By Donna aka Glassandwiregems

How do you help the customer find your products? You take advantage of a process called search engine optimization or SEO.

Caleb, ArtFire’s Director of Search Engine Optimization stated that their main goal “is to inform and teach our members about SEO, encourage them to be proactive and test different methods of listings, and give them as much freedom as possible so that they can have an impact on their own SEO.” With that goal in mind, ArtFire has written a number of guides to help their studio owners take advantage of all options available to increase their rankings in the search.

Before you can use SEO effectively, you have to know what is involved. A customer searching for a product uses a search engine, i.e. Google, Bing, etc., to search for the product they want to purchase using what is called a keyword. These search engines then use a multitude of factors in determining which pages are appropriate or relevant and what order to rank them in. Basically, search engines check a page’s content looking for the keywords together which what that page links to. The pages are indexed and follow more links to find new pages. This process is repeated again and again. The search engine uses the data it has acquired to build an index. That index is used to display the results. This result is a SERP or search engine results page.

You can influence your ranking in two different ways. These are called off-site optimization and on-site optimization. Off-site optimization essentially acquires links to your website from other sources, i.e. if one site has 1,000s of people linking to it, that site would be viewed as a better resource than the one that only has a few. Therefore, it is important for studio site to create content that is unique so that others want to link to it.

On-site optimization involves creating good keyword content. Strong meta tags, titles and descriptions are needed to optimize your page. One example of this process is a customer searching for a “custom opal bracelet.” If your web page has those words in its title and product description, you can be fairly sure that your page will come up higher in the rankings than one that says “opal jewelry.”

When you are writing your titles, meta tags and content, consider how someone would search for your product. If you have described what you are selling accurately, you have enhanced your use of SEO.

ArtFire considers their listing page as the most important page on the entire site. The members are given as much control as possible over their items page. The items page has been created in such a way that the information a member provides is optimized for their item. ArtFire stays up-to-date on any changes and news regarding SEO and plans accordingly. They are on top of current trends, i.e. The Alice in Wonderland blog blitz. They take SEO very seriously because they have “found it to be the best way to drive, new, interested buyers directly into our members studios.”

If you want your product to noticed, you should too!

Picture courtesy of Mod3artdesigns

By Contributing columnist Susan Averello aka Fantasy Clay

Google Analytics can be one of those great tools that can give you much information about your store or website. It can let you know the number of visitors to your site on a daily basis, how they get there, even what words they use to find your site.  If you have your own site or sell on a site that is integrated with Google Analytics, this is a must have tool. Knowing where your visitors arrive from can enable you to market more directly.

Your first step is setting up an account, if you haven’t already.  Go to google.com/analytics. This will take you directly to the log in page.  From there you can sign in using your Google account; if you have Gmail and/or a Blogspot blog, you have a Google account. If not, there is a link to set up a Google account. When you  log in, you need to sign up for Google Analytics-they’ll be a box right there.

The next page is Analytics: New Account Sign Up. It will ask you for your website’s URL. You want to use your store’s main page: i.e. http://username.artfire.com. Then just name the account and fill in the rest with your country and time zone.  Click continue. The next page just asks for your name, then click accept policies. After that, you’ll be on a page with some code and some choices. Leave it on the defaults.

And finally,  the last step. If you look at the code- there is a UA number; it should be in this format 00000000-0. In a site that is integrated with GA, you just need to enter this number in the stats page.  I know ArtFire, 1000Markets and Etsy are and Zibbet isn’t. I don’t have experience with any other shops so you need to check. It will usually be under Stats or Analytics, depending what a site names it.

If you own your own site or a blog, you’ll have to copy and paste the code anywhere before <body> in the page’s html code. It’s easy enough to do on Blogger. Click on Edit HTML, then paste the code any where before the <body> tag. Rather than search the whole page, just paste before any other code. Then click ‘save template’.

Google Analytics stats are not in real-time. They are updated daily, so you’ll have to wait a day before seeing any data.  Tomorrow you will have a few graphs, I think everyone gets hooked on the top one; this lists the number of visitors a day. However, Google Analytics will count every visit, including yours, so in the next article, I’ll tell you how to set up a filter so your views won’t be counted.

