should be.

What are some of your website pet peeves?

Here are the other articles in this series:

Are You Ready To Market Yourself?

Branding: It's All About Experience and Benefit

Customer Service - Do You Know What Your Customers Experience?

Is Your Website Marketing For You?



I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com



If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Branding: It's All About Experience and Benefit

Last week I asked the question, “Are you ready to market yourself?” and laid out four areas for you to focus your attention and ask the question, “Am I putting my best foot forward?”

Over the next four weeks I want to dive a little deeper into each of those areas. So we’ll start with Branding.

To many branding is what large companies like Coca Cola and Nike do, but it’s just as important for an individual artist. Your brand is the experience you give your customers, it’s what sets you apart from your competitors. Your branding, notice the difference, are the tools that you use to convey this experience like your website, storefront, and packaging.

Why is this so important? It’s how people remember you, it’s what makes you stick in their mind, and it’s what makes them want to recommend you to friends.

The basics of branding is choosing a business name, logo and color scheme then carrying that over to a website, marketing materials and packaging. But it’s so much more than that. What experience do you want to give your customer? What is your mission or vision? Is that also carried through in all your branding?

Let me give you an example. If you own a shop that makes high-end bath products, soaps, bath salts, lotions, etc. The experience you might want to give you customer is one of luxury and special treatment. But if your website is hard to navigate and customer’s questions are only responded to once a week, that’s not very special or luxurious.

I’ll take it even a step further to say how you present yourself reflects on your brand. Most of you reading this are the ones who sell your own products either at fairs, trunk shows, or to your wholesale accounts. If you make fashion forward jewelry that you’re selling at trendy boutiques and at trunk shows in hip lounges, you better look the part. A slumpy t-shirt and running shoes won’t cut it, even if you’ve been up since 6am setting up your booth. I think you get my point.

It’s about the whole package. You need craft the first impression you give your customer through your website, store or fair booth. Then the customer needs to feel good purchasing the item, either because they’re doing something nice for themselves or someone else. And finally they need to be able to put on those earrings or use that soap months later and get that feeling all over again. The experience.

This may seem like a lot to think about, but I promise if you take the time to really define your brand you will stand out head and shoulders above the rest. Start by answering these few questions in as much detail as you can and then think about how you can carry that concept through into everything you do.

What Are the Benefits of Your brand? (List adjectives that best describe the benefits of your brand. What type of experience or feeling do you provide or what need do you fill?)

What Differentiates You From Your Competition? (What benefit or value do you provide that your competition doesn’t? What are you doing that no one else is? Why should customers choose your product/work over the competition?)

What Is Your Business Identity? (Loosely begin to think of your overall company identity – your logo, packaging, colors, stationary, etc. You want to create something that is not only instantly recognizable as “you”, but also has a feeling that goes with your product. People buy things because of the way it makes them feel – Is it a luxurious treat, good for the environment, or giving back to the community? Does it make them feel more hip, smart, or cutting edge? Consistency is key!)

What are the key benefits of your brand and how do you communicate them?

Here are links to the other articles in this series:

Are you ready to market yourself?

What Does Your Website Say About You?

Customer Service - Do You Know What Your Customers Experience?

Is Your Website Marketing For You?



I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com


If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Are You Ready To Market Yourself?

At the beginning of a New Year a lot of small businesses make the decision to step up their marketing efforts by investing more time and money in advertising, social media marketing, and related avenues. It’s a great time to do it, the rush of Holiday sales is over, you’ve got a fresh new perspective on a brand new year, and if you do any business related reading it’s what everyone is talking about; how to get ahead in the year ahead.

I also fully support a well-planned marketing strategy. It keeps you on top of goals and ahead of the game for holiday marketing and special opportunities. Unfortunately all the buzz about getting more traffic, making more sales, and reaching more clients can get in the way of the real question. Are you ready to handle them? Are you putting your best foot forward?

First impressions are key and a customer’s first experience in your store will greatly influence whether they come back or tell their friends. So what does it mean to be ready? Here are some key areas and resources to make your website and your brand ready for the world.


Branding

- Is your logo distinct and representative of your overall vision?

- Is your logo easy to read and memorable?

- Do you have a website address that’s easy to find and easy to remember?

- Do you have a Unique Selling Proposition that is clearly stated?

- Do you have a blog that tells your story?


Website Design

- Is your website attractive and easy to navigate?

- Does your website carry through the image of your brand with colors and fonts?

- Do you have professional photos - sharp, true to life colors, details of products?

- Is key information easy to find - how to contact, store policies, payment options?

- Is important information clearly presented in readable text and easy to find pages?

- Do all your links work?

- Have you proofread your copy?


Customer Experience

- Can your customers find your contact information easily?

- Is it easy to purchase items or services?

- Is the checkout process easy to follow?

- Are there unnecessary steps or information asked for?


