Inspired by Remarkablogger’s Open Discussion & The Mogul Mom’s Weigh-In Wednesdays, I’m following suit with Talk Thursday.

Charlie Gilkey posted a fantastic guest article over the Heather’s blog called 8 Ways to Work Smarter & Be Happier and it has me thinking:

What can you CUT OUT from your schedule right now that will allow you to work smarter and be happier?

I hate worrying, don’t you?

Every now and again I run across people in the handmade blogging/consulting arena who make me anxious. Even if our audiences are different and I have no reason to really worry, I often feel nervous and think things like:

I wish I had a better layout on my blog

Why is their traffic so much higher than mine

I wish people were buzzing about my website too

Now, the only way to overcome these feelings is to sit down and take a hard look at their business.

The reasons you want to analyze your competitors is to see:

- What they are doing right.

- Things they are doing wrong.

- The items selling best for them.

- Where they’ve been featured and for what.

- What people are buzzing most about.

Then you can come up with serious ways to CRUSH IT and create your own handmade fame.

4 Simple Ways to Crush Your Handmade Competitors

Tip #1 – Make yourself unique.

What makes you and/or your products different from your competitors? If you don’t know, you need to come up with something to set yourself apart. To me, making yourself unique really boils down to one question:

Who Wants to Buy Your Products?

If you are selling to everyone, narrow that down NOW. Three Examples:

• You and your competitors sell handmade soap which is for ‘everyone’. You decide to make yourself different by only making soap for men. You would change your fragrance list and color scheme then start marketing your new brand accordingly. Not only will you be ‘different’ from your competitors, you will start being remembered as the ‘handmade soap company just for men’. Stuff like that spreads fast.

Now one thing to consider is that “men” is a big category. You can take this down another few notches and create a niche for yourself that is easy to market and create a buzz for. Most men are very different. Some like like sports, some that hate them. Men who like cars, men who are eco it up on the streetcar. Young men, old men.  Gaming men and Working Men.

• Say you sell handmade cards. If you only want to sell online but that means trying to sell cards among a lot of crafty people. So you decide to change things up and create a bunch of ‘card making kits’. These kits are aimed at crafty kids so now all the crafty people are snapping them up. Now you are the Crafty Kids Card Kit Company and you are an instant hit.

• What if you are a jewelry designer? You want to appeal to brides because that’s where the big money is but you are consistently being beaten in sales by competitor shops. You decide to do something crazy and start targeting “Eco-Brides”. You start sourcing all of your material locally and incorporate recycled pieces as well. You even create a line featuring live grass that has to be watered. Now you’re unique AND in the money!

Tip #2 – Improve your photos.

After being unique, your photos are the biggest factor in success. When you sell online, noone can physically touch or examine your pieces so you need to show them exactly how they look by snapping photos that will give buyers a real sense of what they are about to purchase.

This is going to sound harsh. You KNOW if your photos stink. I don’t care how old you are or how inexperienced you are. If you want to take awful shots and then talk about them as being ‘not bad’ then just forget online selling. Not bad won’t get you sales regardless of how damn unique you are. There are endless resources out there to help you improve your photos but let’s start with the most simple factors:

• Buy a new camera

If you are using a camera you got 5 years ago, it’s time for an upgrade. If you aren’t sure about investing in a new camera you could borrow a few from different friends and family to see which one produces the best results. I spent a month researching the best camera for my business.

• Practice makes perfect

I hate saying this but it’s true. I snapped a minimum of 30 shots PER item until I found 5 quality photos to use on Etsy. Some days I couldn’t even 5 good ones and had to snap another 30 per item. As time went on, I just took 5 shots per product and all of them were perfect.

• Use common sense

Would you want to buy a brand new book from Amazon that is snapped on top of someone’s bed. That’s just weird. What if it was on top of a wood floor. Not professional. It doesn’t matter if this is your home business, you need to go for a clean look for all of your photos.

• Do your homework

Back to the endless resources available. Read up on tips and actually TAKE ACTION on them.

Tip #3 – Offer something they don’t.

You know your business well so you will examine competitors and easily identify things you consider ‘flaws’. Use your competitors weak points to enhance your own business. For instance, say they only offer made to order items. You will start busting your butt to create a selection of ready made items, shipped out within 1 business day. Or what if they charge $5 for gift wrapping. Now you will start offering complimentary gift wrapping (which you can factor into your prices to ensure you aren’t losing a dime).

Where do you look for these flaws?

• Their website

• In their shop photos and listing descriptions

• In their blogs & social sites

• In their advertising

Tip #4 – Be Everywhere and then some.

