All of these informative posts have been duplicated on my new blog – the How to Make Jewelry Blog – which is an extension of my rapidly growing website, How-to-Make-Jewelry.com

I think I’ve mentioned it before on this blog, but I am so excited – If you are familiar with the Alexa rankings, I’m up to 308,000. Yes, I know there are those of you out there saying the numbers are skewed, blah, blah, blah but for a highly focused niche content site that’s an amazing number and I am just pleased as punch since I started it only in October 2007. I made it up to 50 unique visitors a day in January, and I regularly get 500 unique visitors a day now.

But I digress. The real reason I’m writing this is to say thank you! to all of you, my loyal readers, and to invite you to visit my more up to date blog at http://blog.how-to-make-jewelry.com . There is a recent post about editing digital jewelry photos for beginners – you might want to check that one out.

And, I want to invite you to join my "I’m Making Jewelry in my Jam Jams Newsletter mailing list. You won’t regret subscribing! To learn more about my newsletter and to see if it’s something you might be interested in, click this link to be taken to my newsletter information page . I’ve already been sending out lots of cool information not only for jewelry makers, but for jewelry business owners too. Videos, free tutorials, free patterns, networking opportunities, and I’ve also just set up an announcement list for some very special events coming up that will be very valuable for anyone who has the internet as part of their jewelry business plan.

So check out those links, and sign up for the newsletter. If you chose not to sign up for the newsletter, I wish you the very best of success in all your jewelry business endeavors, and I hope we cross paths again!

Cheers,

Christine Gierer

Do you know what you don’t know?

The Discovery

I typically never go to networking type meetings, but I was at a women’s business networking group a few weeks ago with a friend who is much more of a joiner than I am, and I was surprised that about 5 out of the 20 or so women had bead and handmade jewelry related businesses.

I made a shocking discovery at that meeting. It was hard for me to believe at first, but many of the women in the group were basically clueless about basic marketing concepts, and especially internet marketing basics.

Having little experience with offline networking, I imagined that people who were savvy enough to want to network would at least know some marketing basics.

Are You Clueless Too?

So here’s the point. Maybe you are in that clueless category and don’t even know it. I don’t want to be harsh, but I call it like I see it. And hey, everyone has to start somewhere. Sometimes you don’t know what you don’t know until someone enlightens you.

I must admit that about a year or two ago I was in that clueless category too. As artists and craftspeople, sometimes we just want to make things in our studio and not really interact with the world in any way. At least I feel that way. I started learning about marketing because it’s necessary, not because I love selling or advertising, or even because I find it at all interesting on its own.

The Dream of All Jewelry Designers, Artists and Craftspeople

I bet you’re a lot like me.  If I could create all day and have an enthusiastic salesperson/girl or boy friday do everything else I’d be as happy as a clam.

The Naked Truth

The world doesn’t work that way though. You can be the most brilliant craftsperson in the world and make the most beautiful things that the world has ever seen but it wouldn’t matter. The marketers make the money. That’s just the way it is.

The first step, as they say, is acknowledging you have a problem. This first article in the series is all about knowing what you don’t know.

Can you answer these Basic Marketing Questions?

Marketing Questions:

The top 3 questions are the most basic. 

• Who am I targeting (or who is my audience or ideal customer?)
• What do they need?
• What is the problem I am solving for them?
• What are features and benefits? What are mine?
• Do I have a marketing strategy?
• What is my marketing strategy?
• Do I have goals?  What are they?  Are they specific and measurable?
• How can I get people excited about my product?
• How is my product different from others?
• How is my marketing different from others?

Research Questions:

• How do I find out what people want and need?
• How do I find out whether people will pay for what they want?
• Who is the competition?
• How well is the competition doing?
• How am I different from the competition?

Basic Internet Marketing Questions:

In no particular order of importance:

• What is search engine marketing?
• What is web traffic?
• What are the best ways to get web traffic?
• What is Google Adwords?
• What are keywords?
• What is a "list"?
• What is search engine optimization?
• What are backlinks?
• What is an autoresponder?

These are some of the most basic questions there are for anyone with a business. If you are planning on selling your jewelry entirely offline, with no website or web presence whatsoever, maybe you won’t need any internet marketing. I suggest though, that you should at least have an email mailing list so that you can follow up with regular customers. I’ll discuss this further in a future post.

