Keeping & Increasing Your Online Presence in Ever-changing Social Media....

by Barbara Bechtel

If you promote your work online as many of us do, then it's probably happened to you. You're getting new "likes", comments, and even sales (we all hope!) and then WHAM! No new likes, no comments, and sales flatline. It's sort of like when you go to a big party and you use the facilities and come out only to find everyone packing up to go home.

If you use Facebook, then you've likely read that recently it has changed the way people see "ads" posted by other sites. This has had many discussing how they can still drive sales to their sites and keep the love coming.

The most recent example that is affecting those who sell on other sites (like Etsy, etc.) is that when you "share" on Facebook the item you have for sale, either by using the button from your item or pasting the link directing into your Facebook status, is that the number of people that see that item will be greatly throttled.

Personally, I've never found that method to be particularly useful for Facebook anyhow, although I've long used it in addition to my other sharing. While I'm not an expert, I thought I would share some insights I've gained over the years that have helped me.

First and foremost, what you ALWAYS need to remember is that sites, whether they be social media (i.e. FB, Instagram) or selling sites (eBay, Etsy) are constantly changing the algorithms that affects what you see in your feed (in the instance of FB) or what you search for (sites like Etsy, eBay, or Pinterest that generate results based on what you search for).

That being said, if you sell or share in this way, you need to keep abreast of your numbers and when they start to fall, seemingly without any relation to what you've been doing, they may have changed their algorithms. It is not unlike a card game. They're not going to tell you what or why they have changed, you just notice that you're losing. Therefore, you have to change your strategy. Don't misunderstand me, they're not necessarily out to "defeat" you, but they are constantly grabbing information on statistics about what generates the most sales and what people are most searching for.

Here are some things to think about when trying to increase your numbers:

1) What you're posting. While it might be tempting to post 1000 pictures of your pet or your smoothie, a little goes a long way. The same goes for your work. If you post the same type of work a 1000 times, it becomes boring. If you've made the same ring in 10 variations, don't post 10 photos. Take one photo all together.

2) Describe your inspiration. It's tempting to be minimalist and say "new rings I made" but people want to know why you made it. Maybe it's a collection or piece based on your fascination with a new color or glaze, the weather, a poem, a trip you took. TELL people about it and how it inspired your new work.

3) Show pieces in progress. People are fascinated by the process and the story. Show your sketches, show the process from raw clay to finished bead, show metal while you're sawing or before it's soldered.

4) Time of day: What time do you post your photos? When do you get the most traffic? Schedule your posts at different or varying times and chart their popularity. Posts in your Facebook business page can be scheduled at different times of day. You may reach different people by trying out different times.

5) Challenge yourself visually. Most of us are not photographers by nature and it can be very easy to continue to use what has worked for us in the past. Put the jewelry on the same background and take the photos. With current technology, it is easier to take better and more interesting photos than it has been in the past. If you feel photography is not your forte, than enroll in a class or schedule yourself some time to play with different backgrounds and lighting. Study photographs of you admire and see what appeals to you that you could emulate in your own photos. Change up your photography by doing something different. Play with different backgrounds, get a friend to model (or model your own!) or take a trip to a park, beach, or new location and take some pictures.

6) Engage the audience you wish to have. If you make handmade jewelry to sell, then you need to finding the audience that likes to BUY handmade jewelry. You may be posting photos and getting likes but if few of those people are actually an audience that will purchase it, then all of that love isn't translating to much more than a pat on the back.

7) Paid ads. With the introduction of paid ads on many sites, it might be tempting to follow this route. However normally for small and niche businesses, this is not always effective. It is an option, that does bear research especially to get the word out locally. If you teach classes or do many shows, it may be an avenue to pursue. Check it out and start small to see if it may work for you.



I hope this helps you think about some of these things in new ways! If you have any advice or tips to share, I'd love to hear them in the comments below!

Pulling It Together

A week before Bead Fest, end of the summer here in the US (which means for most of us, kids are heading back to school), and there are always lots of things going on in everyday life to juggle.

I don't know about you, but when stress like this settles in, and my brain has no more room for one ounce of though - I am thankful for little things in technology that actually help pull things together through "social media" instead of spreading things thin and making one feel like "I give up. I have no time for figuring this out".

So here are two things that I think will be helpful:

1. If you have a shop on Etsy and are selling your work in a booth there, you can add your information HERE on their Etsy Local page:

Screen shot of Etsy Local Page for Bead Fest Philadelphia August 2014

If you want to check your "local" area for Etsy sellers and events, click HERE.

You can always add an event that you are participating in or join an event if someone else has already created it. It's a great marketing tool!

