What I Thought Would Happen and What Actually Did – Social Media

If you’ve been following along with my blog posts, you know that I’ve been working on making changes here there to improve my (very) small business – my Etsy shop, One In The Hand, where I sell sewn and knitted cup cozies. Since late 2010, I’ve gotten very involved in a certain corner of the handmade community on Twitter, I’ve gotten very involved in my local Etsy team and I’ve put together a plan for making my shop one that has sales year-round, not just in the busy shopping season before Christmas.

I’ve gone into this period of transformation thinking that certain things would produce certain results, and it didn’t happen. Other things happened. So today, I’m going to tell you about some of the things I thought would happen and what happened instead. And then I’m going to tell you about recalibrating my compass and the somewhat different direction I plan to travel.

Today’s post is going to focus on social media.

What I Thought Would Happen

Especially once I stumbled upon the handmade Twitter community, I thought that my connections and friendships would increase traffic to my shop, and thus increase sales. I thought that by posting more often on my Facebook shop page, and offering a variety of post-types, I would get a lot more interaction with the people who are “fans” of the page. With my blog, I thought that writing regular posts related to the handmade community, and partnering with other bloggers, I would gain blog followers and get a lot of exposure, which would lead to more sales.

What Actually Happened

Instead of all my tweeting relationships leading to more sales in my shop, it has led to relationships with other handmade business owners. I have gone through a few stages of feeling like I don’t fit in with these ladies . . . trying to gain their aproval . . . resigning myself to the fact that I am just not enough of a glittery unicorn for them to notice . . . and finally seeing the dust of my flurrious (yes, I said flurrious) tweeting settle to reveal a small number of meaningful relationships, both within and without the handmade community.

With Facebook, it took a while to kick in, but I am beginning to see a liiiiiiiiitle more intraction with my Facebook fans. Mostly, though, it’s still just my longtime real-life friends who are responding to my posts. Still – improvement is improvement! At the same time, Facebook finally made it much easier for me as a shop owner to interact with other handmade fan pages. I have definitely spent a lot more time commenting on other pages *as my shop* (rather than usng my personal profile) than I ever expected to do. Sometimes I’m able to interact on a daily basis, but I’ve at least maintained weekly interactions with other fan pages.

Bloggity, bloggity blog. Well, I’m kind of all over the place with this blog. And for now, that’s ok. My intention with my blogging was to provide another look at who I am as a person, not just as a person involved in handmade stuff. I think I have been pretty successful at that. I’ve shown my thoughts regarding what I want to do with my shop. I’ve talked about racism a little bit. I’ve highlighted some handmade artists I think are doing great things. I’ve shared things that make me laugh and that I hope will make my readers laugh. I’ve shared music, which I love (even more than I love anything handmade, shh, don’t tell). I’ve steadily gained some blog followers and recently, have received an increase in interaction with my readers – i.e. comments from them. I’ve been surprised to notice that readers are most responsive (by leaving comments) to my posts that show a lot of humor.

One thing I never, never expected, was to tap into the area of philanthropy as it relates to the handmade world. It has been really invigorating and inspiring to see so many people interested in philanthropy! It’s also been so exciting (and a little overwhelming) to brainstorm with my fellow handmade peeps, the ways we can collaborate with each other to make philanthropy accessible to others.

Changes I’ll Be Making

First – Twitter. I gotta tell you, Twitter has kind of taken over my life. You get such instant gratification from Twitter and you get in the habit of sharing every little thought . . . you get to the point that things begin to seem more and less interesting based on how tweetable they are. Or how drastically they will impact your ability to tweet. For example, I have taken a cab from the train station to my office, just so I could tweet for a few more minutes. Normally I walk, it takes me around 10 minutes to get from the station to my office. 10 minutes, folks. I spent $8-10 on a cab ride, more than once, because I wanted to tweet a little longer, and I knew I had a full work day which would keep me from sharing some super important thing, like . . . a link to my blog. Or a photo of someone rudely taking up too many spaces at the bike rack. Really, Ashley? Was it that important? No, it wasn’t. It was a waste of money and it was lazy and it shows a dependence on something that should not be that important to me.

Also? I tweet way too much while I’m at work. It’s one thing to take a 30-second break here and there, but there have been days when I review the day’s tweets, and realize that I didn’t just spend 30 seconds here and there. This is not only a waste of my employer’s resources, it’s also not worth it. What if I lost my job because of it? Or what if I was looking for another job and the potential employer found my Twitter profile (which I want to keep public) and decided I wouldn’t b responsible with my time with them? Could I really blame them? And you know what? All this tweeting hasn’t led to any sales!! The only sales I’ve gotten from tweeting – that I can tell – are from when I was giving all my proceeds to the Red Cross after the Japanese earthquake. Tweeting may be turning into income for some people, and more power to them. But it isn’t doing that for me and I have to cut way, way back. So. I am going to work on cutting back not only during my work day but overall . . . because for me, at least, one feeds the other. I already had to deal with my family thinking I was online too much, but if it were to impact my ability to provide for my family? OH HAIL NAW. I cannot let that happen.

