2014 Brings Exciting Changes For Market My Shop

“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.” 
― Winston Churchill

I have always been a fan and advocate of not changing something that isn't broken. I have also been a STRONG advocate of branding. It is usually taboo to change  any major branding in the middle of the game. However, I have decided to take an exception to that rule. So, Market My Shop is about to undergo a complete change- including the name! Here, let me explain...

There has become a stigma surrounding 'marketing' on the Internet. Many people now associate any business name containing 'Market' or 'Marketing' with scams for get rich quick schemes and other not-so-legit business practices. As you all very well know, that is NOT something that I would want to be associated with. Therefor, I am going to be changing the name of this little company and start branding anew!

There is a huge benefit for you, my loyal readers. You will get to see first hand how some of my marketing practices work. As I begin from the ground and start to build this new persona you'll be right there with me. I hope that all of you will benefit from seeing it all first hand.

I will be talking more about this in the next few days so keep an eye out!

Branding In Bushiness - Your Name Matters

Jeep has been around since 1941. Though they were not always called Jeep. They used to be Willys-Overland GP(General Purpose). They started being manufactured during the time of the Second World War. GP eventually became jeep which eventually became Jeep. Since they began being called a Jeep they have not changed their name and have become an American Icon.

Over the years I have had several businesses. One of those businesses has been the same type of business for almost 27 years. I started out as Chainmaille By Eric. Over the years I have partnered up with several other chainmaillers and changed my company name several times. Had I kept my original name I would have been much better established. Tangled Metal started 2 years ago by the looks of it, but I started the company 27 years ago.

Too many people change the name of their business over time. And by doing this they never really get established. What if eBay had decided that their name was just stupid and changed it to something like Online Auctions a year after they started. They would have lost a lot of creditably. Fortunately they kept the name and are now the largest online auction site on the web.

The point I am trying to make is that once you have a name, keep it. Don't end up with a 2 year old business that has been in business for 27 years, like me. This is branding at its best. Get a name, use the name, brand the name and don't change it.

That is all for today. I am easing back into the routine of blogging and would love some suggestions for future blog posts. Please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

10 Tips For Branding Your Etsy Shop

One of the best ways to get more business on Etsy is to stand out int the crowd. Chances are, what you make is not exclusively made by you. There are thousands of crocheters, jewelry designers and people selling vintage goods. Each day that number grows. I have talked a little this week on branding your shop. Today I want to give some tips for you. Some you may think common sense but they might just be the key that puts you in front of the right customer.

1. Put your name somewhere in your description. Google will pick it up. That way if someone can remember your name but not your web address they can find you.

2. Put a signature on your email. Put your business name and a link to all your sites including Etsy, website, Facebook, Twitter and blog.

3. Sing your Etsy convos with "your name from your business." I sign all of my convos with "Eric from Market My Shop" because this builds name recognition and name association. It may seem redundant but that is the point!

4. Once you have a logo, don't change it. It is okay to modify it for the times but make sure it is always recognized as your logo. Over time this will build your customer recognition.

5. Use your shop name as your login id on all social networks. This means Facebook, Twitter, blogs, forums, pinterest, everything! You want people to see your business name at every turn!

6. If you are a member of a newsgroup or forum where you can have a signature USE IT! Put your shop name and a link to your shop.

7. Put your business name on your Etsy banner. You have no idea how many Etsy banners I see with no text on it at all.

8. Be active! That means be active on Etsy, Etsy forums, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Pinterest and anywhere that you can put your name.

9. Comment on blogs and Facebook posts. Make sure you are logged into your business name when you want to post on a blog. It is simple advertising and brand building.

10. Don't be afraid to try something new. If a new social media site opens up, join it. You never know what the next Facebook or Twitter will be. Getting your name in early on can be huge.

That is it for today. I hope you all have a great weekend! Let me know if you have any questions by emailing MarketMyShop@gmail.com or leave a comment.

Branding Your Business Name

Recently I was asked a question how to get your business name branded. A logo is one thing but name recognition is very powerful. if you were to type your name into Google what would you see? I tried this experiment today and here are my results for searching Tangled Metal: 6 out of 10 results on page 1 are me. My website, my blog, my twitter, my Facebook, my Etsy shop and a couple more that are related to my products. I also put Market My Shop into Google and 6 of the 10 results again are me. How many of the listings are you when you type your business name into Google?

I have been branding the Tangled Metal name for over 2 years and the Market My Shop for about a year. Part of the success is due to having the same username on all major social media outlets. That builds consistency and recognition. Will Tangled Metal or Market My Shop ever be a household name? Probably not. But when someone forgets my web address and Googles one of my names, they will be directed to one of my web pages.

