This Much I Know - Websites

Hello,

This week's 'This Much I Know' shares the main things I have learnt about websites.

When I started my little business, this was an area of complete mystery that I threw myself at as I believed that if my strategy was to mainly market my business online, it was vital that I knew how to build and manage my very own home on the web...

This Much I Know About Websites...

1. Websites cost a lot.  Whether it's lots of your money or lots of your time if you opt to D.I.Y - websites take lots of it.  Know this, accept this and factor this into your plans.
2. It's very important to have your own home on the internet which is independent of social media sites.  That is a very sensible thing to do.  Social media sites are unreliable - all it takes is for one to change their rules and that could truly scupper your business if you have relied too heavily on them and not built your marketing efforts on your own foundations (i.e. your own website or blog).
3. Setting up a website is not really as scary as it may seem at first.  It can be done very simply using a blogging site or an easy to learn and use website host site to take the pain away.  Here's a little list of some great sites to help you: blogger, wordpress, tumblr, weebly, create, bigcartel, shopify.  The list goes on and on - I've just jotted down some of the popular ones I'm familiar with.
4. Your website is your shop window - use it to say what you want the world to know.  Keep it up to date and relevant and use it to help gather opt in subscribers to an email list.  It's important to gather your own customer database to ensure you have a way of reaching your customer base that is not reliant on anyone else.  I use mailchimp for my email list and can completely recommend them as you are able to download your list at anytime. Good website host sites (such as the ones I listed in point 3 above) will give you lots of support and information to help you get the most out of your website and help you navigate the world of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) to gain traffic to your site.
5. If you want to hire someone to set up your website for you -it's important to take your time to find the right person.  Ask around, especially from people you know with websites you admire. It's important to find someone you can trust, who shares your vision for your site and that you feel you can work with in the long term.  Working with the right person will make the whole process a pleasure rather than a pain!

I hope you found this weeks 5 things I've learnt helpful. 

Next week I am hoping to share a few things I know about Print On Demand sites.

Have a lovely day!

 

This Much I Know - Selling Online

Hello,

This week's this much I know is all about selling online.

I first dipped my toe into the world of selling my makes online at the end of 2010 when I launched my Folksy shop and website, followed later the following year with an Etsy shop.  It has taken a while to get to grips with it all.  To be completely honest it's been a steep learning curve and one which I am still on, discovering something new everyday.

Here are five of the main things I have learnt along the way, I hope they may help others on the same online selling journey...

This Much I Know About Selling Online....

1. It all starts with a great, unique, lovely, desirable product - if you focus on getting that bit right you are more than half way there
2. Good photography is essential.  It really is make or break.  The photos need to make up for the fact the customer can not pick the item up and get a good look at it, feel it, form an attachment to it.  Good clear photos, in a variety of angles, some with and without a little styling, to help put the product in context, will always increase your chances.
3. Get the price right - The price needs to be fair to the customer and you.  If it's too cheap, not only will you ultimately lose out, you may turn customers off as they will be worried about the quality.  If it's too expensive you may turn people off, or disappoint and risk not getting return custom.  A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post on pricing, here's a link to help:  http://artworkbyangie.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/this-much-i-know-about-pricing.html
4. Keep your online shops well stocked and looking good.  If you can't keep it stocked, put it in holiday mode with a clear message in the header.  In that message give a clear indication as to why you have no stock (you may have a craft fair or a wholesale order) and when you'll next have stock online or where else they can find you online.  This all seems very simple and obvious, but it's surprising how many shops get left to tumble weed.  You never know who is looking at your shop, you could miss a golden opportunity!
5. Social Media Works - tell everyone on all the social media sites and be consistent about it.  The shops that do best are the ones that cleverly use social media and create a strong brand to build a following and make it easy for people to find them and fall in love with their products.  For more tips on building a brand, here's a link to last week's post about branding: http://artworkbyangie.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/this-much-i-know-branding.html and for more tips on social media, I did a post a while ago which goes into detail about each of the main social media sites, here's a link to that too: http://artworkbyangie.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/social-media-this-much-i-know.html

 I hope you found those five quick tips useful. Next week I'll be sharing a few things I know about websites.

Have a lovely day!

This Much I Know - Branding

Hello,

This week's 'This Much I Know' is all about branding.  Each week, with these knowledge sharing posts I stress that I am no expert and that these are things I have learnt over the five years I have been running my business.  However, branding is a subject that I have a good deal of experience in as I'm a Graphic Design graduate with over 12 years experience of working in the advertising industry working with brands at every scale from one man bands to multi-nationals.

Since I went freelance, I have developed branding for MANY small creative businesses and artists.  The one thing that has struck me most over that time is the varying understanding people have about what a brand is.  Which is why, today, rather than share 5 things I have learnt in the 5 years since I began my business, I'll share 5 key things I know about branding that may help others gain a clearer idea of exactly what it is and how to make it work hard for them and their business.

This Much I Know About Branding...

