Kudos & Karma – Giveaways

May 05, 2010 :: Posted by - Deanne :: Category - Artists helping others, Headline, New Columnists

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By columnist Deanne aka: DeannePace
Photo courtesy of MichelleandHerDog

or - How to keep your Indie Smile on in between sales! 
Whether you are trying to sell your art for fun and a little extra income or as your sole means of support, you may experience periods of slow sales.  I know that I am and I’m hearing the same thing from lots of artists – especially in the current less-than-ideal financial times.  But there are lots of things that you can do to stay motivated and keep your Indie Smile on while gathering kudos and good karma as well as some exposure for your artwork. I will be sharing some of the things I’ve done to keep myself motivated in this series of articles I like to call ”Kudos & Karma.”  If you’re at all like me, nice comments about your artwork are almost (I said “almost”) as important as money and they are truly necessary when sales and your motivation are running low.

I suppose I have been living under a rock for the last decade or so while everyone else has been getting “plugged in” to technology. What can I say? I spend most of my free time outdoors or reading (a real book with real paper!) Anyway, since opening my first Etsy store, I have discovered many online wonders.  The giveaway blog being one of them.  I know there are varying opinions of online giveaways, but if you do your research, you can have a super fun experience. I know I did!

I will have to admit that I had not yet learned of the wonder that is IndieSmiles when I participated in my first giveaway blog. But, we at IndieSmiles have fabulous giveaways, so please check them out if you are considering participating in a giveaway.

I discovered Audrey and her giveaway blog in the Etsy forums and decided to check it out.  She was offering to post artist profiles in her blog and I was interested in gaining more exposure for my shop.  I decided to participate in the giveaway blog in addition to having a profile posted about my shop. That way people would actually visit my shop as well as read about my work. She posted three large photos of my work within the profile as well as posting an Etsy mini in the blog for a month as free bonuses!  The giveaway ran for about two weeks.  During this time, my views were the highest they had been since opening my shop.  And the incredibly wonderful comments about my jewelry were definitely worth the price of the pair of earrings I gave away!  And, to top it off, the winner of the giveaway posted a photo of the earrings and a comment in her own blog!

I do advise doing some homework before jumping in to a giveaway.  Visit the blog for several days to see if the blog readers and your work are a good fit.

Participating in a giveaway blog will bring you tons of Kudos and Karma! And it just might bring you a future sale. And that would certainly help you keep your IndieSmile on!

Edited by Barbra aka AllAboutTheButtons

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Blind Ambition

April 26, 2010 :: Posted by - Connie :: Category - Artists helping others, Biz Advice - Get Noticed!, Headline

Reassuring Raven By Champignons On Folksy

Reassuring Raven By Champignons On Folksy

By contributing columnist Connie of KonnieKapow

A few years ago I read a thought provoking book called Blindness by Jose Saramego. It was made into a film in 2008 and I finally got round to watching it last night with Mr Kapow! In the film everyone apart from one person suddenly goes blind without explanation and there follows an exploration of the ‘true nature’ of man. I won’t spoil the film for you in case you haven’t seen it but it is both harrowing and uplifting. There are some characters who take advantage of the chaos for their own gain and others who form a strong group or community and it is them who ultimately triumph through helping each other and companionship.

It struck me this morning when I woke up (after having terrible dreams about waking up blind!) that a good comparison can be made with positive elements of the online crafting community.

First of all, we are all in a way blind. By that I mean we quite literally cannot see one another. We are all names and avatars on a computer screen and the avatars are representations of our craft and not our selves. I have 230 followers on twitter with whom I regularly exchange quips and musings however you only really learn minute details about other crafters’ lives. We don’t know each other’s names, we don’t know if someone’s an old school or new wave crafter (i.e. how old they are or how long they’ve been doing what they do) and we don’t know things that unfortunately can lead to preconceptions in the ‘real world’ such as gender, creed, ethnicity, sexuality; we’ve never seen each other, heck we don’t really know where everyone is from! When it really comes down to it we know nothing about one another apart from the fact that we share a common interest – crafting!

