Produce Calendars For Promotion And A Second Income

Posted on by besinoz

Creative artists can help support their passion with a secondary income that promotes their wares. There are multiple ways to do this. This article focuses on one of those avenues. Producing calendars is not a new idea, but it’s effective because they are widely used.

You can use your talents and create beautiful unique calendars of different sizes, formats and images. Your calendar can cover 12 months, 18 months or 24 months. If money is a little tight, create a year-at-a-glance desk calendar with one image. It’s the business card that works every day and people won’t throw it away until it runs out.

If your wares are paintings, pottery, or anything resulting from materials, then simply take photos to be used in the calendar. If you’re a photographer, then you already have your supply of images. However, if your talents stem from intellectual means, such as a writer, then team up with another creative artist for the images and write inspirational messages to match the images. Alternatively, writers could hire designers to provide a beautiful backdrop for their poetry.

There are many websites that offer creating unique calendars, which will require research to find the best option for you. Some of these offer free accounts for restricted design capabilities and paid accounts for their full service, such as Canva. Others will allow you to create unique calendars and charge for the printing (and delivery in some cases), such as Shutterfly or Vistaprint. Alternatively, you may wish to hire a designer and have it professionally printed at your local printer. Professional looking calendars will entice more people to purchase; however, this does mean you will have to pay the cost of producing the calendars.

Make sure you display your calendars at markets and events where you are promoting and selling your wares. People, who may not be able to afford to purchase your wares at that time, may be enticed to buy your beautiful calendar showcasing your work. Don’t forget to include your contact details on the back of the calendar so people can purchase your wares when they are ready.

 

Image by Alex_Berlin from Pixabay

Website Content for Creative Artists, Clubs and Small Business Owners

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You’re busy creating your wares, running your small business, or growing your club. You chat to someone who asks for your website details. But wait! You don’t have a website? That person gives you a look like you’re from the dark ages and the barrage begins:

  • how can you run a business without a website?
  • how can you compete with your competitors without a website?
  • how will people find you or see what you offer without a website?

And the annoying part is that it’s all true. No matter if you’re a creative artist, or if you’re trying to help a club grow its membership, or a sole business owner trying to do everything – you need a website.

Perhaps you are concerned that you don’t know what information to include in a website, or you don’t have the time to create and then maintain a website. Valid reasons, but don’t let that stop you.

It’s not that scary when you break it down to what a website is to achieve. For the website owner, it might be to sell products or services, to increase memberships, or to grow your clientele. Besides this, your website must serve a purpose for visitors, such as knowledge and instruction, and if the visitors are satisfied then they will consider your goods or services or membership.

Once you know a website’s purpose, it’s a matter of creating a website that fulfils the needs of the owner and the visitors.

The Website Owner – which category do you fall under?

Creative Artists are motivated to:

  • sell wares (e.g. paintings, pottery, jewellery, books, etc.)
  • sell services (e.g. freelance writer) or commission work (e.g. painting)
  • provide a mailing list for newsletters and to grow clientele.

Small Business Owners will want to:

  • sell products and/or services depending on the business
  • provide a mailing list for newsletters and to grow clientele.

Clubs might be eager to:

  • sell products or services depending on the club (e.g. merchandise, e-books, horse riding lessons, memberships, courses, etc.)
  • provide a mailing list for newsletters and memberships.

This highlights that you will need to dedicate space on your website to sell and promote your products and services. You will need to include a mailing list for visitors to join.

Visitors

Visitors are looking for:

  • Intellectual knowledge – this could be basic information for beginners or more in-depth information to add to existing knowledge.
  • Instructions on how to perform a task, how to handle a situation, how to do something like the professionals, and so on.
  • Interest in a particular field, such as the arts and wanting to know how particular artwork is created, tips on sailing, horse riding, or better care for a pet.
  • Required interest in a particular field – this is usually the result of researching a product or service prior to purchasing.

This indicates that you need to include quality content on your website that will interest visitors, get them to click through your web pages or blog and join your mailing list.

Other Important Pages

It would be wise to include these other important pages:

  • Home Page – this is your entry point, the door to your virtual shop. It’s your chance to peak your visitors’ interest.
  • Contact Page – so people can contact you. You may want to do this through a contact form as a spam preventative.
  • About Us – people want to know about you. Briefly tell them about your company’s history and why you’re different from your competitors.
  • FAQ – provide answers to frequently asked questions and save yourself and your visitors some time.
  • Testimonials – this is one of those occasions that it’s okay to brag. Tell the world about your great reviews.
  • Privacy Page – so people know how their information is used and/or stored.
  • Events Page – especially important for those creative artists and clubs.

