Creative Business

Put a little sparkle in your weekend with this awesomely fun ornament tutorial via Handmade Philly!

Ok, so photography isn't everything, exactly. You still do need a good product, first and foremost, and marketing sure helps, but without good photography you'll have a very tough time selling that product online. And decent photography is more than just point-and-shoot and oh, did I leave the flash on?

We've taken the time to compile some great tips to make photography make sense to you. Check them out, then leave your own photo-taking tricks in the comments.

Looking for something to inspire you this month and all winter long? My friends Jennifer and Tara will keep you happily crafting!

Simple Crafter is an up-and-coming site piloted by Jennifer S. Wilson. As a special preview, this month she is offering 12 free tutorials for easy, fuss-free craft projects. All you need to do is enter your name and e-mail address and you can start crafting away!

We've mentioned packaging several times in the past few weeks, and for good reason: It's an integral part of your brand and is therefore a huge influencer in the way customers view you and your products. For those of you who are new to this whole indie biz thing - and for you veterans who could use a little refresher - we have some great tips for branding your packages as well as getting them out the door.

This week's Indie Inspiration includes some thoughts from me, your faithful blogger, with the help of a few friends.

Cross-promotional marketing sounds a bit scary, right? It's not. Basically, it's just about employing multiple marketing strategies at the same time and making it easy for current and potential customers to do business with you. From web sites to business cards, fair booths to tagging, we have some great tips and info for you  in How to Employ Cross-Promotional Marketing by Alysse Dalessandro.

Holiday buffet ideas via apartment therapy.

Who doesn't love free gifts? Your customers certainly do! Promos and freebies are a great way to tell your customers how much you appreciate them while builder their appreciation for you. But have you ever stopped to think about what your freebies are actually saying about your business? What makes a good promotional item in the first place?