Putting Up the Banner

So you've dotted all your I's and crossed your T's, now it's time to open up shop. There are three key ingredients that you'll need, maybe you already have them.

You've chosen your name, and by now I'm guessing you've signed on with an online crafting community like etsy.com. You may have even decided to open a shop on eBay or another online site, congratulations.

If you haven't yet, and you've done all the other steps of starting to sell your craft online, then this is the time to go for it.

The second ingredient is your product. You don't have to have a lot, remember quality is better than quantity. You can build up your shop as you go.

Now all you need is your shop banner, the third ingredient, and probably the most important. Yes, even more important than your product. Your shop banner is the sign above the door to your virtual store. It welcomes customers into browse. It's the first thing they see when they come into your shop. You're product may lure them there, you're banner will invite them to explore.

There are two ways to create a shop banner.
1. hire someone else to make it
2. make it yourself

There are a lot of talented digital designers out there who will, for a price, create a shop banner for you. You can actually find a few by searching etsy.com's shops or even just by googling for someone. Make sure if you're hiring someone that you take a look at their work, compare prices, and get feedback from past clients.

Creating a shop banner on your own isn't as hard as you may think. You can find instructions on Etsy's blog making a shop banner and also in their forums for making a shop banner by using Microsoft Power Point. Bottom line... you don't need a fancy program to make a creative and appropriate shop banner.

Take for instance your standard paint program on your computer. Take a favorite photo, cut it to the size of the banner and add some text. Put on your shop name and maybe what you sell - if it's not obvious by the name of your shop.

Simply done.

Now you try, or tell us how it's done.
Can't wait to see them.