Meet Mia Nichols, Social Media Specialist

Mia Nichols owns a small social media management business, Social Media by Mia. The business handles social media for all sorts of companies, with a specialty in social media for crafters and jewelry makers. Learn more by visiting http://socialmediabymia.com.

1. What made you decide to start a social media business?

I love social media. I love figuring out what works to get people engaged. So, it made since to put what I love to use.

2. How did you choose to specialize in working with businesses related to crafting and jewelry making?

I love doing crafts and making jewelry in my spare time. However, health issues and issues with my hands keep me from doing it very often. It made sense to me to put my two loves together to form a business.

3. What do you think makes for good, engaging content when it comes to social media posts?

A combination of things. Videos and quotes from other parts of the internet, photos and links to your products, and general commentary.

4. If someone is posting regularly but finding that people don't seem to be interacting much with their posts, what are some strategies you might recommend?

Set up a social media schedule. Figure out what types of posts you want to post on what days. Then stick to the schedule. Find out what times of day work best for posting based on who is engaging.

5. For people who are just starting out in their craft-related business, what are your top three pieces of advice?

1. Set up your social media accounts so people can find you.
2. If you can afford it, hire someone to do your social media for you, so you have more time to focus on what you love.
3. Just keep at it.

Thanks, Mia!

How Can Radio Benefit You?

If you are a music artist, how do you get your work out to listeners? I've seen a lot of stories about artists who've hit it big via YouTube, but we can't forget the importance of radio. A lot of people listen to radio every day, and it continues to be a great way to get your work out there.

Radio is still a primary tool for breaking music to the mainstream audience. The biggest acts, even those in electronic music, push cross-over records to the radio in order to reach the charts because chart notations are the true drivers of record sales. Also, internet radio & FM radio pay royalties to artists for a bit of extra income.

But how do you get your music on the radio? One way is to get the help of experts who have experience in working with artists to push their work to the next level of exposure. Swerrrdmedia is one such group of experts dedicated to helping independent musicians.

Swerrrdmedia offers radio promotion & radio airplay to independent and major artists on FM (Mediabase & BDS Monitoring), Sirius Satellite, College, Yahoo, MTV, Music Choice, On Demand, VH1, Shoutcast, Pandora, Europe, BBC, UK, Canada, Russia, Australia, and China Radio. Their team networks with Program Directors, Station Managers, DJs, and radio affiliates to achieve national radio airplay, radio promotion, charting, interviews, publishing, label contracts, world tours, and exposure. In addition, they add each track for digital accessibility and review by thousands of radio stations, DJs, music supervisors, music producers, and publications in over 60 countries.

The company has made a reputation out of customer service, and you can learn more by calling them directly at 631-704-5749 or visiting www.swerrrdmedia.com.

Introducing Cracking Your Creativity Code, A Documentary Film

Below is the press release for a new documentary, Cracking Your Creativity Code.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: CRYSTAL M. LITZ, 213-321-2446

Transformative New Documentary Seeks to Unlock Your Creative Powers

Cracking Your Creativity Code Offers Powerful and Inspiring Journey Into Creativity

Santa Monica -- A new documentary film seeks to help each person tap into their limitless creative potential. Cracking Your Creativity Code, a transformative new film, has just been released on DVD, for streaming online and for private screenings.

Following in the conscious cinema mode of The Secret or What the Bleep Do We Know?!, Cracking Your Creativity Code takes you on a guided journey designed to awaken your full creative potential. Accompanying you on the journey--leading experts in the fields of creativity, neuroscience, psychology, meditation, and peak performance. The film also offers a companion handbook with exercises for use in deepening your creative powers and in conjunction with creativity workshops.

"Watch it once and become inspired… Watch it twice and become inspiring." --Michael Bernard Beckwith, Spiritual Visionary and bestselling author

The release of Cracking Your Creativity Code also coincides with World Creativity and Innovation Week (http://wciw.org/) which is April 15 through April 21.

Some highlights of Cracking Your Creativity Code include:

CREATIVITY AS A LIFESTYLE
The film examines creativity from four perspectives: the rational, emotional, intuitive, and spiritual realms. Prominent creativity experts give viewers a veritable "Swiss army knife" to cracking your own personal creativity code, allowing a true connection with your most creative self.

CREATIVITY AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL
Rote memorization of facts and dates doesn't inspire a lifelong commitment to learning. What if we could find a new way of not only teaching, but learning in an intuitive and creative fashion?

CREATIVITY FOR BUSINESS CHALLENGES
Sometimes even the most productive teams or employees get "blocked." Cracking Your Creativity Code and the CYCC companion handbook include exercises that are perfect for team building and brainstorming.

CREATIVITY FOR ARTISTS
The film goes behind-the-scenes into the studios of artists working in various mediums as we learn about their own personal creative process--what is it that inspires them to create, and what keeps them motivated to see a project through to fruition?

CREATIVITY AS A SPIRITUAL/HEALING INSTRUMENT
Cracking Your Creativity Code explores the use of traditional psychotherapy with the integration of mindfulness and meditation to assist viewers achieve mental and emotional healing and open the path for higher creativity.

Cracking Your Creativity Code is directed by Santa Monica filmmaker Jim Wooden. The 90-minute film was inspired by Wooden's concern for creativity and art in today's culture. A companion handbook is available to assist viewers on their creative journey.

