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Interesting Stuff Around The Web

Marr Williams — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 10:17:45 +0000

INFORMATION YOU CAN USE

Essential U Blog – Sitting on the Social Media Bench
Great article written from an industry leader on why you need to get into the social media game to grow your business.

Twitter and Facebook Updates to Show in Search Engines — Are You Prepared?

If you use Twitter and Facebook to promote your business, this news can be good or bad. Good – because it can boost your chances of being found in a sea of Bath and Body Web sites. On the flip side – this could be BAD because it can boost your chances of being found for interactions that you’d rather not be found for. How are you representing yourself and your business on Social Media sites? What are others (who can also be found) saying about your products and services? How are you promoting good reviews of your products? How are you dealing with negative comments about them? Are you dealing with them at all? This news makes the first article I posted by EssentialU all the more relative to your online business.

For more info:

Google blog post announcing they will include tweets in search.

Confirmed: Twitter and Facebook to Be Part of Bing Wave 2 (Not to Be Confused with Google Wave Beta)

Read teh article: Twitter and Facebook Updates to Show in Search Engines — Are You Prepared?

TOOLS YOU CAN USE

Etsy Hacks

Anyone that uses Etsy knows how labor intensive listing can be and will understand why I was thrilled to find Etsy Hacks for FireFox. Installation is painless and in the end you will be able to do the following and more:

copy listing – create a new listing based on an existing one.
item zoom – adds a zoom icon to images in search and shop listings.
edit this item – edit or delete a listing from the View Listing page.
buyer info – add extra information to the “buyer” box on a receipt page.
forum wrangler – add extra features to the Etsy forum pages.

Etsy Hacks are free to use and can be found here: http://www.etsyhacks.com/ (For FireFox only.)

Magpie Twitter Ads

Thinking of advertising on Twitter? Magpie may be for you. You select the Twitterers, approve/disapprove the tweets and decide how much you want to spend. You can spend as little as $20 on your campaign and you can allocate how the ad dollars are spent: on an entire campaign; per day; and even per keyword, placing the budgetary control entirely in your hands.

For more information, visit the Magpie Web site.

Around the web

Marr Williams — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:50:12 +0000

I haven’t done much writing lately but I have been reading. I wanted to share a few articles with you that are relative to your success online.

How We Reduced Chargebacks by %30 – 37 Signals
37 signals reduced their chargebacks by changing the way their charges showed up on customer credit cards. Great idea!

1000 True Fans
Build your business one fan at a time. This article really hit home with me. Don’t miss it!

ToldYa – Mashable
Mashable reviews ToldYa – a social media storefront to sell on Facebook, My Space and more…

Google’s SEO Starter Guide
Straight from the horse’s mouth…Google tells you how to get better listing on their site.

That’s it for today. Happy reading and see you soon!

Gift Cards and Deadlines

Marr Williams — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:29:56 +0000

I read an interesting article this morning on Lifehacker about gift cards and deadlines. The article points out that people are more likely to use gift cards if they expire quickly. Now as a business honoring those gift cards, you may not care if they redeem them or not. You’ve already made the sale. But there are several reason you should care. One reason is that the recipient, having tried your products, may convert into a regular customer. Secondly, the person that sent the gift will get much more satisfaction if the recipient tells them that they used and loved your products. If giving a gift card to your shop was successful, the giver will be more likely to send them as gifts again.

Read the article – interseting stuff.

Product Images: Cropping Tips

Marr Williams — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:26:34 +0000

Are your product images working as hard to sell your products as you are? Product images have a big job to do. They have to provide enough information for the shopper to make an educated purchase and they have to display your products in a manner that entices shoppers to buy. The first link listed below has some great tips on cropping. The second link is to a video that discusses what you should be thinking about when you shoot your images. Good stuff!

My handmade Registry: Who made the cut?