I have to say that before I really admitted that the tweeting wasn’t leading to sales, I was so fearful of cutting back. But now I am pretty sure that excessive tweeting isn’t going to make my sales skyrocket. I would rather be more strategic and focus on keeping the small number of real friendships alive.

Facebook changes? Really not much right now. I still haven’t implemented all the things that I put on my goal list, so I’m just going to keep at the list. Facebook is a territory I still need to explore.

Blogging is also an area that I’m not going to change much, except that I’m still working toward the major changes I intend to make. I’m still working with my friend the graphic designer to come up with a cohesive brand for my shop/blog/Twitter/biz cards. I’m still working on coming up with regular, varied content that is (hopefully) interesting to different types of people. I suppose what I will be changing . . . is what blogsI follow. I am still working on culling who I follow on Twitter and in blogs. I am done following out of guilt and I am done following to win contests. I am done following without really inspecting someone’s content to see if it’s the sort of stuff I want to read regularly. And I am done leaving blogs I never read on my Google Reader list because I’m scared I’ll hurt feelings or miss a potential collaboration. If I don’t read your content EVER, I’m going to “unfollow” and hope you will still be nice to me when we “run into each other” online. I plan to be nice to you!

Tell me, friends – what are some of the things you thought would happen one way in regard to social media, that didn’t happen that way? Are you making any changes? Do you think your original hopes might still be realized?

Etsy Gameface Update: Facebook, Twitter and Blogging

I’ve been evaluating my Etsy shop (and all things related) for a while now, and have a list of improvements to make, pretty much all the time. Some I find time to work on, others I don’t. Some I decide I don’t want to implement after all and some I would like to put into action but just can’t figure out how or don’t have the money yet.

I wrote a short series of blog posts a couple months about overhauling my shop, and much of that I haven’t yet had the chance to do. Like every other aspect of life, sometimes things get in the way. Today I’m going to tell you about some of the things I’ve been able to work on.

I’ve begun posting a lot more on my Facebook fan page. I post something almost every day, Monday-Friday. I’ve also begun to comment on other fan pages with my fan page account rather than my personal account. When I first began posting more on Facebook, I felt discouraged because still, I got very little response from anyone on the things I’d post. I stuck with it, though, and people have been commenting more! I credit this to my thinking more about the sort of things my “fans” would like to read, and because I’ve been interacting more with other fan page owners on their pages.

I still would like to see more activity on my Facebook page, so I will continue to monitor what people respond to most often. I would like to do some more behind-the-scenes posts, including photos, as I’ve both seen a good response when I do things like this, and have also heard from social media afficionados that fans really enjoy this. My downfall? Poor preparation. To do behind-the-scenes, I need to do at least a *little bit* of planning, and honestly, most of my Facebook posting has been spur-of-the-moment stuff.

I’ve expanded who I interact with online, mainly via blogs and Twitter. The truth is that crafting and handmade is NOT my life and has never been my main interest, it is only ONE interest of mine. I’m also very interested in music, social justice issues (especially race and class stuff), history, faith/religion, and back-to-basics/natural lifestyles (especially the domestic arts and pregnancy/childbirth). The thing is, this little corner of my online world didn’t reflect those interests very much. If you knew the “rest” of my online world – my locked LiveJournal and Facebook, you’d have seen all this stuff in abundance. But this blog and my Twitter account had been underutilized until recent months, and then I decided to get more involved online for Etsy stuff, so I suppose it’s natural that I started off by surrounding myself with nothing but craft/handmade blogs and Twitter accounts. Anyway, the purpose of this blog and my Twitter account is not just to highlight what I’m doing in the handmade world, but to also invite customers, handmade peers and friends into the rest of my interests. I want people to know the whole me, or at least a little bit of every part of me.

Having said that, I didn’t write up a list and say, “Ok, Ashley, today you’re going to go find a blog or Twitter account that writes a lot about interracial marriage". Rather, when I’d come across something like that, I’d follow the trail it took me on, and maybe that trail would lead me to a collective blog, and from that collective blog, I’d end up following 3 blogs that write a lot about interracial families. The next week, my friend who’s studying to become a doula might point me toward a natural childbirth article, which caused me to follow the author in Twitter.