1. Branding is not just a logo.  It is an ethos, a vision, a mission and a set of values.  It is basically the way you communicate all of that with your desired target market.  Put simply, it is the way you tell the world about what it is you do and want to achieve.  The logo is a part of that communication - an icon to embody it all.  Branding is more than that though, it's the language you use, the images you choose to represent you, where you choose to be seen,  how you package your products, how you handle an order or deal with a complaint etc...With artists, the brand is generally you!
2. The key to it all is to simply understand what you makes you unique.  What are your values? your vision? what are you aiming for? where do you want to be in the short and long term. How would other's describe you? How should it all look? If you were a colour what would you be? why?  When you establish the answers to these sorts of questions you'll have the language for your brand.
3. Have fun finding out the answers to these questions. Create mood boards, collect imagery, make it visual and enjoy the whole process of finding out.  It will be time very well spent as without knowing those answers you will struggle to create a cohesive brand or brief a designer to develop branding that works for you. 
4. Consistency is vital as it makes it easy for others to understand your brand and identify with you.  When you're consistent it makes it very quick for people to buy into your brand, and once they have bought into you, it is very reassuring to see consistent branding as people feel they know you. It's fine to dramatically change your branding if you need to re-position yourself to attract a new or different market...but be aware that you could lose loyal customers that don't share your new vision and no longer identify with you.
5. Be clear on where you want to be in 3-5 years with your business and ensure that vision is reflected in your branding.  Investing in well branded materials can be costly over time. Chopping and changing your branding is not only confusing and off putting for customers it can leave you sitting on wasted stocks of business cards, stickers, packaging etc. which is no good for the bottom line of your business either.  Basically, it all stems from clearly understanding what your brand is about. 

I hope you found this week's 5 tips helpful.  Next week I plan to share some things I've learnt about selling online.

Until then, have a lovely day!

Best wishes

This Much I Know About - Pricing...

Hello,

This week's 'This Much I Know' tackles the tricky, prickly issue of pricing. 

I say this every week, I am no expert...and I must confess, for me this has been one of the hardest areas of the business to get to grips with.  I know from conversations with friends who also run creative businesses that I am not alone in feeling that way.

Finding a good formula for pricing and valuing my work has really helped get things off the ground for me. I want to share a bit of what I've learnt about that so that it may help other's who find themselves in a similar situation.

This Much I Know About - Pricing... 

1. Work out what YOU NEED and what TIME YOU HAVE to achieve it realistically so that you can calculate your ideal hourly rate. As your business grows and takes on greater overheads or if you find you have less time to work on things - your hourly rate may need to alter. There are plenty of hourly rate and pricing formulas that you can download to help you work it all out and ensure that you have your pricing level set where you need it. What you need will certainly differ from the next person.  The Etsy seller handbook is a great resource, as is Folksy's Seller Blog.  When it came to calculating my hourly rate I found Chapter 5 of Meg Mateo and Joy Cho's book Creative Inc has a fantastic formula which is extremely thorough and helps you work it all out without kidding yourself. I found it a great checklist to ensure you cover every cost at whatever stage you are in business.
2. Value yourself, your time and factor in wholesale/gallery prices, whether you intend to sell wholesale/through galleries or not. That's the fair market value for your work and helps avoid excluding future opportunities just because your margins are far too narrow.  
3. Pricing formulas are great, here are links to a couple of decent ones: Etsy Blog  Folksy Blog
4. Be mindful of the sweet spot between market value (i.e. what the competition is charging/what the customer is prepared to pay) and your ideal price.  Try not to fall into the trap of comparing with mass market when you are limited edition or one of a kind.  Always look for fair comparisons to gauge your true market value.  An under priced limited edition/ one of a kind can put off potential buyers as it raises suspicions about quality - just as easily as an over priced item turns buyers off.
5. If there's not enough profit in it once you've calculated your price, then it's not worth pursuing - either modify it to make the margins work or move on. Under pricing can cost you dearly in the long run as you'll be running to stand still with your business and you'll be contributing to the race to the bottom with other creative businesses - which is just not fair on anyone, let alone yourself!

I hope you found today's 5 things very useful.  The good stuff is in following the links to those pricing formulas and sitting down and working it all out - it will be time extremely well spent.

If you have any useful tips on pricing, your comments below would be very welcome.

You may also enjoy catching up on these posts from the past two weeks:

Staying Inspired and Being Creative:
http://artworkbyangie.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/this-much-i-know-staying-inspired-being.html

Growing a Creative Business to Serve YOU!:
http://artworkbyangie.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/this-much-i-know-growing-business-to.html

Next week I will be sharing a few tips on branding.  

Until then, have a lovely day!

This Much I Know - Growing A Business to Serve You!...

Hello,

This time last week I gave you 5 'This Much I Know' tips on Staying Inspired and Being Creative.  This week I tackle the issue of growing a small creative business at the same time ensuring that, that business serves you. By which I mean - gives you what you need not only financially, but also in terms of work life balance and creative/ personal fulfillment.  

Sometimes we have a romantic idea of what it may be like to do a certain thing, e.g. be an artist, run a shop or gallery, be a freelance designer, run a wholesale business.  With each business and aspect of that business there are things that simply have to be done/ go with the territory.  Sometimes you may relish those things, sometimes you may find those things are just not for you.  

