Lesson 5 - Announcements, Policies, And Banners

Ok peeps....here we go!!!!

Lesson 5 - announcements, policies, and banners.

After logging in, click on the your shops link at the top of the page, it's right next to your name.

Then you'll see this...

Yep, it's time to set up your payments to The CraftStar.  Believe me, this will be THE BEST $5.00 you ever spent...with an incredible return.

First up...your shop name.  If this is your very first time selling on-line, you will want to really think about your name, because this is how your returning customers will recognize you and find you.  If you already sell on-line, and have an established name and brand, you can use it here too.  This is an important step, so don't rush the name....make it memorable.

Next is the currently on sale check box.  Please....only click this box if you are actually having a sale, with a discount, and remember to share your discount code in your shop announcement so your customers will know how to take advantage of your gracious offer.  If you click this box without offering a discount, that's not really fair to the other shops that are truly having a sale.  This can be very frustrating for a customer to follow the site link to the list of shops on sale, and then have to scroll through a bunch of shops that are not offering any discounts.

If you are going on vacation, here is the easy click box to make your shop invisible.

Now for your shop announcement and policy....these NEED to be filled out.  The announcement will show up at the top of each shop page, so you need to have something there.  A welcome announcement, your sales information including coupon code, a little story...just put something there!  And tag words...add tag words (without the hash mark) in your announcement.  This includes your shop name, specialty work, and holiday announcements.

Next is your shop policy, if you offer digital downloads, or custom work, discuss it here.  Better too much information for your customer than too little.  Also, share your return policy...do you accept returns?  Or just exchanges?  Basically, tell your customer everything you think they need to know to do business with you.

Now for your avatar and banner.  You'll notice that for my avatar here, I did not use my personal photo.  That's just my preference.  You can use your photo, or any image you have a right to use.  This means, don't just do a google search, and then use any image you like that you see, unless the original site states that it is a free image.  There is A LOT of free images out there you can use, I used one of the photos for one of my items.  And do you like the banner?  I give a big shout out and thank you to Rhonda...she made this for me.  In a matter of just minutes.  :0)
So if you are at a loss trying to create your avatar or banner...please...please...please ask for help.
Just contact Rhonda@thecraftstar.com or Carrie@thecraftstar.com

Tomorrow we'll talk about international shipping, and the rest of the choices on this page, but don't forget to click on the update button at the bottom of the page to save all your work.

Tata for now,
Debbi