Another way that I brand my business name is that I have it in every single description on all of my Etsy listings. Every listing I have has this as the first line of my description: "product type - product category by Tangled Metal"

Etsy all but ignores your description but Google loves it! So, I am able to brand my product in Google and in the eyes of anyone who looks at one of my listings. This is just one of many ways to start branding your business name. I'll be back tomorrow with more. In the meantime if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or send me an email via MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Your Brand Logo

One thing that all the major brands have in common is some type of logo. Whether it be the Coke Wave, the Pepsi Ball, the Playboy Bunny or any range of car emblem logos, they all have something that sets them apart from everyone else. Now, I am not saying go out and get a logo for your business. Okay, I am saying that, but you do not have to spend a ton of money on a logo.

You can make your own logo. It could be as simple as the font you use for your business name. It could be the color scheme you use. Your logo can even be your catch phrase. Just like your name is your brand so to is your logo. Once you have a logo it is best to not change it. If you have a simple logo now it can evolve with the times. As long as your customers can still tell it is you.

Consistency and repetition is the key to branding and a logo can help you along with that. If you can attach an image to your email signature, put your logo in with it. Make stickers or stamps for your mailing labels. Make a bumper sticker for your car with your logo on it. You want your logo to be synonymous with your business name.

That is all for today. Join me again tomorrow for more on Branding your business. Until then, let me know if you have any questions by email at MarketMyShop@gmail.com or leave them here as a comment.

Branding Your Business

One of these things is not like the others. That is what branding does for you. It helps you to stick out in the crowd. Branding is much easier to do from day one, but that does not mean you can't start branding in the middle of the game. You want to be remembered when someone is looking for what you do.

Your shop/business name is your brand. If you have a name like "sallyanne43" as your shop name I would strongly consider changing it now. Stop reading and go do it! You want your shop/business name to be short, concise, easy to read, easy to spell and easy to remember. "Sally Anne Sews" is a good example of a shop/business name that is short, concise, easy to read, spell and remember. It does one other thing, it says what you do.

If you already have a good name, make sure you register it in every place you can. G-mail, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Blogger, Photobucket, Flickr and any forum you are a member of. This is who you are. You are your business name. Please note that your new persona has no ties to religion, politics and is 100% neutral on any controversial topics. You have your personal accounts for that or you should.

That is all for today. I will be back tomorrow with more on branding. If you have any questions let me know via email at MarketMyShop@gmail.com or leave a comment.

How To Build Your Brand

If you want to move from a hobby to a business you'll need to build your brand. A brand helps to set you and your shop apart from everyone else. Branding your shop is far easier to do from the very beginning than in the middle of the game. It is never too late to start building your brand.

Choose your name carefully. Pick something easy to remember and easy to spell. Cute variations of a word or a made up word can really make it difficult to find. Be sure to check the availability not only for your Etsy Shop or your ArtFire Studio. Check to see if the Gmail name is available, check for the Twitter username, check Facebook and by all means check to see if the website name is available. You may also want to check for Blogger as well.

Even if you are not ready to move forward with Twitter or a website, register all of them anyway. It is a lot easier to put up a "Coming Soon" sign than it is to try and buy the domain from someone else. The amount of consistency between the different places you will potentially be found will help to build a solid brand. Register as many other social media networks that you can all at once. Including Flickr and even MySpace if you think it will get the word out.

Try to tie in your logo and/or banner with everything that you do. If you have trouble with graphic arts there are plenty of people around that can help out like Curious Crow Creative. She made all of my banners and avatars for my Shop on Etsy and my Studio on ArtFire. She has both pre-made sets and she does custom work. You want a visitor to recognize that they are on one of your pages by the look and feel. Make sure you use the same color schemes and fonts on all sites that allow for customization.

Even if you do not think that you are going to become a full time business it is still important and profitable to have consistency throughout all your sites and pages. You never know when you will change your mind to become full time. Social media changes a lot too so when a new, potentially useful social media starts, go register your username there, even if you end up never using it, no one will be able to have your username and pretend to be you.

Starting your branding in the middle of the game isn't impossible but you may have to be creative. If your username is already taken or the web address is taken or any of the places you want to brand do not have your name available you can try adding words or using initials. Say for instance if MarketMyShop wasn't available for Twitter I could have used EricMMS or MMShop or the like. I would still maintain consistency to a degree. Fortunately I did a lot of research before I chose my name and made the final choice based on the availability on all platforms I chose to use.

One final note, some search engines are now adding parsed web addresses to their search algorithm. Meaning that if someone were to search "How to market my shop" I would have a slight advantage in any web address "marketmyshop" in it. Parsing is the computers ability to read words without there being spaces in them. Be sure when picking a name that it is easy to figure out by looking at the words without spacing. Make sure that they do not spell multiple words as it will be difficult for a computer to parse. I tend to try and make it even easier for people as well, by always writing it out with capitalization on multiwords like this: http://MarketMyShop.blogspot.com or http://www.TangledMetal.com That is just one more way to make your sites easier to be found by both computers and users alike.

Questions or comments or suggestions? Please leave them in the comments below and be sure to check out all of my other articles.