Ads

Write ads that are clear and concise. When people look up keywords for your website, you'll need to put a description for what it is your selling.
I won't be using adwords for my site, however. Or I won't be implementing a ad campaign for my 'business.' I don't necessarily see art commissions as something that is marketable. Besides, even if I were to get really popular, it's likely I wouldn't be able to handle very many orders at a time. Maybe five at maximum, but right now I'd be luck if I could work on three, or even get three commissions. Making myself more known with a 'business' like this is a bit more unique since it's based around a following that's more familiar than an actual business, it's nice since I don't have to be quite as formal. But I have a clear goal of how to build my popularity, and that is going to take learning and work, since it's art, not a fad or a viral product.

Keywords

Keywords are of course super important for your website. They're basically the equivalent of tags on social sites. Or tags are the equivalent of keywords for websites. Basically keywords are what ques to your website in web searches. So being specific as well as broad is essential. For instance if your selling cowboy boots you would use the words, 'cowboy' 'boots' and 'shop.' You should also put 'shoes' 'online' other things like that, something you would put in a search engine to find what you're looking for.

Google Adwords

I'm going to go ahead and say that this is a widget that will more likely be detrimental than helpful for my site. Mainly for the fact that I wouldn't be able to afford it. Google Adwords is that pane on the right hand side when you google search that no one really pays attention to. Although that's not entirely true, I'm sure it has some major merit otherwise it wouldn't be such a popular tool. My dad uses it actually, I don't know if he does anymore though. When you search google for a specific criteria or service, Adwords will put your business near the top of the list of searches so to help your business made known to the right customers as well as helping customers find exactly what they're looking for in a localized search.

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Credit Card Payments

Paypal. Lot of people have paypal. And it's pretty fast and easy. Really all you need is your email address.

• In the US there's a 2.9% +30¢ for each transaction
• Internationally it's 4%
• For the card swiper it's 27% each swipe

Google checkout- apparently changing to google wallet in november- looks kind of complicated.

• I believe it is an actual store, not just a payment method. Maybe it does both?

Amazon Checkout seems pretty cool. Looks like a papal though. With more payment options, like grouping transactions and micropayments.

• 2.9% +30¢ for each transaction
• for micropayments (payments under $10) it's 5% per transactions
• and then there's discounted payments for when you order more than a certain amount.

PS my main concern right now is online payments since that's where the entirety of my business will be held. If I can get popular enough then I'll attend conventions and stuff.

Pinterest

For some reason, Pinterest has some seriously high quality photos. All my pins are landscape photos I can use as reference for art and recipes where most that I've tried turned out to be duds, but I like pinning because it's really well organized. By the way, the ipad app is significantly superior compared to the website. I've seen some good sites where pinning has been beneficial to them, but I think I have enough social sites, maybe I can post some crafts.

• Pinterest is a good place for crafting and food. If you're in that business you could really garner a big following.
• It's really organized.
• Outside of other social site advantages listed below, that's all i have.

Text and LinkedIn

I hate texting. I don't think you understand how trivial I find it to be. When I first got my phone it was pretty nifty and finding directions to a friends house was made so much easier, but now we have google maps and if anyone texts me just a smiley face they are banned from my life and reported for spam. Can't stand texting. Can't stand phones. I will be having none of it.
I'm just going to say it. LinkedIn is pretty stupid. Literally the only reason I have one is because my facebook is set to private and apparently there is a not so subtle link between mass murderers and people who don't have a facebook account. So I have that there in case any future employers need to see me on google.

• I guess you can link yourself with other businesses to promote yourself.
• I think they have an update feed too.
• Everyone has a phone so if you're into that kind of stuff it'd be really beneficial.

Youtube and Google+

Google+ is really nifty. I haven't played with it really, but it feels like facebook before they went all spam on us. However, I still prefer facebook as a business stratagem because there are so many people on it. If my friends hopped on Google+ I would too.
Youtube is an outlet I've been really itching to get to use. I really love speedpaints, livestreams have gotten to be more popular recently since you'll be able to interact with the artist in real time, but I don't nearly have that following yet. I've finally got a recorder for my screen, now all I need is the time to finally sit down and draw.

