Get A Free Shop At Payhip!

Many undesirable changes have taken place at POD sites like Redbubble, Society6 and TeePublic. Sellers have been leaving these venues, looking for others avenues through which to sell their designs. One thing that I also do is sell printables/digitals of my POD designs at my own, free shop. I use Payhip. 

Payhip is not a marketplace but it is a GREAT site to host your own shop. I am not an affiliate trying to make money. I'm just sharing because I know all of the great benefits that Payhip offers. You can sell digitals, courses, subscriptions, memberships, coaching, and they recently introduced physical product selling. 

Payhip is owned by 2 brothers in the UK and the company is profitable. It won't be folding like so many other sites that have disappeared over the years. At Payhip, you are on your own with marketing but they offer powerful marketing tools. There is no community except for a FB group that is not very active. I do miss being able to connect with other sellers in an official way. Other than that, I love my shop!

Payhip is a great opportunity for anyone who is willing to do their own marketing. They have great marketing tools and a robust shop builder. They offer shop themes but you have total control over the design. You don't have to build a shop if that challenges you. You can sell through individual links to your blog, website, etc. 

They don't yet have integration with POD sites so that you can sell there through Printify, Printful, etc., like sellers do at Etsy. I don't know if they are planning to add that feature. Here are the available Payhip integrations. 

Payhip payment processors are Paypal and Stripe so sellers get paid instantly. The free subscription plan, with a 5% transaction fee, offers the same features, including unlimited listings, as the 2 paid plans. Isn't that wonderful! We don't see that at other selling venues.

Good luck to everyone who are making big moves because of unfavorable changes at these POD sites. You can see Printaphoria, my Payhip shop, here.

************* 

society6 changes, is society6 worth it, redbubble account tiers, teepublic account categories, is print on demand worth it, is print on demand dead, alternatives to print on demand 

Society6 Introduces Mandatory Subscriptions

Well, I got my notice today to choose a subscription plan. I chose free and have reduced my 41 designs to 10. I had recently reopened my shop and was building it up again. I am going to focus on 10 Christmas designs. 

 

After the holidays, I'll decide how to proceed with my account. Changing out the 10 for seasonal/holidays throughout the year will not work because marketing traction will be lost each time. The only other option I can think of is to choose a gallery of 10 of my evergreen, coordinated designs and keep those up. I would focus on marketing them in various formats and advertising graphics that I haven't taken time to use before. 

 

I have a fruit drawing for which I've been thinking about making a surface design collection. I could then also focus on designing for the S6 individual products, which I haven't been taking the time to do. This is the time to stop procrastinating and do that if I want to keep my acct after the New Year. Because of the name of my shop and the address, I may close it and open a new shop with a name that would better represent my new surface design collection.

 

So much for recently coming back to S6 but I'm not mad at them, RedBubble, TeePublic, or any of the other venues that have made these types of changes. Everyone is struggling and we all have to do what we have to do to make it. What they have had to do doesn't have to stop me. It can inspire and invigorate me, if I allow it to. 

 

I am glad that Society6 has included the free, 10-design subscription. If they had not, I probably wouldn't be thinking about developing my fruit design collection. Creating a surface design collection like this is where I need to increase my skills. Now, I've been motivated.

 

 

Is Selling On Redbubble Worth It?

It's worth it, for now, for these reasons:

• I can see my designs on products that I will most likely never produce.
• It's free to list.
• I'm not required to upload a certain of designs in any time frame.
• I can be as absent or as active uploading designs as I want to be.
• I always retain the copyright for all of my design. 
  
• There is no contract and I can leave the site whenever I want.
  

These features are generally for any POD venue. I just happen to be at RedBubble.

I also do other things with my designs. I create printables and digitals for my own shop. Diversification is key for me. If I was designing and only selling at RB, I don't think that I'd be successful enough because of the volume of sellers. I also abhor designing for trends and popularity. I want to design what I want. What makes me happy. I am trying harder, though, to occasionally incorporate some trending ideas and motifs into my work. 

If you regularly study trending ideas, motifs and designs and cleverly incorporate them into your work, it will help increase your sales. 

Sources For Graphic Design Ideas

Check out Google Trends for ideas. 

