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Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
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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    Saturday, August 24, 2013
    8 MISTAKES THAT CAN HURT YOUR BUSINESS



    Have you every said to yourself  “If I had known then what I know now, I would have done things a lot differently.” ?

    The following are a few that I wish I could go back in time and tell myself!

    1. WRONG PRICING: If the price is too high then no one buys, if the price is too low  then you don’t make money. Almost everyone prices low. If you think you’re priced high, you’re probably just lower than you ought to be. I would suggest to reevaluate bi-annulaly or annually as material cost can change.
    2. MARKETING ( WHORING OUT THE GOODS): If people don’t know about your products, they won’t buy them. Alot of time, first time "crafters" think it is enough to produce a great ( sometimes not-so-great) product and just put it online. You  have to ge the word out! An easy way to do this is by participating in a craft show or fairs.
      Create a sign-up sheet and begin developing an e-mail list immediately. These are the people that have already expressed an interest in your work, so they are the most likely to buy from you.
    3.  KNOW YOUR ROLE: Spend your time doing the things you are good at, not struggling at the things you don’t do well. If you are lacking in a particular area, then try to consider hiring someone  or outsourcing to someone who is strong in the areas you are weak.  If you can’t afford to do so yet, tap into your network of friends, family or crafting network ( trust me, the crafting network is big and mighty!).
    4. RIPPING OFF THE GOVERMENT: Pay your taxes. All of them.Don’t cut corners with the government. File what you need to file. Even when you may think that you have gotten away with something, trust me.....you haven't! They will lay in wait  ( sometimes for years) and just when you are waiting for a refund check ,  maybe a lotto scratch-off or notice a freeze on your bank account...you get a letter stating that it is being with held for an outstanding tax balance.
    5. NOT SEEKING ADVICE: If you are the smartest person in your circle....then get a bigger circle!  There is a whole group of smart people around you: personal friends, craft business associates, local business connections, parents, siblings, children, or a spouse. All of them have something to offer, and may see things you’re going to miss.
    6. DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB:  Even if you feel like your product is in high demand, most small businesses are not profitable within their first year or two. You should have a reliable source of income from something other than your new business to sustain yourself during your intial start-up period.
    7. SPENDING TOO MUCH: Many small businesses spend too much money "setting up shop," That inclues buying to much material, inventory, website, brochures and etc.  There are alot of ways to have a professional presence without spending alot of money.  Take a look at our different articles for Business Tools, that provide low cost ways for "upgrading" your business!
    8. FOCUSING YOUR PRODUCT: If your business isn't doing as well as you'd like it to, it's very easy to become impatient and try to shake things up with a new product.
      Businesses that do well stick with what they do best.  Several years ago , I have a variety of products, but realized that my best sellers were the  funny cards. This led me to really evaluate my products and focus my line....hence my brands called Glib Greetings and Courtesy Cards. Think about it...when you want a Frappachino you know exactly where to go right? The same should be said for what every your product is....when they want it, they should know to go to you to get it.

     What advise do you think can hurt a business?


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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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    Wednesday, September 29, 2010
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    Due to overwhelming response, we have decided to make the "Etsy Business Tool You May Never Have Heard Of" and ongoing series. If you haven't seen the previous posts ,there is now a link in the right side bar under Shop Busines Tools in the "Little Secrets" section.

    UPDATE: Certificate Buddy is no more :( They company is no longer there, but you can still make Gift Certificates thru paypal. Just take a look at our posting "Company Gift Certificates" for info on how to make yours.