• G+ is very nifty. I just checked it out and I have no idea what to do. Very facebook-esque. But cooler. Layout is so much more well done.
• Youtube is a good way to keep people interested. Everyone likes to watch videos as opposed to reading text.
• Plus if you get enough following you can make money from advertisements on your videos. Two birds with one stone.

Twitter

Twitter, business wise, makes the most sense to me to use for a social site.

• You can send instant updates and they're short and to the point. 
• Plus there is a lot less picture and alternate link spam since you they only show up as links and are easy to avoid if you want. 
• You can also get updates from twitter via text message if you can't get the app on you're phone.
• However, managing both facebook and twitter, as well as a website and three other social sites sounds exhausting. I'd rather stick with one or the other. Really I'd only do both if I had around 10,000 regular followers.

Honestly I can only imagine using twitter to update on more 'business' things than anything else, such as site updates or if I'm attending any conventions or selling a new product. A lot of my stuff will require pictures, since I am selling pictures, but twitter doesn't show any of that only links.

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Instagram

Okay, one big flaw in instagram is you have to download the app. And you can only use the app. So if you hate itunes and don't remember your apple id because your id is in fact your e-mail address but when you go to get help from itunes they never ever send you an e-mail to reset your name, then it just sucks to be you. What's even worse is they don't have an app for ipad- a good one at least. Plus I think you only upload photos to instagram, which I don't mind so much since I do like to take crappy photos and increase the saturation as high as it will go, photos on top of art on top of college on top of worrying for a job, it'll definitely have to wait until summer. Until then I'll stock up on poor shots of the scenery with my walmart phone.

• Instagram is highly popular, although I haven't heard any first hand experiences of people still going on it. I think Vine is getting popular, but I have no idea what that is, only heard it from someone on the internet.
• It's a good place dump photos. I have a couple of art accounts- soon to be deleting some and sticking with dA- but it gets annoying when you try to pick up photography and plaster a bunch of photos of the same scene just shot at different angles with different effects. Plus the amateurish quality of most pictures on the site will likely cover up the fact that I know nothing about photography or at least excuse me from it.
• I don't really know how this would be business savvy for anyone not involved in the arts or something. I guess on location shots would be cool.

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Facebook

Well...I think I may like Facebook's business page better than their actual pages. Still some investigating and I may delete my own Facebook profile. I like these helpful fbb pages: X x X . My affinity towards these pages may or may not be directly linked to the fact that they have visually interesting info graphs.

• I like how involved fbb can be with its followers ranging from polls to posting comments to share as well as asking for feedback such as having your followers submit posts.
• If you're familiar with facebook, the layout is relatively simple and uniform, so everyone can navigate your page so long as they are familiar with the site themselves.
• However, I personally find facebook's layout hideous. I can't stand the fact that you can't move around any of the widgets, only hide them- even then some information must be publicized.
• It is a lot of work to get your page popular and then even more work to keep that popularity sustained or growing steadily. Although it is easy enough for one of your posts to go viral, so long as it is an interesting post.
• I really like giveaways.

Apparently, fbb pages can't like other pages, so I'm keeping my profile. So many things to keep track of now.  I'd like to use my facebook to hopefully keep followers interested in what I'm selling and to post updates on items I may be selling. It'd also be great if I could get even more customers through facebook.

Legal Structure's and DBA's

I swear this is going to make my head explode. I don't understand why it has to be worded in such an ambiguous way. I'll be going with a sole proprietorship mainly because my 'business' is just me selling art. I don't want to sign up for one right now, though, mostly because I really don't have the money at this moment, but also because I'm not even sure how well this is going to pick up. I would love to spend all my time on it, but I have school.

• I think I'm going to go with a dba. Still not 100% sure what this means but I think it's best for sole proprietors.
• Again, don't get what this means, but I can run my business under a name that is not mine, for instance pineapple- however, I don't own that name, I just get to call myself that.
• I'm hoping it's cheaper and less confusing than an LLC.

