March is Moving Month

I am happy to announce I have been offered a full-time job at an advertising agency. As a result, I will be spending the month packing & moving.

Sorry to everyone for the long delay....I went to interview and then went to Florida for a family vacation. Now with the move, the blog has been really pushed to the side. My apologies!

Enjoy March & see you in April!

Guest Blog - How to do your own PR- for free - Noisette Marketing

Note: Noisette Marketing is a London-based Marketing and PR shop for Etsians and other small creative businesses. Isa, the founder of Noisette, has over ten years of experience doing Public Relations, Design, Promotions, and Marketing. She has worked in some of London's top ad agencies. I stumbled across Isa's blog, when I first started out on Etsy. Isa is one of my role models - not only a crafter, an advertiser, and a consultant, she's a new mom! I'm grateful she found time to guest blog for Zula May. - Laura

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PR for small businesses generally involves getting the word out about what you do. You generally don’t need to spend money on PR as it is all about providing a story for people to write about. Hopefully your story will inspire them to write about you, and then before you know it you’ll be featured in all the best blogs, magazines and newspapers resulting in more sales.

What’s your story?

In order to entice the media to write about you, they will expect a great story that their readers will resonate with. Think about why these people should write about you. What is it that makes your business different?

Cultivate your media list

Once you know your story you can start to cultivate your own personal media list. Your media list will contain contact details of all the blogs, newspapers, magazines and radio stations that you wish to contact about your business.

Submit- the right way

Depending on who you are pitching to you will have to follow their submission guidelines. Most blogs now have submission information on their site and newspapers and magazines will also have the relevant information available so you need to follow their directions.

Monitor response and evaluate

Keep track of who you submit to, replies and outcome. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear back immediately. Editors are busy people and won’t always be able to reply straight away. Instead focus on cultivating that list. You should always be adding to it and thinking of new places that may be interested in featuring your story.

It can take time to see results from your PR efforts and it is something that needs to be sustained over a period of time to get the best results.

Good Luck!

Kindle Contest Winner

Congratulations to Etsy seller HarperTaryn on winning the Kindle Design Contest! I love the above design - I'm always a fan of floral swirls. HarperTaryn has won an Etsy shopping spree.

Guest Blog: What makes a solid logo - by Amber Mabe

Note: If you haven't heard of Amber Mabe, you have probably seen one of her logos. Amber designs some of the strongest logos available on Etsy - you'd be wise to check out her shop. I asked Amber to write about what makes a great logo because she so clearly understands how to design logos that build a brand. I've included some of her logos throughout this article. - Laura

Etsy is an amazing place where I both work and shop. As a graphic artist, I get lots of requests for custom shop designs and especially logos. This is an excellent illustration of how brands are everywhere you look, whether they are corporate businesses or small businesses. Most importantly, they are at the heart of every industry. Whatever you're selling - yourself, your art, your products, your services - having a strong brand image is absolutely imperative to success.

I am often asked "What's the difference between a brand and a logo?" A logo is the visual representation of your brand, essentially your brand image. It is the icon that a potential customer sees and hopefully will remember. Logo design is a service that is being sold all over the web, and I've seen some really well designed pieces, as well as some logos that do a disservice to the brand they're representing. To spot a solid logo, consider these crucial points:

• It is memorable and immediately recognizable.

• It would reproduce accurately in black and white, or when scaled down to an inch or less.

• It is original, and not just a piece of clip-art paired with some text.

• Is it pertinent to the service/product that it's representing.

• It is visually appealing and not overly complicated.

• It is NOT a an actual photograph.

• Most of all, it is simple. Simplicity in logo design is a key factor. It's safe to say that in logo design, less IS more.

Your logo does not need extravagant effects like embossing, drop shadows, glitter or shine effects, or anything of that nature. When working with a designer, be sure to remember this information as well as to make sure your artist designs in vector format. Vector enables you to scale your logo to any size you need, without losing the clarity and crisp appearance of lines and details.

Brands are designed and created to engage people. If your brand is not embraced by your audience, it will not succeed. Whether you're selling on Etsy or in a physical shop, having a strong logo will help to build brand equity and ensure long term success.

life without Internet

Starting today, I will be on blog-sabbatical until March 8. I will be living largely without Internet, although I do plan to check in a few days, especially to announce the winners of the Kindle Contest!

There are a couple of guest-bloggers lined up. Both are great experts in marketing/advertising for the Etsy community. Keep an eye out ;)

Design a Kindle Contest

The Amazon Kindle is simple, basic, and white. It needs a bit of fun added to it. Using the photo above, design an image that could be manufactured on a Kindle cover. It can include a variety of colors, words, images, as you choose. (Excluding profanity & graphic images.) Submit your design by leaving a link in the comment section below. (i.e. Post the link to your Flickr photo.)

Winners will receive a $25 shopping spree to an Etsy shop of their choice. I will announce two winners on this blog on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010.

Rules:

1. You must be a current Etsy seller.

2. You must have a paypal account.

3. All entries must be received by noon on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2010 to be considered for the prize.

4. Entries must not include profanity or graphic images.

The contest is meant to be a fun, creative exercise for Etsy designers. This contest is in NO way associated with Amazon, Amazon Kindle, or other manufacturers of e-readers and electronics. The designs will not be used for manufacturing purposes or commercially produced.

What's in a label

Today I'm preparing for a few upcoming interviews, so I'd like to share with you an article I found this morning in the Wall Street Journal. Campbell's Soup has announced significant changes to their labels. The changes are based off of scientific research that monitored an individual's physical reactions to seeing the product in the store. It takes test marketing to a whole new level. Read the article here.