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Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Showing posts with label website. Show all posts
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Storefront: TICTAIL


For many small business owners there comes a time when they want to make the jump to an ecommerce site.Though there are several options to choose from, one of those options is Tictail.

Tictail is described as "the tool that permits you to open your shop without the hassle" . On the Tictail home page you will find detailed information and also example of shops. In addition , it's FREE. They have an easy video that shows you your options and how easy it is to use.

They are a new Swedish company ( just about a year old)  and have already hit over 24k stores. Looking at the sites and functions, I can see why. If you are really looking for a free ecommerce site that is easy, fast and professional, I think that Tictail is a good option.


You can connect your own domain name, your PayPal account, change the favicon and set up Google Analytics . This is a new platform so you don’t have all the different customization of the others well-known ecommerce sites, but you can edit your store with HTM/CSS .  Did I mention it’s completely free?





Pros: Free, fantastic minimalist Scandinavian design, no adverts
Cons: Do have to pay for the extra apps like custom domains , custom store coupons/discounts.
           There is also no currency conversion


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Monday, March 3, 2014
EVER HEARD OF TACKK?


Ever hear of Tackk? Tackk allows anyone, to create content that combines text, images, audio and video...think Pinterest with audio and video capabilities. You do not have to download anthing or even login if you don't want to, just point and click.

Tackk is great for businesses since it really is at it's base a flier that one may put up to advertise whatever content you want to get out, but on a digital scale. From business products and craft tutorials to recipes and announcements. Tackk also lets you share your creations with Facebook, Twitter,  Google+, LinkedIn, and ironically even Pinterest,

So how does Tackk work?

It’s simple! Go to Tackk to create your first board.  Click on "Create New" and a variety of options come for you based on the "intention" of your Tackk.  They range from a Blank Canvase ( pictured below) to food, events, for sale, house, blogpost, announcement and more. Then you can even add images, videos, links, and more! You can even content from your Instagram Account!
tackk-digital-tool-craft-business-hobby-Crafts-Unleashed-3



Tackk takes care of the design and gives you a simple, clean interface that you can customize, all you have to do is insert any media you would like to use, change the text, and more. You can use the sidebar panel on the right to change the text size, fonts, colors, and backgrounds . Use the gear menu to change each section of your  and use the big plus sign to add more items, such as headlines, text, photos, videos, maps, and links to other websites.

 Don’t forget to visit the Tackkboard for a alot of other ideas!

Pros: Easy to create one page "website", embed options, able to add video, instagram pics , find and follow people, tags or a combination of both, able to edit board at anytime and sleek design that is very easy to use.

Cons: Must create account to edit board or keep board over one week.
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    Monday, August 13, 2012
    Free Landing Page with Kickoff Labs

    Planning on launching a website? Need to generate buzz for your brand while you are finalizing your options? Try Kickoff Labs , a service that allows the user to create a beautiful custom landing page plus access to social and email marketing tools.
    This custom landing page can then direct your customers to your various social media sites, other websites, links and even a newsletter sign-up sheet. The best thing is that it can all be done in less than a minute, though customizing can take a little longer.

    Creating a basic landing page is free and allows you to sign-up 50 people max to your newsletter. Paying customers , starting at $15 a month, get more options, like the ability to tweak SEO settings, add widgets, send email newsletters, and more.




    All in all, Kickoff Labs is a great and affordable option to make your small business more professional.

    Pros: Affordable options, easy to use beta interface, sleek designs. Also users are able to add a newsletter, Facebook, Twitter and a variety of other social media links.
    Cons: Free page only allows you to do one thing....create a page with the Kickoff Labs logo splayed at the top.
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    Friday, July 13, 2012
    STOREFRONT: Indie Made

    Looking for a low cost alternative to host your company website? Try Indie Made.
    According to the website, Indie Made is a simple, reasonably-priced online service that combines a blog, a photo gallery, an event calendar, and a shopping cart, all in one. which you can have in as little as 120 seconds....though , if you want it the best it can be, it will probably take you a little longer.

