Crafty Business hit the ground running at the beginning of this month and returns to Churchills Public House (441 Colombo Street in Sydenham, Christchurch) at 7pm this coming Monday, 2 March.

This month we’re looking at the big picture – what’s involved in running a crafty business and how to make it work for you. Please bring along your creations for show and tell – we’d love to see your work!

Crafty Business is a chance for Christchurch crafters to get together and exchange ideas, make new contacts, collaborate and socialise with like-minded people. Come and join us for a healthy dose of inspirational crafty company, business planning advice and a glass of wine at Churchills in Sydenham at 7pm on Monday 2 March. Email me at admin@felt.co.nz for further details or check out the Crafty Business blog for the latest.

I’ve just uploaded a whole page of shiny new buttons you can use to link to Felt from your website, blog or mySpace. Choose yours here.

This handy little email link in the right hand column of every Felt listing allows you to send an automatic email to a friend with a link directing them to the listing.

So if you see some sparkly earrings that you know your sister will LOVE, or a cushion cover that would look gorgeous on your best friend’s new couch, email a link to them! It’s also a less-than-subtle way to send birthday pressie hints to your friends and family – see Using Your Wishlist for another useful feature relating to this.

Spreading the word is a great way to support the artists and designers on Felt.

• Try to use a clean background, preferably a uniform colour. A sheet hung on a line, a plain curtain or a white wall are good backdrops.

• Include multiple photos from varying angles if possible.

• Make sure you have reasonable lighting. A flash or direct sunlight can distort colours and create harsh shadows and bright highlights, so are best avoided. Short of studio lighting, bright natural light on an overcast day is the easiest way to get a good result.

• Use one of your photos to show an item in context (like a serving suggestion) – ie. if you’re selling an item of clothing, include a photo of someone modelling it. Or if you’re selling a coffee cup you might show it on a shelf or mug hook, or on a coffee table with a magazine. If you do use props, make sure it’s clear in your description that the props are not included!

• Include a close-up if possible, to show texture or details.

With the Felt allowance of four photos per listing, here’s a good rule of thumb:

1. standalone item against plain backdrop
2. same as 1, but from a different angle
3. close-up or detail
4. item in context

See Photo Formats for more information.

As well as the written description of your product, Felt allows 10 keywords or tags for each listing which are used by the search function.

Coming up with keywords is not always as easy as it sounds. Use a thesaurus. Use a dictionary. If your product has an alternative name or if there’s a common typo or mis-spelling of the name of your product, include it as a keyword.

Think about:

• Colours – what’s the dominant colour of your product? Does it have secondary colours?

• Style – funky, elegant, techno, emo, classy, casual, sporty…

• Texture or pattern – rough, smooth, soft or grainy… stripy, spotty, floral…

• Materials – wool, paper, cotton, wood, metal…

• Properties – warm, strong, durable, delicate…

• Size/volume/quantity

• Potential uses

• Occasions – Valentine’s Day, house-warming, Mother’s Day, wedding or 21st…

• Who would it appeal to? Gardeners? Sports fans? Movie buffs? Kids?

To make the most of your keyword allowance, use a selection of ideas from the list above – ie. maybe keywords 1 and 2 are colours, 3 is style, 4 is textures, 6 and 7 are materials, 8 is an occasion it could be appropriate for and 9 and 10 are people it might appeal to.

Devise a system that works for your product and use it to keep your shop consistent and speed up your listing process.

• The most difficult thing about selling on the internet is that your potential buyer can’t touch the product – include a tactile description.

• Imagine you are buying the product without ever seeing it before – what would you want to know? Put yourself in your customer’s shoes.

• Use plenty of accurate descriptive language to help your customer feel more comfortable about what they’re buying; eg. instead of “green scarf”, add in a few more adjectives – “lime green lacy crocheted scarf”.

• Offering a refund if the product is not what your customer expected also helps increase buyer confidence.

• Include suggestions of how the product could be used or displayed.

• Tell the story behind your product – the inspiration, the creative process, what it means to you.

• Above all, be honest.

• include your Felt address on your business card and stationery

• add a Felt link to your emails as a signature

• link to your Felt shop from your website or blog

• link to your Felt shop from your best mate’s website or blog

• list your Felt shop in online directories