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The Best Blogs from 2014 at the  Australian Markets Directory 1 - Stallholder and Markets Australia Finding the best local handmade arts and crafts in #Australia for online shopping is always a challenge - often the best local artisans are not easily found in search.  For sure you can visit the markets yourself and make the face to face connection, but what if you are looking for a particular gift idea online? Here's our suggestions for local handmade crafters who are growth hacking their way to the top with some really inspired designs and marketing. A really insightful post covering a few detailed interviews with markets and artisan #handmade artists. 2 - Blogs for Handmade Australia Just featured a local Market I visited over the weekend and noted how it has a popular, regularly updated blog - but none of the stallholders have taken the time to comment or join in the conversation online.  This is a big missed opportunity and is room for growth - each exhibit...

Building your Handmade business website is one of the most rewarding and inspirational things you can undertake for your business. This Spring Offer is ideally suited to those with a handmade product range looking to make the most fro online shopping or those in need of a website rescue. Find Handmade I have just launched a new promotion at Find Handmade offering three select spots for a strictly limited release in time for the Christmas rush period. You can take advantage of this offer by joining the handmade community at Find handmade .

Finding an authentic Stallholder at the Local Markets Finding the best local handmade arts and crafts in Australia for online shopping is always a challenge - often the best local artisans are not easily found in search.  For sure you can visit the markets yourself and make the face to face connection, but what if you are looking for a particular gift idea online ? Here's our suggestions for local handmade crafters who are growth hacking their way to the top with some really inspired designs and marketing. Charlie Middleton The Charlie Middleton line is simple, minus the bling decorations of chasing temporary trends, but instead just presenting well designed handmade leather goods. Ben says that using quality materials and processes is what people are looking for. As for getting meaningful feedback and having the opportunity to test new products-- it is as much a demanding task to know who to listen to-- as it is to make it when you have a good thing. Ben oper...

With a gorgeous handmade range like this! The products at Milly Molly Mandy are all designed, cut and handmade by Shannon and you can sense the real innocence in the eyes of the soft toys – something that engages with customers instantly. The stall layout is relaxed and inviting, with soft tones and products displayed like they are arranged in a child’s bedroom.  I could feel the quality of the fabric and the balance of the stuffing – and it is no accident that these toys are sold as heirloom quality. Every stallholder I meet at the markets has her own story, and Shannon Marshall shares her personal journey touching on her creative evolution as a #handmade #artisan to balancing motherhood and a thriving home business. Read the full story at Australia's Home of Handmade.

Blogs for Handmade Markets Just featured a local Market I visited over the weekend and noted how it has a popular, regularly updated blog - but none of the stallholders have taken the time to comment or join in the conversation online.  This is a big missed opportunity and is room for growth - each exhibitor at the market could take a few minutes and post their updates and social media profiles to the blog. Handmade is all about making connections and fostering relationships Keeping in touch is so important in the #handmade community and neglecting perfect opportunities like this are not helping your stall get found.  If you need help or advice on blog commenting , you can read an informative article at #findhandmade.com.au - it's really not as hard as you might imagine.   Australia's Stallholder Database Sharing the #Stallholder guide to the markets in Australia so you can take control of your own seo and make an impact in converting people searching o...

Just sharing a delightful recent interview we taped with Toby and Rosie Skincare and Cosmetics - a funky duo of Sydney based handmade entrepreneurs who are making their own skincare and cosmetics line.  It was a real pleasure to get the low down on being a stallholder within this niche . Toby and Rosie Natural Organics Toby, proudly calling himself a hippie at heart, initially made a body butter and as is often the case – it was soon sought out by family and friends and before long he was making larger batch sizes to meet demand.  Combining this with a love of natural, authentic ingredients and Toby and Rosie was born – not before meeting Rosie in her native Guatemala and launching back in Sydney. Toby manages everything about the brand – from product research to marketing to their online shopping website – he is a firm believer in minimizing external costs and having complete creative control over the brand.  Trying to find a space for Toby and Rosie ...

