Ninja Knowledge©

Where the Good Stuff Is....

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:42:00 +0000

Hi everyone!

I miss you guys so much these days, and I hate that I've been away so long. I promise I'm not trying to abandon you all forever, it's just that I've been super busy with Handmade News!

If you haven't checked it out, please head over that way and give it a look!

I'm the editor of the business tips department, and you can find a ridiculous amount of great information there!

I'm blessed to have an amazing group of columnists, and they are working their fingers off producing more helpful articles than you can imagine! Just this week we're running articles on Internet Radio Ads, Business World Manners, Elevator Speeches, Staying Sane with Filing, the Five P's of Marketing and SO many more!

Please stop by and check out all the wonderful things we're doing over there!

Thanks, and I look forward to seeing you all soon!

♥

How to Add a Scrolling Feedback Marquee

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:24:00 +0000

On my other blog, I have a scrolling marquee at the top that I use to show off my feedback from my studios. A few people have asked me about how to do this, so I'm going to share the code here. But first, you need to decide what you want to use your marquee for. You can type anything you'd like in it, but it helps to have that text ready before you try to paste the code. It's not a hard thing to create, but it's a little time consuming, so just be warned! (If you're going to use your feedback/kudos like I did, it helps a lot to copy and paste each one into one new list before you begin. Just use Word or any sort of notepad software. It doesn't need to be fancy right now. This will save you a ton of headaches later!)

Once you know what you want your marquee to say, just follow these steps:

1. On your blogger dashboard, click "layout"

2. On the top of the layout, click "Add new gadget" and choose the "HTML/JavaScript" option.

3. Paste the following code into the box:
<font color="#ffffff" align="center"><marquee behavior="scroll" direction="up" onmouseover="this.stop()" width="900" onmouseout="this.start()" scrollamount="1" height="50">text goes here</marquee></font>

4. Replace the yellow words with your text you've already pre-prepared.

5. Right now, what you'll have if you save this is a whole bunch of sentences that are strung together with no breaks in between. If what you posted is not a paragraph, but rather a list of statements that need breaks, you're going to have to add a bit more code. (If you do not need these breaks, skip to step 7.)

6. To add line breaks to your marquee, copy and paste this after every sentence:

7. To italicize any words in your text, copy and paste this code around the text needing formatting:

<i></i>

(like this: <i>these words need to be in italics</i>)

8. To make words bold, paste this code around the words:

<b></b>

(like this: <b>these words need to be in bold</b>)

9. (Right now, because I used the code from my own blog, the font is in white. If you like the white font, skip this step.) To change the color of the font in your marquee, find the part of the code that looks like this:
<font color="#ffffff" align="center">
Go here, and find the code that relates to the color you want your text to be. Replace the yellow letters above with that code.

10. Once you've made all the changes you need to make, hit save. Be sure you drag and drop the new gadget below your header, or you may not be able to see it! (You can also hit save along the way and preview your marquee. You are always able to go back and edit the code to get it just how you want it.)

There are lots of other cool things you can do with your marquee, but for now, we've covered the basics. If you want yours to do something I didn't cover, please let me know and I'll see if I can show you how!

♥

*A few notes about this particular marquee: It's only written to fit across the width of your page. You can put it anywhere, but it will take up the whole width of the page, so it's best on the top or bottom of your page. Also, it has a "stop on mouse" function. This means that when you hover over it, it will stop scrolling. If you don't like this, let me know and I can tell you how to change it!*

How to Add a Pop-Up Caption in Blogger

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:58:00 +0000

As many of us have discovered, Blogger has no easy way to add a caption to your photos. For someone like me, who can be pretty long winded, it irritates me that I have to add even more to an already long post just to explain what a short caption could do so much more efficiently. I also think captions give a more polished look and feel to a blog, so I've been spending a lot of time trying to find a good way to make this happen.

I haven't found that way yet, but I did find a method that makes me happy in the interim. Instead of placing the caption below or beside the picture, you can easily place a caption "within" the picture. To see this in action, hover over the picture here:

If you'd like to do this to your own pictures, just choose a picture on your computer and follow along!

1. Upload the picture to your blogger post by clicking the add image icon () and then use the "Add an image from your computer" option to insert the pic.

2. Once you have your image uploaded, and making sure you're in the "Edit HTML" tab of your post, you should see a lot of code similar to this:
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rYUxmku_JcI/Sf_h2Lo2YxI/ AAAAAAAAAgQ/BuwWqR9BzEY/s1600-h/13059_product_571284295_thumb_large.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rYUxmku_JcI/Sf_h2Lo2YxI/ AAAAAAAAAgQ/BuwWqR9BzEY/s200/ 13059_product_571284295_thumb_large.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332228804783268626" /></a>

3. You need to paste the yellow code into the right spot in the above mentioned code, so it looks like this:

4. Change all the words in italics to what you actually want the caption to say, and hit "Preview". As long as you've copied all the code correctly, you should be able to hover over the picture and see your caption pop up. (If you don't see it, or if your picture doesn't show up correctly, check to make sure you didn't accidentally delete any quotation marks or slashes from the code.)

♥

HALP!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:31:00 +0000

This ninja needs ideas from you guys!

I'm running low on my "things you guys have asked" list... anyone have any suggestions for future topics?

Please?

:cute face:

♥

Using Facebook to Promote Your Studio - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:16:00 +0000

Last week I discussed the basics of using Facebook to promote your studio. If you haven't checked that post out, you may want to make sure you've read it before you continue with this one. Today I'm going to show you how to make a Facebook page to promote your studio, but first, let's discuss exactly what this page is and what it's for.

A Facebook page is essentially a "fan page" that any registered user can set up. I'm sure you've seen updates on timelines that say "Mr. So-and-so became a fan of *insert doodad here*" All that means is that someone, somewhere created a fan page, and Mr. So-and-so found it and decided it was cool. The good part about these pages is that you can use them solely for promotion, because you've already found an interested audience (who voluntarily signed up to listen!). Additionally, unlike your personal page, your fan page can be viewed and "liked" by any member of Facebook. It's a great way to reach lots of people you wouldn't otherwise have contact with, because the "liking" often starts off a chain reaction! (If you've never seen a Facebook page, click here and you can see the one I created while writing this tutorial!)

So, if you're ready to create one of these awesome pages, log in to your Facebook account and follow along!

1. Click this link. (It will help to right click and open it in a new tab/window) You should see this:

2. Under category, choose "Brand, Product, or Organization" and then "Online Store"

3. Enter the name of your studio in this box:

4. Check the box that asks for authorization, and then type your full name in the signature box. ("Full name" means the exact name your Facebook account is under.)

