Hi folks, it’s Dale. Over the past several months I have received a lot of questions, asking where to sell wire jewelry. My general answer is Anywhere you can! Some suggestions are:

Off your body! Yes you read correctly, many people write to tell me that they sell their pieces while wearing them, anywhere; to the grocery store, doctor’s office, church, sporting event, mall shopping, etc. Some have even said that they wear a piece and have a price tag hanging off of it! Think about it for a moment, it may seem silly to have a price tag, but it would definitely draw some attention and inspire conversations, “Um, excuse me, do you know that you forgot to remove the tag from your necklace?” To which you reply, “Actually I make and sell unique jewelry pieces. Do you like this one?” And then automatically hand them a business card. I’m sure you can see the many conversation possibilities that could lead into:

Private Showings; “Yes, I even give my jewelry away for free.” If the person is interested, take their name, phone number and good times to call (in the tiny notebook you should always carry) and then follow-up with a ‘courtesy call’, explaining how nice it was to meet them and what your private show program is.

Your Open House, name it based on whatever the season is or choose a fun theme (more below on themes). “As a matter of fact I am having an open house to show my work on ___ at ___. Would you like to come and maybe bring a friend or two? It’s going to be a lot of fun and I have nice door prizes”. Again, take their information and be sure to follow up! From your own Open House, you can obtain many Private Showings!

Theme Ideas:

Pool Party; get a small wading pool and serve fruity drinks with paper parasols, a few dips and chips, and everyone is invited to sit around the pool with their feet in, while you do your presentation.

Balloon Party; blow up lots of balloons into which you have inserted small rolled up papers, some with discounts and some with free gifts written on them. When a guest arrives, they get to pick and pop a balloon. If they decide to purchase more than one item, they get a balloon pop for each purchase (discounts cannot be combined).

Hat Party; ask everyone to wear their most unusual or unique hat, let everyone vote and give a prize for the best. Have a hat with discount coupons folded up inside, when a guest makes a purchase they get to reach in and pull out their discount.

Old Jewelry Party; each guest brings an old piece of jewelry, tells it’s story, all vote, a prize is given and you take your presentation in the direction of creating tomorrow’s heirlooms today.

I am sure these suggestions have you thinking now, your home showing or open house can be an event where folks get together for a break from their regular world, complete with fun as well as information, and you have the opportunity to sell your work, as well as to see what the folks in your area like.

You don’t even have to invite strangers to your home, rather you could check with a local church or school and offer them a small fee or the proceeds from a silent auction or raffle, for the use of their facilities for 4 hours.

Now let’s talk about Private Showings. Again, there are many opportunities such as: asking the receptionist (who likes the earrings you are wearing to an appointment) if she would like to earn a Free pair (in her favorite color) by hosting a Private Showing in the office conference room after work or during lunch time. You could ask your hairdresser or nail person to do the same, inviting their clientele to a Special Private Showing. What about the local dress or bridal boutique? Often they may agree to host an afternoon Trunk Show, (usually done for a percentage of the proceeds) or even invite you to participate in their next fashion, prom or bridal show (what a great opportunity!) How about asking a local teacher if they would like to host a Private Sale or Show, either in the teacher’s conference room or the classroom after hours?

What about a Fund Raiser? Instead of paying a promoter for a booth (where you hit rewind and play every 5 minutes, hoping for a sale) why not sell to people who want to buy what you have to support a cause, and gain a lot of new customers. School bands, clubs and sports groups are always looking for a way to make money for supplies, and rather than attending a pancake breakfast, a lot of people would rather purchase a moderately priced piece of jewelry, where a percentage of every purchase goes to the organization.

By exploring options besides craft shows, you can connect with brand new customers. No matter which way you choose to sell your work, be sure to collect everyone’s name and address, for a door prize drawing (for future post card invitations to your own Holiday Open House as it’s time to begin this year’s event now). Believe it or not, there are LOTS of people out there who have never seen or heard of wire jewelry!

And hey–stay tuned for an upcoming article on how to price jewelry!

Stay Twisted!

Dale/Cgr

Hi Wire Sculptors,

I know you’ve been curious about the Wired Retreat coming up in September. Well, I’ve got all the details–and let me tell you, I can’t wait!

Last year, we held our Wired Retreat in Buffalo, New York. People who came had a great experience–but this year, we’re taking the Wired Retreat to the next level. From September 24-26, you’ll stay as our guest at the elegant Ritz-Carlton – Amelia Island, on the beautiful eastern coast of Florida!

Enjoy breathtaking sunrises from the Atlantic Ocean in your room overlooking the beach. Feel the warm ocean breeze on your skin. Feel free to bring your spouse or a friend to share your room at the Ritz–there are golf courses, museums, and boutiques nearby, tennis courts and a fitness center at the hotel, and of course, the beach to enjoy!

