CG, I find the best part of IG, to me at least, is being able to see and like/comment on other people's photos. And I can easily scan thumbnails of what everyone I follow posts in Iconosquare, enlarging only what interests me.
The photo taking, posting and hashtagging - I'm still learning.
Thanks for the feedback Matthew. I may start up my old clunker of a laptop and see if I can find the picture of the ear again... As far as I can see, Etsy doesn't let us preview how a picture looks as an avatar before we save it( and loose whatever we had in there) Otherwise I probably would have stayed with the ear until I found something else.
Well, I'm not really in sync with connecting myself with what I make. I'd be fine with being anonymous. Probably not cut out for the internet age, the little promo stuff I do doesn't feel like me.
CG, you could just have an account to view others work and later when you've got a mobile device post any of the wonderful nature shots surrounding you to ease into the medium. Don't have to self promote out of the gate. Or at all, really. No requirements. Right up your alley. ;-)
It sounds like you don't really need to do social media, CG. You have a thriving business that has been developed over many years. I'm just getting started, and will need social media to find my target market, and promote. I also see IG as the selling platform of the future. Especially since etsy has become another ebay, and there isn't another viable option.
Kate, I do like seeing well done IG pages. And that sets the bar high for how I'd want to do it. But I have to back up and say I really mean it when I say I'd be fine with being anonymous. That's been a lifelong thing, well before the internet became a way to sell personality. I think it would be a chore.
You might be able to grab photos off of your etsy listing too, or jus email them, or text then to your phone. ------------- I use a USB cable to plug my phone into my computer, then I can copy files to and from the phone just like a flash drive or my camera memory card.
That's exciting, Matthew! Do you tag Rio in your posts? ----------- I use #riojeweler.
Any other good tags for getting in front of a jewelry audience?
One thing I have a little trouble with, is that sometimes when I see a tag I don't know exactly what it means. Some are just things people search for, but others serve another purpose -- like the way Rio uses posts tagged #riojeweler to look for things to regram.
So when I see a tag like #instajeweler, I don't know if it serves a specific purpose, or is just something jewelry fans look for. Or #etsyjeweler -- is that just that some people are interested in finding jewelers who sell on Etsy, or is that a tag Etsy uses to find products to feature?
Matthew, I use tags that I see others using. For example, #silversmith, #metalartist, #instasmithy, #handcraftedjewelry, #fromthebench.........
Today I used #roystonturquoise to hopefully find lovers of the Turquoise in my piece. I did get a couple new followers that don't make jewelry, but seem to love it, so that's encouraging.
I wish there was a way to tell what hashtags bring in the followers. I just experiment, and go with the theory that more is better.
Here I am at 3 am not sleeping. Dog woke me up to go out and I'm wide awake.
I had my first productive day yesterday in a very long time. My hands worked flawlessly and with limited pain so I was able to "crank out" a bunch of jewelry. Steroids work but I am afraid of them long term.
It also helped that someone placed a fairly good wholesale order for copper and enamel so that was a good motivator. Not as lucrative as selling direct but it suits me. Once I get my drivers licence back next week I will also be more motivated to increase production and get to exercise classes and hopefully back to the pottery.
And I am about to have way more customers than I actually want when I start attending our very busy local market. If I could go just 1/4 of the time it would suit my production level a lot better, but I have to go 1/2 the time, or I loose my spot and the business I have built up over 30 years. ______________________________________________________
I am facing the same dilemma , our local markets start in a month and they require attendance 2 of 4 Saturday mornings a month I know I can't shlep pottery around anymore with the arthritis but I could try the jewelry, and take orders for pots if I have a decent catalogue on an Ipad,
I don't want to lose the spot there are long waiting lists, and it's a sure stream of income. Teaching dries up in the summer.
I'm not a potter, though, so my perception of what potters do could be way off. Maybe cutting actions are a bigger part of it than I assume. _______________________________________
Cutting and trimming are more than 70% of what potters do. My testament to that is that I have more than 50 trim tools and knives and only 3 throw sticks and profilers. You make the basic form by centering and throwing a form then letting it dry to a hard stage and replace it back on the wheel upside down to do things like trim feet or specialty curves and to refine shapes.
Then add on handles or embellishments and then trim and sand or grind more once the clay has hardened to it's hard stage. People often think a piece is finished after it's thrown, that's only one step of about 20 that goes into making a piece.
Good morning. Thanks for the help on the layaway. It looks like she is serious so I am going to set up installment listings for her. Then just wait for her to start paying. Whoo Hoo!!
Sorry about the break in Esme. So glad Cookie is home.