5. Hit "Create Page". You should now see this:

6. Add information to your page like your avatar, product pictures, sales information, and website address. Once you start adding things, you will see this notice show up at the top of the page:

Be sure you click the "Publish this page" link so it's viewable to the world!

7. You've now created your Facebook page! Be sure (once you're done editing everything) that you invite all your friends to your page. To do this, hit the "Suggest to Friends" link under the main picture and follow along.(Remember to add yourself as a fan, too!)

♥

*As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future topics here! And please leave a link to your new page in the comments so I can become a fan!*

Manic Monday Post

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:45:00 +0000

Hi everyone!

Please forgive my lack of quality posting today. Unfortunately there are things that need to be dealt with immediately in the "real world", and this has prevented me from being able to finish my regular Monday post. I promise I will be back soon with more awesome Ninja Knowledge.

Please send some good thoughts and well wishes my way.... as I will be doing for each of you!

♥

Using Facebook to Promote Your Studio - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 13:33:00 +0000

Many of us already use Facebook as a way to keep up with friends and family, but are you using your Facebook account to its fullest potential? There are quite a few ways to use Facebook to promote, and today I'm just going to show you a quick easy tip to get you started.

The way Facebook works, it keeps a "timeline" of all your recent activity and broadcasts it to everyone in your friend list/network. For instance, if you set your status to "Having a good day", everyone that logs on can see that little blurb about your life. Using this status is one way you can promote (by saying something like "Great sale going on today in my studio!"), but sometimes that just isn't enough. First of all, you've only given a bit of vague information, and second, there's not really much there to make your update stand out from all the other updates.

Instead, how about creating an update that has everything you need all rolled into one? By using the "Add a Link" feature, you are able to promote your studio/sale/blog, show a picture, and provide a clickable link to your studio! To do this, log into your Facebook account (or create one if you don't already have one!) and follow these steps:

1. On the top of the window that shows your facebook account, click on "Profile".

2. Find the box that looks like this:

and click inside the typing area.

3. You should notice that the box changes, and now looks like this:

Click "Link"

4. The box will expand like this:

Type (or copy/paste) your studio URL (or item/blog URL) in the second box and hit "Attach".

5. As long as the page you are linking to has any graphic on it, the box will expand again and you will now see a graphic showing. (If you're linking to your Artfire studio, chances are the first thing you will see will be your verified artisan icon).

Click the arrows beside the picture till you find one that suits you.

6. In the box above the picture, type in text pertaining to the link (if you wish).

7. Hit "Share". You should see it show up in your timeline like this:

Your "all in one" update is done! Now every person on your friends list will see it the next time they log in!

* I know this may seem like very basic information to a lot of you, but I just wanted to cover all the bases before I moved onto things like creating pages and paid advertising. Please forgive me if it is too simplistic. *

♥

p.s. If you aren't already one of my Facebook friends, I'd love for you to add me so I don't miss any of your fancy new updates!

Creating and Adding a Favicon to Your Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:28:00 +0000

Do you know what a favicon is? It's that little picture that shows up beside your blog address in the address bar of your browser. And, if you're using Blogger, chances are your favicon is a little orange "B". Now take a look at the address bar for this blog. See how there's no "B" there? Instead, you should be seeing a little ninja face/figure. Isn't that cool? (I think so anyway!)

So, besides the cool factor, why does it matter what your favicon is?

It matters because when your blog is added to an RSS feed reader, or when someone has a tab open to your blog (depending on the browser), that favicon will show beside the title of your blog! And we all know that standing out in this sea of artisans is super important, so why not use a favicon to set yourself apart?

Changing your favicon is easy to do, and if you want to change yours, here's what you need to do:

1. Choose a picture you want to use as your favicon. It helps to keep it simple here, because you will be shrinking the picture to minute proportions. Remember that things like text and fine details may get lost in the translation, so choose wisely! (It also helps to save it to the desktop so you can find it easily!)

2. Go here and sign up for an account. (You'll be sent a verification email, so go ahead and check for that and click the included link before you go to step 3.)

3. Sign in to your new account and find the part of the page that looks like this:

4. Click "Choose File", select the picture you're going to turn into your favicon, and hit "Upload Now".

5. You should see this now:

(Don't worry about how distorted that big picture looks, it's the tiny picture above it that matters!)

6. As long as the little picture is acceptable to you, type in a name and hit "Save It". (Be sure you have a check mark in the box that says "Set as my default favicon".)

7. On the left hand side of the page, click the link that says "My Favicon Code."

8. You're going to see a screen that looks like this:

Copy all the code in the top box and IGNORE THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE YELLOW BOX!!! (They won't work with blogger anymore, so we have to cheat a little!)

9. Open a new window and log into your Blogger dashboard.

10. Click "Layout" and "Edit HTML".

11. Back up your template by clicking "Download Full Template" here:

(Just save it somewhere and leave it alone. It's just in case something goes wonky!)

12. Scroll down the page till you see this:

]]></b:skin>
and this:
</head>

(It's going to be about 2/3 of the way through all that code, and one will be right on top of the other.)

13. Paste the code you copied between those two bits of code you found. It should look similar to this:

14. Hit "preview" and wait for the page to load. As long as you see your new favicon showing in your address bar, go ahead and hit "save template". (If you don't see it, hit "clear edits", tell it "ok" and try again. If it still won't work, just clear your edits, back out, and let me know so I can try to help!)

Congrats! You now have a new favicon for your blog!

♥

p.s. I haven't forgotten I promised you "target market answers"... I'm still working on them, so please be patient! :wink:

I Need Your Help Making a Decision...

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:51:00 +0000

I'm working hard on filling out the answers to my "finding your target market" questions, and I hope all of you are, too. Because of this, I'm taking a break today from bombarding you with new information. I will be back tomorrow to give you the promised "what do we do with these answers" post, so please get your answers ready and check back!

Before you run off to put the finishing touches on those questions, though, I'd like to get your input on something:

I'm wondering if you guys would be interested in tutorials that don't involve the computer. Meaning, would you like to see "how to make x" type posts in addition to the type of content already posted? Or would you prefer that we keep it strictly to the "how to's" we already have?

Please help me decide. I really value your input, and I want this blog to cater to what everyone wants. I also hate to waste your time giving you information you don't want/need in the first place.

Thanks so much, and I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

♥

Using Feedburner - Part 3 - Showing Your Feed Count

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 13:01:00 +0000

Remember when I talked about social proof? Well, a good way to increase your social proof is to show off how many blog readers you have. You most likely already do this by showing your followers somewhere on your blog, but did you know that you may actually have more readers than that widget shows?