It’s said a lot in the handmade community (and most others, I’m sure) that you should really enjoy what you’re doing, or there isn’t a point. Well, I both want to share the stuff I’m doing in the handmade world with my friends and peers in my other interest areas, and I want to bring new topics of thought and discussion to my handmade peers and friends. Already I’ve been able to get involved in handmade philanthropy and have been exposed to so many great causes, and have been able to spread the word to others.

Ok, I think that’s enough for today! I’ve got more to write about – both what I’ve worked on so far and what I still want to do soon (hopefully). Stay tuned!

Have you thought about why and how you want to use an online presence for your shop? Do you mix personal with business online? Have you found it easy or a struggle to maintain or find the right balance?

Etsy Gameface Update: Facebook, Twitter and Blogging

I’ve been evaluating my Etsy shop (and all things related) for a while now, and have a list of improvements to make, pretty much all the time. Some I find time to work on, others I don’t. Some I decide I don’t want to implement after all and some I would like to put into action but just can’t figure out how or don’t have the money yet.

I wrote a short series of blog posts a couple months about overhauling my shop, and much of that I haven’t yet had the chance to do. Like every other aspect of life, sometimes things get in the way. Today I’m going to tell you about some of the things I’ve been able to work on.

I’ve begun posting a lot more on my Facebook fan page. I post something almost every day, Monday-Friday. I’ve also begun to comment on other fan pages with my fan page account rather than my personal account. When I first began posting more on Facebook, I felt discouraged because still, I got very little response from anyone on the things I’d post. I stuck with it, though, and people have been commenting more! I credit this to my thinking more about the sort of things my “fans” would like to read, and because I’ve been interacting more with other fan page owners on their pages.

I still would like to see more activity on my Facebook page, so I will continue to monitor what people respond to most often. I would like to do some more behind-the-scenes posts, including photos, as I’ve both seen a good response when I do things like this, and have also heard from social media afficionados that fans really enjoy this. My downfall? Poor preparation. To do behind-the-scenes, I need to do at least a *little bit* of planning, and honestly, most of my Facebook posting has been spur-of-the-moment stuff.

I’ve expanded who I interact with online, mainly via blogs and Twitter. The truth is that crafting and handmade is NOT my life and has never been my main interest, it is only ONE interest of mine. I’m also very interested in music, social justice issues (especially race and class stuff), history, faith/religion, and back-to-basics/natural lifestyles (especially the domestic arts and pregnancy/childbirth). The thing is, this little corner of my online world didn’t reflect those interests very much. If you knew the “rest” of my online world – my locked LiveJournal and Facebook, you’d have seen all this stuff in abundance. But this blog and my Twitter account had been underutilized until recent months, and then I decided to get more involved online for Etsy stuff, so I suppose it’s natural that I started off by surrounding myself with nothing but craft/handmade blogs and Twitter accounts. Anyway, the purpose of this blog and my Twitter account is not just to highlight what I’m doing in the handmade world, but to also invite customers, handmade peers and friends into the rest of my interests. I want people to know the whole me, or at least a little bit of every part of me.

Having said that, I didn’t write up a list and say, “Ok, Ashley, today you’re going to go find a blog or Twitter account that writes a lot about interracial marriage". Rather, when I’d come across something like that, I’d follow the trail it took me on, and maybe that trail would lead me to a collective blog, and from that collective blog, I’d end up following 3 blogs that write a lot about interracial families. The next week, my friend who’s studying to become a doula might point me toward a natural childbirth article, which caused me to follow the author in Twitter.

It’s said a lot in the handmade community (and most others, I’m sure) that you should really enjoy what you’re doing, or there isn’t a point. Well, I both want to share the stuff I’m doing in the handmade world with my friends and peers in my other interest areas, and I want to bring new topics of thought and discussion to my handmade peers and friends. Already I’ve been able to get involved in handmade philanthropy and have been exposed to so many great causes, and have been able to spread the word to others.

Ok, I think that’s enough for today! I’ve got more to write about – both what I’ve worked on so far and what I still want to do soon (hopefully). Stay tuned!

Have you thought about why and how you want to use an online presence for your shop? Do you mix personal with business online? Have you found it easy or a struggle to maintain or find the right balance?

Handmade With Purpose

Did you know that many, many people involved in the handmade and blogging community love to support their communities and those in need? It’s true! The other night during the Twitter chat for #setupshop (ask me if you don’t know what this is, it’s cool!) we talked a lot about the way that handmade shops and bloggers can raise money or support charitable causes and organizations. It was so inspiring to see people excited about learning how to give and serve in different ways! At the end of the session, a few of us wondered if there was any sort of blog that highlighted the charitable endeavors of those in our community. We thought it might be something we’d like to work on in the future.

