Selling Online

How to Choose a Great Business Name

Monday, April 26, 2010

by Arianne Foulks of Aeolidia

You have a great idea for your new business, and you’re ready to set up shop. How do you choose a business name? If you’ve already come up with a name for your business, how do you make sure it’s a good one?

Three things to keep in mind while deciding on your business name are trademark, search engines, and domain names. (read more…)

She’s Got Shadows, How About You? How To Control & Balance Your Photography Light

Friday, April 9, 2010

by Edyta Szyszlo of Edyta Szyszlo Photography

Hey everyone! Happy Spring! I’m going to cut right to the chase… light is everything in photography. Like the sun affecting your daily mood, light does the same in a photo. If you don’t control it just right, your products will look drab, dreary and unappealing. Heather (owner of Bundled) emailed this photo to me asking for advice on how to make it look less dark and shadowy. Here we go… (read more…)

Be the Master of Your Own Domain

Thursday, April 1, 2010

by Lizzie Sorensen of Lizzie Sorensen Brand Management

After my last column was published, a lot of readers wrote in with questions about how to secure your domain, URL, and those sorts of technical matters that one needs to deal with when launching their own business. It’s not the most fun part, but as we know there can only be one .com for every website name, and if you don’t snap up the one that fits your business and brand the best, somebody else will. If you do snap one up, make sure that it makes sense and that you have 100% control over it. (read more…)

Etsy 101

Thursday, March 25, 2010

by Stacy Altiery of InkSpot Workshop

When I started InkSpot Workshop two years ago, I was making stationery and invites for friends and family, but had never entertained the idea of starting my own craft business. That all changed when a good friend introduced me to Etsy. I was blown away with the quality and selection of handmade items available. It was like having all of my favorite vendors from my local craft shows under one roof and multiply that number by 1,000! I was instantly smitten.

Then I started to realize, “Hey, I can do this, too”. My creative juices instantly kicked in, and when I saw Etsy shops such as sarah + abraham, I got completely inspired. Within an hour, InkSpot Workshop was born. I’m not an expert on Etsy, but I’ve had an incredible amount of success selling on Etsy. In just two short years I’ve opened a second Etsy shop called Fire Hydrant Press and launched my own website in August of 2009. (read more…)

Establishing Trust: Seven Ways to Show Customers You’re Legit

Monday, March 22, 2010

by Arianne Foulks of Aeolidia

With more and more crafters and home-based businesses setting up shop on the web, how can you stand out to customers as someone who will send a high quality product, send it on time, and help if there are any problems with the order?

On Etsy, eBay, or Amazon, trust for individual sellers is established by the parent site’s reputation and policies, along with the customer reviews system. How can you improve on that if you’re an Etsy seller or create that trust if you run your own online shop?

Here are some things you can do to convince a stranger to give you their credit card number, trusting that you will follow through on your end of the bargain. Where I provide examples, please use these as inspiration, but do not copy them directly, of course! (read more…)

Choosing Your Shop Software: Hosted or Licensed?

Monday, February 22, 2010

by Arianne Foulks of Aeolidia

If you’re ready to start selling online, you have a lot of options for how to begin. How you choose to start will depend on how much work you’d like to do yourself, what you can afford to invest, and what stage you’re at with your business.

There are lots of things to consider, but in this article, I’m going to stick to the difference between choosing a hosted shop solution, and setting up a self-hosted shop.

(read more…)