HUGE MARK DOWNS!

Check out the last 2 pages of my shop for HUGE 50-75% mark downs!! I'm trying to clear out the back pages of my shop!!

Freshen Your Shop!

This Thursdays Blog ring asks us how we can freshen up our shop, to make it look new again? I have several tips that I would like to share with you! I've mentioned them before in my blog and use these tips myself. Remember, there is no secret to getting sales, it's all about Customer Service and good old fashioned Hard Work! Step one, Be sure to change up your featured items regularly! I like to do it once a week. It's a way to bring the items from the back of your shop up to the front. Showcase in a theme or just anything you want! These will be the first items your customers see, so make sure it's a good representation of your shop!

Second Tip: Test out different backrounds in your photographing and see which one really POPS! I like to get a new backround every other week or so, then as I list new items and renew old ones, I get a mixture of backrounds that still all blend together on my front page.

Third Tip: As items on your last page are about to expire, change them up. If I have a necklace about to expire that is just not selling and not hearted, I photograph it differently, try a different backround and maybe even change up the title. You will not believe how much this has helped! I usually try to 'freshen' up 3 items a week from the back of my shop.

Hope these have helped out!!! Time for you to get more tips from DivaDeas Blog!!

Hi there! I have new items listed in the Shop today! Stop in and check them out! Buy today and spend more than 10.00 (not including shipping) and get a FREE NECKLACE from my shop priced 10.00 and under! Put both items in your cart and use the code: BLOGFREE in the NOTES TO SELLER, then check out as normal and WAIT for your revised invoice. You must pay for your items SAME DAY AS PURCHASE in order to get the necklace for free.

Enjoy the day!!

*Thought of the Day*
"Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing." ~ Albert Einstein

Valentine Trunk Show

Attention, all you lovers of love. And all you lovers of shopping... :)



The Eclectic Artisans team will be hosting a Valentine's Day trunk show and sale on Monday evening, February 1, 2010, at 9:30 PM etsy time, in the etsy virtual labs.



What's a virtual trunk show? It's where you come to our online sale from the comfort of your own computer, and our artisans and crafters show you our latest goodies.



The EART ladies will be offering Valentine's Day items and all sorts of other handmade wonderfulness for sale, and each seller will have special deals and sales for this event only.



So mark your calendar for February 1! Hope to see you there!

FEATURED!

MichellesCharmWorld has a NECKLACE featured in a TREASURY today! Please Stop by the TREASURY and Click on all the photos and leave a comment! the more clicks and comments, the better a chance it has of making it to the front page! Enjoy all the Valentine's Goodness on the page!!! So many sweet things!

Tips for Buyers!

Shopping online is alot of fun right? I bet shopping online with discounts is even more fun!! Have you ever wondered if you can get something cheaper? I paper the net with discounts, coupons and offer many was for people to save yet out of the average of 20 sales or so I get a week, maybe 1 or 2 of those will use a discount code. These people could be saving so much money!!! I have learned to google a shop name, user name or item before I purchase in order to find out if they have a blog, facebook fan page,newsletter etc. in order to get sales, discount codes etc. It has saved me countless dollars in the end and could do the same for you! Just thought I would share!!!

VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!

Are you on Facebook? Come and VOTE for your favorite photo in our January Photo Challenge! REMEMBER you are VOTING ON THE PHOTO ONLY, NOT the item itself! Click and just write the word VOTE under the photo you choose!

Thinking About Storage....

Yay! The week is almost over and here we are at Thursday! It's Eclectic Artisan Team Blog Ring Day!!! Whew that was a mouthful!! This weeks topic is about How We Store Our Completed Pieces. It can be so easy to get disorganized when you make several pieces all at once, photograph them and list them. Sometimes you just want a break and want to STOP for a minute. You tell yourself you will put them away later, then it becomes a week later and you sold one of those items and you can't find it right???

Check out our ring and see what we do to store what we create!

At MichellesCharmWorld I make jewelry, so it's lots of tiny little pieces that so easily get lost, if I don't put them away RIGHT AWAY! I have 3 sets of little hands that have walked away with cute and colorful pieces and a husband that moves stuff 'just for a minute' when he sits at my desk. It's so nerve wracking and easy to blame them, but in truth it's my fault for not putting it away properly in the first place.