And yet the sense of community I feel is incredibly strong! I’m relatively new to crafting, since I was a child I made my own stationery and had an obsession with stickers and silly drawings but I’d never really had the confidence to show anyone my ‘work’ other than a couple of close friends who were the recipients of some bizarre mailings (snail mail obviously!). Then last year I went through a rough patch and had to take some time off work suffering from anxiety. Always a fidget I was unable to concentrate on knitting (my first crafting love) or reading and I was too overly sensitive to watch my favourite TV programmes (mostly crime drama) but simply had to do something so I started messing around with the leftover card blanks I had from our wedding stationery. Friends liked my slightly erratic artwork and laughed nervously at some of the ‘themes’ but for the most part the cards I made were really well received and before I knew it I was hooked!

I never dreamed I would open up an online shop and that people would actually buy from it but I did a Google search for ‘something like Etsy except for the UK’ and came up with Folksy.

It was from the Folksy forums that I learned the importance of having a decent bio, a good shop banner (I’m still working on that one!), blogging and promoting my work on social networking sites such as twitter and facebook.

It’s amazing how much you can learn once you’re up and running on twitter for example. When I first set up my account it felt very much like talking to myself except on a computer! I was intimidated by the thought of saying something which wasn’t aimed at anyone in particular and trying to make it funny or interesting… it seemed somewhat self indulgent… however once I had myself a few followers and worked up the confidence to interact I was away! You learn about really cool stuff on twitter like giveaways and it’s also a place where crafters promote each other in addition to themselves. The first time I realised that someone I didn’t know had retweeted something I had written I was stunned but it was so exciting!

The community on twitter is amazing and fiercely loyal, I happened to have a day off my full time job working for a mental health charity when Hidden Eloise Vs Paperchase started to kick off. In case you missed it independent designer Hidden Eloise accused Paperchase of ripping off one of her drawings and her evidence was really very compelling. There had been other stories circulating prior to this about independent designers having their work ‘stolen’ by larger companies and being helpless to stop it and the next thing it just, how do they say….went viral! It seemed that everyone on twitter and beyond stood up and shouted “Oh no you don’t!” and Paperchase literally crumbled under the pressure. Before you could say “they didn’t, did they?” the items in question were removed from sale and there were twitter high fives all over the planet!

Another shining example of the crafting community is the Folksy Friday blog posts which are growing in popularity every week. Folksy sellers pick a theme (mine was punk this week after the death of Malcolm McLaren) and choose work by other sellers to showcase. I particularly love this trend as it is pure unadulterated admiration for other people’s work rather than self promotion. In particular, there’s something so satisfying about featuring a shop with no sales as we’ve all been there and the feeling of your first sale is one to be cherished. I first became aware of Folksy Friday when one of my valentine’s cards was featured by fellow craft blogger Crafty Jemima and it really made my day! I do my best to do a feature every Friday now in the hope that I can bring that feeling of pride to someone else! I recently set up a Folksy Friday facebook group where anyone can post a link to their posts and even if they haven’t done one find plenty of reading! It’s also not uncommon for fellow crafters to purchase other crafters work too, particularly as a result of a forum thread or Folksy Friday!

Yet another inspiring element of online crafting is the ‘how to’ blog posts written by the more experienced crafters to help newbies (or oldies who just didn’t know!) get on their way. Sites like Indie Smiles provide endless and indispensible help and advice on topics such as blogging, SEO, social networking promotion; shop design… the list goes on! Through Folksy I discovered online magazine UK Handmade which has a really helpful ning (a bit like facebook) community and Craftblog UK which promotes crafty UK bloggers and provides endless tips for blogging success!

My Folksy shop has improved markedly since I opened it in September 2009 and without the help and support of a whole host of complete strangers I seriously doubt I would have had anything near my current total of 58 sales! It’s life affirming isn’t it?!

