context of your tip. Ideally someone shouldn't need the caption to make sense of what they are seeing in the post. Because Instagram is optimized for square pictures please either send a square picture or an image that when cropped will not cut off any crucial aspect of the image. The images you send should belong to you and not be *borrowed* from a Google search or Pinterest. I also prefer images without text overlay. My reasoning is that I prefer the explanation of the tip to be in the caption, which can be translated via the Instagram app. Lastly please consider the lighting and clearness of your images, I'm hesitant to share blurry pictures as they can make it hard to understand the tip in some cases.

SHARING VIDEOS

We LOVE videos, they get some of the best engagement and can really help beginners understand the use of a tool or technique. Ideally a video is 4-59 seconds long. Instagram has a maximum length of 1 minute for videos in a post so sending clips under a minute is best and they also can be easily attached in an email. I like to share videos without someone speaking and explaining, again because if someone needs close captioning or they don't speak english they can still get the same explanation from the caption as everyone else and not miss out on any crucial info. 

WRITING A CAPTION

An Instagram post has a character limit of 2200, I can't tell you how many times I've had to edit down a 3000 character post 😂 so when you write a caption please be mindful of that. Typically short and sweet is best. If you are showing a tip with a tool you will want to mention what that tool is. Some members of our community are very new to jewelry making and every post is a learning opportunity! Have fun with it, emojis are encouraged! ⚒

SENDING ME YOUR TIP

The best way to send me your tip is to email me at TIPS@METALSMITHSOCIETY.COM with the subject line describing the tip. It's very important you share your Instagram handle as I always want to give full credit to you. Sometimes I am unable to write back immediately, please don't hesitate to send a follow up email after a month if you don't hear from me. I get hundred of emails a week and sometimes a tip can slip  by so don't be shy!

CAN YOU SEND ME A DM?

It's not ideal to send a tip through a DM, simply because it will easily get lost. I get a hundred DM a day at times, which I always appreciate it is just simply impossible to  see and respond to them all. On the same note if you need my help, have a question with an order from the Society Shop or just reaaaaaallly need to get in touch, email me!

WHAT TYPES OF TIPS TO SEND

I am open to sharing your tips and techniques about basically everything relating to jewelry making as long as you are not sharing proprietary information that would allow someone to copy your designs!  Tips about organization of your studio space, materials, tools and finished work are always a hit. Soldering tips, stone setting tips, fabrication tips. If you made your own tool or modified a tool. If you found ways to save time with production or you streamlined some other technique. Safety tips are great as well. Business tips, photography tips the list goes on and on! If you are curious about whether we have shared a tip in the past you can look it up on the TIP SEARCH PAGE. This is a search engine created just for us (thanks to my Patreons) where you can search a term like "dental floss" and see any tip we have shared that mentions floss in the caption.

WHAT IF I ALREADY SHARED A TIP ABOUT THAT?

Even if you see I've already shared a tip does not mean I won't share it again! So go ahead and send it! Only 5% of our 150,000 community see a tip on any given day so I love to revisit an idea with new pictures, a new caption and from a new perspective!

I can't tell you enough how grateful I am to all of you, if it weren't for everyone being so generous with sharing their information there would be no Metalsmith Society! Every tip shared keeps the community going another day! If you are looking to support the page further please visit the Society Shop or consider becoming a Patreon. Thanks for reading!

x

Corkie