EkaBlog - Site Blog for Ekaweeka the Small Business Community

As the user list grows I occasionally get questions from some of them on how they can improve their sales. There are lots of improvements everyone should be making. Today I'll focus on product photos.

Until you have had to take pictures of your products and look at the end result you probably never thought about what goes into a good product photo. I never did, fortunately though my friends take pictures for a local retailer professionally and I get to see first hand what goes into a good product photos. Before any advice is given I should drop a disclaimer that is; many businesses find an excellent way to feature their product without following the safe guidelines I am about to give. So while these suggestions will help you get quick quality results, they may not necessarily fit the big picture as far as the culture of your product.

A few of the product photos on Ekaweeka that I have seen (including my own) are taken among other items or on a colored background. They might be slightly out of focus or taken at a bad angle, or they might just not be cropped properly. All of the above should be taken into account when getting your product photos ready though.
1) For starters unless you have a specific theme it's safest to use a white background. Get a roll of white paper at least 36" wide and 10' long from your local art store, it can be used over and over and by having the product in-front of a seamless white background the focus of your product will stay on the product, colors will appear as they are, lighting will be easier to control, and cropping should be a cinch.
2) Next use a tripod for your camera, no matter how steady of a shot you are, the tripod is even more steady, this will make taking a crisp-in focus picture a no brainer. If you don't have a tripod ask a couple friends, tripods are usually given away for free with camcorders and tend to be sitting around someone's house.
3) Lighting is key, if you don't have enough lights to get a good bright setting go on your roof, backyard, sidewalk, local park etc. in the late morning or late afternoon (when the sun is high but not straight overhead). If you do have lights make sure to avoid distracting shadows, be mindful of the color your lights produce: household lights like incandescents (which you shouldn't have cause they waste tons of electricity - so if you do switch them to CFL asap - available at any home depot) or florescents can look too yellow or green.
4) Cropping and resizing is perhaps the most difficult part of the process cause a photo editing program even when on hand can be hard to learn on the fly. The staple software for this is photoshop but most out of the box photo programs (already on your computer) include image sizing and cropping these days. Even then it isn't the easiest thing to do. You should have a high resolution version of each photo (300 dpi) and in addition to full size (1000px * 1000px +) you should have some smaller versions (400px * 400px) for easy emailing and uploading. If all of this is over your head .... send me an email, I'll be happy to crop and size a few or explain how to do it on your own computer.

In the end taking the steps above will make your products look as amazing as they really are and will definitely improve the response you get from potential customers. Selling stuff over the internet is still a new concept to a lot of people, giving customers a clean an professional look at what you're selling will help reassure them they are in the same hands as a local shop where they can pick up the product and see it with their own eyes.

Many of us have chosen to start our own business because we don't like working for "The Man". We have some skills, some talents, a dream - whatever. But frequently these people who take the alternate path also aren't naturally gifted with classic business skills. You don't have to be a shrewd business person for your business to succeed, but understanding protocol can help to overcome certain hurdles. Today's tip is about communication via email. Guy Kawasaki - a popular start up and entreprenial topic blogger - has an excellent post on email etiquette. Check it out if this topic interests you but I'll keep my covering of the topic short and sweet (which is part of the technique we'll discuss).

By far the biggest problem with the emails I've received or sent wasn't that I used the wrong salutation, or didn't provide enough info. It was because there was too much information. It's safe to assume everyone has A.D.D. these days, and those who don't have learned to deal with the rest of us. As a rule of thumb Guy says to keep your email under 5 sentences, I'd say you can do it in 2-3. Many people will think they cannot communicate everything they need to in 2-3 sentences but thats the point. You don't want to say everything, just touch on the topic, and leave all the questions your email raises (in its 2-3 sentence form) unanswered. This way the recipient will have to write back for more info. Large lengthy emails are so long people take one look at them and think "boy I'll need more time to read this, I'll come back to it later". But then more emails arrive, things happen, and before you know it your lengthy email has been lost in a sea of emails that never got a reply.

So keep it to 2-3 sentences, if you want to pitch an idea, don't pitch the idea in your email, just say:
"Hey Joe Shmoe,

Good talking to you the other day. I've got an idea about your electric vehicle business, it could bring in loads more customers!! Thanks.

Tom Bob"

Joe Shmoe will most likely be intrigued with the prospect of more business, you haven't told him your ridiculous idea about buying a $500,000 advertising package from your business, and this gives you a chance to feed him a little more info without turning him off before he's even heard the whole story.

Keep the subject line short too, a simple "hi" can do the trick... they will have to read your email cause your subject gives them no hint as to what you're bothering them about.

Guy might point out that my example doesn't include a signature, signatures deserve their own posting in my opinion but in this case the example conveys that I know who I'm writing to... in this scenario I could include a signature but frankly it takes up more space and isn't necessary. If I wanted Joe Shmoe to check out my website I might include the url in the signature knowing he would possibly check out the site to investigate what I could be pitching to him. But without any more information he has no choice but to wonder forever what might have been or to follow up and find out.

