5 Super Cheap Things to Help Brand Your Small Arts & Crafts Business and Make It Look Big!

At one point in time (seemingly eons ago now), I was an actual graphic designer.  I must admit that has helped me tremendously with developing an online arts and crafts business.  I can make all my own graphics, packaging, and other branding materials.  You don't have to be a graphic designer though or even dabble in it that much to make your small indie business look very professional and run with the big boys.  Over the years, I have learned some very inexpensive ways to put up a good front and make my business look professional on a budget.  I thought that I'd share my top five cheap things with you.  I hope you find it helpful.  (FYI - Most of these tips assume that you have a computer and printer and a basic level skill at using them.)

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Brand Yourself on a Budget!

1. Get a logo!  You need to have one consistent name and/or image (even if it is just your name in fancy lettering) to represent your business.  This can seem daunting I know if you aren't that computer savvy.  Well, my advice is... if you aren't a graphic designer or up on the latest graphic software, hire someone to make it for you.  You might be thinking "Isn't that a load of cash to have done?"  The answer is.... NO!  Check on Etsy, ArtFire, and other handmade type websites for some great deals on logo design.  There are some talented designers offering their services very cheaply on the side at these places.  Take advantage of it if you need to.  And, if you aren't a designer, please don't try to whip one up for yourself.  A bad logo image can do more harm for your brand than you probably realize.  Do what you do best and pay a little to have others do the rest.  Trust me on this one.  It is worth it!
2. Get packaged!  If you are an online business, you still need to represent your product well with its packaging and labeling.  You also need to be somewhat consistent in colors and style.  Here's some cheap ideas to get you started...  Buy a pre-made stamp(s) or have a custom stamp(s) made with your logo on it to use for making hang tags, clothing labels, return address labels, stickers, bookmarks, etc., etc., etc.,  The possibilities with a stamp are really endless.  (Click here for a post on custom stamps and branding.) I also offer tagging and labeling stamps in my new Etsy shop.  Another option is to once again check out Etsy, ArtFire, or another handmade type website for some great deals on tags and paper goods for packaging.  Your local hobby shop also carries great paper goods as well as decorative scissors and paper punches to make your own tags and labels.  If you are a little computer savvy, you can easily use it to print some labels to cut out.  Then, of course, you can always make your business cards do double duty by punching a hole in the corner and attaching it to your items with a cute ribbon.  That brings me to my third point...
3. Get some business cards!  There are several places online that offer a dandy little tool to help you design your own business cards quickly and easily.  I personally like OvernightPrints and have used their services for a couple of years now and always been satisfied.  I highly recommend signing up for their promotional emails too.  It is totally worth getting a little spam for the great deals that they offer on a regular basis.  You can often get a discount or 100 business cards for free with their promos.  Another option is to have a business card size custom stamp made.  You can simply stamp several new cards at once when you run low.  Finally, if you are a little computer savvy, you can print your own business card designs on card stock paper.  Be careful doing this though because they can look cheap and be flimsy, and you don't want your business represented as cheap.  You just want to be cheap with your business budget.
4. Get a domain name!  To this one, I know that you might say "Yikes!" because it seems a bit advanced and costly, but it really isn't.  You have options for this that are inexpensive and don't require any graphic design skills on your part.  First of all, it can be as cheap as $5 per year to register your domain business domain name.  I highly recommend that you visit a site like GoDaddy or another registry site and pay the small registry fee to at least own your own domain.  If you don't buy it someone else will eventually!  This actually happened to me with the domain name "funkyfelter" when a real shister bought the name and emailed me relentlessly to purchase it for an outrageous amount of money.  Fortunately, I like my current domain name ("thefunkyfelter") and did not need to own the other one.  It is a good lesson to learn though so purchase your domain business name, or something similar to it if it is taken, for future use.  Your own domain name also gives you credibility as well as allows you to be found more easily when searched for online.  Now on to the website...
5. Get a website!  This is the part that may really blow your mind.  Take a deep breath!  It is really not that complicated.  You have a few options, some of which are even free.  First of all, you can use your existing domain name to point to another location like your blog or your Etsy shop.  If you plan to open up any other shops, like an ArtFire shop or etc., I don't recommend pointing the domain directly to your shop.  A blog is a good alternative though.  You can register one for free at blogger and other places.  You can also easily design and modify your blog with side bar content and article posts.  You can have links to all your other online shops and networking like Twitter and Facebook Fan pages.  A blog can be a good home base that costs you nothing.  Another upside to having a blog is that they are highly indexed by Google searches (especially blogger which is part of Google) and, therefore, you will be more easily found by others searching online.  This is especially true for those who post regularly and use their titles and label keywords well.  Another cheap option to a blog is a one page website that can be used as a home base.  You will probably need to pay a little more with your domain registry though for actual web hosting if you go this route.  If you check (um, you guessed it!) Etsy, ArtFire, or another handmade type site, you can find one page web designs for fairly inexpensive to purchase considering what an ad agency or freelance professional would charge you.  If you go this route, do ask for references or examples of their work if they don't have it readily available.  Also, ask them if they know about "SEO" and how to optimize your site so it is found easily in searches.  Depending on what domain register you used, sometimes they offer free design templates for one page websites with your registry; therefore, you wouldn't necessarily have to pay for web hosting.  And, although I am not very familiar with them, there are some free online design templates available if you search for them.  I think that these would require some computer knowledge though as well as some design instincts to make them look professional and appealing.  Unfortunately, I have seen arts and crafts websites that used free templates, and it has not enhanced their brand.  Quite the opposite!  So be picky about going that route.

