Are you a Pattern Addict?

I am a PATTERN ADDICT!

It's like I can't help myself. I just have to have patterns. I love spending the afternoon flipping thru them all and figuring out which ones I want to create now. Being able to instantly download them has just made my addiction blossom!

I print my patterns out and then keep them in the old wooden magazine rack that used to belong to my grandmother. I have manilla file folders inside that I keep the patterns separate. Some are seasonal like my halloween patterns. Some folks have their own folders because I have gathered so many of their patterns.(Kelle has her own folder!LOL)

Do you all stand tall next to me and announce you too are a pattern addict? heehee

Tracy(Cedara)Dunn of Thru The Attic Door

Instant Product Management (IPM™) System

What is it? IPM™ allows you to store your downloadable products on our secure server and sell those products online via instant downloading. Your customers can download your products instantly once payment through Paypal has been made. You can sell products through your Website or even through your E-mail newsletter or E-zine! Imagine creating a newsletter and having a button right within the newsletter that your customers can click and purchase your product instantly!

How does it work? Once you join, simple upload your products and retrieve your 'Buy Now' code for each product. Place the encrypted 'Buy Now' code on your website, in an html email, ezine newsletter, or auction and start offering instant downloadable products today! It's as easy as 1-2-3 steps and you'll be off and running. To get started simply click the "Register" text link above.

What does it cost? We have membership packages starting at $5 per month! To view all the membership packages click here.

Want to offer your downloadable products instantly on your OWN website? In an E-Mail or on your Blog? Check out our new Instant Product Management™ and get started today! Imagine your customers being able to click a button or text from your e-zine mailing list or website, purchasing your product and downloading it instantly. It's all automatic which creates less work for you and gives your customers instant access to their purchase. We have membership packages starting at as little as $5 a month. Get started clicking here or visit the IPM link on the top menu above.

Please read our FAQ page for more detailed information.

The IPM Team-A Division of Pattern Mart

Patternmart Grows

Pattern Mart has been growing tremendously in the last few weeks. We current have over 550 patterns available in the database. Our online classes are now open and available and we have more FREE patterns!

Our recent contests were great success! If you'd like notifications of new patterns, contests and more be sure and sign up for our weekly ezine at the bottom of the main page on http://www.patternmart.com/.

We also have exciting plans for the future, with new features coming that will sure to please. So be sure and stop by.

-Pattern Mart

Mother Natures Magic

Oh how I love this time of year! The air is still cool but the sun is out STRONG! This is when I like to take my fabric pieces that I have stained with my coffee/vanilla mixture and hang them outside to dry. I find the dryer leaves everything all even and I miss the odd splotch of stain on my creations.

We have a fence in our yard that I drape everything onto and let Mother Nature do her magic. Each piece as it dries creates splotches and streaks that are unique. I love the effect the sun drying gives my fabric.

Give it a try with a few of your pieces and see what Mother Nature creates for you!

Tracy(Cedara)Dunn of Thru The Attic Door

Simple Tip #1

This is going to seem simple enough that you would think most folks already do this. Many don't and I think everyone should be reminded to do so.

ALWAYS HAVE 2 SETS OF SCISSORS!

Yup! You should have one set that you only cut paper products with. The other set is only allowed to touch fabric. Its so simple! You really will be amazed at the difference if you've been cutting your fabric with the same pair of scissors you cut your tags with.

Red ribbon on mine means its for fabric........ blue ribbon means paper!

Tracy(Cedara)Dunn of Thru The Attic Door

Marketing Your Crafts - Part 3

Online Marketing

~ Create a blog at one of the blogger websites. Do your best to update and blog with new articles and content a few times a week at the very least.If you are able to blog daily....that is best!

~Exchange links with other similar blogs

~Add a mailing list sign up form on your blog

~Offer tutorials, tips and articles of interest on your website.These can also be mentioned in a blog.

~Have a "Post the Most" contest on your message board.

~Offer a freebie with every order on your website. Everyone LOVES something that is FREE.

Offline Marketing

You may be wondering why we would suggest offline marketing if your business is online. Offline marketing can actually bring in additional traffic to your website and therefore more potential customers.

