Garbage Day...

Trash Day print by TheQuietCanadian 27.00

So today is garbage day here in good ole Cherry Valley, IL. Today we hurry to pull out all the trash to the curb and make sure we didn't leave anything in the fridge past it's expiration date. Today our garage can gets emptied and we start over again! So let's have a garbage day in our studios! Sometimes we rush to buy stuff becuase it's on sale or we bought too much of something that was not much of a success. Sometimes we just have too much of everything! Before we know it, we have so much that we are buying doubles because we didn't even know we had any!

Our shops don't need so much inventory, so let's do something about it!

Today I challenge you to sort through all those bins and baskets in your studios and get together a destash pile. I usually just toss stuff in a big 12x12 box and sort it as the month ends, but it's been awhile lately. Today I plan on filling a box, photographing it and just listing the entire thing. I don't have time for small lots and just want to get rid of it all! Then I will reorganize and relabel by drawers, some of the labels seem to be peeling off! Now hurry and get that done before the trash men arrive!

Saturday Special....

Pancakes and Syrup Brooch by MCW 12.00

Ahhhhh.....gotta love when that weekend hits! You can sleep in (yeah right), Relax (cough, cough ummm no), Read a book (how about watch the movie), Cook wonderful and healthy meals all day (ahhh....fast food anyone?) Needless to say the weekends are hectic. My posts are usually late and really short as they are done on the run. I try not to post on the weekends, but then I feel guilty! haha! Not sure why though. Oh well, I wanted to share with everyone something that I did this week. I changed up my shipping. After a couple years of selling online, I finally started mailing packages with delivery confirmation. I was scared that my sales would stop, since shipping is a huge part of why people don't buy. So I added it to my announcement to explain why shipping was higher than it used to be, I sent out information in my newsletter and also made a forum post about it. I wanted to cover all my bases. I did this on Thursday and that day I still got 2 sales! Yesterday, I got 6 sales and today I already have 5. It seems that my pattern is staying right on. After too many missing packages I just had to do it and now I feel so much better! So go ahead and make a drastic change, it just may get you out of a slump!

Heart Shaped Photo Frame Ring by MCW 9.00

SATURDAY SPECIAL:

Buy anything in my shop today and use code: Blogger110 and get a free bow necklace with your order! Stop on and and enjoy my candy colored paradise!!

Happy Birthday Princess

Happy 4th birthday to my amazing little girl! Princess Peanut, you are the very first light of my life. You taught me how to be a mommy and although along the way we've had some bumps in the road, we're learning it together. Your sense of style has me thinking one day, you could be the next Betsey Johnson! Your smile warms me to the bones and your laughter tinkles like little angel bells. You are a great little girl that reminds me of myself in so many ways, when you sit and read a book, all you ask for is silence and a glass of water. When you make necklaces with mommy, they have to be just right. Your patience with the younger boys shows me what a wonderful person you have already grown up to be. I look forward to the years we have ahead of us together. While often stubborn you fight for what you want and as annoying as it may be to daddy and I, don't ever lose that, There will be many times they you will have to fight to get to where you want to be. Little Autumn-Verona, thank you for making me a better person and I only hope I can mold you into being someone as great as you make me feel. Much love to a girl that makes me feel like a rockstar and may all your wishes come true today and everyday.

The Wonderful World of Flickr

My Flickr Page!

Today, we are jumping into the photographic world of Flickr. This is an AWESOME social networking site! If you love lots of photos when you read a blog, this one is for you! It's all about uploading photos and typing in brief descriptions. When you sign up, be sure to have a great profile, where you mention where you can be found. I list my Etsy Shop, my Lollishops shop and my Blog! Check out my profile here. I like fun profiles, that give a little hint to the personality. I will NOT click on profiles that JUST have FEMALE/MALE and their Shop link on them. That tells me, they are just there to sell things and not really there for the community aspect of it all. A Big no-no in my book AND in Flickrs are photos that are items for sale in your shop WITH descriptions that say FOR SALE ON MY ETSY SHOP check profile for link. That is NOT allowed and can get you shut down.

