Paid Advertising for Your Handmade Business

Well, it's officially August, and summer is quickly coming to a close.  The nights are getting cooler, school is starting up again soon, and (like it or not) the holiday shopping season is right around the corner.

I've been promising an article on marketing and advertising for a long time, but, being the terribly lazy blogger that I am, I haven't got around to it until now.  This past month has been pretty hectic for me.  There was a mix up with the big summer retail show I do every year, and I didn't find out if I was accepted to attend until just 3 weeks before the show.  I usually have 3 MONTHS to prepare, so I had a ton of work to try and squeeze into those few weeks.  On the bright side, something about that kind of crazy pressure sparks my creativity like nothing else, and I manged to design and create a whole bunch of new items, some of which were so popular at the show that I spent down time during the show making more!! Here's one of my newest creations:

Midnight Moon Necklace

Anyway, the reason I bring up the show is because this year was a really strange year.  The art center that hosts the show didn't do much marketing--in fact the only marketing I saw was an email sent out a few days before the show.  Now, this is a large-ish show, with over 90 vendors plus food trucks, live music, and artist demos going on all weekend.  It happens twice every year, once in the summer, then again in the fall, and has been around for as long as I can remember.  It's a popular show, and usually draws a good crowd, even if the weather is yucky.  But none of that matters if people don't know the dates and time of the show, and that's where marketing and advertising comes in.

Now, I know a lot of people get really overwhelmed when they think about advertising and marketing, especially when it comes to paid advertising.  If you don't know what you're doing, you can end up throwing away buckets of money with very little return.  I'll go into more specifics about various advertising platforms in later blog posts, and even walk you through setting up a basic ad campaign, but for now, I want to share some really basic information with you to get you a little more comfortable with the idea of paid advertising.

The very first thing you need is a good, solid grasp on who your target market is.  If you recall, I did a guest blog post on the Promofrenzy Blog with lots of great tips, and a worksheet, to help you get to know your ideal customer, and your target market.  Etsy has a great blog post as well, full of great tips for finding your target market.

The next thing you need is a goal or a plan.  Figure out what you want your ads to achieve--Do you want more traffic to your online shop?  Do you want more traffic to your Facebook page?  Do you want more sales?  Do you want people to sign up for your newsletter?  

Being very familiar with the concept of your target market, and having a specific goal in mind will help you create effective ads that are geared towards the people who are most likely to buy your product (or like your page, or sign up for your newsletter).  The very first time I ran a Google AdWords campaign, I had no clue about my target market, and rather than narrow my audience down to a specific subset of people, I went wide.  In my mind, I thought the more people that saw my ad the better, but in reality, that was the least effective use of my ad budget.  Lots of views and clicks are great, but only if the people clicking/viewing are actually interested in your product.  Otherwise, you're paying for a click/impression that doesn't lead to anything, and that can burn through your budget quickly with very little to no return.

Wait, you say, what are clicks and impressions?  When it comes to paid advertising on the web, there are three common types of ads--Cost Per Impression (CPM), Cost Per Click (CPC), and Cost Per Action (CPA).  Choosing which of these set ups to use will largely depend on what the goal of your campaign is.  Here are some basic definitions:

Cost Per Impression (CPM):
The "M" in this acrynom doesn't stand for million, it's actually the Roman numeral for 1000.  CPM literally means cost per thousand.  A thousand what?  Impressions, or views.  With this type of ad campaign, CPM refers to the amount of money it will cost for your ad to be served (or shown) 1000 times.  If your ad budget is $50, and your campaign charges a CPM of $5, your ad will receive no more than 10,000 impressions--meaning 10,000 people will SEE your ad.

Cost Per Click (CPC):
With CPM advertising, you are paying to show people your ad.  They may or may not click on it, and once they've clicked on it, they may or may not buy, sign up, or take any other action.  With CPC advertising, you don't pay anything unless someone actually clicks on your ad, just as the name implies.  Once again, with a $50 budget, if your campaign charges a CPC of $0.50, you should expect to get 100 clicks. 

Now, along side 10,000 impressions, 100 clicks doesn't seem like that much.  But remember--we're talking about someone SEEING your ad versus someone CLICKING on your ad. 

Cost Per Action (CPA):
Cost per action is just what it sounds like.  If you've set up your ad campaign in this style, you only pay when your ad results in someone taking a specific action.  For example, someone clicks on your ad and signs up for your newsletter--you would pay for that action, but if someone clicked on your ad and didn't sign up for your newsletter, you wouldn't pay anything.  I've found this type of advertising to be expensive, so while it may be the most direct advertising link between customer and business, it's not one I have much experience with.

So that leaves 2 very common options for your online advertising: CPM and CPC.  Which is better?  This is a hotly debated topic, and the world of online advertising is full of opinions on which is better, more cost effective, and has a better ROI (return on investment).  But I've found that both CPM and CPC have their place in advertising for my small business.

While you're trying to decide on which type of advertising will work best for your goals, there are some other important factors to keep in mind.  One of the biggest is keywords.  Keywords are what determines if and where your ad will be shown.  For those of you already familiar with SEO, coming up with relevant keywords for your ad should be pretty easy.  If you use multi-word tags in your Etsy shop, you've pretty much done the work already. 

When setting up an ad campaign, each individual ad should be limited in the number of keywords you use, and they should be specific and relevant to whatever you're advertising.  Whatever venue you're setting up your ad campaign on, using the Google AdWords Keyword Tool can be a huge help.  This is a tool that lets you see what kind of traffic certain keywords and phrases generate.  This requires a bit of research and experimenting to find what works for you.  It's important to remember that just because a keyword gets lots of traffic doesn't necessarily mean it's a good fit for your ad...or for your budget.  The more popular the keyword, the more it costs, which is something I'll go into later.  For now, here's a quick example:

In this screen capture, you can see a sample keyword search.  I chose jewelry.  This page provides you with a TON of great info.  Starting at the top, under "Keyword Ideas", you can see my search term "jewelry".  As you move across that row, there is a little graph symbol which will show you monthly searches for the keyword over the last 12 months when you hover over it.

