Sunday, December 21, 2008

Come Shop Lollishops Today!

Today we're off to shop a new marketplace! I have opened up shop on Lollishops this month and want to bring people to the world of girly girly goodness! There is so much to find and see here, that I thought I would bring you a peek at what is behind that pretty, pink, Lacy curtain!
From Left to Right in the gift-guide:
Row 1->
Pink Whipped Cream Ring by MichellesCharmWorld
Pink Patchwork Pillow by BStudio
Cupcakes Magnet Set by HeatherKnitz
Cupcake Card Set by ExpressionsbyDevin

Row 2->
Embroidered Lavender Sachet by BailiwickDesigns
Vintage Whimsy from FadedButDesiredTreasures

Row 3->
Knit Baby Booties by MonarchDancer
Flowers 5 Card Set by Pnkgeeni

Row 4->
Faux Petit Fours by RenegadeRose
Gift Card Sleeve by ArtbyNaomi
Roses Roses Fairy House by CarolineAlexander
Victorian Boot Sachet by NanasNest


More Lollishops Goodies!

From L -> R

Row 1:

Sequin and Flowers Cards set of 4 by PinkPatriceBoutique

Button Votive Holder by PinkyLouLou

Girl with Bird Notecard by HappyDayStudio

Seaside Picnic Print by AliceInParis
I'm taking a break from the world of social networking today! I will finish last weeks chapter with Flickr tomorrow! Feel free to open an account today or add me to yours now! This is ME!

Sunday Reminder!


Well it's time to get ready to start with a fresh new week! Let's get into those shops and change up our featured items!

Sunday Special!


Just a brief pop in! I have been so crazy busy lately that I have 100% neglected my shops!

So I'm here to offer you some goodies and treasures if you pop in here at my blog on this chilly sunday!

Shop MichellesCharmWorld on Lollishops and get a FREE bow necklace with any sized order AND get a 5.00 off coupon for ANY of my other shops! (TheFunkyBeadNButton or MichellesCharmWorld on Etsy or MichellesCharmWorld on Lollishops)

Just use CODE: FREEBLOG1221 in the PAYPAL notes.

PLEASE NOTE ALL Shipping is included in my Lollishops prices! No additional charges there!

Sundaes and Chocolate Syrup Ring Set by MCW 12.00


Shop MCW on Etsy and get a Free Bow Necklace with every purchase!

Use Code: FreeBlogBow1221

Spend 30.00 or more and get a free ring set too of your choice!


For the ring set, just add it into your order and I will send you a new paypal invoice with the lowest priced ring set taken off and THEN you pay your invoice.

Use Code: FreeBlogSet1221




Check out all of Etsy today! Here are a few of my favorites!!!

Friday, December 19, 2008

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!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

A Readers Challenge


Tomorrow we will be looking into Myspace and how to work that, so go ahead and sign up for an account if you have one! Add Me and you will have at least 1 friend for now! Today, I wanted to challenge all of us and at the same time test out a still fairly new site! This place is called OWN THE HOUR, I did post about my test with this site earlier and it was still a fairly brand new site and all did not go too well, but it's gaining steam and it's still being chatted about. Everyone has .50 in their paypal accounts right? If so, take the challenge with me! Open up the site and look how pretty it is! It reminds me of the treasury pages and the Etsy front page.


Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and then click on Own The Hour (Sign-Up).



Here is where we choose an hour. I'm hoping all my readers will join me in owning the 6:00 pm(remember this is for TOMORROW and the time is EASTERN) time slot. Let's fill it with MCW Blog readers! Please remember to post a link to the item your are advertising here in my comments, so I know who took me up on the challenge! Also keep us posted here on how you did! When you post here with your item link, let us know how many views you have on that item and then when you post back with results let us know if the item sold, and if not how many views you have on it now. It's super easy to buy an hour!
Your Etsy Item ID Can be found when you open up a listing on the right hand side it says LISTING #. Just copy and paste that into the box! So readers, let's get out there and OWN THE HOUR!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

The Faceboook Phenomenon!


Today we are checking out Facebook as a way of social networking. This is a great way to meet up with old friends and new. YES, it is a place where those old pals from highschool and YIKES even gradeschool may find you, but it's fun! I was utterly and totally confused by all the widgets, add-ons and craziness that was in front of me when I started, but afterawhile I started to get the hang of it! No worries, if it takes you awhile to get out there too! Just start by signing up! Ready to add friends? Post the link to your site on the public forums of your selling venues! Mine is on the Etsy forums and the Lollishops ones too! Once in awhile I Tweet my link on Twitter too! (read my blog post on Twitter here).
Alright, on to the promoting! At the top of your HOME page, you will see a little status bar, much like the one on Twitter. You click inside of the blurb and type what you are doing at the moment! I use this to put big sales, Exclusive codes to my shop and anything else that is shop related. But take a look at it right now ^ I ALSO use it to really update about my life. I don't want to spam Facebook either. I want my friends to stay my friends and not tune me out. Yes, i've already had to tune out frequent spammers, they post link after link after link to their shops. Not just blogs, shops, life etc. It's ALL SHOP ALL THE TIME! This is NOT the way to use Facebook! Starting a Group about your business! I had a couple customers ask me if I was on Facebook, then they started asking me about groups so that they could link their friends! So last week I started my very own group! PLEASE join mine and I will join yours! To get started just go to your HOME page ( you can find this at the top of your Facebook page) Then click on the right hand side the icon that says GROUPS.
Next you want to click on +Create A New Group on the right hand side of the screen it will look like this:



Just follow the prompts from there and it's super easy! Post your link on your public message forums too! (Make sure they allow it!) This is a fun way of keeping former customers and new ones in the loop of what is going on with your shop and what is new! Be sure to add SALE information and EXCLUSIVE discounts too! Get the word out quickly and in a fun way too! Invite your customers to share photos of them wearing your goodies or putting them on display somewhere!

So not everyone joined your group and you still want to spread the word about sales right? Well another awesome way to get memos out is through their NOTES function. Go back to your HOMe page and on the right hand side box where you found the GROUPS button, click on your NOTES button. It may not be visible like mine is, so click on the tiny little triangle that says MORE and it will be in that pull-down list. Click on WRITE A NEW NOTE. It's on the right hand side again! Follow those prompts and it's pretty easy! Publish the whole thing and now your entire stream will see it! So see, it's not that hard to get started on Facebook! Hope I helped someone out there!

New in the shop is my line of Breakfast Treats! From 9.00-30.00.



Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Todays Reminder!


Change up those featured items! Go on, get the dusty ones in the back! Let's sell one of those items this week!! I'm spending 2.00 in my shop today to relist sold items, renew older pieces that have potential and list new pieces! I'm onto a good start so far!


Be the first to spend 25.00 in my shop today and get your goodies packaged in this AWESOME little jewel box that I embellished! It was listed in my shop, but finally expired today, I would like to give it as a cute gift box instead of relisting it!

Twitter and You....Do You Tweet?



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!


Monday, December 15, 2008

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!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sunday Sensations!


Just a quick post before I leave for the day! I saw these and fell in love! I'm actually going to buy them today and I just had to share how cute they all were! I plan on doing something totally awesome with all the pins I buy, I just have to decide how many I want on it and when it's truly ready to be started on! Do you have any great pins to share?

Twitter button by Ainsmar 1.00


Tip of the day:
Are you getting yourself out there? Promoting on the fly? Chatting up your shop without even saying a word? I have decals on the windshield of both my vehicles, I have magnetic signs on either side of my car and I just take those and move them to whatever car I am driving that day!
Great for long roadtrips! I am also about to buy this awesome pieces I found last week on MonsterPromos! So get chatting without saying a word! Spread around that shop love!



Custom License Plate Frame by MonsterPromos 16.00

Saturday, December 13, 2008

New and Tasty Treats....

Tiny Candy Shop by MCW 25.00

Alright, so just new, because these new treats CANNOT be eaten! hahaha!! I wanted to follow up on my own challenge today just before I head out the door, so here are my new goodies! It's a line of non edible candies that makes my mouth water! I am off to Tweet about it and all that good stuff and then heading to Water Tower Place in downtown Chicago today!

Peanut Candy Necklace by MCW 10.00

Chocolate Candies Bracelet by MCW 12.00

Kissably Sweet Earrings by MCW 8.00

Chocolate Bar Necklace by MCW 12.00

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!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Are You Getting Repeat Business? AND I'm a Featured Artist!

Bacon Necklace by MichellesCharmWorld 13.00
Don't you just loooove when your customers gush about your goodies and then COME BACK for more?? How about when they send their friends back? Be sure you are getting your customers back in the door with a few little tips from moi!
1. Business cards. USE THEM! You would be surprised at the amount of packages I get with no business cards! I buy a lot (shop-a-holic) and that means I am getting 3 or 4 packages a day in the mail, I can't remember where everything is coming from!


2. Turn your business card around, see that blank spot on the back? It's begging to be used! write a discount on it, free shipping, free earrings, 5 dollars off! Something!! Remember to keep track of your discounts! Remember my post on this?


3. Send an extra card AND discount and write: FOR A FRIEND! And let them know that if a friend (different address and username) THEY also get something free!


4. Labels or Stickers. Put them on all of your packaged goodies, baggies, tissue paper, whatever you use! Make sure they see your shop name enough to remember it!

5. Shop stamp! Stamp your packages with something that has your logo on it. I've gotten 1 order (only 1, but heck it's 1 more that I wouldn't have!) from a post office employee! She knew I came in every day and knew there had to be something good in the envelopes and she said she loved my pieces I wore to the post office, so she wrote down the shop from the stamp, shopped and bought! STAMP the inside of your boxes too! I've had one sale from someone that bought something that had bought something from me and re-used the box! (Confusing I know).

