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Welcome!

I may have shared this tip before - but I'm going to mention it again now, because this is the perfect time to take action on it! :o)

Why not send Thanksgiving cards to your customers, letting them know you sincerely appreciate them?

Enclose a special "thank you" jewelry discount or free "customer appreciation" gift coupon for them to apply toward their holiday shopping.

You might consider offering a "Black Friday" special that's good for the busiest shopping day of the year (the day after Thanksgiving), or a "Cyber Monday" special that's good for the busiest Internet shopping day of the year (the day after Thanksgiving weekend).

Or a "Good from now through December 24" deal just for your customers.

Attached to the coupon, be sure to include a list of your upcoming shows, jewelry open house events, and / or where they can find your jewelry online.

As soon as Thanksgiving is over, people get really serious about finding holiday gifts.

So this is a perfect time to let your customers know how much they're appreciated, and remind them that you always have lovely solutions to their gift giving needs.

~ Rena

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In this Issue of
Jewelry Business Success News:

1. Quick Tip: Get a Grip!



2. New Jewelry Business Ideas and Techniques:
   - 2 new jewelry display / packaging ideas
   - 4 new jewelry-making tips and inspirations
   - 4 new jewelry business ideas
   - 3 new highlights from the handmade jewelry gallery



3. Your Profitable Jewelry Business:
   Deciding Whether to Sign Up for an Outdoor Show



4. Neat Jewelry-Related Website:
   Millie's Got Rocks

Quick Tip:
Get a Grip!

Sometimes it's hard to get a good grip on slippery beads, cabochons, small wire ends, or other jewelry making components. They just keep slipping out of your fingers!

Here's one solution: Cut a small square piece from a roll of rubberized, non-skid shelf liner, and wrap it around the slippery item so you can get a firm grip on it.

I've discovered that a good size for these little rubberized shelf liner squares is about 2.25" x 2.25" (5.5 cm x 5.5 cm). The square is big enough for me to hold onto easily, but not so big that it gets in the way of what I'm working on.

I keep a few of these little squares in with my jewelry tools, where they're handy to grab and use whenever I need them. They make it so much easier to get a firm hold on slick things!

Special note to jewelry artists with arthritis, carpal tunnel, or other conditions affecting your grip: You may want to keep a few bigger pieces of rubberized shelf liner handy for getting a firmer hold on larger items like jewelry tools.

Sell Your Jewelry Like Crazy
at Shows, Fairs, and Festivals

Discover hundreds of things you can do to sell more of your handmade jewelry at shows, in my book Ultimate Guide to Your Profitable Jewelry Booth.

Get this 176-page, step-by-step resource before your next show.

New Jewelry Business
Ideas and Techniques
from My Websites and Blog:

Jewelry Display and Packaging Ideas:

1. Donna C Designs Craft Fair Booth
   Donna Farkas shows the clever floor element she added to her booth, and shares what she uses for jewelry risers.



2. Battery Operated Lamp Ideas for Your Booth
   Tips and sources for cordless lamps that light up your jewelry booth when there's no electricity available. By Rena Klingenberg.

Jewelry Making Ideas:

1. Make a Better Bead Scoop
   Tricia Dutton shares her quick tip for making an excellent bead scoop from a cheap item you already have at home.



2. Make a Simple Measuring Template for Jewelry Projects
   See the simple popsicle-stick templates I use for fast, accurate measuring on jewelry projects. By Rena Klingenberg.



3. Modern Superstitions - Wearing Amulets and Talisman
   See Virginia Vivier's incredible amulet jewelry - and share your personal rituals, superstitions, and charms.



4. How to Wire-Wrap an Arrowhead
   An easy tutorial I created while wrapping a 2,000-year-old arrowhead for a custom jewelry order. By Rena Klingenberg.

Jewelry Business Ideas:

1. Finding a Jewelry Niche Market with Recycled Materials
   Find out how Virginia Vivier discovered a niche market for the gorgeous, environmentally-friendly jewelry she creates from empty bullet shells that were littering the Arizona desert. Includes lovely photos.



2. What Does "Tribal Jewelry" Really Mean?
   Important tips for using the words "tribal" and "ethnic" accurately in your jewelry designs. By jewelry designer and anthropology major Chelsea Clarey.



3. 10 Cornerstones of Your Online Jewelry Business
   Marianna Paransky shares 10 important principles for running a successful online jewelry business.



4. Promote Your Jewelry Locally
   Regularly promoting your jewelry business in your local community is a smart move. See how Launa Liva spreads the word about her jewelry in her local area.

Highlights from the Handmade Jewelry Gallery:

1. King's Ransom necklace
   by Joan Williams.



2. Wire-wrapped Czech glass button ring
   by Tricia Dutton.



3. Victorian Mystery necklace
   by Kristine Schroeder.

Share Your Jewelry Content
and Get Great Exposure

I invite you to share your jewelry photos, tips, stories, tutorials, etc. - right here on my network of jewelry websites.

It's a friendly, creative atmosphere of ideas and networking.