By using Feedburner's "Feed Count Chicklet", you can show these "hidden readers" on your blog as well! These simple instructions will walk you through setting up and installing that chicklet on your blog:

1. Log into your Feedburner account and click on the feed you want to create a Feed Count Chicklet for. (If you don't already have a Feedburner account set up, please go here first: Feedburner Step 1)

2. Click the tab near the top of the window that says "Publicize"

3. On the left hand side of the page, click the link that says "FeedCount". Your page should now look like this:

4. Decide which of the two chicklet styles shown looks more appealing to you, and click on the button beside it.

5. Below the style choices, you will see a color grid. Choose a color for the body of your chicklet. Then, click on the button beside text and choose a color for your text from the grid.

6. At the bottom of the window, click the button that says "Activate". Your screen should now look like this:

(If you don't like the way your chicklet looks, you can change the colors by repeating Step 5. To see the changes, simply hit "Save" at the bottom of the window.)

7. Once you have your chicklet looking like you want it, copy the code below it and open a new window.

8. In the new window, log into your Blogger dashboard and click "Layout".

9. Click "Add a Gadget" and choose the "HTML/JavaScript" option.

10. Paste the code you copied into this widget and hit "Save".

Your new chicklet will show up on your blog now, and the number of readers will automatically update as your subscriber list grows!

If you have any questions, please let me know.

♥

Twitter Spring Cleaning Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:47:00 +0000

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend, and I hope you're all ready to be back to the "creative grind" today!

I had a nice, lazy weekend and I spent a lot of "down time" messing about on the internet. Due to the fact that I had too much time on my hands, I wound up staring at my twitter account for way too long. This boredom induced "twitter coma" led me to a conclusion: I follow far too many people on twitter who have nothing to say. (Meaning, I realized I was following in excess of 500 people, yet only about 150 of those actually tweet on a regular basis!)

I decided that I needed to remedy this situation, and the only way I could think of was to individually go to each page and "unfollow" the unwanted. Well, in case you haven't figured it out by now, I hate doing things the hard way. I prefer to maximize my laziness by making efficient use of the tools found on the internet. So the search was on for a new twitter tool!

Thanks to the kindness of my useful tweeters, I found two tools that I want to share with you today. They are called UnTweeps and Twitoria. The first, UnTweeps, is a quick, simple tool that allows you to check to see which of your followed users haven't tweeted in a set amount of time. Twitoria does the same thing, but it gives you a little more control and detail. Below you will find screenshots and walkthroughs of each.

UnTweeps

(The benefit of UnTweeps is that you don't have to go to each profile to unfollow. You can unfollow a group of people at once, but you get very little information about the user.)
To use Untweeps, simply go to their page, enter your username/password (from twitter) and choose a time frame from the drop down menu. Once you've filled in all the blanks, hit "List Stale Tweeps". You will then see a list of all the people you follow who haven't tweeted in the time frame you picked. To unfollow them, just leave the box beside their avatar checked and hit "Unfollow Selected Tweeps". Easy peasy and no more silent tweeple!

Twitoria

(I actually like Twitoria better, as it seems to give more comprehensive info than UnTweeps. It takes only slightly more thought/effort, and you get to see details like the exact date of last tweet and the tweet itself. You also get more time frames to choose from, and your password isn't required!)
To use Twitoria, go to their page and enter your username. Choose a time frame (in which to look for "nontweeters") from the drop down menu, and just wait till the page changes! You will see a list of all the tweeters that fit your criteria, and you can click on each username to unfollow them. (I would recommend right clicking and opening each profile in a new page, so you don't have to constantly be hitting the back button on your browser.)

So there you have it: two simple, quick tools to help you begin your Twitter spring cleaning! I would recommend checking out and bookmarking both. I've already found that each has it's place in my twitter arsenal, and I hope, given time, that you will find them useful as well!

If you know of any other great spring cleaning tools, please feel free to share them in a comment! I would love to hear about any option you'd care to show me!

♥

Using Feedburner - Part 2 - Adding an Email Subscription Button

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:25:00 +0000

Remember how I told you yesterday that Feedburner has all these cool little tools? Well, today we're going to use one to add an email subscription button to our blog pages. (It will look like the one in the upper right corner of this page!) So, if you want one of these handy buttons, just log into your Feedburner account and follow along!

1. Once you're logged in, you should see a screen that has your username and your feed name(s), like this:

Just click the name of the feed you want to create a button for.

2. Along the top of the page, you will see five tabs. Click the one that says "Publicize". You should see this:

3. On the left of the page, click the link that says "Email Subscriptions". It will look like this:

4. Scroll down till you see the part of the page that says "Subscription Form Code". Below that is a box full of code, like this:

Copy all that code, and then go open a new window with your blogger dashboard showing.

5. On your dashboard, click "Layout" then click "Add a gadget" where you want your subscription box to go.

6. Choose the 2nd option ("HTML/JavaScript").

7. Paste all the code you copied earlier into that box, and hit "Save".

Now, if you hit "View Blog", you will see a cool little subscription box! (If you want to see how your feed looks, or how the box works, just enter your own email address in the box, and hit Subscribe". Later I'll show you how to make your feed more user friendly, so it's a good idea to do this now to get an idea of the "before and after" effects!)

Let me know if you have any questions/issues! And let me know when you get them installed, as I'd love to see your new subscription boxes in action!

♥

Using Feedburner - Part 1 - Setting it Up

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:08:00 +0000

Feedburner is a nifty tool that google provides us to help optimize our RSS feeds. It not only allows us to feed our blog content, it provides tools for feed tracking, email subscriptions, and feed promotion. There are all sorts of awesome little goodies just waiting to be snatched up on Feedburner, but to get to them we need to set up our accounts. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to Feedburner and sign in using your existing Google account.

2. Once you've logged in, you should see a screen that looks like this:

Type (or copy/paste) the address of your blog into that box, and hit "Next".

3. Feedburner will now "autodiscover" your feed address. You will be taken to a screen similar to this:

As you can see, you may have more than one option for your feed address. To keep it simple, choose the first one and hit "Next"

4. Your screen should now look like this:

Change the address of the feed (the second box) to something you can remember easily. (For instance, I will change mine to "NinjaJenn") When you're done making changes, hit "Next".

5. Assuming everything went ok in the last step, you should see this:

As long as your screen looks like that, hit "Next".