6. Have a newsletter that people can sign up for and be sure to not spam them, have it come out once a month! Put pics of some of your hot items, a discount coupon and your shop news! Some highlights and what you are working on next. Offer EXCLUSIVE pieces to these people!


7. In one of your reply emails updating on their shipping let them know about your newsletter and offer a sign up sheet for them to sign up and get exclusive customer discounts!


8. EXCELLENT customer service. Acknowledge their order,let them know when you plan on shipping it out and try and leave feedback in a timely manner. Remember my post on this?


Wafer Cookie Earrings by MichellesCharmWorld on Lollishops 6.00



Don't forget to check out the Lollishops Blog this weekend! I'm the featured seller! I will let you know tomorrow in a teeny tiny post if I finally got any sales in my Candy Colored Lollishop Paradise. Remember, I have one heck of a rockin' goodie bag for anyone that purchases from my Lollishop today! Remember ALL my prices on Lollishops have shipping included in them, NO extra charges here!!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Your Niche?

Room Service Cart Necklace by MCW 25.00



Have you found your niche in this wonderful crafting world? You know, who you are marketing to? Who your products are geared towards? Once you figure this out, you will have an EXCELLENT idea on where to begin advertising your products. Me? I know from experience that any kind of craft show with the word Country in it or spelled Kraft is just not for me, no matter how cheap the booth fee is. Remember selecting a craft show goes far beyond the rental fee. I know that an elementary school show is not a good idea for me, since so many people outside of my niche market have assumed my items are for children. After doing a survey at shows (visually) to see who was buying my stuff and their age range, I started sending out a survey at the bottom of my e-newsletter to find out the statistics of my average buyer. I found out what the age range was and then did my own research to find out where they typically hung out, shopped for, what trends they followed etc. This helped me 100% in finding out where to put my fliers and such out.





Hidden tip? Don't count out the retirement homes. Give them a call and see what they have goign on! They will allow you to set up a booth if you call and ask. Sometimes they already have craft shows set up and sometimes you can set a small up. I know a Party Lite Lady, Avon Lady and a handful of crafters that usually do the home party ciruit with me, so I can depend on them in a crunch! This group of people ALWAYS buys for their friends and family. I usually put a sign up of customer photos on an easel and any latest reviews on my items so that they get an idea of who buys my stuff.




Vintage Button Bracelet by MCW 40.00



Branch it out! I have several different lines that I work in, I even do Bridal Jewelry! (I know I know surprising right??) I only do this stuff in real life and sometimes if my shop is slow and my real life orders are slow, I enter into craft shows that showcase my other lines (Bridal and Buttons) or I slim down to fit into the categories offered in a craft show. (Just teddy bear and bow earrings for the Teddy Bear Convention). My main focus is MichellesCharmWorld Funky and Chunky Creations, so I always market that, and that's what is my true passion! Just know who you are selling to and you can do it so much better! Try different marketplaces too! There are soo many out there it's not just Ebay and Etsy anymore! I'm a new member of Lollishops

it's a new selling venue targeted towards the super girly! I really liked that idea and figured I would give it a try. Remember we only learn from that which we try! My review on this place comes up at the beginning of the new year!


Let me reccomend to you: CRAFT INC a book about Turning Your Creative Hobby Into a Business. I went through it with one of those highlighter post it pens! I keep it with me usually at all times in my diaper bag! It's a good reference book and great book to read more than once.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Self Promotion Is Good!

New Business Cards by Windy1824


Today is a day of shameless self promotion! I've been really lacking the views lately over on my new Lollishops site. It's still a new place, so hurry up and check it out. I've been developing my promotions process for this place and while I'm stepping it up to the same amount of time I spend promoting my Etsy shop, I am still not to where I would like to be. I figured a little bit of tooting my own horn can't help! hahaa! I will be doing a full review of my shopping, selling, and be-friending experiences on Lollishops after the holidays when I have a little time to get more done and I have given the site a fair chance to work it's magic (candy magic that is) on me. When I first started on Etsy I sold something within hours of posting it! I know it's because that was a way more established site a year ago, but it was still amazing! Maybe this is a dose of medicine in patience. I am not a very patient person at all, so let's hope it goes by fast! I'm still giving a free goodie bag of awesome sweets to the first person that buys from me on Lollishops!!!
You can see a bit of the sweets I have available in this cute new Lolli-Mini I made up:
ALL SHIPPING IS INCLUDED IN MY PRICES ON LOLLISHOPS!
Trinkets and Treasure by MichellesCharmWorld on Lollishops
Hot Chocolate Bracelet 15.00

My banner will stay the same in all shops as it's a sign of shop consistency. I want everything to tie together so people know it's still me. New banners are fun, but I want people to look at the banner and know they are in one of my shops!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Renewing!


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


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!
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