    Certificate Buddy: is an website that lets you print and track gift certificates for your shop. One of the main questions always asked is how to offer gift certificates from an online store. The designers of this site tried to make it as easy as possible for the user, so the site automatically generates unique codes for your gift certificates, keeps track of which ones have been redeemed and has some gift certificate templates for you to use. It is free to sign up, BUT there are limitations. You can only issue 3 certificates a month, not more than $20 value and you can only use the free templates provided. There are two other price tiers ( Paid $25 and Premium $50) a month that offer 50 and unlimited certificates and both are able to use your own certificate designs.
    If you don't know how the gift certificates will be recieved, we suggest signing up for a free account and test them out. If the average prices of your items is above the $20 maximum for the free account, why not use the gift certificates as "coupons", offering $5 discounts for certain products as a promo.

    Web Resizer: is a nifty web based tool that resizes your photos for the web. One of the biggest annoyances that shop owners have is when you have spent your time creating an image only to find out that its "too big" or "wrong dimensions" for wherever you are uploading it to. This tool will take your image and save it in the requires size that you input. You are also able to make some simple photo edits like exposure,contrast, saturation and more.

    WhosTalkin: is a site to find out who is "talking" about your shop in blogs. Much like Social Mention, you put your shop name, or url in the search box and every blog mention will show up.
    The downside to this site is that it is only blog mentions, I prefer just putting the name in the Google Search Bar. At least there you can filter the results by date posted ( 24 hours, week, year, etc). Or with Social Mention , its not just blogs, but websites as well.
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    Monday, April 5, 2010
    CAN YOUR CRAFT BUSINESS SUPPORT A FAMILY?

    • 8:08 AM
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    I can across this article and thought that is was a realistic approach to that popular "Quit your Day Job" from Etsy.

    Can Your Craft Business Support a Family- PART 1

    Can Your Craft Business Support a Family- PART 2

    I thought that is offered some "realistic" advise for crafters who dream about "Quitting Your Day Job" and surviving on your art. One of the biggest gripes that I and many others have with Etsy's ongoing "Quit Your Day Job" series is lack of real information.
    Alot of times, the same questions are asked and there is little to no in depth content. Most of the time they don't tell you that the person comes from a two income household or how long it took to become self supporting. Or more importantly the struggle and "realistic" goals and expectations one has to have in order to be successful. Instead, many times the article is a "glossed" over representation of what is needed to actually quit your day job.
    Now with that being said, let me just say that the articles are still good to read as you find others who have started out just like you and are making it now. So from an inspiration standpoint, its good reading, it just needs to be supplemented with articles such as the one above.
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    Friday, January 15, 2010
    ETSY BUSINESS TOOLS YOU NEVER HEARD OF :PART 2!

    We got such a great response to our first popular post Etsy Business Tools :PART 1 , that we have added some other tools as a follow up that we think may be useful to all of you sellers.


    Favors Me: is a beta site that is similar to Soopsee where you can essentially "make your own one page website". I must admit that the Favors Me site is very slick and chic, with modern fonts to choose from as well as easy to use, its the basic point and drop method. They have a gallery of users work to inspire you and show you what can be done as well as demo video to see what you can do with the site. It is also free to use as well, just sign up with your email address ( invitation code=" etsy"). Some of the negatives is that it only works with certain sites,Flikr, Facebook, Tumblr, Vimeo and Twitter (they seem to be adding more , but no date as of now). The Flikr, Facebook and Twitter service is great, but if you have a blog other than Tumblr, which alot of people do (Wordpress, Blogspot to name the bigger ones) then you will not be able to incorporate them like the others. There is no "domain hosting" here, so if you have a domain name you can of course direct it to this site as your "Front Page" but the Favors Me URL will be up top. Just note that this is a new tool, so you will have to promote just like you would with any other website.

    Banner Fans-is a web based banner maker . When I first came across this I was a little skeptical, but since everyone knows how against Microsoft Paint I am (especially to make a banner) I must say this is a decent alternative. This site makes it easy for people who want a DIY banner and it literally is the point and click method.They have selections for "common banner sizes" or you can even custom your size if you need a banner for an odd place. Some of the best features are that the font selection is large, you can upload your own pictures as well as they let you add several effects from shadows, gradients and different borders . In addition, they also let you change colors for all elements easily as well. You can even move the elements around with your mouse in the "preview" section while you edit.
    One of the best features is that you can save it in one or all of the three formats suitable for web viewing (jpeg, gif, png) and lastly you can get codes for about 13 different social and web outlets once your banner is the way you want. That means not only Myspace, Twitter, Facebook, but also some other formats you may never have thought of. We suggest you sign up (for free) to save the different banners that you use.


