Your Shop and Presentation For Your Online Storefront

Your Shop and Presentation For Your Online Storefront.

Welcome to LilacsNDreams everyone!  Today we will lightly discuss your shop unity, and the presentation with your online shops, or storefronts. 

When visitors come to your online shops, land on your blogs or websites, visit your pages they draw a first impression when they land there. Most people do not realize they are doing this analyzing of your shop. They like to consider if they can make sense of anything they see there. Does this style go with anything I own? Is anything catching my eye? Having an overall united presence will keep people interested longer. This is how you will pull customers in, and how they will then become a paying customer to you. 

In some ways when customers buy from you they want something that will reflect their own styles that they have. Most times they are shopping personally for themselves, but they also will shop for others at various times too. 

Many customers will roam through the internet by floating through different searches. Your pictures, keywords, titles, and etc will help catch the attention of the prospective buyer who will then visit your shop. They are intrigued with what they seen in search, and sometimes when they get to your shop they realize it is not completely the style they are looking for. They see nothing else that interests them. You then could lose business from this person. 

It is important to realize that many people that will visit your online shop are looking for a proof of a style that will match their own. 

Pinterest is a great place to see what styles, interest, and images would appeal to customers.  Here is where you would pin pictures, quotes, and etc for items that appeal to you. Pin items that appeal to your brand. Not only can these people get to know you here, but you can also get a sense of understanding their style as well.

When a new pinner follows you an email is sent from Pinterest to you. In that email there will be a list of pins recently done. If it looks interesting to you that is when you can further visit, and check out their profile. If things look good you can then follow them back. Great way for you to connect with people, and their insights as well. Customers will often pin products, interests, websites, and so on. This in return can spark some new leads for you too. 

Remember that your product is not for everybody. It is for a select few of people who share the same interest, taste, and who have an eye for the same quality products. 

When visitors come to your online shop it's because you have a style that appeals to them. So, you want to make sure to showcase your products for appeal, to catch their eye, spark a desire with them, and make them want what you have to offer. Keep some of this in mind as you prepare your shops for people to view. 

Remember to visit with Lisa at Market Your Creativity for more extensive discussions about building your business. 

Thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams! Until the next time I wish you all well, and hope to see you again soon. Toodles......

Blogging Represents Your Brand, Drives Traffic to Online Storefronts

Blogging Represents Your Brand, and Drives Traffic to Your Online Storefront.

Hello there, and Welcome to LilacsNDreams! Today I will talk a bit about blogging which is something I enjoy doing. I want to share with you how blogging represents your brand for your business, and how it can help drive traffic to your online storefronts. Actually it is good for those who have websites, and is a form of social media that is good to use. 

When you blog you should do it regularly. Remember, if you don't have a business yet this is still good to have for a business that you might have some day. If you don't have any intentions of starting a business I believe it is still good for people to do. As you sit down to write for your blog you will ask, like many do, what is it I want to say? Once you start sharing it only gets better for you. 

When I first started to blog online I had no clue as to what I was doing, what I wanted to say, how to get started, and then nervous if anyone would actually find me to read anything. Getting started can be hard. I didn't think I would really have anything to say, or talk about. Over time ideas would come to me, I would read something that would give me a thought, and I learned to make small notes to myself of these ideas for later uses. 

It can take a while to find your way of what you think you should say, or what you think that maybe people would like to read. Once you get started, once you find your way, you will find that blogging is not as bad as you first thought. You find that the words come pouring through you as you open more to share, and more of you is revealed for others to see you which is good for business too. You will find over time how this helps to reveal your brand. 

If the business you have chosen is meant for you then you will find yourself eating, sleeping, dreaming, and living your brand. So, share it to the world in a conversational style way by using a blog. 

The blog is an ongoing thing in conversations between you, and your readers. People can come to your blog that would like to get to know you, and maybe ask you questions too. It's great when they wish to share things with you, and the other readers who visit. With your blog they can read a full post compared to the short messages with Facebook, or with the 140 characters that can be used at Twitter. 

Don't be offended with people who are not interested in reading. Some people do not like to read which is okay. Your target audience is going to be with those who are online looking for something of substance every time they visit online. This helps those who like to dig a little deeper, and get more of a feel for things by getting to know you. Consider it like writing an email to a good friend of yours which will help you share what others are looking for. 

