Thursday, February 19, 2009

Slow, slow, slow...

Do you ever have those days where you ask yourself: "Why is it that I am doing this again???" I'm talking about this whole jewelry business thing. Don't misunderstand; I LOVE what I do. I'm not planning on stopping any time soon! But some days (or weeks) are harder than others.

Recently the economy has been going down the toilet, as most of you already know. But I told myself I wouldn't give up. I've continued to work as if nothing is different. I have made several new pendants and have daily updated Etsy, 1000Markets, and my main website. Granted, there's always more that I could be doing. I'm not too savvy when it comes to marketing. I really do the bare minimum: Facebook, Twitter, my blog, etc. BUT, it seems like I have not been making my normal amount of sales each month. At first I thought, maybe people are just being cautious, and not spending money. But as I scan other shops, I see sales everywhere!

Ok, I should stop the pity party. I have to confess that right before I planned on writing this post, I got a sale from my Etsy shop. Yippie! It had been almost three weeks since my last one. That is quite a dry spell for me, especially with how much listing I have been doing this month. At least I know the buyers are still out there.

So, I will keep plugging along, because that is what you have to do in a business. Someday I will discover the secret to successful online selling. It could be that I just don't have adequate time or energy to invest at this point in my life. I have to remind myself that it's OK. I do have two cute little boys to take care of every day. I can't spend every waking minute on the computer!

If any of you have any easy, non time consuming tips you can share, I would love you forever! In the meantime, here is my latest creation. I love, love, love these colors of glass!



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

So glad you made a sale...your work is so pretty and unique. Don't give up...I go thru the same thoughts.

Ariana said...

Oh you need to talk to Jeff! Part of his job is to get their company to come up near the top of google searches. He could give you some tips!

Amanda said...

Don't give up. I just found your shop and LOVE your stuff. While I can't buy anything right now, I am going to insist my husband buy me one of your pendants for Mother's Day (probably the Red Tree one).

As for online selling, you could try dedicating 20 minutes everyday to reading different blogs and commenting. You wouldn't believe how much traffic that can bring to your site, and with more traffic you have a better chance of someone loving your stuff, buying or talking about it on their blog.

I am going to do a post about handmade art I have discovered while surfing and I am going to include your jewelry and link to you. Hope it sends some business your way.

Oh, also, having other people host a giveaway for you could generate a good bit of traffic.

Becky Sharp said...

Thank you all so much for your encouragement!

Amanda, thank you! That's great advice. It is amazing how networking with other people online can really generate traffic and help make new connections. I need to spend more time on other blogs, like you said. And speaking of connections...how did you stumble upon my shop? Also, thanks SO much for planning to include me in your handmade art post. I can't wait to see it!