Theresa Rose Designs - October Daily Flash Sale

October Daily Flash Sale

October is a special month for me. On October 16, 2013, I finally was able to quit my day job to run Theresa Rose Designs full-time. To celebrate, I am going to be having a special sale each day of the month. I will be offering one piece of jewelry at 40%-50% off each day in October.

I will only be advertising my 'daily special sale' on Facebook and Instagram. There will only be one item available and I will select a different piece of jewelry each day. So be on the lookout starting October 1. 

To see the daily deal, follow me on Facebook and Instragram.

Here's the link to follow me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/TheresaRoseDesigns

Here's the link to follow me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/TheresaRoseDesigns

Look for the hashtag #TheresaRoseOctoberSale

Wink, Women Inkorporated - A Great Business Networking Group for Women

Relationships are the catalyst for success.
People do business with those they like and trust.
Serve as a resource, help others succeed. 

Wink, Women Inkorporated - Women's Networking Organization

While I've been more than happy to stay holed up in my little studio, wearing comfy sweats, and making jewelry all day, I realize the importance of meeting new people in order to grow my business in new ways. I've done a decent job growing my business by learning about Etsy, taking good pictures, and word of mouth. But there's a whole big world out there and I want them to know about me!

Networking is about making connections and building enduring, mutually beneficial relationships. Plus it's fun, especially after a few long days only conversing with my dog!

Networking is inexpensive. It’s full of like-minded individuals that you can work with or learn from in some way. Also, face-to-face networking events create lasting impressions in the minds of people you meet.

Last summer I joined Wink, Women Inkorporated, a women's business networking group based out of San Diego.

Here is the Wink Mission:
'Wink, Women Inkorporated^® is a faith-based business women’s networking organization. We have a vision for making business women’s networking better, more effective and of high integrity for all women in business. Wink events offer business insights and ideas, workshops, relatable topics, collaboration with like-minded women and lots of connecting with women ready to grow professionally and personally. Wink business women’s networking is open to all female professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners or independent contractors. We offer a fun, welcoming, professional environment of high integrity.Wink, Women Inkorporated is the Link to Business Women’s Networking.'

The good news is that they are going national and chapters will be opening up all over the U.S. Not only am I meeting other women business owners, I am learning so much because they have fantastic guest speakers at each meeting. Examples of some of the speaking events I've attended are:

• Facebook Ads and Boosted Posts
• The 30-60-90 Day Plan for Your 2014 Sales
• The Entrepreneur Mindset Panel 
• Leverage: The Secret Weapon of Successful Solopreneur's

Since joining Wink, I have seen my jewelry sales double - yes, double! It isn't because I'm selling loads of jewelry at the meetings, it's because my mindset was completely changed from hobbyist to serious business owner. I have learned so much about running my business and have gained more confidence in myself.

This summer, I became the Chapter Leader for the Carmel Mountain Ranch group. I have met so many fantastic business women. Women that are in all different stages of running their own business, some part-time, some full-time. It has been truly inspiring being around such motivated people.

I found Wink at Meetup.com. Meetup is a great site where you can find a wide range of groups for every interest imaginable. While there are many business networking groups in every city, it's just a matter of finding the one that suits you. For me, Wink was the perfect match.

Here is their website for more information on Wink:
http://womeninkorporated.com/
If you are interested in starting a chapter in your city, please e-mail me for more information.

The Carmel Mountain Wink meetings are held the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month at the Claim Jumper at 12384 Carmel Mountain Rd, San Diego. Meetings run from 11:45 to 1:15. You can find more information at the meetup site: Wink, Women's Inkorporated.

A Simple, Effective Facebook Contest That Will Gain You More Fans

Running a simple Facebook contest

I frequently run Facebook contests, but last week I ran a contest that had a twist. I actually found this idea from a Facebook account that I follow. Instead of just asking people to comment in the post, I added a new requirement - each entry had to tag a friend. Both the entrant and their tagged friend would win a sterling silver bangle.

It worked great! By requiring entrants to tag a friend, I had much more engagement and exposure to new people that have never seen my page. My current fans appreciated being given the opportunity to help their friends win jewelry - it was a win-win all the way around!

I highly recommend trying this yourself. And please comment below and let us know how it worked out for you.

3 Things Many Sellers Don't Do Before Opening a Store on Etsy (and Should!)

Do you want your Etsy shop to be a hobby or a business?

Etsy will take you through the steps to open your Etsy store, but besides knowing how to functionally set up your account, choosing your shop name, etc., here are the 3 things that I believe are vital to have completed before opening your 'doors'. However, I consistently see new sellers that start selling without completing these 3 things, and it leads to frustration, a bad experience, and in many cases, an early close to the shop.

