I appointed a Marketing Manager - On-line last week. My daughter was bored and created an ad on Facebook for me. The results were amazing. The hits on my site skyrocketed. No sales, this is not a prime on-line buying time but the exposure is just as important. When the big buying time comes, people will remember me or my site will come up from searches.

It will probably cost me lots of new jewellery but it will be worth it.

I posted lots of new earrings and earring sets this week and I have a number of new bracelets posted on my iCraft site. My personal favourite is the blue green lampwork bracelet shown above. After I made it I went out and bought more beads to make one for myself and one for my daughter. It will be my first payment to her. The second will be the green polka-a-dot earrings. She loves green and has had her eye on those since I made them.

Having support of family is so satisfying and when they step up without being asked, you are filled with pride. She pushed me for more and better pictures and I had to make spending decisions but there are some things that you just don't always think about. Having someone in your corner lessens the pressure and adds to the joy.

Happy Buying and Selling

CraftyLadyLiz

Your Photos

When selling on line it is important to have good photographs which starts with a good camera. It helps to have a macro function on the camera which allows for good in focus close-up shots.

It is recommended that you have your merchandise professionally photographed but realistically, when you are starting out, this can be costly. Here are some tips to follow:

• Read your camera manual and once you have used it for a while, read it again. It might offer good suggestions for photographing or have a feature you were wishing you had.

• Use a neutral background. Not too neutral as it can be quite boring and repetitive.

• Make sure your pictures are in focus and if they are not, take them again. No prospective customer will take you seriously if you are posting fuzzy pictures. You aren't taking yourself seriously. Use a tripod if necessary. There are lots of inexpensive useful little ones designed for the digital cameras.

• Frame your shot and crop it if necessary to make sure it is well centered. The ones above are off center, especially the one on the right.

• Make sure the picture fits with what cropping the website does. I have items posted on one site that are just not getting any views so much has been cropped.

• Follow the guidelines for the site as to size. If the pictures are too big it will be difficult to upload them. If it takes a long time for you to upload them your potential customers can have as much trouble loading them to their computers. They could potentially hit the back key and move on to something else rather than wait.

• You don't need an expensive program to adjust your photos. I have found Picture Manager - part of the Microsoft Office package does a good enough job. Practice with the different editing options until you are satisfied. Remember, always save your edits under a new file name in case you don't like the results once the picture is posted.

The two photos above were taken at different times of the day under natural light. Each has it's own merits but I am not satisfied with either. If I can't get a better shot (I will try a few more) I will ultimately use the one with the stand as it is not as stark a picture.

Photographing your merchandise for posting on the web takes practice, time and a lot of repetition - but you know what they say - practice makes perfect.

Share your suggestions here for good photographs including reviews of cameras and background and lighting tips.

Happy photographing...
CraftyLadyLiz

Where Have I Been You Ask

I am ashamed to say that I haven't posted anything in two months because "she who has an on-line business" allowed her computer to be infected with a selection of spy ware,Trojans, and some delightful creepy crawly worms.

I am suffering from a condition that is very rare today but can show itself periodically. It is known as "nowebitis" and is particularly painful.

Symptoms include twitching right hand, disorientation during verbal social conversations, bouts of extreme boredom, disconnection from reality, and encounters with an alternate reality.

Even my Blackberry was down for a while which only worsened the symptoms.

The only prevention and cure is a good anti-virus for your computer and remembering to remove the battery on your Blackberry when it won't connect to the web.

The most frustrating thing about the illness is you have time for the interesting things in life and no way to share it.

Without my computer I have been designing and making tons of stuff and am very pleased with the results. Now, if I can only get it posted. I have problems posting from another computers as I have not been organized enough to put my pictures on a flash drive and have been retaking some.

My advice for anyone who wants to start a web-based business is invest in a good anti-virus and keep it up-dated, and an external drive to back up your computer and carry around to other computers if needed.

Check out some of my new jewellery at www.icraft.com/elizanne. I have been able to get a few new things there. Sorry, no new pictures here.

I would appreciate any suggestions relating to which anti-virus program to get. I am willing to spend money as I am losing money right now and was forced to sell the old fashioned way this week. More about that next time.

Happy Crafting
CraftyLadyLiz