Q: Can I offer discount coupons in my shop?

Harness the power of the Dicount Coupon Offering a coupon in your store is a sure fire way to delight your customers... It can also be a powerful tool to help you reach a new audience. Coupons make fantastic content for social media marketing, You can use coupons to attract new customers, or encourage people to sign up to your mailing list. Let's show you how to set them up right on the Silk Purse Guild - Set up Coupons - Step by Step CLICK ME! P.S. You will need the password. You can find it in the Secret Society Facebook Group

Question 1

What are the guidelines for product photography?

Accepted Answer

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS MUST BE DIFFERENT

Consistently using identical images can easily tire out your customers!

Our website invests in optimizing all uploaded images, therefore, please ensure that you only upload images that adhere to our standards. Neglecting this could lead to the closure of your account.

When you operate an online business, you essentially have no physical products. Your customers are unable to physically interact with your products. The sole tool at your disposal is your product images, which must persuade customers to make a purchase.

By limiting sellers to a maximum of 4 images, we promote higher-quality images. This, in turn, boosts the sales potential for your small business.

Perfect Product Photography Guidelines

When selling online, your product photos are crucial. They act as your main sales tool, unlike at physical craft fairs. Quality images are essential for your online business success.

Gone are the days of casual product photos on kitchen tables. While the standards are higher now, you don't need to buy expensive equipment or spend hours on lighting setups.

You can create outstanding shots quickly using software products with just your phone. Check out the tutorial in the seller onboarding course for the best free app recommendation. See what you can achieve in minutes!

LEFT Original - RIGHT edited in minutes!

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The original shots are on the left and yes, these are BOTH THE SAME PHOTOGRAPH!. You can achieve these results in minutes, just check out the tutorial in

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Format Matters

As a small business owner, you've likely heard of brand consistency. Remember, the Silk Purse Guild is a small handmade business, like yours. To maintain our brand voice, please ensure that your product photos only feature your products.

We do not accept collage images, computer-generated templates, watermarked images, or framed photos. Additionally, we do not allow video or MP4 files as we are not TikTok.

NOT APPROVED on the left YES PLEASE on the right.

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Attention to Detail

Obviously, images should be in focus.

Question 2

Can I offer discount coupons in my shop?

Accepted Answer

Harness the power of the Dicount Coupon

Offering a coupon in your store is a sure fire way to delight your customers...

It can also be a powerful tool to help you reach a new audience. Coupons make fantastic content for social media marketing,

You can use coupons to attract new customers, or encourage people to sign up to your mailing list.

Let's show you how to set them up right on the Silk Purse Guild -

Set up Coupons - Step by Step CLICK ME!

P.S. You will need the password. You can find it in the Secret Society Facebook Group

Question 3

How do I list a product?

Accepted Answer

Only Approved Guild Members can List Products

In order to gain access to your vendor Dashboard, you must first work through the shipping tutorial, and

How to Access the Academy

The Academy is located on the website. Simpply log into your approved vendor account, and knock on the Secret

Finding your Vendor Dashboard

As soon as you've been approved as a Guild Member, you will be able to access user protected content on the

You WILL NOT be able to list products until you have worked through the SHIPPING TUTORIALS and can

Let us know how you have calculated your shipping formulas, by email or EVEN QUICKER, in the Facebook Group,

Listing Products once you have unlocked your Vendor Dashboard

Firstly, go to DASHBOARD which is located in the drop drop menu, top right of the screen under MY ACCOUNT

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The DASHBOARD itself is a place to keep a record of all of your purchases, because of course you're bound

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Don't panic! The VENDOR DASHBOARD can be a little overwhelming at first, but once mastered it will be a valuable

Question 4

Why are my listings having to wait for approval?

Accepted Answer

All listings Pending Admin Approval

When you first join the Silk Purse Guild, all of your listings will be checked over by admin,

Why you get Stuck in Pending

There are a few reasons why you can get stuck in a pending state, having to wait up to 5 working days for

Product Titles are too long (4/5 words MAX)
Product Titles that include colours, sizes or dimensions
Incorrect or mismatched FONT - We use LATO size 12 exclusively
Excessive spelling or grammar errors
WRITING IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
Product images not meeting the criteria
Failure to assign a shipping class to your listing
Failure to enable the Product Stock Management
Titles that contain charaters other than text, for example '''""",,,..._----

This list is not extensive, and if you find yourself stuck in pending, shout out in the group and Sara will

You can find all of the information you need, regarding listing criteria, in the Academy.

Question 5

Documents are Password Protected

Accepted Answer

Password protected content

As you work towards opening your shop, you may run into documents and trainings that are password protected.

The password for these documents can be located in the Academy, just look for Harry ;)

Question 6

Copyright Law

Accepted Answer

Breacing Copyright Law is a serious Business

We expect all of our sellers to take full responsibility for the legal aspects of their business. Breaching copyright law can get

Super Helpful info for Small Businesses

The UK Government website is the best place to gain information regarding the current copyright laws.

Items breaching copyright will be removed from the Silk Purse Guild, without warning.

Question 7

Who is the Silk Purse Guild?

Accepted Answer

In fact, the Silk Purse Guild is actually me!

I'm Sara, known online as the Gilded Printer. I was born creative, and often receieve payment in herbal tablets from my family, for any cakes or creative work provided!

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So who am I? I've been a small business adviser and trouble shooter for nearly 20 years. I started out in a traditional English restaurant chain called Bass, and it all happened quite by accident!

