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Do you print pictures? Of course you do…I think all of us would answer yes to that question although we probably all would answer very differently on where and how we print them. Do you print them at home or send them out? Do you print mostly for personal or business purposes? The two most important reasons for selecting one way over another is price and quality although I think there are a few wonderful surprises that might make you sway one way over another from our 5 top online options to print your pictures.
Snapfish
One of our favorites is Snapfish, an online photo sharing and storage service where you can print professional quality images for as low as 9¢ for a 4x6 print. They also allow you to create customized gifts like posters, mugs, photo books and even print on canvas for your artwork reprints. The best part is they are completely integrated with Flickr so all of your images in Flickr can be easily printed just by simply dragging them into the print and create section of your Flickr account.
Shutterfly
Shutterfly is another service for all things photo related. Shutterfly has created a very easy and fun online solution to develop your photos. They offer professional quality prints as well as the ability to create photo books, greeting cards and many more photo gifts customized to your preference. One great benefit of Shutterfly is the ability to edit your photos with their free software. You can add photo borders and print short messages on the back of the photo to remind yourself of the details like the date and place...that’s exactly what I need! They also offer free photo storage and organization which is a wonderful addition to not having to try and find them on your computer hard drive.
Costco Photo Center
Costco Photo Center also made our list...it’s hard to beat at 13¢ per photo, and there are a few additional benefits that might get you down to your local Costco Photo Center. Using the online service, you can edit, store and organize your photos to print and have them shipped to your address or pick them up from your nearest Costco and the best part…it’s 1-Hour Photo so you don’t have to wait long at all! Also, they offer several print options including personalized photo items like mouse pads, mugs and many more customizable options.
KODAK Gallery
The next one on the list and one of the more common photo developing services is KODAK Gallery. Starting out as an online photo developing service, KODAK has managed to create a wonderful online photo sharing and storage service with one great surprise…they enable you to share directly on Facebook as well as create customized gifts to share with family and friends.
Mpix
For all you professional photographers, Mpix is one of the most preferred. They have a very easy and manageable website to allow sharing and storage of your images and they go one step further by offering professional services like professional retouching, white-label drop-shipping and advanced color management. All of this helps to simplify the lives of all photographers, both hobbyists and professionals. The best part is they ship your order within 24 hours of purchase so not only do you get the best quality, you get them fast!
Whatever the printing method, I hope you all decide to print more of your photos because there is no better way to capture a memory…so print away! And, let us know what options you use to print your photos and who you think has the best prices and the best quality!
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Have you ever dreamed of writing or co-authoring your life story?
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Managing your inventory between your online and offline sales doesn’t have to be tough…to get started all you need to do is determine where your items will be sold and then organize your items to execute your sales efficiently. Let’s take a look at both approaches…
Determine Where to Sell
Do you waiver between making the decision to take the items you have listed online to your offline shows and events? Here are a couple tips to help you make that decision a little easier:
Avoid listing any one of a kind (OOAK) item in multiple online stores at once. Avoid taking any OOAK items listed online to your shows unless you’ve set clear expectations with your online customers that your items could possibly be sold at the show you’re attending. A few ways for you to manage these expectations with customers are for you to (1) deactivate your online items temporarily while you are at the show (2) go into vacation mode or (3) make a shop announcement letting customers know that you are at a show and that there is a possibility that items in your shop may be sold at that time. If you sell the type of item that you stock multiples of or that you can easily recreate then bring those items along to your offline shows to maximize possible sales.
Organize Your Inventory
Once you’ve identified where you want to sell your items, another important factor to consider is how you can store your items to maximize your sales efficiency overall, whether you’re filling online orders or heading out to a show. I wish there was a "one size fits all" solution, but with varying product types, materials, and sizes, shop owners have to get a little inventive with their organization.
Hypothetical Scenario: You sell one of a kind handmade jewelry on 1000 Markets and Etsy, and you also sell your jewelry in shows. How would you store and organize your products? Would you keep everything together or would you separate them out? To help you find your way, an organization system or storage bins with clear categorization will make your life so much easier! You can get inventive with your categorization as long as it makes sense to you.
Possible Solution: I would keep separate containers for each marketplace - a container for items I sell on 1000 Markets, a container for Etsy items and a container for shows. Within each of those containers, I would split the jewelry into further categories, such as earrings, bracelets, and necklaces that are packaged and ready to be shipped for online orders or prepped to be displayed easily for my next show. You can also have a separate storage container to account for items in process, items ready to photograph, and items ready to list.
