The Art Bead Scene has a great post about how to get ready for the holidays.

Good little tidbits to encourage and remind you that you better get started now because if you wait until December, it’s probably too late.

Surf on over and see what they have to say.

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or have Bead Nerd delivered directly to your email box. Thanks for visiting!

As I continue on in my tips on how to succeed in a slow economy I turn to marketing.  If you are just starting out you probably don’t have much budget for fancy marketing.  If you have been around for a while you might find that you need to cut your marketing budget in this lean economy.

Over the years I have enjoyed the marketing and business side of being a craftsperson because I have changed my attitude to see it as another outlet for my creativity.  Who says you have to buy expensive ads?  Who says it has to be done the way of those who came before us?  I say, get creative.  Find a new way.  Make marketing fun and a new challenge, just like a new design you’re working on.

Here are some inexpensive marketing ideas (some are repeats but worth mentioning):

1.  Of course, always have your cards on hand to pass out and wear your work.

2.  Write an article for a magazine.  You even get paid for this.

3.  Enter a contest.  There might be an entry fee but if you get in, you have great exposure.

4.  Post your work on forums your customers frequent.

5.  Comment on blogs and provide your web site link where it asks for it.  Don’t spam!

6.  Have a home party.

7.  Trade links with other sites if you have a links or blog roll page.

8.  Send your newsletter and provide a short ‘how to’ on how to use your beads in a design, or talk up for whom your jewelry would be a perfect gift.

9.  Submit images to publications with sections for ‘eye candy’ or ‘what our readers did’.  Be sure to submit high quality, high resolution images.

10.  If you blog, find a blog to guest post and partner with.

Get creative and brainstorm with your peers.  I’ve seen great full page ads in magazines of artists who have co-op-ed so each person pays a low rate to be able to get into a major publication.  There is power in groups, both for saving money and also for coming up with ideas!  Reach out to each other and work together.

I came across a blog recently that I just not got around to checking out.  It’s Emily Murphy’s Pottery Blog and it looks to be an interesting and inspiring read.

However, today’s post is not to just turn you on to an art blog, but to direct you to a post that she has written. I’ts about Search Engine Optimization for Clay Bloggers.  Can’t get more specific than that, can you?

What is Search Engine Optimization you may ask?  Also know as SEO?  It’s what gets your site(s) ready for the search engines so you come up at the top of searches.  So, when a surfer googles, say, “art beads” if you’ve done the right things on your web site or blog, you will come up before other sites that are not optimized.

While Emily writes for clay bloggers, this information can be helpful for anyone.  She tells you about things like: having your own domain, labeling pictures, using key words, getting incoming links, etc.

Check it out.  And be sure to subscribe to this blog so you don’t miss links to other great resources like this.  Just click one of those orange icons up there in the corner.