Oranization is Key

One day I was searching through the Etsy forum...basically looking for people who knew what the heck they were doing. I found a few comments that caught my eye, and they all said the same thing: get organized! They also said a few other things like: start a blog, don't be afraid of Twitter, and always have business cards on hand....but I'll get to all that later.

I started with organization. Just like your studio, office, or in my case, craft-closet, you need to be organized. This always starts with setting goals....think New Years resolutions. This year I want to lose weight! Great! How much? By when? How do you plan on doing that? How do you stay motivated along the way? I've recently learned that you need to answer these same questions when it comes to your crafting business.

What is your long term goal? Is it to make $300 a month crafting for the next year? How many sales do you need each month to meet that goal? How much product do you need to make each month to meet that goal? Is your goal to post 3 items a week? Next, break it down even further. How many sales/product do you need to make each week?

These goals need to have three qualities: they need to be realistic, they need to be attainable and they need to be specific. If your goals don't meet these qualifications then toss them out and start over. Don't set yourself up for failure right off the bat. Start small and grow over time.

Now that you have your goals, post them where you can see them. Next you want to come up with your plan for making that $300 in sales. Any time I get ready for a craft fair, I make a list of items that I know I already have the supplies for. Then I figure out how much I can make from what I've got! Then I get busy. This is no time to get lazy....craft your little heart out. And post...make sure you are posting your items when they are finished. Sure you only have one item now, but this will get your name/shop out there so people can see what you can do.

Now you have a system in place. We'll start to talk about advertising next week. Get ready to blog!

Product Promotion for People who ate Poor at Promoting Thursdays!

I've been a member of Etsy since October of 2008 and I've made 5 sales. Not the best. Sure, I've made a few bucks at craft fairs and on custom orders for friends and family, but things aren't going the way I had hoped. What I want is to take my business full time. I want to be my own boss. And most of all I want more time to spend crafting and less time actually working for someone else.

So I've been reading everything I can get my hands on about how to promote my site and my products. I'm hoping that I can share what I learn with others. There are lots of people selling 'how-to make more money on Etsy' manuals, but if this stuff is so easy to master, how come more people aren't "selling more on Etsy?" And shouldn't this advise be free? I think so.

So I'm starting on my little advertising adventure. Sharing what I find. What works. What doesn't. And every Thursday I'll post my progress here! Join along, learn a few things too, or share your knowledge with others by way of a comment.