News

Today we've added a newish site called Gentlemint to our Coffee Time section of the Make For Business directory.

This is essentially a Pinterest-alike site that targets a specifically male user base. I'm unsure whether there is large demand for such a site, but perhaps if there's enough gadgets and fast cars it'll take off.

From a craft business perspective, it could offer a couple of things of value if you produce any products designed for the hairier sex. Firstly it offers another online opportunity to showcase your work. Secondly it could also be a good way to see what trends are of interest to men and use this to inspire new products to tap into this interest.

You can read a fuller description of Gentlemint at Appstorm.

Ecommercebytes have announced their Sellers Choice 2012 results which is based on feedback from 7,200 sellers. It looks at their satisfaction with the most popular online market place for aspects such as profitability and customer care.

For craft entrepreneurs, perhaps the most interesting result in the list is Etsy and they should be pleased with their 3rd place spot. There are quite a few seller comments on the page plus a roundup.

ArtFire may be less happy, having been placed in the last spot of 16 sites.

Online Marketing Coach are inviting pre-registrations for the release of a new report that looks at how small businesses address SEO. The study that is based on 200 small businesses and looks at 20 common SEO variables, will be released on 9 February.

It's unclear whether the report offers advice on solutions to common SEO mistakes or just highlights them - obviously Online Marketing Coach do have a service to sell.

However, for businesses that don't have the budget to employ specialists, knowing which common problems they should be avoiding gives them a good starting point for finding the solutions for themselves.

I've read several articles repeating the news that Frances Bean Cobain had cited the death of her cat in her mother's stash of Etsy fabrics as one of the justifications for a 2009 restraining order request.

Until I saw Regretsey's coverage, it had just drifted past on the ether, but pressing down the page, there are two fine examples of how not to present yourself and communicate on Etsy.

Punctuation really does help when you're writing your Etsy profile and whenever you're writing a message anywhere else on the site, using real words to form sentences will surely reap rewards.

Gigaom has interview with Chad Dickerson, the CEO of Etsy.

Though light on specific details, it does offer an insight to the future direction of development of the popular handmade and vintage market place.

Etsy has a vision of becoming an essential service for craft entrepreneurs and more than just a market place, by expanding into other areas, both online and offline.

A week or so ago, PayPal made a change to their email notification system that changed the value of the From field.

Following an outcry from many sellers whose systems relied on the From field containing the buyers email address, PayPal has relented and changed the system back to as it was.

You can read some more about this at AuctionBytes.com.

How to get on the news Without Committing Murder is a soon to be released book offering advice to entrepreneurs on how to get positive media coverage for their businesses.

With 30 years experience working in radio and television, the author, Beverley Mahone is able to write her advice with the experience of receiving press releases, many of which she admits went straight to the trash.

A sample chapter is available for free download and the pre-order price of $14 offers a saving of $5.95 off the normal price.

I picked up on a brief article first thing from Crispa Marketing, titled Emotion & the Power of Valentine’s Day Marketing, that discusses the power of emotion in helping people to form buying decisions.

It recounts a Bruce Turkel example of how Volvo sells its cars on the basis that they will help to keep your family members safe in an accident and would reinforce this message with appropriate imagery in their advertising.

While this article focuses on emotion giving you a useful marketing tool for Saint Valentine's Day, it's important to remember that emotion is a very strong driving force in purchase decisions and striving to stimulate emotional responses from prospective buyers on a year round basis will yield positive responses.

The Kindle book format of Craft Business Heroes - 30 Creative Entrepreneurs Share The Secrets Of Their Success is currently available for free download at Amazon.

In the book, 30 craft entrepreneurs share their tips and advice turning a passion for a craft into a business. For those without a Kindle, there is also a hard copy of the book available for purchase.

UPDATE: The free offer was short lived as I've just seen the Kindle format is now listed at $10.47.