04.27.08
Posted in Uncategorized, jewelry, kellymalouf, shopping, handbags, Tote bags at 7:56 pm by KellyM
I really apologize for taking so long in writing a post. But I have a pretty good reason.
I just got a new item of mine in a store here in town called Funky Things. My family and I are beyond thrilled with this new opportunity! These items ~Totes~ I made my daughters and I, on a whim, for the beach and boating season. Once I found that the store owner wanted these Totes in her store I had to run out and get the materials to make a bunch more. You can see the slide show and order from my site homepage or visit Funky Things yourself. It’s a really fun store too. I finally had the chance to walk around the store and see all the great products she has. Boy, could I spend a bunch there (and probably will)!
There are a couple of things I’ve learned from this wonderful experience however.
One, name your business wisely. By having my business in my own name I am safe in changing the type of product I offer without having to rename my business for the product to ‘fit’. My Totes do not have any beading on them. I made them to keep them totally washable (which is much needed with active kids). If you notice on my website, I’ve changed my ‘headline’ to read differently.
The other, be open to change. If you are a crafter with many talents, use them! You never know which product will sell or who will be interested in what, so use your talents to the fullest. Jewelry is my favorite item to make, for me. But, there is an overwhelming amount of competition out there for the same style, this makes it more difficult to show that I am better or different from others. By opening myself up to utilizing my other skills, I am able to stand out more from the competition.
Many skills, various types of products and a business name open to these factors, I believe, is the key to standing out from your competition, showing your products in their best light, and making a name for yourself.
How do you find that you stand out from your competition? Do find showing more than one skill beneficial?
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02.09.08
Posted in Uncategorized, jewelry, fun, hand crafted jewelry, kellymalouf, shopping, networking, marketing, site promotion, advertising, interviews at 8:38 am by KellyM
This is a new segment I have wanted to do for a little while. I have put the word out that I am looking to interview people who design, create and sell their own work. They would be featured here. This will help people get to know the artist behind the work, so to speak. So here is the interview I did with Me!
Name: Kelly
Business: www.kellymalouf.com
Where are you located? Illinois
What do you design? Hand Beaded Jewelry, Clothing, Accessories, Home Decor items and More
Where/How did you learn to do this? I took a Jewelry Making Class a while back and am self taught after that.
Favorite Artist who inspires you? They all inspire me. There are so many talented artists and designers out there, I just couldn’t pick one or two.
Where does your inspiration come from? I get inspired all the time. Just everyday life I guess.
What do you do to combat creative block? I have to step away and spend time doing other things like spend time with my family.
Where do you design your creations? I have a room we all call the “craft room” in my home.
What does your work space look like right now? Right now I have supplies all over my table for a project or two I am working on for my website.
How does your family feel about what you do? My husband and kids are pretty supportive of the time I spend on my business. Sometimes they have to drag me away, but it’s all good!
Do you have any advice for someone looking to make their own creations using this method? I would invest in a class first (either at their craft store or online). And then branch off from there.
Best advice you received when starting your own business? Have patience, don’t give up and stay positive.
Favorite part of owning your own business? Being able to do what I love and still be able to be close to the people I love.
Least favorite? The “paperwork” and reports.
How do you relax? I spend time with my family and friends, read, watch TV.
Favorite color? Purple
Does this color show up in a lot of your work? Sometimes, but it is not done on purpose.
If there were more hours in the day, what would you be doing? Probably catching up on things around the house or still creating.
Samples of Hand Beaded Designs products. To view all of my my products, please visit my website.
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02.08.08
Posted in Uncategorized, jewelry, hand crafted jewelry, tutorials, kellymalouf, networking, marketing, site promotion, advertising, forums, blogs, social networking at 12:00 pm by KellyM
I’ve asked this question myself and I’ve seen it asked a ton of times recently. I know some people guard the answer with their lives, hoping to throw off their competition. But the information is easy to find by doing searches. So, it really is not that big of a secret. I have also seen that answers do vary from place to place. Well, here is a quick rundown of what I know so far….
