click to go to Basic Guide to Selling Crafts on the Internet

Table of Contents

How ecommerce is growing

Who is the average Internet user?

How many people are online?

What the Internet can do for your business

Why many Internet businesses fail

Risks of shopping online

Equipment

Computer

Modem

Printer

Scanner or digital camera

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Free ISP’s

Web site

Web host

Email

Internet browser

Domain name

More good reasons to have your own domain

Web page editor or layout software

File transfer protocol (FTP) software

Search engine monitoring software

WordSpot subscription

Autoresponders

Database management

Secure server for online shopping

Shopping cart

Accept credit cards

Tracking software

Search engine submission services and software

Search Engine Watch subscription

Filling in forms

Experience on how to use a computer

Familiarity with sending, receiving and managing email

Ability to surf the Internet and use search engines

Web site design and maintenance

Patience and persistence

Your domain name at a web host

Pages on ISP's

Free web pages

Online malls/galleries

Define your purpose

Design your site for fast loading

Optimizing graphic images

META tags

Design tips for higher search engine rankings

Design your site for viewing in different browsers

Make your web site interactive

Free classified ads

Contests

Using holidays and special occasions

Add a discussion group to your site

Survey of what makes a customers buy online

How to get customers to refer others

Instill customer confidence

Take your tips from the winning web sites

Online storefronts

Sample web page

Sample web page

Sample HTML source code

Checklist for creating a web site

Work flow

What a web site is going to cost you

How much will you earn?

Creating a marketing plan

How search engines work

How search engines rank your site

Top 10 tips to ranking high in the search engines

How directories work

Search engines and directories people use most

Additional search engines to list your web pages

Other sites to list with

Submission software and services

Keywords

Doorway pages

How do you know what keywords people are using?

Pay-for-search results

Measure your and your competitor’s ranking in the engines

Getting mentioned on What’s New sites

Foreign search engines

Keeping current with search engine technology

Getting other sites to link to yours

Automating the link seeking process

Link banner exchanges

Where to place banners on your pages

How to get banners

How to verify your links

Measuring your site’s popularity with reverse searching

Sites for craft artists to seek links from

What not to do: bulk email, SPAM, unsolicited email

Your house mailing list

Opt-in email lists

How to get email addresses from your visitors

Using Internet incentive programs

How to promote with direct email

Managing your list

How to get and use autoresponders

Send out a free email newsletter or ezine

Sources of ezine listings

Make money renting your email list

Ecards

How to use signatures in your emails

8 ways to use email to boost sales

Prepare an announcement

Posting your message

Types of newsgroups

Newsgroups and forums for crafts

Locating more newsgroups and forums

Internet mailing lists

Using news releases

Cost to you for writing articles and news releases

How to write news releases

Writing articles

What to send editors

How to format an email news release

Offline publicity

TV websites for publicity

Using a PR service

Helpful resources for getting publicity

Types of auctions

What auctions cost you

How to sell at auctions

More tips for auctions

How to choose your subject categories

Feedback ratings

Locate auctions

Organizing your auction business

Software for use with auction sites

Shipping, handling and insurance fees

Self-insurance

Counters for auction pages

Selling craft supplies

Pricing

Amazon’s zshops

Setting up your own affiliate program

How to pay your associates

Do-it-yourself affiliate management

Software for managing your affiliate programs

Service companies that manage affiliate programs

What to provide affiliates

Making money from other affiliate programs

Where to find affiliate or associate programs

Classified ads to promote your site

Ads at online services like AOL and CompuServe

How to write your classified ad

Selling classified ads

How to set up a classified section on your site

Sponsorships

How to sell advertising on your site

Banner ad effectiveness

Does your site design support banner placements?

Where to place banner ads for greatest click-through

How much to charge for ads

Finding ad buyers

Handling ad sales

How to use an ad broker

Pay for keywords

For news on trends in online advertising

What to learn from tracking

How to use the data you get from tracking

Page counters

Where to get free counters

Site statistics from your web host

Tracking services online

Tracking software

Setting up a database

Build your web site with HTML tutorials

Improve your site performance

Scripts for creating mail forms

Shareware, freeware & free tools

For Mac users only

Free Web Pages

Web promotion

Reliable web hosts for a monthly fee

Free graphics, images, animations

Free email

Online newsletters & magazines on craft marketing

Online editions of print craft magazines

Online resources about ecommerce

Online magazines about ecommerce