# Calling soap all natural? And many many other questions :P



## Huminbird (Jul 22, 2008)

I am revamping my website and that includes redoing all the pictures, getting myself noticed on google shopping and adding more depth and information about my family, my business and goat milk soap in general.

Okay, so if you are so inclined I would love for anyone to look at my website www.ilovegoatmilksoap.com and tell me what they they think about anything!

In particular I would like opinions on my pictures. I am trying a new image type. Instead of putting my soap on a table cloth or somewhere somewhat attractive outside, I am placing them in a light box and then photoshopping them a bit until all you see is my soap, no background or anything, not even a shadow. Which do you like more? The more organic or the clean, crisp of the photos without a background? So far the Black Licorice (with a shadow) and the Frankincense and Myrrh are the two I have changed.

Also, here is a sensitive topic...can I call my goat milk soaps with essential oils "all natural"? People are using words like that to look up soaps on the google shopping and to compete I am tempted to do the same. I wouldn't call my fragranced soaps all natural, just my essential oil soaps. I am on the fence about it and would like others opinions.

If anyone would like some help with setting up their website and also getting it onto the google shopping I am more than willing to help. I spent about 10 hours trying to figure it out, if not more and would love to share my knowledge. Google analytics is pretty awesome as well. Yesterday I got to visitors from California who paroozed my website. Very exciting to know.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Personally, I like the pictures with a background vs the bar only pic. 

Additionally, do you have what your bars weigh? I would add the weight with each variety or put that clearly on the home page. You also say $4.95 flat rate shipping for any size order. So if I ordered 25 bars you'd ship for $4.95? I'd change that or make it more clear.

As for the "natural" issue, I'd be interested to know what others have to say about that, as well.

I like the website. Easy to read, easy to see what you offer. Pics took a while to load, but that could be me (satellite, no REAL dsl).


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## linbee (Jul 7, 2010)

I like your colors. The pictures downloaded fine (I'm on satellite, too) - some days it just does better than others.

I agree with Cindy - I like the pictures with a background - looks more homemade.


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## Huminbird (Jul 22, 2008)

I do have flat rate shipping for any size of order. I can ship up to 8 bars for that cost to me. That encourages customers to buy more bars. If they buy more bars then I eat the cost and figure filling one box and sending it to one person is worth the little extra cost to me if they are buying lots and lots of bars. If they buy 9 bars then the cost of that one extra bar is the cost to upgrade to the bigger box. I hate sending out one or two bar orders, especially because I have to drive to the post office and it seems like a waste some days for the money actually made.

I know the pics take a while to load and I am working on fixing that. Some of the pictures are ridiculously large, when I first made the website I didn't exactly know what I was doing  So, its not just your internet connection. My fast connection takes a moment to load them as well

Thanks for the feedback!


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## Huminbird (Jul 22, 2008)

At farmers market I want the home made look but I am trying to streamline it a little for the big wide world. I will have to think about that though. 

This is my spring project, fixing up my website. My "spring" being from Christmas until my first farmers market opens in May. I don't really sell very much soap this time of year and need something to keep me busy and since I am aiming to get more stores to carry my soaps I want something professional enough looking for them to look at and consider.


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## prairie nights (Jan 16, 2009)

I didn't think I would but I do like the background pictures better, especially those on your website. They look professional and employ other senses than just vision. I feel that your soaps have more character and personality displayed in this fashion, while the bar alone looks professional, it looks like any other bar. Image is what sets you apart from other soap makers and yours radiates all kinds of emotions from warm summer afternoon at the farm swinging on a rocker to having a picnic or fly fishing on a crisp morning. I felt your choice of photos was a good fit with the rest of the site design. 

Hope this helps some, 

Jana


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## eam (Aug 22, 2010)

I guess I have a different opinion from others on the pictures. I especially like the Black Licorice picture. I think it looks very polished and professional. Those with the tablecloth or other background look too 'made in your kitchen' and not a 'real' business. I want my 'vendors' to project a professional image, not a homey one. Just my two cents.

Elizabeth


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## Huminbird (Jul 22, 2008)

Thanks for the photo opinions. I think I will figure out how to include multiple photos for each soap. That way it would show my bars in a natural setting as well as the pics of just the bars all alone. I know there is a way to do that with zencart...I just have to figure out how...and that may take a while knowing me.

I agree about the tablecloth. Those were taken in desperation. I need a sunny summer day to go outside and use my garden and the natural sunlight to get good photos like the Oatmeal Milk and Honey one. That was fun, using the props and all and I like how the pictures turned out. In the google shopping though I do want the soap only pics, maybe with a little prop or two to add depth to the photo.