    After you sign up , you choice one of the 3 monthly plans ,ranging from $4.95-19.95 . Once you have chosen, you can set up your store, design, add a blog post, gallery/images and separate pages for your company.
    In addition, there are several features that beneficial to the small business owner , such as a
    • Shopping Cart: No merchant account necessary — you just need a PayPal™ account. Your customers can pay with credit and debit cards. And IndieMade doesn't take even a bit of your sales.Though the shopping cart design is very similar to Big Cartel.
    • Blog on your own website. With IndieMade, visitors can read your blog, grab a feed, and buy from your store all without leaving your site.This is useful, if you are tired of having a separate blog on another interface.
    • News:Showcase and tag press and reviews you've received, or share big announcements with your fans.
    • Company Calender to share dates and details of shows, parties, classes, or special events you're planning
    • Video Embedding ( Youtube/Vimeo, etc) Embed audio snippets or videos on your site. Include song samples for albums you're selling, or post videos of your work in your blog.
    • Reporting : Run reports on your orders or customers to get a handle on sales cycles and discover your most popular products. Print out invoices to ship and not to mention Google Analytic integration.
    • Inventory Control: You can also control the amount of easily reproduced items available, so you don't sell more than you have in stock.
    Have an Etsy Store? they also let you import your etsy store listing.In addition , they have a lot of good articles about starting and maintaining your business on their own site blog.
    With different, easy to change themes and custom url integration, Indie Made is definitely a low cost alternative to the pricier alternatives.

    Pros:Some great features and support. The fact that there is a shopping cart is worth it. Clean , simple website themes and easy to use controls.

    Cons: If you are looking for fancy layouts and themes, this may not the site for you. If you don't know any coding or have a friend who you can bribe into doing it, you are pretty much stuck with just the designs/features that they already give you. To get a custom url, you automatically have to upgrade to the 2nd ( $11.95) price tier.
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    Sunday, February 5, 2012
    STOREFRONT:CRAFT LAUNCH

    The latest kid on the block is Craft Launch , an online site that allows the owners of handmade and vintage businesses to easily build custom, professional websites...basically allowing an Etsy shopkeeper the ability to "tie in" their Etsy shop,giving it an "Storefront" appearance. I gotta say, its about time someone thought of this.
    Once you sign up, CraftLaunch will take your latest Etsy listings and put them into your website so visitors can view them. When a customer clicks “buy” , it will then take them to checkout on Etsy. That means you do not have to manage two sets of inventory or checkout processes, and you only have to post and pay for your listings once.
    There is a month $15 (pay-as-you-go) fee to use the service, but they are currently offering a 15 day free trial ( with no credit card required) to see if you would like the site.With the monthly fee you can get a variety of services ( google analytic's, unlimited Etsy products, social network linking, unlimited pages and etc) but there is an additional fee per month to use your custom domain. If you choose not to add that they your domain will be your site name.craftlaunch.com.
    If you have finally decided to have your own website from Etsy, but your are "budget" conscious or don't know where to start(html, shopping cart, etc), this is a good first step. It allows you to "get your feet wet" and find out if your business is ready to sustain itself


    PROS: Easy to use integration and automatic website updates when you add new listings to your shop. Great start for "1st time" website launcher.
    CONS: Limited features, if you are looking to do more with your website, this is not the site for you.Also, if a customer is not an Etsy Member, they will still need to join Etsy just to buy fro your site and that may alienate customers who want your product, but dont want to take the time to join another website.

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    Wednesday, November 2, 2011
    IS ETSY STOPPING YOU FROM GROWING YOUR BUSINESS?

    I have a love/hate relationship with Etsy....they have brought me exposure to a wider audience, but in some aspects they have also hindered me from gaining new customers.
    The community is large and for the most part extremely helpful, but I have found that some customers are put off by having to go to Etsy and join the site just to buy my or others products. Also it stands to reason that while a customer may go on Etsy intending to buy from a particular seller, there is a strong likely hood that they will stray from the intended purchase by searching thru the site ( I have done that many times). One seller brought up a good point....when someone asks you "Where did you get that?"...do you say the store name , like" Gramkin Paper Studio" or do you just say "I got it on Etsy, or Ebay or Artfire...." More than likely you stated Etsy or the selling site as opposed to the actual name of the company who makes the item.
    Now there are people who do "Quit Their Day Job" and I like others, read those featured sellers, but the majority of people who sell on etsy, have a "back up plan" in the form of a full time working partner or a job themselves. I am a big promoter of not putting all your eggs in one basket, having income from various sources and because Etsy doesn't really have the easy "social media" integration that a website gives you, it makes it difficult to cross promote your brand. You really cant add a blog, twitter or an other site that you might have that the customer might like to see. There is no mailing list for your specific store, just Etsy in general and the customer has to sign up to be part of the marketplace to purchase items from you. There are definitely customers that I have lost because of this last option.

