500 Sales in 10 Months...and I Need a Nap!

Hi all! I hit 500 sales yesterday!

Here are my top 5 tips to creating a successful shop here in the land of Etsy:

1. Find your niche! Figure out what you want to do and then EDIT it down. Create a product line that is cohesive and specific. Shops that are full of lots of different handmade things are overwhelming for shoppers. Do one thing really well rather than lots of things kinda sorta ok.

2. Create a brand! Find a graphic artist and have them create a logo for you. Use that logo on everything, packaging, business cards, stationary, etc. Soon people will recognize that logo and associate it with your product. Tada, you are a brand! I simply posted my need for a logo in alchemy and found someone who shared my vision. My vision was fat blue birds but I'm guessing yours is different.

3. Work hard! Some people start shops on here, list some stuff and then sit back and wait for sales. Gonna be a long wait, homeslice. This takes WORK. A lot of it. I'm not sure I have worked harder on anything in my life. And I have the excuses, too. I have a full-time day job, a five-year-old daughter, a house to clean... that whole life thing. But I was determined. So, I pretty much gave up sleep for several months. Stuck Together blossomed in the wee hours of the morning for months. Does that suck? Oh yes, total suckfest. But I wanted this to work. I wanted it to work more than I wanted to sleep 8 hours a night. So my nights were spent perfecting pictures, promoting, drafting press releases, facebooking, etc. You have to make time for that stuff... and for me, I had to find time where I thought there was none.

4. Learn how to take a picture! This is still a challenge for me, but I have come a long way. If all those other people can take good pictures, then so can I.. and so can you. I use a light box because most of my pics are taken in the dead of night. Also, use editing software. Crop! For the love of Pete, CROP! If you don't know how to do any of this... learn it. There is info all over the internet about lighting and how to make a homemade light box. Google mofo!

5. Embrace the internet and social networks! I am not a tweeter by nature and I am not really a fan of Facebook. But I use them as a means to an end. I get a lot of traffic from Facebook... therefore I use Facebook. I use the internet to bring people to me. This is where people are... roaming around in cyberspace. They need magnets, I know it. So, find out where your customers are and waggle your tail feather on that corner. There is no shame in self-promotion. If you love your brand, share it proudly with people. How can they love it if you don't?

Hope this stuff helps anyone who may need it. I love Etsy and am so happy to be there... even if it is at 3am.

Peace, love and magnets!
Wendy