“Cindy, you’ve called some beads money beads. I found my money bead this weekend. I sold at a festival and made $160 in…” ~Carrie-W
Over the years I’ve received a ton of support from other bloggers who have helped to get the word out about the community here. And one of the ways I can show some appreciation back, is by linking to these sites so you guys can check them out too.
Today I would like to give a shout out to the Handmade Marketing Blog. Here are some excerpts from a series of “interview” articles they did with me back in July and August of 2009…
Blogging for Sales – Sellers Dish About Blogs: “If you are wondering how a blog can help increase your handmade sales, you aren’t alone. Our HandmadeMarketing.org team often hears seller chatter about the purpose of blogs, how they impact sales, and how much time a seller should spend on a blog. To help solve the blog debate, our team looked to…” [click link above for full story … 2013-04-19 UPDATE: It appears that the Handmade Marketing Blog is no longer available so the link references have been removed. Sorry for the inconvenience].
Etsy Pricing Matters – Marketing Using Pricepoints: “Do you know the power of your handmade item’s pricepoint? HandmadeMarketing.org reader Cindy Lietz, from the website Beads and Beading, gave insight on her blog as to how an item’s pricepoint could be a marketing tool…” [click link above for full story … 2013-04-19 UPDATE: It appears that the Handmade Marketing Blog is no longer available so the link references have been removed. Sorry for the inconvenience].
Craft Market Research – Utilizing Etsy.com: “Cindy Lietz, from the website Beads and Beading, shared her blog post “Another Bird Necklace Pendant | Etsy Tips For Your Jewelry Business” with HandmadeMarketing.org. The article outlines why Etsy.com can be used by handmade sellers as a web resource for marketing ideas…” [click link above for full story … 2013-04-19 UPDATE: It appears that the Handmade Marketing Blog is no longer available so the link references have been removed. Sorry for the inconvenience].
Selling Handmade – Ways to Combat Economic Slow Down: “Many of the HandmadeMarketing.org readers have been impacted by the world-wide economic slow down. Our team looked to Cindy Lietz, from the website and informative blog Beads and Beading, to hear her thoughts on selling crafts online during the recession…” [click link above for full story].
Market Research – Etsy Color Shopping Tool: “Handmade craft guru Cindy Lietz, from the website Beads and Beading, shared innovative ways to utilize Etsy.com as an online market research tool, no matter where you sell handmade…” [click link above for full story … 2013-04-19 UPDATE: It appears that the Handmade Marketing Blog is no longer available so the link references have been removed. Sorry for the inconvenience].
Online Learning – Handmade Trends: “Are you debating whether or not online video tutorials are for you? Our HandmadeMarketing.org team wondered what handmade crafter Cindy Lietz, from the website Beads and Beading, had to say about why online tutorials are emerging as such a prominent trend in learning…” [click link above for full story … 2013-04-19 UPDATE: It appears that the Handmade Marketing Blog is no longer available so the link references have been removed. Sorry for the inconvenience].
Hopefully you will gain some valuable tips and insights from reading the full articles at the Handmade Marketing Blog. And if you leave comments over there, please do tell them I sentcha :-)
Cindy, you’ve called some beads “money beads”. I found my money bead this weekend. I sold at a festival and made $160 in 2 days! My smooth faux raku bracelets flew off my table! I made different shapes and sizes of beads and my best seller by far was bracelets with the faux raku technique on small (a little smaller than a pea) round beads. I also made larger round, and two size cube beads and paired them with silver spacers. ~Carrie-W
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Interesting links. I would like to know how to search on etsy. I know the basics – putting in polymer clay pendants, etc. but I don’t know how to do a search by highest priced or lowest priced.
I look forward to exploring what these links have to offer.
These links look really interesting, Will have to explore later…….
love this article i frequently buy my craft supplies with 40% and 50% off
coupons at Michaels and joanns fabric and craft store they will let you use
a coupon for every item if its not on sale. that 50% really helps if its an expensive item. i do craft shows and have my items at a small town store
which i like cause i don’t have to be there all day there are very few of these stores anymore i wish there was more 5-6 yrs ago i sold thru many stores that way with a percentage you have to bother with taxes till the end of the year.
keep the infomation coming we can all help each other if every little
tidbit
Like these links, Cindy! Thanks for sharing them with us. I especially like the Marketing Using Pricepoints. I have started including some lower priced items on my shop so I would have browers coming to my store. I noticed that only had $25-$50 priced items in my store. Now I include cabachons for around $5 for jewelry designers. I am glad I am moving in the right direction according to the article. And I also realized that I haven’t used all the tools on Etsy…so, again thanks for all your knowledge!
Very interesting articles. I guess I have to revive my blog.
Hello Carrie W.,
What wonderful news for you, congratulations on your Raku sales! Your beads were labor intensive – pea size, so tiny. Tell us, what do you feel sold best for you, a smooth texture or perhaps the crackle look?
DMc
Wow, there’s a lot of cool marketing info there…so much stuff to read & learn…it’s filled with great tips for those of us who want to sell our handmade goodies! I commented on one of the posts…it’s awaiting moderation (I told ’em you sent me, Cindy!) Thanks, Cindy…you really take good care of us!
@Carrie: Congratulations on finding your “Money bead”!
I think it is smart how you made different sizes / shapes of the Smooth Faux Raku Beads and created beautiful jewelry with them.
Cindy’s technique is simple, yet so gorgeous…and you did things “right” for the festival — it’s no wonder those beads sold well! I’m really happy for you…!
~Kat :D
What interesting info. I am making so much -guess I will have to open an ETSY store acct. I will read all the above , for sure. Thanks for leading me in the right direction. Let you know, late, what I do. Would love to make enough money to at least pay for all my materials LOL. And BUY MORE CLAY !!
Cindy – just wanted to tell you that I love your tutorials. I have learned more in the last two weeks than I have in the last four years. I love working with clay but you have made it into an obsession for me. I learn so much faster when I can see it done rather than reading and making so many mistakes. I had made up my mind to pay for the video lessons at another site, at upwards of fifty dollars for just one class. Then I stumbled upon your site. Wow!!! you have made it affordable even for those of us on a limited income. THANK You so much! I will continue to purchase all the back issues as I can and look forward to all the new ones. Again thanks for being there.
Karon
Karon – Thank you so much for your kind words. It’s feedback like this that really helps others to realize how much value they can receive from subscribing to my very, very affordable tutes. Here’s to our mutual obsession in polymer clay :-) Thanks again. ~Cindy
I’m not able to open any of the sites. Says ‘server not found’ Did anyone else have this problem?
Hi Cherie – It appears that the Handmade Marketing Blog is no longer available so the link references have been removed. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for bringing this to our attention.
I have just started selling handmade polymer clay jewelry. I started selling the pieces I make on Poshmark April 2019 and Just started selling my handmade pieces on Amazon Handmade this month. I want to provide the best finding for my jewelry. Can you tell me how you find these wholesalers? I really want to put my best product out there.
Hi Lydon, congratulations on getting your products online! If you’re already selling your jewelry, you should already be using quality findings. If not, a thorough Google search will provide you with Wholesalers that you can purchase findings and do the testing of their quality that way. I usually make my own findings with good quality wire, so I don’t have a list of good wholesalers that I can pass along. Good luck! Let us know when you find something!