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August 2, 2010
In today’s online world, it is very easy to create a website with an online store. Gone are the days of only web designers needing to build your store, there are now many ways you can have a web store open within hours using free sites, templates etc.
Whilst it is easy to build the store, operating it and ensuring that its contents are working for you around the clock; is an entirely different matter.
One of the most important aspects of owning an online store, is to remember that your customers are choosing the product to buy, based purely on your presentation of that product. For e.g. if you are selling a pair of red sequined shoes, that description alone is not enough for a customer to know what they are purchasing. Are the shoes flat? Are they heeled? Are they light Red? Dark Red? What are they made of? The answers to these questions are all important to the purchaser and can infact make or break their decision to shop with you.
When listing your products in your store, always be as descriptive as possible. Think about the product from your point of view if you wanted to buy it without having seen the item first. Would you purchase the product based purely on the description “sequined red shoes?” If they were $5 you might buy them without any further information, but the likelihood is that they are $100; would you spend $100 on an item that you have no information on?
Your customer is no different to you. Make your descriptions work for you. Give the customer the experience of feeling like they have already seen the product and can’t wait to have their own.
A more appropriate would be “Red Sequined Shoes; 5” stiletto heel, soft leather upper and man made sole. Upper is completely encrusted with sparkling red sequins. These shoes are pure elegance and would look fantastic for any evening out where you want to sparkle & shine. They not only look great but they feel fantastic on, comfortable and stunning – what more could you want in a pair of shoes?”
The other important factor with descriptions is that search engines rank your site based on your text. The more information you include the more chance you have of this product ranking due to the extensive description.
Give your store the best chance possible of converting visitors into sales by ensuring you make the shopping experience as descriptive as possible. Your website is your salesperson – make sure it earns its money.
July 14, 2010
How you represent yourself and your business on Facebook is just as important as other facets of your marketing strategy.
Always put your best foot forward; and avoid these mistakes to build and maintain a professional image in the eyes of your customers, peers and within the Aussie and international craft industry.
There is a fine but very distinct line between wishing to make a genuine connection with someone in the industry and letting them know you are a fan; and simply posting details of your own business on their page, with the express purpose of promoting yourself.
#1 Faux Pas: Writing on the wall of another business for the express purpose of advertising your own business.
“Hey I just became your fan, feel free to pop by and become a fan of mine too” is common; but comes across as too needy and turns people off. It is more likely to hurt your reputation and give the impression that your business is small, struggling and desperate for fans. People will fan you because they are interested in what you have to offer; not because of this ploy.
Conversely, if you find people doing this to your fan page and it makes you feel uncomfortable, you can feel comfortable to delete the post without any guilt.
#2 Faux Pas: In-appropriate profile Pictures. As you cannot make comments as your business identity, your personal profile picture will become associated with your business name. This may be because you mention your business name in your comment, or because you are building a reputation in the industry and people are getting to know who you are and which business you represent. For this reason, it is imperative that your profile picture is either an appropriate head and shoulders shot of you looking, neat, clean and professional; or you can use your business logo as your profile picture. People don’t want or need to see images of your kids (no matter how cute they are), or you looking slopping from the weekend. People want to know who YOU are and you will be judged by your photo… so put your best foot forward.
#3 Faux Pas: Publishing all your posts for the day only minutes apart. It can be hard to apply some structure to your posting timeframes, especially when we have lives to lead away from the computer and Facebook. But nothing will halt people from reading your News Feed faster than seeing 15 posts in a row, crammed into a 5 minute period. It’s just all too hard and overwhelming; no matter how useful the content you are providing. Try to allow at least 5 – 10 minutes between posts, and do no more than 3 at a time – at the absolutely most. If you have the luxury, a good rule of thumb is 1 post in the morning, 1 in the afternoon and a few at night, when people are most active. But space them out as best you can!