On this graph, you can see that the search term saw a spike in relevant searches starting in October.  To the right of this graph, you can see the average number of monthly searches for this word.  This will tell you how popular the keyword is.  Immediately to the right of that is the "Competition" column.  For the search term "Jewelry", this tool says competition is high, meaning that lots of advertisers across Google and its networks are bidding on and using this keyword.  The higher the competition, the more you'll have to bid to "win" a place for your ad in searches using this keyword.  Finally, the Keyword Tool lists an average CPC.  For this keyword, the average cost of 1 click is nearly $2.  That'll eat up a $50 budget very quickly, which means the keyword may not be a good fit.

But even if the keyword you initially look into isn't a good fit for your ad/budget, the Keyword Tool has some great options to help you find a word or phrase that is.  Below the initial results, you'll see a long list of suggested keyword phrases that include your initial keyword.

This list will provide you with the same information regarding these keyword phrases--a graph, average monthly searches, competition, and an average cost per click.  Going through this list is a great way to find other keywords that you maybe hadn't thought of using, and it allows you to finds words/phrases that work for your ad and budget.  Ideally, you want to select keywords and phrases that have good traffic, medium to low competition, and an average CPC that fits your budget.  Remember, this Keyword Tool provides information for how ads perform on Google and its networks.  While this is a good basis for research, it's important to keep in mind that keyword competition and CPC can vary across advertising platforms.

Over the next few blog posts, I'll walk you through setting up some ad campaigns on three different platforms.  We'll look at Etsy Search Ads, Facebook Ads, and Google AdWords.  Etsy Search Ads are the easiest to set up, so we'll look at those first.  There are several different options for Facebook Ads, including building your Business Page Audience (likes), boosting a post so more of your audience sees it, and using Facebook to advertise your shop/business website.  Google AdWords is probably the most complicated and expansive advertising option we'll discuss, and I definitely won't be able to cover everything, but I'll do my best to get you started.

In the meantime, here's a little homework.  Start brainstorming information you would need to set up an ad.  

• Think up a goal, or a set of goals.  
• Figure out a budget.  
• Be sure you've taken the time to get to know your target market.  
• Start researching keywords you might use in an ad
• If you have an Etsy shop, take a look back at what keywords have brought the most traffic to your shop, and start researching these keywords to see what might be a good fit
• If you don't have an Etsy shop, that's okay.  Just make a list of words and phrases you might use to find your product in a Google search, and research them

I suppose that's all for now.  If you have questions about things covered in this blog post, please feel free to ask in the comments below :)  If I don't know the answer, I'll find it, or do my best to point you in the right direction to find it yourself.

Until next time, 
Happy Making!

Christmas in July!!

So we're about halfway through the year, and something like 160 days until Christmas.  It's crazy to think about Christmas shopping in July, I know, but with all the great deals--why not?  Everything in my shop is 20% off AND I have a super special treat for all my loyal blog readers.  Here are some coupon codes for free and reduced shipping for both U.S. and Int'l buyers:

• U.S. buyers get free shipping with code CIJFREESHIP

• Int'l biyers get reduced shipping with code CIJINTL

The sale and coupon code are good shop wide, but they expire July 21st, 2013, so be sure to get in and shop today!!

On sale now!!  Tri Colored Link Necklace

In other news, my very favorite Etsy team is hosting a super special Christmas in July Pin2Win Giveaway!  This is super exciting stuff--we're giving away almost $800 in prizes to 4 lucky winners, and everyone who enters will get a special little something when the contest ends.

For more information, head over to our team Pinterest board at: http://pinterest.com/etsypromofrenzy/christmas-in-july-2013/
Or click on the photos below to check out the simple rules and great prizes!

The Rules

Prize Package 1

Prize Package 2

Prize package 3

Prize Package 4

It's super easy to enter--you just have to pin :)  Entries must be received by July 21st!  I hope you'll stop by!

And that's I have time for this week!  Next week, I've got a great blog post lined up to talk about advertising on Facebook.  You'll need to be super familiar with your target market to be effective, so be sure to check out my post on that.

Until next week!  Happy Christmas in July!

Target Market Challenge!!

So this week's blog post is going to be super short and sweet. Why you ask?  Because I'm this week's guest blogger over on The Promo Frenzy Team's blog!  Yay!!

So instead of carrying on over here, and repeating a whole bunch of information, I thought I'd just write a quick post and tell ya'll to head on over HERE and read my latest article about target markets!!  Seriously, go check it out.  It's a super informative article (if I do say so myself).  The best part?  There's a fun, interactive challenge at the end!

You don't have to be a team member to participate (though we love new team members!), and one randomly selected winner will get a super awesome FEATURE on the Promo Frenzy blog, which has a huge audience.

So don't delay, head over today!  (Hey that rhymed!)



And just because Blogs are boring without pretty pictures, here are some new arrivals in my shop that are just perfect for summer (which is finally here!!)

These are all hand knotted cord bracelets, some with bright, fresh gemstones, others with sparkling, fun faceted crystals.  They all look great on their own, but they're also just perfect for stacking together.

Arm candy for sure!

Tune in next week for a follow up on target and niche markets.  And as always, feel free to stop by THIS Etsy thread, and join in the discussion!

Want to read some more?  Check out these super informative blog  posts!
A Pricing Experiment Pt 1
The Summer Slow Down
Let's Talk About Facebook

The Summer Slow Down

"ZOMG!  My stats have dropped way down, I haven't had a sale in days, what is Etsy trying to do to me?!?"

If you've been in the Etsy forums at all...pretty much ever...you've probably seen posts like this crop up--people freaking out (or just expressing mild concern) that their stats are dropping, and looking for some kind of explanation.  I thought that'd make for an interested blog post.

