Listing Tips: How to Write Your MISI Shop Policies

One of the most important things you have to do in your MISI Shop is to fill out Shop Policies.

Shop Policies tell your customers what to expect from you. They look at your store policies to judge what kind of customer service you will offer; if there is nothing there they are likely to walk away. Also when you have filled out your Policies you can:

• Create a much more professional look
• Help the store owner stay consistent and have actions in place for certain situations.
• Raise your sales. Stores with no policies have fewer sales.

( You can edit your Shop's Policies by clicking here )

1. Payment

• State what methods of payment you will take (PayPal, cheque etc)
• State that you will not send packages until payments have cleared.
• Encourage buyers to contact you if they are having any problems with payment
• Tell your buyers what you will do in the event of non-payment. 

2. Shipping

• Describe how your items are packaged: Do you gift wrap? Are your items sent in boxes? Do you include a certificate of authenticity? If you use recycled packaging write that in here too, MISI buyers love sellers who do this.
• Tell your buyers what shipping company you use.
• What shipping do you offer? (priority, standard, first class, registered mail, online tracking?)
• Can customers request faster shipping or insurance for an additional charge? If yes, ask them to contact you for more information.
• Give information on estimated shipping times. If you have already done a lot of shipping you will have a good idea of how long a package takes to arrive in certain parts of the world. If you have not done much shipping yet, ask at your post office, and then add a few days to their estimated times.
• If you ship overseas, state that customs can delay packages by up to 6 weeks, say that this does not happen often but that it can happen. It is better to forewarn your buyers about this possible problem.

3. Refunds and Exchanges

• If you don't want to do refunds and exchanges then put it politely. Something like "I'm sorry but at this time [insert shop name here] cannot accept refunds or exchanges, please purchase seriously" comes across a lot better than "No exchanges or refunds accepted"
• If you are going to offer refunds and/or exchanges then put your terms and conditions here. How long after receiving an item can people ask you for an exchange or refund? Will you refund only the cost of the item or the shipping as well? If a buyer returns an item to you who is responsible for the return postal costs?

Good luck with your policy writing and selling your handmade items.

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Listing Tips ~ How to Write Great Handmade Jewellery Descriptions

Your handmade jewellery descriptions have to persuade someone that your jewellery is worth buying...

And just making a list of materials just doesn't go very far.

That's why spending time to hone your description is so important to your ultimate long-term success.

Here are some tips for making those product descriptions more likely to make the sale:

Tip #1: Think of the Title as a Headline

A great description has to first catch your readers attention. Make sure the title of your product is something that catches the eye and makes someone want to read further. You'll want your title to be both descriptive and representative, and not vague and "artsy". Remember, your title won't always be seen with the photo of your work. In search engine listing for example, the title and brief description is all the reader will see. Artsy titles will appeal to the reader more when they actually see the item on your product page.

Here are some examples

• "The Perfect Mother's Day Bracelet" is a much better title than "Crystal Bracelet".
• "A Summer Bracelet for Lazy Casual Evenings Out" is better than "Summer Shades".

Tip #2: Benefits are More Important Than Features

Focus your description on benefits (what's in it for me?) first before the features.

A quick overview of features vs. benefits.

What's a feature? A feature is a descriptor.

Here are some examples:

* Handmade, one of a kind piece
* Sterling silver components
* 16" long.

What's a benefit? The benefit is what that feature does for your customer.

To know what benefit to emphasize, you'll need to know your customer. What are they like? What is important to them? Are they looking for a feeling or experience? Do they need admiration and status? Or are they more concerned with getting something that doesn't break easily?

Here are some examples of benefits:

• One of a kind There is non other like it in the world (Feeling unique is an emotional benefit that's important to lots of people)
• Sterling silver Real silver is a luxury and we all need to be pampered sometimes, don't we? (Feeling pampered is sought after by many)
• 16" long the perfect length for showing off a V-neck and to highlight the face. (Feeling attractive is a strong emotional desire that could be a benefit of your jewelry item.)
• Strong Chain Links Durable and long lasting, and won't break when a baby pulls on it (Logical benefit)

Tip #3: Include Emotional Benefits and Logical Benefits

People buy for emotional needs, but rationalize with logical benefits so it's a good idea to hit on both. A good rule of thumb is to include 3 emotional benefits and 2 logical ones.

Examples of emotional needs:

• Feeling loved
• Feeling attractive
• Feeling caring or nurturing
• Feeling altruistic (this is a good one if a portion of your sale goes to charity)
• Feeling spiritual
• Feeling intelligent
• Feeling unique

Examples of logical benefits:

• Solves a problem (for example if it's a great gift solution for Mother's Day)
• Money saving (like free shipping or a coupon savings)

Tip #4: Write Conversationally.

Throw out whatever you learned in school. No one wants to read formal, stilted descriptions full of self-important big words. Don't write a dissertation, and you're not making a legal argument either. Write like you speak, and you are much more likely to engage your reader.

Tip #5: Speak Directly to Your Reader

Here's a trick: Pretend you are talking to your best friend. One person only. If it sounds like you're having a chat with a friend, you'll build trust and likability, which ultimately is what will tips the scales for making your sale.

Tip #6: Use "You" instead of "I"

The sweetest word to a reader (other than the person's own name!) is the word "You".

So instead of talk about yourself and what you like about your product, talk about what the product will do for them.

For example...

"You'll feel like the Belle of the Ball on your wedding day"

is infinitely better than

"I created this necklace to suit the bride who wants to be the Belle of the Ball on her wedding day".

Tip #7: Stories are a Jewellery Seller's Best Friend

People often buy handmade jewellery so they can feel wise or insightful and you, believe it or not, YOU are often the biggest selling point especially is your work is very distinctive and unique, or if you yourself are distinctive and unique.

Depending on your market, you'll want to make decisions about what types of stories to tell.

Here are some jewellery story ideas:

• How you came to be inspired for a piece
• What funny thing happened that made you think to make this handmade necklace
• The story behind an interesting found component
• How one coincidence became a necklace.

Tip #8 Offer a Guarantee

You should always offer some kind of guarantee to increase your customer's comfort level and trust. The guarantee is up to you, but the sales increase is significant for people who offer guarantees, and you might be surprised to know that refund requests are about the same (or even less!) for those that are up front with their guarantee so it only makes sense to offer one.

Source.

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