Are You Doing All You Can?

MAJOR BOGO SALE at MichellesCharmWorld on These Items!

Morning everyone! I truly hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to make this week, the best ever! Let's get our selling hats on and get going! Todays post is all about putting yourself out there. It's time to ask yourself are your TRULY doing all you can? Are you making yourself known to the public? We are going to explore some ideas I have already mentioned in past posts and then come to a conclusion.

The No Holds Barred Critique. We can all stand to learn something from people we don't know. We need to realize that we are not selling to our fullest potential if there are improvements that can be made on our shops. Online people have a tendency to be more honest than people looking at you face to face. I started a thread today, asking people to check out my shop and tell me honestly what they think.

WEAR IT OUT! Are you selling yourself to the max in public? Wear your pieces!! This can work for lots of people, not just jewelry sellers. Have your prints or artwork made into fun buttons so that you can pin them to your bags or if you are selling clothing, do you wear it yourself? Do your children wear your pieces? Do you keep a mini-photo book of your pieces so that people can look at a 'portfolio' of your stuff if they are interested? NOT KIDDING! I made little collages of my pieces in my photo editing program and printed them out on high quality photo paper and keep them in a little album in my purse. By now you must realize with all the junk I carry, I have an enormous purse! hahaha!! I can do a whole blog post on this one alone! haha!! The point is to use yourself as your best advertisement and DO NOT be afraid to hand over that business card when someone compliments your work! I'm working on a new idea for my business cards, but I will get back to you on that, once I work out the kinks!

Social Networking, This is a biggie! Are you out there? Do people know about your shop? Have you created your business page on Facebook? Do you twitter every now and then about a great sale or cool item you listed? REad more in depth on social networking on my post about it here. This is HUGE depending on your niche market, but nowadays so many people are on the net, that you really will have no problem finding them in these places! Heck, husbands grandmother is 90 and she's all over the net! So put yourself out there and meet some great new people!! I will be doing an in depth promoting thread on EACH social networking site that I do coming up soon! One day of Facebook, One day of Twitter, that sort of thing! Are you signing your posts on Message Boards with your shop link (if it's allowed)? How about your blog link, since that should have your Mini on it? If neither of these are allowed, put an eye catching photo of something that will lure that type of person into your shop!

Photos. Have you made sure they are not too shadowy or too white? I have this issue with the too-white photos I am noticing. They are just blending in with the backrounds! Time to go with a pale pink maybe! Remember, they don't have to look perfect or even close to perfect, they just have to be a bit noticeable! This one of mine is AWFUL, it's really blending in too much! I made it last night in the dark and you can totally tell! haha! Definately going to fix that up today!

Blog? Are you blogging?! It's so simple to ust throw photos up and chat about them! Tell me what you did last weekend, show me what you made today! Get chatty! I talk alot and have like three friends, none of which live by me! So here is where I get it all out in any way possible! Where do you dream about vacationing? What would you do with 5000.00? What would you DO FOR 1 million dollars? just get thinking about anything and then get typing!

If you have been getting the word out, in your photos you can tell what the product is, you are promoting to the heavens, you have improved on what others have asked you to improve on and you still are not getting the sales you truly believe your product is worth, then it's time to call it a day and close up shop and give up. Go on, throw it all away and close the door. What are you still doing here? Go on now!! HAHAHHAH! NOOOOOOOO! Not at ALL!!!! It's time to just roll up your sleeves and get busy! (As if you haven't been already!). It's time to set yourself apart from the bunch and SPREAD OUT!

Do you make paintings? Time to turn those paintings into ACEOs, Buttons, Magnets, Cards, Postcards, prints! Start thinking outside of what you have and bring in customers that can't afford those oh so gorgeous pieces!! I fell in love with a lighthouse painting on Etsy and let me tell you if I had had the 300.00 in my paypal account I probably would have bought it, but I didn't and I wanted it in any form! If they had offered a notecard set, a print, something else, it would have been mine!