As soon as I am finished creating an item and I have taken photos, I put it in a plastic jewelry bag and then put it in the right plastic storage container.

I have 1 for Earrings, 1 for Necklaces, 1 for Cell Phone Charm and Purse Charms,1 for Bracelets and 1 for Miscellaneous items. It makes it easier on me to find items, but also for anyone else that does my shipping when I go on vacation or need help along the way!

Check out the next post in the ring on DivaDeas Blog!!

Valentines Day Card Giveaway at PnkGeeni!!!

PnkGeeni is having a giveaway on HER BLOG head on over THERE and win a 5.00 gift certificate to use towards Valentine's!!!! Enjoy!!

Think Love!

I've been in the Valentines Day Love Kind of Mood! How about you? Have you started working on anything for your shop? You can definately tell I've been been bitten by the Love Bug! hahah!

Sunday Shop Reminder!

Before the week gets hectic for you Readers, a quick note to Change up your Featured Items in your shop and come up with some type of theme :) Mine for this week is Valentine's!

We're All Mad Here....Alice in Wonderland Comes to MichellesCharmWorld

Enjoy Your Weekend Readers!

Alice themed items from MichellesCharmWorld.

Buy Any Alice Themed Item From My Shop on Saturday or Sunday of this weekend and get a FREE pair of Tea Bag Earrings with your purchase! Use Code: ALICEBLOG

I'm Hosting a Giveaway!

MichellesCharmWorld is hosting a giveaway of these 2 awesome items on JaeBumFanGirls Blog!
Head on over there and read and you could win!!!!! I'm also offering FREE SHIPPING with the code give on that blog too!!! Read it to find it!!

100 Tips to Work Your Way to 1 Sale a Day....

If there is one question I hear at least once a day, it's:

"WHAT IS YOUR SECRET????"

I don't have a secret, I work hard and I work efficiently, that's what works for me. I figured I would share some tips that I learned along the way that have helped me! These are in NO particular order, just putting down what I have.

1. Shop banner. It gives your shop a 'JUST YOU' kind of look. Really pulls it together and gives it a professional look.



2. SHORT announcement. Keep it Simple is the only thing I can say. No one wants to see a bunch of CAPS or scroll through a bunch of chatter. Refer them to your profile if you have a lot to say.



3. Product Avatar. When posting in the forums, think of your avatar as your WINDOW to your shop. Being in the forums for me is like window shopping. I click if it's clean, noticeable and eye catching. You will not believe how many sales I have gotten from the Forums.



4. Post at least twice in the forums per day. Being helpful and friendly get your noticed.



5. Offer an opt -in newsletter for your customers to get discounts and sneak peaks!!! It builds a return customer base.



6. Include a business card in your packages. Make sure your customers know exactly where their package came from.



7. Have excellent customer service. When someone purchases acknowledge the order, even if it's just the automated PAYPAL shipping email add a little personal note in there!



8. Have CLEAN and CLEAR photos. Don't take them on the floor or a dirty surface etc. Use common sense when photographing.



9. Keep your Item Titles SIMPLE! No need to put in 198 characters, that's what tags are for.



10. Mention WHAT your item is in your title. Sometimes the photos just don't show what THE EMILY is and people won't click if they can't see it. The Emily Pink Pearl Locket Necklace is so much easier and simple!



11. Post your items in different categories. Take a look at what your item is. If you have something that truly fits in somewhere else, test out that category!



12. Keep your shop uncluttered. I like items that fit together in a shop and don't make it look like a 'garage sale' of sorts. Stick to items that mesh well. Soap and Edible Cookies, don't necessarily go hand in hand. Jewelry and Clothing however does. You can open other shops if you feel you have too much going on in yours.



13. Have wholesale policies in your Policies section. Even if you DO NOT wholesale, mention that. Having something clearly written out helps customers know right away what they are looking for. Once I put up my policies, it helped get me 4 regular accounts that constantly refill! It's awesome!



14. Join a Street Team. I'm the Leader of the Eclectic Artisans Team and it's a great place to go for help with something, ideas, promotions, etc. I have made some great friends with this team!!



15. ALWAYS work on your shop. Never be happy with what you have. Take the photos of items that are about to expire and re-take them from a new angle, liven them up with a prop. Sometimes breathing fresh air into your items helps them sell!