As a new Front of House Supervisor, joining a failing team within a poorly performing restaurant, I walked in the door and took their flagship Tavern from 42% mystery customer scores to an amazing 99% in just 4 months. I was 19 years old, with no previous supervisory experience. Believe me, I was as surprised as my line manager at the time. So I decided to sit down and really think about the steps I had taken over those 4 months.

What was I doing that was so different to the other Front of House Supervisor?
How was I able to motivate the same team that had failed to perform consistently for years?
Could I create a system that could be taught to other teams within the company?
Could I replicate this success or was it a fluke?

I was moved around by the company to 3 other restaurants within the chain, and quietly replicated the same success in each new venue in a very short space of time, with scores all above 89%. The company considered 86% customer service score to be excellent. I remember being rather confused, because the method was so very simple, and cost nothing at all to put into place, yet managers and bosses with years of experience compared to me remained utterly flummoxed. I bounced around quite a few jobs during my teens, and tested and tweaked my theory in each setting, with equally successful results, o matter the setting or role.

I'm a natural traveller, choosing to spend my life on the road, with a backpack and a smile in the early years, to living and working in the Greek islands for the last 10 years. No matter where I found myself, I was able to implement my secret sauce formula in a wide variety of roles, achieving success time and time again. From bars, to guided tours, Travel Operators and youth hostels, the system literally worked worked every time.

I'm not saying it was easy. In fact, when I managed to pull up a Greek island called Samos, (which was the laughing stock of the company, earning the lowest score in the program) to number 1 (based on what the customers were saying), my manager literally called me a weirdo, right to my face. It didn't seem to matter how I many times I explained the system, the response was always the same.......... bewilderment and disbelief. It took me 5 years to recover Samos from it's sad and sorry customer service scores, and I faced a great deal of criticism, but if you add the secret sauce, believe in yourself and put your head down, you will succeed!

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No matter where in the world I lived, my creative skills helped me to make ends meet. Even working for one of the most exclusive Travel Companies in the UK, I was still earning less than a full time burger flipper! I made jewellery, worked on graphic design commissions and of course, cakes and it got me through some pretty tough times out in the islands.

So "what is this secret" I hear you shout.... quite simply, it's a blend of on point branding, high quality products and killer customer service.

I've seen so many of my creative friends struggle to make sales, pay endless listing fees and commissions, so I asked myself "How can I help?"

So buckle up, it's gonna be EPIC!

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Some of my cake work and NO, it's not a scene from a serial killer documentary and I will spare you the details of the sugar work that went on top of that chocolate butter cream!

Question 8

Become a Verified Member

Accepted Answer

Silk Purse Guild Verified Member

Becoming verified on the Silk Purse Guild is a doddle and comes with a treasure trove of benefits.

Here's what you can look forward to:

Professional Social Media Content: You'll get a folder chock-full of top-notch, ready-made social media content. No more stressing about what to post next!
Business Theme Tune: Stand out from the crowd with a bespoke theme tune for your business. Perfect for catching eyes (and ears) on social media.
Guaranteed Promotion: Your business will enjoy guaranteed promotion across all Silk Purse Guild social media channels. Talk about exposure!
Free Website: Yes, you read that right! A free website, complete with hosting. Say goodbye to those pesky hosting fees forever.
Email List Building: We’ll help you build that all-important email list, a service that’s pretty much unheard of on other selling platforms.

How to become Verified

At the Silk Purse Guild, we've got an on-site photographer who's an absolute wizard when it comes to product photography. He’s there to help ensure all your product images are top-notch. Here’s the best bit – he keeps an eye out for sellers who are consistently producing high-quality images and ticking all the right boxes. When your shop meets the following criteria, you will be invited to become a Verified Member of the Guild -

High quality, in-focus images
Up to 4 product images that are all completely different
A mix of close-up images and lifestyle shots

As soon as you recieve your invitation, you follow the steps below to become verified and snaffle all of the benefits for being FABULOUS!

[figure]HOW TO BECOME A VERIFIED GUILD MEMBER[/figure]

Question 9

What about listing fees and commissions on sales?

Accepted Answer

Listing Fees and Commissions on Sales

The Silk Purse Guild does not charge listing fees or commissions on sales,

We believe in providing our sellers with a clear understanding of their business costs,

By not locking you into our services, we give you the freedom to operate

This approach ensures you can focus on growing your business with peace of mind.

Question 10

Can I sell Digital Products

Accepted Answer

If you're selling digital goods, then you'll know all about the 20% Digital Goods Tax. With the fantastic VATMOSS scheme coming to an end, after the departure of the UK from the European union, paying digital goods tax has become an absolute mine field.

Sellers of digital goods now have to account for the tax in all of the countries they sell to, in various languages and currencies. In order to avoid this headache, for both you and your customers, we've made the decision to treat all digital products exactly the same as the physical products on our store. To put it simply, if you wish to sell digital products on the guild, you must be able to email them to your customer directly, without the use of any automatic download link.

This system actually gives you a few added benefits. You will have the chance to really connect with your customers. You can let them know about products you're working on, as well as up and coming offers and sales. The Silk Purse Guild is not for companies wanting to provide thousands of downloads a nano second. We are here for small, handmade businesses who are willing to go the extra mile with their customer service.

It is your responsiblity to keep up with the ever changing rules, regarding your digital products. The best resource I've found online for this information is HERE

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