When I first started this blog my focus was to write about people, places, and things that let children play. This was to be a place not only to talk about the children’s products that I was developing, but share small business stories from which others might learn as well as find little nuggets online (and offline) that foster a child’s development.

If you’ve read the blog at all, you’ll know that impact of the rules of the CPSIA put an end to the children’s products business and Words to Sweat by took its place. And from the date stamp of my last post, it’s been a while since I’ve taken ‘residence’ at this blog especially since I’ve been regularly posting to the Words to Sweat by blog.

So I don’t know where this leaves things and I’m left at a crossroads. There are still a lot of small business-related drafts in my queue that I feel would help people learn from my experiences but then I figure someone else has probably captured the concept just as well on a business-focused blog. There are a lot of great children’s activities that need promoting – but that niche too has a whole host of sites and blogs.

I have some new projects in the queue in addition to running Words to Sweat by – so this blog may be a place to discuss how that progresses, get feedback, etc – I just don’t know yet.

Is it time for a new adventure all together? Only time will tell.

How have you tackled this kinds of quandry? I welcome your insights.

The Facts

Name: Joanna Sutter
Business Name: Fitness & Spice Marketing
Product(s)/Service: Strategic Marketing, Results-driven Public Relations, Real-time Social Media Marketing
Years in business: Just over 1 year

The Business Challenge

To blend corporate marketing, product management, and new business development expertise with a personal brand to build a new business venture.

Joanna’s Story

When and why did you first engage in using social media tools?

My job was eliminated during a corporate layoff just over a year ago and while exploring career options I decided to use the time to add new tools to my marketing toolbox, namely social media. I went home and started blogging, jumping into Twitter conversations, and hopping on as many free-webinars as I could.

What venues did you find most successful while building your personal brand?

I find that networking both online and offline are critical in building a well-rounded brand.  To keep in touch with my business-contacts and keep my tools sharp, I rely heavily on online newspapers, marketing, and social media sites as well as LinkedIn and LinkedIn groups.  To keep in almost-daily contact with my “fans” I rely on Facebook. To keep the conversation going, I look no further than Twitter. Outside of the web, conferences are king!

Which tools do you use to monitor your social media successes?

I gauge my success by how people, clients, and prospects react to my message. Sure, I have Google analytics built into my websites but what matters most to me is the number of word-of-mouth referrals and real connections I make along the way.

What top three factors do you take into account when assessing your efforts?

1. Personal growth and satisfaction.
2. Client Satisfaction.
3. Income!

What lead you to branch out and start a new business using your existing brand?

I have a passion for fitness and nutrition and that’s what I write about on my personal blog, Fitness & Spice. After making connections with some of the brands I’ve written about, and learning they needed marketing and public relations support, Fitness & Spice Marketing was born.

What does this business entail?

I provide marketing strategy, public relations, and social media support for healthy-living brands.

How have you been able to use your existing network to build the client base for your new business?

My clients , some of my biggest fans, and people I now call my friends that I’ve met along the way, are very gracious to refer me to brands in need of marketing, PR, or social media support.

How has your online community responded to your new venture?

I don’t “over-expose” my business with my personal brand, but I don’t hide it either. I think my online community respects that I am sincerely interested in them and not just about my company.

Having already built a successful personal online brand, how do you keep from getting discouraged as you build this new company?

I am blessed to have a network of entrepreneurs that are either a few steps ahead of me in the business lifecycle or who are right there with me. I learn from their experiences and am motivated by their success.

What advice do you have for people considering a similar approach?

To be very, very blunt: Charge what you’re worth!  Your clients don’t work for free (or at a cut rate in most cases) and neither should you.

It wouldn’t be a series on small business without talking about the world of Social Media. I was having a hard time deciding what to write, though, because many cubic tons of information are already available. To start, you need only search on small business social media and you’ll have reading material for days.

When I first started, I read many of these posts to get a sense of things and found that they fall into many categories:

• Category #1 includes posts that discuss the different social media venues and the elements of social media that are most important.
• Category #2 includes posts that enumerate the top 5 or 10 things you should be doing with social media.
• Category #3 includes posts about how to have an “authentic” conversation, engage your customers, or create your personal brand.
• Category #4 includes posts that provide studies, data, and infographics about the ROI (or lack thereof ) of social media.
• Category #5 includes posts about why [enter social media venue here] is or is not the best thing since sliced bread.

