Blogs

How to Make the Most of CyberMonday

Posted by Cynthia Boris

Holiday Shopping
Commercials for Small Business Saturday are all over the TV and the Black Friday buzz has begun in earnest. What comes after that? CyberMonday! This very special shopping holiday has been going on for more than ten years – can you believe it? The term was coined by a writer who used it in the title of a press release for Shop.org and now it’s as common a term as Black Friday. Last year, consumers went online and spent 3 billion dollars in that single day. This total beat the previous year by 16% and there’s every reason to believe that this year will beat last year’s total, as well. Want a piece of that 3 billion dollar pie? Start preparing now for CyberMonday.

It’s Time to Gear Up for Small Business Saturday!

Posted by Cynthia Boris

Small Business Saturday
Halloween is over and we’ve officially cut the ribbon on the start of the 2016 Holiday Shopping Season. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be talking about things you can do to help your handmade business reach new heights starting with a primer on two of the hottest days for online sellers: Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. This year, Small Business Saturday falls on November 26. That’s the day after Black Friday, which is so appropriate. After shoppers are done scouring the major chains for deals, they can turn their attention to the mom and pop shops in their area. If you have your own brick and mortar store or a booth in marketplace, this day was made for you. But there are also plenty of ways online only shops can take advantage of this highly publicized event.

IndieMade Inspiration: Valerie William of Wearhardware

Posted by Cynthia Boris

Wearhardware
When most people go to the hardware store, they see everything they need to repaint a wall, fix a broken table or build a deck for the backyard. When Valerie goes to the hardware store, she sees dangling earrings, exotic bracelets and elegant necklaces. Once in her expert hands, mundane washers and L brackets become works of wearable art. It's time to chat with Valerie William of Wearhardware.

Confused by SEO? Start With These 3 Easy Fixes

Posted by Cynthia Boris

google search
Google is just like you. They want to present internet denizens with the best possible response to their needs as quickly as possible in order to create a favorable impression. A favorable impression means the user will come back again and again because they trust the system. In the past, Google got tricked into serving up all kinds of spammy content on the first page of search results. Customers clicked, were unhappy with where they landed and they took it out on Google. So Google went to work refining the algorithm it uses to determine the best response to a query and it’s sent quite a few website owners into a tizzy. Let me assure you that everything Google is doing is in your best interest. By eliminating the poor quality sites, they’re making it easier for consumers to find your site – but Google can’t do it alone. You have to prove to the Google spiders that you’re worthy of becoming a first page result.

How to Have a Happy Handmade Halloween

Posted by Cynthia Boris

Halloween at IndieMade
Halloween is 42 days away which is plenty of time if you’re a buyer, but it’s a rapidly shrinking doorway if you’re an ecommerce seller. Not really into the holiday? That’s okay, but know this. . . according to the National Retail Federation more than 157 million Americans celebrated Halloween last year with a total spend of $6.9 billion. It’s also huge in Canada and the UK and other countries are catching the spooky bug as well. The average American planned to spend $74 on decorations, candy and costumes in 2015. Want to bet that number tops $100 this year? If you want a piece of that action, you don’t have to give up your current product line in favor of skulls and witches (Unless you want to!). All you have to do is make a few shifts in color and tone and you’ll be ready for those grownup ghoul lovers.

IndieMade Inspiration: Marissa Agnew of Sweethearts and Crafts

Posted by Cynthia Boris

Elephant from Sweethearts and Crafts
What other jewelry designers do with clay, wire and crystals, Marissa does with thin strips of paper. Her quilled earrings and necklaces are both intricate and airy. When viewed from a distance, you'd think they were made of more traditional materials but close up you can see the magic. This week, we handed Marissa the mic, so we could learn more about what drives her, what inspires her and why she took up quilling in the first place. Please welcome Marissa Agnew of Sweethearts and Crafts.

IndieMade Site Tutorial: How to Create a Category Index Page

Posted by Cynthia Boris

Category Page
As you grow your product offerings, store categories become increasingly important for both organization and navigation. You don't want your customer to have to click through four pages of bracelets when what she really wants is a necklace. Thanks to the category sidebar menu, that is included in any IndieMade theme, your customer can easily locate the category that best suits her needs. The only downside to a sidebar menu is that a lot of people don't take the time to read. Their eyes move too quickly to pick up small text cues and this is an even bigger issue on a mobile device. What they do see are large images. That's what makes Instagram such a grabber or why it's best to include a large photo in your Facebook or Twitter social update.

IndieMade Improvements

Posted by IndieMade Support

Tea and Computer
The way we access the web and shop online in 2016 is very different than how we did it in 2012. Today, more than 50% of visits to US websites come via a mobile device and this year, consumers will spend 1,888 trillion dollars online. Here at IndieMade, we're doing everything we can to make sure your online store is ready for every buyer that comes along. In addition to the upcoming features you see here, we're also working our way through the suggestions you've submitted via email or through our Facebook group. We succeed when you succeed and we hope that these new features will help you reach your business goals in Q4 and in the coming year.

Pages

More