For more information about Cracking Your Creativity Code or to schedule a screening, visit www.crackingyourcreativitycode.com.

See the trailer below:

Cracking Your Creativity Code Official Trailer from Jim Wooden on Vimeo.

Meet Anakiz, Artist, Craftsperson, and Etsy Seller

With her two friends Zeynep and Meltem, Anakiz runs the Etsy shop Nakkashe. They make and sell a variety of crochet jewelry and accessories for ladies. The Etsy shop allows them to make money while doing what they love. Anakiz and her friends live in Turkey.

1. How did you decide to start an Etsy shop?

Four or five years ago, I resigned from my day job. It was very stressful, and I was working late hours. Then we moved to another city where my husband's family live (Mersin). Being alone in a new city pushed me to do something. In the past, I had always earned my own money, and just being a housewife did not make me happy. I took sewing and needle lace classes and developed my crocheting skills. Then I started to design and make crocheted jewelry. While searching the internet to find out "handmade" bazaars, I found Etsy and opened a shop, with limited items at first.

2. How do you choose the designs, yarns, and fabrics to make for your shop?

Crocheting is an art in my culture, and there are many supplies made specially for this. I buy lots of "oya crochet" threads in almost every color, and I buy any fabric I like if it is suitable to make a scarf or neck scarf. Regarding designs, I'm inspired by cultural motifs and nature (especially flowers).

3. What is your process when it comes to working collaboratively with your friends to create items for your shop?

I was alone when I started my Etsy shop. Then Zeynep , my best friend, joined me. Finally Meltem joined the team and we are now three crochet-loving ladies. Sometimes we all together make a design and choose the colors, materials, etc. Other times we do our own pieces. We are a nice team and good friends.

4. What have been some of your best-selling items so far, and how do you hope to grow your shop in the future?

Thread crochet necklaces are our best seller. We hope to open a small brick and mortar shop and take wholesale orders from different countries.

5. Is your work influenced by traditional Turkish arts and crafts?

Absolutely yes! Thread crochet and needle (sewing needle) crochet and scarves are very famous in our country. And our moms taught us crocheting at very early ages.

Thanks, Anakiz!

Introducing CreativInn, a Site to Share Creativity

I was glad to happen upon the CreativInn website. The idea behind the site is to help creative people share their work and be noticed. Creatives can sign up for the site and showcase their projects, link to their websites, share videos, promote events, and more. Also, if you are someone who represents artists, you can use the site to set up pages for the people you represent.

The best way to get an idea of CreativInn is to check out their directory. There are some interesting profiles to explore, with more added all the time.

In browsing the site myself, I found some cool photography work from several different artists. One listing that really stood out to me was the page for Le Village des arts de Dakar in Senegal. The village has exhibitions year round and supports Senegalese artists who work in many different media. The photo below is from the profile for Village des arts de Dakar, and I have to say that it makes me want to see more!

The site also has a blog which offers creative tips and tools. And you can follow CreativInn on Facebook and Twitter to learn about updates to the site.

In short, CreativInn is a new platform for artists, and I think it is going to grow quite a lot this year as more and more artists--and art enthusiasts--discover the site and what it has to offer. One of my favorite things about the site is that it has an international scope, so you can learn about artists and projects from all over the world. And isn't this one of the best things about the internet, that it allows us to share in the creativity of other people without geographic distance being a barrier?

Introducing Luvly, A Digital Design Marketplace

How do you make your blog, website, flyer, newsletter, or other online or printed piece stand out from the crowd? One way is to shop at Luvly, where you can find unique graphics, images, and vectors to use on your website--or to use for other projects such as making invitations, designing a one of a kind scrapbook, or basically any project you can think of which would benefit from some graphics to give it the perfect look.

The idea of Luvly is to function as both a marketplace where people can buy and sell designs, and as a community where people can share tutorials, DIY ideas, and more. The site is meant to appeal to everyone from the part-time crafter to the full-time designer. There is a moderation process, too, where the Luvly admins approve every design submitted to the site, so you are getting a curated experience, not a free-for-all.

Categories for designs on the site include clip art, fonts, icons, Facebook banners, and printable templates. There's a nice-looking selection of Blogger templates. As you know, I'm a fan of the easy-to-use Blogger interface, and I like how these templates let you run a Blogger site while tweaking the design to make it look like something totally new. I'm tempted to buy one for this blog! Here's an example:

I think Luvly is a site to watch, and I imagine it will just keep growing as more designers start selling their work on the site--and more customers come to browse the affordable and classy offerings.

Reproductions and Original Paintings from Artisoo

Artisoo works with professional artists to offer a wide variety of hand-painted oil reproductions on canvas of the Old World masters. Customers can also purchase custom paintings from talented artists.

Have you always admired a certain painting by Da Vinci or another old master and wished you could have the painting in your home? With the help of Artisoo, you can have a reproduction painted for you in oils on canvas by an artist who will work to meet your specific requirements. Do you need a specific size? Do you want a certain type of frame? Artisoo will customize your order.

The people at Artisoo pride themselves on offering quality artwork for affordable prices, available through an easy online ordering process. Monet, Klimt, Van Gogh... Few of us can afford the originals, but we can all afford reproductions from Artisoo!