#4 Faux Pas: Airing your business or personal frustrations, negative situations and arguments publically on your business page. Having a disagreement with a customer? A competitor stealing your designs? Frustrated that your fabric delivery is late? Your fans don’t want to know about it. Avoid discussing negative issues or airing frustrations on your page. No matter how justified you may be in your argument, discussing it publically may make you feel better, but also makes you look highly unprofessional. Avoid using any negative language at all in your posts. Remember, if you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all…. or you will just hurt your own business’s reputation.
#5 Faux Pas: Forgetting the importance of using the English language correctly. Because you are representing yourself and your business through written communication, you must endeavour to use this form of communication correctly. Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and using txt spk just makes you look lazy and uncaring. If you need to, type your status update and copy and paste it into Microsoft Word to check for spelling and grammatical errors before publishing; and make changes as needed. This small, extra step will speak volumes about your professionalism. We all suffer from typos every now and again, but aim to get it right 99% of the time. You wouldn’t send your advertising off to the printers without carefully checking it first, would you?
#6 Faux Pas: Allowing your photo albums to become out of date. If you are selling via your fan page photo albums, it is imperative that your albums only show items which can be purchased or custom made; and that there is relevant information attached to each photo. Failing to list vital details such as product descriptions, prices, availability and ways that customer can place an order will surely lose you sales. Because you don’t receive notifications when people comment on your photo, it is most important to provide instructions for interested buyers on how they can contact you to place an order; and list your email address under every photo. If you have a album of supplies such a fabric which people can select from to place a custom order, make sure you number and/or name your fabrics, so that you can be sure everyone is talking about the same thing.
#7 Faux Pas: Not having the last word on your page. In the case of your Facebook page, it is best that you have the last word. That is, if someone comments on your wall, on your post, or on your photo, always acknowledge what they have said. This acknowledgement will help build the all important genuine dialogue with your customers, which ultimately builds loyalty.
#8 Faux Pas: Sending a Friend Request without a message. If you have decided to mix your personal profile page with your business presence on Facebook, you make choose to ‘Friend’ people in the industry with whom you wish to make a connection. But sending unsolicited Friend Requests without a personal message attached will not yield you a good result! Be sure to take a few minutes to send a message along with your request, explaining who you (including your business name) and why you want to make a connection. And don’t take it personally if your request is not accepted; many people choose not to accept Friend Requests from anyone who is not a genuine friend. Oh and if you do have business contacts as friends, then you need to monitor your personal status updates and photos for appropriateness too; it still all represents who you are and impacts your business reputation.
#9 Faux Pas: Becoming a stalker. If you comment on everything posted on a page, you will start to creep people out. While comments are always sort after and welcomed on business pages, it will become weird if you always comment or ‘like’ everything that page publishes.
#10 Faux Pas: Presenting content as your own; when it’s not. It’s great to pass along interesting information which you think your followers will find useful, but it’s not ok to represent it as your own work. Always attribute photos, blog content and other unique thoughts which are not yours to the owner. A good way to do this is to thank the creator and @tag their Facebook page when publishing the information in News Feed. Of course, if you are linking to their blog, website or other location, it is clear who the content owner is; but it’s extra nice to acknowledge them in the News Feed post too. Plus it lets them know that you are sharing their content and may attract them as a fan to your page, or even start a new business relationship.
Article written by The Contemporary Handmade Alliance and originally published on The Contemporary Handmade Alliance. Re-published with permission.
July 13, 2010
Sharon was thrilled to find on a social networking business page a perfect head band to go with the christening outfit that she had bought for her daughter. She chatted to the Facebook store operator and sent her credit card details. Several weeks went by and nothing happened and when Sharon tried to contact the store, the Facebook page was gone.
Sadly, with the popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook becoming an avenue for selling handmade items, we are seeing more and more claims of online fraud in the WAHM industry.
Whilst there is no fool proof method in ensuring you are not a victim of online fraud, there are a few helpful things customers can check, and also tips for store owners to make customers feel completely comfortable in purchasing:
1 Business Registration
Whilst in some instances a business does not need to register their name, many businesses do have the relevant registrations and licences required to operate. This will NOT tell you whether a business is completely genuine, but it can show that a business has taken the time and cost to register to operate their business.