16. MAKE WHAT YOU ARE WORTH! Did you know that selling stuff for under 5.00 in your shop is not netting you much of a profit? Think of your time, overhead, supplies, fees, etc. (I discount items significantly under 5.00 sometimes to get traffic in the door and take it out of my advertising budget). What are you making per hour?



17. HAVE A SCHEDULE! Be sure to carve out 'SHOP TIME' daily. So that you FORCE yourself to sit and work on items. Yes, we're all busy and we all have outside lives, but if you want to TRULY make this a business, you have to put in the time. (I have 3 kids in school, gymnastics, activities etc, husband, home to run, carpools to drive, on and on it goes, but I make time. Did you know I got to bed at 3am and wake up at 6am?)



18. Use your Featured Items. Go to the back of your shop and pick out items that will draw people back there. Change them up weekly.



19. Put in a REAL LOCATION. While End of the Rainbow may sound cool, it doesn't let anyone know where there item is coming from if they want to buy it.



20. Bulk up your SHOP! Have at least 2 pages of items in your shop! People like having items to choose from and browse through.



21. Offer a CONVERSATION option for people that HEART YOUR ITEMS. How often do you heart something and then before you know it, you have buried it behind many pages? I offer to message people that heart items and let them know when something goes on sale! I have gotten many sales through this route.



22. Fill out your Policies. People want to know your 'rules'



23. Fill out your Profile. Customers want to know about you and who you are! Link to your social networking sites too!



24. Keep it Professional! No one likes to here you being whiny in your announcement or other portions of your shop. So and So left me negative feedback because they don't like me. X and X is copying me, I'm the real deal. ThIs CoUlD GeT AnNoYiNg To SeE aLl OvEr ThE PlAcE tOo.



25. Get Offline! Sitting there refreshing your shop and email is not going to magically get you a sale! Type up a small flyer, staple some business cards to the bottom and paper your town! Put them up in coffee shops, grocery stores and the like!



26. Have your Shop URL in your return address labels. It's a moving billboard as it travels from your post box to it's destination.



27. Keep your email, shop name, shop link consistent. You want to know that you can be found easily if they can't remember it all.



28. Buy your Dot.Com to your Etsy shop and have it redirected there. Use your Dot.Com on ALL your advertising. This way if you ever want to make it on your own, you already have the traffic going to your dot.com.



29. Have a shop Stamp made up. I use this stamp on EVERYTHING! I put it inside of my bubble mailers, boxes, bills etc. Stamp up the world! How many people do you know that re-use these packaging materials?? go ahead and let them advertise for you if they do!!



30. Keep a blog. You can reach people that are just blog reading and have never even heard of your shop before! You don't have to chat shop all the time! Just photos of random things will work too!


31. List Daily. This is a MUST to stay on top of the searches. If you list at least 3 items daily (or relist) It will help you that much! (I personally like to spend about 3-5.00 a day minus the weekends)


32. Take some days off. I work Monday-Friday and my weekends are for my family. That way I get some 'sanity' time too!


33. Try social networking. It won't be the be all end all, but it could get your name out to new people that have never heard of the handmade market before!


34. Ship Internationally! As soon as I opened up my shipping to Worldwide, my business GREW! Now over 80% of my sales leave this country!


35. Step outside of your COMFORT zone! If your favorite color is pink, you will notice your entire shop start to go pink! (that's my problem!!!) try things you don't like too! I HATED gold when I first started and never ever used it, now I probably use it and sell it more than the silver colors! haha!


36. When listing new items, spread them out throughout the day! DO NOT LIST THEM ALL AT ONCE! You will catch different people online throughout the day this way and not just bottle it all up.


37. Carry your business cards! When someone comments on something you have made or asks what it is you do, hand over your business card! It's the easiest way to spread the word! Talk it up! If you love what you do, it will shine through!!


38. Try your hand at Craft Shows! You will meet other vendors and can trade tips! Do NOT give up after just 2 or 3 shows. Give yourself a chance to do about 10 and then calculate from there. REALLY look into the shows you do too! Don't stick to just one type.


39. Think ahead! Think like the stores do! Have your Valentines Product in December, St, Pats stuff in January! No one is going to buy it in December, because they may worry it's too late! Get everyone thinking AHEAD!