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Indie Mascot Kitty Katie

February 25, 2010 :: Posted by - Linda :: Category - Headline, Indiesmiles news, LindaGJ, blogs and their owners

katie indie title 2

LindaGJ aka LindaGJ

Hi everyone, Katie here.
Yes, I became an IndieKitty awhile back when Linda GJ wrote an article about Cat Blogs. Well, since I have my very own blog : http://glogirly.blogspot.com/ I have been elected with becoming the new Mascot for Indiesmiles, which I am not at all surprised, since I am well known for my sharp tongue and sarcastic wit. A floofy, sweet lap cat, I am not. I am so right for this job because I soooo… fit the meaning of Indie.
‘INDIE’
The Urban Dictionary defines Indie as “Cooler than Emo.” Now I don’t know who this Emo guy is, but I’m going to assume he’s very cool. The Urban Dictionary goes on to note that Indie is an informal version of Independent. Here’s where it gets even cooler: Indie has come to symbolize originality and forward-thinking.
So as an Indie Kitty, I am an independent, original, forward-thinking, cooler than emo CAT. Now how cooler than emo is THAT!!
Just call me Indie’s Mascot Kitty Katie.
You all also will have to go visit my blog which is all about me.
Here is the movie I was featured in with the article that 1st introduced me here on Indiesmiles. I am the star and it all about me… naturally!

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Going! Going! Gone!

February 19, 2010 :: Posted by - Barbra :: Category - Biz Advice - Get Noticed!, Headline, Jewels of Saraswati, how to

indiegiveaway

Contributing Columnist Lauren aka “>Jewels Of Saraswati

I love the excitement of running a giveaway each month for my shop! If you are new to giveaways, but always wanted to have one, here are a few basic tips to get the wheels turning…..

First, what kind of giveaway do you want to have? Will it be through your blog, your Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter? There are so many ways to do it! Although it is not imperative that you use social media, these are by far the easiest and the most successful platforms. If people are following and interacting with you already, they will surely want to be a part of your giveaway!

Choose an item (or two!) you think many people would enjoy receiving and spend time on creating quality photos of it.

Some ideas if you want to work through your blog:

  • Your blog is a great place to make your official announcement, reveal your start/end date and explain the rules to participate.
  • You will need to decide how they will participate. One suggestion would be to have them follow your blog to enter, or leave a comment on the post. A really fun interactive way to do it is to have a theme. For example, say you are having a Valentines Day giveaway. Have participants tell you how they fell in love with their significant other in their comment to enter. This way your followers get involved and enjoy being part of the process!
  • Don’t forget to post numerous lovely photos of the giveaway item and explain what makes it so special!  If you can make more than one of the same item, post one for sale in your shop as well, and offer a discount during the giveaway period.
  • Don’t have a blog of your own? Head to the forums and search for a blog looking to sponsor a giveaway. There are two that come to mind, one is Christie Cottage who does a “Win it Wednesday” and the other is Etsy it up! They sponsor it, promote it etc. and you are responsible for mailing the item. You can even post a thread in the forum saying you are looking for a blog that will do this. It is great promotion for both parties!

Some ideas if you want to do a giveaway on your Facebook page:

  •  You can ask your fans to post something on your wall to enter. It can be their favorite item from your shop, their favorite color, a story, just about anything. There is room to get quite creative!
  • Another idea that works well is simply tell all of your Facebook (or blog) followers that they are automatically entered if they are following you. It is a great way to show your appreciation for their support and no one has to do a thing! 

Other ideas/tips:

  • You can also run a giveaway from your Twitter account by asking followers to RT your giveaway, or on your website if you have one.
  • To be fair, use a random number generator to choose your winner or have a friend/family member pick the winners name from a hat.
  •  Remind participants to leave a way for you to contact them if they win.
  • Once you have winner, contact and congratulate them and don’t forget to ask for their mailing address. Assure them their info will not be used for any other purpose.
  • Have a deadline for them to respond if they do win.
  • Include a discount code with the giveaway item. They may want to share with friends or be encouraged to visit your shop and make a purchase!

Once you have it all figured out, promote it. 

Ways to Promote:

  • Use high traffic sites like Indie Smiles where you can post your giveaway and your link! (http://www.indiesmiles.com/happy-giveaways/)
  • If you are on Etsy, get into the forums! If you are in Artfire, Folksy or another online venue do the same! Have others share their giveaways too.
  • Blog about it. 
  • Tweet about it.
  • Post details on your Facebook fanpage
  • Mention it in your newsletter/mailing list if you have one.

