Authenticity

Authenticity refers to the truthfulness of origins, attributions, commitments, sincerity, devotion, and intentions. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authenticity)

This week I have been bombarded with facebook friend requests, facebook events, emails and tweets. It's election week and all of sudden everyone wants to be 'my friend'. Now I'm not against shameless self-promotion or advertising, in fact I teach these things at the college. But I definitely don't like campaigns done poorly, without creativity and most importantly where the intentions that are not authentic. Coming into my social network just when you need me means that you are trying to use me, not help me or even like me (let alone really a friend).

Sorry, this is a bit of a rant, but I figure we can all learn from their mistakes. So how do you socially promote what you do and be authentic at the same time?

1. PARTICIPATE, even before you need something. These guys should have joined twitter a year a go and joined in the conversation. If they think I could be there facebook friend, they should have done so a year a go and commented on things I do.
2. ENGAGE the audience creatively, not just by posting that your canvassing went well today. Tell me how it changed your views and what new impact you will have.
3. DIFFERENTIATE between social media channels. Your facebook statuses should not be the same as your tweets. They are two different channels and need to be used independently from each other. That also includes your news on your website, your blog and your email campaigns.

Tips on Etsy

Early in March I participated in a set of workshops about selling on Etsy. Dianne from DiBAjewellery facilitated the advanced workshop and here are some great tips and ideas that I picked up from her session (some directly from her and others from general discussion).

1. Have an Etsy anniversary event
2. Could what you sell also fit under supply?
3. Update it frequently (throughout the day if possible)
4. Bulk up your shop - lots of inventory gives the appearance of being serious
5. Have various price points available to inspire easy sales
6. Photography is key - it's all the customer has to go on, so make it good. Use all 5 slots, all angles including the back
7. Use full descriptions with lots of detail including both imperial and metric measurements
8. Put your location in your profile
9. Use all 14 tags - ideas for tags include 'international', 'gift', colour, full name
10. Create treasury's
11. Participate in Etsy - forums, blog, labs
12. Detail your policies - ie do your items come from a smoke-free or animal-free environment?
13. Use the announcement section
14. Tools to try www.etsyhacks.com and www.craftopolis.com.

Thanks Dianne for all the great tips!

The Anatomy of a Blog

Last week I taught a 'Blogging for Artists' workshop at the Cornwall Artpreneur Conference. Since then a few artists have asked for the information so here are some (can't give away all my secrets at once) on what you should include in your blog posts:

• Controversy is good, make a statement, no politicians allowed (in other words no sitting on the fence)
• Links to other websites and blogs are good
• Images are vital
• Have contests
• Include your customers (comments, stories, photos - with permission of course)
• Post follow up comments (even if they come by email)

For those that missed the workshop I am hosting the same session on Kingston on November 30, 1-2 at my studio. For more info visit my site - www.lindseyfair.ca

What I've learned from shopping online

I'm sure I'm not the only one that's been there (or here) before, you know, buying something online and crossing your fingers that it's what you were looking for? And then, when it arrives, realizing it's nothing like it looked in the picture?

I just made my first large purchase from a new jewellery supply company and more than half the order was not what I wanted! The last two days I've been waundering around saying 'I should've just spent the extra and bought from a local shop'; but a moment a go a light bulb went off. If I'm trying to convince my customers from all over the world to buy from me online then I can't give up on it either. What I need to take from my exprience (besides frustration and product I don't need) is to make sure my customers don't have this happen to them and more importantly, feel confident that it won't!

Here's the things I learned from this expierience that will help me fix any of my online sales:

1. Images from multiple angles of the product.
2. Images large enough to see detail.
3. What to do if you aren't happy with it.
4. Who pays for shipping of unwanted items?
5. Send a confirmation email of any phone orders, or online orders before shipping it.
6. Include in the delivery box FAQ's about your products.

I'm sure there's others, but I'll start there. That will keep me busy.

Blogging for Blogging

I looked back and I can't believe I haven't written about this already... blogging as an artist. I was doing two presentations today at the college and the main focus of discussion was on blogging. Is it important for business? Why is it important for business? ETC.

The answer is yes it is important for any business but especially for artists. It comes down to people buy from people; especially in the art world. If customers just needed a picture for the wall they would go to a superstore, but if they're buying art, they want the story. Your blog is a perfect place to tell your story. It's a way for customers to connect with you and feel they have a personal relationship with you.

Another important purpose of blogs is authenticity. In Trendwatch's report for 2008, authenticity was rated as the number #2 influencer in buyer trends. People want to know who you are and they want it to be believable, so traditional, biased information like brochures and websites just won't cut it anymore.

So if you don't have a blog - get one! Then let me know and we can connect in the blogsphere! Happy Blogging!

It's orientation time!

On Saturday, we had a new exchange student from Japan move in with us. Shizuka is here studying english for 4 months. The last few days not only has she had an orientation at Queen's but at our house as well. Everything from how to do laundry here, that we have a funny hot water tank in our house, what life with a 4 year old is like, the type of food we eat, etc. It's been fun for all of us, but it did make me relate it to my customers a bit.

When my customers buy a piece of jewellery from me, it is often their very first piece of beach glass jewellery. Which means they don't know how to take care of it; how to wash it, how often it can be worn, what if it tarnishes, etc. So I need to make sure to give them some sort of an orientation. Do you do this for your customers? Maybe with an FAQ page on your website, a little tip sheet given with each sale, or just by showing them during the sale?

The second thing it reminded me about was language barriers. In most cases, the challenge may not be as significant as Japanese to English; but often I hear artists (and other business owners for that matter) getting too technical when they talk to clients. Remember, you know the intricate details and 'lingo' associated with your industry but your customers may not, they may not know what those acronyms mean. You may just get the same crossed-eyed, squished up nose look I got from Shizuka when I said it was 'muggy out on the weekend'. So make sure you are speaking the same language as your customers, they'll appreciate it, Shizuka does.

The Art of Being Social Workshop

I am presenting a workshop for TIA (Thousand Islands Arts) on June 3rd from 7-9pm. Here's an overview of the session. If you want to attend contact TIA, if you can't attend but wish you could, let me know and I'll let you know when the next one is.

Social networking and marketing online are key to any successful business in today's competitive world, especially for artists! These two hours will be spent going over the basics of online marketing including Facebook, Youtube, Blogging, your own website and yes even Second Life. Come learn how you can profit from the web instead of spending money on it!