Modish Biz Tips

Submit your shop to blogs: the Great Big Blog List

Now you know what to say when you email a blogger for a potential review. So, here are some blog resources for you to get started! 

Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the blog before you submit to it, and make sure that your work fits within the blog's scope. If it doesn't, don't waste your time (or ours!) Are you sure that design blog you love writes about handbags? Does that indie blog write about kid's stuff? Peruse the categories or check out the about/contact page on each blog to make sure your goods fit in before you approach them- set yourself up for success!

The blogs below focus on, or often write about, handmade goods and art. Each blog editor is listed too, when I could find them, so that you can (what class? say it with me!) address them by name! :) The email addresses have been formatted to prevent spambots from catching on, so just replace [at] with @ and you'll be set.  Happy emailing!

The great big blog list:

Anything Indie :: editor, Andrea :: anythingindie[at]gmail.com

Bloesem :: editor, Irene :: blog[at]irenehoofsamsterdam.com

Creature Comforts :: editor, Ez :: creaturecomfortsblog[at]gmail.com

Cuteable :: editor, Lynsey :: contact[at]cuteable.com

Now you know what to say when you email a blogger for a potential review. So, here are some blog resources for you to get started! 

Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the blog before you submit to it, and make sure that your work fits within the blog's scope. If it doesn't, don't waste your time (or ours!) Are you sure that design blog you love writes about handbags? Does that indie blog write about kid's stuff? Peruse the categories or check out the about/contact page on each blog to make sure your goods fit in before you approach them- set yourself up for success!

The blogs below focus on, or often write about, handmade goods and art. Each blog editor is listed too, when I could find them, so that you can (what class? say it with me!) address them by name! :) The email addresses have been formatted to prevent spambots from catching on, so just replace [at] with @ and you'll be set.  Happy emailing!

The great big blog list:

How to approach blogs (and get them to write about you!)

{photo by Oskay. Say "Hello World!"}

You've had an online shop set up for awhile, made a few sales (mostly to friends, thanks guys!) and feel like you're headed in the right direction selling your creations. But you're floating in a large sea of incredibly talented people...how are customers supposed to find you?

You need to get the word out! You need some media attention! 

It's time to start introducing yourself to blogs. Blogs are incredible media outlets for the online shop owner as they provide a direct link (literally) back to your shop, an instantaneous connection between their readers and your potential customers. Plus, some blogs have the same readership numbers as magazines and a write-up in one of those "big blogs" can mean lots of sales for you! But, how do you approach them?

Yes, it's daunting. Yes, it's a little scary. Yes, you may feel a bit like a spammer while you do it. But the best way to approach a blog about writing about you, is to ask them to!

Sending a simple email is just fine

Save the press releases and media kits for the magazines- even the blogs with HUGE readerships are run by a person sitting in their home office, drinking their coffee often with a cat curled up nearby. Blogs don't have a bustling editorial office with assistants running around, sorting through leads. We're people, just like you, and we like to be treated as such.

Approach us casually, personally, like you're introducing yourself to a new friend. 

Every blog editor I've ever had the privilege to e-friend has been kind and personable, so don't be intimidated!

What should you say in your email?

The next 3 steps to Build your Brand

{image from Abbey Christine, who's rockin' her personal brand at Renegade Chicago}

Last time, I introduced the concept of your own personal "brand" and how to start building it up. Today, I'll focus on the more "literal" aspects of branding. This will be most insightful to newbies who are just starting their businesses and need to begin from the top, but hopefully even those with more established businesses can incorporate some of the tips. (And psst: if you've been around the block already, I'd love to hear your insight and experiences of your own branding choices!)

As I stated in the last article, branding is the most essential tool you have for the success of your business. It's what will differentiate your products, your services and make you stand out from the pack. 

Smart branding makes you more memorable in the eyes of customers and keeps them coming back. So, it's time to start building up the image you'd like to present to the world. There's a few branding basics that every website needs:

1. A name

It's hard enough naming a cat, but to name your precious business, all your sweat and hard work- what's the best way to go? 