1. SEO
2. Forums and Blogs
3. Social Networking
4. Write your own Blog
5. Signature Link
6. Pay for it
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is how you get the Search Engines (SE) to notice you. Keyword and Tags and all of that. If the SE can’t find you neither will customers. You can do a search on this and find an abundant amount of results. I have gone to www.seo-news.com and found it to be updated regularly, it’s free to join, it has good links to other helpful information and sites. They do offer services for a fee, but that is for you to decide on.
FORUM AND BLOGS, I would start with your favorite magazines and see if they have forums and blogs on their sites that you can join. Do a search for any that relate to what you are selling or interested in and join them. Try www.craftster.com or www.theswitchboards.com for crafts. These sites will provide you with information for our market and most of all suport. Do not discount the business sites either, www.onlinemerchantnetwork.com through PayPal has a great forum there and you will get a ton of great advice, help, and support from veteran business people from every kind of business. Blogs are very subjective, in my opinion. Search through a forum you join or do a blog search on the topic relating to your website.
SOCIAL NETWORKING sites are great too! Places like MySpace, Facebook, Multiply, StumbleUpon, Squidoo, to name several are all great places to post information about you and your business. Here are the links to my sites so you can see what I am talking about:
www.myspace.com/handbeadedbykellymalouf
www.kelly2u.multiply.com
www.crafterschoice.multiply.com (a group I run on multiply)
www.handbeaded.stumbleupon.com
www.squidoo.com/kellymaloufshandbeadedjewelry
Some of these sites you may need an account to view my information, but that is ok, it’s free to join. Some of these sites may also allow you to sell your items from your site page (there are fees). These sites are a great way to market your product and site to anyone who may be interested. They provide a link to your site from theirs. A way for customers to find you.
StumbleUpon, Squidoo and others like them allow you to have your site seen by the many members who choose that interest in their profiles. Members vote if they like your site or page or don’t like it, and members have the ability to leave comments good and bad.
With these sites you not only get a link to your site, you also have the added opportunity to join groups, forums, blogs and to network.
WRITE YOUR OWN BLOG set up a Blog and connect it with your site. Make sure you are not writing about your annoying neighbor but about your business or topics relating to your business. You need to offer something of value to your customers and potential customers. Check out other Blogs relating to jewelry or crafts to see how they are doing it.
SIGNATURE LINKs in your emails, and in forums and blogs. Anywhere that allows you to put a signature to your site do it. BUT, be carefull of what you write and post in forums and blogs. Some of these become viewable by everyone. Put it on every email account and it will be there everytime you send an email.
PAY FOR IT advertising is something I have not done yet. There are many ways to do this. Google, Yahoo, they all have ways you can pay for advertising and pay for high ranking. It is your decision on how you want to proceed with that. Since I have not done it I can not tell you if it is worth the price or not. I’m sure if you join any forum you may find your answer.
By doing all of this, even some of it, will help. I should tell you though, it is time consuming to join these sites, add your information to them, and participate. But the effort is worth it if it gets you noticed.
I hope this has helped for now. As I find more information I will relay it here. If you have a suggestion or even a comment on what I provided, let me know.
Until then, Happy Networking!
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02.01.08
Posted in Uncategorized, jewelry, style, fun, hand crafted jewelry, techniques, tutorials, kellymalouf at 10:32 pm by KellyM
What better way to do that than with Jewelry?
Jewelry comes in so many differnt forms that it is really hard not to find something we like. Becoming more and more popular now is the hand crafted jewelry. It is everywhere. I know, I make it too!
I learned and perfected my favorite forms/styles of jewelry and I am dying to learn and perfect more. “Broaden my horizons” my Mom says. Well, it’s true. Soon I want to bring to this Blog some techniques I want to learn and maybe share some tutorials with you. Then we can learn and perfect together. If you have a favorite style of jewelry and you want to learn it, let me know…I’ll try to bring that too!
Now that’s what I call FUN! Until then check out my website at http://www.kellymalouf.com/ and see if that style is for you, and tell a friend too.
Until next time…
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01.31.08
Posted in Uncategorized, kellymalouf at 2:02 pm by KellyM
I’ve decided to “upgrade” my Blog page to make it easier to read and post to. This way you get your information clearer and faster. And I won’t have to stress about the look of it all. LOL
Check back often to see new posts and some old favorites. Thank you for your patience and support.
Kelly
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