Have fun and enjoy the ride! You will be surprised at how excited your fans will get when they have a chance at winning a free item from your shop!

Pendant photo courtesy of MDStudio.

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Cynthia’s Favs!

December 29, 2009 :: Posted by - Sue :: Category - Favs, Headline

whimsycoutureBy Contributing Columnist, Cynthia Nodland aka Puddin Pies.

As a novice clothing seamstress, I was looking online to find some cute but not-too-hard patterns that I could figure out without getting frustrated! I tried a few different ones that were either too involved or not very well done. Then while looking around Etsy one day, I found “Whimsy Couture”—and BINGO!!!

Online business owner Denise offers simple patterns in many sizes to fit your little one, your home, or yourself! And not just one or two—in all, as of today’s count, she has patterns for over 30 different items, including dresses, pants, pillows, bags, tops, and more! If you are familiar with quilting (as I was when I began), these patterns are right up your alley—Denise gives you the measurements and all sizes can easily be cut with a rotary blade and cutting mat! The prices are low and sales are offered on a regular basis.

Best of all, while many pattern makers do not allow you to sell items made from their patterns, or will only allow you to sell a few, Whimsy Couture has no limit!

I also appreciate the shop owner’s dedication to helping out other sellers in the Etsy family. Denise offers advertising on her blog, www.whimsycoutureboutique.blogspot.com, as well as giveaways and featured shops. You can also purchase a “Success Kit” to help you get the most out of your Etsy store.

To see more of this fun shop, visit Whimsy Couture.

Happy Sewing!!!

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Blogs and Kitties

December 22, 2009 :: Posted by - Sue :: Category - blogs and their owners

By Contributing Columnist LindaGJ aka LindaGJ

peanut ornamentMy shop on Etsy, portrays a lot of my cat Peanut, who passed away 2 yrs. ago after having her for 20 years since she was just barely born. I keep her alive in my art work and look forward to meeting her again someday when it’s my time. She was my muse and inspired me so much as she was such a cartoon kitty! Oh how I adored and loved that little creature so much!

And now I have a darling white cat named Kenzie, and although I have included Kenzie & Peanut in some of my Blog’s posts, it is not a Cat Blog. My blog is about my art work mainly, but of other artist’s art work and many other subjects.

If yall are cat lovers and have not seen the “Cat Bloggers World” you are missing out! Once I started my blog, I began to meet and follow some Cat Blogs. I adore cats, as well as all animals, but I found the cat blogs because a customer of mine started following me.

It’s amazing how these proud owners have put into words their take on their fur babies, with captions, stories, pictures, charities and more. And rightly so! These little creatures are so cute and hysterical!

I have had such pleasure scanning through these special blogs and know that you will enjoy the 3 cat blogs that I have decided to showcase in this article.

I have fallen deeply in love with each one of the cats that are displayed and want to take them home with me!!! I wonder what my cat, Kenzie, that I have now, would think about that? make you fall in love with their unique felines, and they all support varous Animal charities as well as my many online friends if their cat is sick or has passed away.

And I am included in taking action even though I don’t have a cat blog. I support the sick kitties and also the kitties that have passed away, by words of encouragement. I do give alot of the money I make with the selling of my art work & some of the cat bloggers do too!

Well! Let me get to the point! I just had to share these cats willing to be in this article so yall can take a look at a part of this adorable world.

Some of the Cats have their own blogs as well and they talk in their own words!

Peggy’s Place
A House with 6 Cats!

Featuring: Jeannie, Babe, Summer, Romeo, Isis, & Bob
Modeling Peggy’s Blankets: My cat, Kenzie
One of these blogs is Peggy’s Place

She also makes furry blankets and all the money goes to animal charities. I have purchased 2 blankets for myself and also bought one for my friend in South Carolina that has 2 kitties of her own and one of them is leash trained!

If you go to Peggy’s Place you will see a link to where you can purchase her blankets or go here for Blankies for Kitties:

Peggy is like the Pied Piper when a kitty needs donations to get well or taken care of. She will post it on her blog and then others follow with donations as you will see if you visit her blog!

Even Peggy’s Chistmas gifts will be donations for many charities under her friend’s names! Wow what a generous and special woman she is! And all of her rescued kitties are fabulous!

