Are You Ready For EMV?

What is EMV? It is the new technology designed to reduce/prevent fraudulent credit and debit card transactions. In addition to the magnetic strip each card has a microchip that creates dynamic data with each transaction which is intended to prevent the data from being copied and used fraudulently. The traditional magnetic strip stores this data which allows it to be easily copied and used by someone unlawfully. So what does this mean to the small craftperson accepting payments on their smart phone?

With the nationwide adaptation of this technology on October 1, 2015 you will impacted in a very real way. If you currently are using the Square, PayPal or other type of reader you need to know that with the changing technology their is also a shift in how the law will be treating fraudulent charges made on these readers. Currently if you accept a fraudulent card payment from someone, you are not liable for the loss, the credit card company is. After October 1, 2015 this changes. If you accept a fraudulent card payment with your current reader after that date you will be liable. In other words you will eat the loss of the fraudulent payment.

This new way of processing payments was developed by Euro, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) and they seem to have found a way to dodge some of the liability, and shift it to the merchant accepting the payments. If you have not updated your reader to the newest device that reads the microchip they will not reimburse for any loss sustained by you.

So what can you do? Square and PayPal Here is offering to upgrade your current reader but it comes at a cost. Square's new reader is $49.00 but they are offering to reimburses up to that amount in transaction fees accrued in the first 90  days of use. Their web site indicates that some merchants may qualify for a free reader. I logged in on my account and I would have to pay for the reader. It was unclear what the criteria is to receive a free reader. Square will not be sending out the new readers until the end of the year, you will not be charged until they ship it out and if you pre-order they will cover the liability if you accept a fraudulent payment from the time you pre-order to when you receive your new reader.

PayPal Here says their reader is available October 2015. The cost is $149.00 with a $100 rebate if you process $3000 in payments within the first 3 months.

With the fall craft season soon upon us if you accept card payments you will need to make a decision on what you want to do about the new technology and shift in liability. For more information you can check out these links:

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/emv
https://squareup.com/emv

New Year New Beginnings

Whether you are an avid resolution setter, or a firm believer that New Year's resolutions are a waste of time, I think we can all agree that there is something inherently fresh and new about the first month of the year. Something that urges us to look forward, not backward and forge ahead into what we hope to be a bright new beginning, no matter what we have left behind.

It is also a perfect time to take a fresh look at your shop. Take your heart out of the equation, put on your business hat, and look at it from a completely impersonal viewpoint. What do you see?  What would you feel about this shop if  you had stumbled on it during a search? Is it inviting? Is your bio and shop policies up to date? Are your shop sections still relevant? Are your featured items really the first ones you want potential customers to see? Look at every aspect with an impartial eye. Perhaps you need to re-take some photos or update your banner. What is working and what is not? Evaluate your sales data from last year. What was your best seller? What was your worst? You may decide to add or remove some inventory completely. What needs to change to accomplish your goals for 2015?

These can be daunting questions and it is easy to get our hearts in the way of a good business decision. And this is a business. Even if you think of your Etsy shop as more of a hobby than anything, it is still a business. It requires record keeping, inventory control, shipping and receiving, customer service......It is a business. You are the heart and soul of your business but you must also be the head and brain that leads your endeavor to success in the coming year. This may mean making some hard decisions and tough choices or it may mean you are exactly where you want to be. Whatever you find, it will have been worth your effort and will map your course for 2015.

Much  success to us all!!

For those artisans who participated in the Custer Spring Arts and Craft show in Spokane, spring started a couple of weeks ago. With over 20 new vendors and almost 400 total it was a great place to see many different products.

I spoke with three of the vendors from our own Inland Northwest Team.