    What am I doing about it? Well, my business has expanded beyond what Etsy solely can do for me so I have decided to do a company overhaul. We now have a brand new site "Gramkin Paper Studio" and market outside of Etsy.This allows me to not only sell my merchandise, but also integrate all the other branding tools that I need. Now I still have love for Etsy, but now I love it like a mistress as opposed to my website that I love like a spouse. Etsy will now be a secondary option for those of my customers that still shop there..... basically a giant promotional tool for my business.



    HAVE YOU GROWN BEYOND ETSY?










    pictures courtesy of     BearandRobot
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    Tuesday, September 20, 2011
    NEWEST STOREFRONT: GOODSIE




    There are alot of "Online Store Fronts" that try to make a name for themseleves like Etsy or as Ebay once did...Zazzle, Big Cartel, Artfire, Foodzie, Store Envy along with countless others, but a new kid has entered the block...Goodsie


    Goodsie , a NY Based online store front is from the creators of Favors.Me, has created a simple way of creating a website similar to Wordpress. Users are able to choose from multiple layout options, color pallets, background patterns, and typography without having to worry about HTML or coding issues. Users can transfer domain names for free, get site analytics, and connects to most payment options including PayPal without charging transaction fees. This is a great option that allows the owner to interagate a "cart " without alieanting some buyers by having them "join" the site to purchase from you like Etsy or Ebay.


    New users can join with a free 30 day trial and once the trial is up, the user will be required to pay$15 per month for the service. Just note that Goodsie is not the end all be all. It currently does have a coupon feature and though the layouts are great, they can be limiting if you are looking for something more extensive.


    The bottom line is that this site will get you started, but if your business is growing, you will need a more extensive option.

    PROS: Goodsie is a good starting place for 1st time shop owners on a limited budget. Easy to use with slick interface and clean lines. Offers great non traditional font options built in and great layouts.
    CONS: Limited in extensive design options, fee per month, though low at $15 is still an expense. No automatic cross sales, like on Etsy or Ebay,where a customer may see your store and purchase ...you will have to push people to your site


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    Monday, August 15, 2011
    Thursday, July 29, 2010
    SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS: WHORING OUT YOUR TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

    One of the most asked about questions is "How do I use social media for my business?"..Translation, "How can I whore my business out on Twitter and Facebook?
    As you know, I myself am a "Twitter Quitter", having shut down my account since it didn't increase sales or add any value to my business. But there are alot of people who swear by it and it does benefit there business is some way.There are no "hard and fast" rules or magic wand that can give you success with these outlets, but the following may be some info that can work for you.


    1. Separate your personal and business social pages!
    That means if you are all ready on Facebook or Twitter for yourself, dont use that same account to then promote your business. None of your customers want to get pcitures and video on the fantastic trick your cat learned last night. Stay focused on your product and objective ,give your personal Facebook to your friends and the professional to your buyers.If you are really serious about your business and promoting, keep it professional.

    2.Social Media ResourcesResources to help you with using and promoting your social media for business




    3.Don't Forget to make sure the button is working!
    Make sure to test your button/link. I can't tell you how many times I have clicked on something and it wasn't linked. In addition to the company buttons that social media sites give you, there are also some that you can install yourself. Click below for a link of great and free social media icons to download.
    FREE SOCIAL MEDIA ICONS

    Most Importantly .....just because you posted new images on your social media accounts or Etsy store doesn't mean people will rush to buy them. You still have to get them to your website and thats why you really have to promote your Social Media Accounts just like as much as your shop to build your following.





    Facebook Birthday Card Available Here
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    Friday, July 23, 2010
    COMPANY UPGRADE:WAYS TO MAKE YOUR SMALL BUSINESS MORE PROFESSIONAL

    I constantly get emails asking about our website or how to make a business more professional. Most people think that you need an extensive knowledge of HTML/CSS, though this is helpful, it is not necessary to make your business more professional.
    There are little things that you can do that can make a big impact on the look of your business.If you cannot "hire" someone to do your site for you or are on a limited budget, the following are some things that you can do yourself to very inexpensively "upgrade" the business.
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    1.PURCHASE A DOMAIN
    This is the one thing that I feel is necessary, even if you don't do anything else. When you have a domain you can then forward all of your shops , whether its your etsy, artfire, ebay, blog or other site to it. There are several important reasons to get your own domain:


    • The ".COM" instantly makes your business look more professional , especially on the business card.

