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

How Can I Name My Shop?

Whimsical Names For Your Shop

Are you asking yourself, How do I choose a shop name? Well, you have me to help you.

I will skillfully name your shop or brand using research and simple marketing techniques.

Your names are powerful assets with which customers should be able to associate. They should be interesting and easy to remember and pronounce. Your marketing demographic should know what to expect from you when they see your shop or brand names.

My whimsical, charming names are meaningful, appealing and exclusive. They project the message that shop owners want to convey to potential customers. They also can help to keep your shop uppermost in the minds of previous customers, encouraging them to return for a purchase. So, the question, What should I name my online shop?, is an important one.

What are good names for a store? Well, I have created many that have thrilled my customers. I have provided unique names for clients at Fiverr and Picky Domains and my reviews are all 5-star. I was also a member of Naming Force. I am serious about naming and I enjoy it. I have been naming my own products, services, brands, blogs and other for over 15 years.

So, stop obsessing and thinking how can I name my shop! Please don't choose a mediocre name out of tiredness and frustration either! You have me to help you make a shop name choice that will bring you the brand awareness and loyalty that you seek.

 

To Learn

• What Packages Are Available,
  
• What Is Included In The Order,
• The Ordering Process
• and more,

visit my listing here: 

Whimsical Names For Your Shop

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.     

Be Flexible Be Successful

It's so hard for some to keep on keeping on with their plans, projects and dreams. When we love something and truly believe in what we are doing, we can't stop, anyway. Success also comes through the ability to adjust and adapt. While we're pressing on and never giving up, we need to be flexible in order to succeed.

Behind every successful man there's a lot of unsuccessful years. Bob Brown

You have to accept yourself in order to be successful. S. Holland 

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

 

How To Do Keyword Research Book At Amazon

 

Now at Amazon in Kindle and paperback format. 

Simple Keyword Search That Even You Will Feel Like Doing

Find the PDF version at Printaphoria:

Simple Keyword Search PDF Book

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. If you:

• have never done keyword research,

• are not sure what it is,

• have no idea where to start

• but know you need to,

then this simple, keyword phrase search guidebook is for you. 

Developing good SEO (search engine optimization) habits through keyword search and use is necessary to increase traffic to your listings and content. It's especially vital when selling from your own shop, website or low-traffic platforms. Even at high-traffic venues, competition is so massive now that it's next to impossible to benefit from some of that traffic.

Why beat your head against the traffic-blocking wall when you can quickly learn how to carry out simple SEO keyword searches and use them to pull in more customers? Once you learn, you can carry your skills wherever you sell on the internet. You'll no longer be dependent upon anyone else's website to make sales.

SEO through top-ranking key phrases application is a major player in successful e-commerce. It's great that you are learning just how useful and essential this skill is!

 

Dropbox And Onedrive Pros & Cons

I've been using Onedrive for some time but have known about Dropbox a long time, as well. I've had to download some files at Dropbox that I purchased. Both cloud storage systems offer free accounts with Onedrive being more economical for the value. Both services are also affiliated with Microsoft and Onedrive is free with a Microsoft account. I've been a longtime user of Outlook, so my Onedrive is through my email service.

I'm going to continue with Onedrive for now. Since Dropbox offers a free account, I'm going to sign up. It's such a popular cloud storage platform and I may need it in the future.

Casey Schmidt at Canto breaks down the pros and cons here:

Dropbox vs OneDrive – Which should you choose?

What Are Landing Pages Used For?

Have you ever considered creating a landing page for your product or service? A good landing page definition is an online page where potential customers are presented with detailed product info that will motivate them to buy.

To get my feet wet, I've decided to learn to create an effective landing page for my first ebook. I recently published it at my shop: Simple Keyword Search That Even You Will Feel Like Doing.

What Are Landing Pages In Marketing?

Landing pages and sales pages are similar. Sometimes, they are called funnel landing pages or sales landing pages in marketing. While landing pages are usually shorter and more brief than sales pages, both are used to steer potential customers to buy.