Jennifer (on the right) and her daughter from Jennifer Sumner Designs

Megan from Megan's Beaded Designs

Rachel from OrangeThyme

Amazing Diversity

The Inland Northwest Team is comprised of a very diverse group of extremely talented and amazing artists and artisans. As we start the New Year I wanted to take a moment to explore the variety of shops and products offered by this team. Come along with me on a short excursion into the Inland Northwest Team. This in no way is a complete list but a sampling of what we have to offer.

I found some amazing ladies and their sewing machines. StudioCherie is not only the shop of our Captain but it is one of the most successful shops I know of. With nearly 10,000 sales Cherie has shown what hard work, perseverance, talent and determined marketing can achieve on Etsy.

I first met Jan from JanKanSew at the very first meeting of the original EasternWashingtonEtsy Team. The meeting was held downtown Spokane at the Olive Garden. It was evident that Jan was passionate about her craft.

I have not had the pleasure of meeting Jan from BoudoirPlus but I sure like her shop!

Hey ladies you may want to check out Laura's shop LCSCottage
She has some amazing fabric.

We have a variety of jewelry artist in the Inland Northwest Team. They have different styles but each share a passion for creating something beautiful. I have featured just a few of them here. I encourage you to search for INWTeam and you will find many more very talented jewelry artists and some amazing items in their shops.

This is from Terabliss

Here is one from FlowYogaDesigns

RareSpecimens is a wonderful collection I loved this one:

We also have several artisans that create yummy personal care items. Luxurious soaps, lotions and lip balms can be found in these shops.

Rachel from Orangethyme has a shop full of lip balms and soaps.

Megan from CountryBlossom has a nice variety of soaps, candles and balms.

And here is one of the many treats you will find at Sagegold

And we have candle makers. Check out Michelle's shop HomemadeScents for some amazing tarts and candles.

And coaster creators. SentimentalStones has an amazing variety of coasters and other home decor.

And EtchedinTimeLLC with an eclectic variety of really cool stuff.

We have vintage shops that have everything from Accessories to Wagon Wheels.

DeniseBrain is the place to go if you are in the market for vintage clothing and accessories.

And DallyGirlVintage has some wonderful items for house and home.

We fiber artists like LadyJaneDarcy with her warm and welcoming shop.

With over 200 members there is a lot to choose from in the Inland Northwest Team. I hope you spend some time exploring some of these shops and find many new favorites.

Here is a link to Megan Peterson's (of  MegansBeadedDesigns) blog where she shares some inspirational and motivational information on setting and accomplishing goals in the New Year. I highly recommend you read this post. She has a free download to keep you on track all year long. http://beadingforbusiness.com/2013/12/10/free-business-and-life-planner-2014/

How to Benefit from Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is described in Wikipedia as “the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine’s “natural” or un-paid (“organic”) search results.”  So what does that mean to people like you and me trying to get noticed on Etsy? I did some research on this subject and though most of what I found applied to websites and more specifically to webmasters designing sites, much of what I learned could be used to help drive traffic to your product pages or your Etsy site.

The first thing  you want to keep in mind is that search engines do not look at your page the same way a human does. The next thing is to know that key words are key in getting found by a search engines. This starts with the item title when you are listing an item for your Etsy shop. Titles should not be longer than 65-75 characters as engines quit crawling after that. It should also be descriptive of what your item is and should include appropriate keywords. For example if you are listing a painted wine glass with poppies on it you would want the item title to read something like this: “Hand Painted Wine Glass With Poppies.” “Or Hand Painted Poppy Wine Glass.” It is helpful to think how you would ‘Google’ your item if you were looking for it. Ask yourself, “If I was searching for hand painted wine glasses what would I type in the search box?” Chances are what you would type is exactly what your customer who is trying to find you would type as well. 

In the description area you want to reinforce the key words from your title in the body of the text. In the Poppy wine glass example you would want your description to read something like this: “Hand painted wine glass has Poppies surrounding the 20 oz goblet. Imagine enjoying your favorite wine from this beautifully hand painted Poppy wine glass.” You do not want to get carried away with the repetition as search engines can read that as spam and will then not store or index your site for searches. Remember the first few lines of your description will be shown in the search result on Google or Bing so what you say in the first line or two is crucial to get customers to click through. 