What many of these posts lack, however, is advice for people who are anti-social. In other words, people for whom the online repartee doesn’t come easily, yet they know it’s imperative for their business.

The Secret Password Is…

So if you fall into the anti-social category, this post is for you because I’m going to share a special word with you that should make life easier. The secret password is…integration.

The majority of the popular social media tools offer the ability to post information to the other sites. Some examples:

• Facebook will tweet your status.
• You can import your blog posts to your Facebook profile.
• You can embed YouTube videos easily into any tool that will allow you to enter a snippet of code.
• Use a snippet of code to insert photos from your Flickr stream virtually anywhere.

So where should you begin? Here is a simple process to help you participate in three of the most popular tools:

1. Start a blog even if no one reads it (at least at first). Here is some info on the best time to publish your blog posts.
2. Upload all of your blog-related photos to Flickr and embed the photos from Flickr into your blog posts as necessary.
3. Import your blog as Facebook notes so that each blog entry posts to your business page.
4. Set up your blog so that every new post creates a tweet.
5. Use a tool like Tweetdeck or Hootsuite to schedule relevant tweets or Facebook posts.

You Don’t Have To Be “On” All The Time

Many people may be asking, but what about being a part of the “conversation”? How do I stay engaged enough that people will know I’m not a bot?

My answer: the secret password is integration not automation even if you are literally automating some of the tasks. The above process is helpful to get you started because you are not only visible in more than one venue, but each of them allows people to converse with you via comments/responses. You are therefore able to see where people are most likely to engage with you and your content. You should also make sure to logon to Facebook and Twitter and correspond in real-time, but integration affords some leeway for those days that you don’t have time to be “on” and interact immediately.

Where Do You Fall In The Social Spectrum?

As a small business owner, the bulk of the work falls to you therefore it’s important to determine how to get involved in social media but not get overwhelmed. Integrating the tools you use will help you focus on your content and interaction with others.

Where do you feel you fall within the spectrum of being social and how does that impact your use of social media for your business? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Hi there. My name is Robin LeBlanc and I’m going to teach you about product photography.  Now don’t go thinking that this will be some kind of master class that involves me throwing out names like “jib” and “tungsten”.  We’re not going that far.

No, this instead will be about THE BASICS.  This will be about how just a little extra amount of effort can leave your site looking a little more professional. 

Not many people think product photos deserve much attention, but just some very simple details such as being mindful of how the picture looks before you take it and letting the colors pop can leave your product photos looking as clean and professional as I’m sure your site does.

What Not to Do When Photographing Your Product

So let’s start with what you SHOULDN’T DO first.

The following can lead to your pictures looking unprofessional. And leads to beatings by myself and my Icelandic Dwarf companion Olaf. They are:

• Putting product in front of a white background – Admittedly this varies on some products, but generally it brings forth a very uninteresting shot.
• More background in the shot than actual product – No one wants a product they can barely see. Don’t go wild with that.
• Putting up the photos unedited – I’m not a fan of this. Unless you’ve set everything up with great lighting, straight from the camera photos can be a bit washed out and in need of some touch ups to bring forth the attractive aspects of the product.
• Using the flash  – How many times have we seen product photos where the flash just made everything white and ugly?  Try to be minimal with that. A simple way of avoiding too much flash is to shoot outside during the day. Or, you know, turn it off. If your camera can do that.

And how about that, you’ve already learned something.  Now grab your camera and let’s start shooting.

How to Approach Photographing Your Product

So here’s what you should keep in mind when taking a product photo:

1. Make sure all of the product is in the frame
2. Make sure the background is more interesting than a blank surface, but not distracting. Later on you can choose backgrounds that are related to the product or feature people, but for now let’s keep it simple.
3. Make sure the product is in focus.
4. Aaaaaaaand SNAP!

Words to Sweat by "No excuses." towel

And there we go.  A simple shot with the product fully in the frame!  It was a beautiful autumn day outside and I decided to work with that. 

Now let’s edit this mother. (Sadly, I don’t own a PC, so I’m going to be referring to a Mac program.  If there’s a PC equivalent, go for that.)

If you open the image in the Preview application, all you need to do to start editing the color is click on Tools > Adjust Color.  That will take you to a menu where you are able to control all kinds of color factors of the image.

With this I’m not going to tell you what to do as I find the best way of learning color editing is to mess around with it.  But specifically for product photography I suggest not distorting the colors too much.  A photo of a green product that’s actually blue? I predict annoyed customers.
So for this photo I think I’m only going to bring up the contrast just a tiny bit.