CopyBlogger Media says:

A sales page and a landing page are both crafted specifically to encourage people to convert. While landing pages are virtually the same as short-form sales pages, long-form sales pages tend to be more detailed than a typical landing page.

What Is A Book Funnel Definition?

A book funnel or sales funnel is also a marketing tool but it encompasses both types of pages. It can include links to any number of landing and/or sales pages. These are all used as strategic conversion tools. They are ways to convert visitors, browsers and lurkers into buyers.

EmailDrips shares about funnels:

It’s a strategy used to take readers on a journey to convert them into paying customers. Typically, the funnel is like a book with the same function as a normal sales funnel. So inside the funnel, there are links to strategic pages to the website, newsletter opt-in, or sales page. A book funnel is a great way to build relationships with your readers, even after they read your book. 

Since a landing page can be the beginning of designing a book funnel, I will be studying Abs Farah's article on Book Funnel Optimization: Essential Tips to Convert Leads into Paying Readers. Abs is one of the founders of Payhip, a selling platform where you can offer digitals, physicals, memberships, subscriptions and courses.

Implementing savvy marketing tools like landing pages, sales pages and sales funnels doesn't have to be overwhelming. There are many free and easy to follow resources online.

Creative People: Donald Roberts On Being A Successful Creative

I met writer Donald Roberts in an eCommerce group that is hosted by Payhip, the London-based, selling platform. Because of his experience hacking out a self-publishing career, he has some straight talk for aspiring creatives. His message sums up as do what it takes and keep doing it! 

To enter in to the arts as a future the first thing you must do is teach yourself the discipline of dedication. You must focus on your writing and any art that goes with it no matter what form you wish to call it. You must understand that creation is only the first step. The business of the arts, in order to make an income is as demanding as the art itself.

You can not set schedules, I'll work from ? time to ? time. Nor can you work entirely on inspiration. You must always understand your story at least in the department of the imagination.

To be an artist/writer you will discover it is a lonely life. You can't play with your friends like you would with any other job.

Personally, I work 18 hours a day, not consecutively but several at a sitting, coming up for air, food, coffee and visits and adventures with my partner. She is and artist as well and we do make some sort of effort to go off together to refuel our relationship.

Outside friends have to wait until we are between projects and not burdened down with the business of artistship.

So, if you can't dedicate 80% of your life to the disciplines of art...go find a job that allows you more free time.

Finally, while you are starting out you need money, which means you need a job to make money to pay the bills. Make it a no-brainer job with as few hours involved as possible....just enough to survive. If you work hard, someday it is possible to make a living...and independent publishing is the best. I suggest you find someone who will promote your work for a small percentage. Promotion is a time glutton.

Barrie Island Graphic Storyteller

Donald is a self-employed mystery and sci-fi writer who lives in Ontario.

Shop

https://payhip.com/barrieislandstorytellergraphicnovelspresents

Contact

https://payhip.com/barrieislandstorytellergraphicnovelspresents/contact

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zipper Pouch Brand Labels Best Positioning For More Sales

I was on Instagram when I ran across these lovely, colorful zipper pouches with the combo fabrics. See the black and white fabric brand labels attached to the outside? They are a cute touch, right? Well, I wouldn't put my labels on the outside. It would be too easy for people to snip them off because they don't like them there and there would go my chance and investment for brand identity. Who would snip them off? Who cares?, you ask. Obviously, you'd be surprised.

For people like me, those who like things somewhat perfect, neat and so-so, it would be eternally annoying to see the tag on the outside whenever the pouch was reached for. My first reaction would be to want to turn it inside out so that the tag would be inside, where it belongs. After a few times of remembering that the pouch is already right side out, I'd have to snip off the tag. My nerves couldn't tolerate it.

Now being a maker myself and knowing how important brand identity is, I'd probably tack the snipped label to the inside with a needle and thread. Rather than being in the majority this time, I know I'd be in the minority of those who would do that. Most would chuck that snipped ID into the round file. Later, they would not be able to recall who made the pouch when asked where one could be bought.

