Friday, March 30, 2012

More Than a Pretty Picture


Ok your product photos are totally awesome after reading about how to make them awesome. Now how do you make your product speak to your buyer? It's not as hard as you may think. Besides the usual size, color, yadda yadda about your item, you should try and make a point to explain why your customer should buy it. This is most essential if you sell products that aren't necessary to daily life, such as jewelry or home decor for example. I'm not saying you should sound like some infomercial, but to list a few examples: you can state a few blurbs why you love it, why other customers love it, alternate uses for it, and /or what inspired you to make it to help you relate and connect with your buyer. Adding a little "meat" to your item descriptions also makes makes you appear more human. Obviously you are (you are, right?), but it proves you put a lot thought into your design and that there is a hardworking artisan behind the product so lovingly photographed in your shop. Plus, people like to hear a story!

This same idea should also apply to your "about me" page profile. With the handmade market, customers love to know the back story on the artisan and it's just as important as a good product description. Telling your story appeals to your potential customer and they will feel more connected to you and therefore more likely to buy from you! You can check out my Etsy profile for an example and here's a great blog from Etsy about writing a good back story. Make sure not to write a novel but some basics to mention in your profile would be:
  1. Why did you decide to open you shop?
  2. What inspires you?
  3. What do you do for a "day job" if you have one?
  4. What type/style of product do you mostly sell?
  5. Have you had schooling for your craft?
  6. Where can customers find you locally (local shops, craft shows, and so on)?
  7. You can also mention your blog, photo sharing profile, pintrest profile, etc
Sometimes it also helps me to think like a buyer when writing new product descriptions. That sounds obvious, I know, but sometimes it helps to take a step back and list a few reasons why you would purchase your own product. Did you use some kind of special material or technique? Does part of your profit go towards charity? Would those earrings you made look stunning in a little black dress? Does it appeal to a particular style or personality (goth, feminine, earthy, fantasy, etc)? These are all great things to mention about your product if they apply. Also, take a peek at any handmade items you have purchased online recently. Why did that item appeal to you vs other similar ones you could have purchased instead? I'm sure one factor was a good product photo, but look at the descriptions. Was it because they spoke to you?

As part of my recent shop renovations that never seem to end, I've been re-writing my descriptions to make them easier for customers to read. The was nothing really "wrong" with what I had before, it's just that the information was hard to find since people tend to skim descriptions rather than read. Breaking up the information puts all the important stuff in an easy to find place and is more visually appealing as well. Lets take a look at one example of my Chain and Flower Earrings

Chain and Flower Earrings
Description Before:
These exquisite little bell shaped flowers add a feminine touch to the lengths of copper and brass plated chain in these pretty chandelier earrings. I topped each of the Czech glass flowers with vintage style copper caps and then attached them along the length of copper chain in the middle. These pretty little treasures are approx 2” from the bottom of the brass plated fish hook ear wire and about a ½” wide. All parts of these earrings are nickel and lead free and the chain/findings are plated in either antique finish copper or brass. Earrings come with clear rubber flower shaped earring backs.

Description After:
The little bell shaped flowers add a feminine touch to the lengths of copper and brass plated chain in these urban chic earrings. I topped each of the Czech glass flowers with vintage style copper caps and then attached them along the length of copper chain in the middle. I love the urban meets vintage charm in these loveable earrings!
  • Measure 2” from bottom of hook and ½” wide approx.
  • Fish hook style earrings
  • Metal is copper or brass plated
  • Nickel/lead free
  • Come with clear silicon earring stoppers
Before, everything was in one big paragraph, making it hard to find information about the size and materials. I also didn't put too much thought into using good keywords for search engines to pick on, although there's actually several useable keywords in there. The first sentence or two are the most important for search engines since that's what is shown in the summary for the link's description and should be packed with keywords. I didn't actually change too much for the after version in terms of information. I kept most of my keywords in the first sentence such as bell shaped, flowers, feminine, copper, brass, earrings and I added urban chic since it describes the style. All those terms are something that a customer would possibly search for and also accurately describe the earrings. the big change lies in the bullet-ed items. I picked the important facts from the original description and made them easy to find when skimming the text.  For Google relevancy, make sure your keywords in the first sentence match the keywords in your title.  For Etsy relevancy, make sure your keywords in your title also match some of the keywords in your tags. 

See, a little info goes a long way. In the three quick sentences I wrote before the bullets, the customer can see that the earrings are: feminine with an urban touch, vintage style, they have bell shaped glass flowers (in the actual listing I also have the three color options under the bullets and listed in the title), they're loveable, and they have dangling chains. That's much more interesting than just stating general facts about the item!