Handmade Cake Stands using upcycled plates and saucers This could be the start of something beautiful - or it could be a confusing mess - so let people know who you are as succinctly and to the point as possible. Here's some suggestions from findhandmade.com.au Be Honest about Yourself In the handmade sector people love quirky- right? It's part of the reason we're all here looking for something a bit left field and not traipsing up and down the aisles at target. So be yourself and just tell your story – chances are what you do will be quite distinctive and set you apart from even the closest competitor in your niche. Be a bit generic about some specifics so they can't totally stalk your whole previous life, but don't overly dress it up. Your story is original, unique and authentic just by being yours. Keep it Simple We're all proud of some achievements – but keeping it short and to the point is what we are all about here. Mention the keywords of w...

Fabric and Fibre Crafts Markets Australia has a proud tradition of self reliance, ingenuity and getting things done - and this is what makes our local handmade scene so unique - even the most humble backyard enthusiast has the tenacity to keep producing handmade products of such amazing quality and creativity. Basically we are doing super good - woot! With such a deep pool of talented independent and emerging artists, designers and crafters, it is no wonder people are looking increasingly online for access to a reputable, trusted authority to share what the community offers.  And there is such a mish mash of sometimes questionable content out there, which is where the demand for a trusted and relevant directory sprang from. Just have a look at some of the handmade blogs out there, with detailed step by step instructions and amazing visual aids to assist you in getting your handmade design just right. "Handmade Designs feature the best of local - people, places a...

  Stallholders at Australian Markets Invited To Join our Directory!   W elcome to the world of being a stallholder at a Local Australian Marke t! Local Markets have taken off over the past decade as people like you seek to make a meaningful connection with place, process and product. No longer is it good enough to present food of questionable origin, or buy clothes produced in sweatshops and not feel as you are as much a part of the problem for supporting it with your purchase. P eople have wised up to the idea that wearing a new $4 shirt means someone, somewhere in the world, has had to work by hand on that item in appalling conditions for as low as $1 for a 14 hour day. Going to the markets offers you the opportunity to connect with the producer of the item, and buying from the markets acts directly in supporting the stallholder to continue her handmade work. W hat's more - you can interact directly with manufacturer or artist and perhaps order a custo...

Account Creation There are not many variables that can be modified to dramatically increase retention of visitors and convert a visitor into a customer like not requiring account creation. When you force visitors to create an account and verify their email address prior to placing an order, you create an opportunity for the visitor to step out of the buying funnel and leave your site altogether. This means you have lost a potential customer simply by requiring account creation. We have seen dramatic increases in conversion simply by removing the account creation step. People who are ready to buy see email confirmation as unnecessary and will look elsewhere. Limit the steps and clicks between the visitor deciding to buy and actually carrying through with the order and you get an increase in sales. If you must have account creation, make it a natural part of the buying process that occurs simultaneously with placing an order – this way you get the sale and the account created wi...

Search Engine Optimization is improving the visibility and exposure of a website through careful attention to the website itself and the websites that link to it.  At The Australian Markets Directory, we have sustained success optimizing local sites for high traffic and exposure to buying customers – and we can do it for your site as well.  This means in real terms you can expect more calls, more traffic and hopefully more paying clients for your market stall . Most people use Google or Yahoo or Bing and type in a few words to search for some results.  And the results displayed are the closest match the search engine can find to give the correct, most accurate answer.  The search engine finds these results from the literally billions of pages of information online by giving each page a rating, or ranking, based on what the page is about (the content) and how trustworthy, reliable and authoritative the information is.

1.  Have you got a web presence already?  You might have a blog or a Facebook page – that is great, and can be a launching pad for an online store with ecommerce functionality.  If you don’t have a web presence, get started today by going over to blogspot.com and registering a blog in your niche.  It’s relatively straightforward and there are a multitude of tools, tutorials and support forums available to help. 2.  Once you have a web presence, fill out your landing page with relevant content – that means get busy writing a meaningful and honest About Us page for starters.  This way, potential customers can see what you’re all about and tell where your passion and enthusiasm for your niche shows.  Include images, video, testimonials – anything that relates to your market stall and what you are about.  This gives the search engines something to find when people go searching for your brand online.

