Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Multiple Online Shops- How to Handle?


I now have THREE online shops! My main shop- called Classic Beadwear, plus my Etsy shop & my NEW Zibbet shop -- both called Seattle Chic. It's challenging to "be found" online when you make jewelry. It seems that everybody makes jewelry! I'm so grateful for my loyal, local market. They sustain me & my business. It's gratifying to hear from them over & over how much they love my work because they actually SEE it:) Thanks to them, I know that if/when shoppers find me online, they also love my work.

BUT HOW TO GET "FOUND"?
  • Should I advertise my 2 other sales venues on each of my 3 shopping sites? I'm thinking NO. Why confuse a buyer who's already found me?
  • Who is the audience for each of my sites? I'm known as Classic Beadwear locally- my customer base. They use my CB website. The Etsy & new Zibbet sites are strickly for online shoppers who find me through Searches. I am Seattle Chic to them.
  • Since 2 Seattle Chic stores seek the same online shoppers, should I post the same items on each site? I don't know! As a practical matter, I don't have time to post a lot of items on either site. So far, my Etsy & Zibbet sites carry different inventories, but I don't know if that's wise. However, I decided long ago to post all inventory on the Classic Beadwear website. Since I started my business in 2006, I've been about 85% successful meeting this goal:)
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  • In this blog & on Facebook, which of my 3 store/s should I market???
    This blog "Unwired" is about my journey as an artist, but mostly as a newbie small business owner. Here I bare my soul, warts & all. In Facebook, my Product Page is to publicize my work. The audience is presumably beyond local, so which store's posts will I show in my RSS feed- Zibbet's or Etsy's? Suggestions welcome! 
When I named this blog "Unwired- Watch As I Stumble Up the Learning Curve," I wasn't kidding! I would really appreciate your opinions as a crafter, marketing guru, OR a potential buyer. Feel free to Comment below. Many Thanks!

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