Brecho Variedades

It's been a while since I've done a Link Roundup but I thought this was a good time to do one with the launch of Google+ (yes, I'm on) and many sites on Google and elsewhere launching major redesigns. In fact Blogger which hosts this blog and is owned by Google has a fantastic new look if you use the Blogger in Draft feature that lets you try new features before they roll out to everyone.

So this roundup is recent news and articles focusing on web technology and how it relates to or can be used by small business.

The Tech Stuff

Google Plus Doesn't Need to 'Kill' Anything to Be a Winner from AllBusiness
Google+ Statistics Report from FindPeopleOnline
Top Gmail Apps and Plug-ins for Running a Business from Small Business Trends
Find & Make Your Own Infographics With Visual.ly from Mashable

Some Great Non-Tech Stuff
5 Ways That Content Marketing Has Changed The Art Of Selling Forever from Duct Tape Marketing
Free Class – Copywriting 101 from Indie Biz Chicks
Business Thank You Letters – Your Secret Marketing Weapon from Craft Marketing Tutor

This is a useful trick if you use Twitter. TwitterFeed will take the RSS feed from your shop and when you list new items it will send tweets through your account announcing them. Here's how it works:

1: Set up an account on TwitterFeed
2: Click Create New Feed
3: Input your Twitter username and password
4: Input the URL for your RSS Feed
5: Select update frequency. Every hour is usually good.
6: Select the maximum number of tweets it will send at once. This is important, send too many automatic tweets about your items and your followers will get annoyed. I use 3 and I wouldn't go over 5 especially if you add new items very frequently.
7: Include title and decription. Probably a good idea to leave this alone but if you want you could have only titles displayed.
8: Prefix each tweet with: Write something short and simple to go at the beginning such as "New from my shop:"
9: Click Create to start sending your feed to twitter. You should see the tweets show up the next time you list an item for sale.

If you have multiple shops or want to include your blog as well just repeat steps 2-9 again. I would suggest that the more feeds you have the fewer max tweets you set for each feed since if you have 2 feeds set to 5 and update both with 5 or more items in an hour Twitterfeed is going to send 10 tweets to your timeline.

I've been writing on Squidoo for about 2 years now, I have over 140 pages (called lenses) on various topics. This blog was actually a way to take what I had been doing with some of my Squidoo lenses and make it more focused. So here's a rundown of the lenses I've written, I hope you find them useful.

❦Make your Handmade Products Stand Out - Using Creative Packaging
❦Preparing for an Art or Craft Festival
❦Tools for Etsy Sellers
❦Running a Handmade Business
❦How To Make Your Own Business Cards
❦Selling Handmade Jewelry Online
❦Using Twitter to Promote your Handmade Business
❦Etsy Sellers: What is your favorite way to promote?
❦Using Squidoo to Promote Your Handmade Business
❦Branding Your Handmade Products

I happen to love Squidoo and Twitter and there's now a Squidoo co-brand that combines the two so head over to "What's your favorite way to promote your shop" and share your favorite tips with Squidoo and Twitter. You'll need a Twitter account to participate.

This is a condensed version of the Squidoo lens I wrote Using Twitter to Promote your Handmade Business. Please check out the full lens it's also full of links to lots of useful twitter tools.

Introduction to Twitter

Twitter.com is a micro-blogging platform and social network rolled into one. You can post short 140 character messages to your twitter from the website, 3rd party applications or your phone.

Your messages are then viewed by anyone visiting your twitter profile and more importantly people who are 'following' you. A follower subscribes to your twitter posts and can respond to them. In turn you can (and should) also follow other people.

Twitter lets you build relationships between you and the people who follow you. You can let them know more about yourself and your business and get feedback from other people who also sell their handmade goods.

Tweeting Tips

It's very easy to go a little overboard and spam about your products here are some tips for sending good tweets:

General Tweeting

1: Don't just talk about your products when they're done and listed for sale, talk about making them, new ideas you have, etc.

2: Also talk about yourself and your life some, tell a joke now and then, do you have a funny pet story or a great recipe to share. Let people learn more about who you are and what you care about.

3: Tweet your blog. Using a service like Twitterfeed or the wordpress twitter plugin link your blog to your twitter to announce new posts.

4: Interact with the people you follow and who follow you. Answer their questions, ask your own questions, if they told a funny joke let them know, etc.

5: Have fun. If you go into Twitter totally businesslike you've missed the point. It's about communicating not just pumping out advertising for your product.

Talking about your Products and Business

So what type of things about your products should you be posting?

1: Announce when new products are listed. If you've just listed one item post a direct link to it but if you are listing more than 2 or 3 items in a day wait until you're finished for the day then announce with a link to your shop.

2: Announce sales and promotions. If you're having a sale announce it once or twice during the day, not every few minutes or every hour. You don't want to flood your followers.