The 12 Most Inspiring Graphic Design Trends for 2023 

Graphic Design Trends 2023: From Anti-Branding to Vivid Minimalism - Envato 10 Design Trends That Will Shift the Vibes in 2023 

 2023 Graphic Design Trends Report | Dribbble

Payhip Upgrades Their Memberships Selling Feature

Payhip upgraded their membership selling feature and have this to say:

It’s been entirely rebuilt from scratch to help you sell any type of membership to your customers. With memberships you can now add “Posts” which let you share content with your members in a flexible & interactive way. Of course you’ll also be able to upload any files you’d like with each membership post. You can also allow your members to comment on posts, building up a community around your membership...

 This link leads to their announcement about their upgraded system for selling memberships.

Payhip is a great place to sell your memberships, courses, music, digitals, physical products, subscriptions, etc. You can join for free and open a free shop or use their selling links feature to sell your products from your website or blog. When are you going to take advantage of this remarkable selling venue?

Payhip was started by 2 brothers, Abs and Kahin Farah, who live in England. Payhip is a profitable company that is doing very well. I'm happy to say that I don't expect them to fold like so many selling venues have done over the past several years. Check out this site, which if full of features for sellers and totally free to join and open a shop or use their selling links.

The Benefits Of Blogging For Business And Marketing

It is shocking how many crafters, makers, artists and other creatives have stopped blogging. I reviewed my blog reading list to see who was still posting. I ended up purging from 125 blogs to 6, and 2 of those 6 are mine. Most crafters hadn't posted since 2015. A handful had posted in 2017 and after that, none of the 125 bloggers that I was following had posted. Something happened around 2015 in the crafting/makers/creative community where people stopped blogging. I asked myself is blogging dead?

Here are some possible reasons blogging has all but stopped in our creative community. Do any of these reasons fit you?

1. There seems to have been a general loss of enthusiasm, disillusionment and disappointment about online selling. 
2. Seeing many listing websites come and go. The demise of ArtFire, Dawanda and others was depressing. While some creatives migrated to other venues, some gave up listing.
3. The postal system started to increase fees yearly, negatively impacting handmades income. Sellers had to raise prices often when they did not want to.
4. Life has become more busy. Can't find time to blog.
5. Sales have fallen off and can't find a way to increase them.
   

One crafter said to me recently that back during the time when creatives were blogging the public couldn't get enough of handmades. I think there is still a love for handmades but other product types have flooded the market. Etsy's homepage is filled with digitals and printables, which I made the jump to because I love graphic design. POD sites are doing well and 3-D printed products are taking hold. Despite this, many handmades sellers are still doing well but they are not blogging. They are overlooking the greatest value of creating blog posts, advertising and promotion. 

Paying for online advertising is not affordable for most independent creatives. We are left with sharing through the few social media sites that are active. Social media, however, does not provide the value that it used to. People rarely interact anymore and there may be likes given but they lead to few sales. Any economically productive ways to market online have dwindled as well. So, why is blogging important for business? It gives us an easy way to draw potential customers and increase sales.

Consider These Benefits Of Blogging Then Ask Yourself Is Blogging Worth It

1. Can be used to market and promote without being flagged as a spammer. 
2. No advertising fees. 
3. Format, content and length of posts are controlled by the blogger. 
4. The frequency of posting is controlled by the blogger.
5. No limit on images in a post. 
6. No limit on links in a post. 
7. The type of SEO used, words or long-tail phrases, is controlled by the blogger.
8. Blog posts can be found by search engines. 
   

If you are blogging, you should continue and tweak your style and process. If you are a creator and you are not blogging but asking yourself should I blog, you should start. Selling competition has exploded over the past few years, since 2010-2015. Savvy blogging is a great way to successfully compete. The challenge is to:

1. Learn simple ways to start using keywords and phrases in blog posts, product listings, etc. The easy techniques in this book will guide you. Learning and using keyword search doesn't have to be expensive, tedious or frightening. In Simple Keyword Search That Even You Will Feel Like Doing, you'll learn to conduct fast, free and easy keyword phrase searches and add the results to your marketing content.
2. Choose a schedule to consistently prepare posts. You really can post as your schedule allows. Of course, the more frequently you post the better. You can choose to post once a week or twice a month but the key is to post every time you have set aside a time frame to do it. The goal is to be reliable to readers and potential customers. As you become adept at creating posts and are able to free up more time, you can increase your frequency. If you can never make more time, keep posting on your original time schedule.
   

Though I have been consistent with blogging over the years, I've known for some time that I'm too sporadic with posting. I've never given up that I will develop a good blogging schedule. Blogging as a marketing tool is invaluable when used with skill and commitment.