Imagine our delight when the very next day, several of us were contacted by someone within the handmade/blogging community – who has participated in these Twitter chats before – saying, “Hey, I actually have just started a blog like that and I’m about to kick off a full month of spotlighting shops and blogs that do the things you’ve been talking about!” The person who came up with this awesome blog & idea is Lindsay, who has the cutest Etsy shop called Paint Me A Picture. She also has a facebook page for her shop and you can follow her via Twitter.

We quickly jumped on board, and I immediately bulldozed my way into her project. I’ve got to hand it to her, she responded so nicely – she actually thanked me for my ideas instead of saying, “OMG STOP EMAILING ME YOU FREAK!” (Ok, no one has ever said that to me before but I’m just certain it will happen eventually). Turns out Lindsay is sweet and funny and has a heart for helping others and wants everyone to know about the shops/blogs that are giving back, so that we can support those businesses which will in turn support the organizations and causes they give to. And I am ALL ABOUT THAT.

So what’s her blog? It’s called Handmade With Purpose and starting April 2nd, there is going to be a month of posts dedicated to sharing info about shops and blogs that donate/create/fundraise/promote for worthy causes! AND! It’s likely that after April, the blog will continue and provide great content about HOW you can get started with using your shop/blog as a platform for giving back . . . or how you can tighten up your game if you’ve already started down that road.

I gotta tell you, since deciding to put more effort into this blog, since diving into the handmade/blogging world in Twitter, since getting active with my local Etsy team, I have struggled to find MY PLACE. My little niche, you know? This is something I’ve dealt with all my life, actually. I get along with everyone and have friends in all the cliques, but don’t belong to a clique myself. I’m never enough of any one thing, I’m a big mixture of a lot of things. At different points in my life I’ve found others who are like me – the mixed bag – and we got on famously. But that only happens every so often. Anyway – before I start to regale you with stories about high school, let me get back to my point. This whole “giving back” thing? That’s something I can get excited about, for reals. That’s something I can promote shamelessly and that energizes me when I was JUST complaining that I’m overwhelmed. It’s something worthwhile that feels like it’s what I was MEANT to do. It’s why I started my shop with the intent to use it not just to make money for my family, but also to make money for things I believe in and want to support.

But – enough about me! If you have a shop or a blog that gives back to your community (locally to globally), get your butt over to Handmade With Purpose and sign up so you can participate. If this isn’t something you’ve incorporated into your shop or blog, but you want to learn more about it, get over there and follow the blog. You’re gonna see some inspirational stuff during April and at the very least will be exposed to some cute shops & blogs.

Handmade Overhaul: Blogs, Twitter, local networks!

Since opening my Etsy shop in 2009, I’ve seen a pattern of lots of sales in November and early December, and trickling sales the rest of the year. Most people associate my cup cozies with cold weather, but they can be very useful on cold drinks as well. They soak up condensation, keep your hands warm, and come on – CUTENESS lasts 365 days a year. Still – they just don’t sell that well during the rest of the year.

I would like for my shop to be more of a year-round business, so I’ve put together a plan of things I want to do to make this happen. Time will only tell if it’s successful! Fortunately, I am open to changing my mind in the middle of my plan and trying new approaches.

I’ve already written about introducing new products, improving my photography, expanding shop promotions and discounts and updating my shop banner. I’ve also written about updating the look and use of my blog, Twitter account and business cards.

Today, I’m going to write about being a part of communities like Twitter, the blogging world, my local handmade community and my local Etsy team.

Gonna combine the blogging world and Twitter – communities exist and I’m slowly becoming a part of them

· Blogging and Twitter communities are vast, there are so many ways to get involved and get your name out there. So far I’ve mostly concentrated my “following” efforts on craft folks, but I really need to diversify. I want different types of content coming my way to think about, respond to and share with others.

· Though this blog hasn’t had lots of interaction from readers, that doesn’t mean I’m new to the blogging world. Have you ever heard of LiveJournal? I’ve had a journal there since 2003 and if anyone knows about community, it’s LiveJournal. Many people who’ve been longtime journalers there compare each new social medium to LJ, and find them lacking. LJ allows you to get into more in-depth discussions than Facebook. The comment structure makes more sense than Blogger’s. The communities are perfect for discussion and debate, and due to the ability to create different security filters, you can easily control who sees what. And you can develop really intimate relationships with the people whose journals you read and interact with. I know that blogging out here in the light of day allows you some of those same things, but I’m telling you – and any LJ user will agree – LJ takes it to a HO. NUVVA. LEBBO.

· All of that is to say that I’ve found it somewhat difficult to jump into these other mediums. It seems as though many blog posts expect only short comments, and that’s mostly what people leave. The comment structure in Blogger doesn’t facilitate conversation, and I don’t like that. I feel as though people only really know each other on a very surface level . . . and maybe that’s what they want? I suppose when I want a deep circle of friends who know me very well (online) I’ll turn to my LJ. Or maybe there’s a deeper piece to these blogs I’ve followed recently that I’m not seeing?