40. Take a Class! Better yourself at your craft by taking a class and learning something different you can add on to your shop. Photography? Web Site Building? Use your business expense money for this!


41. Fix the Expired! Do you have a boxful of expired items?? Go through them and revamp them! Add to them, take away from them! Make them into something new and photograph them differently and list it! You never know!


42. Check your tags! Are you using the colors of the items in them? Your target Market? Scents? Fabric?


43. Get inspired! What always works as an inspiration for you? Take a break and do it! For me, it's the Playroom! Cleaning up, I always find the textures, colors, noises and the like so inspirational! I head in and organize and always come out with ideas! Sometimes a trip to the Art Museum or Children's Museum is all I need! A fun day out with family and enough to recharge me!


44. Spread Your Wings. Test out other markets if one isn't working for you. Try a couple listings on Ebay, if anything it gets your name out there for people to Google. (Since you can't put links in your listings).


45. Find your Niche. If you are doing jewelry try and STAND OUT! Have a signature item or items and work them out!!!


46. Set Goals! and Stick to them! Try having a simple goal and when you reach that, make it a bit bigger and so on.


47. Keep a Notepad and Pen Handy! This is perfect for when you have an idea and assume you will remember it later! You NEVER will! haha! This way you jot it down or sketch it out.


48. Keep a listing File. Keep order of all you list, how many times you renew it, what it cost to make....etc... this way you can track what EXACTLY you profit is after fees and such!


49. Keep a Code File. If you offer discount codes to customers, on blogs, on social networking sites. Keep a discount code guide or file somewhere to log WHAT the Code is, Where you posted it and WHO has used it. This way you will know EXACTLY what type of advertising is working for you!


50. DO NOT BLAME THE ECONOMY. It's so easy to blame others for why we are not selling, don't let yourself off the hook! Look and look deeply at ALL that is in your shop and make sure you are TRULY doing all you can to make your shop a success. NEVER take the easy way out. Owning your own business will NEVER be easy!


51. Use your Advertising Dollars WISELY! Those 7.00 top of the category photos may look like a great deal, but do you know how many things you can LIST in your SHOP for those 7.00?? How many project Wonderful Ads you can run for those 7.00? Think, before you move! (I speak from experience, I spent over 20.00 when I first started here, doing those Etsy ads).


52. Have a wide range of prices in your shop! People from all walks of life shop Etsy and you never know if you may have just missed a sale because all your prices are in the same bracket. Have smaller items that can be more inexpensive and larger ones too! From Magnets and Cell charms to Original Artwork and the like!


53. Use your Analytics! Have you hooked up your google analytics yet? Use them to your advantage! Find out where most of your sales are coming from and send your advertising dollars there! IT will really help! Have major cities that seem to buy from you ALOT? Try a craft show there, an Ad in a local paper there, THINK IT OUT!


54. Take advantage of being Promoted!! Were you in a Treasury? Featured in a Blog? Promote the HECK out it! Social Networking Sites, The Public Forums, Your Blog, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING! Let your customers know you are LOVED!