Some of my contacts that have recently updated

Ready to start adding friends? Use that search bar at the top right hand side of the page and type in some of your interests! This is a great way to find people that like the same stuff as you do and also you can find more people that like it, by checking out their contacts list too! When I add someone, I am sure to comment on their photos straight away or as soon as they add me too! Always comment on photos of those that add you too! Common courtesy! Post your link in any online forums your frequen, that's a great way to get people adding you too! Another great way is to check out the GROUPS! Click on the top tab that says GROUPS. Type in the FIND GROUPS bar, what you are looking for! Check for things you collect, your favorite color, where you sell, you name it it's there! You will be overwhelmed by the groups, but they are just so fun to be a part of! PLEASE make sure you read all the rules to the groups before posting and putting up your photos. PLEASE don't spam groups with dozens of your photos, just because they don't have upload limits, this is tacky :(

Ready to Start Uploading Photos? Click on the YOU tab at the top of the page and a drop down menu will appear, click on Upload photos and videos. There you go! It will then put you at a page to type in your descoptions and tags. DO NOT DO NOT use for sale lingo, see profile or anything like that. Remember, that if people really want to know this information, they will check out your profile themselves or message you their question. (I have made loads of sales this way!) DO not make your album ALL ABOUT what you sell. This is not a showcase gallery, it's a social site and they want you to be social, they want to see what else you do! supplies shots, family shots, studio shots, that sort of thing!Photograph the weather, your dinner, your starbucks! Anything you can think of! If your photos are ALL about what you sell, you can and will be shut down. If you use for sale, profile jargon, you can and will be shut down. How do I know? 3 of my friends were shut down (1 of them had a PRO account) with no warning at all, and me? Well I got a very stern warning. What made me get a warning and them just get deleted? No clue, talk on the Etsy forums seem to be it's just whatever admin is on duty that day. There seem to be no rhyme or reason. So be safe, before you get shut down! This is a fun site when used correctly! After my warning, I asked what was and was not allowed and those were the items that I was told! I keep many photos of my children private to only friends and or family members. It's safer that way and yet my album is still personal and not just a gallery!

Check in daily on Flickr, sometimes it's hard with the 100 other things to do, but try and work it into your schedule. I always click the CONTACTS button at the top of the page to see who has recently updated and then I choose 10 interesting photos a day to comment on. I usually end up commenting on more, but at minimum 10. I check in on my groups every now and then and many have come through in a pinch for me! I once needed to know a place that I took a picture of in another country and within an hour someone knew where I was standing! hahaha!When used properly, Flickr can get you sales and get you a lot of friends! Be My friend and I will be yours!

Sweet Treats from my Lollishops Shop!

Peeking into Myspace!

Gahhhhh! Yup, that's how I feel with the whole Myspace thing. I am going to keep this one pretty short, because I have nooo clue how to do it. I signed up and added my mini in from Etsy, I will be putting in a Lollishops one too. I posted my link in my public forums and I had people add me then. This is me on Myspace and it's as basic as it gets! haha! I have much younger family members that live on Myspace and the way I make this site work for me is to give them free goodies every now and then in exchange for keeping my mini on their page! I have 2 high schoolers, a college gal and a young 20 something. They keep my mini in a prominant spot on their Myspace page and a discount code EXCLUSIVE to their site, so I can see who brings in the most people. I'm thinking of also running some kind of ad on my Myspace to see if anyone is interested in adding my mini to their page in a prominant place in exhange for a gift certificate to my shop, as an incentive for them to keep my mini up after they have gotten the free treasures, if I get a sale directly from their coded site, I will give them something extra! I'm still thinking of just how to do this the right way :)

I mainly promote my shop by using the BULLETIN feature, this seems to work best, since all of my friends usually don't visit my site daily and everyone gets the bulletins, so this way they can choose to click if they see an interesting title. To post a bulletin just click on POST bulletin, type out the details and then follow the prompts to publish it! Use a catchy title! The key here is NOT NOT NOT to be spammy and throw out more than 1 bulletin in a row and I would say 2 max in 1 day. Make sure it's a catchy title so that people will be inclined to click. Be sure you are keeping track of your codes so you know what is working in your promtional blitz! Now get out there and Myspace to the best of your abilities!