· I have recently become MUCH more active on Twitter, and have added a bazillion new crafty peeps, who are great to get to know and helpful about sharing expertise and promoting each other. I’ve “followed” many of their blogs, too.

· One issue I’ve discovered is that I began added people willy nilly and now I can’t really keep up with them all. I’ve considered unfollowing some who are less active or who I haven’t really interacted with much, but I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I don’t know the dynamics of these groups well enough to know if that would be a problem, or if they would even notice. I’ve been active in online communities long enough to know that things can get drama-rific VERY QUICKLY, and cliques abound online just like they do in real life. I suppose if drama develops just because I quietly unfollow some people, I should say good riddance? Surely I’m blowing this out of proportion, but like I said – I’ve seen it happen many times.

Local handmade community – Chicago has a MASSIVE one

· I had no idea, when I started my Etsy shop, at the sort of handmade community Chicago has to offer. Unlike many others, starting my Etsy shop was how I was introduced to a handmade community, anywhere. Lots of other people I know have been involved in handmade/crafty stuff for a long time – doing shows, making gifts for people, selling on consignment, etc – and then they finally decided to open an Etsy shop. After opening my shop I was blown away by the community within Etsy and the glimpse of my local handmade community.

· Chicago has different types of handmade communities, but like any large city, the “indie” community rules the roost. There are probably just as many handmade artists who wouldn’t consider themselves indie or hipster, but they’re not as visible, or as tied to community, as the indie artists are.

· I’ve just barely dipped my toe into local community waters, by attempting to sell my cozies at 2 very different craft shows. One was at a very indie handmade market held in a bar on a snowy Saturday afternoon – at the very end of the day I made my only sales, just enough to cover my entrance fee. The other was at a very soccer-mom-ish PTA craft show held in a school gym in the suburbs on a snowy Saturday afternoon. I made a couple sales but didn’t come close to earning back the semi-hefty entrance fee. Both were great learning experiences – I have an idea of what to expect at a show, what I need to have with me, what sort of expectations I need to let go of . . .

· I don’t feel as though I have the time to get too involved in the Chicago handmade community. I work in the city but live in the suburbs, I have a family to take care of and an education to finish (one day). My observation is that if you have the time and money to get into a number of craft shows, if you can get involved in various other events and activities within the indie culture in Chicago, you can make a name for yourself. I don’t have the time to commit to that, and my items – though eco-friendly – just aren’t indie enough, I think, to be taken very seriously by that crowd. Which is cool – I don’t have to fit in EVERYWHERE. That’s not to say I’ve been treated poorly – not at all! It just takes much more to get noticed than I have to give right now.

Local Etsy team

· An area I *have* been able to get involved in is my local Etsy team (we call it a “street team”). The funny thing s that it is partially made up of these indie artists I say I don’t fit in with. Like I said no one has been mean to me, I’m just kind of invisible in that crowd. However, with my Etsy team, I’ve taken an active role in getting things organized lately, so I’m very visible with them.

· My Etsy team rocks! We were inactive for a while, but have met once this year and will meet again in a couple weeks. We’re figuring out what sort of committees we’re going to have and how we can work together to share our expertise and promote each other. We have a bazillion new members and they have a lot of energy and excitement about having an awesome team. Right now, the plan is to met quarterly for official meetings, with various workshops and events in between that aren’t mandatory.

· Everyone comes with something different – some have been in every craft show known to man, some sell their items in retail stores, some know all about accounting and taxes. Some are photography buffs, some have very active and well-known shops/blogs/Twitters/Facebook/Flickr/Tumblrs/Etc. A couple of our long-time members have started up a traveling craft show – remember the show I was in, in a bar? Like that, but they’re at a different bar every month. Some have been doing handmade stuff forever and are the prototype for the hipster artist. Some are brand new to Etsy. Some are city folks, some are suburban, we even have people from Indiana and cities/towns well outside of the Chicago area. Some do this as their main source of income, and some, like me, consider it a “side hustle”. :) (That’s how a small-business accountant was referred to by a team member recently – that he knew how to work with people who had “side hustles”).

· We have plans for holding workshops to share expertise, a team blog, a team craft show. We already have a team Etsy shop, Twitter and Facebook page.

· My team is the best and I can’t wait to learn from them and help promote them!

What communities are you a part of? Are they beneficial? Is there anything like an Etsy Street Team in your area? I bet there is!

Keep an eye out for an upcoming post detailing my plans for:

~ Using my Facebook more effectively for community building, brand building and promoting great shops, artists and deals to my “fans” ~

Want to win some free cozies? Zip over to the Wattlebird blog and enter her giveaway, you could win 4! Hurry before time runs out! She also has other giveaways this week, they rock!