Photo courtesy of RoundWords

One Shop or Two?
by contributing columnist Ashley Pahl aka AshleyPahl

Having an Etsy, Artfire or Folksy shop can sometimes be a very time-consuming activity. Why would a person want to open a second shop? There are many good reasons for making the decision to have two stores, and sometimes it is the right choice. Some good reasons for opening a second shop include:

1. Introducing a new line of items or a different style.

2. Selling handmade if you own a supply shop, or vintage if you own a handmade shop, etc.

3. A shop appears cluttered and is overwhelming to shop browsers.

4. Separating the popular money-makers from the more serious art forms.

5. Dividing a wide range of prices into two so that shoppers can focus and better compare products.

Buyers may have an easier time focusing on the items they are looking for if they are separated from the additional miscellanea that you sell. For example, if you mostly make knit hats, but also have your handmade earrings peppered in your shop, it may be too distracting for shoppers who came to your shop looking for hats. Alternatively, if you have a shop that specializes in sterling silver jewelry, it may help a shopper to focus on what they really want if the more expensive pieces are separated from less expensive “silver-toned” pieces.

Having a second shop may even get you more exposure. You can be listed in directories twice, in Etsy’s search engine twice (when searching for sellers), and could be stumbled upon twice.

The downside, of course, is that a second shop is twice the work. Two shops to stock; two shops to market and promote; two shops to make listings for; two shops to answer messages for and complete feedback for. Additionally, if you decide to move items that you already have listed in one shop to a new shop, you will need to do so manually: copy and paste the titles, descriptions, and materials, re-type the tags, make new shipping profiles, and upload the photos all over again. Not only that, but you will lose all of the hearts and views you have accumulated for such items. Your shop’s feedback will be back at zero and you’ll have to find a way to bring shoppers to your second store.

For many, it may be worth adding a new product line to the original shop and see how it fairs. Additionally, it may help to organize the “clutter” of the first shop into something more manageable for browsers. The shop sections feature and Rearrange Shop feature are both great for accomplishing such a task.

If the pros outweigh the cons and you decide to go for it, here are some things to remember when opening a second store:

1. You will need a second email address. Each email address can only be linked to one account on Etsy.

2. You will need to disclose your additional shops. You must link from your first shop to your second shop and vice versa either in your shop announcement, profile, or shop policies page.

3. All listings must be manually re-listed. There is no way to just switch them to a new account, and you will have to pay listing fees again.

4. The same PayPal account can be used for multiple Etsy accounts – there is no limit.

5. If you are not using the same banner, avatar, packaging materials and business cards that you use for your first shop, you may need to get new ones, which will add additional costs.

All in all, the decision to open a second online shop is really an individual one. What works for one business may not pan out for another. It may be worth the financial risk to open a new store, or it may be more practical to better manage your first shop. Many Etsy businesses do quite well with multiple shops, and as the old adage goes, “you never know until you try”.

Poster image courtesy of   The LoveShop

“Open” image courtesy of   The Back Porch Shoppe

Picture courtesy of 3gwoodworks

By contributing columnist Pam aka ElectricPenquin
Once your fabulous picture gets a customer to open your listing, it’s the description that makes or breaks the deal. That’s a lot of pressure on a few sentences! Here’s how I attack the description demons:

First, I come up with the answers to these questions. One good way to answer these is to pretend you’re describing it to someone over the phone. What words would you use then?
- To start with, what is it – necklace, terrarium, hat, coat rack?
- What materials is it made of?
- What color(s) is it?
- For necklaces and bracelets (and anything else that closes), what kind of clasp does it have? Extender chain?
- What size is it overall? Most of the world is metric, so measurements should be listed in both inches and centimeters (confession – mine are not!).
- What sizes are the components? I just list the main pieces, not every single bead.
- How is it packaged – gift wrapped, organza bag, recycled padding?
- Any instructions or information the buyer might want to know beforehand – can’t get it wet, will arrive unassembled?
- Is it custom made? If so, it may take longer to ship out than usual.
- If a component was truly handmade and bought from a fellow Etsyian (like ceramic beads or pendants), I think it’s a really nice gesture to mention that. I usually go with something like “The ceramic beads were handmade by xxxxxxx.etsy.com” (no period at the end of the sentence). That syntax puts a link to their shop, once the listing is saved.