Simple Myspace Don'ts and Do's

DO NOT message people about your shop directly! post bulletins, the other way is spammy and annoying it will get you unfriended (I probably made that word up!)

DO NOT post your mini or link to your shop in other peoples comments, it will get your comment deleted and most likely blocked if you keep it up.

DO NOT post multiple bulletins it's annoying and will keep people away from your shop if you are posting 3 or 4 things saying the same thing!

DO DO DO keepy uour avatar EYE CATCHING! When you post a comment, people will be more inclined to click on your avatar and check out your profile, seeing your mini and if they like that your shop too!

In Shop news, buy today in my Lollishops Shop and get a free bow necklace! (In my choice of colors). Buy a bow necklace for you and get a free one for a friend, buy anything else in the shop and get a free bow necklace for yourself! Check it out and get something fabulously sweet!

Twitter and You....Do You Tweet?

Twitter Button by ButtonHead 1.50

Twitter, is by far the easiest of all the socal networking sites and probably, the most addictive!

I signed up because I had heard about it in the Etsy Forums and figured 'what the heck'. Little did I know that it was not as complicated as I was making it out to be! hahaha! You literally just type in that little box what you are up to at that moment, your thoughts, feelings etc. You can also use it to tweet your shop, blog, cool finds on the net and all that, BUT don't go crazy! Every morning, I tweet my blog post, then throughout the day I will usually promo 2 items from my shop on Etsy and then in the evening, I will promo my Lollishops shop. I usually do the promoing when I am about to step away from the computer for a bit, because people usually don't respond to that kind of stuff and I don't want to respond to people too late. I use the Twitter Search to find people that are interested in the same things I do and also post my link in my blog, Myspace and Facebook accounts that's how I got a majority of my followers. The rest found my link in the Etsy Forum threads. Check them out if you are interested the pet peeves that people have, anything major you shouldn't be doing, but alot of it petty! haha! People get uptight over so little lately. I have lost followers, and while sad that's fine too, new people are constantly signing up!

Tweet Birdie Necklacy by KLACustomCreations 39.90

My pet peeve? When you Follow me, I follow you back and then you Direct Message me and THANK ME for the follow and tell me to check out your shop. That's direct Spam, and I unfollow right away. If I like your tweets, I check out your profile and then click on your link. I've found some great blogs that way!

Another Annoyance? When you follow me, I follow you and then you unfollow me. So I unfollow you and the VERY next time I check, you are following me again! Don't try and up your followers by just adding random people and then unfollowing them to be able to add more to your list.

Use Twitter as a fun way to meet new people and you will have a blast! Use Twitter as a way to just spam with every post you get and you will find youself rather lonely.

Twittering Lovebirds Necklace by MichellesCharmWorld 10.00

Simple Ways to Tweet:

1.)To respond to someone directly use this symbol in front of their name @

I would be @MichellesCHarmW

2.) To follow someone Click on their name or profile link, depending on where you find them and then just click the little Follow button

3.) to Unfollow someone, click on their name or link and click on the FOLLOWING icon under their avatar and it will open up a little box, click REMOVE.

It's really easy! Their are no hidden tricks or anything, just straightforward chat about what's going on in your life! Don't forget to add me!

My Big Sale!

This post is going to be really short, since I don't normally post on the weekends!

I mentioned I would let you all know how my featured artists spot went on the Lollishops blog!

I went from having no sales to having 3! But to be fair, I sold my gingerbread house in person to a lady that was over for a lesson. I still showed her the site, packaged it up my business card to check out everything and gave her a coupon for 5.00 off her next lollishops purchase from me!

Tip of the day:

Change up your featured items. This will give a fresh new look to your shop, to people that have already been in there before. Bring stuff from the way back to the front!

Challenge of the day:

Create a new piece to showcase today. List it, Twitter about it, Post a bulletin about it in Myspace, Facebook it in your Doing Now bar and write a note about it in Facebook. Blog about it and finally head to the Etsy forums and start a thread in promos about it, or head over to the Lollishops PUBLIC forums and do the same. YES, the thread will get buried pretty fast, but comment on other peoples items that they post and try and keep it bumped up with those comments. Tomorrow, head over here and tell me how it went! Get maximum exposure today!

