How would you like an easy way to increase your jewelry business earnings by 10% or more?

If you can sell one small add-on item to go with nearly every customer purchase, your overall profits will increase dramatically. Add-on sales are items you sell to a customer who has just purchased something from you. This technique is also known as making “the sale after the sale”, and it’s a time-honored way for you to increase your jewelry business profits.

Most retailers add to their bottom line by offering you a related item of some sort to go with your purchase (such as hair care products to go with your haircut, a nicer pot to go with your new houseplant, or French fries to go with your hamburger).

To increase your profits, consider what related items you can offer to your customers - such as  jewelry polishing cloths, chains or neckwires, earrings to match the necklace or bracelet they purchased, or an anti-tarnish jewelry pouch.

It's quite easy and natural to add on an item when the customer is excited about the purchase and still in a buying mood during the checkout process.  As you're writing up the sale, suggest a related item, and mention how it enhances the item they just purchased and the benefits of owning it or giving it as a gift.  Then ask the customer if they’d like you to add that in with their purchase. You’ll be pleasantly surprised at how often their answer is “yes”!

It can be an almost effortless additional sale.

Just think of how an electronics-store cashier suggests that you purchase earphones to go with your brand new iPod, or a carrying case to hold your new digital camera.  And how toy store cashiers always ask if you need batteries, no matter what you're buying.

You can use the add-on sales technique on your jewelry website too. Suggest options and accessories for each item on your site, either in the item description or in an option box. Consider offering jewelry polishing cloths or other jewelry care supplies at the customer checkout point on your site. Make it as easy as possible for customers to choose the extras along with their main purchase. You can also offer multiple-item discounts and combined shipping as incentives to purchase another piece of jewelry.

Would you like a pair of earrings to go with that necklace?  )

A juried show is one where your acceptance is based on the approval of a "jury" that screens the applications and slides, looking for quality vendors and products.

Some juries consist only of the show promoter and a staff member or two.  Others consist of an elaborately selected group of art educators, artists, art patrons, or gallery owners.

The jury usually accepts only a limited number of artists from each medium to the show, so your art or crafts (and application package) are competing against those of other artists in your medium.

That's why careful attention to your application and professional-quality slides are vital if you want to get into juried shows – particularly if you're in a relatively crowded medium like jewelry.

To apply for a juried show, request an application package from the show promoter.  Read everything very carefully before filling anything out, and follow the application requirements to the letter.

Along with your application package, send in your jury fee and application fee (sometimes they're combined as one fee, and sometimes they're separate).

If you wind up not being accepted into a juried show, you rarely receive a refund for your jury fee; it's paid to the jury members to compensate them for their time and expertise.  You may or may not be refunded for your accompanying show application fee, depending on the show's refund policy.  It’s important to be aware of the particular show's refund policies before applying, to be sure you know what to expect if you're not accepted.

If you aren't accepted into a juried show the first time you apply, don't lose heart or give up.  Just keep working toward making your crafts more unique and well-made, your displays more professional, and your slides truly outstanding.

Apply again the next time the show puts out a call for artists.  As your work evolves and the board of jurors changes, you'll have plenty of opportunities to be accepted to future editions of the show.

If you want any of your application materials (such as your slides) returned to you after the jurying process, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope attached to a politely written request to have them sent back to you.

In Ultimate Guide to Your Profitable Jewelry Booth you'll learn more insider tips for successful art and craft shows.

Trade show rentals allow you more flexibility and the opportunity to change your booth with every expo if you wish. You can rent nearly any booth components, from portable pop-ups to completely custom looks.

Why is it advantageous to change your displays frequently? Your customers will visit you at more than one expo to see what's new. It's important to be able to show new products or services and an updated look.  If you always have the same old thing for them to see, why should they keep stopping by?

Renting trade show structures lends your company the flexibility to change often, showing customers that you keep up with the latest innovations. It's simply not cost effective to purchase new booth components for every show.

Rentals cost approximately 10 to 20 percent of the price of purchasing new exhibits outright. Renting your exhibit also removes costs of cleaning, repairing, and storing your booth components.

You don't have to refurbish your displays after each show if you're renting them. The exhibits come fresh from the vendor, in ready to use condition.

And you don't have the expense and hassle of storing bulky trade show booth exhibits if you're renting them. Instead, the vendor ships your rental displays before the show, and you ship them back afterward.