Then it’s time to type all of those answers into a persuasive, item selling group of sentences!
- The first sentence has to be snazzy and attention grabbing, as it’s what displays on a Google search. This is the most difficult part!! I try to put as much in it as possible, while still staying at around 100 characters. I always use the “View a preview of how your item will appear in Google search results” link to see the final result, and tweak it as needed.
- I try to type in coherent sentences, with proper cases and grammar. For terrible typists like me, spell check is a requirement!! Hint – put it in Word or an email, and check it there.
- I proper case the title and keep it to a reasonable length. Arrggh, I can’t stand titles that contain 30 words all in caps! I won’t even open them even if the piece looks really cool.
- Finally, in the beginning, I had someone else look at the final version as if they wanted to buy the piece, and had them tell me what they thought was missing.

Ta da, you’re done! Next, it’s off to the dreaded tags. More fun!!

It took me forever to write up just one item when I first started, but now I’m pretty fast. Descriptions do get easier the more you do them, really they do!

By Contributing Columnist AmyMark aka AmyOrangeJuice

I had not participated in formal artistic activities for 8 years, until the TRAIL collective was brought to my attention. Now in its 6th year this is an artist collective which exhibits sculptures all along the sea front of Teignmouth (Devon, South West England). The only conditions to exhibit are that the sculpture must be made out of at least 70% recycled materials and have an environmental message. The collective is very inclusive and there are quite well known artists, through to local community support groups, schools and youth groups.

The standard of the work was amazingly high (the Eden Project in Cornwall are currently exhibiting one of the sculptures, by The Hub Outdoor Art Group) and I was impressed with what people who don’t necessarily have an art background can produce when given a non-elitist forum to show their work. The diversity of the work produced is amazing too, from knitted Bees in the gardens at Dawlish, to paper mache sculptures of sea monsters and everything else in between! The fact that the public enjoying a day on the beach can interact with the exhibition by voting on the one they like best is fantastic! There is a public vote prize and a sponsor prize each year, so a real incentive to make something memorable.

This collective really fired my imagination; maybe because my husband is an environmental scientist, maybe because I have always been of a make do and mend mentality. Whatever it was, I embarked on a 120cm square mosaic of a plankton bloom, made from waste glass from my stained glass business and my glass merchant. I was very nervous about showing my work (I had found university had knocked my creative spirit out of me and I had not exhibited since I was 24). But the sight of my piece glinting in the sunshine on the sea front really inspired me and gave me more confidence than I could of hoped for.

I also found that creating one thing lead to other and I found myself back in the creative process. I had used bottle tops filled with shells and sparkly found objects (to represent plankton on the panel) and when a friend suggested I should turn them into brooches my best selling product was conceived (since that date I have sold over 200). I also found a love of mosaic making, which I had never really thought of before and I have developed my own mixed media style of mosaic making; using waste glass and broken costume jewelery and it is this type of recycled art that I am now creating for exhibitions.

I am so thrilled to be part of the recycled art movement and the TRAIL (Teignmouth Recycled Art In Landscape) collective and my enthusiasm seems to be paying off because I have 10 mosaic panels of plankton showing at the Recycling Exhibition at Otterton Mill and a panel depicting 8 plankton and a 45 boat mobile showing at TRAIL Inside.

Both exhibitions are free, so if you are in the area please pop along. And please remember, no matter how low your confidence, never turn down a chance to be creative, or even start your own community art project, what have you got to loose?

To find out more about TRAIL got to www.TRAIL.org.co.uk
‘Recycling’, running from 6th March for 6 weeks, Otterton Mill, Otterton, South Devon, England.
‘Trail Inside’, running from 15th March for 2 weeks, Ariel Centre, Totnes, Devon, England.

Pic Courtesy of www.folksy.com/shops/clothwood

Enjoy a sampling of the creations from “The Trail”

Contributing Columnist Lauren aka “>Jewels Of Saraswati

I love the excitement of running a giveaway each month for my shop! If you are new to giveaways, but always wanted to have one, here are a few basic tips to get the wheels turning…..

First, what kind of giveaway do you want to have? Will it be through your blog, your Myspace, Facebook, or Twitter? There are so many ways to do it! Although it is not imperative that you use social media, these are by far the easiest and the most successful platforms. If people are following and interacting with you already, they will surely want to be a part of your giveaway!

Choose an item (or two!) you think many people would enjoy receiving and spend time on creating quality photos of it.

Some ideas if you want to work through your blog:

• Your blog is a great place to make your official announcement, reveal your start/end date and explain the rules to participate.

• You will need to decide how they will participate. One suggestion would be to have them follow your blog to enter, or leave a comment on the post. A really fun interactive way to do it is to have a theme. For example, say you are having a Valentines Day giveaway. Have participants tell you how they fell in love with their significant other in their comment to enter. This way your followers get involved and enjoy being part of the process!