    Flikr2Twitter: is a service by Flikr that lets you tweet your Flikr photos with one click.It may essentially eliminate your need for the Twitpic Service provided by Twitter. Once you install the add on button and link your accounts, a little "FT" icon will be displayed on all your pics in your flikr account (next to the tools like "all sizes" and "add to favorites"). This will let you add automatically to your Twitter account just by clicking on the button. You can even use from your mobile. There are setting on it, so look them over and make any changes before you start to use.

    Qwitter: is a little stalker tool that lets you know if someone is a "Twitter Quitter". It is rather funny, but after you put in your username and email, it will let you know who has stopped following you, when and why. The craziest thing is that it tells you the actual post that they "quit you".

    Craft Count: Every wonder about those who are the best sellers in your category? Or in any category? This site ranks the top etsy sellers (1-50) by several groups , from overall to shop category, country and several others. Now some of them have been sellers for several years, which can factor into the large amount of sales, but this is a good tool to see top sellers.

    Craft Gawker: is a gallery where anyone can showcase their art, crafting and photography skills. It's a place for you to discover new artists and handmade goods that you may never have known about. They also have a sister site called "Food Gawker", which is essentially the same concept , but with food. Even though it is free to submit to site, as everyone knows, not everyone gets picked. There are some that submit over 10 times and are not accepted and there are some that are accepted the first time they enter. Though there are several requirements to submit photos (one is you must be registered, its free) I have found that the main one that can decide acceptance is your photos. Make sure the lighting/exposure of your photograph is good or else don't bother submitting as you will be rejected. It can sometimes be frustrating if you are constantly being declined, but they do send you and email as to why, so before you submit, take a look at the "About" page for other requirements.

    Pictaculous: is a color generator for your pics. If you have ever wondered what colors match your pictures, then just upload the pic and it will give you suggested color palettes that match your photo, they even give you the color codes. This tool is good if you are looking to make some backgrounds, frames or other color blocking designs to make your pictures pop.



    And of course the first part of our post Etsy Business Tools :PART 1
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    Saturday, December 5, 2009
    ETSY BUSINESS TOOLS: YOU MAY HAVE NEVER HEARD OF

    It amazes me sometimes, when I talk to sellers and mention a new tool or some promotion going on , to only find out that they have no idea what I am talking about . Or they just haven't signed up for the company updates. As as seller you want to do everything you can to promote and make your business profitable. I don't know about you, but I am waiting for the day when my smiling mug is featured on teh "Quit Your Day Job".Also I already have my "FU" speech prepared for my boss, lol....no really, I am going out in a blaze of glory!
    So there are several tools which I think are helpful , some you may have heard of or are using and some you maybe are on the fence about or don't know how to use.

    ESellersAds: One of the newest on the block and very nice. The idea behind ESellerAds is that your customers should be able to shop anywhere and buy your products on Etsy.We actually use it (you can see our add in our blog side bar). They are touted as being a "step up from etsy minis", it links directly to your shop, comes in different sizes which is better than that standard etsy mini and doesn't carry the logo. Just go to site, put in your username/shop name and they generate the add for you. To keep it, just put in your email address and they send you the html code to put on any of your websites, social media or etc. No signup required.