MichellesCharmWorld items on Etsy

I usually try not to get too personal here, as I try hard to help others succeed in their business ventures. I have however felt attacked publicly on some forums and feel the need to defend myself. I wish people would understand that criticism is not meant to be taken to heart when it's about a shop, NOT a person. It's meant to be taken, thought about and improved if need be. It's meant as a way to help you grow. Many people DO understand this and yet there are some that think I should have my selling license (if there was such a thing!) revoked, kicked to the curb, tarred and feathered. Life isn't always going to be sunshine and gummy bears and I have come to terms with that. A little critiscism is not meant to hurt someone nor is it meant to be mean. One would think that experienced sellers would have input on things, but I guess now. It's amazing how someplace so friendly can be as mean as other places they claim are mean. Yet, it's okay for them to be mean as long as they are supportive while being mean. Hmmm..double standard? Oh well, I just everyone to know that I am online to make money. I have fun doing it, but ultimately that's why I am here. This year my earnings took us to Disney World for a week, Frankenmuth for a week, Door County for a week and Mexico for a month. This year, we plan on heading to mexico for 5 weeks, Disney world 1 week and upgrading our home. I work hard and I only want the places I sell on to be successful, why would I want them to fail? The more people buy, the more money we all make! People buy when a site is easy to navigate! Etsy and Lollishops, Dawanda, Big Cartel, 1000Markets are all home to a little corner of MichellesCharmWorld, but I don't have time to market them all. I focus on my main breadwinner which is Etsy and the next site that I felt had the most potential to really make it Lollishops. I do want all my selling venues to succeed! Good stuff comes with success! Lower fees? More fame! More money! You name it! I'm not being a Debbie Downer when I pass along information that has been given to me from my buyers, i'm just stating information. Since it's not wanted, I will keep it to myself for now and go to all the forums when I feel so high on sunshine that i'm going to burst if I can't share it with the world! So now....OFF to your challenge!

Renewing!

Teddy Bear Bow Locket By MCW 12.00

Renewing is a vicious cycle that eats into your profit margin, so make sure you are keeping an eye on just what you are renewing all the time. I always build in 2 renewals of an item into the price of that piece. I then keep a spreadsheet with the item name, date listed and price I keep 2 blank colums where I add in the date of each renewal. If a piece sells before I get a chance to renew it both times, I toss that .20 or .40 into my advertising budget for the next month. .40 can go a long way on project wonderful ads and the like! I do not like to renew my items that are priced 8.00 and under. It just eats and eats away at these items profit totals! This is a short and sweet post because I don't want you devaluing your lower priced items!

Featured items in MCW

Pancake Breakfast 16.00

12 Months of MCW Gifts 95.00

Front Page making Tea Ring Set 12.00

When things get too lost in the mix, but are too inexpensive to renew or you have used up the allowance for renewals in your budget, FEATURE them. Change up the photos a bit, dust them off . Try and change your featured items on Etsy at least every week. It gives people a chance to see what's in the back without having to go through all the pages. I change mine up usually about once a week and sometimes every other day. If you have a blog try featuring them there too!

Blogging Tips and Tricks

My Diary Brooch by MichellesCharmWorld 7.00

It's nearly impossible to keep up with a blog right? Thinking of topics, finding photos, hoping for comments all that good stuff! I have so much that goes around in my head daily, but when it comes time to sit here and actually start blogging, I can never get it straight! I figured that there are probably other people out there like me that just need a little nudge in the right direction! These tips are for you!

Cute Can Be Dangerous Knife Earrings by MichellesCharmWorld 7.00

Topics are always the place to start, since without a topic there is no blog! Sometimes coming up with a good topic is like cutting down a tree with a knife, impossible! Just keep a notebook with you for when those ideas do pop up! Decide what kind of a blog you want to have, more personal or business like. I want to try and keep mine related to business as much as possible, but I will totally be all about personal stuff when good things happen! If you are going to promote your blog as a business tool though, keep an eye on the language and selection of topics, you may not want your customer base to know too much about you! I use the SAVE NOW draft feature a lot. When I'm up late and I get loads of ideas, I start NEW POSTS and just give it a title and tags and then in the body I put a few bullet points, so I know what to build on when I'm ready to finish that topic. Then when I'm stuck for ideas I head there and finish one up! There are some days when you just don't feel like typing anything at all, I'm a big fan of the wordless posts! (I've seen Wordless Wednesday, Things to Think About Thursdays, Word Free Friday) These are just posts of photos with or without captions. I usually try and do a Sunday post like this and call it: The Weekend In Photos. It's an easy way to not neglect your blog and give yourself a break. Just don't overuse that one, it's never good to not get any context out of a blog. Another good way to use up some posts is to do features on fellow sellers or reviews of recent purchases! People love to know all about what you like and buy if they are already following your blog!