Now you know what pages you need for your website or to improve your existing website.


Image by Henry Romero from Pixabay

 

E-Marketing for Creative Artists

Posted on by besinoz

There are many types of artists creating different wares (such as artwork, photographs, pottery, glass ware, jewellery, ceramics, and so on) who need to rely on marketing online to sell their works.

Many artists have faced the situation where they have been promoting their wares at an event, market or some other location when people who love their work can’t afford to make a purchase on that day. These potential customers may ask for a website address or contact details, so they can make a purchase when they are ready. Artists hand over their details, which are often handwritten on a scrap piece of paper, and wait to be contacted. Meanwhile, that torn bit of paper has accidentally been discarded and people move on with their busy lives.

This situation highlights the basics that every artist should have, including:

  • a website – promote your existing and recent works.
  • professional looking business cards – it needs to clearly state all relevant contact information, and contain a design that represents the artist’s work so it’s easily identifiable. A plain business card with just the details might not be enough to remind people as to who gave them the card and why they have it.
  • email newsletters – constantly remind your potential and existing consumers of the wares they loved are available.

Why? Because all these elements remind potential consumers of an artist’s work, which is often shared with their friends and family, thus building that artist’s profile.

Let’s say you have all the things we’ve just mentioned in place and that original scenario happens where someone asks for your contact details. This time, you hand over a business card, pointing out your website, which showcases your wares, and you ask if the interested person would like to join your mailing list to receive your e-newsletters. Have a sign-up list at events, art shows, craft fairs, galleries and wherever else you may be displaying your work.

Include a sign-up form on your website. Strive for quality content that engages, so people will join your mailing list because they don’t want to miss what you have to say. If possible, offer an enticing free gift in turn for people joining. It should be relevant to your work and is a useful item or something that adds enjoyment. Examples of an artist’s free gift might be a post-card size imprint of a larger art piece or, depending on marketing budget, a customised mouse pad. There’s a large range of promotional marketing products out there, so do a little research and select an item that suits you, your work and your budget. Or you could provide an e-book download full of useful information and techniques.

That newsletter and the chosen free gift can build relationships and help sell your work – it’s a constant reminder.

While newsletter must contain quality content and be engaging, some times content ideas can be a bit elusive, but if you focus on you or your wares then you’ll come up with plenty of content fodder on topics, such as:

  • how you create your wares,
  • how you used a particular technique or style,
  • what inspired you to create a particular work,
  • how a particular work of yours or someone else’s work affects you,
  • what you see at an art show or event that you attended,
  • about the art show or event itself,
  • about a particular artist who inspires you.

There is an underlying reason for publishing a newsletter, which is why it’s important to always include a call to action. It might be to visit your website, to accept an invite to an event where you’ll be displaying your work, or to contact you to purchase your work. This can be as simple as a linkable line of text enticing people to visit your website or accept an invitation. It can be more eye-catching with graphics or some other feature, but remember people are signing up for the content and not blatant advertising.

Not everyone is comfortable with writing, so if you’d rather spend your time working on your latest creative masterpiece instead of writing about it, then consider hiring a content writer to carry the burden for you.

 

Image by Kaitlyn Small from Pixabay

Spelling Rules

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Spelling can be confusing; however, let’s look at a few of the basic rules that might help.

IE or EI
A common one that can cause frustration is whether to place the I before or after the E. If the word doesn’t have a C, then the spelling consists of IE, such as: believe, relief, and thief.

If the word does include a C, then the spelling consists of CEI, such as: receive, receipt, and deceive.

Some people think that if a word doesn’t have a C but consist of I and E then the word must always be spelt as IE; however, that’s not the case. If the IE is sounded as A then the word is spelt EI, such as: neighbour, weight, and heir.

To make this explanation easy to remember, memorise these simple rules:

I before E except after C.
E before I when it sounds like A.

Replace E with ING
Another issue that can arise is whether to remove the E when adding ING. If a core word ends in a single E then it’s usually replaced with ING, such as the following samples:

live becomes living
make becomes making
care becomes caring

ABLE or IBLE
Unsure if that word should end in ABLE or IBLE? If the core word is recognisable on its own, then the ending will usually be ABLE.

Samples:

obtain becomes obtainable
recognise becomes recognisable
believe becomes believable

However, if the core word is unrecognisable on its own, then the ending will usually be IBLE.

Samples:

horrible, terrible, possible

ANCE or ENCE
Another ending that can confuse is ANCE or ENCE. Words that end in ATE or ATION usually are replaced with ANCE.