Here are some creative ways to market your website offline:

~Include a paper flyer or business card with your information and website URL in all your outgoing snail mail and packages.

~Exchange paper flyers or business cards with other online business's and include them also in all your outgoing mail and packages. They in return add yours in with their outgoing mail and packages.

~Place flyers with your information and URL on bulletin boards at grocery stores, doctors offices, daycare centers,schools, church, local business's. If you do crafts make sure and have a bunch at craft shows to put in every bag, place them in your booth in an antique mall. If you have a garage sale include a flyer in every bag when people make a purchase.

~leave your business card on the table at a resturant with your tip

~Place white cling lettering with your URL to the back of your car.

~Ask neighbors,friends and especially family if they'd be willing to have a sign with your website logo and URL placed in the window of their cars as well. They might even allow the cling lettering!

~Contact your Chamber of Commerce and see if your business can be listed in the Welcome Wagon mailings.

~Place a listing in your yellow pages or local business directory

~Have an open house! Place an ad in your local paper for a time on a weekend or evening and allow customers to visit your home to view and purchase your crafts. Have a snack available and also a registry book where they can write their name, address, phone number and email so you can contact them in the future with notices of upcoming home shows, craft shows, online sales etc.

~write related articles and submit them to several submission websites. This is a great way to gain exposure for your site and bring additional traffic to it.

Marketing your crafts is an ongoing endeavor. When you have a website where you sell your wares, especially a new one it can easily get lost amongst all the others on the Web.Your website is a grain of sand on a very large beach.......you have to do everything in your power to make your website stand out from the others.

Its important to make marketing your website a weekly priority.Just do a few of the above tasks each week so your not overwhelmed and so you still have time to do your creating. If you stick with it, in time you'll find you will have built up a customer base and some nice traffic to your website. All new business's online or off take time to grow. Be patient! Its not unusual for it to take a year or more to really find yourself established. Even then....you have to keep working hard at it.

Kelle Arvay of Pattermart

Tracy(Cedara)Dunn of Thru The Attic Door

Marketing Your Crafts - Part 2

SEO(Search Engine Optimization) and Link Exchange

This is one topic that you can never seem to know enough about.Getting your website submitted and accepted into a search engine can be challenging to say the least. Especially places like Google and DMOZ directory.We'll talk more here about Google because with DMOZ its more a matter of if the people reviewing your site decide to include it.With Google though there are certian ways you can help their robots crawl your site more often and increase your chances of your site being included in the search listings. Of course the goal here is to improve your rankings so your website shows up under searches on the first page of listings. The top 5 listings is even better, but more difficult to obtain.

Here are some ways you can increase your chances of getting indexed in Google and also improving your rankings whether your listed there or not.

1. Do a search for similar websites to your own on Google. Look at the top 5 websites and contact them to see if they would be willing to do a link exchange with you.Maybe they offer link or banner advertising. Some will and you may have to pay a fee but trust me, a small investment can reap huge rewards.

2. Concentrate on gaining 1-way links. These are links and banners placed on similar websites that point back to your website. This is not a link exchange. A good way to approach other website owners and make it worth their while to have your banner on their website but not their banner on yours is to offer to add their banner or link to your mailing list newsletter instead.

3.Stay away from link farms.These and some of the topsites Google can actually frown upon and it can hinder your site getting indexed and can effect your rankings.

4.Consider signing up for Adwords through Google.This will place your advertisement on similar sites and visitors can click your ad and go to your site. You can chose how much traffic your willing to spend for clicks.Its another lower cost way to build traffic.

Kelle Arvay of Patternmart

New Age for Patterns

It's time to welcome in a new age for patterns and I'm ready to do so with open arms.

Remember when having to deal with a pattern meant all the pattern pieces came printed on tissue paper? They'd tear on the corners and where you'd pin them to the fabric. UGHHHH! That era of pattern confusion has now come to an end with the patterns you can find at Patternmart.

With a few simple clicks of a button on your keyboard, you can be instantly downloading a pattern to your computer.Place what type of paper you wish to print out on and let the fun begin.You can even save some time by printing the pattern pieces onto cardstock!They'll be ready to cut and use right away.