The Wired Retreat package covers all your expenses: your stay at the Ritz-Carlton; all the jewelry making supplies and materials we’ll be using; meals with Dale and other wire jewelry artists; and as always, you’ll get to keep everything you make! The only cost you’re responsible for is getting to Florida! There are also group rates available if you’d like to stay at the Ritz longer than the class - make it a real vacation!

Inside the Ritz, the Wired Retreat spans three days–Friday, Saturday, and Sunday–and it covers several projects. This experience is much more than a Wired Workshop–we mean it when we call it a retreat! Relax in sunny Amelia Island and sample gourmet food and beverages while meeting and chatting with other wire jewelry artists.

We want to make sure everyone who deserves to attend the Retreat, can: that’s why we’re offering single payment, 3-month payments, and 6-month payment plans! And, if you order in the next 2 weeks, we’ll give you a $500 discount on the Wired Retreat Package!

This Retreat isn’t about learning a pattern–it’s about learning techniques that will strengthen your wire jewelry making skills and open up your creativity! You can take these techniques and themes to any jewelry piece you’re making and apply them. Dale “Cougar” Armstrong will give you individual attention and make sure you’re working as efficiently and safely as possible, so you can save wire and supplies!

Before the class, you’ll get to enjoy a 30 minute private consultation with Dale “Cougar” Armstrong where you’ll choose the materials to make your jewelry with–from the gems to the wire. In class, Dale will guide you through planning your piece, techniques, tips, and more advanced methods of wire wrapping, as well as marketing designer jewelry. Dale will work with you one-on-one to increase your skills and draw out your creativity–that’s why this retreat is so exclusive!

Let me tell you what Dale said about the Wired Retreat: “I do not often offer a course such as this, where I actually give many of my personal secrets to my students. The techniques a student can learn at this special event will only enhance their skills!” What jewelry you choose to make in this Retreat, Dale says, “could retail for $1500!” Now that sounds like a great investment–and that’s not counting the techniques and marketing skills you can apply to all your future work!

Now, before you start dreaming of sandy beaches, warm ocean breezes, and laughter over gourmet food with new wire artist friends, I have to tell you--this Wired Retreat is not for everyone. Due to the limited space available, we must narrow our guest list to only qualified wire jewelry artists.

We want to make sure that our participants get the most out of this wonderful educational and relaxing weekend, and we want to ensure that we’re reaching the most deserving wire artists who can benefit the most from this experience.

Only those wire artists who can prove they have the skills, experience, and desire to spend a weekend with Dale in a less structured environment, will be able to come!

Only order the Wired Retreat package if you’re confident you meet at least one of the following requirements (there will be an application form):

•    You’ve attended Wired Workshop classes through the Advanced level (if you haven’t yet, but you will have taken these classes by September, that’s o.k.!)
•    You’ve purchased and worked through Dale’s Beginner DVDs
•    You have pictures of jewelry you’ve made on Etsy, Flickr, Facebook, or on your own store’s site, that we can see (we love looking at pictures of our customers’ art!)
•    You can write us a note about why you want to come to this special Wired Retreat with Dale in Florida

So what now? Click here to sign up for our Annual Wired Retreat! Seats will go quickly!

I hope to see you at the beach!

Brandon Hutchins
Wire-Sculpture.com

P.S. Look for tomorrow’s exciting announcement about our new release: the Intermediate DVD Series!

Video advertising online is reaching the point that if you don’t have one to describe your wire jewelry business, you are behind the times.  The demand is coming from web visitors – they want a passive way to learn more about you and video is the best format to do it.  Customers also want to connect with the artist in more ways than just text and pictures.  If you can show and tell what you do more “in person,” you’ve won a new customer! Research has proven that video viewers are six times more likely to respond to your marketing message in a video format than from text and images alone.

What does it cost to have one made and where do you go to get one?  There are a number of companies online that offer production services that include writing a script and once approved, voicing it professionally.  Images and video clips are selected to show viewers what the voice is saying.  Watch a TV commercial for just a moment and you will see that most are created this way and are not actually studio productions that cost thousands of dollars.  Stock footage is very low cost and when assembled by a professional editor, is very compelling as a medium to engage customers.  To make it more personalized to your business, you will want to include some images or video of YOU doing your work.

Many times a video ad can include images already used in a website or product/service shots your company has used in printed brochures.  Again, assembling these digital graphics is very easy using common production tools by a professional and hence, why the cost is much lower than you think.  Music is added also to create the ambience to move a viewer emotionally.