I have all spring! It will look near perfect by May...I hope.


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

I agree about artistic accompaniment to your soaps. At least color if not other complimentary items.
Visual things to cement and enhance memory of your product are a sales tool as well.
Like you mentioned- your garden and the sunlight is very welcoming and friendly and many people do want the feel of outdoor life and growing things to participate in vicariously because they live in apartments and subdivisions and sit in a cubicle all day. Your soap is a link to the life they wish they could have. Beautiful things representing the scents always appeals to me as long as they are set up so the bar still takes your eye first. Good luck Becky-give us an update!


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## tmfinley (Feb 21, 2008)

I really like the black licorice picture, especially when you click on it to look at it by itself. It looks more professional but not too professional. I also think it is okay to call your eo soap natural. Also, feel free to tell us more about the google shopping and analytics. I don't know anything about it at all.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

"All natural" is a phrase that gets me annoyed...it's overused, and what does it mean exactly anyway? A melt and pour soaper at one of my old markets used to be very loud and pushy about her soap and I could hear her all the way across the room telling people how "all natural" her products were and she did nothing to prove her point. Her fragrance soaps were still "all natural". When she would come to my table, she'd tell customers my products were "all natural" too. Bathing with SAND is "all natural". River water is "all natural", mud is "all natural". In this world of the word "organic" actually meaning very little, I think it's wise for use to use these adjectives judiciously. I think something along the lines of "made with pure and natural essential oils, or "natural oils extracted from herbs" or something along those lines would fit better, where "natural" would be to denote that the fragrance wasn't synthetic, that it did indeed come from a plant and was not formulated in a labratory. 

So many labels carry that "natural" ingredient label, when it can mean so many different things...natural flavors is one that comes to mind. I have a book here at home that describes what flavors can actually be described, legally as "natural", and none of them would fit what the common person would actually described as "natural". 

Goats milk is "natural" but doesn't come from goats we'd find in nature. Vegetable oils are "natural" but we'd never have them in the extracted state in nature. Lye certainly can be "natural" if we make it from wood ashes, but it probably wouldn't be created in nature most of the time and certainly not combined with oils to make soap...(bears don't make soap do they?)

I'm going to shut up now. It's certainly a personal decision to use whatever words deemed fit to describe a product, but some savy customers might get tired of hearing the word so over-used. Just my 2 cents and it probably aint worth that!


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## buckrun (Mar 7, 2008)

Great post Anita don't shut up. I agree about the overuse of key words for marketing and dilution of meaning. Natural is too simple now. There must be more info. I like when they mention HOW the essential oils were extracted and so on. I had that same experience at a festival with a lady saying her soaps were all natch with FO's. Once the marketing gurus get a hold of a word you better ask for more info!


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

I use 100% goat milk, so I tell them 100% goat milk. I make "Petroleum Free" butters, made with fresh, dried, and extracts of herbs. I say the same thing. Things like this are more apt to gain attention then "natural". So I am in agreeance with Anita about its over use. 
Funny about customers, some say the darndest things Have you ever heard of GM soap being "wholesome skin care"? I loved it!
Tam


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## Huminbird (Jul 22, 2008)

I was wanting to use natural in my soap descriptions through google because I believe that someone looking up goat milk soaps would look up "all natural soap" or "natural goat milk soap" and those are key words.

I believe in one of my descriptions I described the oils in my soap as having all natural ingredients in it. Now that I look at it I can understand how someone could think all the ingredients are natural, not that some (all but lye) ingredients are natural. 

Its whats called a buzz word and I think I will use it but use it sparingly. It is a key term people use when looking up soaps online.

I will create another post about using website tools like google analytics and google shopping or data feed as they call it.


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## jdranch (Jan 31, 2010)

I like the ps'ed picture.


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## newbie nubian (Feb 7, 2009)

Can I join in? "All natural" bugs me, too. Cocaine is all natural - doesn't mean it's good for us. Sara.


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## Huminbird (Jul 22, 2008)

lol yes I suppose you are right about that all natural bit. I guess I should stop trying to compete with the big companies that have that pasted all over their bars and their websites. 

I was having a friendly argument with another vendor that believed that there was no saving the world. I believe that we can educate ourselves and those we come into contact with about the small but important things and make the world a better place. I guess in my "all about goat milk soap" page that I will someday have the time and inclination to type up, I will put in the information like "all natural" and what it really (doesn't) means.

I have changed over all of my table cloth pictures to the new photoshopped pictures and I think I like the mix although it doesn't look streamlined. Lol, nothing in my life looks streamlined.

Thanks for all the opinions. If you have more suggestions or comments I would love to hear them.


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