As an experiment put your Etsy shop name in any search engine you use. See what comes up. Take note of what a potential customer’s first contact is with you.  Play around with your item titles and descriptions and watch your shop stats to see if it makes a difference. You will not notice anything over night but if you consistently use descriptive and appropriate key words in your titles and content you will get noticed in the search engines and start to move up in the search results. Will you make it to the first page, maybe not but you will increase your exposure. 

The next thing to keep in mind is that search engines look for longevity as well as how often sites or pages are updated. What this translates into for you and me is that if you have sold an item that you can reproduce and then update pictures of it is better to relist it than to create a new listing. For your shop it is good practice to add new items regularly. It not only keeps people coming back to see what is new it also keeps the search engines looking at your page. 

There is a lot of information available on this topic; try ‘Googling’ it and you will see what I mean. I have a list of the sources I used in this article below; I would encourage you to check out the links for a more in depth analysis than I have time to present here. If you have anything you would like to add please post a comment so that we may all share what we have learned to help our business grow.

Google has a great guide if you want to learn more than I have time to share here. 

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35291?hl=en

Another great source is http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo

Interview with Megan Sweeney of Vintage Automobilia

Megan from Vintage Automobilia is our "Person of Interest" this week. Her shop is a reflection of her love of automobiles. I think you will see why she loves what she does. 

Tell us about yourself. Your ‘real’ name and shop name, where you live, do you have children, pets, married? Etc

My name is Megan Sweeney, and my shop is Vintage Automobilia. I live on Fairchild AFB with my active duty husband and our cat, Dino. We have no children, but are currently pending the addition of an adopted retired racing greyhound to our little family.

What is your product?

My shop sells exactly what the name suggests -- vintage automobilia. Automobilia can be anything from old car ads to badges to the various posters I currently have on offer. I’m currently working to expand my offerings from just vintage automobilia to some handmade automotive-themed items as well.

How long have you been selling on Etsy?

I opened my shop on September 15th of this year. I’m proud to say I have made six sales to date and only one of them was to family. :)

What do you like about your shop? What would you like to change?

I really love the theme of my shop -- cars are pretty much my entire life, so to be able to go out and hunt for vintage automotive items is a great addition to my hobby! I like that I get to share a little bit of that with the Etsy community.

One thing I would like to change about my shop is the size -- I wish I had more inventory to offer. I’m hoping that will come in time.

How did you come up with your shop name?

Nothing spectacularly creative here -- it’s just what I sell!

What is your creative style? Is your work area neat and tidy or a disaster?

I can go either way when it comes to being neat or completely messy. When I build a scale model car, my area is always neat and organized. My room that holds my inventory and shipping supplies, however, is a total disaster space. Organized chaos, as I prefer to call it!

What inspires you?

When it comes to my shop in general, it’s the car hobby that led me to create it. As I mentioned before, it’s great to be able to share a piece of my hobby with more people. I really enjoy going out to hunt for inventory; it’s definitely not a job to me at all! But when it comes to being creative myself and making things, I get my inspiration mostly from other creative people. I love browsing Etsy and seeing what people can make.

Do you have any advice to offer to your fellow team mates on how to be successful on Etsy?

I’m not sure I’m qualified to give out advice on how to be successful yet, am I? Haha. I feel too new to be doing that! The only thing I feel I could offer is to keep doing what you love, and don’t give up. 

Megan's favorite shop is Old Vintage Goodies 

She tells me, "it helped inspire me to create my own shop".

Many thanks to Megan for sharing her story and her shop Vintage Automobilia with us. Check out her collection of memorabilia. I especially liked the 1957 Chevy pictures since that was my first car. Sure wish I still had it! Enjoy this treasury of Megan's fantastic items!