Samples:

hesitate becomes hesitance
toleration becomes tolerance

Whereas words ending in ENTAL or ENTIAL usually are replaced with ENCE.

Samples:

coincidental becomes coincidence
influential becomes influence

Of course, there are always exceptions to rules, which is why it is always wise to consult a quality dictionary.

Confusing Words

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English is ranked as the third highest language used, yet it can be confusing at times even for native English speakers. There are many words that sound alike with different meanings, sound different with similar meanings, and every day words that are plain baffling. We look at a few of the more common confusing words and when to use them in the correct content with the help of a few clever tricks.

Me or I

There is a simple way to find the correct pronoun between ‘me’ and ‘I’. When a sentence includes you and another person, leave out the other person and read it aloud. The correct word will sound right.

Example: Becky and (me or I) went to the meeting yesterday.

You would not say, ‘Me went to the meeting yesterday’, so obviously the wrong pronoun has been used. ‘I went to the meeting yesterday’ demonstrates the correct pronoun is ‘I’.

Becky and I went to the meeting yesterday.

Example: Jack drove Becky and (me or I) to the meeting yesterday.

‘Jack drove I to the meeting yesterday’ sounds clumsy and is the wrong pronoun used. ‘Jack drove me to the meeting yesterday’ sounds perfect, because the correct pronoun is being used.

Jack drove Becky and me to the meeting yesterday.

Who or Whom

There is another trick to help sort out when to use who or whom. Try changing ‘who’ to ‘he’ or ‘whom’ to ‘him’ in a sentence to find the correct use.

Example: (Who or whom) ate my sandwich?

‘He ate my sandwich’ sounds right, but you would not say, ‘Him ate my sandwich’.

Who ate my sandwich?

Some sentences are trickier and need to be re-arranged to find the correct word usage.

Example: (Who or Whom) do I need to see?

We would not say, ‘He/him do I need to see’, so we change the position of the pronouns. ‘Do I need to see he,’ definitely does not sound right; however, ‘Do I need to see him,’ does.

Whom do I need to see?

Another trick to identifying the correct use is that ‘Whom’ follows a preposition, such as ‘to’ or ‘for’. So we could have added a preposition to the previous example.

To whom do I need to see?

This helps if the word falls in another part of the sentence instead of starting it.

Example: She is a hard-working person for whom I admire greatly.

Although, this particular sentence would have sounded more natural if it said, ‘She is a hard-working person and I admire her greatly’.

Can or May

There is an easy way to find the correct word between ‘can’ or ‘may’. ‘Can’ is used to indicate that a person is capable of handling something; whereas ‘may’ asks for permission. So simply ask, ‘can I do it’ or ‘do I need to ask permission to do it.’

Example: (Can or may) I borrow your pen?

I have the capability to borrow a pen, but I need to ask permission to borrow it.

May I borrow your pen?

Effect or Affect

When the word is used as a noun, the name of something, then ‘effect’ is used.

Example: The effect of infection was swift.

When the word is used as a verb then we need to consider the intended meaning to find the correct word. The job of ‘effect’, as a verb, is to carry out or bring about something.

Example: He effected changes.

This word could be swapped for ‘brought about’. ‘He brought about changes’, highlights the correct word is effect as a verb.

Example: The manager effected a new process.

This word could be swapped for ‘carried out’. ‘The manager carried out a new process’, shows effect has been used correctly as a verb.

Affect is used as a verb, meaning an action. It can have an influence, to cause harm, to pretend, or to make a difference. Temporarily changing the word may help.

Example of influence: I refuse to let your words affect me. (It could be changed to: I refuse to let our words influence me.)

Example of harm: Your second-hand smoke affects my health. (It could be changed to: Your second-hand smoke harms my health.)

Example of pretend: She affected to be busy. (It could be changed to: She pretended to be busy.)

Example of makes a difference: Exercise affects health and sleep. (It could be changed to: Exercise makes a difference to health and sleep.) 

Hopefully, that will clear up the confusion with these words. We will look at more confusing words and the wonders of the English language in the future.

No part of this may be represented in any medium without written consent from the author. Mary Broadhurst c 2017

General Tips When Writing Documents

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There are certain guidelines that should be followed with all your documentation if you want your business and your actions to be trusted and respected.

Facts, facts, facts

Get your facts right. Don’t presume, guess or surmise. A factual article or business document should be conclusive of its information, so check the facts. Ideally, recheck your facts with multiple resources.

Give credit where credit is due

This includes in text citations, references, and quoting other people. Never steal or ‘borrow’ someone else’s phrase without giving them the credit for it. Never disguise someone else’s hard work, idea, or anything else for that matter as your own.