Built in Marketing

- Do you have an about page that tells your story?

- Do you have links to any press you’ve gotten?

- Is it easy for a blogger or magazine to share information about you - photos, links to your store or blog?

- Can I sign up for a newsletter?

- Can I find your Facebook or Twitter pages?

- Do you share any other social media networks you belong to?


The goal of marketing is to attract customers, but if you're not ready to give them the best experience then it's time and money wasted. Put your best foot forward from the beginning and your customers will keep coming back and tell their friends.

Are you ready to market yourself? Can you answer yes to all these questions?

This is part one in a 5 part series, here are links to the rest:

Branding: It's All About Experience and Benefit

What Does Your Website Say About You?

Customer Service - Do You Know What Your Customers Experience?

Is Your Website Marketing For You?




I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com


If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Not Just For Your Blog: A Theme For Facebook and Twitter Too!

Last week I wrote about having a theme for your blog writing. This week I want to show you how you might carry that over into your Facebook and Twitter posting to create a cohesive message.

Just a little reminder as to why: if you have an overarching theme to your writing, then it’s both easier for you to plan what you want to say and lets readers know what to expect from you. They know where to turn when they’re looking for specific information.

All Together Now

Carrying your theme over to Facebook and Twitter can be done in a few ways. The most straight forward is to continue to offer the same information you offer on your blog, just in bite size pieces. For example you’re a jewelry designer and you’ve decided to write about both your work and where you draw your inspirations. So let’s say you’re working on a new series of rings and you got the idea from a recent art exhibit you saw. Your blog post might go into detail about the artist who inspired you and the look of the rings you’re working on. On Twitter you could post links to the artist’s work or you could write about where you’re getting stuck in the new design. Then on Facebook you could write slightly longer updates of how things are going and your favorite parts of the process. They all go together to create a body of information about your process for the reader.

Separate Lines of Communication

Another way to approach it is to keep the channels more distinct. Your blog is for writing the longer story from inspiration to finished product (this may be more than one post), Twitter is for sharing the articles you’re reading in preparation searching for materials and new techniques, and Facebook is for sharing images of your process step by step. This way the blog is the full story, Twitter is links and Facebook is photos. However it could be the blog is the story of inspiration and design, Twitter is about the actual process - selecting the stones, hammering metal and Facebook might be conversational musings on how things are going, what you’re listening to, how far along you are.

To The Best Of Our Ability

When thinking about how you want to use each of the social communities also think about how others use them. This might lead to a strategy where Facebook is about direct conversations, asking your customers questions, sharing exciting information and getting feedback. Twitter might then be the quick thoughts that don’t require interaction or the sharing of interesting information in the form of links to others and websites. The blog is what brings it all together into a full story that people take the time to read and interact with.

I challenge you to think about how you want to tell your story, what you want to share and how you want your readers and customers to interact with you. Then use all the social platforms for their unique benefits. By taking the time to define all this you will have a more polished, professional image and your customers will keep coming back to you for that information they crave.

If you’re looking for more guided information to walk you through building your personal strategy, download Lightbox SF’s newly released a Social Media Workbook.




I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com


If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

It's All About Focus: Finding a Theme For Your Blog

I have been diligently writing and editing the text for a social media workbook that Lightbox SF will have available in about a week. While getting feedback from one of my gracious readers we were discussing my advice to choose a theme or focus for your message. He was a little confused why I was talking about sharing industry news and not about showing the process of their work.

I wanted to share this with you because in discussing it further I wan not only able to explain my point, but convinced him this simple tip was great for beginners daunted by writing a blog because it actually made deciding what to write easier and makes you sound more professional.

Focus Schmocus

Here’s what I mean when I say pick a focus. First I coach my clients to tell their story, share what makes them unique within their market. That is the heart of all successful marketing. Then I tell them to look beyond their art for another passion they have that relates, something they want to share with their readers, an added value of sorts.

Just to make that clear I want you to talk about your work, why you create, the materials you use, possibly even show photos or video of a piece at different stages of progress. But I also want you to have another topic that you write, post and tweet about, something that you are passionate or curious about, something that is easy for you to talk about.

For example one client is a photographer, but also going to school to be a lawyer. When she blogs and posts on Twitter and Facebook she shares her images, how she captured them, what worked and didn’t work, but she also shares tips on navigating the legal side of being an artist. She posts links to articles and websites where solid information can be found. This has allowed her to grow a following that comes to her for both her striking images and her expert knowledge on art law.

I'm Still Not Convinced

And why do I think this is so important? First because it gives your audience something to count on, they know what to expect from you and they know where to turn when they need or want specific information. Second because it makes deciding what to write a bit easier. Having a focus gives you direction and narrows the possibilities. If you’ve chosen a theme that is a great interest to you, you’ll most likely have plenty of material to choose from without doing much research or you’ll already be doing the research because you can’t help yourself.