Here are some articles on the value of blogging that I found to be helpful:

 6 Reasons Why Blogging Is Important For Marketing And SEO by Kristi Hines

17 Ways To Get More Traffic To Your Blog In 2022 by Brian Dean

 How Long Should A Blog Post Be In 2022 by Lena Sernoff

Do People Still Read Blogs? The Truth About Blogging In 2022 by Rowena Zaballa

Do People Still Read Blogs In 2022? by Ryan Robinson

Truelist Blogging Statistics by Maja Josifovska

Learn Keyword Search To Use In Blog Posts, Product Descriptions And In Other Marketing Content

 

Simple Keyword Search That Even You Will Feel Like Doing

Where To Sell Online

You can get started selling your digitals, courses, physical products and more on Payhip for free. In this video, Payhip shows you how quick and easy it is to start your online business using their platform.

Payhip provides the easiest way to sell any digital products such as digital downloads, online courses, coaching, memberships, and physical products. Join over 130,000 sellers who have successfully launched their online businesses with Payhip.

Payhip is a great place to sell your creative products because:

• there are no listing fees,
• FVF is fair,
• you can list free products,
• sell digitals, printables, software, music, ebooks, subscriptions, courses, workbooks, fonts, presets, templates, etc.,
  
• no storage limit,
  
• physical product selling now available,
• owners are responsive and attentive,
• you can sell using embed buttons at your sites/blogs,
• build a shop using their robust shop builder,
• offer Paypal and/or Stripe,
  
• marketing and affiliate tools,
• and more!

Payhip is based in London and owned by Abs and Kahin Farah. They created it in 2011 and it is a profitable company. I was glad to learn this because that means that the site won't be going away any time soon. I've been through so many listing sites closing.  

I love being at Payhip! Why don't you give it a try?

Payhip Website How To Get Started

My Domain Shop Through Payhip

POD Can Be Good Passive Income

I reopened my Society6 shop so they can sell physical prints of my artwork and greeting cards. Of course, they sell designs on many other products. I will be primarily promoting my wall/framed art and greeting cards from this shop, though my designs will be available on many of their products.

I don't sell maker and handmades products anymore and am glad that I don't have to do packing and shipping anymore. I only sell my digital and printable graphic products from my own shop, Printaphoria. 

While artists don't receive a lot of money through POD, it's a great way to set up a passive income stream.

Set up your shop. Upload your designs. Write your product descriptions and add your keywords/search terms. Post your listing and move on to something else. 

 

There is, however, consistent promoting that you should do because competition is very stiff at all POD sites. I doubt if very many artists generate income by doing nothing, despite the great site traffic. Adding designs regularly will also help.

I used to be on Zazzle and Curioos but left a couple yrs ago. I was also at Society6 previously, which was the easiest POD site to leave. No problems. No headaches. No drama in closing my account. I'm glad to be back!

 

Visit my shop here:

 

https://society6.com/artsycrafterydesignstudio

Payhip Video Tutorial: How To Set Up Cross-Selling

Payhip is a great place to sell digitals, physical products, courses, subscriptions and other products.

From Payhip:

Payhip is an e-commerce platform that enables anyone to sell digital products or memberships directly to their fans and followers. You can embed Payhip directly into your website or you can use our storefront to sell your work. Payhip takes care of everything. We're an all-in-one ecommerce solution for creators.

There is a robust store builder and new features are always being added. Maybe you should open a shop there. Visit the Help Center for more info.

Why Are Etsy Sellers On Strike Yet Again?

 Etsy sellers launch a week-long strike over increased fees was written by Jaclyn Diaz and reported today at NPR.org. Many sellers have launched a week-long protest by closing their shops and other actions. This is in response to the recent in a long line of fee increases announced by CEO Josh Silverman. Seems like 59,000+ shop owners have signed the petition. A quick web search will show results for strikes during each of the past few years.

I don't feel that Etsy morale will improve for disenchanted handmades sellers. Somewhere along the way, during the past 12-15 years, Etsy management felt that to stay afloat they had to expand away from pure handmade support. They added a complicated fee system and have raised prices so often and by such a high percentage that it has crushed not only the bottom lines but the spirits of many handmade sellers. I closed my shops at Etsy a couple of years ago but not because of changes at the site. Sometimes I miss being there. It's at times like this that I'm glad I left though, which makes me feel sad. It was exciting to be a part of Etsy, back then.