Handmade Overhaul: The way things look!

Since opening my Etsy shop in 2009, I’ve seen a pattern of lots of sales in November and early December, and trickling sales the rest of the year. Most people associate my cup cozies with cold weather, but they can be very useful on cold drinks as well. They soak up condensation, keep your hands warm, and come on – CUTENESS lasts 365 days a year. Still – they just don’t sell that well during the rest of the year.

I would like for my shop to be more of a year-round business, so I’ve put together a plan of things I want to do to make this happen. Time will only tell if it’s successful! Fortunately, I am open to changing my mind in the middle of my plan and trying new approaches.

I’ve already written about introducing new products, improving my photography, expanding shop promotions and discounts and updating my shop banner.

Today, I’m going to write about updating the look and use of my blog, Twitter and business cards.

My blog needs a major overhaul. Look, content, organization. Phew!

· I have long pondered whether I wanted to continue with my current blog, or to come up with an Etsy-only focus, or to start a new blog entirely. One thing I knew was that if I wanted a blog to help promote my shop, something would need to change, because only a handful of people ever looked at my blog and even fewer commented.

· I finally decided to keep the same blog but to give it a new name, look and organization. I recognized that I am not going to be able to maintain an Etsy or Craft or Design ONLY blog – and honestly, I wouldn’t be happy running a blog that way. I’m not saying blogs with a singular focus aren’t my thing – I LOVE reading them – but I’m just no good at that sort of thing. I also want to use this blog to promote my shop and other people’s great stuff . . . but I want people to get to know ME, not just what I make or think is cute. So I’m keeping all my old entries and I encourage you to browse them when you’re looking for something to read. You’ll find a mix of things from social justice musings to what I planned to do on my stay-cation.

· I have ideas swirling around in my head, and have several lists and files on my computer of colors, images and “messages” I want to get across with the look and layout of my blog. I’m really not expecting to take the blog world by storm, people. But I’ve been studying blogs and what people seem to respond to. I’ve asked myself if I even LIKE those approaches, and how might I incorporate something like that, but in MY way? Sometimes what is really successful for someone else is just NOT MY THING. But even those things give me ideas.

· Right now I don’t have a deadline for the new look of my blog, but I want it to be “soon”. Honestly, what’s holding me back right now is time and money. If I was content to wait forever, I could work on things here and there, and in 9 months or so, come up with a badass blog look. I’d prefer to to turn things around much sooner than that, though, and I think I’m going to need some help. Which is where the money comes in. I probably need to find a graphic designer who can help translate the ideas I have into a blog header and overall a look that I’m happy with, but that costs money. I don’t have much of that laying around right now. So I’m kind of stuck, and taking time here and there to try to find the right font, whether or not I need to learn how to use Picnik, etc. It’s kind of overwhelming. Another reason I hesitate to work with a graphic designer is that I am just REALLY picky. I would hate to go back and forth and back and forth with someone, and still not be satisfied. I know there are people out there whose job it is to get to the bottom of what a customer wants and turn that into great banners, cards, buttons, etc – but man, I am just really picky! I also hate to tell someone I don’t like what they did, and if I already paid for their services, I might end up using something I’m really not happy with just so I won’t look like a jerk. So, yeah. Not sure what to do.

Twitter

· Twitter I’m actually not too worried about. Once I get the new blog look, my Twitter page will be based on it.

Business Cards

· The business cards will also follow the blog.

· I’ve been using Moo cards, but am going to look into other vendors to see if they offer the same for less, because Moo is kind of pricey. They’re great quality, though. I use the Mini Moos and people are always impressed with the cute little size and the image on the back.

· I need to have more cards on hand, and hand them out liberally!

· I should also include more cards in my order packages so customers can pass them out to people they know.

· I need to include some blank space on them so I have room to write in discount codes for returning customers.

· What other ways can I use my business cards?

Have any ideas to share for blogs, Twitter or business cards?

Keep an eye out for upcoming posts detailing my plans for:

~ Becoming more a part of certain communities like Twitter, the blogging world, my local handmade community and my local Etsy team ~

~ Using my Facebook more effectively for community building, brand building and promoting great shops, artists and deals to my “fans” ~

You can still enter the giveaway at the Wattlebird blog to win 4 of my cozies! Annie's hosting other giveaways this week, too - check them out!

Handmade Overhaul: My Etsy shop!

Since opening my Etsy shop in 2009, I’ve seen a pattern of lots of sales in November and early December, and trickling sales the rest of the year. Most people associate my cup cozies with cold weather, but they can be very useful on cold drinks as well. They soak up condensation, keep your hands warm, and come on – CUTENESS lasts 365 days a year. Still – they just don’t sell that well during the rest of the year.