2 Check the Website/Facebook Page for Contact Details
All websites and Facebook business pages should have relevant contact details for the business. If you should need to contact a store owner for any reason, you should be able to do so easily.
Sites and pages should have relevant postal details, email addresses and a phone number for contact.
For business owners who want to ensure their personal details are not revealed, you could try using a Post Office box and a cheap mobile phone to receive business calls on.
3 – Payment
Always pay by Paypal. By paying with paypal, if a transaction does go wrong, you have an avenue to attempt to receive your money back. Although paypal comes with fees, it offers more protection that a bank transfer.
NEVER email your credit card details or provide your credit details to a site that does not have a secure merchant payment facility.
4 – Google
Google the business name. Customers who receive bad service quite often like to tell the world and with social networking sites so popular these days, googling a business name should provide you with any information you are looking for. Indeed, you may also find fabulous feedback about a store.
5 – Ask Around
Ask friends, family, social networking site contacts/forums you are involved on if anyone has used that business before. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising for businesses and happy customers always like to tell others of the great service they have received.
6 – Ask for Registered Post
It costs a bit extra, but this can avoid any worry or concern that your parcel will not arrive. Using registered post you can be assured your parcel has been sent and you have a very good way of tracking it if it goes astray.
6 – Store Fronts
Call me crazy, but I would not purchase from a store who ONLY operates on Facebook unless I was able to view the products locally.
There are so many affordable options for people to operate store fronts and internet shopping carts. Gone are the days when you need to pay thousands of dollars to be able to have a basic store.
Stores can be operated from blogs and online shopping malls such as MadeIt where listing fees are very affordable.
Having your own website or store shows that a business has taken the time to establish itself, a domain name purchased and the time taken to publish all information on products and policies in order to operate their store. Facebook does not offer a lot of options for a shopper to feel comfortable.
In Sharon’s case, she was not able to recoup her lost funds and she has learnt the hard way that shopping from a social networking site can have drawbacks.
June 30, 2010
In today’s online world, it is very easy to create a website with an online store. Gone are the days of only web designers needing to build your store, there are now many ways you can have a web store open within hours using free sites, templates etc.
Whilst it is easy to build the store, operating it and ensuring that its contents are working for you around the clock; is an entirely different matter.
One of the most important aspects of owning an online store, is to remember that your customers are choosing the product to buy, based purely on your presentation of that product. For e.g. if you are selling a pair of red sequined shoes, that description alone is not enough for a customer to know what they are purchasing. Are the shoes flat? Are they heeled? Are they light Red? Dark Red? What are they made of? The answers to these questions are all important to the purchaser and can infact make or break their decision to shop with you.
When listing your products in your store, always be as descriptive as possible. Think about the product from your point of view if you wanted to buy it without having seen the item first. Would you purchase the product based purely on the description “sequined red shoes?” If they were $5 you might buy them without any further information, but the likelihood is that they are $100; would you spend $100 on an item that you have no information on?
Your customer is no different to you. Make your descriptions work for you. Give the customer the experience of feeling like they have already seen the product and can’t wait to have their own.
A more appropriate would be “Red Sequined Shoes; 5” stiletto heel, soft leather upper and man made sole. Upper is completely encrusted with sparkling red sequins. These shoes are pure elegance and would look fantastic for any evening out where you want to sparkle & shine. They not only look great but they feel fantastic on, comfortable and stunning – what more could you want in a pair of shoes?”
The other important factor with descriptions is that search engines rank your site based on your text. The more information you include the more chance you have of this product ranking due to the extensive description.
Give your store the best chance possible of converting visitors into sales by ensuring you make the shopping experience as descriptive as possible. Your website is your salesperson – make sure it earns its money.
June 6, 2010
Visit your local market and you will immediately notice that there are huge differences between stalls and how they are set out. There is no denying that a stall is a cost effective way to test your products in the marketplace prior to establishing an online or brick and mortar store, however that is no reason to cut corners.
