It's Baaaack! SWAG SWAP WEEK!

Whats up loves! I'm not sure how many of you guys remember but Amy and I Hosted a "Swag Swap Week" back in May. What was swag swap week? Well, the cliff notes version is for one week participating handmade shops were able to trade their loot for other loot in other shops! It was a lot of fun & Amy and I made new bloggie friends from it. Best part? No one was assigned partners, you were able to swap with any of the participating shops!

I really really REALLY wanted to host another swag swap week before the holidays so people could squeeze in some holiday shopping. But being a handmade shop owner I realized it would be too much to try to keep up with inventory in my shop for my holiday customers as well as anyone who wanted to swap with me.

Alternative? Amy and I are going to host an "After Holidays Swag Swap Week". The pros? As a shop owner, you won't be stressed out making sure you meet the holiday deadlines with your customers *and* your swappers. Also? it's a great way to network and make more friends since we encourage everyone who is participating in the swap to blog about their loot!

Can we be real for a second? Who wants to stop giving/getting presents right after the holidays anyway?? And also, it'll give you a chance to nab some swag that you *really* wanted to get for the holidays but didn't get (I guess emailing the links to your hubs of what you wanted, and printing them out,  highlighting them and leaving said print outs on the kitchen table wasn't as big of a hint as you thought it would be…)

Last time Swag Swap Week was only for handmade shop owners. A lot of people who didn't have a handmade biz wanted to know how to get in on the swap, so the lovely Lindsay had a genius idea. Now even if you don't have a handmade shop you too can participate! We are allowing people with popular blogs to swap "ad space" with handmade shop owners in return for their goods. We are encouraging that just people who DO NOT have a handmade biz to swap ad space, we know a lot of handmade biz owners also have popular blogs and do offer ad space as well so we really don't want this to turn into a "Swap-an-ad" week. So please let's leave the ad-space swapping to those with out shops :)

(ok, here is the pseudo sucky part) read ALL the Rules & Regulations below to see if you qualify!

That sounds pretty rad, how do I participate?!
You want in?! STOKED! This makes me squeal like a little school girl. Simply send an email to SwagSwapWeek {at} gmail.com with the subject line "Holiday Swag Swap Week". If you are a handmade shop owner please include your name, a link to your shop and a link to your blog. You may also include any other links such as your facebook and twitter accounts. If you are a popular blog author who wants to swap ad space please send us your name, your blog, and a SCREEN SHOT of your stats. We also need to know the number of followers on your blog, facebook and twitter accounts. Also please include your rates (ex: 1 month of ad space pricing, 3 months of ad space pricing, if it comes with a shop feature blog post and a giveaway etc) and what size buttons you would need from your partner.  Please read rules and regulations below before emailing us, we want everyone to play nice on the Swag Swap Week playground! We want this to be as fun as possible.

Ok, I definitely want in, what rules are there for the Swag Swap Week playground?
First off there is no pushing and shoving on the monkey bars and no jumping off the swings (might break your neck) Ok, I'm getting to the point...I really dig bullet points (what? they're convenient, I know you dig em too!) so here they are in no particular order.

• Swag Swap Week will be going on from Sunday, January 15th 2012 and ending on Saturday, January 21st 2012. We are making it a week long so no one feels pressure to swap right away and it gives owners enough time to get their swappage on. Also we figured this was enough time to replenish your shops with new inventory after the holiday rush.

• You need to register with us by November 30th (you can do so by emailing either Amy or Myself at SwagSwapWeek {at} gmail.com) The registration ends early so I have enough time to create graphics for my blog of all the participating shops/blogs.

• All participating shops and blogs are asked to please blog and spread the news about all the new items they received in the swap. Please also include links to your swappers shop, blog, twitter, facebook and any other places to get in touch with them in your post :)

• Etsy, Big Cartel shop and Blog owners can participate (Sorry guys only U.S. shops and blogs for now)

• If you have an Etsy Shop you must have at least 20 positive ratings and 20 items for sale. (and no we don't mean 20 positive ratings out of 100--we ask this so that we don't have any "bad egg" shops who won't play nice! :) )

• Big Cartel shop owners: since there is no "rating system" on your shop you must supply us a link to your blog that has at least 50 followers. This is the only way we can tell that your items are "A-O-K". You also must have at least 20 items in your shop.

• It is not mandatory but we are highly encouraging shop owners to supply our readers with coupon codes to your shops. This will help gain traffic to your shop if someone not participating in the swap sees this blog post and digs your loot.

• It is also not mandatory to participate in a "swag swap week giveaway" but if anyone is expressing interest in giving away any items or store credit from their shops or if any blog owners want to giveaway ad space, then please let me know and we'll set up a blog post for a group giveaway.

• If you are a blog author you must email us a SCREEN SHOT of your blog stats as well as how many followers you have. Please also include your facebook and twitter following. Only certain blogs will be considered for swapping ads, we want our shop owners to get the best exposure out there. Also include your rates (ex: 1 month of ad space, 3 months of ad space, if it comes with a shop featured blog post and an optional giveaway)

There is a limit to the number of shops/blogs allowed to participate. We will have no more than 10 shops per category:

Art, Jewelry, Accessories, Home Decor, Bags & Purses, Baby & Kids,  and Ad Space

Unsure if your shop fits one of those categories? No worries, here is what we are looking for.