Dwanda, Artfire and others folded and it seems like Etsy is having to take drastic steps every year to remain viable. These decisions have invited in questionable resellers and consistently driven away Etsy creatives. I was at Zibbet when years ago there was a mass exodus of Etsy sellers to that selling venue in response to insufferable changes. Most of them returned to Etsy when Zibbet did not deliver what they were expecting. Sellers need to seriously ask themselves if any selling website will fulfill their expectations. If not, what is the best course of action for their brands?

While the popularity of Etsy seems bleak for many, others are realizing what I had begun to feel some time ago. The best business practice for the future of creating and making is to learn how to market and sell from your own web spaces. There are still a few venues left where the income of the creative is not gouged. One of them is Payhip. Another is Meylah. Find Meylah store setup info here.

Learning to self-promote and sell from our own blogs and online shops will provide peace of mind to start, which will go a long way in generating income. It is difficult to focus on creating good products and effectively marketing them when there is misery about the selling platform and constant fear of what will come next. It can be bad for the creative psyche to be in an atmosphere that has become increasingly riddled with controversy.

Will this strike matter to Etsy management and ownership? Will it bring about the desired changes? According to many sellers' comments at the forum, no it will not. Many of them say it's the low-sales-volume sellers who have organized and are signing on to the strike. My heart goes out to the makers and designers who feel a need to boycott Etsy. If the majority are low-volume sellers, then my suggestion to learn to market and sell from their own shops is even more crucial. If being at Etsy is not paying off, shouldn't those sellers be expending their efforts and funds elsewhere? That would build invaluable marketing experience and generate more lasting assets for the sellers.     

Book Funnel Definition Sales Funnel Stages

A book or sales funnel is a marketing method designed to lead visitors and potential customers to a purchasing decision. It is composed of several processes that may include a landing page. While a landing/sales page and a book funnel can work together, they are also different. 

Some book funnel landing pages can be annoying with their in-your-face graphics, popups and extensive length. They lose the potential customer long before the visitor reaches the end. Landing pages, however, are only as good as the writer of the book funnel.

Potential customers often need to be led on what to think and how to think it. Sometimes they seek but do not follow through when they find what they desire. Sales funnels can lead them through the steps to obtain what they are seeking, which are the published products that you and I are offering. Learn how to skillfully create effective book/sales funnels for your written products here:

Book Funnel Optimization: Essential Tips to Convert Leads into Paying Readers

 

Innovation, Adaptability, Persistance: David's Bridal

Consistently, we see innovation, adaptability and persistence as the kingpins of enduring business success. Those traits have made David's Bridal the lone, national, wedding dress chain today.

While David Reisberg decided to begin selling his privately-designed wedding gowns in 1945, innovation began 20 years later after he sold his south-Florida salon. In 1972, Phillip Youtie bought the boutique and around 1988, brought in the retail expertise of childhood friend Steven Erlbaum.

Stores at this time stocked only sample gowns in a standard size. Youtie and Erlbaum changed the store model in the late 1980s with this warehouse off Interstate 95 where they stocked designer gowns, discontinued dress and manufacturer overruns at below retail prices. This chain of bridal stores was like none of its kind. David’s Bridal was all about making a no-frills shopping environment for those who need an expensive wedding dress for a fraction of the price. Stores were not comfortable, but more plain and warehouse-like. Although there was little to no comfort in the stores, brides-to-be could expect a bargain.

Adaptability resulted in finding ways to acquire new stores:

Years later, as the business grew even larger and larger, small stores were starting to go out of business while more David’s Bridal stores were being put into the business. Between 1994 and 1995, 12 stores were added to the bridal corporation...In 2000, the May Department Stores Company bought David’s Bridal from Youtie and Erlbaum for $436 million. By this time, David’s Bridal was the largest retailer of bridal gowns and wedding-related merchandise.

Persistence

David’s Bridal is the largest American bridal-store chain...and the only nationwide competitor of bridal stores...One in four American brides are dressed by David’s Bridal.

Successive acquisitions and emergence out of a two-month bankruptcy did not kill the dream. While Mr. Reisberg worked faithfully for over two decades and did not financially enjoy the astronomical success of his brand, the point is this; David's Bridal endured through the innovation, adaptability and persistence of all who believed.

On October 11, 2012, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice announced the completion of its acquisition of David’s Bridal, Inc. in a deal that valued the company at $1.05 billion.

David's Bridal is currently in 49 states, 5 Canadian territories and the United Kingdom. As of 2018, it was worth $2.5 billion.

Opportunities to innovate surround us everyday and many of the commerce giants that we recognize are still owned by the innovators. Those who do not own their flagship brands have taken the fortunes made through them and built new ventures. You may not be seeking colossal growth for your brand but the methods that lead to this kind of proliferating success can help you to reach your goals. 