First of all, welcome to the wonderful world of retail.  There are ebbs and flows in every retail business--sometimes you'll be up, sometimes you'll be down, and sometimes you'll break even.  There are a thousand reasons why things start to slow down this time of year, or any time of year really.

There are no major American "gifting" holidays between Father's Day and Grandparents Day.  A whole string of big gifting holidays are clumped right together month after month for the first half of the year.  If you want to get technical, there's really a major (American) holiday every single month from September through June (for future reference: Grandparent's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving (inc. Black Friday and Cyber Monday), Christmas, New Years, Valentines Day, St Patty's day, Easter, Mother's Day, Graduation, Prom, Father's Day...)  Let's face it, for like 10 months out of the year, we're spoiled rotten with built in holidays and themes to make, market and promote around.

There are lots of smaller occasions scattered around, but when we're talking retail, these are the ones that seem to drive the most traffic in the months and weeks before.  So keeping that in mind, if you don't have items relevant to these gifting holidays, your traffic is probably going to take a hit.  No one cares if you sell ladies underwear when they're shopping for Father's Day (well, maybe someone does...) so naturally, you'll see a drop in traffic.


 A myriad of other reasons could be affecting your traffic as well.  The weather's getting nice; school's wrapping up; people are spending their disposable income on vacation planning, not buying stuff; you haven't tweaked your SEO-type stuff for awhile; you haven't listed anything new in awhile, you aren't doing any promotion off-Etsy...the list is really endless.

If you're doing everything you know to do, and not seeing results, that doesn't mean that Etsy is screwing with you.  Yes, Etsy is constantly running live experiments, and we all know change is hard.  But while these experiments most definitely impact those being included (a small percentage we're told), they simply can't be held accountable for a wide spread slow down.  That's just not logical.

So if things are slowing down, and you're frustrated, take a break.  Use your new found free time to create new things, read a book, lounge in the sun, enjoy not being chained to Etsy.  And for those of you relying on Etsy for your income, I can fully empathize with the stress the summer slow down must cause.  My best advice--do what you can, but remember, ultimately it's out of your hands, and freaking out about it isn't going to help anyone.  Make a note of when the slow down started, and try to plan for it next year.  Keep plugging along, things will pick up again soon.  (I hope :\)

In the meantime...if you're really bored because your stats fell off a cliff and are showing no signs of life, here's a recipe for some super awesome "cheesecake" stuffed strawberries.  They're sugar and fat free, unless you drizzle them with chocolate, so feel free to indulge a little.


Ingredients:
8oz fat free cream cheese
Lite Cool Whip
1 box Jello sugar free, fat free vanilla pudding mix
1 cup low fat/skim milk
Strawberries.  Lots of strawberries.

Instructions:

• Let cream cheese soften a bit on the counter or in your mixing bowl.  

• Using a handheld or stand mixer set on low speed, mix up the cream cheese and milk.  You should have mostly liquid in your bowl, with maybe a few chunks of cream cheese hanging about.

• Add the pudding mix, and blend for 2-5 minutes, until things start to thicken up.  Don't forget to scrape the bowl down to make sure all of the pudding mix gets incorporated, or you'll end up with a grainy filling.

• Add about a quarter of the container of thawed Cool Whip and mix until just incorporated.

• Gently fold in 1/3 to 1/2 of remaining Cool Whip.

• Transfer "cheesecake" filling to a Ziploc bag.  Let the mixture hang out in the fridge while you prep the strawberries.

Photo credit: Onceamomalwaysacook.blogspot.com

• Hull the strawberries.  I use a small paring knife and gently cut out the centers of each berry, being careful not to pierce the sides.  You can cut off a small portion of the tip so your berries stand up right, but they taste just as good if you don't.
• Be sure to remove enough of the hull to create a pocket that goes the length of the berry, so you get a bit of cheesecake in every bite

•   Once you've finished hulling the strawberries, grab your bag of filling from the fridge, clip off a small piece of the corner, and use the Ziploc bag to pipe the filling into the pockets you created. 

• You could stop here and enjoy these little bites of deliciousness (that just happen to be sugar and fat free) or you could melt some dark chocolate chips and drizzle a fair amount over your strawberries, making them completely wonderful Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Filled Strawberries

Random, unattributed web photo.  Because mine were gone before I could snap a pic or 2.  They're that good...

Tune in next week for some information on branding, and for a link to a special guest blog post I wrote for my favorite Etsy team :)

Oh, and just a little shameless promotion (*grins*) Be sure to stop by my Etsy shop and check out all the New Arrivals I'm adding.  There's some really cool stuff coming soon!

Happy Sales!

A Pricing Experiment Part 2

I was so excited to see the all the responses to my latest blog post!  Normally, I don't post more than once a week, but A Pricing Experiment part 1 sparked a lot of discussion, so I thought I'd come back today and expand on my last post.  There was a lot of responses, and in this post, I'd like to talk about one of the most common--competitive pricing.

But first, I really want to talk about is this question that I think everyone should be asking themselves.  It's important, because your answer is really going to determine your pricing strategy.  What is your long term goal for your business?  I'm not necessarily talking about just your Etsy shop here either.  Do you want to sell to stores?  At craft and trade shows?  In your own brick and mortar shop?

If you want to just make enough to buy more materials, because your joy comes from creating your beautiful work, that is absolutely a valid choice.  But...your pricing strategy is going to have to be a little different than someone who wants to supplement their income, or have this be the primary source of their income.

In this blog, I'm really talking about creating a financially sustainable business.  If that's not your goal, there's a chance that some of this information might not apply to you, but I encourage you to keep reading, because you never know what the future might bring.

Another thing that I think is really important to consider is something I kind of glossed over in yesterday's post, and that's the idea that you really need to develop your brand to match your price point.  Your brand is pretty much everything about your business.  Things like your item photography, your website layout, your packaging, your marketing, and your customer service; they all combine to communicate an overall image to your buyers.