How convenient and simple is that? What's stopping you?Go over and order some new patterns for your collection and start sewing something wonderful for Spring today! My collection is growing already! heehee There are over 300 patterns to chose from so far and more being added all the time.....there must be something that catches your eye!

Cedara of Thru The Attic Door

Marketing Your Crafts - Part 1

Marketing your Crafts

Whether you have a new website or an existing one, you can always benefit
with more marketing idea's and tips to draw in more traffic with potential
customers to your website.

Here we'll cover several ways I've found to be very successful in increasing
exposure to your website, increasing traffic and building repeat customers.

Mailing Lists:

Mailing lists are an invaluable tool to gaining and keeping customers. You
may already have a mailing list and right now may be thinking why am I
mentioning even mentioning this as it's not a new concept to you. Well,
while many people have mailing lists only some of them know how to use them
to their full benefit. Let's start by the task of getting people to sign up
for your mailing list. Try some of the following techniques and announce
them on your website:

-Offer discounts exclusively to mailing list subscribers

-Offer a free product with orders from members who are on your mailing list

-Offer contests exclusively to your mailing list members

-Offer preview sales to your mailing list members so they can see your
product before it goes on your website.

-Offer online "Yard Sales" exclusively to those on your mailing list. This
is where you can host pictures of items either on a page on your site known
only to your mailing list members with yard sale priced items for them to
purchase. You can also host a yard sale on many of the free picture hosting
sites and simply send that link to your mailing list when your sale begins.

-Insert tips, links to articles, links to other freebies, etc on your
mailing list



Next lets talk about building your mailing list subscribership. There are
several ways to do this and these are what I've found to be the most
successful:

-Exchange links or banners with other business's mailing lists. This is
great additional exposure for both of you. Say you have 800 members and the
other business has 800 members, you just doubled your exposure. Do this with
as many business's you can that are willing to exchange with you. Be sure
and sign up for that business's mailing list so you can make sure your link
or banner is correct. You can agree to exchange for any time period you
would like ie; 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, etc.

-If you have a Blog, insert a mailing list sign up form on it

-Post on your favorite message boards telling members about any specials
you'll be offering to those that sign up for your mailing list

-Post on your favorite message boards asking if anyone would like to
exchange mailing list links or banners.

Kelle Arvay
Patternmart

New Face on Patternmart's Blog

Cedara of Thru the Attic Door

Well there is a new face to be appearing on Patternmart's blog......its Cedara of Thru the Attic Door. I am so exciting to be working with Kelle on this adventure. I think we'll make quite the team for this blog, don't you?

For those that may not know me already, my name is Tracy Dunn but in the world of Primitives, I always go by Cedara. I have a website Thru The Attic Door and I also have my own primitive blog Thru The Attic Door 2 .

In the very near future, you will be able to find my pattern series at Patternmart ! OF COURSE! heehee Those of you reading this blog......will be first to hear me shout about them arriving!

Hope to see you here again real soon!
Don't forget to BOOKMARK US!
Prim Blessings!
Cedara
http://www.thrutheatticdoor.com/

What is an E-pattern?

If you've never heard of an E-pattern boy are you in for a treat! If your an advid pattern buyer or collector with hordes of patterns (you know who you are (=), E-patterns are another great way to purchase (and for some...collect) craft patterns.

So what is an E-pattern?

An E-pattern is a pattern that you can purchase online and get it sent to you via e-mail. It's a great way to purchase patterns and there's no need to wait on it to arrive in the mail. This is especially helpful for customers that live overseas. Instead of waiting sometimes several weeks to get their pattern, they can have it within 24 hours via e-mail.

So what is an I-pattern™?

I-patterns™ is a concept created by www.PatternMart.com where craft patterns can be downloaded instantly. No more waiting for the mailman, no more waiting for the designer to e-mail you the pattern but rather you can purchase your pattern and download it instantly!

So where can I get an I-pattern™?