    • The domain protects your business name. If you have a sucessful online( etsy, artfire, etc) business and then someone else has your business name in a domain you could be loosing business.
    There are several places that you can get a domain name,some of the more popular ones are Go Daddy and Yahoo. There are several others, but these are great because they are known for easily interfacing with alot of servers ( website host and etc). For new users,Go Daddy usually has specials for a few dollars per yer, right now for the actual ".com" it is $10/yr. They do offer the option of purchasing a ".net, .info, .org" and etc that is cheaper than the ".com" , but we don't recommend that. Info and Org are usually for organizations and the Net looks subpar ( you have to think about the international buyers who come to your site), we suggest paying the extra for the ".COM". Also note that GO Daddy usually offers a "one web page" when you buy a domain name. This allows you to make the link to send to your various places (you do need to know the code to link pictures...its easy). Just remember that the Go Daddy Advert is on top, but you can pay extra to remove.
    Yahoo is another good place for domain purchases. They also offer the $2/yr for new users or there rate normally is $9.95/yr. One thing to note with the "First Time Rates" that both of these have, if you only purchase a year at a time, then after the first year the price goes up to what every is the company going rate. But if you purchase several years when you first sign up, you can get all of the years for the same intro rate. This is especially the case with Yahoo, just make sure to read all the policies and restrictions before purchasing.

    TIPS: If your domain name is already gone and the service you purchased from doesn't automatically give you alternates for your name, then try Nameboy. This site lets you put in your domain name and it comes up with a list of alternatives that you might be happy with.

    2.GET A WEBSITE...SORTA
    A website is something that everyone wants but doesn't think they can afford or have. There are several cheap place to get a website, especially easy for the "First Timer". The following offer "drag and drop" interfaces, that allow you to just point and click to change things.We suggest you try out services for free before you upgrade and pay the low fees...just to see if they work for you.




    • FAVORS ME offers a simple one page site, that lets you add 4 data sources for free. Anymore links than that you have to pay the low price of $20/per year. The great thing is that they can easily link to 20 different popular sites, like your blogger, wordpress, twitter, facebook, flikr, picasa and a whole lot more. Take a look at there directory to see what others have done using this site.

    • SOOPSEE literally turns your Etsy Site into a website. The good thing is this site is FREE and if you already have your own domain name you can easily use this site as well. For examples of how other Etsy members are using this site just go to there Gallery. Another good thing about this site is that it offers a more "user friendly" site analytic for those who are totally overwhelmed or confused by Google Analytics ( though you can easily use Google Analytics with this program)

    • WEEBLY is a free "Drag and Drop" website that lets you either buy the domain from them or you can easily integrate your own with the site. This beta site lets you easily change things, have unlimited pages and incorporate your blog or they even offer you the option of haveing your own "Weebly " Blog if you don't want to sign up for Blogger, Wordpress or etc. They do have a variety of templates that you can choose from and easily customize ( color , layout and etc) They also interface with alot of sites, like paypal, flikr and etc.

    • WEBS is another site similiar to Weebly. It has the same "drag and drop" system, but I think that they dont have as many templates to choose from as Weebly.
    TIPS: USE YOUR BLOG AS A WEBSITE. If you have a blog already like Blogger , Wordpress or TypePad, this can be used as a website , forwarding your domain (if you have one) to this site. By using your blog as a website, you can easily use the sidebars(depending on your layout that you use) for your company items (link to your shop,gift certificates, etsy mini, company ads/announcements and etc).Just remember that the "minimal" templates (the white basic ones) are the most easily customizable for your needs.3.SIGN UP FOR AN ONLINE PHOTO SHARING ACCOUNTHaving a photo sharing account is good for several reasons. If you have a blog, the photo sharing account lets you upload large size images to use on your blog, essentially eliminating file restrictions since they are on a separate site. Also these sites gives you another outlet to get your product out there...basically free advertising (as long as you mark the photos "public").
    There are several sites that offer this service and the following are the more popular ones that work with a large variety of sites easily:

    TIP: just remember that though these are free to use, the free accounts have limited storage, so if you find that you need more then you will have to pay the low storage fees..usually not more than $20/yr.
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    Just remember that you don't have to do everything at once, try them out and then decide if you want to commit(as well as pay the fees associated ).
    Now that you have all of that together you can start to customize your company with certain Business Tools. We have several post and links that can be used for your website (from above) or if you are not ready to take the website plunge, they are great for your blog or general business.The following are links of interest that may help:

    Etsy Business Tools You May Not Have Known
    Business Tool To help your Company
    Customizing Paypal for your business
    Company Gift Certificates Made Easy
    Basic HTML Codes
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    Monday, February 15, 2010
    DOWNLOAD DAY:FREEBIE ICON SETS & BUTTONS FOR ALL YOUR SOCIAL SITES

    Desktop, Folder and Web icons are a nice way to personalize your computer as well as handy little design tools for your site or blog. I love using them for a variety of things , not just for my computer or site, but they are also good as IM or buddy icons as well as the perfect size for an avatar. The following are some of the more unique ones that I have seen.