Some of the traffic that comes to my shop is from my blog. Once in a while I enjoy sharing items that others are offering to help boost a little traffic for them as well. You will find that the blogging community is friendly, engaged, and they are willing to help other bloggers too! Blogging is not like visiting some of the forums that we have with our online storefronts. Some of those forums can get kind of mean, people get rude, and like others I cringe when it happens to me or see it happening to others. 

The blogging community is certainly people who like to share, and are friendly writers. We all look for new stories, some inspirations, and etc. You will also find that they are happy to link with you, tweet, pin, post some of your products in return, and that they enjoy sharing as well. The more that you can share the more your links are put out there, and the more clicks you can get too. It's a revolving circle. 

So, where do you start to blog? If you have your own website sometimes a blog can be made with that. Many will use the free blog from Google known as blogger.  There is also wordpress that many will choose too. Some will start with wordpress.com, and later will switch to the wordpress.org self-hosted site. Keep in mind that you can also get your domain with a place like GoDaddy, and have that directed to your blog with blogger too. That is something I do for Me. So you might ask, which one is better, and what do I choose? Many like wordpress, and there are some that prefer blogger. Here is a little article about blogger vs wordpress. See what is being shared about the 2 places. 

My preference is with blogger as I have a hard time getting around with wordpress. I am not a computer techie person, and blogger was easier for me to work with myself. Who knows, maybe some day I'll grow up more (LOL), and venture over to wordpress. Till then I am with blogger, and have been content with it so far. I like things simple I guess.  

If you would hop on over to visit Lisa at Market Your Creativity check out Day 14 in her series that she shares about how to build your own creative business. There she gives you some links for the beginning blogger, and for the advanced blogger too.  

Well, there you have it for today everyone. If you are not blogging I hope you will consider it, and know that it truly is good for you to do. It's one of the forms of social media that is good to use when branding, and building your business. Don't forget, you don't have to have a business to blog either. Many do it to share with family, and others too. 

Thanks for sharing time with LilacsNDreams today, and hope to see you again soon. Take care, and have a Happy Day!

Basic Components For Your Online Platform

Basic Components For Your Online Platform

Hello, and Welcome back to LilacsNDreams! Today is about the Basic Components For Your Online Platform. Imagine your customers, or your fans as your online audience. Also, consider your online presence, or your reach as the platform you are creating. We strive to have a bigger platform in order to have a bigger audience that we want to gain.   

Your online platform is an interconnection of many things. Your websites, social medias, and your storefronts you want to build links to all of your projects. An example would be that this blog drives people to my Etsy, and Ecrater shops. Also to my listings at Ebay. Along with those places my blog can also encourage people to visit my facebook, and twitter. In turn all of those places will link back to my blog, my blog shoppe, and etc. This makes a connected circle with building your network. You want to make sure that each place will feed into the next one. 

Storefront

This is your money spot, but will not always be your most important spot either. Remember, you would like people to buy into what you are creating with an atmosphere for them to experience a piece of your business. You will create this experience in many ways for them. Before making this the final stop for your customer they just might have decided they were going to make a sale before this with either the blog, or your social media sites. 

Try to think of ways that you can grow your platform out wider than just your storefront. By doing this you will help yourself attract many more customers as well. 

Blog

I myself feel strongly that business owners should have a blog. A blog is like an ongoing conversation that you can have with your customers, or your readers. This is a place for a live and active form of communication. With a blog you can showcase so much more than just your products. As many have shared a blog is a place where you can share your thoughts, and feelings. People can really get to know you better with your blog, they can relate with you, and it helps them to feel understood as well. 

Social Media Accounts

As mentioned before some where in the beginning, time is truly on your side. Create an account on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and wherever else you think that your customers might like to hang out at. You don't really have to use all of the accounts often, or for a long term. Over time you will see which media accounts have become critical, and beneficial to your business growth and success.

So, any interactions that you have with your customers should be favoring towards them. Don't look at them as fans, or followers. Consider them more as friends as it is more appreciated. Remember, they have invited you, and accepted you so it's nice to respect them as well. 

So, here are some basic components for your online platform. Hope these topics are being helpful to you, and remember to visit with Lisa at Market Your Creativity who shares all of these things, and is very helpful with many things as well. 

Thanks so much for sharing your time with LilacsNDreams, and hope to see you again soon. Take care, and have a Happy Day everyone!