7 APR 2015 :: Sharing more of my shop development

I have been spending a lot of time developing forms that will help me keep track of my efforts and also let me evaluate everything on a small number of pages.  I am an Excel fan... I think it is one program with tons of applications, making it possible to organize several different size sections on one page. For me, that is a great option.  I learn more about how to set up the initial columns every time I make a new form.

With my listing goals, I have been trying to make a way to list the important information about what I have in my shop.  I keep revising the format because I don't find out if it works right until I try to put the information into the sections I have created.  Sometimes it looks good as a design, but doesn't really work well in tracking associated data.

I have read several blog articles about what to track at etsy.  If I remember right, they were mostly SEO oriented...about views and tags and search engine access.  I haven't totally dived into SEO yet, so I don't know which of those data groups matter to me. Later, after I get my listings caught up, I will begin to explore other shop data.

Shop development, to me, is creating my section titles, deciding on products that matter to me, and finding prices that will be both low and high so I have items for a larger group of customers.  It is making sure my links go to the right destinations, and learning how to promote my shop and products.  It is creating a schedule that will work for the long term, and flex for my health and income issues.  And it is finding other Christians who do the same things so we can learn from each other, and refer customers to other Christians who may have what I do not.

I haven't started my "price point" brainstorming yet... a lot of the reason is because I have no idea how much to charge for a lot of things yet...and shipping is a huge challenge for me.  Digital products can be delivered anywhere in the world with no shipping fees or limitations.  Actually mailing a package is a different story.  I am striving to understand Etsy's shipping profiles, and which countries can be shipped to safely.

I hope to create currency options that don't need to be exchanged, through PayPal, Etsy Checkout, or both, but I would like people to be able to purchase in their own currency and not have to pay fees to change the amount to USD.  I think PayPal is my only option for maintaining other currencies, but I haven't found that answer out yet.

It takes time to work all these details out for your own products, but the internet is the future of our world so finding a place to fit into its commerce is a necessity.  These efforts will last as long as I am able to operate my shop/s...hopefully, that will be a long time.