Want to make your blog the best marketing tool for your jewelry business?  This is “How to Sell More Jewelry Directly from Your Blog” by Rena Klingenberg. Excellent tips from her right here:

Your blog is an excellent tool for selling your jewelry online. In fact, many jewelry artists sell their work exclusively from their blogs.

You can stir up your readers’ interest in your work by blogging about how your jewelry is created, what’s unique about a particular piece or component, what the piece signifies to you, what happened while you were creating it, etc.

Basically, give the piece of jewelry a history and an interesting story. Let the tale unfold over a few blog posts.

Stories sell jewelry. And stories told in episodes gain more readers with each new episode.

Use your blog to build up anticipation for each new piece of jewelry or new design you’re working on. Build suspense and desire – and then unveil the piece. Launch it with a bit of fanfare. Invite readers to comment.

You can put a discreet “buy now” button right there in your blog, directly beneath the photo of the newly unveiled piece of jewelry. Many artists are able to sell each new piece they make, directly from their blog, with these techniques.

Remember that your jewelry blog visitors don’t just want information; they want to be entertained. And the better you entertain them, the more they’ll bring other people to your blog – and to your jewelry.

It’s sort of the modern version of being a traveling artist in Medieval days – you gather an interested crowd by spinning stories and entertaining your audience as you make jewelry.

When the jewelry is finished and its story has been told, there’s always a well-entertained customer eager to buy it. And the rest of the crowd spreads the word to tell their friends and family about the entertaining jewelry artist.

Repeat this process indefinitely. And once you really develop a following and people see how fast your new stuff disappears, your new pieces will go even faster.

People will pay for things they love, regardless of the price. Your job is to help them fall in love with it, and feel the urgency to buy it before someone else does.

Occasionally post blog entries to tell stories about other things that your audience would laugh about or care deeply about. But make it into a personal conversation with them, putting your own words and heart into it.

This kind of story can be triggered by something you saw in the news, or in another blog or forum. For example, if you’re making mothers’ bracelets and your market is moms, you might share an emotional story you read about saving childhood memories.

Make your readers laugh, make them cry, make them feel.

Emotions are powerful, and if you can make your audience feel something, they’ll come back for more – and share it with their friends.

*Discover more ways you can sell your jewelry directly from your blog, in Rena Klingenberg’s ebook “Social Networking: Sell Your Jewelry Online the New Way”.

5 Great DIY Jewelry Sites : Tips and Tricks to Handmade Beaded Jewelry.
5 Great Treats for all Beginners in Handmade Beaded Jewelry, fantastic web sites to visit.

Treat No: 1
Jewelry Making at About.com  
Great articles by Tammy Powley.  Free tutorials for beginners, large database of resources.  Free Jewelry Making E-course emailed weekly.

Treat No: 2
Fire Mountain Gems and Beads  is America’s Favorite Beading and Jewelry Supply Company. For more advanced designs, beautiful free catalog, how to, free tutorials and Design Gallery.  Huge traffic volume can be frustrating, just got to be patient and take a little longer to load the site.

Treat No: 3
Auntie’s Beads
Great instruction videos, basic technicques and interesting projects on video.
You can also find these videos on Youtube too. 

Treat No: 4
This beautiful project is from Wig Jig University.

Wiring techniques, choosing the right tools, how to use the jig, beginners instructions and many great projects.

Treat No: 5
Bead Online
Basic Jewelry Making techniques.  Graphics to show the steps to beautiful free projects.

Have a wonderful time! Happy Beading!

Bead It Forward was a project started by Jeanette Shanigan, Design Artist. “The 2007 theme was ‘Butterflies’, symbolizing being metamorphosed through the battle with breast cancer.”  She invited others to join her in donating small beaded squares that she put together into 10 x 10 inch quilts and framed them in shadow boxes.  They were donated to the Bead Artists Against Breast Cancer (BAABC) Auction which raised over US$20,000 at the Bead and Button show 2007.

Extract from a section of a 2007 Butterfly Theme Beaded Quilt.

Jeanette, also a teacher and author of many beading books, was moved by the encouraging response from beading enthusiasts all over the world.  Fire Mountain Gems and Beads is also supporting the cause. This project was featured recently in their weekly online newsletter, making a call to all interested in submitting a square for the beaded quilts.

Just a glimpse of a section of a 2008 Rose Theme Beaded Quilt.

The theme for 2008 is ‘Roses’. The full article can be found at Fire Mountain Gems and Beads website.  Any kind of beadwork or technique can be used but the motif must be a Rose of any kind. The specified size and ground rules and instructions can be obtained in a PDF file from Jean’s website at shanigansbeadshenanigans.com. All completed squares must be submitted by 1 April, 2008.

I see this as a great opportunity for beginners to make a contribution for a good cause.  Some free rose patterns and tutorials on how to get started are already available on the site. The entries received to date are displayed online and I think they are really awesome!  Very inspiring and beautiful works from budding artists and beading artists around the world.  Indeed it is a very innovative way of raising awareness and raising funds to fight against cancer.   

Another way of looking at it, it is a program to help cancer patients learn a new hobby to ease some pain in their struggle to their recovery.  It is a very rewarding past time, making little gifts for your loved ones. An excellent form of therapy and literally takes stress away from your mind and fill it with a little cheer.  And for the impatient, you see what you can accomplish in the shortest time. It’s delightful!

In a concerted effort, the legacy lives on, and each year a different theme will be chosen to celebrate each woman’s struggle with breast cancer. Cheers!

View display of Rose squares already submitted for the 2008 Beaded Quilt at
Jeanette Shanigan’s website at shanigansbeadshenanigans.com

Hi, here is a list of Beads and Crystals Suppliers in Singapore.  This is a free listing to help all Beaded Jewelry Making enthusiasts get started on their new hobby.  Just buy what you really need, otherwise, you will end up with heaps in cold storage. 

It’s beads galore!  There are beads, gemstones, findings (metal parts) and crystals that come in different shapes, sizes and quality.  The best crystals are Swarovski Crystals from Austria.  Swarovski crystals are precision-cut and have an incredible brilliance that enhances your design.  Happy Beading!

Did you have a problem Pricing your Handmade Jewelry?
I had this problem on my first attempt.  My first few pieces were sold at a 20% to 30% discount off the tags.  Sales was good because the pieces were unique and the price so affordable.  Rings and single-strand Bracelets were sold at an introductory offer below US$10.

I couldn’t sustain long because that kind of price gave an implicit branding of my product. One day, one guy came along for something special for his girlfriend. He was attracted by a handmade Swarovski Crystal Ring. He was surprised that it was not pricey at all.  Aha, but!  He faltered.  Because he wanted a more expensive item to tag Sincerity and Love for his Girlfriend!

Thru trial and error many of us developed a more professional and successful approach to selling our handicrafts. Something we can learn from the experience of other Jewelry Artists.  Rena Klingenberg had written this e-book “Ultimate Guide to Your Profitable Jewelry Booth“. It is a step-by-step information resource to bring your home business one step further, out to Shows, Fairs and Festivals.

Follow her Tips and Suggestions
Click Here! Find out what are the 3 Bonuses she is giving away.