"Once you have been using Twitter for a while you’ll start to notice people talking about the “follow to followers ratio”. Simply explained, this is the ratio between how many people you are following compared to how many people are following you.

This matters because other people on Twitter judge whether or not to follow you by your ratio, and because your ratio is also a judge of how well you’re contributing to the Twitter community. For example, many people will choose not to follow you if you’re following 500 people but only 5 are following you. Likewise, people will feel comfortable following you if your follow to followers ratio is closer to 1 (i.e. you’re following 500 and 500 people are following you).

From a marketing standpoint, you don’t need to stress over your ratio but you do need to pay attention to it every now and then. After all, if you’re using Twitter as part of your marketing plan (under social networking), you want to ensure that you (as a “tweeter”) are approachable and inviting. There’s nothing worse than scaring away a potential customer over something that can be easily fixed......."

Continue reading my article at HandmadeNews.org in the Marketing Department where it was originally posted.

I had the honor of interviewing Shelly of The Lemon Tree Studio. Shelly is a stay at home mom who has a passion for paper and over 2350 online sales since February of 2008! I asked Shelly to share some of the marketing strategies that make her shop so successful! It was clear to see that when it all comes down to it, having stellar customer service and a unique, fresh product line goes a long way!

Here's a peak at that interview....

"What “online” marketing strategies are you currently using?

Right now I do not do as much as I should! I use Google Analytics to observe and "watch" my traffic so to speak, I blog, I cross-market with one other seller on Etsy, I will sometimes visit the forums on Etsy and I do participate in giveaways and promos on other blogs that request so - But that about it for now......"

Read the whole interview with Shelly at HandmadeNews.org in the Marketing Department where it was originally published.

 "What “online” marketing strategies are you currently using?

I have a couple online strategies going right now. The biggest one would be www.blockheadradio.com ads. Since I stated promoting with them my site traffic has doubled. I also found you have to have multiple shops (it is not a good idea to have all your eggs in one basket). I started off with one shop on Etsy. I found out about ArtFire not to long ago and set up a shop there as well. I soon found myself wanting to set up more shops including shops at DeviantArt and Fine Art America. I soon found out that blogging was an awesome way to promote not only myself but fellow artists. The more I help other artists the better my shop seems to do.  I started trading for items to giveaway on my blog to promote not only that artist but all the artists on my blog. I not only feature other artists on my blog I feature animal rescues and causes that I like. I use byhand.me to promote all of my shops in one place. I use that blog to promote by doing giveaway's....... "