    Harmonia Pastelis Icons    - Are a very cute set from Rain Drop Memory. They are actually grouped into three folders.. Application Icons, Folder Icons and Regular Icons. Essentially making it easier for the user to know which icons are for what. BONUS, they have created several matching wallpapers (the cloud pic is just one of them!)

    ICON DOWNLOAD LINK HERE
    WALLPAPER DOWNLOAD LINK HERE
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    Handy Icons    - Are a free hand drawn social icon set from Janko At Warp Speed. They come in 4 sizes and have a nice artistic feel to them. He also has another hand drawn set , but we think this one is the best.
    DOWNLOAD LINK HERE
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    Polaroid Icon    - are social icon sets that look like a Polaroid snap shot from webtoolkit4me.

    DOWNLOAD LINK HERE
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    Glossy Social    - are social icon sets that look like iphone applications from the same developer.

    DOWNLOAD LINK HERE
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    Sketchy Icons    - are also hand drawn social icons by Snap2objects. The only downside is that they for the most popular sites.

    DOWNLOAD LINK HERE
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    Mathilde Sketchy Icons    - is a lengthy(more than pic) social icon set by a designer called Mathilde

    DOWNLOAD LINK HERE
    (Once there just hit "Download" button on left sidebar)
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    Also in a previous post we put a Free Twitter Button and Badge Site for those of you who need or want new Twitter buttons for your site. The html code is even done for you already, just copy and past.

    The following are instructions for Windows Users on changing icons.

    {INSTRUCTIONS}
    • Click on link and "save to your computer"
    • Once download complete, open compressed zip file with program of your choice.
    • For Windows =Click on file and then click on "Extract File" for Mac there is Free Yem Zip program is you don't already have compression software
    • Once the file is uncompressed, save to desired location. I suggest making a folder called "Icons" to find easily, just in case you want to change them.
    • Then just upload them directly from computer to site or to a picture hosting site such as Flikr or Photo Bucket, then put in the url/html coding for your site.
    *If you want to use these for your site, like the twitter, facebook or other social media icons, just save them and hyperlink them to the appropriate url on your page*


    {TO CHANGE DEFAULT DESKTOP ICONS }
    • Click Start, click Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes, and under Pick a task, click Change the desktop background
    • On the Desktop tab of the Display Properties dialog box, click Customize Desktop
    • In the Desktop Items dialog box, select the icon you want to change and click Change Icon. The Change Icon dialog box opens, which shows all icons in the currently selected file. In it, you can specify which icons are shown on the desktop by default
    • To select from icons not currently displayed, click Browse, and in the Change Icon dialog box, navigate to the icons you downloaded, select the icon you want to use, click Open, and then click OK
    • In the Desktop Items dialog box, select the next icon you want to change and repeat steps 3–4
    • When you're finished changing the icons listed here, click OK, and in the Desktop Properties dialog box, click OK to apply the changes

    {TO CHANGE COMPUTER FOLDER ICONS}
    • Right + Click the folder icon you want to change and choose Properties
    • The Folder Properties window will now pop-open. Choose the tab Customize
    • Click on Change Icon to open the window for changing the folder icon
    • Here you have a choice to either Browse to a folder containing any .ico files or Select an Icon from the List shown containing default Windows icons
    • Once you have selected an icon as described above click OK
    • Then click on Apply
    {TO CHANGE COMPUTER SHORTCUT ICONS}
    • Right-click the shortcut you want to customize, and then click Properties
    • On the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon
    • In the Change Icon dialog box, click Browse, navigate to the new icon you want to use, select it, and then click Open
    • Click OK, and then OK again to apply the change
    IF THERE IS ANY TIME THAT YOU WANT TO RESTORE THE DEFAULT ICONS, JUST REPEAT STEPS AND HIT THE BUTTON "RESTORE DEFAULT" AND YOU WILL GO BACK TO THE FACTORY ICONS.

    *IF YOU DO HAVE TROUBLE INSTALLING OR USING ICONS, LEAVE COMMENT AND WILL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER QUESTIONS*

    *for personal use only, not for commercial use*
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