Today, please welcome guest contributor Jordan Newhouse. Jordan is the owner of HeavenlyPrincess on Zibbet where she offers her handmade garments and other items for your shopping pleasure. Jordan has been sewing since she was six years old. She began designing originals at the age of 15. Jordan is active in Zibbet’s Community Hub and she writes her own blog. Jordan also is a costume designer for a publishing company where she designs and creates the beautiful gowns worn by the heroines on novel covers!
Online shoppers are unable to “explore” an item like they can in a brick and mortar store, so your photos and description must tell the story they would have otherwise discovered for themselves. In this article, you’ll learn some tips on how to write a great description.
In order to be thorough, write as if your prospective buyer were blind, with their computer reading to them. Be sure to include size, measurements, colors, and textures.
The listings featured in this article are stellar in this regard. To test them out, I had my sister read me the description. Without seeing the photos, I made a sketch of the item. Then I compared my sketch to the photos. These listings passed the test!
That’s not all you can do. If you also include a suggested use or “call to action”, browsers will be more likely to turn into buyers. For example, if someone is shopping for a niece who has an American girl doll, what’s going to make her buy this hand crafted doll bunk bed by Keatingwoodcraft instead of a plastic one? Maybe she’d be won over if she read, “This gift will be a cherished heirloom to be handed down from generation to generation.” Who would want to give someone plastic from China when they could give a future heirloom?
This is especially important for unique items. If I don’t know what it is, or how to use it, I’m certainly not going to buy it! Do you know how to use silk cocoons? Check out the listing by BrushCreekWoolWorks, and you’ll learn the basics!
Here are some questions you should consider about each item as you write your description:
What color(s) is it?
What does it feel like?
What shape is it?
What size is it?
What is the quantity for sale?
How is it used?
Who might buy it or like it as a gift?
For more tips on writing descriptions, be sure to check out these Success on Zibbet articles:
The Art of Writing Descriptions that SELL!
SEO 103: Item Titles and Descriptions
Best wishes for much success on Zibbet!
White Patchwork Flowergirl Dress by Heavenlyprincess on Zibbet.
Vicki is committed to assisting her fellow Zibbeters improve their shops for successful online selling. She is the owner of five Zibbet shops: LOC Design Studio, Denim and Pearls, A Stitch and a Prayer, Black Creek Crossing and Think Like a Fish. You can follow Vicki on Twitter and through her LOC Design Studio blog.
Tags: Success on Zibbet, Writing Engaging Product Descriptions
We know that Jonathan, our intrepid leader, was inspired to start the Zibbet venue when he witnessed those close to him attempting to sell their creations. We know how hard he, Andrew and the staff work to make Zibbet the best venue on the internet. We also know that Australia is a huge country that must be brimming with talented craftspeople. Many of us, whether we’re in North America, Asia or Europe, have never been to Australia so what better way to experience the island nation than by purchasing a piece of art from another talented Zibbeter? From various stops across that wonderful country these artists represent their country well. All areas of the craft world are beautifully represented in Jonathan’s backyard. Take a virtual trip and visit their shops.
Children and adults love to dress up in costumes for Halloween. Plan your costumes now for the kids and costumes for that office party or night on the town for yourself. There are many Zibbet shops waiting for that custom order.
Judy writes the ‘Fantastic Five‘ column where she features 5 Zibbet items every week. She is the owner of four Zibbet shops: Portable Graffiti Graphics, Portable Graffiti buttons, Proofreader, and Wild Goose Chase vintage, crafts and supplies. You can follow Judy on Facebook.
As a follow-up to the down time Zibbet experienced this past weekend, I thought it was appropriate to talk about copyrights and trademarks again. I can’t stress enough how important it is that each of us respect the intellectual property rights of others. While Zibbet being taken offline on Sunday was caused by an unfortunate series of miscommunications, it none the less illustrates in real time the seriousness of copyright and trademark infringements and how far reaching they can be. Not only can individual items and shops be taken offline, but entire selling venues can be taken down as well. So, how can this be avoided? Here are some definitions that should explain the basics…
Copyright is defined by Wikipedia as “A legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time. Generally, it is ‘the right to copy’, but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other related rights.” According to the US Copyright Office, copyright infringement “…occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.”
A trademark is defined by the US Trademark and Patent Office as “A word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination thereof, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party from those of others.” Wikipedia states that “Infringement may occur when one party, the ‘infringer’, uses a trademark which is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark owned by another party, in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services which the [trademark] registration covers.”
In Colorado we “met” a beautiful lady with a beautiful Zibbet shop, Artisoap owned by Lola Phillips.We love her slogan: “Artisoap: It’s almost as beautiful as you are.”Lola was a winner in the Summer Trash to Treasure Challenge. She won with this “Me Bag.”
