Make It Personal!
I firmly hold the conviction that both buying and selling handmade are very personal experiences. As artists, we incorporate a part of ourselves into each item we create. I believe that buyers of handmade are always in search of the item that just “speaks” to their senses. I know that’s how I shop these days, whether I’m window shopping or actually buying. Regardless of the types of items you sell on Zibbet, your Profile is the perfect place to add that “personal touch” while retaining a professional business image.
Your Zibbet Profile is the place to introduce yourself to potential customers. Personal safety and identity protection are concerns shared by all of us. Consequently, you may be reluctant to use your real name online and that’s understandable. However, I encourage you to at least share your first name in your Profile. When communicating with another Zibbeter, I prefer to address her by name and will often visit her Profile looking for her name before I begin composing a message. It just feels better to address another person by name rather than by the name of her shop!
A brief description of your education or past work experience can also be of interest and contribute to a buyer making a connection with you. Pets, hobbies, travel and family are just a few suggestions for things you can talk about in your profile. If you have a Premium shop, you can also include up to five photographs and a YouTube video on your Profile page. Potential buyers would love to be able to put a face with your name. Photographs of your pets or your favorite vacation destination are great choices also. How cool is it to be able to share a video presentation right from your Profile page?
Use your Profile to tell your customers who you are and what you do. Include enough about yourself that a total stranger will leave understanding something more about you as an artist than simply “I love to crochet.” If you learned the craft from your great aunt Eloise who lives in Flea Hop, Alabama, then say so. It’s that sort of information that helps shoppers relate to you. Someone may actually make a purchase and come back for more based on the fact that she has a great aunt Eloise too or because her next door neighbor’s grandfather was born in Flea Hop, Alabama!
Be sure to include links to your blog, your Facebook fan page and your Twitter account. If you have your own website or more than one Zibbet shop, include links to those as well. Take full advantage of your Profile to help you connect with potential buyers!
In the near future, I’ll be talking about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies for your shop. I mention SEO now to give you a heads up that having a well written and informative Zibbet Profile will contribute to improving your shop’s SEO. Profile pages are indexed by the Google bots the same as every page in your shop. The information you include in your Profile could be the key to your shop being found in a Google search.
Finally, you don’t need to include your life’s story in your Profile. Instead, select a few related topics that will help potential customers get to know you, the artist, and share some interesting facts about yourself. Avoid writing one big paragraph. Instead, separate the information into shorter paragraphs. A page full of text with no breaks can be overwhelming and may not be read except by a few.
I spent some time looking for Zibbet Seller Profiles that exemplify one or more of the characteristics that I’ve just suggested for personalizing your Profile. Of all the Profiles I viewed, It’s My Thing! has a near perfect Profile! Also, take a look at these interesting and engaging Profiles for ideas to help you improve your own.
Invest some time in writing a meaningful and informative Profile. And whatever you do, don’t leave your Profile blank–instead, make it personal!
Best wishes for much success on Zibbet!
Internet Connection Photograph by Meletver on Flickr
Vicki is committed to assisting her fellow Zibbeters improve their shops for successful online selling. She is the owner of three Zibbet shops: LOC Design Studio, Denim and Pearls and A Stitch and a Prayer. You can follow Vicki on Twitter and through her LOC Design Studio blog.Tags: Profile, Seller Profile, SEO, Success on Zibbet, Zibbet Profile
Thank you so much, Vicki, for featuring me in your latest blog article. I am honored to be included with these other talented designers and artists. It is very much appreciated!
Sharing a little bit about myself is kind of like inviting someone over for coffee. I want to make those who visit feel comfortable and relaxed and, hopefully, they will want to come back.
I hope you all enjoy reading my profile and get inspired to create your own little coffee shop!
Thanks again Vicki!
Wanitta
Thank you for featuring one of my items Vicki and I hope my profile gives people a little bit of an insight into my creative process and what inspires me. Unlike Wanitta, I’m not at all photogenic so haven’t included my photo, or my age - perhaps I’m just too vain. Now that’s something else you know about me!
O.K. Vicki, you shamed me into it. I’ve added a photo.
Lynn
great article! thanks for linking to my video!
Sound advice…these days there is far too much impersonal corporate dealings… however in my daily experience with the internet I have a considerable number of emails to answer but I do not address my replies a la a first name basis — my personalisation is confined to writing in the first person and using my own first name and any personal remarks from my side of a possible transaction. I am of a much older generation that accepted that only used car salesmen (sic) would take the liberty of addressing someone that they do not know by their first name. Thanks for including Rising Sky.
Best wishes, Richard
Thanks for including me in your list Vicki, though after having read your post I think I need to go tweak our profile over here at The Angelpatch
Pat
Well, I have the incentive now to be a lot more personal in my shop as Wanitta has. I was never sure how far I should go with it but this gives me the incentive to re-write mine! Thanks Vicki for the great article and the nudge to get it done~~ Leta
Hi Lynn,
You’re hillarious and I love the picture you posted…having coffee!
Thanks so much for the photot compliment but as far as myself being photogenic goes I had to search through about 40 pictures to find one I wanted to use. Then I cropped it a bunch of times. Once finished the resolution was a bit blurred giving it that soft close-up-of-an-aging-actress-on-a-TV movie look. LOL
Hope you are having an awesome day!
Wanitta
Great article! I understand about the importance of having a “real name”, though I´m quite reluctant to let the whole world know it. I always “sign” my messages with my real name but I also like if I´m just called BHB.
Great article Vicki.
Wonderful article Vicki. I am learning more as a Z seller than anywhere else I have had a shop.
I hope that my articles provide you all with ideas to consider for making your shops the best they can be. Each of us is unique and we approach selling our art from a variety of perspectives. There are no absolutes as far as right or wrong ways of doing things. Your goal should always be to find what works for you and then to do it even better. By sharing what we’ve learned we can enable each other to also discover strategies for success. Vicki
Thank you very much for this article Vicky, and it was nice to see a thumb of your picture! Now I don’t have to imagine what you look like
But now I really need to get some sleep so I’ll be back in a few hours. Thank you again all so much!
I’ve only only been at Zibbet for a couple days and I find this community to be very personal and caring! Ive been feeling so grateful today over many signs of encouragement from Zibbet members and have learned quite a bit browsing through articles and posts. There’s still so much more to read! and I’m happy about it
Claudia Liliana/rasamalai
Was just pointed to this post to get help on adding a good profile to my own shop. Great article … but… time to check those links you provided. The Angel Patch does not seem to have much of a profile at all & Modern Sky Pottery is gone. Just so you know!
Thanks for the otherwise good article. I’m off now to find a way to write a good profile.
how do I upload my pics to put in the store
Great advice again
I need to make mine a little more personal than it is right now. I enjoy writing for others but when it comes to writng about myslef my writer’s block pops up 