You say, Well, I wouldn't mind the tag being on the outside. I would forget it's there. With reference to marketing efforts and dollars invested, what matters is how many generally would mind? The average person feels that tags belong either in the back, underneath or on the inside. It would be a simple matter for an annoyed customer to correct this by unintentionally cutting away a maker's chance at a piggyback sale.

I'd sew my zipper pouch labels into the inside, where the average person feels they should be. Though temporary, I'd use my hang tags for the outside brand identification. To give my cloth labels more visibility on the inside, I'd sew them to the zipper seam, rather than into the side bottom area. I'd make sure the label was laying flat to the top inside under the zipper. It would then be seen as soon as the pouch was opened. 

Better for my disposable hang tags to be temporary than my snipped cloth labels. Stubbornness equals loss. Wisdom and adaptability equals more sales.

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 

 

 

 

One Tip For Blog Growth

Online a lot and wondering why your blog following is not growing? Reduce your time posting at forums, groups and social sites and devote more of it to posting at your blog. In an attempt to drive readers to your website, you are squandering precious content at other places. Even simple, short comments can be published as asides at your blog. At the very least, you should be copying over the comments into blog posts. Ideally, you could originate the comments at your website.

Consider This: Maybe you need to spend more time drawing readers rather than driving readers. To do this, you need to be at your blog. 

Google Domains Alias Emails Feature Adds Professionalism

If you are using Google Domains for your blog or website address, you can set up alias emails to forward to an email that you use. 

 

The value of this feature is that you can create alias emails with your domain name as the @domain.name in your subject-dedicated email addresses.

For instance, I've used Outlook.com email addresses for years, which have served my communication purposes very well. For my website, Printaphoria & Creative Living, my domain is printaphoria.com. Through my Google domain, I can create alias emails such as info@printaphoria.com, questions@printaphoria.com, feedback@printaphoria.com, etc.

Emails sent from these addresses are forwarded to me through whatever email address I choose. I chose the Outlook email that I generally use. With @printaphoria.com as my email, my shop and website addresses look professional. 

Up to 100 aliases can be created through a Google Domains account. Don't continue to overlook this wonderful feature that can take your brand to a new level of professionalism.

Google Domains is easy to use and affordable! I am not an affiliate, just a happy customer.

Allowed Use Or Stolen?

It's the influx of PLR websites and videos promoting private label rights hustling that are part of the proliferation of copyright offenders at selling sites. Most listing venues only allow works/content authored by the members. The question is are PLR ebooks, which are purchased or otherwise acquired by sellers who may consider them to be drafts or outlines and who add to or rewrite them, considered to be their own work?

The main attractions of using private label rights ebooks seem to be the increased volume that can be produced and the variety of subject matter to expand into. A person can also publish in an area or genre of which he/she has very little, if any, expertise. That is not an issue, however, the way that some are utilizing this concept is.

How would it be perceived that a published work began as a PLR document anyway? The point of utilizing PLR is to put your name as the author on the manuscripts. If the work is extensively rewritten, then he/she may very well be the author. How much needs to be rewritten? Well, the nature of PLR is that generally nothing of the product needs to be rewritten to claim it. It's up to the seller to decide what is fair for their target market. Editing or not seems to be an acceptable option with PLR.

Unfortunately, many aspiring writers and sellers are using the PLR concept, either unintentionally or on purpose, to steal the copyrighted works of others. They remove the authors names from the images that they use. Sometimes they even edit the book cover images, placing an obscuring banner, with their own name on it, to hide the rightful author's name.

I believe that there are those who really don't understand the private label rights meaning. However, if a person has not contributed to copyrighted, published works and has replaced authors names with their own, it is difficult to believe that they don't understand that they are stealing and attempting to profit illegally through the works of others.

What is the difference between PLR concept use and the use of stolen, copyrighted-works? Private label rights use is taking unbranded, open-use products, essentially blanks, and editing them, or not, for commercial use. Copyright stealing is the commercial use of products that are marked with names, authors, copyright symbols, copyright dates, statements and other info that shows that the products belong to someone else or to an entity.