Oooh! I came across this post and found some real gems of info for anyone who is hoping to promote their online store and optimize their website.
Check it out:
http://www.squidoo.com/101WaysToPromoteYourOnlineStore

One of my steps towards this was to create a brand new Facebook page for Wear Me Jewels which can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/wearmejewels .
I did this on Wednesday and have some followers (27) which is a start. I am thinking the the facebook page could be a great way to stay in touch with customers, more real-time then a monthly newsletter. I is a wonderful place to add new items, offer coupons, etc...
I learned some things while setting up my facebook fan page. The first was that you need to have 25 subscribers before you can shorten your url to your business name from the big long number filled url that they initially give you. Once you have your first 25 fans go to Http://www.facebook.com/username to make this change. A shorter url is much easier to remember.
That's it for now!

Whew! Four nights camping and three days selling at Faerieworlds is quite the experience. Here's some fun pics from my camping/vending time at the festival. The first picture is me in my booth with a pink faerie garland in my hair. Check out the chandelier- we actually had power and it looked so enchantingly sparkly lit up.
The Faerie in black is actually a customer wearing my freshwater pearl birds nest earrings. I sold jewelry to faeries, gypsy's, belly dancers, escapees from Renaissance fairs, elves, and all manner or strange and magnificent creatures.

Whew! It sure is a lot of work getting ready for a multi-day festival. Faerieworlds is coming up this week. I've been busy making as much jewelry as I can, figuring out how I want my displays to look, etc...
Faerieworlds is a festival held outside of Eugene, Oregon. Ed , Emily, and I will be camping directly behind our booth. It is pretty cool that they have the vendors camp behind their booths so we are close to our product.
I'll post some pictures of my booth and the festival soon!!

Check out Faerieworlds at their website: Faerieworlds.com

My Custom Jewelry Display-

I am so excited about my new jewelry display! I had it custom made by a woodworker friend of mine. I had looked and looked for the perfect display that would be easy to transport to craft shows and set up. Since I couldn't find one, I had to design my own. I am delighted with how it turned out. Unfortunately (only since I love this one and want to use it right away), I had this one made for my sister who does shows for me, but I am having a larger version made for myself soon.
This one is designed to fit inside a rolling crate (bought at Staples) for easy transport. It is about 20" tall and 13.5" wide when closed. As you can see- it holds a lot . It should hold at least 30 (3 1/2" long- business card size) earring cards. I have a piece of foam that fits snugly over the jewelry and keeps the jewelry in place when the case is closed. If you are interested in having one made- I'm sure my woodworker friend could make one for you too!
You can contact me for pricing, etc..

Wear Me Jewels Catalog: (click image to view 16 page catalog pdf)

My catalog is finished- woohoo! I actually finished it before Christmas but am just now getting a chance to blog about it. If you have been thinking about making your own catalog- here's proof that it can be done. However, it is a ton of work and I've learned some valuable lessons that will greatly benefit me when I go to have my next catalog printed. Here's some of the the things that I have learned through trial and error:
1. Make a list of the jewelry that you want to include in your catalog. Create a price list with product numbers and fabulous pictures for each item. This is probably the hardest step. It is hard to decide what to include and how to organize all of your items. Include only what you can reproduce and only items that have components that are readily available.
2. Back to the pictures. This was the most expensive and time consuming part of the process. I chose not to take the pictures myself. I found a photographer to take them for me. If you approach a photographer for this project you need discuss the following:

• Choose the background/theme and keep it consistent. I went with a white background.
• You will need either tiffs or 300dpi jpegs (I got both from my photographer). Check with the graphic designer to see what they need (most catalog printing companies have an in house designer- this is part of your printing price). My photographer for each jewelry item gave me a tiff, 300 dpi jpeg (8x8), and a 500x500 pixel web image. That way I had a version for my website as well as for print. This can cost anywhere from $15-$40 per item. I was able to negotiate the lower price because I had a large quantity of items to be photographed. These are large images and will need to be delivered to you on a DVD.
  
• Come up with a way for the photographer to name the image files- otherwise this can be a mess. They may take 10 pics of an item to get the one they like. If they deliver you 100 images that have file names like 1202-A , it is hard for you to find the picture you want. Talk about how they are going to name the image files. Ask them if they can add tags to the files (i.e the product number, description, color). When you deliver a group of items to the photographer to be photographed- include a inventory list with the product number and description of each item. Also- indicate how you want this item photographed (i.e laying flat, hanging..).
• Super important- if you have sets of items (i.e a necklace with matching earrings) or a collection of jewelry- have them photographed at the same time. My photographer did photo editing before he gave me the image files to approve. It wasn't until later that I noticed that the metal in photos he had taken a month earlier didn't match the metal of the matching earrings that I had gotten to him more recently. The problem was that he had taken it in a different light and edited it differently. Technically if you looked at the pictures separately they were good- but when you looked at them as a whole they did not look good together. That happened with a lot of items. If possible give the photographer everything at once or big groups of like items and you will avoid this issue. Be very careful before you "approve" the picture- make sure it's coloring (i.e contrast, lightness, etc..) match the other items on the same page.
• Be super clear with the photographer about what you need and what he will deliver- that will make both your jobs much easier.

I just added a great new feature to my website- Printable coupons. This is a new built-in easy to use feature on Webstorenow. There are many custom coupon designs to choose from which allow you to just add you own text. Presto- you have an instant coupon and it's super easy!
My new coupon is for 10% off any jewelry purchase online (coupon code fallsave10) or from my Wear Me Jewels booth (Eugene Saturday Market). I will also be at the Mushroom Festival (Mt. Pisgah Arboretum- South or Springfield, OR) this Sunday from 10-5pm.