• Don’t forget to post numerous lovely photos of the giveaway item and explain what makes it so special!  If you can make more than one of the same item, post one for sale in your shop as well, and offer a discount during the giveaway period.

• Don’t have a blog of your own? Head to the forums and search for a blog looking to sponsor a giveaway. There are two that come to mind, one is Christie Cottage who does a “Win it Wednesday” and the other is Etsy it up! They sponsor it, promote it etc. and you are responsible for mailing the item. You can even post a thread in the forum saying you are looking for a blog that will do this. It is great promotion for both parties!

Some ideas if you want to do a giveaway on your Facebook page:

•  You can ask your fans to post something on your wall to enter. It can be their favorite item from your shop, their favorite color, a story, just about anything. There is room to get quite creative!

• Another idea that works well is simply tell all of your Facebook (or blog) followers that they are automatically entered if they are following you. It is a great way to show your appreciation for their support and no one has to do a thing! 

Other ideas/tips:

• You can also run a giveaway from your Twitter account by asking followers to RT your giveaway, or on your website if you have one.
• To be fair, use a random number generator to choose your winner or have a friend/family member pick the winners name from a hat.
•  Remind participants to leave a way for you to contact them if they win.
• Once you have winner, contact and congratulate them and don’t forget to ask for their mailing address. Assure them their info will not be used for any other purpose.
• Have a deadline for them to respond if they do win.
• Include a discount code with the giveaway item. They may want to share with friends or be encouraged to visit your shop and make a purchase!

Once you have it all figured out, promote it. 

Ways to Promote:

• Use high traffic sites like Indie Smiles where you can post your giveaway and your link! (http://www.indiesmiles.com/happy-giveaways/)
• If you are on Etsy, get into the forums! If you are in Artfire, Folksy or another online venue do the same! Have others share their giveaways too.
• Blog about it. 
• Tweet about it.
• Post details on your Facebook fanpage
• Mention it in your newsletter/mailing list if you have one.

Have fun and enjoy the ride! You will be surprised at how excited your fans will get when they have a chance at winning a free item from your shop!

Pendant photo courtesy of MDStudio.

By Contributing Columnists Amanda of Gimme that thing

As I cruise the Folksy forum several times each day, I can’t help noticing the imaginative names that people have chosen for their shops and it is often the shop names that have drawn me in to take a look at the items on offer.

So I asked some of the good people with Folksy shops to share just exactly what lay behind these names. Many have gone with their own names because, as Pam of Averilpam points out, it shows a desire to be taken seriously as an artist. Pam noticed that many successful designers use their own names rather than an invented name for their shop, and it is certainly a way to get recognized.

Deborah of Bee Honey Designs told me that her shop name came from a translation of her own, Deborah being Hebrew for Bee and Pamela meaning honey. Her shop is full of dyed fabrics and beautiful silk shawls that go so well with her shop name. She has been approached with some interesting commissions lately including a custom order for a gothic vampire doll lying in a coffin. Unusual commissions such as this are not to be scoffed at as they can grow into best sellers.

Amy McCarthy did a search online only to discover that she shared her name with a well known US porn star and so went with the nickname that her father gave her as a child. The bright colours in her beautiful stained glass work are expressed by the vibrant shop name, Amy Orange Juice, which suggests a vibrant, zesty and bold image. She believes that her recent piece, The Brooding Moor, which is based on a Dartmoor scene epitomises her work perfectly, with beautifully soothing hues and plenty of energy. Amy is also a new columnist on Indiesmiles.

Victoria was inspired to call her shop Little Wren Pottery by the thriving bird population in her neighbourhood. Not only does she see owls and robins, but she has had a nesting pair of wrens in her cavity wall insulation. She did not just dive in and give her shop a name without a lot of thought, and referred to several tutorials on the subject before making a decision. For her, the shop name evokes images of nature and her chunky rustic handmade pots are certainly in keeping with that natural feel, as she likes to use earthy colours such as greens and browns. Pieces such as her Brown and Cream Speckled Cookie Biscuit Jar epitomise the whole ethos behind her lovely shop.

Robyn at Rose Lullaby Dolls had the wonderful idea of choosing to take her daughter’s middle names for her shop, as she loves dolls. As Robyn says, the shop name evokes a dreamy whimsical world of summer days and dolls that express a feeling of innocence and fun. The dolls are handcrafted from bamboo, tinted with coloured tissue paper and dressed in lovely Liberty fabrics.

