How Blogging Can Improve Your Web Presence For Your Handmade/Craft Business

Posted by Handmade Spark on 7/05/10   |   Categorized as Blogging Tips,Etsy Tips,For Sellers,How To

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The European Etsy Street Team has put together a very informative blog over at Handmade-Europe.com.  We are launching a series covering some of the top posts from their blog that we feel will help improve your handmade/craft business.  We hope you enjoy!  Today’s article is all about improving your web presence with a blog.

Moving forward: how blogging can improve your web presence…

Blogging Research Wordle

Picture via Kristina B.

Once my blog was on the world wide web I didn’t really know what to blog about… I wondered who would be interested in what I would write. In the beginning I blogged every Etsy frontpage I was on, every feature that my work got and I participated in every award that was handed to me by other bloggers. Occasionally I told about new work to come and old ceramic work that I had made.I started to like blogging and soon I realized that I was repeating myself all the time… I mean, how many frontpages, features or awards you want to read about?
I decided that if I wanted to keep my blog interesting and attract more blog readers, I needed to approach it from another point of view.So I started sniffling around on other blogs to find inspiration. I made notes about what I loved reading: creative processes, tutorials, eye candy pictures, happy colors, crochet, cooking, nature,… the list grew and grew and it made me happy that suddenly I was inspired to write many posts.
inspiration wall
Inspiration wall by Photobird


So basically, I started to write about what I love reading myself. After all a blog is a personal thing and even if you don’t share many personal facts, it can still reflect part of you.

I began sharing creative processes and ideas that could inspire other people. And nothing beats spreading the love for handmade by showing people how to do things. Tutorials have become a bit of an ArtMind trademark. They draw a lot of readers to my blog and it delights me to know that people love and are eager to try ‘em out.
My creative space
I have a blog schedule where I have certain days that I post certain topics. It helped built a community around my ideas. I host a Flickr Favorites post on Tuesday, play along with ‘My creative space’ on Thursday and usually have a crochet post on Saturday. All the other days fill up by itself: the spur of the moment, an inspirational picture, work in progress, a tutorial, …
I had another topic that came back regularly and it kept people curious to come back for more. I called it ‘the secret project’ and showed work in progress of me and my collaboration partner Anna from LilaRubyKing.
Showing sneak peeks of your work is a good way to pique people’s interest and a good way to promote your work. I’m also not afraid to show failures on my blog which makes me actually look human!
Lost Giraffe on the Highway
Lost Giraffe on the highway by Ben Heine


I think it’s important to contribute valuable information when you have it, help other people out, show interest and explore what other people do. Caring will keep your heart and blog healthy.
Blogs and social network sites are carried by many people and you need to participate regularly to stand out. So, don’t be invisible. If you aim to be seen on the web, make sure you’re not a lurker only. Leave a meaningful comment on a blog, speak up in the community that you joined, drop a message on Twitter,… After all, only when you speak out, you can be seen. Don’t be shy!
Now, go write that blogpost…
Here’s a good post about how to collect ideas to write about.

Questions to ask yourself:
Do you have a clear vision on what you want to share on your blog?
Do you have goals on what you want to reach through your blog?
Do you share your creative processes?
Do you visit and leave comments on other people’s blogs?


Be on the look out for the next installment in this series… we will be covering tips for hosting your own open house party.

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5 Comments

  1. bc5000
    July 6, 2010 • 8:39 pm

    Fantastic! Clear and simple, yet soooo difficult to do! :-)

    Reply
  3. Jennifer Schulting
    July 7, 2010 • 2:56 am

    Great article, will share with others.

    Reply
  4. MCatherine
    July 7, 2010 • 3:30 am

    Mitsy,
    Thank you for bringing to light how one might 'determine' the direction of one's blog.
    I must admit that when I began the LIFE ON MARS–HIDEAHEART BEGINS http://hideaheart.wordpress.com blog I thought I was simply sending words out into the cosmos…it was like pushing against water and while I have not received a TON of comments on my posts, the comments made have been thoughtful, supportive and helpful.
    One of the most terrific outcomes writing the HIDE A HEART blog was an invitation to be a contributing author on Etsy Momentum at http://etsymomentum.com
    Another experience of LIFE ON MARS is that I have the ability to also chat about my former recording career and post some tunes as well.
    There are a lot of directions to create the blog-path of your desire.
    MCatherine

    Reply
  5. Mami Made It
    July 7, 2010 • 12:34 pm

    Great post! Good and simple advices! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

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