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

Unless your crafts are suitable as gifts for men, finding a way to tap into the Valentine's Day market is a challenge for those who sell at home parties (which are attended predominantly by women!)

An easy way around this is create a wish list facility for your guests to use, that you can then pass on to their other halves. You could even throw a Valentine Theme Party for all your female aquaintances or past hostesses to launch it.

Of course, offering a wish list will be useful year round for your regular customers too!

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.

For crafters, setting business goals isn't usually top of our priority list, although most of us have made (and probably by now broken) some sort of personal resolutions for the new year. But when it comes to getting the most out of your home based craft business, setting proper goals will... (Click here to read more)

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.

Jewelry Selling Insights

Some of you may already know of David Weiman from Lapidary Journal or Step by Step Beads, two popular magazines for jewellery makers. And last month I introduced you to a special he had on The Jewelry Selling Answer Book, which was very popular.

David also publishes a monthly e-magazine called Jewelry Selling Insights, which I'd advise anyone serious about selling their jewelry to subscribe to.

Here's an exerpt from a press release that tells you more about it:

"Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) January 24, 2007 -- Why does someone decide to buy an amethyst bracelet before learning the price? And why does someone else believe that $3.75 is too much for a cup of coffee, but $375 isn't too much for a necklace she really wants?

According to Dr. David Weiman, a licensed psychologist and expert on the psychology of selling artisan, handcrafted jewelry, the reason is because jewelry appeals to buyers in a different way than the necessities of life. And his online publication "Jewelry Selling Insights" reveals how to tap into the real motivators behind the purchase of one-of-a-kind jewelry.

"It's the opposite of the 'Wal-Mart effect,'" Weiman explains. "People shop at Wal-Mart to buy things they need at the best price available. But jewelry isn't a necessity. In fact, many buyers of artisan jewelry are shopping for something unique. Something no one else can own because it's one of a kind. And they're willing to pay a premium for that rarity."

Dr. Weiman has been involved in the jewelry field since 1986, when he became the marketing director of Lapidary Journal, the oldest gem and jewelry arts magazine in the world. Since then, he's earned two master's degrees and a doctorate in psychology, and he is a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania. He combines psychology and jewelry selling in powerful ways that help jewelry makers more effectively market and sell their handcrafted pieces through direct selling at shows, craft fairs, through galleries and jewelry stores, and on the Internet.

"We help people distinguish between who's 'just looking,' and who's a real prospect," Weiman explains. "How to start a 'buying' conversation with prospective buyers. How to pick the right shows for selling. The best ways to build your customer mailing list. How to use body language and tone of voice to connect most effectively with buyers, and more."

Weiman says he created Jewelry Selling Insights to be able to provide the most up-to-date information possible to jewelry makers around the world. "The field changes quickly, especially because of the unique opportunities presented by the Internet," Weiman says. "You can quite literally put a new line up on a website in minutes and start getting buyers' reactions. That's changing how people sell jewelry. But wasn't hasn't changed is why people buy it, and that's what they also learn in Jewelry Selling Insights."

Aside from getting inside the minds of jewelry buyers, Weiman also helps artisan jewelry makers understand their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to business. "Creative people are wonderful at coming up with new designs, variations on old ones and in bringing those ideas to fruition through their jewelry," Weiman explains. "What's more difficult for artisans is the logical, left-brain kinds of things you need to do to succeed in business, such as writing a business plan, setting goals, and coming up with the action steps needed to complete those goals."

Weiman addresses those areas in monthly advice to jewelry sellers on the business side of making jewelry. "We talk about the kinds of thoughts that commonly hold jewelry makers back, such as fear of rejection, or sensitivity to criticism," says Weiman. "Then, we show them how to overcome those self-defeating thoughts and reach their goals."

One year (twelve issues) of Jewelry Selling Insights is $48. The subscription comes with a free bonus - a downloadable eCourse by Dr. Weiman entitled "Overcoming the 3 Big Obstacles to Jewelry Sales Success."

Dr. David Weiman is the marketing director of Lapidary Journal, Colored Stone and Step by Step Beads magazines. He is the author of The Jewelry Selling Answer Book, and a licensed Pennsylvania psychologist.

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