Don’t include everybody

How many times do you hear someone arguing a point and carelessly include that everybody has the same opinion as the person speaking. No one can know what everybody is thinking or know everyone’s individual opinions, so that makes the statement ludicrous. What are the chances of everyone having the same opinion? Even if the majority do share the same thoughts, there will be those who don’t.

Leave personal opinions out

Unless you are an expert in your field, leave out your personal views. Your opinion may be clouded by personal experience, which can sometimes be unique and not shared by others. Stick to the facts and what esteemed professionals have proved rather than your take on a subject.

No part of this may be represented in any medium without written consent from the author. Mary Broadhurst c 2014

How Can a Professional Writer Help My Business?

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All businesses struggle with the demand of producing the necessary documentation for customers and in-house needs.

Perhaps you are the proud owner of a micro business. You may be covering all jobs on your own, or you have up to five employees or freelancers assisting you. The demands fall heavy on your shoulders as you compete with the bigger companies.

Perhaps you run a small business and possibly employ up to 15 employees. You may have more people than your micro competitors, but is everything document-based being handled in a timely manner and produced well?

Larger companies may be experiencing their own share of problems with an influx of work, staff away on paid or sick leave, or restructuring has left too much work to be completed by fewer employees.

All businesses face their own set of problems. It could be anything from insufficient amount of staff to people struggling with proper usage of grammar and punctuation. You have a mound of work that customers are demanding and the clock seems to take on an evil pleasure as it ticks away the time.

A professional writer has the training and experience to churn through those massive piles of documents without even breaking into a sweat. Think about all those e-marketing opportunities that your company could be missing out on, all those potential sales opportunities, simply because there isn’t enough skilled employees to produce blogs, website content, and marketing information.

If the writer can also take on the uploading of files and the maintenance associated to social networking and other e-marketing strategies, then a large proportion of necessary tasks are being carried out professionally. This allows you and your employees to concentrate on billable work. Every minute that you are not making money is a minute that is costing money. It actually works out cheaper to hire someone to take on these duties than to pay an employee a wage and all the associated entitlements.

So next time you’re staring at a blank page waiting for inspiration to write your next blog, think about how a writer could handle this task for you and produce a polished document in less time.

No part of this may be represented in any medium without written consent from the author. Mary Broadhurst c 2014

Habits to Avoid for Professionals

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It’s important not to allow bad habits that form from speech to drift into professional business writing. Every word on the page will be judged by a potential customer so make sure all business related writing, marketing information, website content, manuals and correspondence are professional. Even in industries where writing doesn’t have to be strictly formal, it still has to be professional. It cannot alienate your intended audience. Before any document is released for public or customer viewing, read the document again placing yourself into the viewpoint of the intended receiver.

There are other important aspects to avoid while presenting a professional image with your writing. We’ll explore a few of them here.

Tautologies

A tautology is saying the same thing twice.

You wouldn’t want to send someone an email with this message:

I’ll join you at 8.30 am in the morning for a briefing before our usual morning meeting with the team.

A better email relaying the same information would be:

I’ll join you at 8.30 am for a briefing before our usual morning meeting with the team.

In this case, the sender is still making an 8.30 am appointment with the receiver without the use of a tautology.

Overdoing it

When someone wants to emphasise a point, it’s possible to get carried away and overdo it, perhaps even appear abusive or uncontrollable. At times, even in business, people can get emotional, but it should be controlled when dealing with colleagues and certainly customers.

There is no point in ranting in an email or letter to someone about a situation that has been overlooked or completely mishandled. Instead, throw your focus into how to fix the problem as quickly and painlessly as possible, and then formulate a plan, so it never happens again.

Clichés

A cliché is a phrase that has been used often and is annoying to hear or read. A person that leans on clichés can earn a reputation of not having any original thoughts. Would you want to deal with someone in business that comes across that way?

In today’s society, there’s a growing trend to create catchy slogans that quickly turn into clichés. That’s fine if it’s done in a positive way where it promotes company awareness or branding. Some catchphrases may become a generic term or name given to a new development or product. But generally speaking, clichés should never reach your professional written work.

No part of this may be represented in any medium without written consent from the author. Mary Broadhurst © 2014

E-Marketing through Social Media Networks

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Facebook Marketing

Social media networks, such as Facebook and YouTube, can be used to market businesses. Actually, with over a billion people leaving comments or ‘liking’ daily it makes perfect sense to use this medium to generate more business awareness. It can become your word-of-mouth leads online. Each Facebook ‘friend’ is a potential customer. However, there are rules, as there is with anything, which you have to follow. This is not the environment for the hard sell. This is an opportunity for you to network in relaxed conversations and become part of the community while boosting your online visibility. Here, you can share videos and photos that will promote your products and services.