1. Create a professional shop appearance.
Before listing your first item, you should have your bio, about page, and policy page completed.
A policy page is so important and a well designed, informative page can save you plenty of headaches down the line. Here is where you enter the following information:

• Return & Exchange Policy
• Payment Options
• Shipping Information
• Additional information such as custom order policy, wholesale offerings, etc.

I personally think your profile picture should be a picture of you, not of your product or even your logo. Other people may differ, but I believe it adds a personal touch and people like to see who they are purchasing from. Especially in the handmade world, when a customer can see the designer/owner, it adds to the experience.

2. Have at least 20 to 30 items made and photographed.
This will ensure that you are starting out strong and have a full shop right away. I personally will not purchase from a shop that has only a handful of items displayed. It doesn't give the appearance that the owner is serious about their business. Granted, there are some shops that are highly specialized and only make custom pieces. Then it is understandable that they can only list a few at a time. But, those are the exception. You also want to start off with a good momentum, and having 20-30 items ready to list immediately will get you on the right track.

3. Know how to ship your product and have the supplies already on hand.
This may seem obvious, but you'd be surprised how many times I've seen the question in the forums with the title 'I've sold my first item. How do I ship it?'. Before opening your shop, make sure of the following:

• Determine your shipping method - Etsy shipping, Paypal shipping, Stamps.com, or good old-fashioned stamps.
• Purchase appropriate envelopes, boxes, shipping labels, stamps, packing material, etc.
• Practice at least once shipping an item. You can even ship it to yourself or a family member. It may cost a couple of dollars, but knowing how the procedure works ahead of time is well worth it.

I have to admit that I wasn't prepared in this area, which is why I emphasize it here in this post. I didn't expect to sell my first piece of jewelry within 1 week, so I hadn't purchased the bubble mailers yet. So when I woke up to my first sale, I had to rush to Office Depot to purchase (very expensive) envelopes. I then made a mistake creating the shipping label and had to cancel it, and start over. Learn from my mistake!

Here is a good Etsy article regarding how to set up your shipping profiles:
Etsy Blog - Create Shipping Profiles

So, while there are other areas that are extremely important before setting up shop, I chose these three to discuss because I believe they are ones that are overlooked more often than others.

Remember, you want to have a professional shop - this will go a long ways to ensuring your success!

Summer - Simply Sublime

I'm not ready to give up on summer yet. It's September, but it feels more like July here in San Diego. That was the inspiration for this collection. A simple lace dress, cozy flats, and nude nail polish. Perfect for a summer evening.

Paired with two of my jewelry designs, the long antique silver necklace and matte silver teardrop earrings, simple, yet elegant.

And what summer outfit isn't complete without a siberian husky puppy!

Summer Cool....

Theresa Rose Designs Jewelry and Cabi Spring 2014 Collection

We're still in the heat of summer but evenings in San Diego can get a little cool, especially by the beach. Wearing a sweater doesn't seem right in August, so the CAbi Net sweater is the perfect option. It's a cross between a sweater and a loose cami - perfect for a summer evening. I paired it with my Deconstructed Brett Jeans (also from CAbi). Unfortunately, these two items are from the Spring 2014 line and are no longer available from CAbi. However, I have found both of them on Ebay, so there's still time to snatch them up.

Simple hammered matte gold earrings are lightweight and don't break the bank. I have them selling in my shop for $7.00. The Aquamarine Gold Bangle completes the look at only $22.00.

Simple flat sandals are a must this time of year and always match anything in my closet. I'm loving these Tory Burch sandals - not to mention that match perfectly with my jewelry!

Links to the above items:

CAbi Net Sweater 

CAbi Deconstructed Brett Jean 

Tory Burch Miller Metalic Sandals 

Tiny Matte Gold Hammered Earrings

Aquamarine and Gold Bangle

Other links:

View my Polyvore Summer Cool Set...

My CAbi Obsession Pinterest Board 

#Hashtag - Understanding Hashtags and How To Get Started Using Them With Your Business

Either you run the day, or the day runs you.

- Jim Rohn

While I've been tweeting and posting my way through the Social Media World quite regularly, I have to admit that I've been a late-comer to utilizing hashtags as part of my social media strategy. I finally decided it was time to bite the bullet and get started utilizing hashtags. 

What is a #Hashtag?
Simply put,a hashtag is an easy way for people to categorize, find and join conversations on a particular topic.by a number sign (#), the hashtag is paired with a word or phrase to perform a variety of functions. attach hashtags to tweets and posts as search mechanisms, categorizing tools and marketing tactics.


Hashtag Formatting 
The hashtag is used to highlight key words or topics, and can be placed anywhere within a post or tweet.

