Sunday Sensations!

Gnome Button Set by Manhandled 4.00

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

New and Tasty Treats....

Tiny Candy Shop by MCW 25.00

Tiny Candy Shop Brooch by MCW 15.00

Lollipop Shop Earrings by MCW 8.00

Candy Shop Sign Necklace by MCW 10.00

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!

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!!

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.

Talk To Me Phone Necklace by MCW 12.00

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.

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

Butter Cookie Necklace 12.00

Whipped Cream Dollup Ring 12.00

Lollipop Shop Ring 8.00

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!

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

Did You Know?

This Weekends Goodies!

Ten Random Thoughts About Me!

1> I love Antique Stores, Estate Sales and Flea Markets.

2> I collect Vintage Tupperware and Plastic 80s Charms

3> I was Married in Walt Disney World

4> I am studying Japanese Slooooooowlllllllyyyyyyyyyyy

5> I love the smell of gasoline and new plastic

6> My signature color is pink & I try to wear it daily

7> I was a cheerleader in high school

8> In grade school I was the biggest nerd EVER

9> I have only 3 really good friends

10> I find rain very romantic

730 Views 28 Hearts and no Home by MichellesCharmWorld 12.00

Take this necklace home today and get free shipping off your next purchase at MichellesCharmWorld! and a free lollipop cell phone charm!

Have a Minute? I Challenge You!

Pink Bracelet by MichellesCharmWorld 12.00

With this one, I think the backround is competing with the bracelet

Somtimes a shop can get stale and needs a little TLC. This can happen to shops that only have a few pages and even ones like mine that have waaaay too many pages!

Take a look through the 'dusty' pages of your shop. Those ones in the waaay back. It's time to give it a little tidy up. Taka a new photo, maybe add a little something to the piece or take something away? Change up the chain? Change up some colors in it? Give 2 pieces in your shop a face lift today and let's see if that makes a difference! It's time to do a little holiday cleaning!

Conversation Heart Necklace by MichellesCharmWorld 9.00

I will add on another heart charm to this and take a clearer photo

Thanks to all the voted for me! I won the contest this month!! Yay!

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!

Fun Mail

Buttons and Cabochons!

I had a fabulous mail day! I love getting good mail and figured I would share it with you!! I got some Awesome Awesome Etsy stuff! Candy, Cookie and Bow Cabochons from XtraStuff and some super cute buttons from PracticalRabbit. My fave is the FREE HUGS one. Read about the Free Hugs Campaign Here. I figure i'm going to try out wearing it while I do my errands and such and see if anyone notices it!

These little pretties also arrived from LayerCakeShop. I can't wait to work with them!! Shopping on Etsy is always a lot of fun, and I usually never buy the same supply from the same shop more than once. I like to spread it all around, but I have to say I came across some AWESOME customer service lately and I know of one shop where I will be back!! Please remember how important customer service is in the competitive market of online shopping. If you missed it, check out my post about it here.

YAY!

Here it is!!! I'm in the bottom row and it turns out that I was on there most of the time!! I was originally an alternate, but someone bought something from there within the first 5 minutes and I made my front page debut!

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!!

Photos...The Be All, End All?

Gingerbread House Brooch by MichellesCharmWorld on Lollishops

Ahhh....we've all heard it right? Go into the forums and ask about being a successful shop and at least 75% of the replies will be about photos. GO ahead, try it, I dare you ;) Yes, your photos should be clear and a bit bright, but don't stress over them! Don't take 10 photos of each and every one of your products hoping for the right one, or your items will end up costing 50.00 each! (Yes, you should be adding in your photo taking time into the cost of your items.) Don't go running out to take photography lessons and buying 50.00 lightboxes. HOLD UP! WAIT! Take a deep breath and have a look around. light boxes and lessons take money. Wait until you have it in your business account to do it if you really want these things. If you don't and just think it's a necessary thing to sell anything, then wait and keep reading.

Tea and Crumpets Necklace by MichellesCharmWorld on Lollishops

I have 1100 something sales or something like that, I do not have a lightbox, take my photos at night in a dark room sometimes, change my backround like all heck and worst of all? My photos are blurry sometimes! Go ahead, I will wait here, Check out my sold items section and go waaaay back to my last page. Did you see them? The blurry, pixelated messes I called photos? They were awful, dark and unedited. I made my first sale within an hour of being open! I knew right off the bat I needed a new camera, but it was not in the budget at the moment. I had a craft show lined up for a month after opening and until then I asked for advice. I started taking photos outside in natural light and that helped ALOT! Then the midwest reared it's ugly head and sometimes it was 100* outside and there was no way in heck I was going to photograph outside, so I started doing it by a window, this was also good!! Then sometimes my kids wouldn't take naps on some days and I was stuck waiting until my husband got home at 430 and sometimes it was already getting dark?! So I started using a photo editing program!! That has been my BEST FRIEND! My photos are still not great, not even good sometimes, but I'm selling regulary and you can at least see what it is you are buying :) MY new camera eventually was purchased after a successful craft show and though it was not the magic answer to my photos, it did help! (Macro setting was a must!).

Conversation Heart Rings by MichellesCharmWorld on Lollishops

Now take a look at some of the shops out there, some of them have THOUSANDS of sales and their photos are so dark, half the time I don't even know what I'm buying without reading the description. (Maybe people like the grab bag idea?! heehe). Some shops have photos that are excellent, but so overpropped, you don't know if you are getting the 5 strands of pearls are part of that bottlecap key chain, and yet they have loads of sales. I think it's all about a catchy thumbnail, combined with a CLEAR, DESCRIPTIVE title. (No need to get creative with your titles, I find my creative titles have the least amount of views). If you've been here yesterday, you will also note that I made the front page too! So see, just try hard, but don't overdo it. Perfect pictures are not always the answer. I've seen some FAB-YOU-Less photos out there in shops that have been open and avtive since 2005 and they still only have a few sales. It's all about your product. Work with what you have and don't stress!

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 ;)

Gingerbread House Contest

So it's finally finished! My Lollishops gingerbread house for the contest is complete. It's not at all what I was aiming for, but I just had too many other things going on right now.

The carousel and the well and the flamingos all shown in the 'lawn' have all been pieces in bits and baubles I have created in my shop!

I wanted my house to be a representation of my shop in general. You will catch the candy trims which I use in loads of my creations, the beading on the edge of the house is something I use in some of my necklaces. The windo boxes are legos, I use a lot of them in my creations too! In the eaves of the front of the home I have pink vintage flat back buttons that I use in my vintage button bracelets. I wanted to be sure I used only supplies that I use in my jewelry. I figured it would make it much more 'ME'.

Hope you like it!

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!