6. Find the three empty check boxes that look like this:

Go ahead and put a check in each of those boxes and hit "Next". (These are free extras that Feedburner offers, and we will discuss what they mean later. Just accept them and move on for now. LOL)

7. You should now see a screen like this:

You're done registering your feed on Feedburner, but now you need to redirect your blog feed to Feedburner. Go to your blogger dashboard and follow these directions:

1. Click "settings" on your blog and then click the tab that says "Site Feed".

2. Find the area of the page that looks like this:

Copy and paste this into the box:
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/NinjaJenn and change the part in red to the address of your blog (that you created earlier over on Feedburner).

3. Click "Save Settings" at the bottom of the page.

Congrats! You've now set up your Feedburner account, and linked it to your Blogger! From here on, all your feeds will be redirected through Feedburner.

* Check back soon for Part 2 in the "Using Feedburner" series. (There are tons of cool things it can do for us, so be sure not to miss them!) *

♥

Adding a Retweet Button to Your Posts

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Sometimes when I'm browsing my favorite blogs, I see something I really want to share with others. What better way to do that than with a simple little "ReTweet" button? (The button we will be using is from TweetMeme, and it's awesome because it keeps track of how many times each post has been retweeted and displays it right there on the button!) If you want to add one of these to your posts, just follow along!

(These instructions are for Blogger, but if you use another platform and need help, please let me know!)

1. Log into your blogger account and go to your dashboard.

2. Click the "layout" tab and then the "edit HTML" tab.

3. Just to be safe, back up your template. You can find where this happens at the top of the page you are on. It looks like this:

Just click "download full template" and save it to your computer in case something goes wrong.

4. Once you've made your backup, go back to your layout editing window and make sure the box that says "expand widget templates" has a check mark in it.

5. Scroll through all that mumbo jumbo you see till you find this:

(This should be near the bottom of your code. I know it's hard to find, but this is the worst part, and it's almost over!)

6. Copy and paste this code directly below the line you just found:

tweetmeme_url = '<data:post.url/>';

</script>

7. Hit "preview" at the bottom of your window. You should now see a button like the one at the end of this post that says "X tweets" and "retweet". As long as you see this button, hit "save template" and you're done!

To get an idea of how this works when someone clicks the button, go ahead and click the one at the end of my post and hit send! You will be amazed how easy it is!

♥

* Have a suggestion for a future post here on Ninja Knowledge? Be sure to leave a comment or contact me using the suggestion box in the middle column! *

Twittertise and How to Use It

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:01:00 +0000

Due to the popularity of the "Crazy Marketing Train" that PicardCreative initiated on Artfire, I've decided to explain how to use Twittertise. This handy little tool will make your marketing train tweeting simple and efficient, as you can schedule all your upcoming tweets on the day you get your "artisan list". If you set them all up at once, that's just one more thing you can "fix and forget" for the week, giving you more time for yourself! (You can also use Twittertise to promote your own studio, just be sure you're sending quality tweets as well, not just advertising alone.)

Just be sure you have your Twitter login information ready, and click this link: Twittertise

1. Scroll down the page till you see this:

Enter your twitter username and password in the appropriate boxes and hit "log in".

2. You should be taken to a screen that looks like this:

Choose your time zone and hit "save".

3. Your screen should now look like this:

Click the link that says "create a new tweet".

4. You should now see the "New Tweet" box:

In the first box ("Tweet Text") type what you want your tweet to say. (Let's use our first tweet to get some more readers over here! To do that, just copy and paste this: Are you up to date on your Ninja Knowledge? ) In the second box ("Link") put a link to the shop/item/blog you are referencing (Copy and paste this: http://NinjaKnowledge.blogspot.com). In the third box, type the date and time you want the tweet to show up on your twitter profile. (You may also click the calendar icon and choose a date that way) Once you have all the boxes filled in, it should look similar to this:

5. Hit "save". (To make another tweet, click "Back to Listing of Tweets")

You've now created your first "twittertise tweet"! Now, all you have to do is wait until the scheduled time and your tweet will show up on your profile! (If you'd like, you can create a "test tweet" for about 2 minutes in the future, and then check to see if it shows up. That way, you will know you've done it correctly before you go to all the effort of adding lots of schedule tweets.)

One more interesting thing you can do with Twittertise: Once a tweet has been published, you can track the number of clicks the link you sent gets. To do this, log in to your Twittertise account and go to your dashboard. Click the link that says "Sent Tweets". You should see a screen similar to this:

At the end of each tweet, you will see 3 "paper icons" (). Click the first of these (the "blank paper"). If the tweet is less than 24 hours old, you will see this:

If the tweet is older than 24 hours, you will also see this:

By using the start and end dates below the graph you can see how often the links were clicked and when, or you can use the graph as it is to see the clicks for the life of the tweet! (Just FYI, the second and third paper icons are for editing and deleting the tweet, respectively)

Now go forth and market the heck out of each other!

♥

How to Link your Plurk to your Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:02:00 +0000

Did that title crack anyone else up? It sure has me giggling over here!

Anyway... This is just a simple little tutorial that will allow you to link the two. Once you've done this, everything you Plurk will show up on your Twitter page. (This does not mean that every time you type anything on Plurk it shows up there. This does mean that the initial plurk you start will show up.)

1. Log into your Plurk account.

2. In the upper right corner of your Plurk home page you will see this:

Click the link that says "My Account"

3. You will now see a pop up box like this:

Click the link that says "Plurk to other networks".

4. Now it should look like this:

Click the tab that says "twitter".

5. Your screen should now show this:

Type your twitter username and password in the appropriate boxes.

6. Hit this button:

(on Plurk, silly!)

7. As long as it worked properly, you should now see something similar to this:

You're done! Just remember, if you ever want to type something on Plurk that you do not want to show in twitter, just type "!TW" at the beginning of the Plurk!

♥

p.s. If you're not already a Plurk buddy of mine, please add me!

Finding Your Target Market

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:25:00 +0000

Who are you selling to? Better yet, who are you hoping to sell to?

I bet you just thought "Everyone! Duh!", didn't you? (It's ok if you did, so don't be afraid to admit it! I used to say that, too!)

Unfortunately, the idea of selling to "everyone" is a pipe dream that will lead you in a very bad direction. I know, I know... ideally everyone would see our products and want to own them. But let's face it: that is just not a realistic goal. Even if we could find some way to get our studios seen by everyone, not everyone has the need or the means to buy our products.

This is why it is vitally important that you figure out who your target market is. If we don't make this an active part of our business strategies, then we will spend untold amounts of time, energy and resources trying build our customer base.

Basically, you need to determine a few key elements about your product/service and then decide who will most benefit from what you are offering. Here's how you do that:

1. Decide which of the basic 3 needs your product meets. Does it satisfy a basic need? Does it make people feel good? Does it solve a problem or fill a void? (ALL products fit into one of these categories, some may fit into more)

2. Look at your product. Ask yourself "Who can I see using this?" Ask your friends the same thing. Write down all the answers you get. Don't try to do this all in one day either. Start one day, write it all down, and then sleep on it. You may wake up thinking of a lot more things you forgot to add the day before!