Be aware of who is following you on Facebook, their characteristics and why they are following you and then cater your marketing to that demographic.

Encourage users to post their photos of them using your services or products.

Roughly half of Facebook users check daily, so make sure you post regularly and you respond to post within 24 hours. When it comes to posting, make sure the content is interesting. You want your audience (otherwise known as your potential customers) looking forward to hearing from you and not looking for the opt out button/link.

As with all marketing strategies, have a clear goal with what you want to achieve and work towards that goal. Perhaps you might decide to post each morning on a daily special. Coupons are available, so your Facebook people only can receive these specials.

People like to do business with a person, not a faceless business. Facebook, along with other similar avenues, gives your business that human touch, a face and voice that others can relate to and develop a rapport. It takes time so be patient. Business has changed and the ones that adapt to that change have a far better chance of survival than those who snub new technologies and e-marketing.

Did you know that Facebook took third place in the most popular websites visited? Can your business afford not to be on it?

LinkedIn Marketing

Similar to Facebook, but for professionals, is LinkedIn. It has over 225 million members and the number is still rising. Because it’s for business people, it’s important to keep your interaction very professional. There are a number of things that you shouldn’t do on LinkedIn under any circumstance and it’s important to point out a few here.

People may send you endorsements on your skills. You may not know these people or have dealt with them. Do not accept these endorsements if you don’t have those skills. Keep your professional integrity high.

We all have interest and things we love outside of business, but it isn’t appropriate to share these things in a professional setting. So, restrain from posting photos of your much-loved pet unless this has something to do with your business.

It’s easy to fall into informal communication, but don’t rattle on in lingo not suitable for professionals. How can other professionals take you seriously if you act in anyway other than professional?

Don’t provide recommendations or endorse other people if they haven’t earned it. If you recommend freely and without thought, then it will eventually turn people off once they realise your opinion and recommendations mean nothing.

It’s never a good idea in business to be pushy or rude, and that extends to all social media networks as well.

YouTube Marketing

YouTube allows you to promote your services, products and business in a video medium. Use videos to launch a new product, provide instructions and highlight promotions. Remember that people are going to watch these videos only if they are solving a problem, providing information or for entertainment value so market to your audience.

Avoid videos that are too long, because the audience will lose interest. Each video has to contain quality and be watchable, after all this is your business and there is a level of professionalism required. You owe it to your business, your brand, and you. Be proud of your videos.

It’s a good idea to include call-to-action strategies as well. These could be leading your customer to buy your product or service, learn more about your business or products, give you feedback or ask for more information, rate your video, direct them to your website with the allurement of a discount or coupon code, and promote your business through their social media networks.

Promote all your social networks on your website and vice versa.

No part of this may be represented in any medium without written consent from the author. Mary Broadhurst c 2014

E-Marketing

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E-marketing is an important step in promoting your business. The Internet is a popular source for people to research and when they are ready to buy, you want them to think of you. Whether you’re skilled with using a computer or not, if you have a business then you need to market that business online or you’re just throwing potential sales away.

One of the best ways to market your business and provide customer service is to offer free information. This way customers will be enticed to visit your website for self-education on a product or service. Then when they are ready to buy they will be more inclined to purchase from someone who has supplied them with the knowledge they needed to make a sound decision. Even if they decide the product or service is not right for them, they may tell their friends, who are in the market for that item. Never lie or embellish, your information must be accurate and not misleading.

There are a number of ways you can reach out to your potential customers besides offering free information on your website. Provide free assistance via email. There are many people who would rather send off an email than pick up the phone. Cater to that demand.

You could write articles known as blogs or reprint articles. Potential customers will search the Internet and read articles to gain more knowledge. If you peak their interest, then they can click on the link from that article and be directed to your website. Offer more information, give them a reason to spend some time in your online store, encourage them to join your mailing list.

If you do have a mailing list then don’t make the mistake of using it strictly as a selling campaign. It’s never wise to inundate people with emails. People have trusted you with their email address, so respect that. Otherwise you will be an annoyance and have potential customers clicking on the link to stop ongoing correspondence. You should always have a link to opt out of future emails.

Handed correctly, these types of emails are designed to remind your customers that you are there when they are ready to purchase. Offer more information, suggestions, and tips; better yet – try to get some interaction happening.

No part of this may be represented in any medium without written consent from the author. Mary Broadhurst c 2014