Your brand is important regardless of the forum upon which you choose to sell your goods. And a market in fact can often be more important as you have a chance to impress your professionalism directly on the customer.
Having clear and professional signage will not only emphasise your brand, it is a cheap form of marketing in its own right. Research has demonstrated that the more a person is exposed to a brand or store name, the more they are likely to recall that store or name in the first instance when looking to purchase a product. For this reason it is a good idea to back up the stall branding and signage with other marketing methods such as fridge magnets, brochures or business cards which can be handed out on the day.
Another issue which can cause would-be shoppers to walk past your stall without purchasing anything or at the very least, taking a handout, is an untidy tabletop. This can be a fine balance as you want to ensure you have enough variety of stock to sell but on the other hand, you don’t want to swamp the table. Visually it needs to be appealing to the eye without looking untidy. Making use of small shelving units and stands can help to enhance an attractive looking layout. And don’t forget to iron the tablecloth! More often than not, simplicity can be the key to a successful stall.
Another easy way to create an impression is to take care in the way you present yourself. Turning up in your tracksuit pants and runners in order to be comfortable may be at odds with the impression you are trying to give. It may be worth investing in a uniform or logo themed t-shirt to promote your stall even when you are taking a break and wandering around the market yourself.
Markets provide a great opportunity to promote your goods and your brand so preparation and presentation are the two most important words you can have in your vocabulary.
May 19, 2010
Copyright is an issue that many in the small business industry may encounter at some time or other. Whether it be content from a website or designs. It is important when creating and selling your own items, you are aware of areas in regards to copyright in order to protect yourself and also not impede on others copyright.
We have listed some short points below to provide you with some information with regards to the issue of copyright in Australia.
- There is not system of registration for copyright protection in Australia. Copyright protection is free and automatic. Copyright is a legal protection for people who produce things like writing, images, music and films. It is a right to protect others from doing certain things such as copying and making available online without permission.
- When buying commercially produced sewing patterns, you need to check to see what limitations are on the pattern – for example the pattern may state it is to only be used for private or non commercial purposes. This then means you cannot make and sell an item using a commercial brought pattern.
- Some people are under the impression that if they change a pattern by a certain percentage they avoid infringement. However, it is not what is changed that is relevant, but whether or not the part that remains and that is copied, is an important or distinctive part of the original work.
- Copyright does not necessarily protect a 3D creation, for example a dress you have made from your own pattern. This may need design registration and is another area of Intellectual Property.
- If you do wish to use a pattern for commercial use, you are required to contact the pattern maker for permission. The same applies to using content from other people’s websites, such as taking terms and conditions to create your own website.
Amy from Badskirtcompiled a list of crafters she had sought copyright information from various pattern makers. The list is a great one stop resource for popular patterns and fabrics and their uses, and is provided below with permission from Amy.
Alexander Henry – Individuals are allowed to re-sell fabric, as well as use fabrics for their products, as long as they are using the actual fabric itself purchased either from Alexander Henry or from another vendor, and not reproducing designs onto any other media. More copyright information posted on their website under ‘Preview the Collection’ at http://www.ahfabrics.com/collection.php.”
Amy Butler – Terms are listed at http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/faqs/ Please note terms have changed. Some fabrics and packaging may list older terms, see website for recent information.
- Can I use Amy’s fabrics to make projects to sell or use in manufacturing finished goods? Yes.
- Can I buy the patterns and make the projects to sell? No.
Amy Karol – Items created from patterns in her book can be sold if they are accompanied with a statement found in terms at http://www.flickr.com/groups/340229@N25/discuss/72157600954174564/. For other patterns she has made and sold in the past, it varies, and states the terms on each pattern.
Andover Fabrics – Check their online catalogue for copyright and usage information. Some products including The Hungry Caterpillar have personal use restrictions.
Audrey & Maude – From Cathy: “As Louise, the other half of Audrey & Maude, and I are quite new to all of this, it is something we know we have to look at but haven’t quite got there yet. I am more than happy for people to make limited amounts of our patterns for profit, but certainly not mass produced! Fundraising events also get the big tick of approval.” Please contact them about how you intend to use their patterns and keep an eye on their website for more information in the future.