3. Take another look at what you're selling. Get a pen and paper out and write down all the benefits you can think of that your product provides. Write down all the potential uses of your product, and be specific. For instance, instead of writing "gift", write "mother's day", "birthday" and "anniversary"

4. Determine the demographics of your customers. Find out (as best you can) what age, gender, economic class, etc your customer base falls into. Look at your past sales and see what they say to you. Do you usually sell to teenagers? Write that down! (Think outside the box a bit here, too. Perhaps you have you noticed that you sell to more single people than married... If so, that's important! Write it down!)

5. Take all the lists you've written and really look at them. You should see a pattern emerging. If you don't, ask someone else to look with you. If you still don't see any real pattern, it may mean that you've been "being too broad" all along. (This isn't a bad thing, it just means you need to start focusing a bit more.)

6. Make a list of all the people that fit with your above answers. For instance, if you find that your lists have a lot of answers referring to children, then write down all the people you can think of who deal with children. (Meaning, you'd put mothers, babysitters, fathers, teachers, etc...) Again, use your imagination a bit when you make this last list. The more unique answers you get now (that are also valid answers) the better off you will be when we put these to use!

* Btw, all of these things will work even if you've never sold a single thing. Just ask yourself the questions based on who you want to sell to. *

Okay, that's a good place to stop for now... It is by no means all we need, but it's enough to keep us all busy for a bit. Go ahead and answer these questions, and then check back next week. I'll tell you what to do with all this information.. I promise!

♥

p.s. I'm going to be making my lists this week as well. I will post my answers next week, so if you get stuck or it's not making sense, maybe seeing it in practice will help! (You can also contact me if you want help before then. I won't mind a bit!)

Let's Talk About Our Beloved Forums...

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Ok, I think it's safe to say that most of my readers are also forum users on one (if not all) of the handmade selling sites. I would also imagine that, at some point or the other, we've all seen (or, heaven forbid, participated in) a "not so nice" thread. Each of us has probably also been the victim of a rude comment, a snark, or a blatant disregard for our feelings at some point as well. So we all know how it feels to be on the "ugly end" of a post.

So why does this happen? Why is it that a seemingly normal, rational group of adults can begin tearing into each other like children fighting on a playground? Why must we call names and fling insults? Why can't we say what we mean, politely and reasonably? Why must we make enemies with words on a screen?

Because the internet is evil.

No... I'm totally kidding. LOL

It's because words on a page are just that... nothing but words. There is no body language to read, no nonverbal cues we can use to infer the meaning behind the words. We can't tell if the person on the other side of the words means us harm, or if they are simply seeking a reply. We don't know if that jab someone just made was in jest (because there was no accompanying smile or wink), and we can't tell if we're being patronized (because we can't hear the kindness in a voice).

So what do we do about it? Do we just ignore it and hope it goes away? Or do we actively try to enact a solution? I, for one, vote for the active path.

There are certain rules that exist on the internet. There are entire sites devoted to "Netiquette", and there are some forums that will completely ban you if you break one of these rules, regardless of whether you intentionally broke it or not. Unfortunately, these rules weren't taught to us like "normal" etiquette is. So I'm going to let you in on a few of them:

1. (This is probably the number one rule of posting in forums, yet it's often not mentioned until someone inadvertently breaks it) Never, under any circumstance, post personal information about anyone else. It does not matter if that person has already done this themselves. You may never do this. Do not call someone by their full given name, post information about where they live, work, or play, or provide anything like a phone number or email address. This is for safety reasons, both theirs (obviously) and yours (as they will most likely hunt you down and kill you if they catch you doing it.)

2. Be aware of where you are posting. What may be ok or accepted on one forum may be completely taboo on another. Also, be well aware where the other members are from. This will prevent cultural differences from becoming a source of contention inadvertently.

3. Remember that the internet is still a "real community". Don't lose your morals, ethics or values just because someone can't see your face. Far too often, we are meaner or more aggressive when we are "protected" by miles of cyberspace. But remember, just because they can't see you, it doesn't mean you can't do them harm.

4. Never lose touch with the fact that the people posting are not the only ones who can see your words. This is especially true in business related forums, such as the ones on Artfire or Etsy. Just because someone isn't saying anything, it doesn't mean they aren't reading everything. Ask yourself if what you are about to type would change if you knew your mother, your best friend, or your customer could see it. If your answer is yes, then edit before you post, or don't post at all.

5. Pay attention to your spelling and grammar. It is far more difficult to take someone seriously when you can barely decipher what they've written. You don't have to be perfect, but it won't hurt to reread what you've typed before you post it.

6. If you don't know what you're talking about, don't pretend to. One little bad "fact" can ruin the entire mood of a community. It's ok to speculate, or pass along information you think is correct, but please, for the sake of everyone else, say that you are only partially sure instead of claiming it to be truth.

7. Watch your mouth. As tempting as it may be to use four letter words (especially in times of "forum unease") don't give in. Whether you realize it or not, that one little word may be the difference in a healthy resolution or a lifelong feud. If you must swear, "church it up" a little and say things like "effing" or "b*tch". This will give the reader the feeling that you are serious, but also aware that not everyone uses those words. Additionally, don't swear when kidding. (I.E. use "LMAO" instead of typing it out)

8. Do be polite and helpful if you can be. This serves two purposes: A) you will help your community rather than harm it and B) when you do get brought into an internet argument it will be harder to automatically see you as a "bad guy" (thereby giving your opinion and your position more merit).

9. Don't be a troll and don't encourage a troll. (A troll is someone who posts just to start conflict/drama) Whenever possible, avoid trolls at all cost. Trolls are nothing but internet bullies looking to get their kicks by upsetting others. If you pay them no mind, they will (in 99% of cases) get bored and go elsewhere.

10. Don't flame others who don't deserve it. It's ok to flame when it's merited, but please don't turn it into an all-out flame war. Be the bigger person and walk away when you see it's getting out of control. (If you'll notice, the ones who do perpetuate flame wars are the ones who are never taken seriously by the other members of the community in the long run.)

11. Remember that, once upon a time, you were a newbie, too. As frustrating as it can be to answer the same questions over and over, try to keep in mind that we all have to start somewhere, and we all have probably committed some unintentional offense at some point. Try to be patient with the newbies, and, if you can't do that, just ignore them. It does no one any good when we are rude to each other.