There you have it.  From several years of selling online, that is the basic things that I recommend to get you started when you are also considering a tight budget and developing your brand.  (A tight budget is usually all that I have to work with anyway!)  I also recommend doing steps 1 - 5 as closely together as possible.  If you do one little thing at a time, then decide to revamp your brand later on, it can be time consuming, costly, and difficult to transition.  Think ahead and know how you'd like your small arts and crafts business to represent itself to the public.

As an aside, there is one more thing that is totally free and invaluable in developing your brand.  Time.  If you are serious about making your small indie business self-supporting, you must be willing to spend quality time on it daily.

Buttons, Banners, Backgrounds, and More! Easy online help to make your indie business brand look better.

I realized this morning that it had been a while since I posted some useful resources for indie business. Part of my role as an indie business owner is constantly researching how to improve it. A lot of times, this has to do directly with fiber art and feltmaking, but it also means dealing with developing my "funky felter" brand as well as the more technical details of the business end.

While researching recently, I came across a few neat websites that can help you with making banners, avatars, buttons, and more for your Etsy shop, website, blog, or whatever you need. A couple of these sites provide free backgrounds and digital photos and images. The other two are sites that can actually help you build buttons, banners, ads, avatars, and more. You can make them online without the use of any software on your own computer which is very handy. Although I haven't had a chance yet to explore every detail of these sites, I thought that I'd go ahead and share with you so that you can be exploring while I am too. Hopefully you will find them to be useful.

For Background Photos/Images
Grunge Textures
CGTextures

For Creating Banners, Buttons, Etc.
Cool Text
Banner Sketch

If you have a link to a great site for free backgrounds, banners, avatars, buttons, etc., please share it in the comments.

Customizable Rubber Stamps and the many, many uses for an Artist or Crafter: Hang Tags, Labels, and More!

After debating for several weeks on what to do for my clothing and accessory hang tags, I decided to order some customized rubber stamps and make my own. I had originally thought to just print some hang tags out (being a graphic design and all) or buy some cute ones from an Etsy seller, but being the hands on crafty gal that I am, I really wanted to physically make my own tags this time around. I also wanted to have what I needed to repeat that for later shows. With these things in mind, I decided to order some customized rubber stamps from RubberStamps.net which turned out to be a great place to buy stamps!