55. You Have To Pay To Play! You are going to have to spend the money on fees, supplies, business cards etc. In order to make money. The one thing I always hear is 'I can't afford to list everyday' If you start selling more within a month of this new practice, you most definitely can! .60 a day is worth it is you give up something in your daily life. Fast food? Coffee? Do you really need it EVERY DAY? Think about what you are trying to do!
56. Use your Categories!! You get 10 of them, USE THEM! Let you customers navigate your shop SO MUCH EASIER, by giving them categories!
57. Shop your items! Do a search for some of your items and see where they come up in the listing process. Do they POP against the others on the same page? Are they even on the first 2 pages? If not it's time to re-think and fix it up and then renew it.
58. Accept PAYPAL! No matter how many other forms of payment you accept, if you don't accept PAYPAL, you are DEFINITELY losing sales. No matter if you have hundreds of sales already, can you imagine the THOUSANDS of sales you could have?
59. Look into your Shipping Costs. Be sure you are shipping out your products as low cost as possible. Many people will be turned off by the price of shipping. Break it down: Envelope, Tape, boxes, tissue paper, Delivery Confirmation, Postage....everything and be sure you are right at that number.
60. Buy a New Camera! Think about what kind of camera you are working with. If you are not satisfied with the photos you take, take your camera to a camera shop (not the camera counter at Best Buy or Target) and see what they say about the type of camera you have and the photos you are trying to take. It may be time to invest in some new hardware!
61. Use your E-mail Signature! Be sure that your signature has a photo of your product or your banner and a link to your shop with a 1 line description of what you sell. Make sure it is on EVERY e-mail.
62. Do giveaways on other peoples blogs! It will bring traffic to THEIR blog and TRAFFIC and NEW Eyes to YOUR shop!
63. Repeat Buyers! When you sell something, offer those customers an incentive to come back! I have coupon codes on the back of my business cards! Anything from Free Shipping to 3.00 off!
64. Clean Out Your Home! Do you have a lot of unused supplies laying around??? Open up a supply shop and be sure to have a link to your regular shop in every listing and in your announcement and profile! This way people that are only searching for supplies will be led to your shop and possibly buy something! It's also a great way to rid yourself of extra 'stuff'
65. Paper Your Car! Magnetic Paper is very inexpensive and a GREAT way to draw in business! Make signs up (Or buy them!!!) for your car doors with your shop link (your Dot.com is so much easier to remember than adding in the Etsy part) and the back of your car too! I even bring my signs with me when we rent a car for longer drives out of town!!
66. Sticker Your Car! Have a vinyl sign made up for your back window of your car in a BOLD color and be sure to stick it on there as soon as you get it!! There are always people bored at stoplights and almost EVERYONE has the Internet on their phone! Many a time, I have sat in the passenger side seat and seen a link and typed it in! You never know what business it may bring!
67. Stick It TO ME! Use your leftover magnet paper to make Magnetic Business Cards and a Magnetic Sign. The sign Will have your Shop Name and Link and the Words TAKE ONE! Then put your business cards all around the sign and put all these up whenever you park your car! It really works!!! (check you analytics and you will notice that town pop up in a few days!)
68. Donate to Church, School, Community Fundraiser sales! Add a couple of your items to these places and your business cards attached to the item and watch your traffic BOOM!
69. Shout It Loud! Have your laptop fit with a skin that has your shop URL on it and take it out all over town! I always have it at the coffee shop, bookstore, airport, poolside! Check it out!
70. Make a Treasury! Making up a treasury and them messaging those that your include in it, will bring in traffic to your shop from the people that you message and those popping into your treasury! You help others and yourself!
71. Yard Sale Season. Do you have garage sales? Yard Sales? If so, set up a table of your items there too!! Make sure it's seperate so that people know it's not 'bargain' basement! I usually set up my show tent and put the table under there. It won't net you many sales (remember the bargain hunters are out) but it WILL bring your traffic and maybe a sale along the way!
72. Visit the Chat Rooms. Head in and just let everyone know you are new and people will help you along! (DO NOT play Featured Seller or other such games!! Just go to CHAT). This way you will get a new group of people to look into your shop and you just may get a sale!
73. Have a Home SALE! Do you know other artists in your area? Invite them to join! When an artist wants to display their work, the gallery has a showing, do the same thing! A small intimate party with goodies for sale. If you have 3 artists showing items and each of them invites all they know, you are bound to get a good crowd!
74. Host A Giveaway! Host a giveaway on YOUR blog for your readers from another shop and you will get traffic AND help a fellow crafter!
75. Take Custom Orders. Everyone wants to be a designer, give them that option! This is an opportunity for more money and you may get a few new ideas!
76. DO a Link Exchange! I offer free goodies to those that host a photo of my items and a link to my shop on their social networking sites or blogs! It really helps bring in new eyes!