12. Give people the benefit of the doubt before you get offended. Try to remember that the post you just read could sound funny for any number of reasons (like the person isn't a native English speaker, or they are stressed from something totally unrelated to the post). Don't automatically assume that everyone else knows the intricacies of your forum, and keep in mind that it can be intimidating to ask for help from a group of strangers.

13. Use emoticons(smilies) and words to convey when you are kidding. Since readers can't see your face, they may not understand that you were joking. By using an emoticon you can convey this message and (hopefully) prevent ruffled feathers and stepped-upon toes.

14. (If you ignore every other rule here, please at least abide by this one) Remember the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Say please and thank you. Be polite and welcoming. Never forget that there is a person on the other side of that post.

I'm sure there are more rules that would be helpful, but for now, we will start here. It's a good step don't you think?

* See something I left out? Please remind me in a comment! I will be happy to amend the list! *
♥

My Daily Coffee & Promote Checklist - by 3zArt

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Hooray! We have our first "guest blogger" on Ninja Knowledge!

I am so excited! 3zArt has kindly offered to share with you her daily checklist for promoting your studios!

Please take the time to stop by her studio or her blog and thank her when you finish reading her awesome post!

My Daily Coffee & Promote Checklist

* Originally posted here on March 3, 2009 *

Without a doubt getting your name out there is one of the biggest and most difficult parts of online selling (well selling in general). As I approach my one year anniversary of online selling (yay) I've been trying to get a daily checklist together of things I should do to promote and decided sharing my list may help others as well. Everyday I try to get up at 8:00am and usually drink coffee until about 10:00am. Originally I would just spend this time responding to e-mails and browsing the web, but I have found that these 2 hours can be much better spent. So here is what I do or want to do every morning while I drink my coffee to help bring more exposure to my shops(at the moment I am really focused on promoting my Artfire studio so many of these will refer to Artfire). *NOTE* One HUGE piece of advice: Do NOT spam other members! When I say "write on someones wall" or "comment on their page" talk to them, don't just say something to promote your shop.

∙Plurk/Twitter - (I do both but most of my attention goes to plurk). Stop in and say "Hi!", talk to a few people, then if the timing is good drop a link. DO NOT just post links. That will just irritate people and most likely lose you friends/followers.

∙Stumble Upon 1 Artfire Artisan or Item--not your own! Not only is it just a nice thing to do, but bringing traffic to the site in general brings traffic to you.

∙IndiePublic - Welcome, compliment, or just say "Hi!" to 2-3 members. If you have photos try to upload a photo a day to your IndiePublic.

∙1000Markets - Write on 2-3 other members' walls/blogs.

∙ByHand - Join in atleast 1 forum thread, comment on a blog post, and comment on a spotlight. If time permits create a spotlight promoting other sellers.

∙Artfire - Post in the "Item of the Day" thread (if you need help posting a picture see here: How To Post An Image).

∙Blogger - Reply to atleast 3 other bloggers' posts.

∙Etsy or Artfire - If time permits try and help out someone with a question in the Etsy or Artfire Forums.

This is just the beginning of my daily checklist. As I start to get into the habit of doing all of these I hope to add much more. If anyone else has suggestions for the morning checklist I would love to hear it! As always best of luck to everyone! Thanks for reading =)

-3z

_________________________

Thanks so much, 3zArt! I hope you will be back with some more great information soon!

♥

How to Change the Look of Your Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 08:26:00 +0000

* I am going to use Blogger in this example, but if you use another blog platform and you need help, please let me know and I will do all I can! *

When you first set up your blog on Blogger, you are given a plain white template with two columns. If you want to adjust your colors and themes, you can go to your dashboard, click Layout > Pick New Template and then just choose one you like. It's very simple and straightforward, and you can change it any time you wish.

But what if you don't like the templates Blogger provides for you? Or what if you want more than the standard 2-column look?

Well, fortunately, there are tons of free templates out there you can use! You can find anything from a plain black, minimalist design (like I've chosen) to wild, funky patterns and crazy layouts. The look is totally up to you! To find one of these templates, go to Google and search for "free Blogger template". Additionally, if you know you want a certain number of columns, you may want to add that to your search criteria. Once you've found one you like, open a new window, log into your Blogger account, and follow these directions:

* For this example I will be using this template. Feel free to use this one if you would like! *

1. Go to the page where the template you like is located. Look around and see if you can find a link that says something like "Download" or "Get this Template". Once you find it, click that link (or right click) and save it to the desktop. (If you are using a mac, you may get a warning like this:

If you do, just tell it to continue downloading.)

2. THIS STEP IS SUPER IMPORTANT!!! You need to back up your template before you do anything else. To do that, Go to your dashboard and click "Layout", then click the "Edit HTML" tab. Look for this part of the screen:

and hit "Download Full Template". Then just follow the directions on the screen. (If you have ANY problems here, please do NOT proceed until you talk to me!) Once you are sure you've done this part, just save that backup, leave it where it is and go to step three. (You will only need that backup if something messes up... hopefully we won't have to use it! LOL)

* If you have widgets already installed on your blog, and you do NOT wish to lose them, please go here and follow these directions before you go any further. *

3. Just below where you backed up your template, you will see this:

Click on the tab that says "Choose File" and then pick the template file you downloaded earlier, like this:

4. Hit "Upload" once you have your file selected. (WARNING: you may see something that says you are about to delete certain widgets. As long as you have backed up these widgets, go ahead and proceed.)

5. You have now changed your template!

* If you backed up your widgets earlier, please go here and follow the steps to reinstall them. *

See how easy that was?

You can now change the look of your blog any time you wish! Just come back here, and follow the instructions for any template you choose!

♥

p.s. I would LOVE to see your new blog designs! Please leave me a comment so I can check them out!

Social Proof and Why it Matters to You

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 16:14:00 +0000

What the heck is "social proof"?

According to wikipedia, social proof is "a psychological phenomenon that occurs in ambiguous social situations when people are unable to determine the appropriate mode of behavior. Making the assumption that surrounding people possess more knowledge about the situation, they will deem the behavior of others as appropriate or better informed."

Blah, blah, blah... was that what you heard, too? Cause it sure is what I heard!

Let me try to make this a whole lot easier. Essentially, social proof is a sort of "herd mentality". Social proof is what your momma was always worried about when you were growing up. Remember when she would say "If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?"? Well, she was just asking you (in her own momma fashion) if you were planning on being a victim of social proof!