If I ever get enough money, I'm going to pay for someone else to do this for me.

Google Analytics

I think it's nice to be able to see who visits your site and from where. Very convenient. I mean, stores can kind of do the same thing, although it requires the manager to be there in person and to study every customer that walks into their store. I guess this is just another convenient technological advantage we get in this day and age.

Website Designing

http://www.hh-candy.com/product-category/accessories-goods/
http://griffsnuff.deviantart.com/journal/Commission-Pricelist-222815518
The first site is what my main goal is, however, it is more geared to merchandise that sells on a frequent basis. I would love to be able to sell my own crafts online, but that will have to wait until I return home and I'm not able to produce products for mass production. It would be more beneficial to sell my handmade products on etsy or even ebay, because they are widely followed sites that most people have an account with and could follow me easier. I'd like to feature my products still on my own site, but have it mainly feature commissions.
The second site is a journal entry off of an artist's deviantart site that I follow. Her page is a bit messy, but that is, for all intents and purposes, what I'm looking to produce for my own webpage.

• First off, the major differences are of course the site layouts. The first site has its own hosting, while the second is merely a page of an online art web hosting site.
• They both, however, offer some form of ability to subscribe to their page and follow their updates and they both make reasonable business. Both use paypal for billing.

Choosing a Web Host

Okay, I think I know the difference between a web host and a web builder, but I'm not entirely sure if web builder's provide a domain...and what that difference is with a host. I'll update the title of the post below once I do.

1.      Will the host work "easily" with the site builder I chose. Most allow one-click installs for WordPress, but building a site in Weebly, Wix, or Webstarts and transferring that site to another host if very cumbersome.

2.      What is the total cost for the time that I plan to host the website? If you choose a host that has a very low monthly fee, but requires you to sign-up for three years to obtain that price, and if you only want to host the site for two months, you may be paying much more than you planned. Determine the length of the contract and do the math for overall cost.

3.      Does that host offer promo codes that will substantially decrease overall cost.

4.      Is the Domain name included in the price of host? Domain names would otherwise cost around $10.00 to $12.00.

5.      Will you be able to get good support in a timely manner? Some hosts have telephone support from people in the US. Other only have email support with two day turn-around time. If you are new at this you might need and want some support.

6.      How much AdWords credit is available? Many hosts offer $25 to $75 Google AdWords credit.

I posted these questions for the required assignment for clarity and so that I could come back to them again. Or you could use them if you'd like non-existant page viewers.
So iPage, the cheapest site from those listed here: http://webhostingreviews2013.net/

• It has a 'drag and drop' site builder, which I'm assuming it means it supports other site builders, as well as features its own. However it only allows up to six pages, but I don't even know what that specifies.
• The site costs a $2.95 a month. However they apparently have a sale right now so that for the first three months it's only $1.99, but it comes with a 2-3 year contract where you pay $2.95 for the rest of the months. Or you can sign up for a 12 month contract where you pay $1.99 for the firs three and $4.60 for the remainder.
•  Okay, apparently the above is the promotional price for the first term only. Here are the regular rates that follow: 

36-month term: $6.99 a month (billed $251.64 for 3 years)

24-month term: $7.99 a month (billed $191.76 for 2 years)

12-month terms: $8.99 a month (billed $107.88 for 12 months)

• It is free for the first year, afterwards you have to pay. I can't easily find the price for that but I think for a two year registration it costs about $30.
• They offer customer support.
• $100 google adwords credit, $25 for a yahoo/bing search bar, $50 for facebook advertising.

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Choosing a Website Builder

Wordpress.org would be my main choice but after some first hand experience it seems a bit more complicated than anyone initially let on. The advertisers say it's very easy to maintain- after a few hours of training. After checking out a couple of sites, I do realize now that it is indeed a blog. Which would not normally bother me but I'm looking for a more simple and 'one-click' type of website so that maintenance would be easy and it would actually look like a shop. However, I'm not very inclined to most online shops, etsy.com being one of the few exceptions. Wordpress's domain cost, however, keeps it in the running. Squarespace may be the one I actually try out.

