Throughout the week, I like to share interesting links for artists on my Twitter profile. Here is a list of the links I tweeted about last week:

• RT: @kathygriffiths Don’t miss this single strategy for enhancing your blog image? http://budurl.com/imagephoto blog30

• Reading: 12 Tips to Engage People on Twitter- http://ow.ly/1EugH http://fb.me/ByLOZmPr

• RT: @copyblogger 7 Ways Your Homepage is Like A First Date – http://bit.ly/aPiSpQ

• Reading: 6 Facebook Apps to Enhance Your Company’s Fan Page- http://ow.ly/1QCby http://fb.me/xgLD5JEO

• RT: @GreatTwitTips 7 Ways to Be Worth Following on #Twitter http://ow.ly/1SKMW #TwitterTips RT @Sung_H_Lee via @panah: http://bit.ly/ddjDhp

• RT: @InterviewAngel 8 Ideas for #FollowFriday http://bit.ly/bBGUYH My thanks to @ntos for the perfect cartoon for this blog post.

• Some great tips here by Chris Brogan: 50 Power Twitter Tips- http://ow.ly/1ZRYZ

• RT: @TaraKachaturoff 23 Things Not To Write In An E-mail : NPR http://ow.ly/1ZcK6 http://fb.me/BStJJ6ks

• Reading: Got an Art Blog? Here are 6 Ways to Avoid Posting Something You’ll Later Regret- http://ow.ly/1X9ko

• RT @andybeal: New Post: YouTube Brings Easy Video Editing to the Masses http://gri.ms/KSHV by @andybeal

• Reading: Wholesale: It’s not as scary as you think- http://ow.ly/1ZJ23

• RT: @GuyKawasaki 4 reasons to add a podcast to your blog- http://tinyurl.com/3yon37r

• RT: @abstanfield 15 ways to drive people to your website- http://bit.ly/bh7bfP

• Reading: How to Create a Custom Twitter Background Design- http://ow.ly/1YmmT

• RT: @mashable 5 Ways to Build a Loyal Audience on YouTube – http://bit.ly/95AAXw

• Interesting Read: 4 social-marketing tips from Martha Stewart- http://ow.ly/1YQ7a

• RT @2fishweb Try this link for Why most artists’ blogs fail: http://bit.ly/amUyet @lorimcneeartist via @gapingvoid

• Great advice from Seth Godin…there is no magic ticket to success: http://ow.ly/1YLPj

• Reading: Big Cartel vs Etsy- http://ow.ly/1UPy6 http://bit.ly/9LBcAK

• RT @mashable: HOW (NOT) TO: Annoy People on Twitter – http://bit.ly/8YAlj4

• RT: @abstanfield 8 tips for stronger art show submissions for a jury http://bit.ly/b7×1SP

• RT: @craftMBA why you shouldn’t pay yourself (and other myths about profit) – http://bit.ly/9ucJjy

Like this link list? Visit my Twitter profile and follow me to get these links daily!

Throughout the week, I like to share interesting links for artists on my Twitter profile. Here is a list of the links I tweeted about last week:

• Reading: Ship Shape: How to Handle 5 Common Shipping Problems- http://ow.ly/1UZUF

• Reading: How To Get 8379 New Twitter Followers By Christmas- http://ow.ly/1UPAD http://bit.ly/cMUbQx

• Reading: 31 Tips to Win the Heart of a Retailer- http://ow.ly/1UYp7

• RT: @LynnJordan New blog post: Are Your Domain Registration and Hosting With The Same Company? http://bit.ly/ci9zgz http://bit.ly/bZBKbl

• RT: @Miss_Makery Why Blogging is the Perfect Small Business Marketing Tool – http://b2l.me/ycecg (via @remarkablogger)

• For fellow procrastinators: Do It Anyway- http://ow.ly/1RvQX (via @DebraMarrs)

• RT: @lorimcneeartist 20 #Facebook Tips/Tricks You Might Not Know http://bit.ly/cad18j RT @zaibatsu:

• Reading: Etiquette for Shopping at and Browsing Craft Fairs and Dealers’ Halls- http://ow.ly/1QxWK

• Reading: The Fastest Way to Increase Your Google Ranking- http://ow.ly/1Pcwb http://bit.ly/bIwMg5

• A must read for artists: creating a culture of profit- http://ow.ly/1VyBf

• Reading: 10 Laws of Productivity – http://ow.ly/1VyDu

• Reading: how well should you do at craft shows?- http://ow.ly/1UPHw

• Reading: 7 Ways to Increase and Retain Newsletter Subscribers- http://ow.ly/1V0Bz

• Reading: How Well Do You Protect Your Customers’ Privacy?- http://ow.ly/1UZAS

• Excellent advice here: RT: @craftMBA what a fantastic post about understanding business fundamentals! – http://bit.ly/cdKMfb

• @karenleland: RT @daytimerpage – Get a Grip on Procrastination- http://ow.ly/17CCVp

• RT: @InterviewAngel RT @MMidas: “5 Types Of ‘Facebook Updates To Avoid” by @JeffBullas http://bit.ly/bM4jBM

• RT: @wtek The No. 1 Habit of Highly Creative People http://zenhabits.net/creative-habit/ via @zen_habits

• Reading: How to Attract Local Art Buyers to Your Art Website or Blog- http://ow.ly/1UHrW

• Reading: How to Use Twitter Events to Grow Your Network- http://ow.ly/1LUoF http://bit.ly/b1xJcd

• Reading: why your craft business gets stuck- http://ow.ly/1WNiZ

• RT: @copyblogger How to Build a Successful Business With a Small Audience – http://bit.ly/aKaqvG http://bit.ly/dbkFKv

• RT: @HelenRappy @Jeanettecates #blog30 2010 Half Way Point – How Will You Finish The Year? http://bit.ly/9eitbu

• Reading: How do I “move” people over from our Facebook Group to our Facebook Page?- http://ow.ly/1WE2D

• Reading: Etsy Self-Service Critique: Tips for Improving your Sales- http://ow.ly/1VyCr

• RT @CraftsReport: How to use upsell techniques in your craft business. http://tcr.bz/bp

• Reading: Top 5 Social Media Myths Debunked- http://ow.ly/1WP2D

• Reading: 11 ways to promote your Facebook Page outside Facebook- http://ow.ly/1WDZl

Like this link list? Visit my Twitter profile and follow me to get these links daily!