Ultimately, the key is to organize and store your items in a way that will make your life easier in the future! I’d love to hear your comments. What do you sell and what methods do you use for organizing your inventory effectively?
Related Articles
How to Organize Home Business Inventory by eHow.com Organizing your Home Inventory Business: From Cluttered to Cozy by Home-Business.com
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Inexpensive, Creative Ways to Decorate Your Home
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Those coiled copper earrings and plush octopi in your neighborhood boutique? They didn’t just magically appear there after coming off an assembly line—they were conceptualized from start to finish by a creative professional like yourself, potentially in a home-based studio.
But how did those items get the opportunity to take up residence in a brick-and-mortar store?
Consignment and retail opportunities seem elusive—we know they’re out there, but may not know how to secure them. How should you approach a shop, online or off, that you think would be a good fit for your items? Are there formal applications? And is it all worth it, after the shop gets a chunk (often 50 per cent) of the price tag?
In general, the best approach is to research first, rather than contacting a lot of stores without knowing their products, mission and overall feel. If it’s a physical shop, and you’re nearby, browse as a regular customer; if it's online, and/or too far away, sift through every page of the website. Finally, know what you want to get out of it. Retail opportunities with either brick-and-mortar or well-known online shops are perfect for promoting. They tend to be on the PR up-and-up when it comes to magazine articles and gift guides, and they’re spotlighted in popular email newsletters like Daily Candy. If you believe in your product and you find the right shop(s), think of it as an investment in promotion and advertising, not to mention the fact that you are making a connection with a retailer who is familiar with running a business, in general. But make sure you’re still seeing a net profit, even if it's a small one.
The Clear-Cut Consignment Opportunities
My first consignment opportunity came from Brooklyn’s Artez’n, a shop filled with goods from New York designers and artists, exclusively. These range from Brooklyn Bridge pillows to spicy pickles, Jimi Hendrix onesies to grass wrapping paper. The clear-cut part about this particular shop? There are artist/vendor applications front-and-center when you walk in (as well as on the website) asking for basic information, links, artwork descriptions and approximate wholesale costs.
Abby Kelly of Abby Valentine currently sells quilted felt coasters at Artez’n, where payment is received once an item is sold. In the past, Abby had items on Elsewares, a well-established online destination for unique design items. Despite Elsewhere's high position on the online designer goods totem pole, their “application” is simple: email, website, photos and any additional info about the goods. Additionally, those coasters caught the attention of Pixelgirl Shop, now called Shana Logic, as well as NapaStyle, the home furnishings and entertaining site of Food Network’s Michael Chiarello. In all these cases, the opportunities came to her by way of Etsy and/or Elsewares.
So where did these retail opportunities lead? “Being on Elsewares was definitely great publicity since it’s such a well-regarded shop," Abby says. "My coasters were included in a Design*Sponge holiday gift guide a few years back.” Right now, Abby Valentine is a side project for her, as her Etsy shop remains empty due to time constraints. She doesn’t mind the monetary downsides to doing consignment, saying, "I’m at a point where my time is valuable enough to me that I’d rather give up a little extra potential income and let someone else put in the legwork to do the actual sales."
Wholesale Opportunities
If you have a more full-time investment in your creative retail business, you may be able to pursue wholesale opportunities where all payment is given up front. This is how it works for the WoollyHoodwinks. The what?? You may have seen the WoollyHoodwinks, which are plush woodland critters, at one of 100 shops or in their namesake book, The WoollyHoodwinks vs. The Dark Patch. The San Francisco-based business is run by Jeff Root and Scott Runcorn.
Originally, Scott says, the plush characters were sold on their own site: “We made a few direct retail sales, but mostly we received wholesale inquiries from shop owners that were interested in carrying our line. So we shifted our focus to wholesale marketing.” One book and many wholesale sales later, and we find ourselves in different economic times. Since the economic slow-down and subsequent closing of many shops that would carry the plush pals, Jeff and Scott are now focusing on both the wholesale program as well as the retail end of their site.
Consignment AND Retail AND Wholesale
Sometimes you have to dabble in retail sites like Etsy or your own personal site, wholesale ventures and consignment opportunities to see what works for you, time-wise and money-wise. Alyssa Zygmunt of BROOKLYNrehab runs the gamut, combining handmade, vintage and reclaimed found objects in her Etsy shop (like the key necklace in the main photo and the garden gnome below). She also sells in a vendor stall within a larger retail store, on a consignment basis elsewhere and dabbles in wholesale.