Badskirt, Amy Gunson- Patterns released for free on the net via Sew, Mama, Sew can be used for hobby-scale production. Production of more than 10 units would be considered mass-production. All tags or website listings must acknowlege Badskirt as the designer.
Bit of Whimsy Prims - If you sell at craft fairs, go ahead and make as many as you want but please note on your tags that it is made from a Bit of Whimsy Dolls pattern. If you want to sell online, like on Etsy, you must give Bit of Whimsy Dolls credit for the pattern design. You may only have up to 5 total items made from any combination of my patterns listed at any given time. For example: not 5 Mae dolls and 5 Millie Monkeys but 2 Mae dolls and 3 Millie Monkeys. No mass producing is allowed!
Do not use my designs or your interpretation of my designs to create banners, avatars, business cards, etc.!
Farbenmix – Copyright terms in available at http://www.farbenmix.de/. For the non-german speaking that roughly translates to “Private use is acceptable. Commercial use is possible, but please send inquiry.”
Funky Fabric Friends – Production in limited quantities to sell is acceptable, please include a tag with statement found in terms at /http://www.funkyfriendsfactory.com/AboutUs/ShoppingWithUs.aspx
Hollabee- From Bianca: “My fabric may be used for commercial purposes, which I usually state at the bottom of my etsy or bigcartel listings. Of course, buyers are used to use the fabric, but never copy the pattern and print it on something else. The copyright belongs to the designer (pretty straight forward). Inspired by your email and blog post, I will also include it in the information on my packaging and my website’s terms.”
Ink and Spindle – See notes from individual designers. Most fabrics have the terms included in their listings at their online store.
Kristen Doran- “I am happy for people to make product from my fabrics to sell. Helen from Black Bags makes some amazing bags from my ‘mollybirds’ fabric. I do have a few customers that buy bulk amounts of fabric at wholesale prices, to make product for resale. There are a few restrictions for wholesale buyers when it comes to the Matryoshka doll fabrics (as I make these up to sell in a few stores) and these are discussed at time of purchase.”
Janet Perry (Needlepoint)- Coming soon. In the meantime, email me amy.gunson@gmail.com and I will forward you the terms.
Joelle Hoverson – “The standard rule of any copyrighted pattern is that the item should be made for personal use or to give as a gift only. Items made from any copyrighted pattern may not be sold unless expressly stated otherwise and this holds true for my book which is copyrighted in full.”
Lara Cameron – “I put a note on my site saying the fabric is free to be used commercially. However any pattern kits I sell are for non commercial use.”
Melly & Me- “We are happy for anyone to make our designs on a ‘hobby’ scale for sale through markets ebay or etsy etc or for charity work. We ask that they are never mass produced or made for commercial purposes. We do ask that any tags or listing acknowledge us as the designers.”
Michael Miller Fabrics- “Thank you for your inquiry. Most of our work is copyrighted by us or in some cases by our licenses. These copyrights restrict design duplication of any kind without permission. In some case we license properties that have restricted commercial use (ie. Dick and Jane) but can be re-sold as cut fabric for personal use.”
Oh Fransson, Elizabeth – Patterns are for home sewing only, and may not be used for commercially. More details more details.
Oliver + S – Boutique Sewer Program available, priced on a per garment basis. Terms at /http://www.oliverands.com/boutique/. In addition, Oliver + S supports boutique licensees by providing are area where they can show and promote their garments at http://www.oliverands.com/garments/
Penguin Group (Softies and More Softies) – At the back of More Softies it states that patterns are for personal use and not for resale. In Softies it says the copyright is with the creator of each pattern, therefore both books are intended for non-commercial use only.
Rosie Quinlan Designs- “We are happy for anyone to make our designs on a ‘hobby’ scale for sale through markets ebay or etsy etc or for charity work. We ask that they are never mass produced or made for commercial purposes. We do ask that any tags or listing acknowledge us as the designers.”