2. For those of you going to Bead Fest Philly Summer 2014 and you want to know who else from our handmade jewelry beading online community is going to go and possibly meet up with them to say Hi:

Hope to see you at Bead Fest in just about a week!

Handmade Artists on Etsy Part 2

It gets more and more difficult for me to find a clear path in todays technological world to be able to navigate through social media and websites.

Do you ever feel like that?

Just overwhelmed. Ready to shut it down and focus elsewhere?

Going back to what I started to mention about being a handmade artist and selling on Etsy Part 1, it is getting more and more difficult and frustrating to get your items found through the default searches and categories that Etsy has set up.

Even this last week, getting ready for this post - I've been disappointed at what comes up in the default clickable searches from the front page.

But somewhere inside there is this little glimmer of light down deep inside that burns.

I think it is that little light that glimmers when a person has a sense of being part of a community.

Part of something that is special and unique and helps you rise above the ordinary and mundane...

And even though it seems impossible to be found through Etsy Search, or ever make the front page, or get Etsy to make a handmade seller section (that is actually handmade), and I would rather go to Pinterest and find items, then click through to find them on a website or Etsy shop...
I still find that glimmer of light inside for the Etsy community.

Previously I mentioned using Etsy as a marketing tool.

Through changes in their website platform in the last couple of years, it is easier now to get your items from your shop to show up higher through Google searches (all that SEO stuff) if you use the right tags and key words in your listing title.

Talk about a marketing tool that I appreciate someone else taking care of because my brain just comes to a halt when it sees technology terms such as SEO.

Wonderful Handmade Gifts Treasury Collection

Being part of the Etsy community by having a shop open there or through Etsy Teams: via discussion threads, through Treasuries that team mates include your item in, by favoring, by pinning items via their Pin It button, new items from your favorite shop in the updated activity feed, etc, makes that glimmer just that much brighter.

It always feels great to feature beautiful items in treasury collections.

And that some of my items in return get featured.

I just love that.

And we all have those days where just being included in something like that can really be uplifting - and make you feel that sense of community.

Especially for those of us that work alone or are a bit reclusive.

So I created this then used TreasuryPin.com to pin that treasury collection of wonderful handmade items that I quick found on Etsy (by clicking on links on blogs to the artist Etsy page) and pinned it, then shared via social media (FaceBook and Twitter).
Just like that - a few clicks and reaching out to a broad audience visually...

Sure you can communicate with others through other social media sites and blogs, but it's not quite the same.
Not to me it isn't.
The tools just aren't quite there and as easy to use.
People and small businesses are coming up with cool tools to use the Etsy platform.

I personally like being part of a group (a team) that likes to help promote each others work.

Having a common focus: a theme, an event, a deadline, and a goal is always key.

If there is no focus or deadline then efforts seem to fizzle and people move on.
And this marketing style is not for everyone.

But when it comes down to it - with marketing your work in any way - you get out of it what you put into it - regardless of where you sell your work.

I love being part of a handmade community of artists that like to support each other.

I want to market my work in a way that is easy and FUN and reaches new people all the time.
This is why I am writing this post. To let you know about what I find enjoying with marketing.

And I have to agree with Brigid Ashwood, host of the Google+ Podcast: Art-Share.org when it comes to social media, Etsy, website, etc and if what you should do for your artistic business:

Try as much as you can! If it works for you, great!

At least you've tried it and see if it is a good fit.

See the Art Share Episode 14, around 27 minutes when they start to talk about selling online - her small business online marketing hat goes on around 30 minutes.
They have many great posts to listen to on Art-Share.org - especially when working in the studio or in transit (car, bus, airplane, train...)

I look forward to working with many of you to help promote your work if you are interested in testing out some of these team events.

Here are some links:
Join an Etsy Team
Search for a topic you are interested in and see if it is a fit for you.
What is an Etsy Team?

AWETeam (Art Walk Etsy Team).
Every First Friday of the month, we hold a virtual Etsy shop tour of items from our team member shops through a "Event" discussion thread and a blog post.
This team gives you a deadline and a focus for getting new work into your shop, and getting your work out to a broad audience on a regular basis.

This AWETeam is extra special to me. I stepped into the Captain position in early 2013 and have enjoyed trying to figure out how to update the team event and all the new technology to promote our team shops.

Love My Art Jewelry on Pinterest
You can find items from our LMAJ Blog contributors as well as tutorials.
By clicking through on the item pins that you will like, Pinterest automatically will give you other options of items that are similar (selected by how they are pinned to other boards).
Lots of fantastic handmade jewelry and supplier resources can be found that way.