Words to Sweat by improved photo

And there we have it.  A subtle change, but you’ll have to agree it looks less washed out than the original.  Such a small thing makes a big difference.

And now that you’ve learned the absolute basics, experiment!  Have fun!

Bio

Over the past year, Robin LeBlanc has made a name for herself as a photographer with a beautiful vision and great care for detail.  Her photographs have appeared in newspapers, books  and  magazines and have set the theme for musician publicity campaigns.  She lives in Toronto with a cat and a Ukulele.

The Facts

Name: Maya E. Henderson
Business Name: Springtree Road Handspun Yarn & Fiber
Product(s): handspun yarn and hand-painted fiber
Years in business: 1 year, 3 months

The Business Challenge

I want to increase my customer base, how should I diversify?

Maya’s Business Challenge Insights

It all depends on your goals. Some people might want to sell their products online at a couple of different venues like Etsy, Artfire, etc., to get the traffic that can come from those sorts of online communities. They are very helpful for getting started and learning how to develop a business online. Another choice is to go your own way. I maintain the Etsy shop I started last year, but I also have my own shop that I run through Big Cartel. Big Cartel is not a community – each shop stands alone and you are solely responsible for finding your customers. So it depends on what you want for your business, how much work you can/want to put into it, and where you plan to be in five or ten years.

Maya’s Story

How competitive is your niche in the handmade market?

I think a lot of people who buy handspun yarn find it on Etsy, and I have a shop there. This is my second autumn/winter season in business and it seems that there is even more handspun out today than this time last year. But to put it in perspective, I get 10,046 listings when I search Etsy for “handspun yarn,” while “silver earrings” gets 215,811 listings. On the other hand, a pair of simple beaded earrings likely takes less time to make than to dye and spin a yarn. Once you’ve made the earrings and taken the photos, you can use the same photos every time you sell and relist. Ninety-nine percent of what I make needs a new photo every time. So it’s all relative, but to answer the question – I do feel the competition.

How do you locate and engage your users online?

I have a blog, a Facebook page for my business, a Ravelry group, etc., and you can find links to everywhere I am online at my home page. I wanted to make it as easy as possible for folks to find me and connect with me at their favorite places to hang out online.

How do you assess the success of your marketing efforts?

I check my Google Analytics to see where traffic is coming from, but I wish that I could get more information than GA provides.

Why did you decide to diversify your online presence?

For several reasons, but the biggest one is very simple – to see if I can. To see if I have what it takes to build this business into what I think it can be. There are several fiberistas I really admire who have done Big Things, but I’m fairly certain they’re really people just like I am. So, can I do Big Things? I’m not sure, but I’d like to find out. So my shop that I run through Big Cartel – it’s really mine. I’m not under anyone else’s umbrella. Scary. But I’m feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

Which marketplaces did you consider?

Big Cartel was the only place I seriously considered. It was the one I’d heard the most about and I’d seen other very lovely shops using Big Cartel. When I looked at the Big Cartel site it seemed simple enough to me – also important because I don’t have a lot of time to learn a whole new way of doing things. The price is definitely right, and your Big Cartel shop is customizable as long as you know what you’re doing and/or can hire someone to help you.

What were the criteria you used when reviewing additional marketplaces to sell your handmade goods?

I just really wanted something that felt like my shop, that it belongs to me. Since you can customize your shop, I think Big Cartel does a good job of that.

Why did you ultimately decide on a Big Cartel storefront?

Price and ability to customize. Even though I haven’t done that much with it yet, I would like to when I can. Also, my customers don’t have to become a member to buy things from my shop – no remembering a password and all that. You put items in your cart and pay through PayPal. I definitely wanted that. I like to keep things simple.

What kind of response have you seen from your customers with this new addition?

My customers have been completely wonderful. They’ve been so supportive; I couldn’t ask for more.

What are your overall goals for the holiday season and how do you plan on leveraging both venues?

I know from the reading that I do that I’m supposed to have a big plan for the holiday season and all that. But if this year is anything like last year, at some point it gets too crazy and you just have to hang on until about February. My overall goal is to balance my work and my life this holiday season.