With this said it is time for all small and medium business owners, such as wire jewelry artists, to review their websites to see how to leverage the power of video and start using it.  Once a video ad is created it can then be used across the web in advertising campaigns.  More and more websites are including video as an offering for distribution, including Google Adwords and partner properties in a pay-per-click model that is highly targeted.  Yellow page companies also offer a video inclusion option as well as many other websites across the Internet landscape.

Video is here to stay, it is growing fast, and it’s time for all website owners to address their video plan so that they are not left behind in the jump to video. We’ve even added several wire wrap tutorials to our own site!  A few short years ago it was said that if you didn’t have a website as a bricks and mortar business, you weren’t really up to speed.  Now, the same is being said about video.  Get one.

Hi there, Wire Sculptors!

I want to give you an update on how we’re lowering prices to save you money, and remind you about our Gold Club!

We’ve been hard at work on reducing our prices on Jewelry Making Wire. Right now, our prices are lower than ever! In our new Jewelry Making Wire Section, you can quickly find the exact gauge and shape of wire you need. You can also select how much wire you’re purchasing—1, 5, 10, or 25 feet in most cases! And that’s not all.

We promised you we’d dedicate ourselves to bringing you the lowest price on wire—and in this economy, nothing beats a bargain. Today, we made good on that promise.

Thanks to our brilliant website guys, we are now able to base our prices on the current price of gold and silver—updated daily! Yes, that’s right—daily. You can buy all your jewelry making wire from our site confident that you have the most competitive prices, anywhere.

Check out our Sterling Silver and Gold-Filled Wire for your wire wrapped jewelry making, now priced as low as $0.32 a foot! Head over to our Jewelry Making Wire page and check out the improvements. We know you’ll love it!

If you’re looking for even more savings, don’t forget our Gold Club! If you’re already a member of our Gold Club, you already know about the benefits of joining, like our amazing 25% discount on all products.

But if you’re not a member of our Gold Club, let me take a second to outline why you should join.

•    It’s automatic—as soon as you qualify, you’re in. No applications, membership fees, or renewals!
•    It’s exclusive—get members-only emails alerting you to special deals, unique products, and bulk or limited-quantity supplies!
•    And don’t forget—you’ll save 25% on all Wire-Sculpture products automatically!

Just by qualifying for our Gold Club, you’ll save 25% on our already low prices! Check out our Gold Club membership page here for more information.

We’re always working hard to bring you the lowest prices in the market at Wire-Sculpture.com. Thanks for choosing us to supply your wire jewelry tools, wire, and inspiration!

Wishing you all the best,

Brandon Hutchins

It seems nowadays there is something new on the marketing front that perplexes even the most experienced marketers and Google Buzz coming on the scene is no different.  This article is to help you navigate this new tool and start deploying it as a toolset for your wire jewelry business.

First of all, if you are Gmail user, you got introduced to Google Buzz at launch of the new “social networking” tool.  When you opened your email a couple of weeks ago you noticed that you were asked if you wanted to “follow” folks and you were able to quickly and easily make your selection.  So, the signup process is where you start.  If you don’t have a Google Gmail account then click here to get signed up – http://www.google.com/buzz.  You will notice also that you can get Buzz on your phone.

After you have registered you will have a dashboard to manage your buzz activity.  It provides a private, consolidated summary of the data associated with your Google account as well as direct links to control your personal settings.  You can also see how many people you are following, information about your recent posts (once you get started) and comments, etc.

You will need to invite people to follow you.  Once done then you can directly message them all or if you want to make sure one of your friends sees a certain Buzz post, you can direct it to their inbox with @reply. Type the “@” symbol followed by the first few letters of their name, and select their email address from the list. Only you’ll see their Gmail address — other people will just see their name.

After you’re set up and have people who have agreed to follow you, you can send out messages to them about your wire jewelry business.  Keep them short (like Twitter) and to the point making sure that your audience will find what you are communicating about as important or useful to them.  If you buzz too often on topics that don’t matter you will find that people will “mute” posts or worse, stop following you.  The integration with email puts it closer to your fingertips.  Again, select those to follow you that may engage you in the future for wire jewelry pieces.  And stay on topics that they will enjoy hearing about.

The core philosophy behind Google Buzz is to allow people to share experiences in real time.  Integrating this social networking tool into an email application directly is new and may pull some people from Twitter that have to “go there” to Tweet.  However, keep in mind that many software solutions online have integrated with Twitter and Facebook so that you can auto-deliver one message to a number of platforms quickly and unless Google does the same thing, these other platforms may keep market share.  This means, don’t stop using Twitter or Facebook.

The bottom line is, keep your followers happy and make sure that they aren’t overwhelmed by you using all of the tools out there only to rehear your message too many times.  Learn what they like and keep building your base.  The connections you make and continual interaction will ultimately create a loyal following of wire jewelry enthusiasts.