• Not case sensitiveMust contain at least one alpha character. 
• Cannot be all numbers (ex: #1234)
• Can be combination of letters and numbers (ex: #4change, #iPhone5, #good4you)
• No special characters (ex: !@$%&*)
• Must be all one word with no spaces (ex: #SocialMedia, Not #Social Media)

Why Should You Use Hashtags For Business
First and foremost, it increases your exposure on popular social sites. More visibility and exposure is why we're on these social sites. More exposure gets you more followers, and since hashtags are used to categorize subject matter, it helps you get the right type of followers by targeting your audience. 

 
4 Steps to Getting Started With Hashtags
If you're a complete newbie to hashtags, these 4 steps will get you going in no time.

Step 1: Find Popular and Relevant Hashtags In Your Industry

• Start following companies in your field to see what hashtags they are using and what type of engagement they receive. Look for a mixture of large and small companies, including your direct competitors.
• Check Hashtags.org for trending and popular hashtags.
• Search glossaries or directory of terms published by professional associations or other groups.
• Input hashtags at Tagboard.com to see how they are being used by other people and companies.
• Search Iconosquare.com for hashtags used in Instagram.  

Tagboard.com

Here's an example of a typical display by entering the hashtag '#handmadejewelry' into Tagboard. I can then view other hashtags users entered in the same post.

Iconosquare.com
In the below example, I entered '#handmadejewelry' and looked through the feed until I found some posts that looked interesting and had good engagement. I then clicked on the photo to display the hashtags being used. 

  

Step 2: Create a Hashtag Spreadsheet

Below is an example of a spreadsheet I started. In the first section, I listed other jewelry designers I follow. Then I created columns for typical jewelry categories I use. The bottom group of columns list my other interests, hobbies, and topics I also tweet, blog, and post about, so I also needed hashtag ideas for them.

This is a living document that I modify on a regular basis. It's great to have it handy whenever I'm posting so I always have a list of hashtags I can use.

Step 3: Start Posting With Hashtags on Your List
Now that you have a good list of starting hashtags, start tweeting and posting. If you are getting stuck on where to begin, here are some good suggestions:

• Participate in Daily Trends. #ThrowBackThursday and #FollowFriday are examples of popular daily trends. There are also numerous daily trends in many industries. Find one that matches your business and post every week.
• National Day - There is a 'national day' for just about anything you can think of. Find some that pertain to your business or interests and post something relevant on that day. You can always find a hashtag that describes the day.
• Look for trending topics or search a hashtag to join the conversation.
• Post or tweet while you are at events, conferences, or even out to dinner. Be sure to take pictures and include them in your post.
• Do you have a good tip or advice related to your field? Tweet about it.
• Retweet other posts that you find interesting. People love to be retweeted. Make sure to thank people who retweet your posts too.

Below are some examples of good tweets:

Humorous take on a trending topic.

 Great tip that people will tend to retweet.

Thanking people for retweeting is always appreciated.

Mistakes to Avoid

• Only use 1 – 3 hashtags per post/tweet. Overuse of hashtags leads to less engagement
• Don’t use the same hashtags in every post or tweet -  mix it up.
• Don’t input hashtags that are not relevant to your post. 
• Don’t hijack hashtags involving sensitive situations. 
• Don't hashtag every word (i.e. #I #am #so #excited #today)  
• Don't hashtag the same word more than once (i.e. It is my #birthday. Here is a photo of my #birthday cake, my #birthday presents, and my awesome #birthday party!) 

Epic Hashtag Fails

Don't try to capitalize on a sensitive issue.

Asking for retweets is always bad. It looks spammy when linked to a disaster.

 I don't even need to explain this one.

Or this one.

Step 4: Create Your Own Hashtags
Now that you've gotten comfortable using existing hashtags in your posts, it's time to create your own hashtags. This is where branding comes into play, so be sure to create hashtags that are unique to your business name. I use #TheresaRoseDesigns and #TheresaRoseJewelry often in my posts.

• Keep hashtags as simple and short as possible.
• Don't customize beyond what's necessary. For example, there is no need to add the year to the following hashtag: #JewelryTrends2014.
• Test your hashtag on social sites such as Tagboard and Twitter to make sure it's unique and more importantly, appropriate.
• Make sure your hashtags are clear, unique and relevant.
• While you can design a hashtag using CamelCase (for example: #TheresaRoseDesigns), it's always a good idea to test it using all lower case. Can you spot the problems with the below hashtags?

Finally, here are a list of useful sites that help you while researching hashtags: 

Hashtags.org 
Lists popular and trending hashtags, along with article and news about hashtags. Includes analytics for a fee.  

Tagdef.com 
Lists most popular hashtags for the week, all-time, new tags, and top users. Gives definitions for popular hashtags. 

Tagboard.com
Input a hashtag to see how a hashtag is used across multiple networks. The results show posts from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Google+, Vine, and App.net. 

Trendsmap.com 
Shows relevant hashtags that are being used in your geographic area.