News From the Mercantile

I know that many people have been effected by the downturn in our economy and many women are thinking now is the time for me to start selling my crafts. Well I agree!

In todays marketplace there are a plethera of places to sell your wares; an online website, Etsy, craft shows, home parties and eBay, just to name a few. In the next few weeks we will try to give you some information on all of these great venues.

If you are like me, then you love to shop online and that is the first thought for many crafters and artists. A lot of people have the idea that opening a website is just a few clicks away and like the movie "Field Of Dreams", if you build it they will come! Well as a veteran website owner I can tell you this is just not true. A website is a wonderful thing, but it entails a huge amount of commitment and work, but boy do you feel a sense of accomplishment when you open that site. So lets get started on Website Basics 101!

1. The first thing you need to ask yourself is how many items do I want to sell? If the answer is just a few, maybe a website isn't for you. If you have 10-20 items then a small website, like the ones at EZShoppes.com are just the ticket. If you have many items, with many different choices, then you will need a full size website and I love DIYstores.com for all of my sites.

2. Next you need to think of a business name. Think long and hard on this. You want your name to be easy to remember as a web address. Once you have the perfect name I suggest that you check your local sales tax office and find out if the name you want is available. If it is then go to a website domain name register, like GoDaddy.com and find out if this domain name is available. If it is, register your domain, even if you are not quite to the point of opening your site. I cannot tell you how many people think of a name for their comany, get all the things in place and then cannot get the domain name they want. If you do a little work ahead of time it will save you a huge headache and a lot of money in the long run. Just a word about your domain, spend the extra money to have your domain listed privately. This is like getting an unlisted phone number and you really don't want all your private information out there on the World Wide Web!

3. Now we have your website host and your domain name secured, we are on our way! Here is the fun part, picking out graphics! This takes me forever! I love graphics and just about the time I think I know what I want I see a new site and there goes my imagination. I suggest that you look at many, many sites to see the ones you like and the ones you don't like. Each set of graphics is different and there are hundreds of wonderful graphic artists. If you look at the bottom of the home page, of a site you like, it will give you a link or name of the graphic artist. Visit the artists website and see all their work. Graphics can be purchased for under $25 dollars for a whole set to over $250 for custom, one of a kind sets. The choice is yours and you can make this new site look just the way you want.

4. My next recommendation is to purchase a good digital camera, if you don't already have one. Nothing is worse than trying to purchase something and the photos are poor quality. These cameras don't have to be expensive, try eBay.com for good deals.

5. So far we have the web hosting company, the domain privately registered, the graphics purchased and good pictures of all of your products, we are now ready for the computer stuff! Make sure you have a reliable computer, one free of viruses and spyware. Have a working knowledge of how to check and send email. I promise you don't need to be a computer geek to do this, just the want to learn something new.If you have chosen DIYestores.com to host your site they will send you a complete set of instructions on getting your site up and running. They have a knowledgable help desk if you have any questions, so use them if you have trouble.

You should now have a running website!

It sounds easy, just 5 simple steps and you have your very own website! I promise it is easy, but I will also tell you there is a big learning curve. You will have some problems, but remember everyone was new once and ususally people are happy to answer questions. Don't set yourself a small amount of time to get this thing going. Allow plenty of time and don't rush yourself, take a break when you are tired and remember you will get it done.

Now that you have that site up and open, next month we will talk about how to optimize the site and drive traffic your way.