Do you make Jewelry? Clothing? Bags? It's time to come up with a SIGNATURE piece. Something unique, something that when pulled up in the search function looks NOTHING like the others. My signature piece on Etsy is my Lego Bracelet. It's my best seller still to this day on and off Etsy and when I first started on Etsy was the first of it's kind. Now people are getting close, but still nowhere near the same. You can look at all the Lego Bracelets here. I'm still trying to come up with something fantastic as my signature look on Lollishops. If there is something you do really well, make it specacular add little bits and baubles to make them really shine. If you make bags of any sort, add a zipper pull or purse charm! They are super easy to make and you can make a simple one for barely anything at all! Need help? See about ordering them in bulk from a jewelry person on the same selling site you are on! Want to learn how to make them? Ask me, I can try and tell you how! Set yourself apart from the others somehow!


Now, you have done all that and still nothing? It's time to sit down with yourself and really ask. Does my stuff belong here? There are some places that are a true niche market and if you can't find your niche, you will have a problem getting to them. I am asking myself this over and over again on Lollishops. That is a true niche market selling venue and I just don't think I have the second Frou in Frou-Frou! hahaha! I see it as a market for delicate and frilly pieces and mine are bulky and of course chunky! haha! That's why I need to think really hard about my signature piece for there. I don't want to give up at all, I just want to find a way to fit in WITHOUT compromising my style! I hope I have helped even one person today!! I'm off to do some shop critiques on Etsy!


SHOP NEWS! The Last Page of my shop is on CLEARANCE MODE! I want to clear out for the New Year! I have marked things down up to 50%! Check it out because it's ALSO BOGO TIME! Buy one from that page and get a second item FREE from that page! All the items shown in the first photo of this post are the ones on SALE!

Handmade Sampler

It Arrived!! All The Treasures Inside

I was lucky enough to be a reviewer for this months Sampler from Handmade Sampler.I received my package today and it was in a large box! One of my favorite things to receive is packages, so I tore into it right away!! Pretty tissue paper made me feel as though I had opened up a gift! I received a letter that had the info of what was enclosed and a note about Handmade Sampler and then some promo items! Many jumped at me right away!! What is Handmade Sampler? It's a monthly package that goes out to buyers filled with promotional information from vendors of handmade products. It's a great way to be seen and bring business into your shop.

The Stand Outs. Only 2 active shops out of all these treasures. (One of themis HandmadeSampler.Com)

There were many items that popped out at me right away and lured me to their shops, others not so much. There is definately a way to do the handmade Sampler right and this is reaching a great audience! Business cards are great for getting the word out about your business when someone asks about a piece of yours, to package when you are sending out an order or gift, to drop into boxes to win free sandwiches and at craft shows when people want to remember something they saw in your booth!

The Business Cards. Keep In mind how the MOO Cards get lost in the bundle.