The best part about social media is there are so many people still unwilling to try. That means some of your competitors may not be on Twitter or Facebook yet. Get on there are start spreading the word about what YOU offer before they do. By the time they get on there, you will already be 10 steps ahead.

It’s still very likely that the other half of your competitors are already using social sites. No biggie. Use the same ‘examining technique’ to determine their social media weaknesses. There’s a damn good chance they are just tweeting their own links so since you just read up on how not to be annoying on Twitter, you know how to use Twitter more effectively which makes your brand more likable and your success more favorable.

One last thought: Once you have worked on tips 1, 2 & 3 you will need to actively and aggressively promote yourself because noone will know about your great UNIQUE brand but you.

The bottom line is there are endless ways to stand out from the crowd but these 4 tips are the easiest and most successful ways to really kick things up a notch. If you found this post helpful be sure to leave a comment and tweet this post by clicking on the ‘retweet’ button at the top of the post!

… Or why I’m going to stop.

Twitter is my favorite social media tool by far. Better than blogging. Better than Facebook. Better than forums.

It’s so easy to use and anyone in the know uses it to network. When I use to sell jewelry and tweeted as Plume Adore, man was I doing it wrong. I would just write things like:

Taking Azura to the park

What color bracelet should I make today?

New listing added to Etsy (link)

What a maroon! It was ALL about me. Now that I tweet from a different perspective I am here to tell you that being a selfish tweeter is not going to get you ahead and may even SET YOU BACK.

With Twitter there is an 80/20 rule. You give 80 percent of the time and take only 20 percent of the time. By give I mean things like replying to other tweets, retweeting messages, asking questions (not related to your own company), providing help to other user’s questions and in general, just being SOCIAL. By take I mean sharing your own links or talking about yourself.

I constantly see people complaining that Twitter is not effective or it’s a ‘waste of time’. You don’t even need to spend more than a few minutes a day on it for it to not only drive traffic to your shop but more importantly, get noticed by people who normally would not notice you. For instance, you may never get a response from someone you pitched yourself to but if you start replying to their tweets with relevant comments/feedback, they may just remember you the next time you submit your work for consideration!

Things that will annoy people:

• Tweeting your own links constantly

–> This pisses people off and it doesn’t matter how many followers you have. I really prefer the tweets of people who are linking to funny, interesting or OMG articles and when they throw in their own posts/items, I’m happy to take a look.

–> There is an Etsy seller on Twitter who has over 30,000 followers and she just pipes out her own damn product links. Now I did a test and replied to the first question I saw her ask in weeks. I ended my answer with a question to see if she would respond but big surprise, she NEVER did. That’s not someone I’d ever want to follow again and the worse part that she probably doesn’t get, I would never ever purchase from her or recommend her products. She is ’selfish’ in my eyes and that’s not a good look you want for your own business, ya know?

• Asking people to retweet all your tweets

–> You can surely ask for a retweet when it’s important to you but if you ask for one every single time, it’s going to dilute your influence and brand.

• Never replying, retweeting or helping others

–> I use to always wonder (while tweeting as Plume Adore) why I never got retweets or replies but it was simple, I NEVER did replied or retweeted. The funny thing, I felt shy, like not wanting to ‘bother’ people with responses but that’s what Twitter is ALL about.

For more tips on Twitter, go sign up for the Social Media Success Tips (free e-course) here.

A long time ago, back when I was a few weeks into my Wholesale Journey, I started a thread on Etsy that became quite popular. People loved how easy I made wholesaling sound and even Etsy highlighted it in their “Success Newsletter”.

Then not long ago, this really awful seller decided to start trouble within the thread and alleged a lot of things. A few were true:

- I had a few other Etsy accounts that I never ‘deactivated’. I had no idea that was against the rules but I happily closed them down (one was when I use to sell handmade cards, the other when I sold scrapbooking supplies).

- I went against the rules and promoted a contest in the Business Topics section. At the time I really thought that since the giveaway included all prizes to improve an Etsy shop (banners, accounting spreadsheets etc) it would be relevant but I knew better and shouldn’t have done it.

- I had my shop in vacation mode but directed it to another site (my blog). Apparently that’s also against the rules but because Etsy doesn’t allow you to deactivate your seller account (and just keep a buyer account/profile) I had to stay on vacation otherwise I might get a sale (ha!).

