I actually had to keep myself from writing a post over the weekend. I have been trying to make myself hold to a schedule, which is forming as I discover the best way to get things done :-), and have been trying to find a way to collect the topics and information I want to share here in a better way. It is still a work in progress, but it IS getting better.
Last week I made my first purchases at Etsy -- one with regular Etsy checkout, one with PayPal. I wanted to find out what it was like to be a customer. One of the orders had an Etsy shipping label, both had tracking, one came within 3 or 4 days, the other took until Saturday's mail. Both orders were made at the same time (something I didn't know about buying at Etsy :-) with the same shopping cart.
I would like to add that I sent a Mother's Day gift to California by Priority Flat Rate and it went all the way to New York before it went to California... and I live in Oregon! The purchases I made had different reports with tracking than the USPS reports I had in the past.
I also have a FIVERR.com account and am trying to decide what to buy there so I can watch their sales system. I have sold and purchased at eBay in the long past, but want to see what it is like now. My money is tight, and I am working on a budget to take care of all these needs and more. It will take time to get to all these things.
I followed a link from somewhere (my artbizcoach.com blog newsletter, I think) to a site called - difference.is - and it led to a printable form for developing a marketing strategy before or after you have your product. :-) I made copies to work on later, and have some I'm sending to others. One page forms are good to focus the mental energy needed to plan something. I hope you go to check it out, too. It may change the way you think of your business.
It has been a busy weekend for me. I discovered a bunch of sites to buy supplies from in the future, and discovered the difference in shipping options once I went to the checkout page. It made me more aware of how great the shipping challenge is to online selling. I have been looking for a good postal scale and commercial grade food scale. They were part of my supplies hunt. I'm getting closer buying both as I work through my product plans.
Christmas is closer than I realize... I need to get my inventory and draft listing ready!
I will share more as I go through my piles of papers and get them organized by blog topic. I hope GOD blesses me with finances and health... then I can really keep going. :-)
Monday, May 25, 2015
Monday, May 11, 2015
11 MAY 2015 :: Checking in for now
Just wanted to share the things that I am doing in the crafts and online selling areas.
I have been trying to sort through all my collected notes and have been transferring the details from my scratch paper to notebook pages I can eventually organize and review. It has been reminding me of all the things I searched for and studied for last Christmas. I am going to use this information to review my current listings and then work harder to create better listings in the future.
I have been sorting through my small space to make more room for crafts and artworks, trying to get more listings online. It seems like a difficult task, but I am making a space that will last for some time. I am also figuring out the right pieces of furniture and shelving that will fit in here and allow me to accomplish more. Hopefully, it will all come together soon.
In the search for the best products for me to focus on, I am making a list that will provide a lot of options... in several craft categories...like art, fabrics, food, digital, etc. I am searching for listings that will just need to be renewed, which means they will be available year-round and continue until deleted. That will help my shop content and allow people to search my shop categories rather than browse page by page from the shop homepage.
It is a huge learning process to sell online...but it is beginning to make sense and all the pieces are coming together, including keywords and photos and shipping and pricing and sections and.... :-)
Soon, I hope to build up regular customers at my etsy shop and other places on the internet, like fiverr.com and eBay.
And I am going to learn video! (which I will learn to upload to my YOU TUBE account and other places. :-) There's always more to learn, to buy, to save for, to pray for, and to do.
I have been trying to sort through all my collected notes and have been transferring the details from my scratch paper to notebook pages I can eventually organize and review. It has been reminding me of all the things I searched for and studied for last Christmas. I am going to use this information to review my current listings and then work harder to create better listings in the future.
I have been sorting through my small space to make more room for crafts and artworks, trying to get more listings online. It seems like a difficult task, but I am making a space that will last for some time. I am also figuring out the right pieces of furniture and shelving that will fit in here and allow me to accomplish more. Hopefully, it will all come together soon.