Handmade Sampler is not really the time for business cards. This is Shopping time! When people buy these boxes, they are looking to buy and you want them to step into your shop. I will be the first to admit that I kind of lumped all the business cards together and tossed them aside. I loved the ones that had goodies attached to them though! Remember to also toss a coupon on the back of your card with your treasure! Give them more incentive to visit your shop. Think of it this way: The person the receives your box can only buy from ONE shop of all the ones in the box. Will yours be the one? How can you make sure of that? Have a professional product that you are promoing. If it's a paper product, the ends should be straight and the printing should look good, not stretched and faded. Be sure your promo item is of something you actually sell.Be sure you have an actual site where you are selling your goodies. The one purchase I would have made out of this box was definately going to FUNKY PENCILS. It was an AWESOME little Turkey pencil, but alas, just an email address. I don't like to wait. I like to see, look, buy, pay and get my treasure! Creativity Award goes out to Scrapbook Business Cards, I loved the little business card notebook idea, but once again went to the site only to find a CONTACT ME button. There was a gorgeous Origami Tag included that was by HawaiiMonkey. Once again though, an empty shop sits. Maybe nobody wants my money? There was a stunning photograh included that I actually put on my refrigerator right away to remind me of vacation! It was by VIEWS FROM PARADISE. Just an email address here too though. Too bad, I would have loved to see what other prints they had on hand. Remember, you are doing this for PROMOTIONAL PURPOSES! Trying to get the word out about your goodies, you want to make money, make sales and get people to fall in love with your stuff! LOVED the quality of the cupcake toppers from Stick'Em and wanted to see what other designs there were on hand. Yet another empty shop. I used a cute little clip that came from ART PINS, to clip up the photographic print I got in the box, on my refrigerator after I added a magnet to it. I wanted to see what other cute cilppes they had on hand...well i'm sure you know where I am going with this right? Empty. These were not the only empty shops I came across in this package of goodies. I was beginning to get a bit discouraged here. All the GREAT promo items that were catching my eye seemed to not want more sales. I'm wearing a cute little floating ring that was in the box from Floating Jewelry Design, but since it led to another empty shop I guess I may have to find some of these cuties elsewhere.

Remember this is the time to SHINE! If you sell pretty and intricate things, don't just toss in something simple to promo out. you want people to see what you do. This is NOT the time to send in something because it's cheap and easy. Yes, it must be cost effective, but it must also draw the customer in. If I were doing the Handmade Sampler, I would send in one of my Lollipop Rings or Tiny Lolly Earrings. It should definately be something that can be found in your shop, so that the person feels like they really got a piece of your shop!

Vintage Bell Christmas Ornaments from OutOnAWhim 10.00

I have been dying to start an ACEO collection, but could never decide where to begin. I received an AWESOME vintage looking one from Out On A Whim and YAY! She actually had a shop out there! She's running an fabulous *Cyber Monday* Sale too just like Me!! Such a fun shop with a cozy feel. Stop on in and buy something from this fabulously sweet shop! See what happens when you have a shop?? People can write about it! Promote YOU! And of course BUY FROM YOU!

Vintage Button Jar from OutOnAWhim

I loved the little tote that everything came in, I plan on using it to carry around my portable goodies that I work on while the kids are in Dance class or quiet time at the coffee shop!All around, I loved the idea of Handmade Sampler, but there was just not enough product behind the box so to speak. This could be a time to get in and get that sale if you have an awesome promo item, great coupon to add to it and catchy business card all packaged neatly! You would probably get that sale! Hmm...I may be sending out some samples soon! Maybe if only people that had active shops were allowed to contribute, this could turn out to be an awesome thing. I loved how it was packaged, how speedily it arrived, how sweet Tricia is and many of the goodies inside!

Will I Own The hour?

Dessert Table Necklace by MichellesCharmWorld 25.00

I came across a new website yesterday, just as I was browsing the net and my favorite haunts during naptime. It's called OwnTheHour. It's like a big showcase or treasury sort of thing. The advertising is 1.00 for the hour. Here is where it gets dicey. People think 1.00 an hour is too expensive and others think it's worth a try. Me? I bought the slot! What's a dollar? I didn't buy the whole day, just one little hour during my busiest shopping time on Etsy. They are advertising on Facebook and other social networking sites. You can find more info in their ABOUT section. I could either sit and join the nay sayers and complain about that dollar or go ahead and make a tiny little investment and see what happens. All it takes is one person to want to buy your items. How many of us spend more than that on a project that goes horribly wrong and just has to be tossed out? So is the jury still out for you? Or will you go ahead and check it out? Let me know your results! You can check mine out at 12pm lunchtime!!

I will twitter about, Facebook my status and send out a bulletin on Myspace too! For today, my Iced Passion Fruit Tea won't be a Venti and guess what? I'm alright with that!

Image captured by Glamasaurus!!http://blog.glamasaurus.com/