This video is an introduction to the 6 cats Peggy owns now, so when you go to her blog you will know her cats and their backgrounds and feel at home there. I also have included my own white cat, Kenzie, as a model, to show off some of Peggy’s blankets!

Peggy wrote most of the words in this video and of course took all the pictures I chose to use. I added my own words in some places and edited. Peggy has chosen “People are Strange by The Doors” song to portray her cats and since it’s a longish video you will hear the song replayed almost 3 times, which really makes this slideshow fun!

It’s a perfect song for a
Purrrrrrfectly Beautiful Cat Family

　

Blog segment #2

Glogirly (aka) Debbie, is the Girl (Owner) of Katie (the Cat)

Actually Katie (the Cat) writes in her own words and from her perspective. She has become known for her sharp tongue & sarcastic wit. A floofy, sweet lap cat, she is not.
Read more and view the fantastic slideshow
Tails of a cat girl

blog segment #3

The House of Cats

Amy started this blog about her cats when she got an abandoned kitten named Virgil in August of 2008. She found him at her vet’s office! She just started the blog to watch Virgil grow.
Read more and view the fantastic slideshow:
House of cats

With all 3 videos that are included here:
If you aren’t able to read the words fast enough in the slideshow, just place your mouse on the photo that is showing and it will freeze until you take your mouse off it. Also if you don’t want to hear the music, turn your speakers down or off. You can also enlarge the slideshow if you desire.


A Word from the publisher

I adore animals and especially cats so these bloggers are very close to home in regards to my heart. As a member of EFA (Etsy for Animals) I must say that you cannot help but love what artisans do for animals. Whether it’s taking in a stray and giving them a home or donating money to charities. Whatever the case, Indiesmiles wants to say thank you to all of you that make a difference in the lives of animals. I also want to say that Indiesmiles will be purchasing a blanket from Peggy’s Place. Enjoy all the fun slideshows from LindaGJ she really worked hard on these! Thanks for being there everyone!

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Get Featured on Blogs

January 12, 2009 :: Posted by - Sue :: Category - Biz Advice - Get Noticed!

freeA great way to boost exposure to your store is to get your store featured on blogs.

Many blog authors offer this for free. Take a look at these bloggers:

 

 

 

  • The Cutest Shops Online is run by http://www.itsybitsybracelets.com. She would love to feature earth friendly or recycled products, items with proceeds going to charities or anything that is just plan unique and fun. Really anything goes as long as it’s family friendly! You can contact her by leaving a comment here or posting a comment on her blog. You can also contact her at Artfire and Etsy. No traditional “Blog Giveaway” please.

 

  • If you are an artfire member, get featured on libertydoll’s blog by posting in this forum. You will be added to both libertydoll’s blog and kaboodle in the order the posts were received. Once you have been added, she will contact you through artfire!

 

 

 

  • Smokey Mountain Scents has a blog where she features artists as well. You can also offer to sponsor a give-a-way and send the item directly to the winner. You can contact her on etsy or email her at smokeymountainscents-at-charter-dot-net.

 

  • Avie Designs maintains a blog and features artists. You can contact her on etsy or by email at avie.designs [!at] gmail.com. She typically asks you to provide her with the following information:
    •  Tell us about yourself? Name, age, where you live, do you have a spouse, kids, pets, education/training.
    • What do you make?
    • What inspires you & what is your creative process?
    • Where is your studio and how has it evolved? what is your plan for it in the future?
    • What tools & equipment do you use?
    • What else do you do? Is this your full time gig?
    • What do you hope to get out of this, what are your goals?
    • How do you promote yourself?
    • Any tips for fellow crafters/artists?

 

  • TimothyAdamDesigns hosts bluefuse, which handmade features items for men. View here for submission details.

 

  • Get your store / items added to Buried Treasure by following the submission guidelines here. 

 

  • absolutelydelishlinkbutton3Littlewhims has a blog at Absolutely Delish indie shopping finds and design in general. Leave her your information in the We Love Etsy forum thread here and you may just be included in her blog. 

 

I’ll be adding more blogs to this list as I find them so check back often!

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