HOW TO BOOST SALES !

3 Winning Tips - How To Boost Sales on the Internet

Part 1 of 3by Nina Danza, http://www.prettycheapjewelry.comSales are tough, especially for handmade jewelry! Lots of folks enjoy crafting, and most everyone seems to try their hand at it. But the internet is tough for everyone! Just ask the card makers, soap shops, fabric artisans and knitters. (Ok, forget the soap shops, right Dennis?).

So how can you compete? I've had recent sales from no and low cost promotions and am going to tip you off!

Item sold to blog reader

1. Join Some Groups. There are loads of internet groups are out there of every imaginable subject. The trick is finding the group that defines your market!!! It would be exhausting and unrewarding to post blatantly anywhere so if you make baby clothes, join some mommy groups! If you make dog treats, join the pet lovers groups! Look in yahoo, google, myspace, and flickr for starters. I choose not to sing to the choir, so I joined a frugal living, money saving tip group. This suited me to a ‘T’ since some of my biggest thrills are picking up coins on the sidewalk. Ahem, at first I was just active with their forum, but not long after began my blog there http://prettycheapjewelry.savingadvice.com (little did I know the readership is hugely loyal and I get an insane number of hits when I post. And even if I don’t post. You wouldn’t believe it, absolutely insane.) NOW YOU’RE COOKING: After you join a group, customize your signature to include your shop link and avatar.

It takes time and a sharp thinking cap to find your target market, but worth it. Develop a relationship with the group and if the group policy is for discussion, just discuss! You love what you do so it will be a pleasure to blab away. It won’t take long for your audience to know you make ‘X’ and will click around and look. If the group is for sales, that’s ok, but be sure to check the group’s messages before joining. It’s unpleasant to belong to groups spammed with get rich quick schemes and pornographic posts to say the least (yuck). NOW YOU’RE COOKING: A good website to check out is http://www.craftersbuzz.com a free ad website with a very supportive group of moderators and forums.

2.Post on Other Blogs and News Articles. Did you realize that every time you make a comment on someone else’s blog that your signature is clickable? Take the plunge and look for your market. Those baby clothes customers are probably hanging out in family sites like http://www.familyfun.com and in teaching or school groups. I have made posts months ago that still get clicks. NOW YOU’RE COOKING: Another one to try which is huge and NOT filled with Etsyians is http://www.thisnext.com a social networking site.

3. Google Alert yourself. Now that you have joined some groups and are posting away in the cosmos, watch where folks are finding you. Go to http://www.google.com/alerts and put in your name (with quotes) like “pretty cheap jewelry”. Do several google alerts if you use different names (I do prettycheap and prettycheap.etsy.com as well). You will be rewarded with more insight than money can buy (at least that’s my frugal moneysaving take on it). I learned about this from Nancy, http://localcolorist.etsy.com THANKS!

Coming Soon! 3 Winning Tips - How To Boost Sales on the Internet - Part 2 of 3