However, if you rent exhibits more than three or four times per year, it may be more cost effective for you to purchase a portable booth setup and re-use it for each show. Map out your costs for each option to find out whether renting exhibits several times a year is less costly for you than purchasing portable displays.

Another good reason for opting in favor of trade show rentals is the flexibility of signing up for different booth spaces, sizes or configurations at different shows. If this flexibility suits your business, then using a different rental exhibit that's appropriate for each expo is the best solution.

Also, if two groups from your company exhibit at more than one trade show on the same dates, leased exhibits are the answer for at least one of the shows.

Renting your booth components also means that less of your budget needs to be used for the purchase and maintenance of displays. Instead, you can increase your allotment for promotional trade show giveaways, entertaining customers, hosting a hospitality event after hours at a trade show, and contacting customers before and after the expo.

However, there are a few disadvantages to using trade show rentals. If you aren't purchasing your displays, you're restricted to the rental components available. And you aren't free to have the entire exhibit customized.

When renting trade show exhibits, check with the display leasing company for any hidden fees, or penalties if the show falls through and you don't need the rental after all.

Andrea Learned reports some interesting engagement ring shopping statistics from a recent American Gem Society event:

• More women than men consider themselves to be engaged.
• About half of all men go to at least three stores when shopping for engagement rings.
• Younger engaged couples want their rings to resemble those of their friends, but to be unique in some way.
• More expensive engagement rings are bought when the woman accompanies the man during ring shopping.

When you shoot and produce your first video clip for your website it is often a case of trial and error. Assuming that your first video will be a 'talking head' one, a term that I do not like but which is generally understood, then consider these points.

If you already have a home studio with lights make sure that you are making best use of the lights as in a standard 'three point' lighting system. Shoot a few seconds of video and check the lighting on your face to avoid a large contrast. Check for shadows on the background, maybe you are too close. If you are shooting outdoors avoid the bright sun, it is much better with cloud cover.

Be careful of background noises, a fan running if indoors or the chance of traffic passing your front yard. Where I live in the tropics we have a lot of 'insect chatter' at certain times of day which starts up in a second and could spoil the shoot.

When looking at your video playback you might notice but didn't realize that your shoulders are not level or you are frowning. As I said before, it is a case of trial and error until you get it right. Rehearse what you are going to talk about, it gets easier with practice and you say 'Uum' a lot less after a few practice shoots.

Look at videos on websites and video sharing sites, well the 'talent' was not always that confident to start with but practice has made him that way. Getting started is the important step.

There are many websites and resources on the web to help you get started with adding videos to your site, the first step in driving more traffic to your site and we all need that.

If you are considering producing and adding your own videos to your website and you haven't yet got started yet, then you are probably wondering which camcorder to choose from all those available.

It can be a bit bewildering to start with as there are so many camcorders of different formats, in different price ranges and with different attributes to choose from.

You do not need to go to great expense to purchase a camcorder that is suitable for making good quality video clips, probably of you talking and presenting a service or product.

Still the best format to go for is MiniDV, the standard by which other formats are judged. It has the easiest format for editing your videos, is proven after twelve years of use and is the right price.

Now the following features are really desirable to make good videos with ease of use.

Firewire compatible with a DV terminal for connecting a 4 pin Firewire cable for easy download to your computer.
An external microphone terminal for connecting a good quality microphone which has big advantages over the camcorder's internal microphone.
A remote control which is really essential if you are shooting vide on your own.
A quality lens. This is harder to define than the above features but should be considered. The other features are more important and the camcorder will have a lens good enough for what you need anyway.

So that's about all you need to know to get up and running ready to start shooting your own videos. A camcorder with these features should be had for around $350-$500.

Try these trade show planning tips for a better return on your exhibit investment:

1) Don't miss any of the deadlines related to registering and exhibiting in a trade show. Costs go up by a big percentage after the registration and payment deadlines pass, so submit your application as early as possible.

2) What if part of your trade show booth display, your literature, or other components don't arrive at the venue in time? Devise a plan of action for "worst case scenarios", so you'll be prepared to salvage your presentation.

3) Check with other wholesalers to see whether a company that places a really big order has a history of paying promptly and in full. Unfortunately, new exhibitors at trade shows are a target for scammers who place a large order and disappear after receiving it, without paying the big bill they owe the supplier. Of course, large orders can also be perfectly legitimate; so protect your business by exercising caution and checking the company's references carefully.