I would like for my shop to be more of a year-round business, so I’ve put together a plan of things I want to do to make this happen. Time will only tell if it’s successful! Fortunately, I am open to changing my mind in the middle of my plan and trying new approaches.

Today’s post is going to be about changes I want to make to my Etsy shop.

I want to come up with some new products to make and sell. This isn’t as easy as it sounds!

· I don’t want to make something that has been done by a zillion other people, but honestly, there isn’t much out there that hasn’t been made.

· Whatever I make will need to be something I can actually make. You might think that’s a silly point to think about, but there is really no sense in planning for months on something that I don’t have the time, skills or budget to make.

· The new items will need to be different enough to get noticed, but not so different from my cup cozies that it makes no sense that they’d be sold in my shop.

· More than anything I’ve learned since opening my Etsy shop, is that customers love QUALITY products. I am going to do some serious testing of any new products I come up with, before listing them in my shop. I want them to hit the ground running in terms of being considered a high quality item. Funny, I’ve taken the biggest plunge of all – starting an Etsy shop – already, but am just as anxious about adding a new item to my shop. Will it be well received?

I am only using a few of the photo spots available for each item in my Etsy shop. I should really be using all 5.

· I could find more angles to shoot of my items

· I could feature them being used in different settings – maybe in someone’s hands? This could be a photo not necessarily of the cozy in that listing, but just an “action” shot of any cozy in use. Same goes for any new products I put in the shop.

· I could use a photo of my packaging, since it’s cute. On one hand, I like the idea of a customer opening their package and being surprised by the cute packaging. But would most customers prefer to know what they’re getting ahead of time? Would it influence someone to buy a cozy, if they were on the fence?

· I could include a photo of my cute workspace. OH WAIT MY WORKSPACE IS NOT CUTE AT ALL. Never mind. :)

I think my shop banner needs an update. I actually really like my banner now – the background is a photo of a knitted houndstooth cozy I did a long time ago, tiled 3 or 4 times across. My shop name is overlaid in a semi-transparent text box and then there is an image I drew of a hand with a piece of yarn/thread snaking through the fingers. That image is on my business cards, too. Even though many people say, “If it makes you happy, that’s all that matters” – and it DOES make me happy, I’m very nostalgic about it and proud that I put it together with plain old Power Point – but I think I’ve outgrown it. I need something a little cleaner, and maybe something that includes an image of my products.

I need to have more regular, interesting sales and promotions.

· Free shipping

· Discounts on all items

· Discounts using coupon codes

· Sales where 100% of sales go to a specific charity (10% already always goes to a charity, right now they go to Streetwise magazine, which is created and sold by homeless & near-homeless invidivuals, it helps them get back on their feet – your city may have a similar publication – but I think I’m due for choosing a new charity, hmm)

· What else? Coming up with creative discounts is really not my thing, y’all. Please let me steal your ideas, kthx. Speaking of stealing, a friend of mine calls Thanksgiving “kthxgiving” and I am totally stealing that this year.

Are you planning any changes for your shop?

Keep an eye out for future posts on more changes I’ll be making this year:

~ Overhauling the look and use of my blog/twitter/biz cards ~

~ Becoming more a part of certain communities like Twitter, the blogging world, my local handmade community and my local Etsy team ~

~ Using my Facebook more effectively for community building, brand building and promoting great shops, artists and deals to my “fans” ~

P.S. Annie at Wattlebird is giving away 4 of my cozies! Go check out her blog and enter so you can win some FREE STUFF!

Somewhere, a unicorn is saying, "It's really not that big of a deal, Ashley."

I've mentioned in a few places that I'm hoping to use Twitter and this blog to get to know other bloggers and crafters, and to focus on my Etsy shop. I do already have an Etsy Facebook page . . .

I've followed a lot of people on Twitter and their blogs, and have gotten to work looking through recent entries, to get a feel for each blog and the people who comment there. Some bloggers make me laugh, some knock me out with the effort they put into making every inch of their life a beautifully designed thing. Some will probably never get to know me as an individual, some will probably become my friends.

I wonder, where do I want to go with this thing? What look should this blog have, and what should I write about? The thing is - I am not going to fit in, not exactly. I am never going to be able to sustain a blog that is focused strictly on design or crafting. I am going to want to talk about my life and the things that are meaningful to me, the things that crack me up. The things that piss me off. The songs that I can't get out of my head . . . and yes, the things I make and the things other people make that I think are really awesome.

Is that ok? Do I have to make this place really sparkly and covered in hearts and unicorns in order for others to follow along and get to know me? The thing is, I don't think there's anything wrong with hearts and unicorns, and I enjoy getting a glimpse of other people's heart & unicorn-style lives. But that's not me and it's not how I live.

