With the recent launch of the Etsy Design Awards (AKA the Etsies) and with applications to the Spoonflower Small Business Grant open through August 15, 2019, we wanted to explore why craft businesses participate in awards competitions, and what’s to be gained.
No matter how long you’ve been doing public presentations you likely still get that sick feeling in your stomach just before walking on stage. Public speaking anxiety is incredibly common. Although most of us struggle with it at least to some degree, there are tried and true techniques you can teach yourself that can make a big difference in your level of ease on stage.
Using a canned response can help reduce your time answering common questions from customers or prospective clients. It’s as simple as cut+paste, then customizing the message as you see fit.
In a perfect world, business would run smoothly. Customers would never leave negative feedback or attack a merchant for a perceived injustice. Unfortunately, this isn’t a perfect world. Sometimes you must take the good with the bad and adapt as situations arise. So how do you handle difficult and stressful situations? Are there ways to prevent misunderstandings and future problems?
Customers are like snowflakes; no two are alike. Some are wonderful people that reinforce your belief in humanity while others make you question why you ever got out of bed. Thankfully, most customers fall somewhere in the middle and are pleasant, happy people. It’s important to recognize the potential high maintenance customers before you accept their orders and to be aware of potential business challenges you may face. So how do you spot different personalities?
Last week MailChimp threw the ecommerce world into a panic by announcing that they would no longer integrate with Shopify. The two companies were apparently unable to resolve a disagreement overcome to an agreement over a data privacy issue. Here’s how we recommend you proceed.
Email is the most cost-efficient form of advertising, and it’s one of the few places to spend marketing budget where you can actually see return on investment (ROI). The money that you spend on email marketing can be directly tied to actual sales generated from email campaigns.
The word craft is used for everything from the work of highly regarded makers, such as Faith Ringold and Beatrice Wood, to hobbyists who sew, knit, make pots, turn wood, and hammer iron, to the awful foam stickers that appear for birthday party ‘crafts.’ While none of these are less valid for what they are, there is a big difference.
And with that comes the devaluing of the sublime, and the minimizing of what we hold dear. So, why don’t we have different words?
A MailChimp beta tester since 2009, Maeri Howard is here to help you get excited about using Mailchimp to Market your business smarter!
While social media and advertising are important, don’t overlook the value of getting exposure in magazines, newspapers, and blogs.
My secret to polite email etiquette is having a cordial hook that sets the tone for myself. With this, the rest of the email can fall into place.
Katie Lane is an attorney who specializes in negotiation for artists. In this webinar you will learn to negotiate successfully, avoid caving in to high-pressure demands, and most importantly, be calm, confident, and ready for action when opportunities present themselves.
When a customer walks into a brick-and-mortar, a shop owner smiles, says hi and gently inquires if the customer needs any help. But in today’s digitally-driven world, the perfect welcome-procedure isn’t so obvious. Between checking facebook messages, replying to tweets and battling your email inbox, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by customers service demands with no time left for doing what you love… working on your product! In this webinar Stacey Trock gives you tips for communicating with customers in ways that are more positive and more efficient.
It can be difficult for craft business owners to draw a line between their personal/political and business lives when work and hobbies intersect.
A live webinar can be a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Here’s some great how-tos to make them an effective tool!
If you’re a business owner, at some point you’re going to deal with angry customers. Here’s some tips for diffusing uncomfortable customer situations.
Responding to customer feedback is an opportunity to publicly demonstrate that you care about your customers and their experience with your business.
Censorship is central to this story, but there’s another story here and that is about how companies respond to critical feedback online.
It’s important to communicate effectively with our clients. Speaking assertively means choosing language that sets us up for successful interactions.
In one way or another, every business owner relies on writing for a good deal of the work they do, and the more effective their ability to communicate in writing, the more effective their work. Use these expert copywriting tips to help your creative work shine.