I’ll use myself as an example. On the blog for Lightbox SF I write the more practical business advice articles while Shelly writes the more inspirational and motivational pieces. As many of you can understand my days often get away from me and before I know it I’m due to post another article and I still haven’t been struck by what to write. All I need to do is think about what have I been focusing on all week with our business. What did I learn or what skill did I make use of? I always come up with something because my day-to-day work is focused on growing the business and using best practices. I’m constantly reading about how others are succeeding at small businesses that I have tons of inspiration. I’m not pulling my topics out of thin air, instead I look to what I’ve been doing that week.

How Would That Look For Someone Like Me?

Let’s say you’re a knitter making fabulous vintage inspired accessories. I would coach you to first write about how you come up with your patterns, what yarn you use, how you came to knitting, but then I would suggest that you also write about your passion for vintage. This might take the form of sharing your favorite finds from flea market expeditions or how to incorporate more vintage items into your wardrobe. The two go hand-in-hand, but offer two distinct focuses for your writing. Then if you were ever stuck with what to write you could either look to a new project you were working on or that set of cordial glasses you purchased last weekend or that mint-condition 1940s dress you’re coveting on Ebay.

The structure not only makes it easier to come up with ideas, but it also gives you room to play. You might even find yourself excited about brainstorming new blog posts and how you can support them with your Twitter and Facebook updates.

Next week I’ll carry this theme idea over to crafting an integrated message for all your social media outlets.

Do you have a theme or focus that makes you stand out? I'd love to hear about it.



I encourage comments directly to this post, but also feel free to email me directly with questions, reactions, struggles, etc. genevieve@lightboxsf.com


If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp - Another Way to Pump Up Your Brand

I drew this in honor of the "Holiday Boot Camp Pledge"

As we all know, the busy Holiday Season is just around the corner. September went with the blink of an eye and craft stores are already putting up their pine wreathes & golden ribbons.

Being owners of our micro-businesses, we are often pushed into the roles that big-box businesses might have several (hundred) people filling. Store managers, sales associates, stock people & marketing teams are all encompassed in each one of us. Although we are expected to wear these many hats, we may not all know how to wear them well just yet.

That's where DanielleXO comes in.

DanielleXO is the Etsy admin in charge of helping Etsy Sellers find the resources they need to become successful in a virtual handmade marketplace. Having taken a survey about the Etsy Success mailing list earlier this year, we were asked how we felt about being given tasks to designed to help us reach our business and sales goals in the year to come. A moderate portion of the Seller population welcomed this idea & patiently awaited the start of a "boot camp" email for months.

The first email finally arrived on Thursday, 23rd September, 2010 (click here to see it in HTML format). Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp is a task-driven regime in which you, the Seller, can pump up your shop into tip-top shape, just in time for this Holiday Season's rush of shoppers.

Some of us may be new to the role and some of us are Holiday Season veterans, but all of us could use help with sales. What better way than to utilize our networking skills to promote ourselves & each other in order to generate yet another venue for free advertising of our brands?!

With a community that's becoming ever-aware of the need to buy handmade & support local business, how can we pass up the opportunity to learn how to reach the masses? With exercises on branding, Google Analytics, merchandising & more, the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp hails to be one of the best places to be these upcoming weeks.

One of the first items of business is to pick a Mascot for the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp Team. Check out the treasury they put together.

'Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp Mascots' by daniellexo

Who should be the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp Mascot? Let me know in the comments below!Keep your eyes on Etsy's blog for more information about the Holiday Boot Camp on Thursday!


Roman Warrior Hat G...
$

Birds in Helmets n0...
$10.00

Camouflage Cutie Do...
$14.99

Camouflage Monkey
$20.00

French Bulldog Camo...
$

Punkin
$50.00

Army Boy 2 piece ha...
$50.00

Cat Art Fine Art AC...
$5.00

Dog Sweater Small B...
$25.00

Lou the brown monst...
$35.00

Camouflage Print Do...
$8.00

Alfreda -Woodlands ...
$16.00

Norwegian Viking Ca...
$15.00

Woodland Warrior - ...
$11.00

Boot Camp Bandana
$14.95

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.



Another awesome inclusion to the Boot Camp is having weekly forum threads set up to help everyone help each other with sharing tips & tricks, links & success stories. You can check of those out here. There's even a Facebook Page from which you can take the Holiday Boot Camp Pledge!

For more info on how YOU can join the Etsy Success Holiday Boot Camp & pump up your brand, check out the article in the Storque.




Steph Cortés from nerd JERK is the Roving Reporter, one of the newest members of the SF Etsy Blog Team. She enjoys going out to new crafting events and supporting the handmade movement. Look forward to more reports on her artsy shenanigans in weeks to come. Feel free to email her comments & tips on shows anytime.


If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Jen from Mama's Magic Studio about joining SFEtsy!
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