How to Make the Most of Your JMJ Gallery Posts
by the Jewelry Making Journal team.
Go Directly to the Gallery Submission Form
We read every post and review every photo submitted to JMJ. From beginner to expert, we LOVE seeing all the wonderful work created by this community of jewelry artists.
Jewelry Making Journal is a huge resource that receives thousands of visitors every day.
Many of these visitors are potential jewelry customers.
We know this because sometimes they write in asking about jewelry they’ve seen here in the JMJ Gallery.
It’s great when that happens, but when it does, all we can do is refer the potential jewelry customer to the post in question.
So here are our top tips to help you make sure you get the most out of your JMJ Gallery posts:
- Focus on sharing your artistry.
This is not a place for product listings or sales pitches. It’s a venue for sharing and appreciating jewelry art. - Keep your post title short, sweet and relevant.
A unique title that gives an idea of what the post is about, and is also search engine friendly is not always easy to think up. If you get stuck don’t worry. We can help with that when your submission gets to us. - Submit the maximum number of pictures and make sure they’re the best quality possible.
With four photos per post you can really show off different features of a single piece; a set, or several pieces of your work.
Make sure your backgrounds contrast your jewelry nicely. A bold, busy background, or one with similar colors as your piece is distracting and can make your jewelry difficult to see.
Try to have plenty of light and a steady hand when you’re taking your photos. A tripod is a great tool for taking sharp, clear photos. We can tweak some images to make them the best they can be, but there really isn’t anything that can fix blurry photos. To learn how to upload images to JMJ, see Submitting Your Images to JMJ. - Include several sentences of interesting text content.
We love awesome jewelry photos, but the text content is equally as important. Talk about your raw materials, your process, or your inspiration. Use the text allowance of a minimum of 75 words (about 5 sentences) – up to a maximum of 500 words to your advantage. You may be asked to add more text to posts that don’t have at least 5 sentences of text. Just please remember, no “sales” talk. Content that starts conversations in the comments will ultimately bring the most traffic to your post. - Include the links to your online store and jewelry blog.
This is the only way any potential customer can contact you from JMJ, so make sure to include at least one link that leads to you and your work. - Subscribe to your post comments.
This makes it easy for you to come back and acknowledge any compliments or questions you may get in the comments of your post. - Distinguish yourself from others with a Comment Avatar.
The image that shows up next to your comments on forums and blogs is called a Gravatar. Your Gravatar is a universally recognized image that you set up for free at the Gravatar website, where you can upload your image.
It establishes a profile image to associate with your comments. It also helps to build brand recognition if you decide to use your business logo instead. It’s all done simply via an email address.
- Join in the community conversations.
As a contributor to the JMJ Gallery you’ll love getting answers to your questions; compliments on your designs; and general comments on your posts, so please take the time to contribute to the conversations in your fellow jewelry makers’ posts as well. - Let everyone know you’ve been featured at JMJ.
The email you get with the link to your JMJ post also gives you tips on how to use your post as a marketing tool in social media. It’s simple really: Share, Tweet and Pin your JMJ post. - Subscribe to, and keep an eye on the JMJ facebook Page.
If you’ve followed all the tips above, it’s very likely your post will be featured on the JMJ facebook page. You never know when that may happen so subscribe so you don’t miss it. Then make sure you’re notified when new comments are made.
Last but not least, if you see your post featured on JMJ facebook Share it to your timeline letting all your friends know you’ve been featured at JMJ facebook and ask them to Share it too. 🙂