This is the same product, photographed about a year apart.  Which would you expect to pay more for?

If you have a really great product, but your photos are lack-luster, you're going to have a hard time convincing people to pay that scary high price.  If you have an awesome product, and great photography, but you communicate like an 8th grader texting her bestie, you're not inspiring confidence in potential customers.  Developing your brand can take some time, just like developing your product probably took some time.  It's super important that you invest that time, create an environment that reflects the quality of the work you do.

Something that was brought up a whole bunch in the discussion thread I started over on Etsy was along the lines of "I can't do that!  Everyone else on Etsy is priced at X."  Time for a little tough love guys--stop thinking like that.  If you're trying to grow your business, make money, and eventually sell other places than Etsy, you need to break out of this bargain pricing mentality.  Even if you're only going to ever sell on Etsy, you need to stop competing on price alone. 

I talked a little in the thread about competition, so let's look at that a little more closely.  FragrantOffering512 said

"Candles are not really a unique piece of art as are the other beautiful things some of you make, so I'm not sure this would work as well for me. I used the formula and my 12 oz. candles would retail for $26, when everyone else is around $12, like mine."

She's right, if I do a quick search on Etsy for "12oz soy candles" most prices are between $10-$15.  BUT if I do a Google search for the same thing, there is a much bigger range of prices, actually anywhere from $15-$30.  That's a really big difference.  I'd also like to point out that in the Google search, almost all the candles priced under $20 had words like "deep discount", "on sale", "for less" and "cheap" on their site or in the taglines.

These candles are both pure soy hand poured 12 oz candles found on Etsy.  The one on the right charges almost twice as much, but their branding supports this price difference

Those of you doing price comparisons, ask yourself what you your brand associated with.  Do you want to be known as a discount shop?  It is perfectly okay if you do, but just know you're probably going to have to sell two times more than full priced shops to make the same amount of profit.  I'll repeat that, because it's important.  You'll have to move twice the product just to make the same amount of money as shops charging retail prices.

For those of you who are so resistant to the idea of raising your prices to full retail because your full retail price is so much higher than your competition, it's time to change your way of thinking.  The shops and people that are way under charging are not your competition.  Let that sink in for a moment.  Going back to the candles--if people are selling their candles for $12 and your candles are worth twice that, the $12 candles are not your competition.  I know, that's a confusing idea because, hey, they're selling candles too, they must be your competition. But think of it this way--Wal-Mart and Victoria's Secret both sell underwear, but they are most definitely not in competition.  There's a whole wide world out there, and the reality is, you determine who your competition is by how you set your price.

Kristen from SnowFallStudio says:

I mean no disrespect and I agree that undercharging is rampant on Etsy, but I suspect that the category of items makes a difference. People expect to pay a good amount of money for fine jewelry. It's not the same with children's toys, as I sell in my shop.

Several weeks ago, I raised my prices. Since then, sales of my bestselling item (custom mermaid doll) have plummeted and sales of my smaller, and therefore cheaper, toys have risen. Not many people are willing to pay $75-$100 for a toy.

I think she makes a good point, that your category will have some effect on what you can get away with charging, but maybe not as much as one might think.  There is definitely a limit on how much profit you can make on any given item, and that profit margin is going to vary from item to item, and category to category.

Also keep in mind that, as the makers of handmade goods, we really have our work cut out for us.  Because so many people under price their work, buyers have no real expectation of what prices should look like for handcrafted items.   Because of under pricing, buyers expect to buy at lower prices, and because buyers expect lower prices, artists and crafters are under pricing.  It's a vicious cycle that won't be broken until sellers start pricing more accurately and we really start to re-train buyers' expectations. 

If you put in the time to research other prices (both on and off Etsy), and find that your retail price is significantly above average, then it might be time to re-visit your item. 

• Take a look at your material costs--can you buy more effectively, maybe save by buying in bulk?  
• Take a look at how long it takes you to make your item--how closely are you tracking your time?  Is there a way you can work more efficiently to cut down on your labor costs?  
• What is your experience level (because that should be what's determining your hourly rate)?   
• What is your profit margin?  Remember you probably won't be making the same percentage of profit on every item.

If you taken a fine tooth comb to your costs and have reduced them as much as possible without short changing yourself, but your item is still pricing significantly higher than average, it might actually be time to reconsider that particular product.  You really have to ask yourself, if you're not breaking even, is this really a viable product?  Again, I'm speaking to those trying to run a financially sustainable business. If you're making enough to buy new materials, and that's what matters to you, keep on keepin' on :)

I think that's enough for now.  Tune in later this week for further discussion, and feel free to stop by this forum thread on Etsy to talk with other sellers and hear their thoughts and concerns.  Thanks for reading!  Happy sales!


A big thank you to everyone who participated in the Discussion Thread over on Etsy.  A very special thank you to the following shops for their contribution:
Rachels Rustic Candles
Pure And Simple Candles
Snow Fall Studio
Fragrant Offering 512

A Pricing Experiment

I just recently raised my prices.  Kind of a lot actually.  It was scary, and I really want to change things back, but I've committed myself to this experiment, and I'm going to see it through.

What am I talking about?  Well, not too long ago, I started to put some serious effort in pulling together wholesale info for my jewelry business.  Knowing that, typically, wholesale prices are about half of retail, I decided to go through my shop and see if, at my current price point, I could make money doing wholesale.  The answer?  NO, there was no way.  Not even if I set a minimum order, outsourced some components to cut down on labor costs, and found less expensive materials. Well, shoot.

It shouldn't have been much of a shock really.  People have been telling me from day 1 that my prices were too low, that I could and should charge more.  Customers.  Customers were telling me for three hundred sixty five days that they WOULD pay more for my work, and I just left my prices right where they were.  Why?  Because I was basing my prices on other prices on Etsy rather than taking the time to do the math.