Social proof comes into play when someone can't decide how to act/react in a given social situation. Our natural inclination is to "follow the herd". We (often wrongly) assume that because a group is acting/reacting a certain way, that is must be the right way to behave. Our daily lives are filled with examples of social proof in action. For instance, sitcoms will often used a "laugh track" when they record which subconsciously makes the viewer think "everyone else is laughing, so that joke must have been funny." Or how about this one: Have you ever been around when a standing ovation occurred? Chances are, you weren't the one who started the ovation... but I'd be willing to bet you stood up. Buy why did you stand? Because everyone else was doing it, right?

Sometimes, we take even more subtle cues when we react to social proof. The next time you're near a restaurant, go into the bar area and look at the tip jar. I would be surprised if you didn't see money in the tip jar, even if nobody is in the bar. You know why that money is there? It's called "seeding the tip jar", and it's a trick all good bartenders use. When you "seed the jar" you add a few bills so that the real customers will see you've been tipped, and (hopefully) follow suit. As a former bartender, I can assure you that an "unseeded" jar is much harder to get a first tip in than a seeded one!

So why does social proof matter to us as artisans?

Because capitalizing on social proof can be the difference in "making ends meet" and "breaking the bank" in your studios!

Think about it like this: the last time you went to a craft fair or a market environment, I'm sure you saw a table with some poor vendor standing around twiddling his thumbs... and I'm sure there were also booths with tons of people crowded around. So what's the difference? Do you really think that the lonely vendor had that much of an inferior product to the crowded one? I doubt it. Most likely what happened was that the crowded vendor had a group walk up and start browsing, which made her look busy. Then, once she looked busy, everyone else saw it, and wondered "what's going on over there?" and headed to check it out. Don't believe me? Try this experiment: Get a group of ten people and go to the grocery store. Now, take all ten of those people and just stand by the broccoli. Pretend like you're all looking at the broccoli. I will bet you $10 that within just a matter of minutes someone (if not multiple someones) will wander over and try to see what you're all doing. That's social proof at its finest!

So how do you build social proof in your studio?

There are a few way to do this, and the first is one that Artfire has already given you! You know that little box that looks like this:

on each of your listing pages? That thing is a dream tool for building social proof! Every time you add something to your market hub, one of those icons goes from "grayed out" to bright and attention grabbing! Each of those icons means you belong somewhere, be it Facebook, indiepublic, Etsy, or what have you. And the more you belong, the more people will want you to belong to them!

Another good tip is to use testimonials from past customers, and, again, Artfire is helping you out here, too! Go look at your kudos/karma page. See how you can make your kudos public? Do it! Let all your potential buyers see those great things others have said about you! And, you can even take it a step farther by copying and pasting some of those awesome comments into your studio pages! So what if you don't have any karma or kudos yet? Call or write your former customers and see if they will send you a nice compliment! Check your past emails and see what kind words were sent to you! Put those words to work for you! If someone compliments you at a show, write it down and use it later on your studio pages! Use any and all positive feedback to build your social proof!

Okay, so what if you're already doing these things? Well, it's time to get brave! Think outside the box, and see how you can use your connections to your advantage. Do you know someone who has a popular blog? How about asking them if they would mind writing a feature on you? Or are you friends with someone who is considered an expert in their craft? Send them one of your pieces and ask them for a review! If you get a favorable review, ask if they'd mind if you used their name and words on your blog or in your studio! Have you won any awards or taught any classes related to your craft? Put that info where the world can see it! All of these things will make others look at your name and think "Wow! I should check that out!"

One last tip, look at your blog posts and see how many comments you have on each post. If you have lots of readers, but not so many comments, reread your posts and see what you can do to make people more involved. Comments on blogs are a great example of social proof. It's often like a snowball effect; a few people say something and then suddenly you're inundated with blog love! Try to make your posts engaging. Work on asking questions and be open to hearing the answers, and you will start to see your comment section grow! Additionally, reply to your comments! Not only does this show you care what your readers think, but it increases your comment number and drives up social proof!

I hope this hasn't been such a long post that I lost you guys... I apologize for being so long winded, but I really hope you can take something useful away from this. Please let me know if you have any questions, and I would LOVE to hear your ideas on how to build social proof!

♥

How Do I Get People to Follow Me on Twitter?

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:15:00 +0000

Hopefully, you saw my earlier post about Twitter, and you already have your account all set up. And hopefully you are out there tweeting your heart out! But do you have followers? Or are you tweeting to an empty room?

If you're like most new Twitter users, you don't have a huge following yet. And trust me, I know how discouraging this can be. It's sort of like being at a party but being stuck in the bathroom, isn't it? You can hear everyone talking about how cool the party is, but you just don't seem to be in on the fun yet. Well, I am about to show you how to open that door and join the party!

Fortunately for us that are "stuck in the bathroom", there are some really cool Twitter tools available. Today, we're going to focus on one called TweetBeep. TweetBeep is a free service that allows you to essentially "stalk" other tweets. Now, as scary and crazy as it sounds, it's really not that bad! It's actually a great way to find other Twitter users who share your interests!

So, if you're ready to get the party started, click this link, sign up, and log in! Then come back here and follow these directions to get things going!

Setting up keyword alerts with TweetBeep:

1. Log in to your TweetBeep account and click the link that says "New Keyword Alert". You should see a page that looks like this:

2. In the first box ("Settings"), you want to name your alert. Choose a short name that will be easily understood later. For instance, if you want to search for users who like Artfire, just call this alert "Artfire". You must fill out this box. (All the other sections are optional, but you have to fill out at least one other thing in order to set up an alert.) You also need to tell TweetBeep how often you want it to search for you. While you can tell it to look every hour, it can be pretty tiring to deal with an hourly email, so i set mine to once a day. Choose whichever you prefer!

3. In the 2nd section ("Keywords"), you can tell TweetBeep to look for certain key phrases. Let's discuss these sections a little more in depth:

* For illustrative purposes, I'm going to use the phrase "artfire artisan studio" and show you what you will get if you put that in each box. *
All of these words: TweetBeep will tell you when a tweet includes all those words, but they may not be in that order. For instance, if someone tweets "I was on artfire talking to an artisan with a cool studio" that tweet will show in your results.
This Exact Phrase: TweetBeep will ONLY tell you when that EXACT phrase is found. Using this box will exclude the example tweet above.
Any of These Words: Your results will include any tweet where artfire, artisan, or studio is used.
None of These Words: Your results will exclude any tweet where artfire, artisan, or studio is used.

This Hashtag: a hashtag is essentially a word preceded with a number sign, like this: #artfire. Hashtags are used to identify certain common topics in tweets. If you wanted to look for tweets about artfire, you could type #artfire here and this would return all tweets with that hashtag.

You may also set up what language tweets you wish to see in the settings section.