Am *I* going to be enough, just as I am?

Windows Live Writer Tutorial – The Basics

In a recent #crafterminds chat session via Twitter, Windows Live Writer was brought up as a way to save time when blogging.  My friend Mandy introduced me to WLW a while back after hearing me complain about how difficult it was to load multiple images in my Blogger blog.  I’ve found WLW to be very helpful for writing posts that involved lots of images as well as for writing and saving blog entries when I’m away from an internet connection.  It’s also a great way to save bits of entries that I can finish and post later.

So what is Windows Live Writer?  I’m sure there is a more technical name for it, but it’s a tool to help you draft your blog entries before publishing them.  Several commenters in our chat session hadn’t heard of WLW and were a bit anxious that it would be difficult to learn and use.  I’m happy to say that if you already are writing a blog, there is nothing more to learn in order to use WLW!  You can read more about the WLW tool at Wikipedia.

Without further ado, here is a *very simple* tutorial on using Windows Live Writer.

First, you need to download the program.  Just Google “ download Windows Live Writer” and follow the download instructions, or try this site.  Don’t worry, it’s FREE!  After downloading, you’ll be prompted to enter your blog’s URL.  Once you’re done with all of your setup steps, you’re ready to use WLW as a blogging tool! You’ll access WLW the same way you would access Word/Excel – either via a shortcut on your desktop, or through your Start button.

Now, let’s take a look at some of the features – when you open a “new” draft in WLW, you’ll see something like this, below. Note that the color scheme and blog name in this tutorial reflect MY settings – WLW pulls this information from the settings you already have at your Blogger blog.  So yours will probably be a bit different.

Basically looks like a Word doc, or blog draft page, right?  This is why I say there’s really nothing to learn.  You’ll simply write a blog entry in WLW the same way you would in Blogger, except with less complication and more options!

There are a few spots on a draft page that will help you be sure you’ve correctly linked your blog to WLW.  Note my blog’s name and recent entries in the image above. 

There are several ways you can insert something other than text.  I generally use the icons on the top toolbar to insert images and links, and then use the right-hand options for further editing.  For example, after inserting an image, I’ll “select” an image by clicking on it, which will open up more options for customization.  Look, I’ll do it right now!

You can see (above) that I’ve clicked on the image, which automatically opened up an image customization menu on the right – I can alter the way text wraps around the image, whether my image has a border or shadowing, the margins, etc.  Play around and see what’s available!

Nothing too surprising about the image above – that’s where you add your blog entry content!  One thing I’ve noticed is that WLW has some quirks in terms of hitting the “Enter” button on your keyboard, paragraph spacing, and such.  There are times when I’ve tried to get my spacing fixed and I ended up deleting everything!  The good thing is that there is an “UNDO” option in WLW, which isn’t in Blogger.  So if you mess it all up, just undo it and try again.

Down at the bottom of your page, you’ll see some tabs.  When you’re writing, you’re on the Edit tab.  You can preview your entry by clicking on the . . . wait for it . . . PREVIEW tab.  Shocking, I know.  :)  I haven’t clicked the Source tab yet . . . not sure what it does.  I’ll leave that one to you to figure out and report back, ha!  Below that is a box where you can “Set categories”.  This is simply where you type in your tags.  Once you link up your blog to WLW, it remembers all the tags you’ve used and loads them into this box.  You can type in tags you’ve already used, type in new ones, or select old ones from a list by clicking the drop-down arrow on the right end of the box (not featured in the image above, sorry).

This feature is one we could all probably stand to use, in the interest of spending our time online more efficiently: Set your bogs to publish in advance!  Blogger lets you schedule blog entries in advance and so does WLW.  You can set the date and time that you want your blog entry to publish.

After clicking on the date box and then selecting the date you want your blog to publish, click on the time dislayed – click RIGHT ON the time.

You edit the time you want it to post right in the box, based on which character is highlighted at the time.  Make sure to click on the AM/PM if you want to change that.  There is no clock selector option the way they have the calendar set up.

Last, you want to publish your blog.  Or - if you’re not ready yet, but want to come back and work on this entry later, click on “Save draft”.  If you’re read to send it to your blog so people can read it, hit . . . wait for it . . . “Publish.”  Note – you need an internet connection in order for it to publish.  This may seem obvious, but . . . JUST SAYIN.  It will ask for your Blogger username and password.  Then you’ll see it working, and after it’s done publishing the post to your blog, it’ll open up your blog to that entry so you can see how it looks.  You can go into your blog entry via Blogger and edit it the same way you could edit entries that were created IN Blogger.

I think those are the basics!  I haven’t really explored WLW’s capabilities beyond what I’ve written here, so if you know of other cool option, please comment!