Say Cheese Camera Necklace by MichellesCharmWorld 13.00

On to the photos! These are HUGE! Even if you only have a one word post, use PHOTOS! Readers love having something to look at! Most importantly be sure your photos link back to something! If someone clicks on something from your shop, have it take them to that listing. If it's a photo of your kids in a playhouse, have the click take them to that playhouse for sale. Remember links are good! If you feel your photos are too plain, add some fun borders or a little text in them. If you don't have any photos to get your post across, promote other sellers by using their photos and have them link back to their listings! Featuring people is good! This is your chance to feature items from your shop, to show everyone a little bit of what you do! Keep the photos as relevant as possible though to keep your post flowing.

Typewriter Necklace by MichellesCharmWorld 10.00

Link Links Links! Links are the most important! The more places you link to, the more people will find you. There are a lot of programs out there that are telling web owners who is linking to their sites and from where. It will get you traffic!! If your readers are falling in love with whatever you are talking about, you need to let them know where to find it!

The road to a friend's house is never long

Time! We never have time anymore. There is always something going on and believe me, I know all about being busy! I'm a mom to 3 kiddies (3,2,1) and they keep me busy non stop. Assign yourself a time to blog EVERY DAY! Even if you are only able to churn out 2 sentences (add 2 photos above and below the sentences and you have a post!!), do it! I blog every morning as soon as I get up. I wake up early enough to check my computer goings on and what not. It's quiet time before the kids get up and while husband is in the shower. I make it a point to blog at this point. Life does get in the way, but sometimes a pretty photo and a quote from somewhere will be great and just may make someones day. There is ALWAYS time for something. It's easy to say you will blog tomorrow, but then that becomes the next day and that becomes the next. It's a vicious cycle. There are so many blogs out there that I admire and love to read, the ones that keep me coming back for more all the time. I love those blogs! I want to be those blogs! I aim to help and really hope that this helps you all become great bloggers!!

MOST IMPORTANTLY Don't forget your Etsy Mini or a collage of your goodies and a LINK to get people to your shops!!! I go to so many blogs and CANNOT for the life of me figure out how to get to where they sell! Get going!

+++++++++HAVE A SECOND?+++++++++

Copy This link: http://www.Lollishops.com/Node/5709

Then Go here: http://lollishops.blogspot.com/2008/12/lollishops-gingerbread-contest-lets.html

and it will take you to a contest i've entered! To vote for me just click on POST A COMMENT and paste the link you copied before there! Thank you for your time!:

http://www.lollishops.com/node/5709 <----my gingerbread house

International Shipping, Do not be afraid!

Mail Box Earrings by MichellesCharmWorld 7.00

I have run into the CUTEST stuff on Etsy and lo and behold, they don't ship to my country! Or worse yet, they are charging 20.00 and saying they will refund the overage. I like to know exactly how much it will cost and if it is 10.00 I want to know why. Does it come in a box packaged nicely? Lot's of details should be placed here if it's higher than normal.

Love Letters Brooch by MichellesCharmWorld 8.00

It's fairly easy to dive into the world of International Shipping and does not really take much more supplies. In fact it just takes customs forms that come FREE from the post office. It will take a bit more time, so be sure to add that into your shipping price. You cannot ship International packages from home, they must be sent at the post office. PLEASE state your shipping dates in your announcement if you only go to the post office on certain days. I like to get my goodies fast! Ready for the wonderful world of shipping overseas? Let's get started!