I had initially searched Etsy to buy some customized rubber stamps because there are several sellers who offer them there, but I found many of them to cost a bit more than I really wanted to spend on my small business budget. At RubberStamps.net, you can order many different sizes and styles. You can also upload your own black and white image to be made into a stamp. I was able to get four small customized rubber stamps in their art mounted style for less than $25 with shipping. And, they arrived in just five days!

As soon as I got the stamps yesterday, I had to try them out. (I know - I'm like a little kid with a Christmas present!) You can see an example of my logo sheep stamp and my basic company info stamp in the photo. That is a bright blue ink on some of my own handmade paper. The sheep stamp (1 inch X 1 inch) was from my original black and white artwork while the company info stamp (1.5 inch X 0.5 inch) was designed using their provided text options. I am very happy with the quality of the stamps for the price and can see myself ordering more in the future if necessary, or even if not necessary because it is so darn neat to have your own customized stamps!

I started thinking about all the uses for a customizable stamps now that mine have arrived. Here's some ideas for you (and me):

• hang tags
• clothing labels
• return mailing label
• customized "Thank You" notes
• handmade business cards
• package branding
• artwork decoration

. . . and the list can go on and on and on . . .
I'd love to know your suggestions of how to make good use of a customizable stamp so please leave a comment with your suggestions.

Creating a Brand for a Small Arts or Crafts Business

We live in such an advertising based society that it has made me think about the importance of branding for the little guy in business for him or herself - specifically the artists and crafters out there like myself. My professional background is graphic design, and I now teach computer design courses for a local college. We cover visual identities, branding, and logos in my classes, but it seems to always be geared toward the large corporate businesses. This is understandable in a text book, but creating a visual identity, or brand, is certainly not just for the giants of industry.

It is very important that any size business put a professional face to the public. After all, you are likely competing with some of those giants of industry that have very large wads of cash in their pockets to advertise and market with. Something as simple as having a logo and creating a "brand" for yourself can really put your small business ahead. Whether you sell your handcrafted goods online, at craft fairs, in retail boutiques, or all of the above, you will in part be remembered solely by your logo and brand. Yes, that's right; we live in a commercialized visual society so make yourself memorable.

When I started selling my handmade felted goods almost a year ago now, I wasn't really thinking about it being a business. I had done freelance graphic design work for several years and considered that my small business focus. I honestly didn't think that my felt making could make an income worth being called a small business, but it is, it really is! I feel very, very blessed to be pursuing my two passions for a career - teaching graphic design and fiber art. That being said, I quickly realized that I needed to create a brand. I'm a trained graphic artist so that in itself was a substantial help, but anyone can do little things to present themselves professionally and market their small art/craft business like a pro.

It all really starts with making your brand, or as many see it, creating a logo for yourself. First you'll need a business name. This may already be established, it may be your own name, or it may be something that you need to think about. A good name is important, but the presentation of that name can be even more important. Next you'll want to develop a logo for your business name. This can be a visual or graphic element, it can include text, or it can be text or initials all by themselves. Also, you'll want to consider what spirit that you want it to portray. Do you want to be seen as sophisticated and high-end or quirky and fun (my personal choice!)? The possibilities are endless. You may need to sit down and list some key words to describe your business so that you can truly narrow down the look that your going for. If all of this intimidates you, then there are many wonderful freelance designers out there that would be happy to help you create a logo and get your brand started. Their services have a wide price range depending on the professional that you choose so be sure to ask ahead of time for their fees and range of services. Also, get references and ask to see a portfolio or examples of past work.

Well, that's the first few steps on the road to creating a brand for your small business. Once you've chosen a name and developed a logo, you can press on to creating a visual identity for yourself - a brand. In the coming weeks, I plan to share a few posts with you about how I've gone about doing this. For instance, I've developed a website, made labels and product cards with my logo, established an online presence, and there is much, much more to be done. I know that there are many more knowledgeable, well-established artists and crafters who have much more well-developed brands, but hopefully, I can share a little with you about what I'm doing and still learning to do.