You'll also receive links to your jewelry business, and gain exposure in the handmade jewelry community - and beyond.

Jewelry artists often tell me that the exposure they've received on my websites has brought them valuable new connections, opportunities, and traffic!

So come on in and take advantage of all these great opportunities for sharing:

Share Your Jewelry Content

(And of course, you always keep the copyright to all of your own content that you share on my network of jewelry websites.)

Sell Your Jewelry at Trunk Shows,
Private Showings,
and as Business Gifts

Learn how to sell your one-of-a-kind jewelry to this huge untapped market, in my book Secrets of a Handcrafted Jewelry Shopping Service.

Get this 115-page, easy-to-read guide now, and make this your best jewelry selling year ever.

Your Profitable Jewelry Business:

Deciding Whether to Sign Up
for an Outdoor Show

by Rena Klingenberg

Recently a jewelry artist asked me whether she should sign up for an outdoor show she was considering. She said:

"There is a big show coming up, and they guarantee at least 5 thousand visitors - but it's outdoors. Is it worth it to do this show if it rains? The tickets are bought in advance and are almost sold out, and I would have the first booth at the entrance, so I would get a lot of exposure. But if it rains, will those people show up?"

Here's what I answered:

Outdoor shows are always a gamble. Beautiful weather can bring crowds of people out - but cold, wind, rain, mud, etc. can make folks change their minds about going to the show.

Here are some points to consider that may help you decide:

1. First of all, what percentage of the other vendors will be selling jewelry? Shows with too many jewelers are harder to profit from, regardless of the rest of the situation.

   So I would ask the show promoter for that figure first, because it may help you decide right away whether the show is worth participating in.

2. Although the first booth at the entrance of the show does get a lot of exposure, it usually does NOT get as many sales.

   That's because people usually aren't ready to start spending till they've explored more of the show - and they often tend to buy more from the central area of the show and from corner booths.

   They may say they'll be back to buy one of your pieces, but most likely they'll wind up purchasing something from another vendor farther into the show instead.

   That may be the reason why the booth at the entrance of the show you're considering is one of the few that's still available.

3. If it does rain, it may only rain for a short time. If so, your entire crowd wouldn't be lost.
4. But if it did pour rain for the entire day and you made no sales, could you afford to lose the amount of your booth fee?
5. Show promoters really can't give accurate guarantees of the number of people who will attend the show; too many factors affect whether people attend that day or not.

   There may be way more (or way less) people than the promoter says. All they can accurately and honestly tell you is how many people have attended the show each year in the past, how they've promoted the show this year - and, in your case, how many tickets they've sold.

   So if you have a pushy promoter who's literally guaranteeing a certain number of people attending the show, I'd tread carefully - he/she may be a shady operator.

   Always proceed with caution when someone wants you to spend your money in a hurry, without giving you the time to consider the expenditure carefully!

Neat Jewelry-Related Website

We can all relate to the need to "de-stash" our jewelry-making supplies from time to time!

This week's neat site, Millie's Got Rocks, was set up by jewelry artist Millie to unload some of her overstock of cabochons, focal components, and beads.

Be sure to follow the links at the bottom of each page of Millie's site to click to the next picture-index page.

To me this is a "neat site" for three reasons:

First, for its photography. Millie has a lot of beautiful stones that are well-photographed, and the items that are still available have huge, lovely closeup shots when you click on them - which is so important in selling jewelry and components online.

Second, the still-available items have brief but very detailed descriptions - you know exactly what they are and how big they are.

And third, her site is visually clean and uncluttered. You can focus on exactly what you came to see - Millie's overstock of rocks!

Sell Your Jewelry Online

Grow a solid base of online jewelry customers, using the step-by-step strategies you'll learn in my book Social Networking: Sell Your Jewelry Online the New Way.

Get this 192-page, step-by-step resource now, and start growing your customer base.

Network and Get Noticed
in the
Home Based Jeweler's Showcase

The Home Based Jeweler's Showcase blog is a free opportunity to promote your jewelry business and find other jewelry artists to network with.

It's published by Rita Juhlin of Private Stock Jewelry.

To add your jewelry business to the Showcase - please email Rita Juhlin, at HomeBasedJewelers @ gmail.com .

SURVEY:
How Can I Make This Newsletter
Better for You?

If you haven't yet responded to my quick survey, I welcome your input!

Please take the survey here to give me your suggestions and feedback so I can make this newsletter a better resource for you.

I grant as many wishes as possible! :o)

Thanks so much.

My Jewelry Business Websites
and RSS Feeds

This newsletter highlights some of the latest jewelry business tips and techniques from my websites:

Home Jewelry Business Success Tips

Jewelry Display Ideas

Making Jewelry Now

Jewelry Business Blog

Each of these sites also has its own RSS feed. Look for the orange RSS symbol on the left-hand column of each of these sites to get the feed.

Thanks so much for joining me
for this issue of
"Jewelry Business Success News"!

~ May your jewelry journey be fun and prosperous ~

Contact Rena