I am Lola of Artisoap. Actually, WE are Lola & Denny, but Denny is more of a silent partner these days, as he has two other businesses, as well. So for this interview you’re stuck with me, Lola. :o) I am a wife, mom, and bath & body formulator. I love color and fragrance and I see no reason why everyone shouldn’t have beautiful, luscious soaps in their home! I live in gorgeous Colorado, USA, and my days revolve around family, friends, and making the world a lovelier place!I guess eat & sleep. Seriously, I am creating ALL. THE. TIME! I not only make bath & body products, but I create 2- and 3-dimensional art. I also like to write. Poetry, mostly, but I am also working on a trashy novel. (Move on over, 50 Shades!) I just bought another Zibbet shop where I will list my “other” creations in soon. I suppose I do spend some of my time cooking, baking, canning, and reading all the DIY stuff I can get my hot, little hands on. I like to try new things and use my family as my guinea pigs!
I know everyone says this, but I have to go along with the crowd and say “WHY, EVERYTHING!” But only because it’s true. I get inspired by many, MANY items on Zibbet! Glass bead makers inspire me with their glossy color combinations dripping with depth and underlying layers. Fiber artists inspire me with their textures that make me wanna reach into my computer screen and touch. Jewelers inspire me with their use of unconventional supplies and OOAK designs. I like things to be a little left of center, which is probably why I can find inspiration in just about everything. A sunset? Colorful inspiration! Half torn leaves in a puddle? Inspirational texture & form! A gaggle of brightly clad kidlets wrapping themselves around a piece of playground equipment? A colorful EXPLOSION of inspiration! And as for fragrance inspiration, don’t get me started. I like to experiment and mix many of my own fragrances. Many of my failures result from this, but that’s ok. It’s all part of the journey. Inspiration, experimentation and learning are what it’s all about! 
Oh, this is an easy peasy one! DENNY! Denny is so positive, no matter what is going on. Seriously. The sky can be falling , and he can help anyone to see that it’s just trying to get a little closer to us. He keeps me grounded and continuously moving forward. Denny is very motivating. I don’t have time to fall into a slump because his energy and cheerleading keep me going. There is always something going on here and together as a family, I know that Denny and I will get us through anything! (And NO, you cannot borrow him! That’s right – I’m also selfish. Oh, did I leave that out of question 1??)Besides soapmaking and art? My family and life! I am passionate about raising good, healthy, SAFE, well-rounded kiddos. I also believe in making every day fun. Whether we’re cleaning the house or doing too much homework (my son’s words, not mine), it should be de-stressed as much as possible. Our kids have so much more resting on their shoulders these days than we did (man, I sound like I’m 80, don’t I?!), and I want to make the precious little time I will have with them as enjoyable as possible. Our kids mean the world to me and I don’t let a day (more like a few hours) go by without them KNOWING it! Our (everyone’s!) kids are our future, and I don’t think they are shown nearly enough how much they are (read: should be!) treasured!
Zibbet’s MEMBERS! Most other venues can talk all day long about being a community, but the members of Zibbet PROVE it every day. People jump in to help one another every time I log on. Doesn’t matter if they’re new or seasoned, you can “feel the love” on Zibbet. I (we) love it here!MORE TRAFFIC! LOL! Honestly, I think Zibbet really has it together in terms of offering a good selling AND shopping format. I see a constant stream of new ideas when I’m perusing the forums and I can only imagine what’s going on behind the scenes. I like how surf-friendly Zibbet is and how easy it is to purchase items on Zibbet. SO yeah, I guess more traffic is the only thing missing. And I’m quite confident THAT is coming!
Well…. I don’t think I’m a very good businessperson because I don’t promote my own work as much as I should (which is why I REALLY need #10 to happen! LOL!). I have a lot of different interests and irons in the fire, and it leaves me with very little time to self-promote. I’m more “all about the love” in all facets of my life right now. But I am organizing to find some more time to promote my work in the near future.Mingle, list, and be seen! Nobody can find you in your living room! So come on out, show us your stuff, make some new Z friends in the forums, and wake up tomorrow and do it all over again! Endeavor to inspire others. Oh, and push yourself. How? In any way you can! Think you’re out of ideas? Surf around and get those creative juices flowing again. Check out your competition, but don’t forget to check out shops that have nothing in common with yours. Be receptive to new people, ideas, colors, ANYTHING! Think differently than you have been thinking. Go to an art gallery. Go to the zoo. Go get a new haircut. Step outside of your comfort zone and make some new stuff. 
Then go back to the “come on out, show us your stuff, make some new Z friends in the forums, and wake up tomorrow and do it all over again” part.FILTHY rich from winning the lottery (or from any other source, I suppose, eh?!) so that I can support as many Zibbeteers as possible! I’d give back much more than I can afford to now – not just to Zibbet, but to the world as a whole. I’d give free classes on just about everything so that we could ALL afford to make the world a better place! So, I guess I’d like to be truly FREE of financial constraints so that I could spread the love.
Off to California we went to interview Kimberly Wlassak who has a fine art shop on Zibbet called Gerushia’s New World. In Kimberly’s shop you will find original art, prints and her new line of affordable original watercolors. There are print sets perfect for framing and a line of ACEOs for the collector.Kim runs specials and always a Daily Deal, so be sure to check out her delightful shop.Please enjoy the interview, leave Kim a comment, and then use the Share Tools so others can read it, too. Please spread the Zibbet Love!