Sew Liberated (formerly Montessori By Hand) – Cottage Licenses available, priced on an annual basis. Terms at /http://www.sewliberated.com/cottage.html
Two Little Banshees, Kate Henderson – Patterns are for personal use only and not to be used for commercial purposes. For further information, please contact Kate at Two Little Banshees
Information sourced from Australian Copyright Council Information Sheets & List as compiled by Amy of Badskirt. Information provided is based on my own research from resources and is not professional legal advice with regards to copyright in Australia.
If you are a pattern maker of know of any others and would like to be included, please send us an EMAIL
May 13, 2010
Amy from Giggleberry Creations has put together a fabulous pirate pack that is being auctioned off for an even more special cause, to help raise funds for Felicity and her Son-Rise Program for her autism.
You can find out all the details of the project and the auction on the Giggleberry Creations blog site. Not only do you have a chance to purchase some groovy Giggleberry Bunting, but by doing so you support such a wonderful cause.
May 2, 2010
On Sunday 18 April, Handmade Market announced, via its market and shop blogs, the commencement of a very exciting new project – a Handmade publication – the very first to be published by the Handmade brand.
The book, which will be penned by local author Tania McCartney, will be written in conjunction with handmade founder Julie Nichols and Brisbane designer Tina Snerling. A hardcover, glossy book filled with handmade inspiration, projects and how-tos in various lifestyle areas from food to furniture, baby products to house décor, handmade living. will celebrate a return to all things beautiful… and handmade.
Shop Handmade retail space in Canberra CBD, handmade living. will be yet another feather in the Handmade cap – continuing to showcase Canberran and Australian artistic and creative talent at its best.
The Handmade team are calling all local and interstate designers to express their interest in being showcased in handmade living. Designers can contact Tania McCartney for a Designer Information Pack to Tania McCartney
handmade living. is due for release early December, just in time for the Handmade Christmas market.
handmade living. will be published by Handmade Press. More information can be found on the website – handmadelivingcanberra.blogspot.com.
April 29, 2010
As with all things in life, operating a business has its share of risks. However with the variety of insurance packages on the market catering directly to small businesses, these risks can be minimised.
The type of insurance you take out will ultimately be dependent on the type of business you operate. Business owners who manufacture their own products, particularly those operating in the health and beauty arena or child focussed markets, should have some form of product liability insurance.
Product liability insurance will cover the owner against any injury, damage or loss directly caused by the product when used. The higher the risk factor of the goods in question, for example items designed for babies or small children, the higher the insurance cost. However if for any reason one of your products was faulty or originated from a bad batch and a reaction or injury was caused, the cost of the insurance would be far cheaper than the sum of legal fees and the settlement if the claim did go to court. In many cases if you import goods into Australia and the manufacturer does not have a place of business within Australia itself, then you may be still deemed as liable as the manufacturer of the goods.
For those who sell and exhibit their wares at a local market, then many insurance companies have a specific market or stallholder insurance to assist. This form of insurance usually includes a combination of the product liability mentioned above (if necessary) and public liability insurance. As this form of insurance is generally not required on a permanent basis, many operators offer a limited cover for less than a period of 12 months – for example a 3 or a 6 month period.
In this heavily litigious world, many market organisers require stallholders to have their own market insurance, or at the very least a form of public liability covering up to $10 million as a minimum. Public liability insurance is necessary in order to protect yourself against claims resulting from personal injury in or around your business premises. If you fail to show proof of your insurance, then the individual stall fee may be higher to provide instant coverage under the overall market policy.
Startup costs for an organisation can be high when business owners are looking at purchasing products or manufacturing their own without even taking the cost of insurance into account. It is interesting to note that some policies will insure your home and business at home under the one policy covering business contents and stock as well as home contents and vehicle cover for personal and business use. Shopping around and comparing this kind of policy with separate business and home cover is certainly worthwhile.
As with the majority of policies, the less the cost of the insurance, the less specific the coverage received. No matter how dull and lengthy the documents may be, it is always worth reading the fine print and having a full understanding of the inclusions and exclusions noted accordingly.
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