A Quick Marketing Idea for Crafters

I recently scored a sweet copy of Bread & Badger's marketing e-book, which I am quite excited to thoroughly read soon. But before I do I thought I would share a quick and easy tip that I have used to receive a decent amount of publicity for piddix.

How to Be a Spokesmodel

Do you have a product that you absolutely love? I've had very good response by offering to write up a testimonial or be a media reference. If you're specific, and even give examples of what you might say, chances are it might lead to something.

For example, several years ago I took an amazing business class through MercyCorpsNW. I really can't say enough good things about my experience. I had mentioned the class in a storque article on piddix and in a blog post, and so I sent the links to my MeryCorps contacts and concluded my email with the following paragraph:

"Also, if you ever need some quotes from participants for filling out the grant reports or anything, feel free to use this: Going through the MercyCorps NW IDA small business program was incredibly helpful for my crafting business, piddix llc. I learned critical information at every class from instructors who were incredibly knowledgeable and helpful, and I came away with a concrete plan for how to sustain and grow my digital image business. Almost immediately I began seeing the results of my new focus, and within three months I had doubled my income from piddix. Thank you so much for offering such a helpful program."

By emailing them articles where I talked about their program, as well as a sample testimonial, the folks at MercyCorpsNW were able to get a good idea of what I would say in an interview. And they took me up on the offer. I was interviewed as one of their "featured business." Plus, piddix was also highlighted in the new printed MercyCorps brochure.

When looking for places to pitch your "testimonial," think a little outside the box and look for organizations that already feature other businesses. For example, both my electric company and local hospital highlight a different customer each month in their printed newsletters. Constant Contact, whom I use for my e-newsletter, publishes regular "success stories" and says they are always looking for organizations to showcase.

And the easier you can make it for them, the more likely someone would be to respond. I often include a link to my "office" flickr photos or media-ready samples. I know from personal experience working as a journalist that you're often writing at the last minute and trying to fill space. Items such as pre-written quotes or readymade photos help greatly.

Finally, if you do include a sample quote or if they ask you to write one up, be sure to mention the name of your business several times. Especially for online posts, this is a great opportunity for them to link back to your website.

While being featured by your electric company may not seem as glamorous as somewhere like modish, think of the thousands and thousands of people who will see your smiling face and learn about your business. Plus, there's way less competition, and you never know who may be reading it.

Getting the Most Out of Your Collage Sheets

Digital collage sheets by piddix are 8.5x11 inch .jpg files delivered to your email within 24-hours. Most people print them out as-is, cut out the individual images with scissors, and then use them to make beautiful pendants, collages, cards, and other jewelry (see lovely example from Under the Looking Glass on left).

But what if you want an image to fit a particular size or shape that is not offered? With four pretty easy tricks, you can re-size just about any image offered through piddix to fit your needs.

Step 1: Know your "mms"
Many pendant settings are listed in millimeters, while some collage sheets are only listed in inches. One mm equals .039 inches. So to find out a good size for the 25mm pendant tray you just ordered, multiply 25 by .039 to equal .98 inches--so the one inch circle or one inch square sized collage sheets will be the best fit. Here's an online calculator to find the same answers.

Step 2: Use your printer to re-size
One of the easiest ways to re-size an entire sheet is to print the whole file at a smaller percentage. Let's say you have a 1.5 inch sheet, but you want to print it out at .85 inches for scrabble tiles. Divide the size you want by the size you have, then round up to the nearest percentage to allow for trim room, to calculate your printing size:

.85 / 1.5 = .567 (or 57%)

To print a .jpg file out at 57% go to file/print, then change the scale to 57%. Here's a couple of sample print windows (click the images on left to enlarge). Basically, you're looking for an option that says "scale" or "print size."

Also, since all piddix images are 300 dpi and high quality, you can use the same steps to enlarge a whole sheet to two to three times larger as well. However, you'll only get the images in the middle, or it will print onto two sheets while cropping the edges. To avoid missing any of the images, use the steps below to select and enlarge individual images or groups of images.

Step 3. Re-sizing Individual Images
For those of you with a graphic design program, such as Photoshop or CorelDraw, it's fairly straightforward to copy and paste individual elements of a file then re-size them as you'd like. Every program is different, but the basic steps include:
1. Open your piddix .jpg file in your graphic design program.
2. Find and click on the "marquee" or "select" tool. It normally looks like a dotted circle or square.
3. Draw a circle or square around the individual image you want by clicking on a blank space near the image, then holding and dragging until you have covered the whole image.
4. Copy the image.
5. Paste it in a new file.
6. Enlarge or shrink the new image in several ways. Most software programs will allow you to click on the new image, then grab one of the corners and drag it to make it smaller or larger. Be sure to hold down the shift key to keep the image the correct ratio so it doesn't get warped.

I also have a free, 5-page step-by-step tutorial with photos that shows you how to do the same thing in MS word. If you're a piddix customer, convo me or email me from the account from which you ordered your piddix files and ask for the re-size tutorial and I'll send you a free copy.

Step 4: Changing the image shape
So far, all of these steps have been good if you want to shrink or enlarge an image while keeping it the same basic shape. But what if you want to change a square into an oval or vice-versa?

One easy way is to find a shape punch in the size you'd like, such as this circle punch from Annie Howes. They're also available in most craft stores and online. Then find a collage sheet that shows a whole image, like these fairies or French fashions and punch away.

You can also make your own, hard-copy stencils specifically tailored to your needs. Let say you would like to make 13x18mm ovals, and you have a sheet of one-inch squares to start with. First, create an oval the right size in any graphic design software. To do it in word (click on the image at right to enlarge and follow along):
1. Choose a circle from the objects palette and draw it on the page.
2. Double click on the circle. This should bring up the size options.
3. Change the size to 13mm width and 18mm height. You can write in mm and the computer will change it from inches to mm automatically.

Then print your file and get creative. I like to print the oval out on cardstock, then cut it out and put it on top of a printed collage sheet and trace around the edges--like you would with a bottle lid. You can do the same by printing on clear mylar. Or even take your paper oval, put it on top of a recycled plastic (like a clear cookie box lid) and cut the lid out in the same shape. Oh, and be sure to try your new template oval out in the pendant first to make sure it fits well and adjust accordingly.

Putting on My Sunday Best

While scanning images from old books, I often get caught up in the text--reading about countries that no longer exist or fairy tales no longer told.

This past week I've been scanning the most amazing hand-colored engravings of 16th-19th century French Fashions. The hair and hat descriptions are the best (think Marie Antoinette):

"We find the "Cascade of Saint-Cloud" style, consisting of a cataract of powered ringlets falling from the top of the head, the 'kitchen garden' style, with bunches of vegetables hooked in to the side-curls, the 'rural' style, with landscapes representing a hill-side, windmills which actually turned, a meadow crossed by a silver stream, with a shepherdess tending her sheep, mountains, a forest with a sportsman and his dog in pursuit of game, and so and so..."

Here's a sneak peek. They'll be made into collage sheets for the shop soon, or find the large, full-sized images here.