Thats all for now, see you space cowboy ;-)

Ellery has had to explain to a few people that the single greatest influence on the ability to come up with and develop Ekaweeka, was my unemployability. Meaning by refusing to take a regular job I was forced to come up with my own businesses to make a living. I could probably get a job... but the idea is I haven't gotten a job from my resume - EVER. I could probably have more luck with this area in my life but I think it just happens that I cannot wipe off the look on my face / tone in my cover letters that silently hints "I don't want to work 40 hours a week for anyone else".
I still need to get work from time to time either in the form of a short term gig or business for one of my small businesses. I believe I owe all my success in obtaining those fruits to my friends. The people I've met casually, via other friends, via the internet etc. And so once again I cannot stress enough the importance of networking. Sooooooo many people I know that are starting their own business hate the idea of "networking" but what they don't realize is networking isn't just going to some aweful lounge and paying $10 per drink to socialize with people you would never speak to otherwise. Networking is gettting off your ass and going out there to do something - anything! This volunteering thing I just did last weekend was totally for the environment and piece of mind, however I met at least 8 people doing things that were relevant to my green consulting business. Now that we've met if I hear of an opportunity for one of them to do work - I'm going to tell them and that goes both ways. And that's just it, by meeting new people, finding out what they do, and telling them what you do - you are not only learning, you are expanding your potential client list and list of resources which will eventually come back and pay you a visit in the future (you never know how - the universe is magical and works in mysterious ways).
Think of it as building new synopsis in your brain.. you know those little bridges that are made between one part of your brain and another everytime you learn something new. The more you learn the more you know and can do. So in the same model - by meeting new people the more people you know and know you - and the more possibility there is for someone to find you and your business.

And that is how I have found all my work going back to my very first job at Round Table Pizza - which my friend Rachel told me about. So start right now, go to lunch with some friends encourage them to bring their friends. Or organize a small get together and have your guests bring someone from work. Make it fun - let the universe expose all the possibilties you were locking out before!

As small business owners, we are familiar with the term “one person operation”. So for my first feature as your resident fashion glutton, I wanted to introduce you to an amazing designer, and even more amazing business woman who is not only the sole creator of her jewelry, but also the marketing, sales and PR department in one. Meet Peggy Li.

Peggy, of Peggy Li Creations, is a San Francisco based designer that has been designing and creating her own line for six years. Like a lot of jewelry designers and crafty folk, she started by making pieces for herself and people stopped her in the streets to ask where she had gotten the pieces.

Peggy Li jewelry is clean, modern and effortlessly stylish. She uses materials such as natural gemstones, sterling silver and gold. Her motifs range from nature inspired leaves and birds to futuristic orbs.

The most impressive part of Peggy’s small business is the media attention she has been able to obtain through her own perseverance and hard work. Find out how she did it.

EkaWeeka: Your jewelry line is all over the place! What have you done to promote your line?

Peggy Li: I have contacted the press and gotten into magazines such as Oprah and Lucky. I work with Hollywood costume designers on a regular basis and provide jewelry for shows like Grey's Anatomy and movies such as the upcoming Superbad.

EW: The hardest part is getting your product to the right person. How did you get in touch with the right people in the media?

PL: I was a big fan of Buffy and thought my jewelry style would match the show. I had met the costume designer when I did an interview with her when working as a reporter and sent in samples to the show! I got lucky, not everyone will be as generous as she was, nor should you really send samples directly to folks. But by working with Buffy, I've been contacted by other stylists for other projects.

EW: When you first approached the media, did you have formal pitches and press kits and all the PR stuff?

PL: I created a pitch letter and made sure I got the right names and picked a show that fit my style. I followed up with a phone call. I didn't hear back from the majority of shows; this is why you don't really want to send in samples. The same goes for magazines. Create a press kit, know the publication and give them a reason to use your work. It's like preparing for a job interview with you and your product as the pitch.

EW: Are you still doing your own PR and marketing?

PL: Yes. Except for occasional web design needs, I do everything myself. This route is not for everyone. My business is still a very small one.

EW: What advice can you give to other indie designers and small business owners?

PL: Know your product, know your industry, have a clear vision about what your business is about.

EW: If you weren't designing jewelry, what would you be doing?

PL: I'd be on a beach in Hawaii!

We were finally afforded sometime this morning to go through the Edit Styles page, it has been needing a good clean up for a bit now. Also we've given the group managers a tool for editing their group pages' style's. In both pages we've edited the instructions and sample tags so all you have to do is copy one style tag, edit the font style, size, colors, ect. once and you're done. Couldn't be easier. But don't worry we're already hacking away at an interface for just that.