And remember, if you want to help promote your work through our post that will go live on Black Friday (for sales, promotions, etc through Cyber Monday), link up your website or other online shop HERE.

You can choose to run a promotion, a sale, whatever you want during that time.

It does not mean you have to put your work out there on sale, and feel like you are cheapening yourself or running in the rat race.

Get creative.

Think up a fun giveaway (a tutorial, maybe some extra supplies you have lying around - who couldn't use more beads or supplies?!)

And get yourself set up now - so you can sit back and actually enjoy the long holiday weekend, and see about getting some shopping done yourself if you so choose to do so.

To me - an event like this touches back into being part of a community and marketing your work on that level (which is definitely not for everyone).

When you have a specific date in mind, goals, and a focus - that is an open door to get your work out there in front of a larger audience.

The link up for the event itself will be archived in these blog posts and through links in social media sites.

That is why we ask that you link to your shop or website home page - and not to a specific "Sale Page" that will be expired once Tuesday hits.

And every person that signs up, and helps promote handmade through those crazy shopping days helps to bring a bit more light to the handmade community as it exists.

And with those little bits of handmade goodness and insight streaming through social media when the majority of people are out there in the shopping madness, and we (for the most part) will be avoiding it like the plague, we can try to tap into that marketing and be a part of a handmade community trying to educate those consumers and get them to appreciate items made by individuals.

So get creative when it comes to your marketing of your work.

Look at the tools that are available to you.

Figure out what makes you happy with marketing your work, and expressing your voice.

There are many options out there (and we would love to hear about them as you have had good or bad experiences - and what you have learned from them). 

Handmade Artists on Etsy Part 1

If you are a regular reader of this blog, it is very likely you have a good understanding or are at least learning how to tell what is "handmade" when it comes to jewelry and jewelry making materials.

If not, click around, follow us through social media and you'll soon have a clue about the current handmade jewelry making movement.

But if you search on the internet for "handmade" jewelry, beads, anything...

How can you, the consumer tell that something is made by an artist?

It gets frustrating and disheartening when you really start to think hard about if something is purely handmade or not.

All handmade artists use some sort of material for their work that was produced by an outside source: mother nature, industry manufactured or mined materials, artist components, and so on.

So let's throw away that purist "handmade" attitude and move on to a "handmade" attitude that includes items of good taste, original artistic expression, uses quality materials, and of high craftsmanship.

There used to be this awesome handmade website called Etsy where you could go and find items that were handmade, supplies to make your handmade, or vintage items.

But it is getting harder and harder to navigate through their search to actually find their "handmade goods" because that term "handmade" has become diluted with mass produced items.

November 2013 Explosion of Etsy Treasuries of "Handmade" items.

With how huge Etsy is, it is practically impossible to sort through all of the items that are on there that show up through the front page clickable searches to find items that you are looking for. Forget trying to find anything handmade through those default searches.

AND as an artist listing items, to try figure out how to label items so that they show up from those clickable searches is beyond frustrating and seemingly impossible.

Then you have to compete with people severely underpricing their work which undervalues the entire handmade artist industry...

No wonder why people and the handmade community in general are in an uproar!

It's a puzzle by Joe on Etsy

I searched: Etsy.com ~ Jewelry ~ Necklace ~ Statement ~ All Items

and this is what came up:

Etsy.com - Jewelry - Necklace - Statement - All Items

I then noticed an extra button and clicked from "All Items" to "Handmade" thinking

"Ah, ok! That will get rid of all that - in my opinion - trending junky cheap jewelry - and will bring up actual handmade artist items".

Talk about disappointment...

Most of that crap was still there!

Etsy.com - Jewelry - Necklace - Statement - Handmade

So I question - Why is that happening?

The simple answer: it's in the background settings and the way computers work (based upon decisions made by Etsy and the way they want their Search to work).

Know what I would love to see?

Etsy Marketplace which would be the Etsy as it exists now.

And Etsy Handmade the Etsy of yesteryear.

It would mean an overhaul and re-sorting of what exists there now.

And that shops on the Etsy Handmade site should need to prove their level of handmade.

A huge undertaking technologically speaking, but very much worth the effort.

And with all this technology and updates to how they are doing things -
Really - would it be that hard to do?

They have done it before.

They will surely do it again as technology moves forward.

My question is WHY would a company as well known as Etsy and as powerful as Etsy not want to embrace such a strong and passionate community of artists to give them their online selling home back again. 

Why not give the consumer a clear place on the Etsy home page to click and find individual artist handmade without having to go crazy and give up on searching for unique items flooded with crap?
Heck - make the handmade version of Etsy the default and make the marketplace the "clickable" link. Put handmade above all else!

