Jewelry Business BlogFebruary - March 2004 ArchiveHere is our Jewelry Business Blog archive from February - March 2004, filled with fantastic tips and info on marketing handcrafted jewelry. For more blog entries, visit:
March 31, 2004 Consider teaming up with related but non-competing businesses to promote each other's products. For example, if you make bridal jewelry, you could team up with a florist, a dressmaker, and a catering business to recommend one another to your bridal customers. It's a great system for free advertising, and a recommendation from a trusted business serving the same niche carries more weight than a paid ad in the newspaper. March 27, 2004 You can make your website updates less time-consuming by keeping a running list of the changes / additions you want to make. When you notice a typo or a formatting change you need to make, have products to add or delete, or pages to add - jot them down on a list next to your computer. Then the next time you get into your website to make changes, take care of all the modifications on your list at once. March 26, 2004 I've just added two new eBay articles from Cheryl Coccaro to our rapidly-growing section on Selling Jewelry on eBay: Tips for Using eBay's TurboLister Auction Software Tips for Setting up Multiple eBay Accounts Both of these articles have great information on using eBay as a professional tool to help grow your jewelry business. Thanks, Cheryl! :o) March 24, 2004 I've added two brand new copyright-free jewelry resources for you to use any way you like: Birthstones Wedding Anniversary Stones Customers love this stuff, and it enhances your image as an expert if you provide it to them! Please feel free to post this information on your website, or print it out to give your customers at your booth or your jewelry making workshops. March 23, 2004 Here's a brand new article by our eBay guru, Cheryl Coccaro: NARU - eBay Auction Account Suspension This article has important information about your eBay account, whether you're a buyer or a seller. March 22, 2004 Protect yourself by endorsing checks safely. When you receive a check as payment for your jewelry, don't endorse it by merely signing your name on the back. That makes the check cashable by anyone who might get a hold of it. Take the time to write, "for deposit only" above your signature. At shows, where you might be receiving several checks in a day, immediately use a self-inking rubber stamp to mark each check "for deposit only" as soon as you receive it, and then add it to your money pouch or cash drawer. March 21, 2004 When creating labels and hang tags for your jewelry, be sure you're following the FTC guidelines regarding jewelry labeling. Although federal punishment for misrepresenting your product and materials is rare, it does happen, and it's not worth risking. The government views violations of its jewelry labeling guidelines as "unfair or deceptive practices". Be sure your website follows the federal guidelines, too. The FTC conducts periodic random sweeps of jewelry websites to check for infractions. Once you've familiarized yourself with the FTC's regulations, you can get down to the fun part - designing your own jewelry tags and earring cards. To me, this is every bit as much fun as designing jewelry! March 21, 2004 The second issue of "Jewelry Business Success News" went out to 394 subscribers a few days ago. Since then, 10 more subscribers have signed up! Some highlights of this issue are an extensive article about selling your jewelry through galleries, and a link to a neat metaphysical jewelry website. "Jewelry Business Success News" is free, and if you're considering subscribing but want to check it out first, you can see the back issues here. March 19, 2004 Readers have asked me to post a photo of my own card in my article about business cards, so I did. You can see my jewelry business card here. March 18, 2004 I'm excited to introduce a new section and a new guest author to Home Jewelry Business Success tips. Our new section, Bead and Jewelry Supplies and Tools, is starting out with two informative articles by Mary Harvey, a wire jewelry artist and owner of Custom Jewelry Supply (a great source of jewelry tools, cameos, gemstones, and more): Choosing the Right Wire Cutter for the Job Choosing the Right Jewelry Pliers for the Job I learned a lot of things I didn't know about jewelry tools from both of these articles - and now I think I need to get some more tools! :o) Look forward to more great articles by Mary here in the future! March 17, 2004 If you're getting ready to build or transfer your jewelry website, Yahoo Webhosting