For the vendor stall, Alyssa doles out a monthly amount to the store and they take a small percentage of the sales. But because she can’t be there on a daily basis and doesn’t know exactly what products need to be replenished, it can be difficult, especially "when I have a large wholesale order at the same time. One is a risk, the other is a given." While many of her opportunities came through Etsy inquiries, Alyssa has since started working with a PR person to help with the store-contacting process. But make sure you are ready for the wholesale inquiries: "The tricky thing is that you need to make sure your Etsy prices are high enough so that you can offer up to 50 per cent less for your wholesale price."
She also recommends the Poppytalk Handmade Marketplace, which lists and displays handmade goods, but when browsers click "buy", they are redirected to the vendor's own shop. "Etsy is sooo big now that people get lost. I think the consumer appreciates a well-edited shopping experience and bloggers like a nice grouping, so the Poppytalk Handmade Mart is great for both reasons." She saw her sales increase after this, blog features followed and that is when wholesale inquiries began.
Have you ventured into the bricks-and-mortar retail or wholesale worlds? Tell us about your experiences!
Alicia Kachmar sells handmade whimsical crochet creatures and foods, ranging from the orange safety cones to black and white cookies to silver-lined clouds. She blogs at her site, writes for Brooklyn Based and contributes to many crafty communities as well as to the planning of crafty events in New York City.
Main image courtesy of Shutterstock.com.
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Creating a printed portfolio of your work is just another tool to help you promote your wares! This is already a common practice for photographers, and it can also be quite beneficial for the rest of the creative community. It creates yet another avenue to draw attention to your work.
Imagine you enter a conversation with someone who isn’t familiar with you or your work, but they are intrigued to learn more about it. You don’t have any access to a computer to show them your shop or online portfolio nor do you carry around samples of what you make. Rather than just leaving them with a business card, how great would it be if you could whip out a small book that you carry around with you (in your purse or wherever) and share images and descriptions of what you do and why you are so passionate about it.
Especially within the creative community, people love hearing the story of how you evolved as an artist. Oftentimes, these stories are what convert people from being interested onlookers to buyers. By creating a physical portfolio, you’re doing the following:
Being Professional: You’re letting the viewer know that you mean business and that your creativity is more than just a hobby. Showcasing Your Work: You’re displaying your talents with your best "foot forward." A portfolio should include your handpicked selections of your best products, not everything under the sun. This way you can pick and choose what you want them to see. Going the Extra Mile: Most people don’t go through the trouble of creating a printed portfolio, but if you do, you’ve done something to distinguish yourself from the crowd.
I highly recommend reading 6 Ways to Publish Your Own Book on Mashable to get a thorough overview of some of the best online publishing services out there. Here is a highlight of a few that are very appropriate for creative entrepreneurs:
Blurb
Blurb produces high quality books and you can download their design tool (Blurb Booksmart) on your desktop to get started. You can see a preview of Tony Williams's artist portfolio using Blurb and you can also consider joining forces with others in your trade, such as the Handbook to Handmade, where a group of Etsy artists gathered together to create a book promoting their stores.
Lulu
Lulu is a very easy to use online platform for books or digital creations. You can self publish your work very quickly and they have a wonderful online tour so make sure you check that out. One great part about Lulu is they have several ways to get help with your book creation via forums and their blog which is loaded with information to help you if you need it.
Picaboo
Picaboo is another great online service for creating your portfolio book. You can easily download their software to your computer and search through their idea center for great tips on they type of book you want to create. One added benefit is they have wonderful access to their customer support team through email, phone and even live chat online.
Whatever the method or service you choose, it's definitely worth it to create a printed portfolio of your work so you can share with family and friends or art galleries and retailers. Good luck and let us know if you have a favorite online book and portfolio service that you use...we'd love to hear about it!
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Choosing your customers can mean the difference between success and failure...seriously, really! For most of us this sounds pretty crazy and I would agree with you at first, but then if you really think about it, our customers are the ones who define our destiny in the long run. So, if we have the opportunity to choose the right customers, then our destiny becomes our choice rather than a random act.