I'm hoping this has been helpful to you as it has been for me! I'm always learning new things to help my shop get more traffic and sales!  Here's an Etsy post on writing descriptions and here's another great reference from Handmadeology on how to freshen up your shop and get found!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Treasury Thursday

Many thanks to everyone who included me in their lovely treasuries this week!


Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Make Your Product Photos AWESOME!


Ok, a customer is searching for that perfect gift and your item is one of the many items their search query found.  Now how do you get them to actually click on YOUR listing instead of so and so's who sells something similar?  With an awesome photo of course!  Now, I may be an artist and have a degree and all that jazz but I am not a professional photographer, I don't even know how to use Photoshop (gasp!).  The good news is that you really don't need to either, you don't even need a $600+ fancy pantsy camera.  A simple point and shoot digital camera with 7MP or more will do just fine.  I am partial to Canon cameras and they're pretty inexpensive, packed with cool features and super trustworthy.  I have a Canon PowerShot SX100IS with 8.1MP and it cost me about $200 several years ago, the newest model is of course better and is pretty close to the same price I paid. Enough about that though, first make sure to dust off your camera's manual and brush up on what all those buttons actually do, it's always easier when you're completely comfortable with your equipment.

Now that you and your camera are now friends we can talk about lighting.  You can set up a lightbox or use natural lighting.  I always prefer natural lighting because it is, well, natural.  You can check out this handy DIY tutorial on how to make your own lightbox if you prefer, or buy one.  The only downside with natural light is you are at the mercy of mother nature.  She doesn't always cooperate.  You don't need to be outside, all you need is a sunny window or at least bright, indirect sunlight.  I use a little cubby box shelf system in my daughter's room which has a south facing window.  I get the best lighting in mid to late afternoon depending on the time of year; a little earlier in winter, later in summer.  A little trial and error will tell you what's the best time of day for your particular situation.  There shouldn't be any jagged shadows or harsh direct sunlight in your photo.  The same goes for shooting outdoors, aim for mid morning or early evening if outdoors so you're shooting in indirect sunlight.  Change your position to the sun if shadows are taking over your photo.  Your lighting should be bright enough that you don't need to use a flash.  Flash is fine for snapshots, bad for product photos!

A leaf dish that I use as my photo prop.  It fits the earthy theme of my items.
You are more than welcome to use photo props but they shouldn't take away from your item, they should be neutral along with your background.  Examples would be a neutral colored cloth like linen, a jewelry bust if for photos of jewelry, a muted color plate or mug, sand, light colored wood (your deck or side table perhaps), or even a sheet of white paper.  Try different things till you find what you like, just make sure your item takes center stage!  The key is to be consistent however in the use of your props so that your shop photos harmonize as a whole.  It'd look a little chaotic if say one item has a bright blue background, another has a green cup, and another has driftwood.   Also, have a little fun with creative angles and don't forget a close up shot if it's applicable to your product! 

Example of a BAD photo prop.  Too busy and it takes away from the item.
Too dark
Better

Now you have photos, what to do with them now?  Most cameras and computers come with basic photo editing software of some kind.  I personally use Windows Live Photo Gallery to make all my initial alterations.  If you have a PC and don't have this great tool, get it, it's free.  Again, I'm NOT a professional, if you know how and would prefer to use Photoshop by all means do so!  All I ever tweak is brightness and color temperature (this may or may not be an option in some editing software, it changes the warmth, red, or coolness, blue, of a photo, it may be listed as "tint" and let you mess with the red, blue and green in a photo).

Before Fotofuze.  It's acceptable.
Once I have my photos through their first round of tweaks I have one more trick up my sleeve to get the crisp white (or black if you prefer) backgrounds that look like I paid a lot for software and have a general sense of what the heck I'm doing.  I use this super awesome FREE online photo enhancer, Fotofuze.  You can link up your Etsy shop to it and it will import all your listings for you!  It's easy to use, just watch the little video that pops up and you're ready to start fuzing!

After Fotofuze!  Awesome!
This is just what I do for my own shop.  Everyone has different needs and there's lots of advice out there!   Below is a quick link list of great articles and blog posts loaded with additional tips!  You can also check out my shop for more examples of how I use my photo prop, angles, close ups etc.