Well, that's not entirely true.  I did the math early on, using the formula below, but the numbers that formula was spitting out were just insane and scary and WAYY to high.  Only...they weren't.  Even writing that right now feels weird to me, but that doesn't make it any less true.  The formula I was using is passed around and repeated on a regular basis because it's a good model.  It works for a lot of people.  It's a good way to find a starting point.

The formula that everyone kept telling me to use was this (there are about a thousand variations on this formula, but they're all basically the same):

In reality, because I was so concerned with having a competitive price on Etsy, the formula I was using was more like this:

This is madness.  Madness.  Seriously, how did I ever think this was a good idea?  By not at least paying myself for my time, and adding in some kind of profit, I was actually losing money on every item.  Yes, there was money coming in, but it was barely covering my costs.

Anyway, I've decided that how other people price their work on Etsy is no longer a factor in how I'll be pricing my work.  At least not much of one.  This may sound crazy in theory, but the reality is that people grossly under price their work on Etsy, and trying to compete with that, trying to be the lowest price, well, that only serves to devalue our brands and our products.  Not to mention that it just reinforces the bargain mentality.  And our work, our art, it shouldn't be a bargain.

Now, please don't misunderstand me here.  There is nothing wrong with basing your prices on other Etsy price points, provided Etsy (or other similar market place) is the only place you want to sell your work.  If you're content with selling on Etsy, then by all means, follow your bliss.  But if you have dreams beyond just Etsy (like wholesale, galleries, art markets, maybe a b&m shop...) your pricing has to reflect that.  I'll repeat that, because it's important.  If you have dreams beyond just Etsy, your prices need to reflect that.

Businesses need money to grow.  If you're not taking that into account, if you're not pricing for profit, if you're not making money on every piece that you sell, your business doesn't have room to grow. 

So...the experiment.  Take a look at your shop and find the five most popular items.  If you don't sell multiples, pick your 5 favorite items.  Now do the math for each.  Use real numbers...

• What's the cost of the materials you used?  What other expenses were involved?  (Expenses)
• For example, I use a special task light when I'm working that gets something like 1,000 hours to a bulb (not really, but for math purposes, we'll pretend).  The bulb cost me $40, so it costs about $0.04 cents an hour to use that bulb.  Four cents really doesn't seem like much, but let's say I work 10,000 hours, and have to buy 10 bulbs--that's $400.  Sure it might be spread out over 2-3 years, but it's still four hundred bucks.  If you're not building that cost into your business, it's money you're losing.
• How long did it take you to make it? (Labor 1)
• Seriously, don't skimp here.  Did it take you 6 hours?  11?  35? 
• If it took you X number of hours, is it because it was a new technique you were just learning?  Were you working slowly because you were distracted?  How accurate is the time?  Are you starting and stopping?  The answer to these questions is important when determining the next figure.
• What hourly wage do you deserve? (Labor 2)
• Don't be cheap here guys--pay yourself a real world wage.  Are you just starting out or do you have 5 years experience?  You should be paying yourself more than minimum wage here.
•  Don't forget about profit.  Labor costs and profit are not the same thing!  Figuring this out is tricky, because it's hard to know what you should be making for profit.  
• Remember, this is the money that helps you grow, that you can invest back into your business, that you can put into savings.  How much money do you want to make?  Be honest with yourself.  And be fair to yourself.  What is the item worth to you?  (If you're really struggling here, use $5 as your profit number.  It won't really give you as accurate of a picture, but at least it's something.)

Okay, now let's plug these numbers into the formula.

 That's your wholesale price.

Now for the scary part.

Double it.  Take your wholesale price and multiply it by 2.  That is your retail price.  How close is it to your actual price?  If it's really close (say +/- $5), then good for you, you're pricing fairly well.  If it's way higher than you current prices, then I really encourage you to participate in this experiment.

Those 5 items you picked out (the 5 most popular, or your favorite 5)?  Raise their prices to the price from the formula.  If you're anything like me, your heart just skipped a beat, and your first instinct was to dismiss this idea out of hand.  Don't.  Give it a try.  You deserve to get paid for your work.  You deserve to make money from what you're doing.  You work hard, you create awesome things.  Own that.  Be proud of it.  Don't feel guilty for telling yourself you deserve it.  Don't feel guilty for making money.

And for goodness sake, DO NOT go compare your new prices with anything else on Etsy (or Artfire, or E-bay, etc.)  There is nothing wrong with any of these places, but something like 89% of sellers in these markets are under pricing their work.  If you try to match their prices, you'll just be perpetuating the cycle. 

I know that new price you just came up with is scary and expensive and uncomfortable.  Do it anyway.  You can always lower your price back down at the end of the experiment.  The end of the experiment, by the way, should be no less than 3 weeks from when you raise your prices up.  Longer is better, it will give you a more accurate picture of how this new price point works for you.  At the end of the experiment, if the new, higher price isn't working for you, you can lower your prices, but don't just drop them back down to what they were.  Experiment a little bit, and find that sweet spot.

Remember not to judge the success of this experiment on the number of sales you have at the higher price point.  Instead, base your judgement on how much profit you made.  If you made a larger profit, then your experiment was likely successful. 

Feel free to leave a comment.  What scares you most about raising your prices?  Do you talk about prices with other artists/crafters?  Do you make a profit at your current prices?  I'd love it if people came back in a few weeks and shared their progress!

Also, feel free to stop by this Etsy thread and join in the conversation: A Pricing Experiment

For more reading and other great information, be sure to check out the links below!
The Art of Pricing for Profit
Etsy Success Pricing for Profit Workshop
Everything ever written/shared by Megan Auman (seriously, this lady has some seriously great info to share)
The Etsy Seller Handbook

Don't forget to check out Part Two, found here:
A Pricing Experiment Part 2

Let's Talk about Facebook (Part 1 of 2)

There are so many social media options out there, and keeping up with all of them can be a daunting task.  It's hard to know where we should be concentrating our efforts, and it's even more difficult to know if our efforts are even paying off.