I don’t want to scare you, but if you can’t answer most of these questions, you’re in the "clueless" category.  Don’t worry though, there is lots of information out there for the learning.  Much of it is free

Action Steps for Today:  

• Relax.
• Let some of the question percolate in your mind for a bit.  At least now you know what you don’t know.  
• Write a comment below.  Let me know what you’re thinking.

Maybe all etsy sellers know about this already. I just came across it though and I’m sad that it’ll be gone! (The blog owners are getting frustrated with some negative feedback they’re getting so they’re closing down. You can read their last post here.

I would have loved looking at this when I was selling my jewelry online. Seeing what the most successful are doing is a great way to get some insight into how to market, what people are buying, etc.

I’ve been out of the Etsy loop for awhile- I set up shop about a year or two ago but I haven’t been doing anything there lately. That’s a story for another email.

If you’re unfamiliar with Etsy, don’t check them out. You will lose countless hours of your life browsing the beautiful pictures you’ll find there.

Etsy is a huge treasure trove of anything handmade. (Just want to clarify that I have no affiliation with Etsy. I’ve had some feedback that maybe I’m plugging sites for monetary gain? Not so).

Items are sold directly from the artist and if you are looking to sell some of your own stuff, or even de-stash some of your supplies, you might want to set up shop on Etsy. Only 20 cents per listing for 4 months. MUCH cheaper than fee-bay.

Back to the point – selling on Etsy – you’ll find the stats charts at Etsy tools fascinating. Check it out before they pull it down.

If you know of a similar stats tracking tool for Etsy (or Yessy, Ruby Lane, or any of the other 3rd party crafts/ art selling websites where artists can promote and sell their work), please let me know! I’d love to share it with everyone!

Talk soon, Christine
Jewelry Making Play, Every Day!
New!!! The HTMJ Bloooooog!

P.S. New question at Ask and Answer- and it’s a biggie! I might have to answer it in parts. Wanna read it? It’s a business related one:Pricing Jewelry and Other Business Questions

(This post was written as an email for my mailing list at my main jewelry making website) I don’t often post my emails here, but this one was a time sensitive one. If you want to see what else you’ve been missing out on, you can subscribe to the Making Jewelry mailing list here.)

It’s been a looong time since I’ve blogged here but I vow to write more regularly in 2008.

I’ve been doing a lot of writing on my Jewelry Making website.

Check out some of the new tutorials:

Learn how to make a swarovski crystal, gemstone, and sterling silver Mother’s Bracelet

You can check out this free sterling and gemstone earring tutorial that I am particularly proud of.

There are a bunch of hemp jewelry making tutorials and even a hemp bracelet making video on my hemp jewelry making page

There is an awesome polymer mold and bead making tutorial by guest artist Kristen of Morbidly Cute

And lots more stuff too so please check it out and let me know what you think!

Here it is: Question about enamel…?

I have started making jewelry & only like using good quality stones, esp when using 14k gold. Why did I just see a bracelet for $4500 in 18k gold, with enamel charms? Doesn’t enamel fade or scratch-Please tell me about enamel & why it’s used with solid gold.

Here was my answer:
Enamelling is a very specialized skill and uses very high quality materials. Enamelling has a very long history in in terms of fine jewelry making, and dates back a thousand years and more.

The process of enamelling involves using crushed glass or glass granules, a torch or kiln, and is time and skill intensive. The glass is melted onto a metal form, often copper, and forms a hard-wearing and durable layer of glass onto the metal. This process is repeated so that many layers form. The layers of melted glass do not fade or chip under normal conditions.

Enamelling is gaining popularity of late as jewelry artists continue to experiment with ancient techniques in new ways, and is a wonderful way to add color to precious metal work.

I am primarily a sterling silver and gold jewelry maker, and not an enamelling expert, so I don’t pretend to know exactly what’s involved, but I have looked into buying some enamelling supplies so I could try out some simple experiments for myself.

Resources you might like to check out:

There was a great article in Art Jewelry Magazine recently about making enamelled sterling silver headpins that you might be interested in checking out. I’m not sure what issue, but definitely
2007.

Glass on Metal magazine (http://www.glass-on-metal.com) is a great online resource where you can learn more and view the work of many high quality jewelry artists using enamel in their work.