First, let's take a look at what we like to call the ABC's of customer types:
A is for Awesome Customers: These are the customers that we all adore and talk about every chance we get. Awesome customers bring joy and excitement into our business...they engage with us, share their feedback in a positive way and collaborate with us to improve what we do. They appreciate what we do for them and they recommend us to others without any incentives. B is for Basic Customers: These are customers who make a transaction with us and that's about it. We fulfill their need at the time and they are satisfied although they may or may not come back in the future. C is for Complaining Customers: These customers are the ones who are rarely satisfied. Although everyone believes that the customer is always right, sometimes it may not be true. The fewer of this kind we have the better off we are...the time spent versus the benefit is always hard to justify.
Okay, so now that we know the ABC's of customer types, it's a little easier to understand who our customers are and how we can attract the right type. Seth Godin shares great insights in Choose your customers, choose your future where he comes to the conclusion that all businesses reflect the type of customers they serve so make sure you choose the Awesome ones!
So how do you identify who's who? Great question...here are 4 simple steps that you can use to identify, nurture and build the types of customers that you want for your business:
1. Analyze: Periodically, let’s say every three months or so, set some time to analyze your customer base and see who's who.
2. Organize: Identify and organize the types of customers you have had in the past period using the ABC method.
3. Define your Goals: Define your goals for attracting new customers and possibly saying no to the bad ones for the next period. For example if you had 20 "A" customers, 60 "B" customers and 10 "C" customers...you can set a goal to convert some of the "B's" to "A's" and minimize the "C" types.
4. Communicate and Collaborate: Identify the customers with whom you can communicate and collaborate so you can build stronger relationships to attract many more "A" type customers.
Now, let's make a conscious decision to keep this in mind and work with our customers to make them Awesome customers and take a pass on the customers who don't help us reach our desired destiny. And, let’s make a conscious decision to become Awesome customers ourselves to someone else.
It will be great to get your thoughts and experiences on this topic so everyone can benefit from your knowledge. Here are some related resources on this topic:
The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema The importance of choosing your customers by Mitch Solway Want Higher Profits? Choose Your Customers Wisely by Lynn Daniel
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Imagine dazzling your customers with a retail catalog or free tutorial that's viewable right on your website. I am so excited to share this Byte-Syze Learning with you on how you can showcase any document, by putting it right on your website or blog for free.
Description
Scribd is a popular social publishing website where anyone in the world can publish their files (such as PDFs, Word, Power Point and Excel) into web documents for free. You can also search and discover other people's files and network with them as well.
Why is it Important?
The biggest plus about Scribd is that you can embed your document onto your website or blog using their share feature. The site is like the YouTube of documents and files! Instead of hiring a web designer, artists, crafters and photographers can easily showcase PDF tutorials, catalogues and portfolio presentations directly into a website page or blog post, which makes it a huge money saver.
Step 1: Sign Up
Go to Scribd and sign up so you can upload your first document.
Step 2: On Dashboard, Click UPLOAD
Once you sign up (it's super quick) you will be redirected to your new dashboard page where you can upload your first document. Click upload.
Step 3: Find your file
In this case, I am uploading a retail catalog of a past jewelry collection. Once you locate the file of choice, select and click open.
Step 4: Important Note
Make sure you are abiding by Scribd's terms and copyright rules, which include not sharing files that do not belong to you. I created this PDF, so I'm going to hit OK.
Step 5: Jazz it Up
Your document can be viewed by anyone on the site, so you can make your title and description more snazzy by editing it after it's been uploaded. When you are finished, select "click here to view document".
Step 6: Click on Share
Directly beneath your title you will see a few different options, such as print, download and full screen. To embed your document, click the Share button.
Step 7: Copy the Code
Scroll down to 'Embed this Document' and once you have selected the appropriate settings, copy the html code. You will now go to your website or blog and decide where you will want to embed your document. For instance, you could publish it through a blog post, on the home page or create a brand new page (such as 'retail catalog') specifically for its viewing.
Step 8: Almost done!
I've chosen to publish my document within a blog post. I clicked on new post, selected the HTML tab and pasted my code into the appropriate area. The last step is to publish your page/post!
That's it! Here is what my document looks like on my blog:
Justine Smith is an Etsy success story who used her experience selling online and turned it into a full-time wholesale business. Her real passion is helping handmade sellers find success marketing their craft products. She offers tips, workshops and services at her blog Handmade Marketer and also runs the free Etsy Business Community, a bi-weekly email and Facebook hub filled with actionable tips & tutorial videos for Etsy sellers.
Main image courtesy of Shutterstock.com
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