Etsy's Guide to Photograghy - basically everything you ever needed to know all in one spot!
Photography Lesson's I've Learned - a quick tip resource from Handmadeology
Time Saving Product Photography Tips - Some creative ideas for good shots from Handmadeology
The 5-C's of Photo Styling - Great tips on getting professional looking photos in no time

Monday, March 26, 2012

The 365 Project: Week Twelve


This week on Picaboo, the challenge and theme was about leading lines.  Leading lines use, well, lines to draw the viewer's attention to the subject and/or tell a story.  They're easy to use and find: a brick wall, a fence, stairs, boardwalk, beach, sunset, etc.  Basically anything with a line that "points" to your intended subject.  My photo above of Kaylie playing along the water's edge made it into Picaboo's blog :)


I have to say I'm really happy I decided to do this project.  It has challenged me and made into a much better photographer!  I've learned about settings I never knew existed on my Canon as well!  For this week, it was a little challenging to think in the terms of lines.  I tend to consider a potential photo as a whole, instead of breaking it up a into separate parts to create a composition.  Once I got a hang of it though, it was easy to find creative uses of lines!  It was also fun using my daughter as a subject, she sure loves her photo taken!


New Sari Silk Wraps!

I thought I would try my hand at making sari silk wraps since I've got a mountain of sari silk ribbon begging to be made into something beautiful!  I love trying out new things and since I hadn't worked too much with fabric I thought I would give it go and besides I can't say no to the luxurious buttery soft fabric against my skin!  the best part about these wraps is that they're long and can be wrapped around your wrist, ankle or neck!  You're essentially getting a 3 for 1 piece of jewelry!

Mosaic Sari Silk Wrap
The one pictured above is Mosaic.  A large and earthy turquoise magnesite focal bead is surrounded by lux sari silk ribbon in a beautiful peacock blue color with wisps of violet and olive.  I've left the ribbon  un-edged for its raw and untamed beauty!

Charmed Sari Silk Wrap

Charmed is a luxurious sari silk ribbon in a gorgeous iris grey with wisps of purple feature a collection of wing, rose, heart and key charms to name a few for a romantic and vintage look.

By The Sea Sari Silk Wrap

By The Sea uses silk ribbon also in a peacock blue and features several ocean themed charms including a genuine shell and pearl! Also included are a seahorse and little starfish charm ready for the beach!

Turquoise Pebbles Necklace

Lastly, I've got two more new items in my shop, Turquoise Pebbles Necklace and Earrings.  I've always enjoyed the simple beauty of bar necklaces and the tumbled nuggets add a wonderful rustic element to both the necklace and earrings.  They are both hung on delicate brass chain and are versatile enough for casual wear or with a pretty summer dress!

Turquoise Pebbles Earrings

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Treasury Thursday

Happy Thursday everyone! Here's some lovely T's I've had the honor of being in and one I made over the past week!  Enjoy :)

'Find The Easter Eggs' by heversonart


$45.00

$11.00

$15.00

$14.00

$9.95

$22.00

$60.00

$33.00

$38.50

$12.00

$6.00

$25.00

$20.00

$16.00

$9.00

$22.00

'Lavishing in SPRING' by megansbeadeddesigns


$28.00

$7.00

$14.00

$13.00

$34.00

$5.00

$50.00

$10.00

$44.50

$85.00

$60.00

$20.00

$18.00

$8.95

$30.00

$18.00

'Flower power' by Drakestail


$19.95

$1.20

$12.00

$35.00

$12.00

$10.00

$10.00

$6.00

$14.00

$12.00

$8.00

$1.75

$35.00

$10.00

$59.00

$5.90

'Earth, Fire, Water, Air' by mick1


$20.00

$74.00

$30.00

$12.00

$49.00

$20.00

$58.00

$96.00

$15.00

$20.00

$75.00

$59.00

$40.00

$48.00

$118.00

$25.00

'Party Time !!!!' by NesrinArt


$350.00

$29.00

$45.00

$18.00

$43.00

$10.00

$55.00

$99.00

$39.00

$27.00

$12.50

$25.00

$44.00

$7.00

$10.00

'ETSY Hearts Beads Team Spring Jewelry' by eclecticnesting


$5.00

$11.00

$4.50

$8.50

$30.00

$8.00

$42.00

$50.00

$45.00

$300.00

$99.00

$25.00

$27.00

$17.00

$10.00

$30.00

'Lucky you!' by savuica


$25.00

$9.99

$15.00

$7.93

$28.50

$17.00

$17.00

$35.00

$10.00

$89.00

$15.00

$14.50

$2.99

$11.00

$150.00

$8.00

'Spring is in the air.............' by ksewingbasket


$8.50

$35.00

$4.50

$11.00

$40.00

$19.50

$10.00

$24.00

$59.00

$2.98

$27.99

$150.00

$7.00

$28.50

$6.00

$3.00

'Going Green for St Patrick!' by fringeandflourish


$3.00

$10.00

$7.99

$8.00

$15.00

$15.00

$149.00

$2.00

$7.90

$25.00

$5.00

$15.00

$20.00

$12.00

$65.00

$18.00