4. In the "people" section, you can track certain Twitter users, or certain people that others are tweeting about.

* For this example, I am going to use "JennNinja" (that's me!) *
From This Person: TweetBeep will alert you every time I tweet something.
To This Person: TweetBeep will alert you every time someone tweets something to me.
Referencing This Person: TweetBeep will alert you every time someone tweets about me.

5. In the "places" section, you can set up your alert to tell you when someone mentions a certain place. You can also tell it to alert you to references near that place by changing the "within x miles" option.

6. The "attitudes" section will allow you to look for tweets that are in a certain mood. For instance, if you wanted to see who likes me, you could use the people > referencing section by entering "JennNinja" and then check "positive attitude".

7. The last section ("links") will allow you to look for tweets containing links.

8. Once you've decided what you are looking for, hit save. You will be taken to a screen that shows all your alerts like this:

Now, all you have to do is wait and check your email! Pretty soon, you will get an email containing up to 50 tweets that meet your alert criteria!

Ok, now that you have TweetBeep all set up, what do you do with it?

Well, you can use those tweets it sends you to find people who are interested in what you're selling! For instance, I use my account to search for things like "handmade" and "scrabble", because I know that these are topics that I can talk about! When I get my search results each day, I can scan through them and choose to follow users I think may be interested in me and my studios! Additionally, you can look for fellow artisans by entering terms like "artfire", "etsy", or "1000markets". When you find someone whose tweets you like, just follow them! Twitter will send them a message that tells them you are following, and, ideally, they will check your page out and follow you in return!

* I realize this is a SUPER long post, but before we go I have just a few warnings for you*

1. Be sure you are specific in your alert terms. If you enter a term that is too broad, you may end up with a lot of useless tweets. It's ok if this happens, though, because you can always go back and edit the alerts you have set up. Just keep tweaking them until you find what works for you!

2. Don't follow people just for the sole purpose of promoting yourself. It's totally fine to talk about your listings or your blog or whatever, but people can tell if you're just stalking them to make a sale. And trust me, they will unfollow you! (And nobody wants to be kicked out of the party, right?)

NOW - go forth and set up your TweetBeep alerts! Good luck, happy stalking, and may the force be with you!

♥

Call out the Ninjas!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 05:19:00 +0000

Hey guys!

Just wanted to let you all know that I've added a contact box to this blog.

It's right smack in the middle of every page (just under my profile). Please use it if you have any feedback, suggestions, or even if you just want to say "Hello"!

Also, if you ever get stuck trying to follow along with a tutorial, you can use it to email me for more help!

Thanks so much! I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say!

<3

How Do I Make MY Blog Stand Out?

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:47:00 +0000

This is a common question new bloggers have. There seems to be this thinking that nobody wants to hear what you have to say, or that you won't be interesting enough to keep your readers coming back if you talk about yourself. There's also the school of thought that says "Since I write about crafting, every post should be craft-related."

Well, this isn't really the truth. If you don't add some of you into your blog, your readers will fade away and look for more engaging blogs to frequent.

So how do you do this? Easy. Write about yourself.

Now I know what you're thinking. You're sitting there thinking "But I'm a craft blogger! Not a story teller! Nobody wants to hear about my cat or my kids or my boring life!" (Admit it, you were thinking that weren't you?) Well you know what? You are wrong.

Think about it this way: Why do people shop for handmade items? Because they want a real person behind what they're buying, right? I firmly believe that one of the main reasons the handmade movement is so popular is that consumers are tired of fattening the wallets of faceless corporations. So, as an artisan, you need to make sure your readers (who are your potential buyers, btw) know you.

Here's something else to think about: If you wanted to buy a new scarf, and you knew you wanted a handmade scarf, you could go to a local craft fair to buy it. Now, if you are walking around that fair, and you see a face you recognize, a friend from work or school maybe, and she sells scarves, wouldn't your natural inclination be to buy from her? Of course it would be! Our natural inclination is to go with what is familiar to us. We instinctively trust deals made with friends more than deals made with strangers, so it stands to reason that if you become a recognizable face your sales will increase.

Get out there and make yourself known! I'm not saying stop promoting your fellow artisans, nor am I saying stop making spotlights or treasuries in your blogs. What I am saying is pepper your blog with snippets from your own life. If you have a really funny day, or a even a really weird one, tell your readers about it! If you teach in real life, teach online! Take the same skills you use in "real life" social settings and put them to use here. Treat your readers as though they were strangers at a party. Ask yourself "What would I say to someone to make them want to continue the conversation?" Ask questions in your post to encourage feedback. Make your blog inviting and entertaining, and you will stand out!

For instance, when you make a spotlight, don't just say "Here are the things I like today." Instead, how about saying "I chose these items today because...." and then tell us the truth! Take a good look at the items and see what they are saying to you. Did you just make a treasury of hearts and flowers? Maybe it means you're feeling loved... TELL US THAT! Or maybe you made a spotlight full of dark colors and hard edges. Could it be you're lonely or sad today? SAY SO! It's these small touches that will make your blog the one people come back to, and your shop the one they want to visit!

One last thing, if you sit down to blog and you've been too busy to shop for things to spotlight or artisans to feature, don't be discouraged. Think of this as an opportunity to let us see the "real you". Tell your readers why you've been so busy. Take a day off from being an artisan and just be you. You will be amazed at the outcome!

♥

Twitter and How to Use it Effectively

noreply@blogger.com (Ninja Jenn) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 21:00:00 +0000

Ok, let's start with the basics. Twitter is a micro-blogging service that you can use free of charge. Essentially it's a quick easy way to tell the world (in 140 characters or less) a little about yourself. Think of it as a "What am I doing right now?" tool. It's super easy to sign up for, and once you sign up all you have to do it send out the occasional update, or "tweet". You can follow others, and they can follow you. You can also "retweet" others' posts, and you can reply to your twitter friends or send them direct messages (DM's).

So what should you tweet about? Anything really! Use your Twitter account to tell us about your day. Tweet about what you just listed in your studio. Show off those awesome earrings you just hotlisted. Whatever!

Just be sure you are sending quality tweets on a regular basis. Also, be sure you aren't just tweeting your self-promotion. It's fine to promote yourself, but you won't get many followers if that's all you're doing. Just like your "real" blog, you need to make your Twitter page personal. If someone addresses you on Twitter, be sure you acknowledge them, just like you would in real life. Use your Twitter as a tool and you will surprised at the results!

Btw, this is just a quick intro to Twitter, but if you check back soon, I'm going to be showing you how to use all the nifty tools available for Twitter. So go ahead and set your account up now! (Please be sure to follow me once you do!)

♥