Phonebooth Ring by MichellesCharmWorld 10.00

It's a scary start to begin the International shipping phase of a businesss, but once you've started you will never ever regret it! Over 90% of my business is International and i'm not kidding. You could be missing a mass market over there. First things First, get familiar with your local post office. Give them a call and find out their hours, then drop by with your questions if you don't know them all yet. Do they have an Automated Postal System? These machines are awesome for 24 hour posting of your products. Just keep in mind they DO NOT do International boxes or thicker envelopes. Be sure at your first visit to chat about International Shipping to bring a package of your typical sale. (for me I put in a necklace and ring and packaged it up as though it were a sale), AND I brought along another packaged box adding in another necklace and bracelet. I had a list of some of the more popular and expensive places to ship to and had the post office clerk give me quotes on what it would be like to ship to these places. It's a live and learn process, and I have made a couple mistakes. I just learned yesterday that Finland is pretty expensive to ship to. I also learned once that Singapore is almost right on with the shipping domestically in the US. Canada is also the same as the US. Higer priced countries are:

Australia, United Kingdom, Finland and Russia. Lower ones that surprised me were:

Norway, Singapore and Mexico. Be sure to seperate these countries as you go along, because many of them will not want to pay as much as the bigger countries if they have purchased online before and they know the typical amount. Checking the weight online is NOT always accurate for International orders. I HIGHLY recomend the field trip to your P.O alternative for the first time :) Also while there ask the clerk for a STACK of customs forms, so you fill them out at home! I also stamp all of them with my return address label while watching TV and fill out everything I can on it, so I only have to do the customer information when I sell something.

My New Ring, Earrings, Brooches and some Necklaces Boxes

If you have super cute or pretty packaging, be sure to include a photo of it in your listing, it will explain why your pricing is a bit high and may even get you a sale from someone that sees that it will not just come thrown in an envelope. Remember though, don't spend too much time or money on your packaging as you will have to be including the price of these items and your time into your products! Me? If your shipping is reasonable, I don't care if the item comes wrapped in toilet paper (clean of course), in a pasta box and wrapped with a brown paper grocery bag. I'm all for saving the environment! Just get it to me safely. I just started using new boxes that are not your typical cardboard box that still gets crushed by the post office and I love them! Infact I've had other sellers love them too! haha! I've even sold some of my stash to fellow Etsians! These are great and failry inexpensive to tag onto my shipping prices. Hope I have helped some of you lean more towards the International Shipping Market!

Open For Business

So I have finally got some items up in the new shop and i'm ready to roll! I'm going to limit myself in listings right now, because the site is new and a bit buggy still. I am totally willing to give it a chance since it's so fun to be a part of the lollishop community! I am reserving my review of this new selling venue until I have given it about a month. I will let you know how it goes! Don't forget first 5 people to purchase from me over on Lollishops and spend over 15.00 get a free swag bag! But for TODAY DECEMBER 3rd ONLY every purchase gets a swag bag! Yay! Shipping is included in the listings already, so no mystery shopping here!



A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to Ruth of chickedee-chickedee on blogspot for the AWESOME feature she did on me this week! She was such a sweetie and her questions were so fun! Check out her super cute shop of Buttons too!!

I Finally Made It & Missed It!

Tea Time Ring set By MichellesCharmWorld 12.00

So it finally happened! I made the front page. Yup, me, MichellesCharmWorld. 28 year old mother of 3. 1 year on Etsy and nowhere near professional photos! The sad part about it? I missed it. I was posting on the forums and suddenly was getting congratulated! I didn't know what for and was kindly informed I had made the front page! I was originally an alternate and then I made it on when someone bought something from there. Me...I....MCW....was on the FRONT PAGE!! If anyone out there has a screen shot of it, please let me know!!! The Etsy front Pagers on Flickr have the page before I made it on and that's how I saw that I was orignally an alternate. The ring set above is the one that made it and I am so happy! It was curated by Admin, so whoever you are out there, thanks so much for making my day!

So what happened in the aftermath? Just my happiness! haha! Actually I didn't get any sales at all today, lots of hearts and that's about it. Crazy how I usually make at least 1 sale a day and the day I make the front page, I don't get any! So, all in all I was thrilled, excited, elated, but it's not the magic cure for insta-success!

Now...about that Featured Seller bit ;)