March 16, 2004 At shows, you'll definitely sell more jewelry if you demonstrate your craft. People love to see you actually making the pieces you sell, and they especially like to buy the piece they watched you make. Your demonstration doesn't have to be a big production - just working on some of your current pieces is enough to attract the attention of passersby and draw them to stay awhile at your booth. If you have pieces you can customize (with particular stones, beads, etc.), people love to watch you make the exact custom item they're buying. However, if you demonstrate jewelry making at shows, it's best to have someone helping you at your booth. It's hard to make jewelry, sell to customers, and handle transactions all at once! March 12, 2004 You can help customers remember your jewelry business - and influence their feelings about it - by associating a color with your business. The color you choose should be an element in all your packaging, displays, and advertising. This also gives your business a pulled together, professional look. March 12, 2004 How can you make your eBay auction listings successful? See Cheryl's latest article, How to Increase Your eBay Auction Sales, for 10 tips on creating a winning eBay listing. March 10, 2004 The best thing you can do to keep your jewelry customers coming back to you is to exceed their expectations every time you have an interaction with them. Although they think of your product as being jewelry, if you want to build a stable of repeat customers your primary product should be consistently rewarding their confidence in you. For suggestions on ways to do this, see Relationship Marketing Tips for Your Jewelry Business. March 9, 2004 Regularly publishing a fresh batch of your customers' testimonials on your jewelry website helps people feel comfortable with buying your work online. Keep your customers' comments genuine by resisting the temptation to edit their feedback - use their original words including any misspellings or grammatical errors. As a third party, their testimonials go a long way toward convincing other shoppers that you have wonderful jewelry and service! So let them speak directly to your site's visitors, in their own words. March 8, 2004 I've just revised and updated our Photographing Jewelry section, with new articles on: Best Digital Cameras for Photographing Jewelry Easy Jewelry Photography with a Digital Camera Jewelry Photography Success Tips for Your $15 Photo Studio March 6, 2004 OOPS! I just found out that the link I posted on my Newsletter Subscription page, for the back issues of my Jewelry Business Success News, wasn't working. I've fixed it on that page it now. And I'm also posting it here: the correct link for back issues of Jewelry Business Success News. March 6, 2004 A picture says a thousand words, and Cheryl Coccaro shares secrets for pictures that make auctions sell in Success Tips for eBay Auction Photos. There are some great tips in this article for anyone who eBays; after reading this you'll look at auction listing photos more critically when you're a buyer too! March 6, 2004 Give people a clear picture of why they want to buy your jewelry and how it solves a problem. Whether speaking to a customer in person or via your website, suggest "This pearl bracelet is a lovely gift for Mother's Day, and you can give her the matching earrings for her birthday." Doesn't that sound more compelling than, "Makes a great gift." ? March 5, 2004 A lovely note from my blog mailbag: March 4, 2004 I'll be archiving the issues of Jewelry Business Success News through a link on the newsletter subscription page. So far there's only one issue, but if you'd like to see it before subscribing, go to the Newsletter Subscription page, and click on the link for back issues. March 4, 2004 Don't lose any of your great ideas! Creative people tend to have good ideas all day long, even while sleeping. Some days we're so filled with creativity that new ideas crowd out the older ones, which means losing forever the seeds of some brilliantly creative work or solution. Please keep an idea file, box, or notebook! Have paper or a notebook, plus pens / pencils handy everywhere - your bedroom, kitchen, and office; your car; your purse; your desk at work; etc. Jot down your ideas in a phrase or two that captures the essence of what inspired you and a direction you foresee the idea going. Then, several times a year, go through your idea file, box, or notebook. Review your flashes of genius and decide whether it's time to act on any of them, or whether they need to germinate a bit more. Experiment with combining more than one of your ideas; sometimes the very best solutions are the result of combining two or more great ideas! March 3, 2004 Joanne recommends Pearl Concepts, Inc. of New York. She got some beautiful wholesale pearls from them and says their prices are very