How do you work out a business plan that ensures you have the balance right for you and grow it to what YOU need?  

I'm not an expert and I'm not claiming that I have achieved my personal nirvana...but I have learnt a few things in the five years I have been running my business and I hope my next 5 tips will help you find an answer to that question, as they have for me.

This Much I Know About Growing A Business To Serve You...

1. Be clear on what it is that you love doing most of all. Make sure that, that main thing remains your main thing! (sorry for the tongue twister!).  What I am trying to say is, you're more likely to stay the distance if you're doing what you love most as that passion can help see you through the tricky things.  Try and visualize your perfect working day/week and keep that your focus and your aim.  The moment you no longer love what you do, is the moment you need to stop and do something else.
2. Set goals, dream big and then break it down into smaller sized actions with deadlines to help keep you moving forward.  Be open to change, find what feels good and don't be afraid to say NO if it's taking you away from what you need and want most of all.
3. Aim to build a support team. Where possible outsource and collaborate as many of the things that could be done better by others or that you simply don't enjoy. When you surround yourself with good people to work with, you'll soon find investments in others give you greater rewards than simply financial ones. When you are focused on what you do best and enjoy most - that is when you see things grow and progress.  A good example was my experience of investing in some professional, styled photography early on in my business.  Many of those images are still used in my marketing materials and I saw a marked improvement in online sales from both my Folksy and Etsy shops after investing in them.  Not to mention the boost in confidence it gave me to have a set of images I wanted to share with pride.  Though my photography skills have improved over the years and I sometimes enjoy having a little play with my camera - I still much prefer drawing and designing, so it was great to know that I could do what I love best whilst someone else was providing me with what I need and doing what they love best at the same time too!
4. Be open minded but do your homework.  Sometimes great opportunities present themselves in very unexpected ways...and sometimes things you thought would be ideal turn out to be quite the opposite!  Basically do your homework before making decisions, fully know what you're signing up to.
5. Just do it! There is a lovely quote that goes "An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied" - so take that chance, you never know where it will lead. 
   

I would love to hear any tips you may have for growing a business and maintaining the balance, please feel free to share them in the comments below.

Next week, my post will cover the tricky topic of pricing. If you missed last week, I covered the subject of Staying Inspired & Being Creative and you can catch up on that here:

Have a lovely day

This Much I Know - Staying Inspired & Being Creative...

Hello,

Today I am starting a new mid week blog series - 'This Much I Know'

Looking through my blog post history I can see that some of my most popular posts have been when I shared a bit of my experience and a bit of what I know and have learnt.  Those posts were mainly on the subject of social media, but there are so many aspects of running a small creative business, that I thought it would be a nice idea to share a quick list of 5 key tips based on what I've learnt along the way about other aspects of being a small business owner.

I don't claim to be an expert, but I have been doing this for my job for the past five years and in order to have kept going for that time, there are lessons I needed to learn and things I needed to know.
I hope that by sharing these tips you'll find them useful, positive and inspiring!

This week...

This Much I Know About Staying Inspired and Being Creative...

1. Creativity is a gift that needs to be nurtured and cared for, much like a small child! (or an inner child if you like!).  When you take good care of yourself by eating well, getting plenty of fresh air, exercise, rest and spend precious time with people who make you happy, doing as much as you can to enjoy simply 'being' - then you'll often find that being inspired and creative comes to you naturally.  When any of the above is out of whack, that's when the struggle creeps in.  I have learnt the hard way that it's best to be kind to yourself.
2. Be a sponge to the world. Enthusiastically embrace the world around you. Gather experiences, travel, meet new people, look around you, notice the details in everything, listen to every sound and people watch (but don't let them catch you doing it!)...use all your senses as much as possible and read, read, read.  The more you absorb, the more resources you'll have to draw on in your creative work and the richer and more unique your work will be.
3. When you feel the cloud of 'comparison' cast a shadow of doubt over you, that's your cue to go and grab some fresh air for a bit.  Go for a walk, listen to the birds and look up at the big sky to help you gain some perspective on everything... and then breathe, deeply! I like looking up at the sky, it makes me see things for what they are. This is your life, your journey and your chance to make of it what you want. Keep going, one step at a time and the clouds will clear.  If you're doing the thing you love most then that is exactly what you should be doing.
4. Surround yourself with things that make you smile and create a working environment you are happy to be in.  It's hard to remain motivated if you are finding excuses not to show up let alone stick around!
5. Most importantly of all, create stuff!  Any stuff...scribble, doodle, write notes.  Even if it's the craziest, spur of the moment idea, get it down, make a record of it in some way -  a sketch, a note, a cutting, a swatch.  These could all be the very things that get you going again when feel a creative dip.  The more you create the easier creativity and inspiration is to come by. Like everything else, it all boils down to practice, practice, practice.

As I said before, I hope you found those five helpful.  I would love to hear any tips you may have for staying creative and inspired, please feel free to share them in the comments below.

Next Wednesday, I plan to share with you 5 things I know about growing a business that serves you -  by which I mean, a business that gives you what you need, not just financially, but in terms of work life balance and creative/ personal fulfillment

Have a lovely day!