Well, hello there. My name is Kimberly Wlassak. I am a Southern California artist, currently living Under The Apple Tree. I grew up in a home surrounded by art. Inspired by dreams and nightmares, Johnny Appleseed skies, crayons and The Ozarks, I fell naturally into a life of odd whimsy.I adore art….all forms. It’s all I know, really. In high school, I had a brief love affair with charcoal portraits and acrylic. But, it was at the age of 7 that my true loves took up residence in my heart….watercolor and collage. Bringing these two elements together allows me to physically create the worlds I pull from my dreams and nightmares. Contrary to popular belief, my work is not digital, which is obvious when looking at and touching my original pieces. But….in print, people often assume my art is digital. I am truly an old fashioned cut and paste gal.Although I am a self-taught collage artist, I studied art all through high school. In my senior year, I was honored with a special scholarship that allowed me to attend the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Ohhhh…and check this out ~ My art teacher was Jewell Lasseter, mother of John Lasseter, you know, from Pixar! That’s my little claim to fame!
Well, I run my art business, “Gerushia’s New World.” (Pronounced ja ROO sha). Gerushia was my great aunt and she was connected to me on both sides of my family, which is why I chose her name to represent my art business. She had a very short life and, of course, I never knew her. You can read about Gerushia’s life on my blog.I also collect vintage photos with a passion. Especially circus sideshow photos and anything spooky or creepy! Mr. Gerushia and I go to the local Southern California flea markets and spend hours looking at and making deals on vintage photos. I read a lot and always have at least 2 books going at once and I love listening to music, I love to eat fried green tomatoes and I am a gardening fanatic!I am a vivid dreamer. I have always had vivid nightmares as well. My work is inspired by my dreams and nightmares mostly. It allows me to take control of the scary things in my sleeping head. This is always such a difficult question for me to answer, because truly, I look up to so many people for so many different reasons. Narrowing it down, I’d have to say the person I most admire is my mom. She passed away in 2009. My mom was an artist, although she didn’t realize it. She was a hand-quilter. She made these amazing pieces of hand-stitched art. To her, they were simply a way to keep her family warm in the winter. She created delicious meals, decorated beautiful cakes, made clothes for me and my Barbies and grew an accidental cottage garden. She did all these things from her heart and whistled through it all. She was an artist in so many ways, but never took the time to realize that. She just did what came naturally to her.
Ohhhh, and I admire Maxfield Parrish because he is the master of blue.Collecting vintage photos! Looking deeply into a 100 year old photo and watching all the people that are no longer walking on this breathing earth just fascinates me.I am also passionate about cottage gardens. The region I live in is very hot in the summertime…and dry too. So, I am challenged on all levels to create a beautiful, colorful, thriving garden that has the appearance of an English cottage garden. It is difficult, to say the least!I love the ease of listing on Zibbet. I also enjoy participating in the forums because they’re so friendly and inviting. Not snarky and full of cat fights. Everyone is always helpful. Zibbet also has a great staff. Anytime I’ve ever had questions or problems with my shop, someone is on it right away!Hmmmm….something like a “Treasury” would be cool. They’re fun to make and fun to look at. Splendiferous eye-candy!
I’d love to see Zibbet re-work the shop stats. I wish they were more specific…like Statcounter.com. For marketing purposes, it would be nice to see where the shop hits are coming from.Also….I’d like to see a big push to get more fine art on Zibbet. I don’t have any ideas on how to do that, but it sure would be nice to get a wider range of offerings.Holy Cow…I spend more time these days promoting than I do creating, which makes me sad. I promote on my blog, twitter, 2 facebook pages, and pinterest. I have ads on other blogs as well. I also keep a local presence by participating in regional shows and submitting to cool galleries….and, I always carry my business cards in my purse and hand them out whenever it’s appropriate.
I think the most important thing is to commit. After I left the other venue that starts with an “E”….I floated around for awhile. I tried a few other storefronts too. When I found Zibbet, I just committed to my shop and didn’t look back. My business cards have my Zibbet shop address on them.Go into the forums and meet people. Always post your new listings and make sure your photos are clean, clear and precise.Living in a cottage surrounded by trees and damp leaves and the smell of dirt. I want to open my windows and see lightning and feel the static of a summer thunderstorm raise the hair at the base of my neck. A place with humid moss dripping from the tree limbs, swirls of fireflies and skies the color of a week old bruise.
Location! Location! Location! We’re all familiar with this line in relation to real estate. But have you ever considered the application of the phrase to your Zibbet shop? More and more, even online shoppers want to buy products from local sellers. In Zibbet’s rebuild, we’ll be emphasizing ’shopping local’. We’ve also begun to create Pinterest boards that feature items from each US state. As the first of those boards have been implemented, we’ve discovered that many sellers have omitted or included incomplete location information in their shop profiles, making it difficult to find all the shops in each state. If you want your items promoted on your state’s Zibbet Picks PInterest board, we need to know which state you’re in!