While the internet is a great tool that allows you to connect with potential customers and prospects all over the world…it’s still important to get out into the real world and make face to face connections. And strangely enough, the Internet can help you with this too! Here’s a couple of ways to use the Internet to turn your digital connections to real-life connections.

1. Join or create a Meetup group- Meetup is an online networking site that helps you find groups of people organized by occupation, interest, or affiliation. It’s free to sign up and you’ll be able to search and join local Meetup groups in your area. If you’re feeling a bit more adventureous or if you can’t find a group that suits your interests, you can organize your own Meetup group. There is a fee to be a Meetup organizer, but if you can defray the cost of the fee by charging group membership if you want. I created Meetup group for artists in my local area last year and met a lot of great artists and exchanged some great information.

2. Organize or attend a tweetup- If you’re a Twitter user, you may have heard of a tweetup. Basically a tweet-up is a real life meeting of Twitter followers. Most of the time tweetups occur between local twitter followers, but it’s not unusual to have followers from all over the county attend a tweetup, especially if they’re organized around a large event like a show or conference. For more information, Mashable has a great article on how to organize a great tweetup.

3. Search for events on Upcoming- Upcoming is a Yahoo! owned social networking site that allows you to search for and promote events. You can search for events that are going on in your community, you can connect with other friends and colleagues that use Upcoming and see the events that they are attending and share your own events. You can also use Upcoming to promote your own events

4. Search for events on Craigslist- If you’ve been online for any amount of time, you’ve probably have heard of Craigslist. Basically, Craigslist is a big online classifieds website that are organized around large to medium cities all over the world. If you live near a city or regional area, chances are that you’ll find a local Craigslist section for your area. In addition to being able to sell your lawn furniture and look for a job on Craigslist, it’s also a good place to find local events and local groups looking for members. Just find your local Craigslist section and search under the Community section. There you’ll find listings for classes, groups, and events. Again, just like Upcoming, you can use Craigslist to promote your own events for free.

So take some time to get from behind your computer and meet some folks face to face!

So what are your ideas? How do you make sure you network with people in real life as well as through the Internet? Leave a comment and share your ideas!

I found this great article by Meylah about how to avoid 5 common shipping problems that a lot of online artists may encounter when shipping out their art. In the fever to actually get your work sold, shipping may be be something that’s somewhat of an afterthought. But you’ll realize how important it is when you get an angry call from a customer claiming they never got your shipment or claims that the art arrived damaged.

The 5 common shipping problems discussed include:

1. Packages not arriving
2. Customers perceiving that shipping is too slow
3. The shipment arriving damaged
4. Something was missing from the shipment
5. Customers perceiving that you charge too much for shipping

I usually avoid #4 by setting up a dedicated shipping section in my studio and having several shipping packages set up at once. So when someone orders something I all I have to do is wrap the product, print out the invoice, and add it to the prepared shipping package. If you have people helping you with shipping, having a checklist for them to follow will help avoid this problem too.

With customers complaining that you charge too much for shipping, usually explaining upfront before they purchase how much shipping will be and what you’re charging for. Remember that shipping includes more than the actual shipping charge. Remind customers that shipping charges also include packaging, especially if your art requires special packaging, insurance for expensive items, and other handling charges. Telling people this upfront will cut down on those who complain when they see the postage was $2.00 when you had charged $4.00

You can check out the rest of the article here.

Throughout the week, I like to share interesting links for artists on my Twitter profile. Here is a list of the links I tweeted about last week:

• RT: @CraftsReport: 3 ways to turn news events into publicity for your business. http://tcr.bz/ba

• A must read for Facebook users: 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know- http://ow.ly/1QxCW

• Social Networking: LinkedIn Tips for Artists- http://ow.ly/1SFgs

• Starting Your Art Blog – 5 Things You Must Do Before You Begin: http://EzineArticles.com/4393703

• Art Blogging – Why You Should Start Blogging About Your Art Now: http://EzineArticles.com/4393735

• Could it be? A Mac trojan/spyware threat?- Spyware trojan hitching ride on third-party Mac screensavers- http://ow.ly/1TiC0

• Reading: 7 Social Media Truths You Can Ignore and Still be Successful- http://ow.ly/1SFhS

• RT: @CraftsReport: How to run a 1-person business- http://tcr.bz/bc

• RT @psrock: New blog post on jurying for wholesale trade shows and websites: http://tinyurl.com/BOCjury #handmade

• WARNING: Facebook Clickjacking Attack Spreading Through “Likes”- http://ow.ly/1TYHG

• RT: @lorimcneeartist: How to Safely Pack Your Paintings for Shipping > tips http://bit.ly/aoHP1y #art #arttip

• Reading: 12 Tips To Grab Galleries With Your Artist Website- http://ow.ly/1TseA

Like this link list? Visit my Twitter profile and follow me to get these links daily!