You may be thinking: Marsha. Why do you care? What is the point?

Isn't Etsy just some big company trying to make money and that doesn't care about individual artists?

Well, I'll tell you why I care so much.

Etsy to me is an awesome marketing tool.

Pure and simple.

WE - the handmade community - have done a great job at getting their name out there, getting people to shop their site, and I want those customers to find my work, feel something about my work, and hopefully - buy something.

I love being part of Etsy Teams and the camaraderie that comes with promoting work with like minded shop owners (for the most part).

And the way you can share your work or treasuries through social media via Etsy has helped promote individual items, and through teams - a bunch of items from many shops.

It feeds that need that some people feel of being part of something more, outside of your own little world.

Yes - some things DO need to change if they want to save their company.

Please - Etsy - Make the right changes to help support "handmade" once again!

And as people that love to use, make, wear, handmade items, it is up to us to help educate the public to be able to find "handmade" that includes items of good taste, original artistic expression, uses quality materials, and of high craftsmanship.

More to come from me next week on this topic of "Handmade Artists on Etsy".
Part 2 HERE.

Please post your creative thoughts and comments on ways that Etsy could be improved.

How do you market your work?

Are you on any Etsy Teams?
What things do you really enjoy using on Etsy and to make your selling and marketing experience better?

We all know how "bad" it has become, and don't need negativity, so please avoid straight out bashing as that does nothing to improve the current situation.

Find the positive twist to what your negative feelings are saying and find a solution.

Want to check out a few more "handmade bead and jewelry artist" groups that helping lead this current handmade artist bead and jewelry movement?
Art Bead Scene
Art Jewelry Elements
Creative Bead Chat and Artisan Whimsy
And of course - us - Love My Art Jewelry

Here are a few images you can use on your site, shop, blog, etc to help get the word out:

Thank YOU for supporting and caring about handmade!

guest post - lori anderson

Blogging Your Art Out

I've been making jewelry for about eight years, but long, long before that, I was a writer.

(one of my vintage typewriters)

I've had a love of books since I was a child, and if I had to make a choice between beads or books -- heaven help me, but I'd choose books. Books help me escape.

Books teach me things. Books, in some instances, have brought me closer to the author, resulting in email conversations and letters in the mail that I cherish.

(The library section of my living room.)

I've also written journals for years. Not only have they been chock-full of stories, musings, and a fair amount of dreams, they've been pasted up with photos and bits of ephemera that take me back to a certain day out (a ticket stub) or a special meal (chopstick wrappers). There are so many things I don't want to forget!

(a variety of my journals over the years)

But in 2005, I discovered blogging, and a whole new world opened up to me. Not only could I write, but now I could SHARE. There were so many things I wanted to say, to ask, to ponder, but no one to bounce ideas to and have them come back. With blogging, I found a huge world of like-minded people I could not only share my writing with, but share my burgeoning jewelry designs, my new Bead Soup Blog Party blog hop, book reviews, and even (and especially!) the most random of thoughts.

(one of my jewelry designs with my own enameled beads)

This year, I wrote my first eBook, "Following the Path", a 59-page book with tons of photos, ideas, and blog prompts for creative writing. I wanted to share my love of writing with anyone who felt stuck in a rut, and the book is full of photos from a lot of fellow bloggers. Just as I've enjoyed sharing my love of beads and jewelry design with anyone who will listen, I'm now thrilled to share my love of writing with new and seasoned bloggers alike.

Blogging has helped me as a jewelry artist by getting my name and photos out into a far larger world than my jewelry web site could ever reach. Writing my blog has opened doors to book publishers -- for instance, my first beading book, "Bead Soup", comes out this fall via Kalmbach Publishing thanks to the Bead Soup Blog Party postings. I've met some of the MOST amazing people from all walks of life via the comments section of my blog. I've found a LOT of wonderful bead-makers to buy from by visiting their blogs, most of whom I never would have known about but for their blogging.

Some people choose to keep their blog focused on a centric point, while others are more random, covering a variety of subjects. I love them all and spend a large chunk of my day "listening" to people talk. Blogging brings the world to my computer, which is wonderful as my world-traveling days seem to be over. Plus, no need to spend $3,217.15 on a plane ticket anymore!

(Venice, Italy)

Ultimately, I find blogging to be not just a cathartic outpouring of the heart, but a way to teach what I know and to learn so much more from other bloggers. Blogging gets your name out into the world. Blogging reaches more people than you know. And blogging can be a wonderful way to express yourself in art.

So blog your art out.

(all photos by Lori Anderson)

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you can find lori in these places

blog

shop