77. RELAX. Don't obsess over the same things over and over again. Sometimes stepping away from it all will help you come back renewed. We ALL get into funks and slumps and stepping away will only help you!
78. Have simple, detailed descriptions. Keep it clear and simple. Don't put too much in there as people will scroll past and may miss pertinent information.
79. Leave Feedback in a Timely Manner. After your customers have left your feedback, be sure to do theirs as soon as possible. Sometimes they are new and really want to build that up!
80. Open Yourself Up. Head over to the Critiques section of the Etsy forums and open yourself up to a brutally honest critique. You need to really know what people find fault with in order to be successful. We are ALWAYS critical when we find a problem at Target or Sears or the like correct? We should want the same from our customers!
81. Make up a portfolio of your custom work, listed items etc. Use something purse sized, so you always have something handy to pull out when needed. Keep a sheet of your wholessale requirements tucked inside too, in case a shop keeper asks!
82. Shop Yourself Out! Call local businesses that carry your type of items or somewhere your items would fit right in! Call on them and see if they would like to meet about carrying your line!
83. Get Local. Local newspapers often run Free if not super cheap ads! Try it with some kind of incentive! (BOGO, Free Shipping Etc.)
84. Change Your Backround. Change up your photographed backround every now and then, it brings a new 'look' into your shop inexpensivly!
85. Stay Positive! It's so easy to get down and doom and gloom when you don't get the sales you want, but just keep thinking you are BRAVE! You are putting yourself out there to be judged by the masses! Just use this time to work on making it better!
86. Delivery Confirmation. Spend the money and get it on your packages! Your customers will feel more secure, as will you! It's an easy way to be able to find out what has happened to your package!
87. Packaging. Be it an old Mac and Cheese Box, Toilet Paper Tube or Pretty little box, just make sure it's STURDY and will get your product to your customers SAFELY! If you used recycled packaging, just be sure to mention it to your customers and offer and Non Recycled version too!
88. Do some Research! Read magazines, websites and the like to find out what the hot colors and trends are! Don't go overboard, but a few pieces could bring in the crowds that are googling just those terms!
89. Give a little something! Are you in a sales slump? Try and offer a gift with purchase and provide your customers with a photo of what they get! It will help draw in lookers and buyers! (don't do this ALL the time, just when you need a bit of a boost!)
90. Don't Leave Gaps. I have this trouble, but look at all your sections and see which ones need a boost! Do you have 4xs as many earrings as anything else? Do some of your sections say 0 items? Bulk and even them out!
91. Have outlined and detailed RETURN POLICY. Make sure you have this information somewhere. You will always have a FIRST unhappy customer and then with no set policy in place, you will find yourself scrambling around at the last minute.
92. MOVE IT TO THE BACK! Have a lot of product? Move your customers to the back of the shop where it often gets neglected, by having a sale on the back pages of your shop!
93. Hearts are Good! Remember getting hearts can be a good thing! They don't necessarily lead to sales, but there are people out that SHOP other peoples hearts and they can find you that way! Try and get hearts by participating in the Forums, Chat Rooms and such!
94. Keep it Organized. You will notice that the more organized your studio is, the easier it is to create, ship, photograph, list etc. You will be more productive the easier it is to find things. Organized chaos can 'work' for you, but is it truly working?? I label as much as I can and I keep it as clean as possible. To test my theory, I ask my husband to come in and find something for me and if he can do it in no time, I know it's just where it should be.
95. Get Noticed! In this economy, ALOT of people are looking to creative ways to make some extra cash! Get the handmade market NOTICED! Approach your local town paper or magazine with your story and you just may get featured! BONUS if you know other local artists in the area too.
96. Respond QUICK! Be sure that you respond to convos QUICKLY! If you can't get to them within 24 hours, leave a note in your annoucements so that your customers will see that. Most purchases online are impulse buys and if you can't answer the question quickly, they will move on to someone that can.
97. Offer Exlusives! Offer limited edition items and you will notice people scramble to them! Just be sure to retire them when the product is all gone! If you keep bringing them back, your customers may not believe you anymore.
98. LOVE WHAT YOU DO! Make what you love to work with, not just what sells! LOVE LOVE LOVE what you do and it will shine through in your work and when you talk about it. TOo many people research what sells and go for that. That's not a way to build a business.
99. Look at Your Hearts. Go through your shop items and see what doesn't have any hearts and has been listed for several months already. Try renewing it if you have not done that yet. If you have, try revamping that item and then renewing. Sometimes breathing new life into something will get it noticed. Maybe even just a new picture.
100. Follow My BLog. Alright, this may not get you a sale, but heck you never know!