How can you innovate your brand so that it will stand out and attract a robust market?

Is your growth lagging for lack of adaptability to an ever-changing society?

Do you cling to pet projects and ideas that do not inspire persistence?

 

Sources:

David's Bridal Locations

David's Bridal - UK

PRNewswire - David's Bridal

The List - The Truth Behind David Of David's Bridal

The New York Times - David’s Bridal Files for Bankruptcy, but Brides Will Get Their Dresses

Wikipedia - David's Bridal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roberto Blake On Successful Brand Deals

When asked if he finds it more difficult, as a person-of-color graphic designer and Youtube creator, to obtain brand deals in comparison to others, he replied,

Not really but I’ve also built a system for brand deals...I also do better on brand deals than most Creators my size or larger regardless of their background, due to my ability to negotiate and package my deals.

While discrimination is often endured daily by many of us, his successful focus is on evaluating how to deliver more value to the clients/customers whom he does acquire.

While I'm not aspiring to produce and upload YT videos (the unpopular slideshows format works better for my schedule), I love Roberto's content. He's clear, engaging and relevant. This is not the first time that I've written about him. 

I like making a pit stop at his channel to see what he's currently sharing. I am also a graphic designer but I don't freelance. I prefer to design pre-made products and services. Roberto produces many videos with inspiring content that can apply to any creative pursuit.

Check out his YT channel and website for great info on boosting the success of your brands.  

About Roberto Blake

Roberto Blake is dedicated to building the creator economy through helping creators and influencers build brands and businesses online. Learn how to monetize your creativity and skills, grow an audience, sell products, monetize YouTube videos, make money online, and build a personal brand. He has grown his Youtube channel to over 500,000 subscribers.

Find Roberto Online

Youtube Community

Youtube Channel 

Awesome Creator Academy 

Roberto's Youtube Starter Kit

Interested In Sponsoring Roberto Blake And Sharing Your Brand With His Viewers?

info@robertoblake.com

725 Ponce De Leon Ave
ATTN WeWork Roberto Blake 2nd Floor
Atlanta GA, 30306 

 

 

 

Optimizing The New Facebook Business Pages

In this still relevant, late 2020 post, Brandastic shares some points on how to make the new Facebook Business Pages work for your brand. 

Their focus is on changing how we use a Page. I like these 2 points:

• Focus more on educational rather than promotional content.
• Join and interact in FB groups with your business page. 

Read the full article here:

Are Facebook Pages Still Useful in 2020?

Another great post on optimizing Facebook Business Pages is this article from Tripepi Smith. The 2022 new pages transition is discussed and tips on optimizing the new design are shared.

Follower count is now rounded up and it seems that page likes are no longer displayed. Some business features, such as jobs and appointments, are no longer available.

Facebook’s New Pages Experience 101

 

 Steps To Creating A Facebook/Meta Business Page

Create A Free Business Page In Minutes  

What To Know Before You Create A Facebook Business Page

 

Payhip Tools Increase Sales

One of the best features of the Payhip Store Builder is the ability to add listings to more than 1 category. I have never run across this tool in my years of online selling. Etsy does not even have it. I can't recall if eCrater or eBlueJay does. I know that I was always wishing that the feature was available when I was selling on various venues.

This multiple-listing-category tool is valuable in that it puts products in view of visitors who might not otherwise see them. They may visit one category not realizing that what they are seeking is in another one. Sometimes they look around, sometimes they don't. They may go to one category and leave. Many of my listings can be added to up to three related categories. This tool can certainly increase sales.

Always something good to discover at Payhip.

See the design of my Printaphoria shop. I have a domain name so my shop address does not use the Payhip sub-domain name anymore. I use shop.printaphoria.com Payhip added the ability to connect our shops to our domains in 2021.

See Payhip FAQs. 

Payhip Blog has a great articles on how to sell and increase sales.

Payhip

Payhip is trusted by over 130,000 sellers from across the world and is a successful venture.

Start selling your digitals, physicals, memberships/subscriptions and coaching services at Payhip today!

Success Comes From Within

Often, sellers ask is anyone making sales at this or that site? Is this site good for sales? Do you get a lot of traffic and sales at this venue?  Long-lasting success is not based on the website or selling venue or any other entity or person. Sustainable success happens according to the person's unfailing commitment, acquired knowledge and savvy efforts.

