Welcome to this issue of Craft Selling Party News - I hope you enjoy reading it!

Every month Craft Selling Party News brings you new tips and information related to all aspects of selling your crafts at home parties, as well as updating you on what's new at Craft-Selling-Parties.com.

If you like this newsletter, please forward it to any of your crafty friends who might be interested too. If a friend did forward this to you and you like what you read, please subscribe.

Contents of this issue of Craft Selling Party News

Those of you who have been long term subscribers will know that about a year ago I took a break from sending out these newsletters because of losing my brother. I just wanted to say (a very belated) thank you to all of you who sent me such kind messages and for your patience in waiting until I was ready to start writing again.

I hope to be sending out new issues regularly again from now on, so if you have any ideas or suggestions for future content please do let me know.

I know from the emails you all send me that there are many of you who are already running successful craft home party businesses. It would really encourage other readers to hear about your experiences, so please write and tell us about them.

If you're chosen to feature in either the website or newsletter, you'll receive a free link to your website!

There are several different ways you can contribute:

1. Tip of the month - Send in a tip that you think other readers would find useful, and you could be chosen for this newsletter's tip of the month.

2. Website article - You can contribute a page to the website if you have some relevant information or advice to share with us. Your article will include a short bio about you, as well as a link to your website, so it's a great way to get exposure for yourself.

3. Featured article - Some of the articles written for the website will also be chosen as the feature article for this newsletter, so you'll get double exposure!

4. Success Stories - There is also a section on the website featuring Success Stories from everyday people who have started selling their crafts at home parties. Just send in your story - it doesn't matter how long or short it is, the aim is just to show others that it's possible!

Click here to submit your tip, article or success story.

If you haven't tried advertising with postcards yet, then read on – they're one of the most useful and versatile marketing tools and they're very affordable as well!

What for?

When you're setting up a home party business, postcards can be used for all sorts of things. Here are just a few ideas:

• Use them as advertisements that can be posted or distributed like leaflets
• Use them to stay in touch with previous hostesses or customers
• Use them to advertise the launch of new products in your range
• Use them as upmarket-looking invitations for your hostesses to give out
• Use them as information cards e.g. for jewellery/clothing care instructions, gem stone lore, artists story, etc.

When and where?

You can use postcards in any number of places:

• Post them to customers, hostesses and friends
• Pop them in letterboxes
• Put a couple in the bag with a customer's purchase
• Leave small piles of them on counters or tables at hairdressers, salons, dentists, etc (with permission of course)
• Have them on the table when you do a party for guests to pick up

Why?

Postcards are often preferable to leaflets because:

• They're more likely to be read than a letter as they don't need opening
• They're less likely to be thrown away than a leaflet
• The glossy finish shows off photos of your products better
• Recipients can bring the card with them to redeem a special offer so tracking the effectiveness of your postcards is easy
• They're small and easy to store
• They look expensive, but are actually very affordable

Vistaprint.com and often have special offers where you can get 100 free postcards and just pay for shipping. I'd recommend uploading your own image to start with. Although it will cost you a little extra the first time, it looks a lot more professional than using their stock designs and you can reorder without paying to upload again. They also usually include free black printing on the back, so what I've done is upload an image with general details on the front, then when I reorder I just change the text on the back to match the purpose.

Click here for more Craft Business Articles.

If you have an article that you think will be of interest to my visitors at Craft-Selling-Parties.com, please submit it here. All authors will receive a free link to their own website if their article is used.

Bead Manager Pro

Bead Manager Pro is software for professional beaders that helps you to organise your jewelry business. It makes inventory management, invoicing, pricing and tax calculations easier so that you can spend more time doing what you love - creating the jewellery. If you visit their website, you can also get a free download: "Tips for your home jewellery business success".

If you know of a useful website or resource that would appeal to my readers, please let me know about it here.