Good Luck Readers!!!

Something Old Something New....

Are you looking outside the box when creating? So many times people are afraid to get creative. There are many risks to be taken if you are a designer. Some will flop and some can be a success. Remember that you can find supplies anywhere, step out of that craft store and step into the hardware store, the dollar store, garage sales, flea markets and for me? I stepped into an Antique Mall. On Monday I popped into one and found the most FABULOUS coin purses in excellent condition. Right away I had an idea on what I wanted to do with them!! I bought 3 (went back on Tuesday to get more! haha) and headed home with a new sackful of Vintage buttons and some thread and a shiny new needle. I settled into bed and got to work. I just added them into my shop, but before I even had a chance to photograph I had sold 1! It's amazing how something new in the shop can get attention before it's even been listed! So go ahead and step away from the same old same old and do something different!

Tomorrow, I have 100 tips to work your way up to getting 1 sale a day! I was inspired by a thread I read in the forums and I figured instead of posting 30 different times in the thread, it made more sense to put it all in one blog post! Stay Tuned!

Happy Birthday Princess Peanut.....

To The Princess and bright star in my life, I love how much you enjoy life and attack every day with a vengence. Your determination is always written all over your face. I truly hope your 5th birthday was made memorable and brought you all that you wanted and wished for. We had a fun day full of sweets and treats! In school she had a birthday party, followed quickly by a shopping spree at Toys R Us and then we were swept off to dinner at her favorite place in town where she was given an ice cream sundae! (She of course was mad that they gave everyone a spoon! hahha). Then we went to Target to get the other toys and books that she wanted and zoomed off to the Movie theatre to see the Princess and the Frog. (Super cute movie) I wanted to take this day in my blog to share my love, admiration and dedication to my sweet little girl that has made me a better person. Your smile and late night chats warm me up, your determination to be 'just like mommy' makes me laugh, but most of all you, just being you, have lit up my World and I hope that I can do the same for you. I love you sweetest and feel so blessed that you are my little girl.

Twitter and Your Business...

Morning Readers!!! It's time to talk business! Have you thought about your goals for the new year? Your business resolutions? Keep them realistic! The further out they are, the harder they are to acheive. How about something small at first and if you make that one, add on another one. Nowhere does it say you only get 1 resolution per year. For me? I want a better balance. I spent 2 years working hard building my business on 2 or 3 hours of sleep a day and I think I want to try and sleep a bit more and hope that those 2 years were enough to keep the flow going. I will start scaling back 20 minutes each night or week at a time. This way I'm not doing anything jarring.
Today we're talking TWITTER with the social networking world around us. Twitter is kind of like a bunch of Facebook Statuses all at once on your page and no other junk! haha! This is where you have to be careful though. DO NOT just use it for business. It's an easy way to get yourself removed from many pages. Don't go and friend 100 people all in one day. It's not about quantity it's about quality. Can you read all those statuses as they come in?? Make sure you try and read what other people post, don't make it all about yourself. DO NOT use it like an instant messenger. When I come on and I see 1 full page of 1 person just chatting away, I have to delete them. It's just too much. I try and post 3-5 times a DAY and only 1 of those is about my shop.

How to use Twitter for your business? Don't just toss a link and be done with it. Tie it in cleverly. If I am having a bad day due to someone driving me crazy, I may say something like:

It must be drive me crazy day! Makes me wish Voodoo Dolls did Exist! LOL
http://tinyurl.com/ydrudgm

You have 140 characters to be witty and eye catching. I usually try and post 1 shop item a day and that's it and maybe 1 discount for Twitter REaders only once a week or so and the rest of my tweets are about life in general. Keep it light, witty and fun and you should have no problem on Twitter.

How has it worked for me?
On slow view days, it gets traffic in the door, BUT if you are using google analytics, it will cause your bounce rate to sky rocket! This is because many people will just click the link to check it out then leave your shop and not stick around. I can honestly say in over a year of using Twitter, I have maybe at best had only 1 sale. It's excellent for traffic and hearts, but nothing real fantastic for sales. I do love it, to read about other people and just nosey in on lives, but it's nothing that I commit myself to for sales. I just post my 5 posts throughout the day and go with that.


A Quick Reminder:
Don't forget to change out your featured items! I try and do it weekly and I pull from the back of the shop. It gets people to click on them and they will be further back in your shop than they normally would. This has helped GREATLY. In the past 3 weeks, I have sold 1 of the items from my featured items each time.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Readers!!! Tomorrow We're back to regular posts, now that the Holiday is over! We will start with a snippet on Twitter and how it works for your business! For now enjoy the last day before school and work starts up again!!