In the search for the best products for me to focus on, I am making a list that will provide a lot of options... in several craft categories...like art, fabrics, food, digital, etc. I am searching for listings that will just need to be renewed, which means they will be available year-round and continue until deleted. That will help my shop content and allow people to search my shop categories rather than browse page by page from the shop homepage.
It is a huge learning process to sell online...but it is beginning to make sense and all the pieces are coming together, including keywords and photos and shipping and pricing and sections and.... :-)
Soon, I hope to build up regular customers at my etsy shop and other places on the internet, like fiverr.com and eBay.
And I am going to learn video! (which I will learn to upload to my YOU TUBE account and other places. :-) There's always more to learn, to buy, to save for, to pray for, and to do.
Monday, May 04, 2015
4 MAY 2015 :: Just checking in...
I wanted to check in with this blog so you don't think I have totally forgotten it. For two weeks I have been working on changing my small living space (11x13) to try to make better spaces for my supplies and table space to work in. I also am working on a shipping supplies area, and inventory options to save up for Christmas. :-)
It takes a lot of time, energy, and money to get things organized. I am working on it. I have a small amount of money and will keep working to increase that amount with my crafts. I am always hoping to reach a goal amount and a living space that will take me to the end of my life... which isn't too far away now. :-)
All this work at home has caused me to reduce my time on Etsy and other places online. I have been able to see the effects of letting things go...and it is helping me to make a better plan for the future.
I went out looking at cameras, camcorders, and tablets. I plan to check on laptops and desktops soon. Not having technology has always been a problem with my goal achievement. I continue to pray that GOD will provide for me the things I have sought Him for all these years.
There will soon be a production process for me...finally! I am looking forward to it. I have habits for the days and nights, and have to find the balance between work and rest. This is always a problem with home-based businesses, but I shall overcome! Setting up SHOP HOURS is becoming a really good goal... and I am working out the details... I think making them my online hours will let me take care of customer contacts at a specific time and help me to limit activities that get away from me.
I was really encouraged to read that other people have the same issues with Facebook and other social media when they get online... the problem with wanting to check on your account, thinking it will take only a few minutes, and then realizing you have been looking at posts for two hours! :-) A real problem when you are trying to work out a schedule.
Well, I hope you are organizing for the most important sales season in your goals (mine is Christmas - September to December). It is a challenge, but we can learn how to find the customers that matter to us, who will like our products and return to buy other things as time goes by. Until next post, May GOD bless those who love Him, who struggle to make ends meet, who trust Him for their survival, and who want to help others. Amen.
It takes a lot of time, energy, and money to get things organized. I am working on it. I have a small amount of money and will keep working to increase that amount with my crafts. I am always hoping to reach a goal amount and a living space that will take me to the end of my life... which isn't too far away now. :-)
All this work at home has caused me to reduce my time on Etsy and other places online. I have been able to see the effects of letting things go...and it is helping me to make a better plan for the future.
I went out looking at cameras, camcorders, and tablets. I plan to check on laptops and desktops soon. Not having technology has always been a problem with my goal achievement. I continue to pray that GOD will provide for me the things I have sought Him for all these years.
There will soon be a production process for me...finally! I am looking forward to it. I have habits for the days and nights, and have to find the balance between work and rest. This is always a problem with home-based businesses, but I shall overcome! Setting up SHOP HOURS is becoming a really good goal... and I am working out the details... I think making them my online hours will let me take care of customer contacts at a specific time and help me to limit activities that get away from me.
I was really encouraged to read that other people have the same issues with Facebook and other social media when they get online... the problem with wanting to check on your account, thinking it will take only a few minutes, and then realizing you have been looking at posts for two hours! :-) A real problem when you are trying to work out a schedule.
Well, I hope you are organizing for the most important sales season in your goals (mine is Christmas - September to December). It is a challenge, but we can learn how to find the customers that matter to us, who will like our products and return to buy other things as time goes by. Until next post, May GOD bless those who love Him, who struggle to make ends meet, who trust Him for their survival, and who want to help others. Amen.
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