    Cr8tivity-is a very interesting site as it is a mixture of Google Analytics and Craft Cult and Etsy Mini. Once you put in your shop ID, your head appears at the top and you can choose between several buttons, from your own "company widget" (like the etsy mini) to hearts by item and also "Shop Statistics" that is broken down into easy to read pie charts. For those of you confused about how to use Google Analytics, this may be a way to "ease" yourself into it. Just remember it does not take the place of Google Analytics.
    One button that is very good is the "Shop Helper". This tool makes either a single Product Flyer or a Multi Product Flyer. The flyer maker is a PDF download that contains your shop banner, images and information about of your product that you can print and use as a marketing material. All of the items in your shop are in the drop down menu, so all you have to do is select an Etsy Listing ID and click on the download button you can even put your own info in or just use what is in the ad. This nifty little tool is great for line sheets for your press kit or wholesale sheets. Go ahead and try it out!

    Statsy: is another tracker similar to Craft Cult but has some other features such as "The Locator" which you put a listing # in (the 8 digit number above the "add to cart" button on the right side of your item) and it tells you on which page and what place it is. There is also the "Biggest Fan" where you can see who hearts your items the most (good if you want to offer your stalker a little private discount), The "Featurator" , which you put in your email address and anytime you are featured it will notify you, so no more searching and googling your shop name.

    Craft Cult: Everyone is familar with, tracks your hearts, features and treasury mentions. Its a standard if you have a shop.

    Where Am I: by EtsyHacks shows where your shop is ranked when a user types in a tag. Just put in the tag that you have labeled one of your items with and then put in your username and it will show you where you are ranked. The only downside is that it only searches the first 25 pages. So if you do not show up, then that means that you are not in the first 25 pages of search.

    SoopSee: Turns your etsy site into a website. This is good for those who are web design challenged, and an easy cheaper alternative to the involvement and coding an actual website requires. The pros are that it is free, incorporates your existing blogs , etsy site and some photos sites together.The downside are the templates are not that extensive and that you have to manually update it, like you would a blog or website, no auto setting.

    Craft Weasel: Is another common site, but there are a couple of things that are good with this site. If you are confused by Google Analytics and just need everything simplified, this is a good alternative. Under "Shop Stat" you can put your shop name and it breaks down, with a bar graph by day, the views and tags. Also, it gives you a list of most tags used and searched for in your shop by day. Another great feature is the "Tag Finder" , if you have ever had a problem finding the right tag for your item, just put in the main descriptive word like "knitted scarf" and it gives you all the tags associated with that...neat huh? No more guessing and pulling tags out of your backside. There are also other great features there as well.

    Sellit: Is similar to EsellerAds, but you need to register. The Pro is that you can do this for more than just etsy, works with other selling sites. The downside is that there is only one large rectangular size for the ad

    Yammi Handmade: Sounds crazy but is a cute little tool for not only states, but buttons to display your hearts , sales and other little things that you can place on your blog or other social media sites.....This is just one of them


    Etsy Front Pagers: If you been on the front page and would like a nice screen shot to promote or for your press page, then this group pool from Flikr has every screen shot of the Etsy Front Page for you. You can also check to see if you have made front page or a treasury by typing in your shop name in the search bar.

    Website Grader: Ever wondered how you stack up to the competition, this site gives you marketing info for your site , products and tags. It is free, you just put in the URL of the site you want and it gives you your grade out of 100 then goes into detail about your SEO. Also gives you a feature to put in your competitors url to see how you compare. Great tool to see where you may need improvement.

    Etsy Tag Fractal: Lets you put in a tag and all shops that are tagged with that name come up.

    Social Mention: is not an official etsy tool , but really is a great business tool. Like "Goggling " your company name , this site lets you input your website or company name and any place your name comes up in the world wide web appears with a link to view it. It is seperated by catagories, like Blogs, Network, News and more. But you should just check "All" to pick up everything.

    There of course are other Etsy Developers, just go to link for a list of the Featured Etsy Developers

    DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT PART TWO OF THIS POST:
    ETSY BUSINESS TOOLS YOU MAY NEVER HAVE HEARD OF : PART 2
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