I use several different forms of social media, including Twitter, Pinterest, Wanelo, StumbleUpon, Blogger, and Facebook.  They all have they're good and not-so-good points, and they've all brought traffic to my shop in one form or another, but of those listed, Facebook is my favorite.

I know that might seem odd to a lot of folks out there.  And really, it is a little, because Facebook definitely isn't my highest source of traffic.  But Facebook brings things to the table that no other social media site really does: The ability to interact directly with your fan base. 

I find Facebook to be a happy balance between the impersonal and uber personal.  It gives your fans a chance to interact easily, it allows you to present both visually and verbally, and perhaps most importantly, it allows you to build connection.

So what's the secret to using Facebook successfully?  I'm not sure there is one. Below you'll find some helpful (if boring) statistics, followed by some great tips and tricks from users just like you

According to some social media experts, there are key times that small business should be taking advantage of to post, but aren't.  A report based on 1,800 of the world's biggest brand pages showed that while "weekend posts get 69% higher interactions, only 11% of posts are published on Saturday or Sunday."  In other words, posting on the weekend reaches way more people than during the week, but the average business fails to take advantage of the increased audience.  Not all industries follow the same pattern though--Thursday is actually the biggest day for clothing and fashion, and Monday is the biggest for general retail.

The same study also shows:

• Wednesday's interactions average 7.4% lower than any other day--so if you're gonna skip posting, today's the day
•  Posts between 8PM and 7AM see a 14% higher rate of interaction
• Less is more--brands that post 1-2x a day see a 19% higher rate of interaction.  Posting more than 4 times a day can actually result in being seen less due to the penalty imposed by FB's Newsfeed Optimization
• Video and link posts see far less than average traffic, making them the least effective means of promotion
• Photos see 39% more interaction, making them the most effective
• Using emoticons like :D and :P is good for business--posts that do receive a 52% higher rate of interaction than posts that don't
• Using a call to action (commands like "caption this", "Like", "Share", or "True or False") garners a 48% higher than average interaction rate

Now that all that boring (but important) statistical info is out of the way, let's take a look at a few questions and tips from some great Etsy users.  (More Q&A and tips in next week's post)

Some folks in my most favorite Etsy team  had questions about setting up and posting from a business page on Facebook, so I thought I'd start there.  To set up a business page, simply scroll to the bottom of any page on Facebook while logged into your personal account, and click "Create a Page".  You'll be presented with a screen that looks like this:

When I set up my page for Little Hill Jewelry I chose "Brand or Product" because it was the best fit for my business.  Take some time and check out all the options before deciding--some might be a better fit than others.  Once you've chosen, Facebook will walk you through setting up your page.  Keep in mind that while you are the admin of the page, people viewing your business page won't see your personal profile.  This is ideal for folks who really want to keep their personal lives separate from their business lives.

Once you've got your page all set up, it's time to start posting (we'll get to what to post in a minute).  Because you must be logged into your personal account to have access to your business page, it can sometimes get confusing trying to figure out where your posting from.  

When you're looking at your news feed from your personal account, on the left hand side running down the screen is a sort of directory to all the places you might need to go on FB.  Once you've created your business page, you should see it over here in this tool bar.  If you click on your business page, it will bring you to your Admin Page, where you can gain insight to your page, post as your business, and just generally manage your this area.

If you go to your business page this way, anything you post on your business page will be posted from your business page.  However, if you navigate away from here, say, to a friend's profile, you will no longer be posting as your business page.

If you want to post elsewhere on Facebook as your business, there are a few really easy steps to take to do so.

In the upper right hand corner of your screen on your personal account, there's a little gear shaped icon.  Clicking on that will drop down a menu with some managing options.  If you want to switch from posting from your personal account to posting as your business, simply click on the top option in this drop down menu "Use Facebook as (insert your business page name here)".  Once you click on that, everything you post on Facebook will be posted from your business page, no matter where you go.  Switching back is just as easy, simply click the little gear again, and select your personal page as the "user".

Now, it can get a little confusing, remembering who you're posting as.  If you click the page icon on the left of the screen, the top of your admin page will look like this:

See how in the upper right it still says my name?  If I navigate away from my business page, I'll be posting as myself.

If, however, you switch over using the drop down menu on the upper right, this is what the top of your admin page will look like:

See how it says "Little Hill Jewelry" in the upper right?  Now no matter where I go, I'll be posting as my business page.

A few common question I see while lurking in the Etsy forums are:

1. What should I post?
2. How do I gain followers?
3. How do I get my followers to interact?

From: CrownAndCole: TRAVELER necklace

Steph from CrownAndCole suggests:

"Think about the kind of audience that your brand attracts and then think about what interests them. For example, if you specialize in making all-natural soap, your audience might also be interested in organic eating, or other all-natural products. Post about these things! Did you spend the weekend camping? Post some great scenic photos. Did you find a great all-natural product (that is not your competition!) - post about it! Posting things that your audience might be interested in is a great way to increase traffic to your FB page, thereby gaining exposure for your business."

I think her response kind of covers all 3 common questions.  By posting about things that are both important to you, and interesting to your target audience, you make yourself and your brand memorable and forge connections with with genuine fans.  If all you ever do is post links to your newest Etsy listing, people will probably scroll right by you in their news feed.  But if you can engage them, involve them in your work, life, and process, you'll make a lasting impression.  And when they think "Oh hey, I need _________" your name might come to mind really quickly.

Another way to gain followers is to run a Facebook ad.  This may seem like an expense you're not really interested in, but it can gain you a lot of followers in a short time for very little money.  

From: NancyKayCreations: Black Donut Shell Bracelet

Nancy Mare from  NancyKayCreations says: "I've had good success with the ad feature.  You can set your own price, so it doesn't cost too much."  And she's right, you control everything about your FB Ad, from how much you spend, to who sees it, to when it's shown and where it links to.  I've run ads to build up my followers list, and I've run ads that link directly to my Etsy shop.  Both helped me grow as a business.