Lovely Dave from Gelert Design has quite a tale to tell about the origins of his shop name.

In Welsh legend,Gelert was the name of the faithful hound of Prince Llywelyn. The village of Beddgelert translated as Gelert’s Grave, in Snowdonia, is home to his alleged resting place. This village is, Dave claims, one of the most beautiful places on earth and as a child his family visited it every Sunday and Dave always insisted on seeing Gelert’s grave. Each visit would leave poor little Dave reading the tale on the gravestone and sobbing his heart out. Gelert evokes many feelings for him of family, loyalty, mythology, and a sort of Welsh poetic sentimentality whereby sadness is a happy thing. The landscape has always inspired him to create.. He began by making Celtic gifts for the tourists in North Wales and his Verdigris Celtic Wall Art sums up his creative style with a traditional feel that is represented by his dedication to Gelert. For him, his shop name evokes memories of being driven in the car with the Mamas and Papas singing California Dreaming.

Many thanks to Pam, Deborah, Amy, Victoria, Robyn and Dave for telling us their interesting stories.

http://www.averilpam.folksy.com

http://www.beehoneydesigns.folksy.com

http://www.littlewrenpottery.folksy.com

http://www.amyorangejuice.folksy.com

http://roselullabydolls.folksy.com

http://www.gelertdesign.folksy.com

By Contributing Columnist  Amy McCarthy aka Amy Orange  Juice

Getting your work in Galleries in 10 easy steps

Hi, I am Amy and this is my first article for IndieSmiles, I hope you find it useful!

I am a stained glass and mixed media artist working in Devon, in the UK and I sell my wares on Folksy and in a range of galleries and shops around South West England. Lots of my Folksy friends ask me how I pluck the courage up to go and approach galleries and how to go about selling yourself and your products.

So in response, here is my guide to getting into shops and galleries……

1. Pros and cons, ask yourself is retail selling right for you? I tend to make a bit less profit when selling to shops and galleries as they double my price, so I tend to lower my profit margin a little. BUT I get lots of exposure (people can follow up your website/ask for a custom item or commission) the gallery will market and sell your work for you. I don’t have to pay for or set up a craft stall; essentially I can leave my items and walk away; which as a busy mum of 2 is invaluable to me.

2. Can you be organised? You need to keep a really good record of where you items are, what you are expecting to be paid and how much stock they have. I learned this the hard way when a shop lost several of my pieces and I did not have a record of exactly what, so I could not effectively challenge them.

3. Sale or return. I have only ever managed to sell my work out right to one shop; everything else is sale or return. You have to have to be able to trust that they will pay you; so only go with established shops or people you can trust. I am still waiting to be paid for an order I sent to a gallery before Christmas and I have to be realistic in assuming I am going to have to really push them to pay me! But most galleries will ask for your bank details and debit you on a monthly basis by BACS.  Smaller outlets may still wait for you to go in and pick up a cheque. Remember, sale or return allows galleries to take a chance on you, they can see if you sell and if so then they may reorder, it gives small artists big chances! Have an invoice book and always get a receipt.

4. Research where you want to sell and visit them, note what they are selling (do they have themes, special interests etc), pricing, how much is imported/local and think if you want to put your name with them. If you don’t like the look of somewhere or their ethos then don’t sell to them, there are plenty more shops on the high street!

5. Use your friends and contacts. My first doors opened by talking to friends who were selling in galleries and shops. My dear friend Hesta (aka GreenGlamour) is an established artist and she really gave me the confidence to start approaching galleries myself and put in a good word for me (so it seemed appropriate to use photos of her work available on Folksy for this article).

6. Pricing; remember that most galleries double the price you sell to them for, so be sure you can make a profit. It is important to remember that what might sound like a lot of money to you may not to someone else. You are not necessarily trying to sell to your own economic bracket!

7. Less is not more. Having a decent amount of stock in a shop always leads to better sales; it makes your stuff stand out from other artists and makes your work more of a feature in the shop. Prepare a good range of products (at least 6 of each kind of thing you want to sell in a range of prices) and work out what you want to tell the retailer about them.

8. Go say hello. I have tried lots of contact methods and this is the best. When you go check out the gallery say hello and explain yourself and your work, if possible leave a card. Go home and email them a short bio and some good quality pictures (do not be disheartened if they do not respond, a gallery I have a very established relationship with never reply to my emails). A few days later follow up with a phone call asking if they saw your email and if they would be happy for you to come in with your work, then make an appointment and take everything you want to sell not just a sample (remember my at least 6 things rule).