• I like its diversability, being a blog and/or a shop. But the shop set up is not to my taste, at least as it appears on the sample. I'm hoping they offer custom html options.
• They offer a somewhat limited html customization option, I'm looking more into it.
• They have a really nice introduction video.

Hopefully I can get to use a demo or something to try and get a feel for how the site works.

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B 250 Choosing a Business Idea

10 Creative Ways to Make Money Online by Joel
The internet provides many means of business opportunities as outlined by Joel. They give a list of business ideas that, while I have yet to validate the actual potential of each strategy, you can bet I will be giving a try.

• They actually provide links and examples to their listed criteria. That's fantastic. Now jobs are only a click or google search away.
• I like the designing t-shirts example. There are tons of sites that sells artist's work as t-shirts now a days and I often buy shirts online. It's a great way to find a fashion that's unique as well as being exactly what you need. But it is still a bit difficult. You're designs need to be trendy and if you want to gain a following, you'll need to create and update unique ideas on a regular basis.
• Becoming a mobile app tester. Definitely one of the first things I"m going to try out.

Of course, these are not 'get rich quick' ploys. They are jobs and require work, but don't necessarily require a boss or any sort of application process. Which is pretty great if you're anything like me.

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B 250 Getting Started

Rework by Jason Fried & David Heinemeier Hansson
A nice power point detailing how traditional business methods and stratagems do not typically work for the independent business owner. They list several different ways of how to practice these business moves in reverse. They also explain how advantageous it can be to operate an amateur business as opposed to a run of the mill company.

• Planning is Guessing. Not to discount the importance of preparing for future repercussions, but planning should not be decision made in stone. It is good to plan for the future, but it is essentially guessing, making decisions for a goal that has yet to come, so make certain that your guesses are flexible and come with alternative guesses. And feel free to wing it from time to time, when you make immediate actions based on present standards.
• Start Making Something. Ideas and intentions are not worth too much and don't go very far. Like something to happen, do it. Now. Seriously.

I feel as though this article may have been written specifically for me. I have so many intentions and an uncountable amount of ideas that have all rotted away by now. My excuse was always that- 'I don't know enough or anything about that now, I'll wait until college.' Unfortunately, college was not the magical maker of knowledge that I had thought it was. It's very human. An institute that holds resources, and not too much at that.. I find myself having to make a lot of in the moment decisions lately, my previous guesses not coming out how I thought they would.


Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything by Steve Blank
With the rise of social media on the internet, the typical development of a product has changed drastically. You can't really rely on previous methods of creating and preparing a campaign for so many years then to finally present the product out of the blue and expect it to pull revenue. Not to say that it 100% won't happen, but there are simpler and better ways unfolding to present the populace with a nifty knew thing for consumption.

• The article is very adamant about customer involved product development. This definitely something that speaks volumes to me as I personally love to follow specific artists and companies as well as kickstarter projects for the latest news on a project or product.

I definitely prefer this mode of advertising and business handling as I often indulge my product retailers. Plus I would likely have to use the method regardless of preference based on the business type I would like to launch.

Best Advice I Ever Got by Jennifer Fleiss
An inspiring article that gives insight on how a self-started business got its legs.

• Ditch the Business Plan. Music to my ears. In order to think out of the box you have to step out of it.
• Don't Be Afraid of What You Don't Know. "I often think that it is because Jenn and I didn't have experience in the fashion industry that we've been able to rethink some fundamental assumptions about the way it works and create an entirely new category of rental." Sometimes your restrictions are the things that push you to excel.
• Share Information. A good idea is a good idea. Don't make pride a factor when it comes to implementing new and better ideas that could really help business take off.

Pretty much the entirety of this article is the sum of what I like to hear when it comes to making money. Hard work and intuition pay off. I also really enjoy interaction with the customers to gauge what would be better or what direction the business should take. More often than not, the customers are professionals as well.

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