Next week, I'll post some more great tips and tricks from Etsy users, and go a little more in depth on some of the ones I think are key to success using Facebook.

A BIG thank you to all the great Etsians who responded to my thread!  I wish I had room to add photos from all of your wonderful shops!!  If you have some time, be sure to check out the shops of those who contributed to this week's (and next!) blog post!! 

• Lolita Moreno from DreamRelic  
• Krystal Ruppert from MyShardsofGlass
• Kaylee from ItsaGoodDayforClay
• Tara from waterwaif
• Heather from PALOHE
• Kim from PaperHouseDesigns
• KBlossoms
• Fatema from SilverLilyJewelry
• Heather Jones from selectjewelrydesigns
• Valerie from ValinthePaperValley
• Eva from KapKaDesign 
• Crystal from CrystalGaylePhoto
• Cheryl Rae from CherylParrottJewelry 
• Libbi from Mtbaldyglassworks 
• PopArtPetPortraits 
• Jocelyn from NewCreatioNZ

On Opening a 2nd Shop, and Learning from Mistakes

A few years ago, I never would have dreamed that I would open an online store.  Or any kind of store really.  It just wasn't a path I had ever considered for myself.  But life has a funny way of bringing you to where you most need to be, and for whatever reason, my path led me to Etsy.  Now, Little Hill Jewelry is fast approaching its one year Etsy-versary (April 12th), and I'm just a teeny tiny ways off from my 100th item sold.

One of my newest additions, found in my Little Hill Jewelry shop

It's been a lot of hard work, and it's been really disappointing at times, but looking back, I'm proud of what I've accomplished.  And looking forward, I'm hopeful and excited for where my path might take me next.

A few weeks ago, I decided to open a second shop.  I figured things were going fairly well with my first shop, why not give it a go.  Well, my second shop's been open for 3 days, and while I've already had my first sale, it's been a rocky start.

One of my favorite beading patterns from my new shop, LH Beading Patterns

Originally, LH Beading Patterns was going to be a collaborative effort between myself and another young woman.  We were going to share the promotion of the shop, and both add patterns, but as it got closer and closer to being time to open, it looked less and less like she would be sticking around.  Finally, the day before we were to open up shop, she decided to bail, which was a super bummer.  She said she felt so bad about leaving me in the lurch that she wanted me to have her patterns, to do with as I saw fit.  This (I thought) was so incredibly generous of her, and more than made up for her bailing at the last minute.

It turns out that was more of a curse than a blessing.  I won't go into details, mostly because it's completely humiliating, but it turns out her patterns were something less than original.  I, having no clue, posted her patterns for sale in my shop.  Imagine my utter embarrassment when I got that message.  I was in tears when I realized what was going on, and very, very close to just scrapping the new shop all together.

Thankfully, the wonderfully kind Etsians who pointed out the problem were unbelievably gracious and understanding.  So, while I just wanted the earth the swallow me whole, some little voice inside me thought "Maybe I can still do this."  It took me awhile, but I sat down and deleted everything that I could remember her creating.  I have no idea if there were actual originals in the stack of patterns I chucked, but all things considered, I guess I don't much care.

This whole experience has taught me (probably in the hardest way possible) that good friends don't necessarily make good business partners, and that there is so much validity to the advice my Mother gave me all those years ago: "Trust, but verify."  This lapse in judgement is something that I'll be kicking myself over for a long time to come.  I can't seem to keep my mind away from thoughts like "If I had just..." or "What if I had..."

Another of my favorites, this pattern's design evokes a sense of calmness and serenity for me.

So now that I've shared one of my most embarrassing business errors, maybe you're wondering; what's the point?  Why tell even more people about this humiliating experience?  Well, the truth is, I wasn't going to.  I was all set to just sweep it under the rug, and push it to the back of my mind, and to just move on.  But I was thinking today that it's important to acknowledge our mistakes.  Not to embarrass ourselves further, but to own them, accept them, and to learn from them. 

The point is that we all screw up.  It's not something you hear a lot about really, unless it was some kind of epic catastrophe.  Maybe it doesn't happen often, and maybe not in big ways, but I think that if you're in business long enough, mistakes are going to happen, things are going to go awry, and the thought of just sacking the whole venture will inevitably cross every business person's mind.  But our mistakes aren't what define our businesses, or our lives.  How we repair the damage does. How we react and respond does. How we move forward does. 

Moving forward, I'll know to be wary of mixing business and friendship, and I'll be more careful to make sure I don't end up with a face full of mud.  I'll also always remember how kind, patient, and understanding complete strangers were to me, and how that ounce of compassion gave me the courage I needed to move on down my path.

And I just want to say, if you mess up, it doesn't have to be the end of the world.  Sometimes things go wrong, which is practically the story of my life, but those wrong turns can sometimes lead you to the right place, to the place you were meant to be all along.  

Feel free to stop by my new shop, LH Beading Patterns, and have a look around.  Now through April 12th, you can enter coupon code WELCOME during checkout and save $2 off any one pattern.

Come check out the new shop, and save $2 off any 1 pattern now through April 12th, 2013

Happy beading, and have a great week!

Springtime and Cheesecake

 Cheesecake?  Yes, cheesecake, because not every entry can be about jewelry =P

A quick update...Things are going pretty well for Little Hill Jewelry.  I'm still terrible at remembering to update this blog, so I'm sure there are tons of things that have gone on that I should mention, like my gifting a few celebrities, and revamping my website. I'm also working on some new items for spring/summer, but you can see those sneak peeks over on my Facebook page.

It's snowing here in Vermont, which is cool and everything, but the first day of spring is like, a day away, and we've got 8 inches of icy, wet snow on the ground.  Thank goodness for the internet, and my awesome Promotional Frenzy team members over on Etsy--check out some of their spring themed artwork!

