In my first post I mentioned that I will be discussing the business side of crafting on this blog. I plan on featuring some of the sites I find that offer something truly unique that have been submitted to one of my other sites.
In this post I will talk about what that site is and how it can help you, the crafty website owner, promote your site and your business.
What & Where is this site you are talking about?
Crafty Tips Arts & Crafts Directory is a site dedicated to sharing and promoting many of the great craft-related sites on the Internet.
One of the many things all website owners want is more traffic to their sites. One of the major aspects of getting traffic is search engine results. No matter what the topic of our sites, we all want people to come and visit. If your site sells something, obviously you also hope they will buy something.
Getting links that are on other sites is one of the biggest factors in search engine ranking. These links, called backlinks, are crucial to a site rising from the 500th page of search engine results to the first.
Sites like Crafty Tips are called directories. Directories are sites that list other sites by category and typically also have a description of the site, maybe a thumbnail picture of the front page of the site and a link going to that site.
Most of us are familiar with phone books, directories have the same concept – without the heavy costs associated with Yellow Pages advertising.
Like phonebooks, directories are broken down by category and sites that fit in that category are listed together. For example, a site that offers Purses, Handbags & Duffles for sale or have a tutorial on making one would submit to a category called Purses, Handbags & Duffles.
Directories serve two purposes. The first is the most obvious one of backlinks to your site. The second is that some of the better directories also bring targeted web traffic to your site. That means someone looking for what you sell or in the case of free pattern sites – folks looking for what you are sharing!
Since I am a lover of making my own crafts, a member of several great crafting forums, have attended shows and fairs in numerous states, and a wannabe professional crafter (I don’t think doing one show puts me there, yet.); I understand the field. I have been doing marketing and website work for years and also understand the various forms/types of websites being used to sell/promote/share information about crafts.
So, why is that important? Most directory sites only allow website owners to submit their homepages. That requirement effectively eliminates someone with a shop on Etsy or other similar site from submitting their site. Sell your crafts from your blog and you may have more options; but, these too are limited. Some won’t accept free blog sites and others put all blogs under a generic blog category.
Why is my site special?
There are a few excellent directories that have been around for years offering links for crafty sites.
First of all, my site only has sites that relate to arts and crafts. That helps both with search engine optimization and getting targeted traffic. Well, their’s do that too. But, my site has quite a few unique features to help crafters build their business.
Help crafters build their business – that is something very important to me. I believe there is a long tradition of artisans creating a better life for their families with their talents and have created a site to help promote their businesses. (well, at least in my opinion – hopefully, it will become yours too.)
With that in mind, I wanted to make my directory more than just a list of sites and also something different from what had already been done. With that in mind, Crafty Tips was designed around the concept of anyone who makes patterns or items will have gained knowledge that the beginner may not have. So, rather than just list the site name and a description, every artisan also submits a tip. It is these tips that will help differentiate my site from the others.
Directories often don’t bring those who list on them much traffic. With category descriptions (something most of the others don’t have) and the tips (something no one else has), my site is getting listed in Google, MSN, Yahoo and the others; and traffic is growing accordingly and bringing targeted visitors to the sites listed!
Instead of a grainy and teeny-tiny picture of the front page of your website, my site features a picture of one of your creations. I get to pick it – it’s so much fun to see what everyone makes! But, you are given the option to request I use a different picture. (One crafter asked that I not list a particular item as they already have trouble keeping it in stock and would rather promote another one.)
The Details
Many of the sites that existed before mine, created their lists of sites by hand. Since I am using a newer script designed for this purpose; sites also get the benefit of having a details page. While the details page doesn’t list any additional information on a site, it does provide each site with a page that only links to theirs. Google and the others have already indexed many of these pages and have begun bringing even more traffic to some of the sites listed.
3 Links!
Another unique aspect of Crafty Tips is that I welcome up to 3 deeplinks from each site! This means if you sell crochet items, knitted hats, and soap – you could get topical links from each of those categories. Along with a second and third product picture, each of the additional links will have corresponding descriptions and tips.
The Catch
Well, that’s just it; there isn’t one. At this time, the price of getting up to 3 topical links to your site is simply submitting your site and writing a description and tip. How easy is that?
Greater Exposure
There are several options to gain additional exposure for your site. They are not free, but they will make your site gain greater visibility and provide additional links to your site. More information about advertising options can be found on the site.
End of Commercial…
OK, now that I’ve gotten all that housekeeping out of the way, I can begin writing blogs about selling crafts online and in person.
Next time will feature advice on how to make your craft show dollars go further.
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