Optimizing E-Commerce Images

Natural Deodorant

Marr Williams — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 11:06:06 +0000

While cruising through my RSS feeds, I found a post on Craft Gossip with a link to an all natural deodorant recipe. It’s a very simple recipe of cornstarch and coconut oil that I won’t be able to leave alone. Adding some Mango and Shea butters will most likely be my first experimental tweak. Check it out and see what you can do with it!

Craft Gossip

Ode to Sushi

Marr Williams — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 10:25:51 +0000

Whether you love it or hate it, there’s no denying that Sushi is graphically beautiful. Today I am paying tribute to one of my favorite treats by highlighting some of the products I found around the web. I can only imagine the patience it takes to make these If you know someone that makes them – leave us a note with a link in the comments section!

I found these on Amazon in the Globally Cute Shop.

Midohana – Japanese themed soaps on Etsy

Bunny Bubbles Sushi Sampler on Etsy

By N. Funk Ceramics (It’s soap/)

And finally – Sushi Beeswax Votives by Hansen Soap Co

Fav Forum Posts: Shrink Band Tips

Marr Williams — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:00:52 +0000

I’ve wanted to start a weekly topic called “Fav Forum Posts” for some time and have decided there is no time like the present. My favorite forum post this week was a shrink band tip discussion from The Dish Forum. Member tips include ideas on how to get even shrinking around soap bars and lip balm tubes without burning your fingers!

For further discussion on shrink wrapping CP soap – see a recent Teach Soap Forum topic here.

Have you seen a blogworthy post in your favorite forums this week? Send me the link to the post and to your website or shop and I’ll post them both on the blog.

Have a great day!

And the winner is….

Marr Williams — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 10:47:46 +0000

Commenter #9!

Pat Bailey of VontriesAromas.com in Steubenville, OH!

Congratulations Pat! You’ve won the scale! I’ll be emailing you shortly to get your address info.

A big fat thank you to all who entered. I’m hoping to do this again soon so check back for updates!

Hello? Is anybody out there? I have something for you!

Marr Williams — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:43:07 +0000

Helloooooooooo! I’ve been bad bad bad I know. I haven’t lost interest in this blog – I’ve just been REALLY busy. This is good and bad. My commitments are obviously growing and in need of some weeding though.

To make it up to you for being away so much I am giving away an Escali Aqua Digital Liquid Measuring Scale from Souther Soapers.

Leave a comment to enter and let me know you’re still out there!

Market Display: Spring Spruce Up

Marr Williams — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 10:53:54 +0000

It doesn’t matter how attractive your products are if you have a frumpy display. Keeping it fresh and fun not only attracts a crowd – but it can enhance your products and help you sell them. The following is a list of DIY projects that will spruce up your display and get those products moving.

Decorate your tables and lifts with pattern: You don’t have decorate with flowers. Use any pattern that complements your display design. Your logo might be a great choice too!
http://www.craftynest.com/2009/03/bamboo-veneer-flowers-ikea-lack-tables/

Fresh Table Covers:

It’s easy to find fabulous looking fabrics just about anywhere these days so why not replace your tired, out-of-season table cloths with something fresh for spring! (Don’t sew? Don’t sweat it. There are several liquid stitch products you can use.)
http://www.hamburgerpanda.com/2882811

This tutorial is for curtains but would work great on your table fronts too! http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/03/craft_pattern_podcast_loopdloo.html?CMP=OTC-5JF307375954

If you’ve got the time – the last project would look fabulous with some of these beautiful covered buttons sprinkled in:
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/42746/how-to-make-singleton-buttons

Organza Flower Tutorial:
http://www.reesedixon.com/2009/03/organza-flowers.html

Decorative Images: A few of these laid about with pictures of botanicals or even your products could be stunning too:
http://photojojo.com/content/diy/glass-jar-photo-frames/

Just for you: And when you’re done with all of that – kick back with one of these little lovlies: (I wouldn’t suggest this project first since you’ll be working with sharp obejects and all.)
http://mixthatdrink.com/b-52/