Texas became Zibbet’s destination again, to the city of Houston, to interview Hannah of Hannah’s Gems. Hannah loves Zibbet for both selling and doing her shopping.Hannah has one of the few mailing list sign-ups I’ve seen on Zibbet shops and you can sign up for hers right on her shop’s main page. Read on for more of Hannah’s great tips.Please enjoy the interview, leave Hannah a comment, and then use the Share Tools so others can read it, too. Please spread the Zibbet Love!
My husband and I have been married nearly seven years. Our children like to watch me learn new jewelry making techniques and try their hand at it now and then. We are a simple family here in Texas.Well, parents often have to find creative ways to entertain their children in some form or another. At home we build Legos and trains, read books, draw, and the children’s favorite…we watch ‘Mighty Machines’. Sometimes we bake homemade treats together. Ah yes, the joy and exhaustion of parenthood.First off, you would have to thank my husband for his vision and foresight. Before I started making jewelry I made a resolution that I must do something creative with my hands within my lifetime, but it should not be for my pleasure only. I wanted to do something special and make others happy too. I found jewelry making and it was the only craft that I was good at, meaning that I could actually complete a project on my own. Who doesn’t like jewelry? Men, especially, like buying jewelry for their wives, daughters, and mothers. I have fond memories of meeting face to face with customers, who made purchases from a year before at the time of meeting them, and from their heart-felt compliments I’d say mission accomplished.
I would have been content selling at the occasional bazaar and giving jewelry as gifts. My husband is a visionary and made the arrangements to offer my jewelry to the world. Hannah’s Gemstone Jewelry (HannahsGems) was born in the year 2010–a fully functional business and no longer a hobby. HannahsGems came to Zibbet in 2011. My husband had confidence in my abilities. He attempted jewelry making, but soon found it was not as easy as it looks. Hannah’s Gemstone Jewelry is built on providing quality products and customer care. An extensive search was done for the most reputable jewelry supply wholesaler(s) with the best deals from whom supplies could be purchased in an effort to provide HannahsGems customers reasonably priced sterling silver and gemstone jewelry. The types of gemstones used in Hannah’s Gemstone Jewelry, such as, carnelian (chalcedony), red agate, black agate, and turquoise, were chosen for their religious significance in Islamic history. These semi-precious stones and agates are known as ‘Aqiq’ to Muslims. The intent however was and is to market HannahsGems to everyone and not be exclusive to Muslims.
I make the jewelry, manage the site, and communicate with customers. I participate in social networking sites and market HannahsGems across The World Wide Web. My husband handles the legalities of running the business.Yes, my husband. He is computer savvy. He creates schedules and keeps to them. He is organized and has a good memory. Oh, he is patient with me.I dabble a little in essay writing, digital graphics/graphic design, and web design. However, I do not hold any official academic certificates or recognition in these fields.Firstly, customer support, secondly, the forums, and thirdly, shop customization: listing is quick and simple, the ability to edit shop color to match your banner and business outlook is great, and being able to add widgets is a splendid feature.
The one thing that pops into mind every time I list a product is that I wish I could add bullets, bold, italicize, and add color to text.HannahsGems is promoted mainly on social networking sites such as, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. HannahsGems can be found on Blogger and Tumblr. Occasionally, items are added to Kaboodle and Stumble Upon. Business cards printed by Moo.com and custom product tags made by a fellow Zibbeter, Portable Graffitti Graphics, are included when sending out orders. To update opt-in customers of new products and site changes, online newsletters are sent out periodically to ‘Hannah’s Gemstone Jewelry Mailing List’, using Mail Chimp. Other venues used for promoting HannahsGems are Google Plus, Photobucket, Flickr, YouTube and Zibbet’s Community Hub.
Create a personal website with an added blog feature. Use the blog feature to blog about relevant topics; it’s a good way to increase traffic. You can create hyperlinks to redirect visitors to your Zibbet shop. Weebly offers a full customizable website for free. Take a look at HannahsGems personal website.Create an online photo gallery; it’s another good way to increase traffic.Comment on and participate in blogs wherever possible. HannahsGems had several visits from a comment which I wrote under an article in The Wall Street Journal, the author listed Zibbet in the top five best Handmade Marketplaces to buy and sell handmade, vintage, and supplies.
Note: Most of us Zibbeters depend on our stores for an income. Several Zibbeters randomly promote the artworks of other Zibbeters as much as possible on a daily basis to boost the sales of the shop being promoted, which of course brings traffic to Zibbet—we all benefit.I’d like to be a supermom, more organized and self-empowered, an accomplished author, and able to correspond in several languages.Tags: Featured Zibbeters, Hannahs Gems