ART: Graphic Design, Fine Art, Photography, Painting, Letterpress, Posters, Stationary, Cards

JEWELRY: Necklaces, earrings, broaches, bracelets, watches & rings. Since this is a popular category we will be putting "hair items" with accessories not jewelry.

ACCESSORIES: Scarves, Hair Accessories, Shoe Clips,  Fashionable Clothing Items, Camera Strap Covers, Key Chains, Belts

HOME DECOR: Pillows, Towels, Linens, Coasters, Gadgets, Kitchen Accessories, 3-D Wall Art, Wreaths

BAGS & PURSES: Clutches, Totes, Wallets, Evening Bags, Camera Bags, Back Packs, Lunch Bags

Baby & Kids: Any of the categories above but geared towards children..although I don't know what baby will need a purse, but hey ya never know.

AD SPACE: Popular Blog Owners can Swap Ad Space with Handmade Shops, If you are a handmade shop owner who also supplies ad space on your blog we ask that you try to just trade your goods-we don't want this to turn into a "Swag swap ad week" haha <3

**if we can not fill up one category with at least 10 shops then we will consider adding more shops to the other categories to even it out**

• We want this to be an even playing field so there will be a screening process of your goods. We also do not want too many "similar" shops. For example: If you sell jewelry and make fabric rosettes and another shop contacts us who makes virtually the same item we will only pick one of the 2 stores to participate to keep it diverse. Sorry guys! We want to have a plethora of items but don't worry we'll do more swap weeks so just try again then :)

• We will periodically post on our blogs the participating shops/blogs for Swag Swap Week. We will keep updating the list when we get more entries. We will also supply you a button to add to your blog so you can let others know your are participating in the Swap. This will help get the word out and help have people out there who are not shop owners to see your stuff and potentially get new sales.

• Right before January 15th we will post a final list of all participating shops. If you are participating in the swap you are NOT ALLOWED to contact the shop/blog owners before hand. You must wait till the week the swap is taking place. We also ask that you supply us with an email address so we can include it on the list. This is how you will be communicating with other stores/blog owners participating in the swap.

• Once January 15th rolls around you are allowed to go shopping around and contacting shop owners/blog owners to work out a barter. THIS IS IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: Unfortunately if you really dig someone's shop/blog they might not feel the same way back. Both shop/blog owners must agree to the swap so if someone contacts you and you are not interested in their items/ad space you are not obligated to swap with them. Let's keep things nice though and please tell them gently that at this time you do not need their items/ad space.

• When you find a shop/blog that you want to swap with and you are BOTH in agreement then its up to the 2 of you to come to some sort of agreement. Amy and I ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS TRANSACTION. Whatever is said between you and other swappers stays between you and other swappers. We are not responsible for any items that may get lost or stolen. We are also not responsible for the actions of others participating in this swap. If you run into a problem with you and your swapper you must deal with it with them directly.

• In order to prevent one person from getting more out of the swap than the other we are setting a "difference limit". If the difference of the items in the swap is OVER  $5 then the shop/blog owner who will be eating this cost has THE OPTION to send a bill to the other swapper via paypal to pay the difference. YOU MUST LET THE PERSON KNOW AHEAD OF TIME IF YOU ARE BILLING THEM THE DIFFERENCE. If it is under $5 this action can not be done. You also can NOT charge your swapper for shipping fees (which works out anyway because you are both paying shipping fees for your own items that you are shipping) Please also note we are NOT RESPONSIBLE for whatever transaction happens between you and your swapper. Any problems or questions must be dealt directly with the person you are swapping with.

• The 2 swappers must make an agreement upon when each other should be expecting their goods. Someone like me who prints out graphic prints can get items out sooner than someone who has to make 10 hand bags. So be understanding of one another guys :) Also people who are trading ad space for goods must let their swapper know when their ad will run.

• There is no limit to how many shops/blogs you want to swap with-go crazy and have fun! But please be respectful of other shop owners who do not want to swap back, they might just be getting too many requests and unfortunately can not accept all of them :)
   
• After you are registered we will look over your shop/blog to make sure you meet the criteria. You will hear back from either Amy or I in 5-7 business days after we received your email to let you know if you are a candidate for Swag Swap Week. If you are not chosen it does not mean we don't like your stuff! There might already by a participating shop/blog that has similar items to you or we have already met our quota.

Here are some Benefits!
• We are asking everyone who decides to participate in the swap to blog about the products that they received. This helps to get exposure to your store. Also any bloggers who are giving away ad space we would love for them to please blog about the products they received!

• Great opportunity to test out other store's products before you commit to an ever bigger purchase from them

 • An opportunity to meet other "handmade" folks and grow a network with people.

• The items being swapped don't necessarily have to be for you! You can even swap items that you can see giving away as gifts!

• We will also include on our blogs links to your shop, blog, twitter and facebook accounts--giving you free exposure!


so now, whose in??