15 Minute Craft Website Tips  

Last week I discussed a number of different ways that Twitter can help you promote your art or craft business. This week, I'll talk about 5 easy ways to increase your followers.

Everyone has heard of Twitter. Perhaps you're already on Twitter. But did you know that Twitter is also a great business tool for your site? In this episode, I'll show you 5 ways how.

1. Use Twitter to get potential customers
• Be focused in your goals
• Make yourself interesting
• Interact with your followers

2. Use Twitter to get people to visit your website
• Link to your website in your profile
• Tweet about sales, promotions, new products, and news
• Balance your promotional tweets with personal and informational tweets

3. Use Twitter to gather information
• Follow people in the industry
• Ask your followers questions
• Survey your followers

4. Use Twitter to promote an event or cause
• Create a Twitter account for your event
• Encourage participants and attendees to tweet about it
• Create a hashtag to make your event searchable on Twitter search (#name of your event here)

5. Use Twitter as a customer service tool
• Encourage customers to follow you on Twitter
• Encourage your customers to direct message you
• Use Twitter as an emergency contact method

Want more information on how you can use Twitter? I have a FREE PDF Guide on the basics of Twitter, Twitter etiquette, how to get followers, and Twitter tools. Plus, there are some great video tips on how to effectively use Twitter...all for FREE. Get your guide here.

Are sales slow on your online store? Do they exist at all? In this episode, I discuss 7 reasons why your sales on your web store aren't what they could be.

1. Your website design stinks
• Navigation is too confusing
• Site looks "too handmade"
• There are few "buy" indicators

2. Your website copy stinks
• There's little or no product information (size, weight, materials, etc)
• Your copy doesn't give reasons to buy
• Your copy doesn't ask for the sale

3. Your products section stinks
• Product images are bad (fuzzy, improperly lit, not presented well)
• You don't offer a variety of product images (no closeups, no "in use" shots)
• Your product line is incoherent (too many products, too many different products, or products trying to appeal to too many different markets)

4. Your sales process stinks
• You don't have a sales process
• You ask for the sale too soon
• You don't ask for the sale at all

5. Your web traffic stinks
• You don't get enough traffic
• You don't get the right type of traffic
• You don't know what to do with the traffic once you get it.

6. Your promotion and marketing stinks
• You don't actively promote or market your store
• You're promoting or marketing ineffectively
• You don't give people a clear reason to buy

7. Your customer service stinks
• You don't give your customers more than one way to contact you
• Your website don't put your customers at ease
• You don't offer "customer-friendly" services (gift wrapping, shipping options, etc)

This list is part of a seven-part article series on "7 Reasons Why Your Online Sales Stink" I'm doing in my weekly newsletter, "The Crafted Webmaster". If you want to get more information on these online sales killers and how you can avoid them and improve your website sales, sign up for my FREE weekly newsletter here.

What's THE most important thing that your website must do?

• Showcase your best art? Nope....
• Get ranked on Google? Nope....
• Sell your work? Definitely important...but nope.

What can possibly be more important than getting people to buy your work?

You must use your website to help build THE LIST

• People may not buy the first time they visit your website
• Once they leave, they probably won't come back...no matter how much they like your work.
• It's critical that you collect the names and email address of as many people that visit your website as possible so that you can contact them after they leave your website.

Don't use Outlook to manage your list

• Mail programs like Outlook or Apple Mail aren't built to manage an email list of any significant size. You'll simply waste your time, effort, and possibly lose subscribers.
• Don't scrimp on the expense of getting a list management service to help you maintain your mailing list. Most services start around $10 per month.

Make signing up easy

• Put your sign up on every single page of your website. You don't need to make people look if they want to join your mailing list. Make sure that your sign up is easy to spot and toward the top of the page.
• Don't ask for a ton of information. Just starting off with a name and email address is just fine. If you need more information, either get it from your subscribers after they get to know you or provide a really good reason why you need that information.
• Provide a privacy policy. Give people the reassurance that signing up for your list is not the gateway to spam.

Give incentives and benefits of joining

• People will join your list if you provide them with reasons why it's worth their while. They're not going to sign up to be nice. You have to give them some real value
• Give extra incentives. A newsletter isn't incentive enough. Provide coupons, advance information, free gifts...anything that your customers will find valuable.

Mention your list everywhere

• Place your sign up form on your blog if possible
• Add a link to your list in your email signature
• Tell everyone you have a list and ask them to join

If you've liked the tips you've read in these show notes and heard on show and want more information on how to shoot, edit, and post your video online, get a FREE copy of my article series "How to Plan and Start a Great Email Newsletter".

Video has hit the web in a really big way. Here are some tips that can help you harness the power of video for your website:

You don't need a long or complex video

Some of the best video for your site are short ones made with simple tools and simple editing. Don't think you need a big fancy camera, expensive editing software, or a production company to start your video. Just grab a simple video camera and some lights and start shooting!

Art + Video= Perfect Mix

The public loves to see artists and crafters in action. Give them what they want by making videos of:

• • You at work in your studio
• • A studio tour
• • A video artist statement

Videos are great for SEO

• • Getting people to hang around on your site to watch a 3 to 5 minute video does wonders for your search engine optimization
• • Video is hot. Among your visitors and search engines. A simple 3 minute video is perceived as higher quality content than a 1,000 page article on the same topic.

You can use video to help increase online sales

• • Use video to demonstrate how great your work is...why do you think they do it on QVC?
• • You can also use video for customer service issues. Show your customers how to care for their work or how to enjoy it better.

Distribute your video

• • Use the power of video sharing sites like YouTube, blip.tv, and Viddler to get the word out about your work.
• • Don't restrict yourself to one site, join and submit your video to as many as you can keep up with.
• • Include your website links in your profile and in your video. You've got to provide a way for people to contact you after they finish watching your video.

If you've liked the tips you've read in these show notes and heard on show and want more information on how to shoot, edit, and post your video online, get a FREE copy of my article series "How to Use Video to Promote Your Art Website".

Everyone has heard of Twitter. Perhaps you're already on Twitter. But did you know that Twitter is also a great business tool for your site? In this episode, I'll show you 5 ways how.