Brothers-Handmade Artists and Craftsmen
Let's Sell Online!

October 2012 - Issue #001

1. What's in a Description
2. What am I looking at? 4 - Photography Tips
3. Marketing Tip - Clean URLs

What's in a Description?

Many of online visitors are seeking out unique, beautiful artwork and craft products that have a story. That story might include a special detail about the piece, or perhaps what inspired the Artist or Craftsman to create this particular design. Also many potential customers are interested in learning a little about the Artist themselves.

These descriptive aspects build a connection between the customer and piece. It becomes a cherished piece - an heirloom. Much more important than a factory manufactured product.

Think - If a customer was standing in front of me at a show, and they were on the fence about making a purchase, what would I say to convince them and close the sale. That's what should be in your Description.

What am I Looking At? - Photography Tips

Thumbnail photos, those smaller photos that online visitors first see, need to catch the eye. You don't have to be a professional photographer, but here are 4 tips to keep in mind.

• Close and Clear - Position your camera close enough to fill in the entire frame with your piece. Visitors should be able to discern what it is at a glance.
• Lighting - Outdoor ambient light can be magical. Filmmakers often talk about the "Magical time" for lighting being right after the sun sets. That light tends to provide brilliant colors without glare and shadows. For jewelry, consider a light box with a sparkle light that will reflect nicely and cause the piece to "pop".
• Contrasting Backgrounds - Nothing worse than a product photographed against a background of the same color. Rather use a complimentary color that allows clear definition of your piece against the background.
• Contextual Photographs - How big is that piece? Think about what object could be included in the photograph to provide potential customers with a quick sense of size.
  
  Are you photographing a bowl? Maybe fill it with apples or oranges. A coffee cup? Maybe next to a folded newspaper or book. A bracelet? Maybe on a wrist, showing the hand. Be creative. Think, how can I be sure the customer looking at this piece on a computer screen will know exactly what they're getting?
  
  Remember, a Picture speaks a 1000 words.
  
  For more tips, and how to procedures for using Image Magnifier and Detailed Photos in the Brothers Handmade store and to build trust with your online customers, see the Invited Artists page.

Marketing Tip - Clean URLs

Remember to Market your online products. The Brothers Handmade store provides a "Clean URL" for each product and each Artist.

The Clean URL is the name of your product (with hyphens rather than spaces) tacked on to store.brothers-handmade.com For example:

store.brothers-handmade.com/Volcano-Dangle-Earrings.html or

store.brothers-handmade.com/The-Clear-Bead

An easy way to get them is to go to either your store page, or your product page, and copy the web address. You don't need to use "http://" or "www".

Use these Clean URL's in your communications (e.g. emails, Facebook, Tweets, Pinterest) to your customers so they can easily get to your online products.