This is a stunning photo of Cherry Blossoms in Snow from HausofAriella 

A wonderful print of a blossom against blue sky from NewCreatioNZ

A pretty floral headband from NewEnglandQuilter

And a beautiful brass flower pendant from KapKaDesign

So I thought I'd change things up a little this post, and share my new and ridicilously fantabulous recipe for cheesecake.  Yes, I said cheesecake.  I'm obsessed with cheesecake, but don't eat it often, because desserts aren't generally the healthiest thing on the planet.  Now, don't get me wrong, this cheesecake probably shouldn't take up residence in your daily food pyramid, but it's just perfect for a special treat that won't weigh you down.

I wish I'd thought of it while I was cooking and snapped a few photos, but food-blogger I'm not, so it didn't occur to me.  I know reading a recipe with no pictures is endlessly boring, but believe you me, it's totally worth it!  I know, I know, enough babbling on...here's the recipe!

Totally Awesome and Almost Fat/Sugar Free Lemon Cheesecake

Ingredients:

For the crust:         1³/₄ C Nilla Waffer Cookies, crushed fine

                              ¼ C unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:      (3) 8oz packages of fat free cream cheese

                              1C fat free sour cream

                              2C Splenda (or other preferred sugar substitute)

                              3 large eggs

                              2t lemon zest

                              2T lemon juice

For the Topping:   1¹/₂t lemon zest

                              6T lemon juice

                              1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

                              ¹/₂C Splenda (or preferred sugar substitute)

                              2T unsalted butter, cut into small bits

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325^o
2. Mix cookie crumbs and melted butter until crumbs are evenly coated.  Press crumbs evenly into the bottom of a prepared 9” springform pan. 
• Don’t have one?  No big deal, you can really use any pan you like so long as it’s comparable in size.  I like the springform pan because the sides pop off, which makes removing the cheesecake a breeze.  If you’re going to use just a regular 9x9” square pan, I suggest lining it with parchment paper, just to save yourself headaches down the line.
3. Bake crust in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes (I left mine in for 12)
4. Remove pan from oven and let cool on a wire rack while you prepare the filling
5. Using a hand or stand mixer, cream together the cream cheese and sour cream. 
• This is way easier to do if the cream cheese has been hanging out on the counter for a bit.  I took mine out about an hour before I got started, and it was the perfect consistency.
6. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until just blended.  Then gradually add the Splenda, mixing well.  Finally, add the lemon zest and juice.
7. Pour filling into the crust and smooth.  Now you’re ready to bake it!
• Okay, so here’s the thing.  Even full fat/sugar cheesecakes can crack on the top while their baking.  It’s just what cheesecakes do.  By changing the chemistry of the cheesecake (fat free and sugar substitutes), this is actually way more likely to happen.  Fear not, there is a trick to help prevent this!   
• When you put your cheesecake in the oven to bake, add a small pan of water on another rack.  I bake my cheesecake on the middle rack, with a Pyrex dish with about 1 ½ cups of water on the rack above it.  This creates a moist heat environment, which helps keep the top of your cheesecake from getting all dry and cracked.  But, ya know, even if it does crack, it’s not like it effects how yummy this cheesecake is :)
8. Bake cheesecake.  How long is really going to depend on your oven, and your environment, and how the food gods are feeling that day.  Generally speaking, it’s going to take between 1 hour 25 minutes and 1 hour 45 minutes.   
• Normally with cheesecakes, you take it out when the tops starts to get that lovely cream and brown glow to it.  Since we’re using Spelnda, that’s not going to happen (Splenda doesn’t caramelize like sugar), so you have to keep a really close eye on it.   
• The cheesecake is done when the top looks dry and the center is only slightly jiggle-y when you gently shake the pan.  It’s part science, but mostly magic and instinct.  The cheesecake is going to continue to set up after you take it out of the oven, so a little jiggle is a good thing.
9. Once the cheesecake is done, take it out and let it hang out on a wire rack while you make the topping.
10. The topping is basically lemon curd.  It’s tart, sweet, and lemon-y, and it’s not strictly necessary to make this cheesecake, but it is a great finishing touch.
11. Set up a double boiler.   
• If you don’t have one, you can improvise like I do and just set a heat safe bowl over a pan of simmering water.  Make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water, and that steam can escape, and you’re all set.
12. Add the zest, juice, Splenda, egg, and egg yolk to the bowl and set over simmering water.  Whisk until the mixture is hot and frothy, about 5 minutes.  You really have to whisk constantly to keep the eggs from curdling. 
13. Once the mixture is hot and frothy, gradually add the butter bits, whisking until each addition melts.  Once all the butter is added, whisk constantly for about 7 minutes until the mixture is smooth, glossy and coats the back of a spoon.  Remove from heat and cool for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
14. Remove the cheesecake from its pan to a serving plate.  If using a springform pan, run a thin knife around the edge to loosen, and then just pop off the sides, then gently slide the cheesecake onto a flat plate.
15. Top the cheesecake with the lemon curd.   
• Be sure to do a little taste test of the topping before slathering the cheesecake with it.  It is lemon curd after all, and can be a little tart.  I only ended up using about ²/₃rds of the topping spread thinly along the top.
16. Let the topped cheesecake hang out at room temperature for another 30-45 minutes, and then place in the fridge for several hours, or overnight.
17. I totally didn’t wait several hours.  More like—barely an hour.  You just want to chill the cheesecake and make sure everything is nice and set before you cut into it.  Try and hold off as long as you can.
18. Top with fresh raspberries for a fresh burst of color and dig in!  The only fat is from the butter in the crust and topping, and the only sugar is from the cookie crumbs in the crust, making this almost fat and sugar free, and totally, deliciously, diet friendly.

And that’s all there is to it.  Try it out, and let me know in the comments what you think!

Ta ta for now :)