4) You can use trade shows as an opportunity to test and refine your new product concepts without spending any money on fully producing them in quantity. Bring a sample or two to a show, and get customers' feedback on it. If it's a hit, go ahead and take orders for the item and schedule delivery dates that will allow for your production time. If the item needs to be reworked to incorporate customers' suggestions - or if it doesn't generate the interest you hoped - you can scrap the idea without losing money on production.

5) You may be approached by independent sales reps looking for product lines to represent. If you're interested in selling your products through a sales rep, consider ahead of time what commission you could pay a rep and still be able to meet your expenses and turn a profit. Then you'll be prepared to have a productive meeting with a sales rep during or after the trade show.

6) Develop a detailed production plan so you'll know how exactly long it takes you or your supplier to produce certain quantities of your products. Then pad your estimate time slightly. That way you have a high likelihood of meeting your quoted delivery deadlines, and may be able to pleasantly surprise your customer by delivering early. It's important to know your production time before you go to a trade show, so you can give your customers accurate delivery dates.

7) Keep your own written record of the weight of each shipping case, both empty and full. That way you can ensure that you're being charged for the correct weight by the drayage company and the contractor.

8) Set up your trade show display with "easy information" in mind. Information your potential customers may want to know should be easy for them to find intuitively at your booth, if you're busy with another customer. You can use signs and literature with clear, visible headlines to answer frequently asked questions about your minimum orders, pricing, shipping, etc. If customers have to wait for you to answer their questions and can't easily find the information they need, they'll move quickly on to the next booth.

You'll sell a lot more jewelry if you become known as the jeweler who specializes in a particular type of jewelry (for example, plus-size jewelry, men's jewelry, Victorian styles, wedding jewelry, etc.) than if you try to make all jewelry for all people.

By creating jewelry for a specific market, you can usually command higher prices because you're perceived as an expert in that niche.  And a higher percentage of your customers will become buyers, since they come to you already looking for the specific type of jewelry you sell.

Catering to a targeted market will also earn you more word-of-mouth referral business from your customers.  You'll also be able to pick up a lot of new customers from non-competing businesses that serve the same market you do.

Your website is also likely to net more sales if you serve a targeted market.  You'll have less competition for your products' niche-specific keywords than you would if you tried to serve a wider jewelry market that has more suppliers. And the shoppers who arrive at your niche jewelry website are more likely to buy than general jewelry browsers because they arrived there by searching for exactly what you offer.

Creating your jewelry business around a specific niche is a winning strategy.

Here are five ways you can afford to have a successful presence at trade shows on a small budget:

1. Share a trade show booth and expenses with a related but non-competing business in your niche.  This cost-cutting solution works especially well for one-person businesses.  Besides saving money, additional benefits to a booth-sharing arrangement include access to each other's customers in the same market niche, and the convenience of having a knowledgeable person manning the booth when you need to take a break.
2. Rent a temporary space at a wholesale gift mart or showroom.  You can plunge into wholesale shows inexpensively and without being present by renting a temporary space in a wholesale gift mart or showroom. For a monthly fee, you can display your products there for direct sales to retail shop owners. This is a good way not only to break into wholesaling on a small budget, but also to test new products.
3. Have a sales representative exhibit your line at a trade show.  If you can't afford a booth and travel expenses, a sales rep who exhibits in trade shows or gift marts in your industry can present your product line without the cost of a full-fledged booth.  An added benefit is that a professional sales rep has a network of connections and knows your market niche well, and is likely to be more experienced in selling and trade show dynamics than you are.
4. Purchase used trade show displays rather than springing for new ones.  Many pre-owned booths and exhibits are in excellent condition and can be bought for less than half the cost of a brand new one.  If you decide to buy previously owned exhibit components, be open-minded and keep your display needs in mind.  Visualize how each used exhibit might perform for you.
5. Make over your current displays instead of buying new ones.  Creating a new exhibit by giving your existing trade show booth displays a fresh face costs a fraction of the price of purchasing all new booth components. Consider each element of your booth separately, and brainstorm ways to update it without completely replacing it.

Many sellers of used trade show displays are willing to bargain.

Don't hesitate to offer the seller less than the asking price.

It helps to research the exhibit's retail price ahead of time so you can make a reasonable offer.

For even greater savings, look at used trade show displays that are dirt cheap because of damage or missing parts.

If you can think creatively about ways to refurbish the damaged exhibit or replace missing pieces, you can come up with an effective, original display for very little cash.

Don't miss out on potentially profitable trade shows because of the expense.

Get creative with your small marketing budget, and brainstorm ways to put those limited dollars to work helping you reach new customers.