good and they will acceptphone orders. They don't have a website, but their phone number is 212.226.8585. Thanks, Joanne! March 3, 2004 The newest eBay article from Cheryl Coccaro has just been added: Your Auction Title Can Bring You Success or Failure. She gives helpful tips for creating a title that draws bidders to your auction. March 2, 2004 When you accept custom jewelry orders, do you get a deposit from the customer before ordering the supplies and doing any work, or do you wait and bill them when the project is finished? I recommend that you have a policy of requiring at least a 50% deposit before beginning the job - unless the customer is your mom or grandmother! :o) Most jewelry artists who order the supplies and do the work without securing a deposit first have been burned by a customer who changes their mind. It happened to me a few times. Sometimes that leaves you stuck with a piece they requested that's so customized that there couldn't be any other customer for it. And you've lost money. So don't be shy about getting at least half of the money up front. If they don't want to pay a deposit, then don't accept the project and be thankful you didn't enter into a transaction with that customer. March 1, 2004 The first issue of my Jewelry Business Success News email newsletter went out this morning to 262 subscribers! Woo hoo! It covers everything from an inspiring jewelry business success moment, to jewelry trunk shows, to a neat jewelry-related website to visit. If you've subscribed and didn't receive this issue, please re-subscribe on the newsletter subscription page. March 1, 2004 Sherry recommends Connie Fox's "Wire Jewelry Design and Techniques" forum, so I've added the link for it on my Jewelry Making Forums page. Thanks, Sherry! February 29, 2004 To our growing new Selling Jewelry on eBay section, I've added a list of auction management software and ebooks that make eBaying easier, faster, and more profitable. Some of these resources are free! February 27, 2004 We have a new section here on Home Jewelry Business Success Tips: February 27, 2004 When you mail out individual jewelry orders to your customers, take half a minute to add an extra personal touch to their packaging. On the receipt / packing slip, hand-write a quick personal note. I write something like, "Thank you, Barbara! Hope you enjoy the bracelet and earrings. Take care and let me know when I can help you again. Rena." Personal touches like this are a valuable part of your handcrafted jewelry business! February 26, 2004 A reader emailed to ask when the first Jewelry Business News (my email newsletter) is coming out, and whether she missed receiving it. The answer is, it's coming out within this coming week. I wanted to get the Jewelry Business Blog up and running first, along with Beads Directory and Jewelry Supply Directory, to provide our visitors with some more helpful tools! I do apologize for the delayed newsletter, and you haven't missed it! I just took on a lot of things at once, and under-estimated how much time it would all take. Thanks for asking! February 25, 2004 Today I received an email from Lisa, asking where to find the clear plastic self-adhesive hangers you can stick on the back of your earring cards. Answer: Try Rio Grande's packaging catalog; they have about 3 different sizes of these. Order Rio Grande's catalogs online, or call 1-800-545-6566. February 23, 2004 Here's an affordable and eye-catching earring display, handmade by jewelry artist and entrepreneur Cheryl Coccaro. See it on her well-named website, My Perfect Ear. Cheryl also has a great e-book on selling your jewelry on eBay, called "Easy Internet Selling". In it she gives lots of tips and secrets to enhance your listings, minimize your eBay listing fees, and receive bids on your jewelry. February 23, 2004 From my email: "My friend just forwarded your website to me... I LOVE it! I'mjust starting a jewelry business and have jewelry in two different stores. Iprinted alot of info from you to read later.. You have some great ideas for me.Thank you SOOOOO much for helping us out there that are just getting started!" Thanks for this lovely email! I'm glad this site is achieving its purpose in helping jewelry artists reach their goals. February 23, 2004 From a visitor named Laurie: "I looked at your WONDERFUL website for helping jewelry artists as myself getstarted on a web business.....and everything in between. It's soo informative with your tried & true results !! I cannot thank you enough !" Thank you for letting me know, Laurie! :o) For more great jewelry business tips and info, see Current jewelry business blog entries Return to Home Jewelry Business Success Tips home page.
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