Unless you got in on the ground floor, even Etsy is no longer a venue where you are likely to list products, do nothing and get sales. Nowadays, new Etsy shops have to promote themselves ceaselessly to obtain regular sales. Etsy used to be the go-to venue to list creations, do nothing much and rake in the sales.

Earlier in Etsy's history, a person could join and by virtue of the traffic alone selling success could be had. Because of the changes in the purpose and direction of the owners, competition is now so varied and stiff that even those with great products have to pull their own weight in marketing. This is something that sellers should have always been cultivating. Why? Because that type of self-generated success is lasting. 

To successfully market and promote our brands, we have to believe in what we do and believe in ourselves. We have to see value in all of it and we have to be determined to show others that value. Sometimes, we have to change products and direction or reevaluate our goals.

If we don't possess that do-or-die attitude, we will depend on others and their websites to give us success. Eventually, we'll quit. If this is the case, them maybe we should not have been pursuing this type of success anyway. Maybe it was always just a fleeting hobby that we mistakenly saw as a driving purpose. 

A creative person who is driven and burning with the love of creating and the determination to show others the value of it will work tirelessly. They will press on until they find the correct techniques and products or services to get that point across.  Like they say, a good seller can sell ice to Native Alaskans.

We should all want sustainable success, rather than success that is attached to any one e-commerce site. If a website begins to fail or if the owners take a direction that is no longer compatible with our beliefs, we can leave and take our success with us. Without fear, we can take self-built, sustainable success where ever we go. 

Success = 

• Unfailing Commitment
• Acquired Knowledge
• Savvy Efforts.

Success comes from within.

What Is The Sweet Spot In Marketing Today?

The Sweet Spot In Marketing

Unique ideas and creativity in marketing is the sweet spot in selling. When many sellers joined Etsy, Ebay, Amazon and other high-traffic venues, they never learned how to market. The marketing was done for them, traffic was heavy and sales were good.

Nowadays, it's more difficult than ever to get a significant piece of the creative sales pie. Even becoming successful at Etsy today, the old quick-sales stomping ground, is a huge challenge. For a decade or more now, shifting of manufacturing jobs, poor economy and COVID woes have led many to start selling their handmade products and creative services. The influx of overseas sellers offering cheap products has virtually decimated the market for handmades sellers and independent designers.

All of the easy ways for crafters, artists and designers to make money online have largely dried up. Except for a few unique start-ups, the only Etsy sellers who are in the black are those who started with the launch of the selling site and grew their enterprise through it. They are successful today because they got a foot in early on, which was around 2007 for most of them.

Today, the savvy creative is committed and diligent in seeking new places, methods and niches to which to market. I'm not sure how useful services like Google Adwords, Facebook Ads and Pinterest Ads are anymore. I know they can be expensive for the average creative person as you increasingly funnel in money to obtain elusive results. If we can create, we can create our own targeted marketing processes, not with the primary goal to increase sales but to get our products in front of those who would most benefit. It's all about the customers needs and wants.

One way to more effectively invest our advertising dollars is through blog banner advertising. Many bloggers sell banner ad space in the sidebars of their blogs. If we buy banner ad space at blogs that compliment our products, we will place our work, almost exclusively, in front of our target markets. In this way, we can also zero in on niche markets where the competition for our product and service type is not nearly as steep.

In addition to choosing appropriate blogs, it's important to design an attention-getting, yet tasteful banner.

• You can design them yourself
• Barter with a friend or associate skilled at graphic design
• Pay for a banner to be designed at graphics venues like:
• Fiverr, where most gigs start at $5
• People Per Hour, where client deposits are locked in  
• Freelancer, which has an effective time-tracking process
• Truelancer, where you can post a project and be matched with freelancers from which to choose

• Allow the blog owner to design your banner if the service is offered.
  

Fiverr is the most economical design source. It was launched as a $5 per gig site and has since opened up to all price points. I have sold writing and naming services there and am planning to buy illustration services. I have not used the others sites. Always read the guidelines, policies and procedures on these sites before buying work.

Your banners need not be elaborate or complicated. They should be easy to spot and easy to read with a minimum words. Ask the blog owner if there are any specifics that you need to adhere to in your design.

What I like about this type of advertising is the variety of banner sizes and prices that are usually offered and the variety of time frames for the banner to be displayed. Try out several blogs to find the ones through which you get the most response, even if it's just nibbles. Build on those nibbles and turn them into sales and returning purchases! Don't forget to develop some unique products and services, the first part of the equation.