9. Take a deep breath, be prepared to go home with your stuff again and go and talk to them. Be yourself, they have already said yes to a meeting so they are interested. Be positive and smile! Give them a chance to look through your work and if they say no, ask why. One shop really liked my stuff but I didn’t fit with her French theme, so I just had to move on to the next one on my list!

10. Tell the world. When your work is in a shop tell your friends and family about the great shop your work is for sale in, put it on your blog, facebook etc, what is good for the shop is good for you!

Good Luck!

Hair Band Pic courtesy of Green Glamour

Lion pic courtesy of It belongs to Turtle

By Contributing Columnist Pam aka ElectricPenquin
Starting out as a new jewelry seller on Etsy last August was not the experience I thought it would be! I expected simple, easy, no work at all. Ha ha, I know, you’re all laughing at my innocence!! But I managed to get up and running and have sold over 60 pieces so far so I must be doing something right! Here’s the full confessions of what I did as I got started.

- Compared other shop’s similar products to mine
This was really useful – you can see what they charge for an equivalent item and its quality. It definitely helps with setting up your pricing and item descriptions. I discovered what I liked and didn’t like about their descriptions and tags. For example, I realized I wouldn’t buy an item if it didn’t mention the size or materials, so I made sure that info was in my descriptions. This is also useful for researching what’s out in Etsyland. I found in looking that there was one type of item that had many fewer postings than others. I created a line of them and that’s what I’ve sold the most of!

- Was totally disorganized
When I started, all my inventory was in snack sized plastic bags, and stored in a drawer in my china cabinet. I couldn’t find anything! New things would get thrown in on top, and I had no idea if I was out of a certain component or finding. Next came labeled one cup plastic containers. Better but still messy, and I didn’t have enough storage space for as many as I needed. I finally invested in some inexpensive flat divided plastic storage boxes. The items are boxed in groups (seed beads in one box with each color in a separate compartment, ceramic beads in another). Each compartment is labeled if needed, and the boxes are labeled with painters tape on both the top and side. That helped a lot! I now know what I have and don’t have, and can find it easily. There was a lot I had forgotten was in the drawer! Definitely plan out your organization, but be flexible when you realize that just isn’t cutting it.

- Borrowed policies from other shops
I browsed through probably hundreds, and reused ideas I liked from their policies. Then I combined all those thoughts into my own. See, it wasn’t stealing, more like idea sharing!

- Lurked on the Forums
Read, read, read, read and read some more. I started with the Etsy FAQ’s and all the info on opening a store. I tried to search for the answers to my questions before asking – almost everything has been asked previously. Read the Storques. I’ve found the Etsyian “GoTo” to be a wealth of information you can’t find elsewhere, especially technical things like getting Google Analytics set up. I read up on what tagging is and how to do it correctly so it’s picked up in searches (and you don’t have to redo them later). But once you have your shop set up, posting on the forums is really important to do if you want to be noticed. I read in silence for a long time before I caught on to that!

- Surfed other shop’s sold items
This is the best way to see if there’s actually a market for what you want to sell. See how many of that type/style of item have sold.

- Expected selling to be a breeze
Not!! It has been much more work than I ever anticipated, even with doing all the preparation I thought I had done. Promoting, relisting, renewing, updating the inventory spreadsheet, posting in the forums, and on and on. Don’t even get me started on the picture taking – that’s a full time job in itself!! But it all needs to be done if you’re going to get your name out there. You’ll be invisible otherwise.

And after all that? The biggest one of all…

- Was not anywhere near as prepared as I thought (or should be!)
No matter how much research I did, my products were not as good when I opened as they are now. Nor were my pictures bright enough. They’re still not front page quality yet! Worse was the great idea I had that was totally unique (and still is great and unique!!!), which I expected to be a huge hit with buyers. Not the case – I’ve only sold a few through the shop. I’ve sold several to friends and family, so they appear to be pieces that you really need to see to appreciate. But I forged ahead with new ideas and have done fairly well. And it’s fun!!

If you go into opening an Etsy shop with your eyes open and as prepared as you can be, you should have no problem succeeding!

Pic Courtesy of Eluna Jewelry of the Lonely Jewelers Team (Eluna is one of my team members!)