New Beginnings, The 2010 Edition

To begin the year, I have two new business ventures:  our new shopping cart on the Kindred Spirit Studios web site, and a brand new newsletter to announce the launch of the cart.

Shopping Cart

It has taken a great deal of work to get everything ready for both of these ventures, and thanks as always, go to my husband Stan who knows about all things related to computer design.  I have to also sing the praises of ProPay Cart Lite, a new service provided by ProPay, the credit card processor I've been using for 5 years.  The setup of the actual cart was extremely simple, the per year price was very reasonable ($39), and we're hoping the cart will also be easy for customers to use. The addition of the cart will provide me the opportunity to generate sales during our show "off season". It will also let customers who see us at shows to make a purchase afterwards, without the hassle of using email.  My web site will still serve as a gallery for my work, and I will still display pieces at shows which aren't on the web site.  I'm looking forward to seeing how well the new cart will work.

Newsletter

I decided to design and send out a newsletter as another way to keep in touch with customers and potential customers.  Since I've been collecting email addresses at shows I've done over the past 4 years, I've sent out snail mail postcard invitations just prior to shows.  Now, I can send an emailed newsletter to this list of people as well.  I've chosen to use Mail Chimp as the provider for the newsletter services.  Since this is a brand new venture for me, I did some research, and found that I liked the way Mail Chimp presented its service; instructions are easy to understand, there are tutorial videos available as you begin each task, and there were many templates and colors schemes from which to choose. The service also includes tracking reports, which will be a great way to keep my email address list current.  And, best of all, it's free for fewer than 500 email addresses and 3,000 mailings! 

A Gift for You!
To say thanks for being an Artventuring reader, I've created a coupon code:  BLOG20 on the Kindred Spirit Studios web site.  When you enter this code at checkout, it will give you a 20% discount off your purchase. The coupon expires on Sunday, February 28th.  
So, go visit the site, and I hope you'll see something you love. 
And, if you do purchase something, let me know how the experience of using the cart went. 
Thanks so much!