The many other things she said were a cross between ridiculous and outrageous. One thing that completely pissed me off was when she said she never believed I actually got my work into stores and thought I just said this so I could get blog followers. Maybe this troll needs a timeline check:

End of April 2009 – Started selling handmade jewelry on Etsy

June 2009 – Started canvassing for wholesale accounts and got 5 orders in 3 weeks

End of June 2009 – Wrote the Wholesale Thread in question

September 2009 – Took a break from Etsy so I could try my hand at just wholesaling

November 2009 – Started my first blog (the former Etsy Business Blog)

January 2010 – Stopped wholesaling officially

So that would have been a seriously diabolical plan right!? HAHA

The FUNNY part is that she actually broke the very rules she supposedly was trying to uphold. Now I promised not to look at that thread again because it’s easy to feel discouraged by negative comments. But yesterday for some strange reason I decided to stop in and saw more nasty things (including new ones from that awful lady).

But one comment was a mix between snarky and nice. So I wanted to take some time to address the straight shooter’s questions and also give you more insight into why I changed my business model.

acageybee says:

So I’m guessing it’s more profitable to be a consultant & sell line sheets, e-books etc. on wholesaling than to actually make & sell jewelry?

Not more profitable if you factor in my time. With wholesaling, it was sending off my line sheet, waiting to hear from people, getting an order, filling it and getting paid. With consulting and products based around teaching, there is LOT more involved. For one, most of my work week revolves around stuff I don’t get paid for like:

- The Handmade ACTION Newsletter which is delivered to over 1100 subscribers. I have to prepare an action tip twice a week with a corresponding blog post taking the tips deeper.

- I write for a handful of blogs/websites where I help other artists get exposure or showcase handmade fashion finds. This is both strategic and personal. I get exposure but I also help people which feels damn good. Today my friend Grace got a boat load of exposure thanks to an article I pitched t0 Etsy so it’s things like this that really excite me.

- Networking. There is a LOT of networking which I actually thoroughly enjoy.

That being said, I did see an opportunity to give others the tools they needed to get their stuff into stores. I always say “Wholesale isn’t for everyone” because it wasn’t for me. There was a lot of factors, for one, I realized that I didn’t want to make jewelry forever. It was sad actually because I was so SURE you know. I am 24 so I think that my age and background allows me to try new things. One thing has ALWAYS been the same and that’s that I want to stay involved with the handmade community because that’s my passion. Another big issue with wholesaling that I hated had to do with my products. I will be detailing this in another LONG winded post.

Not hating at all! It’s still super helpful information & you obviously have to do what’s best for you & your family, but I’d love to hear a current perspective.

Did you get a lot of wholesale accounts & then realize that making so many pieces as an assembly line wasn’t very fulfilling? I’ve heard other people say that they used to do wholesale & eventually decided it wasn’t for them for exactly that reason.

That was definitely part of it! I outline a few things to consider before wholesaling here but my take is:

- JUST wholesaling isn’t a great plan unless you want to eventually hire workers to create most of your line for you. Looking back, I could have done this because it would have given me more time to stay on top of ordering supplies and landing more accounts. I also was juggling this while staying home full time with my toddler so that added chaos.

- The pieces I created weren’t time consuming. I could fill a 300 piece order in under 2 hours but it was definitely tedious. If you truly LOVE creating for a living, you will probably be okay with the ‘assembly line’ process at first, but again you may have to start thinking about outsourcing part of that later. I realized jewelry making was more of a hobby.

- I like varied types of work. I have found great success in all my latest endeavors but the exciting thing was being able to keep my workload different every day. This helps me enjoy what I do because I get bored easily. I don’t think it’s a flaw but some would see it as “flaky”.  Thankfully being flaky has allowed much fulfillment in my life and I am excited about all the new things that will come my way in time.

Do you still sell jewelry? The business blog & consulting must take up a lot of time. Is that the direction you plan to go full time?

I can see how emailing a PDF would be a better business model. Takes time to write up the initial info, but then you can sell it over & over again. And no post office trips!

Thanks for all the info & best of luck in whatever path you choose!

The post office was indeed the least favorite part of my day! I took my last wholesale order in December 2009 but actually got two emails from retailers interested in picking up my line for this Spring. I just don’t have the urge to do it anymore and yes everything involved with the blog, newsletter and consulting is time consuming.

As for my PDF reports, they are custom to each seller so I cannot sell them again and again (wouldn’t that be lovely!). They require individual research because some days I’m working with a jewelry company in Canada and another day it’s a card company in Dallas. I will be launching new products over time to allow more passive income but I really enjoy researching different markets because it helps me keep up to date on the retail market. A healthy challenge!

Thanks for allowing me to write this post, it’s been a long time coming

I got word recently that a new online website launching very soon is looking for jewelry designers who are interested in wholesaling their work.

The new site is catered to plus sized women so if you make jewelry and can accomadate larger sized pieces for this website, leave a comment here (make sure your shop URL is in the website box).