A mind map is incredibly useful for constructing a new website, with multiple uses, layers and different landing pages focused on specific demographics.  With the freedom and flexibility of three dimensional mind maps available, you can literally drill down to the finest detail of what content is available on your site.  At Newcastle Digital we encourage multiple attempts at designing exactly what you have in mind – hence the love of mind maps!  Whilst your business could probably work with a five page site, it is simple work to expand to cover your target customers with some unique landing pages.  So for example you best spending customers are 30-45 year old women – we can create a landing page unique to this demographic with special offers to convert visitors into customers.

"Research is such an important part of starting a new Market Stall at your local markets. There is nothing worse than starting your market stall without knowing what the competition is. Some categories are basically overfull with stallholders and the competition is brutal! I wish that I had started off by thoroughly researching my niche and knowing at the bare minimum what the best five competitors were up to. There is nothing worse than finding out that you are just one of many sellers offering a similar product. Be yourself and most of all be honest about your products, the you will get repeat sales ” Abby, market stall with gift hampers and organics.

Regional Directories actually add to your online presence Australian Markets Directory: Markets Expansion : Markets Farmers Expansion Like all markets, growing your production is a steady process. Seasonal Conditions alone each year impacts heavil...

Markets Farmers Expansion Like all markets, growing your production is a steady process. Seasonal Conditions alone each year impacts heavily on both amount produced as well as overall vintage, that affects horticulture, aquaculture, across all farmers markets and local weekend business. No matter how good your practices and procedures, a poor quality harvest will severely limit your product potential. The cost of expansion is expensive and time consuming, although there are tremendous benefits across both health and local community by being involved. Local supply chains and delivery routes are established and the tentacles of the local fresh market spreads by face to face cross pollination. Key markets indicators suggest there is a strong growth in the localisation of food and food connections. The slow food movement, organic beliefs and wider understanding of permaculture is having a direct impact on the way people see food, and ultimately where they choose to buy...

How Well Does the Markets Directory Work? One thing we all know is that people expect a lot from their paid advertising.  What with social media offering a great way to get your message out there, why would you put your trust in an online directory, and most importantly, what will listing in the Markets Directory actually do for my business? I know you want exceptional results instantly with little or no effort at incredibly low cost – but that’s not achievable in the real world realistically.  So here’s what we can offer. I thought the best way to demonstrate this is to list your market stall in real time and let you see for yourself over time how many visitors and how much traffic you get to your site.  But that is too slow, so the next best thing is to reach out and explain that inbound links to your site, from authoritative, on-topic sites (like the Markets Directory) offer impressive value from search engines. Popular Niche Sites suit Directories How can I...

The Value Of Markets Directory At The Australian Markets Directory, we have collected the attention of a vast group of people with similar interests, beliefs and experiences – that being Local Markets.  And as a focal point for these many businesses, markets organizers and enthusiasts, we are able to offer a unique selling proposition – having the industry as a whole at your fingertips. Now we have the attention and focus of the Australian Markets Community, it is important to channel that value into the best proposition for new and existing member of the directory.  And we do this by offering a direct connection between your individual concern and the wider markets community.  After we have assessed your application and where applicable, edited your submission to meet our strict quality control guidelines, you will be granted a listing in the directory.  This opens up great opportunities for your brand and with the consistent online promotion of the Directory, incr...

How Online Directories help Search Engines Online directories work much like the old telephone directory, except the Australian markets Directory is a niche –specific resource – which means it carries serious weight with the search engines.  When the search engine spider crawls through the directory, it establishes links and paths through the sites listed and with the category specific keywords – so your site is seen as part of the larger whole.  This works great for getting your site seen in the right neighbourhood – alongside your competitors and fellow market stallholders.

"If You Want To Create your own thriving market stall business and you are willing and able to put the time and energy into it, the possibilities literally are endless.  We get an amazing amount of feedback direct from our customers face to face – and honestly – there is nothing quite like that.  Being a market stall brings such immediate results from such a broad cross section of people.  With minimal investment of money, you have the potential to reach so many customers – but with an online listing in the Australian Artisan Markets Directory – we get the best of both worlds. The best advice I can give is to treat every customer like you would like to be treated – simple as that.  I know it sounds old school, but the saying still holds true – the customer is always right!”