Hope that helps!

I love the one about putting your business cards in library books. I picture jewelry designers everywhere scurrying through libraries willy-nilly, surreptitiously poking their business cards into books right under the noses of the library police.

Spread the love. Share your own ideas in the comments!

It didn’t cheer me up, but maybe it’ll cheer somebody else up. If you want a free jewelry making guide with metalsmithing techniques, check out Creative Texture Tools. This site offers products for Metal Clay users, but also offers some freebies on the right sidebar. Creative Texture Tools™ – Hard to find Texture Tools for Metal Clay

I downloaded the free e-book (Jewelry Maker) written by the shop owner. It looks well written, and hey, it’s free right?

Enjoy. I’m going to get some Tylenol (no advertisment here, just a hurty head).

Wouldn’t you like to learn how to skyrocket your home jewelry business success? What Jewelry Artist wouldn’t! I found a really mind opening E-book by Rena Klingenberg, Home Jewelry Business Expert and really-nice-lady.

What makes her book so earthshaking?

Rena has devised a really fascinating and low-key way to sell handmade jewelry that does the following:

• It saves you from booth selling and all the costs and equipment entailed in that method selling
• Her method allows you to keep 100% of RETAIL sales (rather than the 70% or 50% that you get from wholesaling or consignment.
• You don’t have to give a percentage or give jewelry to a home party hostess so you don’t lose anything there.
• Everything is casual and low-key (great for the more reserved Jewelry Artist. I know there are lots of us out there!)
• AND her system details how you can make some real money selling One-of-a-Kind pieces and sets to the wealthier customer.

Okay, enough with the gushing.

I love e-books. I sort of feel like they are a guilty pleasure because I can buy them online and get them immediately. If you’ve never bought an E-book before, you really must try it. I recently bought Rena Klingenberg’s book entitled, “Secrets of a Handcrafted Jewelry Shopping Service “.

For those who don’t know, Rena Klingenberg has been writing home-jewelry business success articles for some time, and has been a guest author on The Jewelry Sweet Spot as well.

I initially didn’t think that her book would interest me. For some reason I thought it was about shopping for jewelry for people and never connected the fact that it would be my own jewelry I would be selling.

Rena book really gives you new insight into an alternative method of turning your passion into a profitable business. It offers a step by step system for creating a home jewelry business success based on a “personal shopper” model.

If you love one-on-one contact with clients, making one-of-a-kind and commission pieces…

The author let’s you in on the primary way she earns money in her handcrafted jewelry business.

Rena’s gift and jewelry consultant angle on selling is an ingenious one for jewelry designers who enjoy one-on-one contact with clients, make one-of-a-kind and commission pieces, who are good at matching jewelry to clients wardrobes, and are looking for a low overhead method of marketing their jewelry and still command retail prices. This business model is underused by the handmade jewelry industry and should you chose to adopt it, you will probably have no competition.

Great advice for anyone who wishes to sell their jewelry part-time in a casual way…

Even if you aren’t interested in becoming a personal jewelry consultant, there is some great advice for anyone who wishes to sell their jewelry part-time in a casual way. I think this part of the book is what really appealed to me because generally my own jewelry gets sold this way. She goes into detail about how to do a casual trunk show with your kids teachers, at a friends workplace, at a friend’s house, or in the park. Selling jewelry this way takes all the work out of selling and is less formal than a home jewelry party. There are also practically no costs involved; you don’t need to advertise, take a cut in the pricing as for wholesale or consignment selling, no booth fees, and no free jewelry for home jewelry party hostesses.

Students and moms: Part-time income from jewelry making?

A very good resource and a great investment for anyone interested in getting into jewelry making, especially as a part-time business. I think this model would work especially well for stay-at-home-moms looking to make some extra money within the home, while their children are at school, or for students who can show their jewelry casually to classmates and peers at their favourite hangout, cafeteria, during a break in their classes, or in their common rooms in their dorms.

Warning about this book:

I always try to find the downside when I do a review but Rena writes so well, is so easy to read, so concise, and so frigging thorough! that I can’t find anything bad to say about this book except that I found the title a little bit confusing. Otherwise Kudos to Rena!

I can’t recommend this book enough.

Click here to learn more about buying this book now

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