I will keep you posted on all the details closer to the launch date!

scoutie girl

Just a quick note to say I’m the newest contributor of Scoutie Girl, a blog with a penchant for the passionately handmade!

I will be writing a weekly pop culture inspired post filled with tons handmade goodies! I was telling Tara, Scoutie Girl’s editor, that the biggest reason I desperately wanted to contribute was because I needed a ‘getaway’ from posting about business related topics.  I am super excited and hope that you will stop by often and check out all the happenings at Scoutie Girl.

Later today my first official post will be up, My Handmade Oscar Party!

This is FREE for anyone who signs up to the Winter Biz Sessions through this post. The Teleseminar consists of:

• a private one hour video presentation with “Tips for selling your handmade goods in 2010″
• Your questions answered! (15 minute Q&A session at the end)
• Copy of presentation for those who can’t make it live
• 10 page Brainstorming workbook so you can take ACTION
• Advertising 101 mini guide
• Pitch template for getting your work featured on blogs/websites

I have been thinking of ways to make the Etsy Action Newsletter more exciting for you. In the past few weeks, I have been in promo mode with my latest products and programs so I wanted to say THANK YOU for sticking around and supporting me.

This is a business just like yours. I provide tips, services and coaching so that sellers like you can make more sales, erase stress and meet long term goals. I want you to know this because although I offer great free tips and help out many sellers with exposure, I am also growing my business and I won’t apologize for marketing my products. This is Handmade Marketer after all.

Back on topic here, I know YOU want to grow your business and find the success you dream of. I am in a position to help so here’s what I am proposing.

Starting this Monday, February 1st, the Etsy Action Newsletter will be 99% reader requested tips.

Say you need help getting started on Twitter. I will give you an action tip or video. Or perhaps you need help redoing your shop policies. I will give you some great guidelines. Anything YOU want, I will try and cover.

I will also be writing many complimentary blog posts (or guest posts) for those who need a little more help with their action tip or want to dig deeper into that particular topic!

BUT IT GETS EVEN BETTER. If I choose to do a tip on a topic you posted about, I will link back to your shop or blog. That will give you great exposure and perhaps even some heart love but more importantly, this will improve your search engine optimization!
(At press time this newsletter goes out to over 1100 subscribers!)

How to request a topic: Simply leave a comment (add your shop/blog link in the url box, NOT the comment area) with the topic/topics you would like addressed in an upcoming newsletter. I cannot choose every topic especially when some ideas may similar but I will do my very best to help!

Should you wholesale your work (and do you really want to!)?

I landed 5 wholesale accounts in under a month of trying without a sales rep, fancy trade show or help of an expert. That being said, there are a few things you should ask yourself.

1- Do you really want to craft full time?

If you find certain parts of crafting tedious or not something your body could handle in the long run, you might be better off doing this as a hobby. With wholesale, you will be making items furiously and for longer hours so if you truly don’t love it, don’t wholesale.

2- Can you afford buying supplies in bulk?

When you sell online it’s easy to order supplies in small batches to make a few specific products but when you wholesale, you will need to have enough supplies on hand to make an army of items. Chances are high you get most of your supplies from online sellers so you will have to spend a decent amount ahead of time to ensure you have all materials and components needed for your entire collection. I always tried to have enough supplies in stock to make four of every item in my collection.

3 – Are you ready to feel stressed?

Wholesaling is completely different than selling to a single customer. What you do can make or break your business. Take it from someone who has screwed  up almost as much as I got things right, you will feel stressed, scared and you may even cry. It’s normal and guess what, the good WILL outweigh the bad on your road to wholesale success.

4 – Are you willing to raise your prices?

I was lucky enough to be allowed a 30% discount for my first wholesale order but this is NOT the norm. If you want to wholesale beyond a few accounts, you will need to raise prices enough to offer 50% off your prices. You have two options, make a new collection to wholesale where you can offer the half off discount OR raise the prices on your current items (the latter being much easier).

Don’t get me wrong, I want you to wholesale but just remember it’s a long term commitment so  just make sure you are willing to do what it takes!

I thought I’d spread word about an amazing site just for small business craft owners like YOU!

Have you been to the new blog A Fine Tooth Comb by the lovely Julie from On the Dot Creations?

If the answer is no then you are MISSING OUT! I urge to hop over there now and read through all of her posts for help with:

Customer Service
Etsy Tagging
Product Photo Tips

She put together this amazing list of resources for Small Business Owners and you should check out each and every link because I guarantee you they will impact your business in a very positive way. Be sure to subscribe to her newsletter to receive the Etsy Bad Hair Day Quiz!

Happy reading!