Come on over to www.PatternMart.com and browse 300 + patterns available for downloading instantly! We have a large selection of Primitive patterns, doll patterns, Victorian style patterns, Stitchery patterns, Quilt patterns, Painting patterns, Raggedy doll patterns, Kits, Craft Supplies and more!

What are the benefits to I-patterns™?

The great thing besides what I've already mentioned about getting your pattern instantly, is that it prints just the same as what you would get in the mail. If you collect patterns and prefer to have them bagged so you can catalog them. Simply print, fold and put the pattern in a pattern bag. It's as easy as that. www.PatternMart.com also offers mailed patterns if you prefer. Also I-patterns™ are generally less costly than mailed patterns. With I-patterns™ and E-patterns the benefits are that as the designer you use less printing paper, ink, pattern bags and save time. Also if you need to mail out a pattern, simply print it, bag it and put in an envelope and voila, just mail it out to your customer. Customers benefit by being able to have instant gratification when they order a instant pattern. Plus they benefit by the lower cost of instant patterns.

What if I'm a Pattern Designer and want to offer I-patterns™?

If you are a designer and are interested in offering your patterns, you will need to put them in PDF format. If you don't know how to do this (and it can be tricky) we have a great source who can convert your patterns for you. Contact Deena of www.EweNmeprintables.com and she would be happy to discuss your needs for converting your patterns. Not only is Deena very reasonably priced but she has an incredible talent for doing the layout design of the PDF patterns.

Where can I sell my E-patterns or I-patterns™?

You can offer E-patterns on your website, ebay, online marketplaces, and/or print them for selling wholesale to retail stores. www.PatternMart.com is the exclusive and premiere place to sell your intant downloadable patterns. If you would like to offer your customers a place where they can purchase your patterns and get them instantly, then come over and sign up for a yearly membership! We have a lot of benefits and you will be able to access your own Administrative area to upload your information and patterns. Once your patterns are all uploaded, that's it! You don't have to do anything else. Let www.PatternMart.com do the work for you and you can simply check your inbox for orders that have been completed!!

Kelle Arvay
www.PatternMart.com

Interested in Creating Patterns?

Let's say you've been creating your craft designs and selling them either online or off. Now your interested in creating patterns of your designs. What is the first step you need to take to make that happen you ask? Well, first of all you need to understand the make up of a pattern. The following are the basic components of creating a pattern:

Front Cover

Supply List

Instructions

Templates

Back Cover

Front Cover: This is where your banner, logo, website address, and picture of the design will go.

Supply List: You'll need to list all the required supplies for making your design here. Be sure and include brand names if you used them. Also the supply list can go on the back cover and this makes it easy for the customer to see what is required without taking the pattern out of the bag.

Instructions: The best way to create instructions is to take notes while your making the item. Type them out using MS Word or Works. Be as detailed as possible without writing War and Peace. Also remember to write your instructions as if your instructing someone that has never done your peticular kind of craft before. When your finished it's very important to proof read and use spell check.

Templates: When you make your creation you should make sure you trace out templates on cardstock. So this way you can have them to trace onto paper again for the pattern. If you have shapes like circles or need straight lines, use a small glass, plate and a ruler. Trace your templates out on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Make sure your drawings are accurate in size and don't resemble being drawn by a 3 year old. There's nothing worse than for a customer to get what they think is going to be a great pattern only to find the templates distorted or drawn poorly.

Back Cover: The back cover is the best place for the supply list and any additional information like size of the finished item you think the customer needs to know.

Once you've finished all these steps your ready to scan your pattern pages above. Or take the originals to the printer to make copies. Next we'll talk about putting your patterns into PDF format....

Kelle Arvay

What is Patternmart?

http://www.patternmart.com/ is a website dedicated to those that create patterns and would like to offer them to customers for downloading. We also carry kits and supplies. We have categories ranging from dolls, quilting, primitives, stitcheries, rug hooking, painting, wool felting, knitting, cross stitch, scrapbook, printable tags, templates, graphics, and much more. So stop on by and find the pattern your looking for. With over 250 patterns and growing you'll find a great variety of fabulous patterns available right from the designers.

Kelle Arvay