Last year we threw up a tree the week before Christmas. I don’t want to do that this year. I have a 5-year-old. I want to decorate and bake cookies with her. So I’m going to try to keep to a schedule, work hard when I’m working, and relax when I’m supposed to be relaxing (hard for me). To leverage both venues … hmmm … I’m not entirely sure. Just as last winter was my first in business with Etsy, this winter will be my first with both shops open. So I think again this year it’ll be more about holding on than having a plan of attack, but come back and ask me next year and I should have more for you.

Last week, I took a backwards approach and started the small business insights series with the end of a business and thoughts on how to approach it. This week, we get back to building business success and focus on the options available to open your own handmade goods online store.

While some people decide to launch their own dedicated store with a unique URL, many others have neither the resources nor the inclination to take that approach. I am therefore going to focus on four online venues that provide the infrastructure to set up your store and also a community in which to promote your goods and discuss your craft.

Places Handmade Goods Are Sold

There is a whole host of places where you are able to sell things online, but I am only going to focus on four sites that are dedicated to promoting and supporting the business of handmade. While craigslist and ebay can be a great place to sell things, if you are looking to learn more about how to market and sell your products while also building your business any of the the following four venues could provide a great start.

Etsy

Founded in 2005, Etsy offers the opportunity to sell handmade goods, supplies, or vintage items. The site has grown by leaps and bounds over the last several years and the number of sellers on Etsy is over 250,000. According to Compete, Etsy had just over 5.8M unique visitors last month. The top sellers, however, are not who you might assume therefore take a look to learn more about what sells best and where your goods fall into the mix.

Big Cartel

If you are looking for a very customizable look to your shop and a diverse group of types of sellers, Big Cartel might be a great option. Not only is their marketplace open to crafters and artists, but they also allow bands and record labels to sell in their marketplace. Where some sites only allow a little bit of store front customization, you can create your own look for your Big Cartel shop which will allow you to differentiate yourself in the marketplace. You can also keep your shop on Big Cartel or use your unique URL. They had over 887K unique visitors last month according to Compete.

Artfire

While many of the products sold on Artfire may be similar to Etsy, the overall site design and organization is fairly different as they have established six “markets” in which goods are categorized and from there those are subcategorized. Their markets are: handmade, fine art, craft supplies, vintage, design, and media. Founded in 2008, Artfire had 433K unique visitors last month according to Compete.

Zibbet

This site is a more recent addition to the mix having only launched in February 2009. They categorize their good as either handmade, fine art, crafting supplies, or vintage and according to Compete they had over 54,000 unique visitors last month. Their sellers seem to be fairly active in social media and the admin(s) of Zibbet also use social media tools to promote their sellers.

Which One Is Best?

Like many things with a business, deciding which of these four venues is best is a very personal decision. It’s easy to assume that because Etsy has such a large number of unique views per month and they are so well know in the marketplace that it’s best to start there. This is not the case, however. For some sellers, their segment on Etsy is too saturated and therefore, as a new seller among 250,000 other sellers, it is really hard to gain traction without spending a considertable amount more time marketing than they originally planned.

I recommend that you review the look-and-feel of each site as well as go into the forums at different times of the days over the course of several days to get a sense of the personality and image each venue projects. By doing this, you’ll be able to assess where your business and your personality would fit best.

Once you get a sense of which of these may be good from a business personality perspective, it’s also important to compare the fee structure for each site and which of them will work best for your financial success. In some cases there are fees per listing and per transaction whereas in others, it’s a monthly fee structure to list your items or no fee at all.

Learning From What Others Have Done 

The last bit of information that should help you decide between venues is to learn from what others have done. If you are looking for a comparison of Etsy versus Arfire, for example, there are plenty of posts that should shed some light and provide you with additional information. Use Google to search about reviews and opinions of each site. Chat with your friends on Facebook or Twitter about their own experiences (both as a seller and a consumer) or ask for referrals to people they know who are using these sites.

Knowing What’s Good Now, But What About Later?

In opening a new business, it’s difficult not to be extremely concerned with making the “right” choice. What’s great about these four venues is that once you get the hang of the first store, there is nothing stopping you from opening an additional shop. As long as you have a clear vision and goal for your business, start small and use that time to learn what your customers want. Once you have a better sense of what will succeed most, you can decide how you might diversify your online presence.

Real-World Experiences

Later this week, I’ll be posting Maya’s real-world story from which I know you’ll glean a lot of good information. Until then, please weigh in using the comments below. What have your experiences been with one or more of these venues? Where did you find success and what would you have done differently if you were just starting out today?