First, your name needs to be original. You can take a peek at this guest post by Maddy over on Modish for tips on how to find a business name that's not already in use. Also, you want a name that's memorable and one that is easy to communicate, easy to say. 

I'm a fan of kind of "non-specific" names because they allow your work and your branding to give them definition (and if you change directions here and there as you figure things out, you can still stick with the same name- an added bonus!) For instance, what does Pink loves Brown sell? How bout Moop? Or Honey & Milk? While your name should relate to what you create in some way, it doesn't have to be explicit, like these examples show. 

Make your business name fun, make it interesting, engage your customers to find out more. Choose something that shows your personality and means something to you. You want a name that can take you through many long and successful years, right?

2. A tagline or slogan

4 Things you need to do to Build your Brand

{photo by lolololori, brand strategy}

Once you find your niche within this big ol' crafty, artsy world, you can start building your brand around it. 

As small business owners and entrepreneurs, we can actually take a great lesson from the mass-produced products we've come to love (and sometimes loathe) when we explore how their brands were built. 

A strong brand can become synonymous with the product itself, above all its competitors. For example, we often say "post-it" instead of sticky note, "kleenex" instead of tissue, "sharpie" instead of permanent marker, and those are just the brands I noticed here on my desk!

These examples show how impactful a strong brand can be for your business. In fact, I'd say that

branding is the most essential tool you have for the success of your business.

All your future marketing efforts will stem from the brand you create. So first, let's explore the more implicit elements of your brand, the stuff your customers can't necessarily see but can definitely feel.  These are things like:

• your image
• your personality
• the perception of your product quality
• your customer service

A brand is much more than a good name and cool logo; your brand is your identity, your promise to your customers, what you can deliver. Your brand is the sum of all your parts. It's what customers perceive of your business the second they come to your shop. It's what tells them they'll find something here that they won't find elsewhere and it's what makes them think of you when they think of "silver flower necklaces" or "mushroom paintings" or whatever it is you've found your niche in. 

How do you start to build your brand?

Good examples of artists who found their niche

Continuing with yesterday's post about Finding your Niche, today, we'll take a look at a variety of artists and crafters who have found their niche and have gained success because of it.

Here are some examples of shop owners who found the "one thing" that really works for them and have stuck with it, carving out a more narrowed down, very specific niche:

Trixiedelicious:  You see a pretty vintage plate with snarky text on it and you know it's a Trixie Delicious original. Combining her personal humor with her love of vintage goodies, she re-invents old things as new by giving them a whopping dose of her own unique personality. Every single thing in her shop is one-of-a-kind, yet they all retain that signature "Trixie Delicious" feel. She stays within the niche she's defined with every new design she creates. When you come to her shop, you know what to expect.

Girl Savage: Feltidermy you say? You must be talking about Girl Savage. Not only is she the #1 result when you google search the term, "feltidermy", she may have gone so far as to coin the phrase herself! (Good niche making move, Girl Savage!) She creates felted animals with a signature style and look that you recognize instantly. Even when she introduces new animals or tries out a new technique, everything looks like a Girl Savage piece. She's stayed true to herself, her own inspirations and her own ideas, and she's sold nearly 250 little felted animals because of it (just on etsy alone!)

5 Ideas to help you find your niche

{postcard by Creative Freedom. What's in your head? Your unique niche!}

Whether you're just starting your own crafty business, have been doing it for years, or are in the throes of the wishing/hoping/planning stages, one of the most important things you'll need to think about is the niche that your business fills. 

• What is the "something special" you can offer, that no one else can?
• What need does your product or service fulfill, that will make your customers want to hit the "add to cart" button?
• What will make your handmade item stand out from the crowd of other incredible talent? 

Finding your niche is one of the strongest marketing tools you have, but it can also be one of the most difficult things to do. The difference between what you make, and everything else on the market, is simply you.

You are the something special.  You are the unique point of view.  You are what will make your goods stand out from the pack.  The key to defining your niche then is to listen to and trust your own, unique point of view.

To break it down further, here are some ideas to help you find, define, and refine your niche:

1. Explore your own talents, and find what suits you best