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[hjc1305]

Hi
I am new to Crafter...oooo and thought I would stop by and say hello and try and get some advice off you all.  I have been making jewellery for about a year and as a full time mum thought I would try and turn my passion into a business.  I have created a website and just wanted other peoples advice about my jewellery, prices, photos and overal website design.  I have been looking at it so much I can't see the wood for the trees now and need some outside input.  Any advice, good or bad, would be so greatfully appreciated!
I look forward to having a good look around the crafteroo website and finding out about you all,
Many thanks
Heidi

[dichro-findings]

Hi Heidi . . welcome to the forum . . I've removed the link from your post because we have a 10 post rule here before you can post live links . . check out the Crafteroo Rules topic. I have added your web site to your signature . . cos thats allowed from the get go

[pennydog]

Really like what you've done with the site, the layout, the colour scheme, etc! The only thing I can see is that the quality of your photos varies wildly, one or two in the scroller at the top are out of focus or have a flash glare, and several of them are really stunning! I would recommend trying to improve on those that have had harsh flash and focusing issues and reupload those. Oh and also by law you have to give your registered business address when selling online, I put mine on the contact me page on my website. Gloria had a post recently that outlines what you must include on your site which might make useful reading It is here: http://www.crafteroo.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=6326.0 Good luck!

[dichro-findings]

Heidi . . I like the look and feel of the site . . but . . don't know whether this is a temporary issue or not . . the site is really really slow to load . . I think it's the flash scroller at the top . . they do take up a huge amount of memory when loading sites

The other thing is that I'd do away with customers having to register before they buy . . lots of potential customers may be put off by this and you are limiting your customer base to those who are prepared to register . . you could always have an option of registering but not make it necessary to buy from you. If you do keep customer registration it is worth giving those customers something in return for registering . . like a discount or some other real benefit that they don't get by not registering.

I agree with PennyDog on the photo's issue . . because you are online you can't put the product in the customers hand for them to see closely and feel (and this is half the battle when selling stuff!) . . so you have to do this another way . . really good quality photo's and accurate informational descriptions about the product.

 . . and . . finally . . a question for you rather than a comment, which is meant to invoke a thought process for you . . How are you marketing, or planning to market, your web site? This is really important . . and requires a lot of thought on issue's like branding, advertising and communication with potential customers . . and sometimes requires quite a bit of financial input and commitment. The truth of it is . . you have to go find your customers . . most of them won't come find you . . and then when you've got em' on your web site you have to convert them into paying customers

There's probably a whole lot more . . but I reckon that's enough for starters . . I'm off to apply my advice to my own business

[hjc1305]

Thank you for your advice, it is really appreciated.

I am struggling a bit with the photo side of things.  Sometimes they turn out really well and other times I just can't seem to get it right.  I will definitely try and update the photos so they are clearer and there are more images of each piece. 

I will also add my address to my website so people can see where I am.

I will check with my website creator to see if it is essential for people to register.  It wasn't my idea just how my website came but I must admit I originally thought it is a bit of a pain for people who just want to stop and shop. 

Also thanks for your thought inspiring question about marketing my website etc.  Oh my goodness this is like learning another language.  I just want to make jewellery and for people to see it love it, and buy it.  Marketing definitely isn't one of my strong points, nor is confidence, so I need to work on both of these.  I am busy trying to get some links to my sites from other sites to try and get some traffic to my site but money is pretty slim as I am a full time mummy so I can't afford to pay for advertising at the moment.  Its so difficult starting up a business, having money for stock and advertising which is essential to have before you start bringing in the money. I have a few craft fairs set up for this year so hopefully people will see my jewellery and like it enough to part with some cash!  Fingers crossed!

Thanks for your advice and time, heidi 

[dichro-findings]

Marketing definitely isn't one of my strong points, nor is confidence, so I need to work on both of these.  I am busy trying to get some links to my sites from other sites to try and get some traffic to my site but money is pretty slim as I am a full time mummy so I can't afford to pay for advertising at the moment.  Its so difficult starting up a business, having money for stock and advertising which is essential to have before you start bringing in the money.

On the advertising side of things there are some basic things you can do which cost little or nothing other than a bit of time.

1. A business card and flyer . . or several  . . go out with every order - whether they are web generated or not!
2. Set up a Google Base account and upload your products to Google Base (was Froogle) so that they are searchable online.
3. Make sure that you have set up your meta keywords and descrition phrases on your web site properly so that search engines can find you.
4. Tell Google that you have a web site by creating a Google Site Maps account and regularly "Ping" Google to tell them that your site has been updated so they can crawl the site.
5. As with 4 above . . but for Yahoo and for MSN!
6. Create a business blog and keep it updated regularly with new products news etc.
7. Set up a Google Analytics account for the web site and regularly monitor traffic to the site and adjust your site depending on results.
8. Set up a business Twitter and Facebook account and regularly update
9. Design new pieces and tutorials to go with them and submit to ALL the jewellery making and crafts mags regularly.
10. Submit your web site details to some of the online business directories.

Hope this helps . . though it can take a month of Sundays to get all this set up . . but once it is set up it becomes a regular routine to keep on top of and takes very little time at all

[pennydog]

Good luck!

[hjc1305]

Thank you once again for all your information, that is brilliant and will be so useful!  I will go through and do each of these things but as you say it is all a bit time consuming, especially with a two year old!  hee!! hee!!

Thanks very much
Heidi