Setting up an email signature is one of those “I’ll get around to it later” tasks, but it’s worth your while for several reasons, as it:Serves as a free marketing tool for anyone you are reaching out or responding toMakes it easy for others to find and get in contact with youIs professional and shows that you are serious about running your business It may be tempting to go overboard when you create your email signature, providing links to your every presence on the web, along with fun quotes, animations, and so on, but you should be careful not to go too wild! Focus on the basics, such as providing:Your nameAn easy way for people to contact you, such as your phone number or email addressThe name of your company (along with a link) and your title within the company Brevity is important when it comes to your email signature. Be cautious about adding too many lines of text or links to your email signature as it can be very daunting to your email recipients. Emphasize the places where you really want folks directed to. And, if you would like to include details directing folks to your social media handles, I recommend using an email signature service such as the Wisestamp email app to help you build a clean signature with unobtrusive icons linking out to your social media sites. I hope the benefits of using an email signature will incentivize you to take a few minutes this week creating an email signature or cleaning up your existing one. It’s free, easy, and creates consistency and uniformity in all your email communications! Main image courtesy of sleepyneko.

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Are you aware of the RSS feed on your Meylah storefront? Did you know that your customers can subscribe to your Meylah storefront using RSS so any new products or blog posts you publish will automatically be sent to their preferred RSS reader such as Google Reader giving you another great avenue to keep in touch with your audience.Today, we want to show you how to manage your RSS feed on your Meylah storefront and link it to Feedburner so you can track the analytics and see the activity of your RSS subscribers on your storefront.Ok, let's get started...just click on the "Check it out" button below.Main image courtesy of percent20

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Based on The Right-Brain Business Plan by Jennifer Lee.

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Boy, oh, boy, do I need help in the side dish department. Our family eats a lot of main dishes and bread. That’s it. I’ve got to do better, getting in those veggies. So that’s why I dedicated this last week on the M&T Spotlight to submitting your side dishes and featuring 6 delicious recipes [...]

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Imagine how child-like play might open you up to the creative process.

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Today, we’re sharing some business tips that will help handmade sellers this week! So, let’s get straight to it, here are your tips!1. Create a customer newsletter this week. Keep your customers engaged and promote your work by creating and sending an email newsletter to your customers to update them on what you're working on.2. Send a random thank you note to one of your old customers! It's so easy to do and a thank you note will definitely differentiate you from the pack and help build your brand loyalty...so make sure you're taking the time to show your appreciation!3. Check the volume of your supplies to see if you are low and need to place orders for additional materials.4. Consider writing a guest blog post for a blog that you follow or enjoy! Reach out to a blogger within your genre and pitch a writing topic to them. This is a great way to build exposure to your brand while sharing your expertise with their community!5. Identify one area or aspect of your business that needs improvement and seek out information that will help you improve in that area. If it's an area you would like Meylah to cover in a future blog post, give us a holler!6. Join a new group on Flickr and add a few of your images to the mix.7. Dig up some old materials (paint, beads, fabric, etc.), tools (sewing machine, drills, kiln, etc.), or resources (books, magazines, etc.) that you bought with the intent of using and never got around to utilizing and put them to use somehow!8. Research ways to improve or reduce the cost of your packaging (& have an eco-friendly mindset while you're doing it)!What fun tips do you have for handmade sellers this week? Please do tell! Main image courtesy of qisur.

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This cute little storybook, Guess How Much I Love You, is one of our family’s favorites. I’ve written about it before and how we love to come up with new ways to say I love you. “I love you to the rocks and back”. “I love you to the stars and back”. And so on [...]

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We've said it before and we'll say it again, the digital world is booming and digital products are finding a welcome home on Meylah.Meylah's digital success story today is Cocoa Mint, "simply sweet and always fresh" digital clip art designs created by Terri Henson. We wanted to learn about the world of clip art and see how a graphic artist uses Meylah to grow her business at Cocoa Mint...so let's find out:Meylah: How did you get started creating digital clip art?Terri: A few years ago, I was at a point where I needed a creative outlet. Having homeschooled my kids for most of their lives, I was considering what I would do once they left for college. I looked on Etsy for inspiration and saw some really cute paper products. I thought it would be fun to try my hand at designing hang tags for Etsy sellers. So I bought an inexpensive graphics program off the internet and taught myself how to draw on a computer. After a few months of selling tags, I quickly realized I didn't want to spend my time printing the products and shipping them out so I decided to sell digital files that my customers would be able to print themselves. I eventually branched out into clip art and from this, I knew I had found my niche.Meylah: For those who aren’t familiar with clip art, can you explain a little bit about your customer base and how they use your clip art?Terri: I would say that most of my customers are those who run their own online businesses selling invitations, cards, stationery products and party supplies. I supply the graphics that they need to design their own physical or digital products. I also have customers who purchase my clip art to create digitized embroidery designs. Additionally, some of my customers use the graphics for their personal use by designing their own birthday or baby shower invitations, party decor and other creative projects.Meylah: What challenges have you found trying to sell your work online? How has Meylah made selling your work easier?Terri: One challenge that I've faced on Etsy is getting files to my customers in a timely manner. For the most part I am able to stay on top of my orders and send them out as quickly as possible, but this can be difficult for me to do on weekends or other days when I work limited hours. With Meylah's automatic download system, my customers receive their files immediately after purchase, so it's been a tremendous help in that regard.Meylah: Do you use Meylah’s resource center and daily blog posts to help you manage your business?Terri: Yes, I have taken advantage of the resource center and found many of the posts very helpful. For instance, I didn't know about the Etsy Mini Widget until I read the tutorial on Meylah. I have now integrated my Etsy shop into my Meylah storefront.Meylah: Are you active within any online artists or digital clip art communities?Terri: Last year I was one of the designers on Mygrafico, a growing digital arts and crafts store, and was active in the community. Additionally, I'm a member of Paper Craft Planet, although due to time constraints, I haven't been too active in either community this year.Meylah: What features drew you to use Meylah?Terri: Primarily, I was looking for a system that automated the delivery of digital files and was easy to use. I found that Meylah offered what I needed. I had previously tried a 3rd party system that needed to be coded and integrated with the shopping cart I was using and ended up experiencing some issues with the downloads. What's so great about Meylah is that everything is already integrated which provides seamless file delivery for my customers.Meylah: How do you spend your free time when you’re not creating clip art?Terri: I enjoy reading and looking at real estate. I'm always on the look out for a great investment.Thank you so much for sharing your story with us today Terri! We are so happy that the automatic digital file delivery is perfect for your business and we look forward to seeing your continued success at Cocoa Mint!

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Composer, Delian Society Founder.

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Composer, Delian Society Founder.

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