Let's talk about Etsy

So in March I will be celebrating two years of my etsy shop.  I am not a big shop and don't plan to be since I have a full time job and a family.  I was showing my students channelone news the other day and it featured an etsy seller who makes wire jewelry.  They were saying how she couldn't find a job and now she makes enough on etsy to pay for college.   I think that is amazing!  I think etsy is great because its your store.  You get to set your hours, what you want to sell, and what your store policies are.  I think there are a ton of shops that make it that big, but I also see people from my etsy community fail.  I think it takes a lot more effort that just being discovered.  As a shop owner you can pay for ads on etsy/google.  I have tried that and not much success.  I mostly advertise for myself on social media.  I think for an online store to be successful you need to have a presence on social media.  I love that people can tag me when they use my product on Instagram.  People will do a lot of advertising for you!  I know there are also etsy feature accounts on IG that make you pay to advertise.  I have never gone that route but wanted to mention it as an option.  I think one of the most important things in having a social media presence is to make sure every platform has the same name, logo, or photo.  And on IG and Twitter hashtags are super important.  If you are not using them you should.  Simple on of just what your product is.  Then make a hashtag for your business in case people search for you. Its great for networking too with people that sell complimenting products or just sell like you.  The other part of promoting your self on social media is a lot of time commenting and liking others because then they do the same.  I also find that giveaways draw attention as well and get your product out there. Usually have the people share your giveaway photo which is a product you sell so then everyone who enters is advertising for you for however long you giveaway lasts! You can have them tag people but I think the reposting is less annoying.  Some people hate when people tag them in giveaways. I could have a whole other blog post about doing giveaways haha!  What I am trying to say is that most shops don't get automatic success.  It is an empire that you have to work to build!

Up Date on my hand and other crafty things

Hi!

So I went to the doctor last Wednesday.  He took off the clunky metal brace and all the gauze wrapping! It is now Buddy tapped. I did a before and after pictures lol.  I couldn't have plain white tape. Typing with half a hand is still difficult thought.  I have been working on my planner, a couple of cards, and making things for my classroom. I plan on scrapbooking tomorrow.  I have a ton of pictures developed that I want to get scrapped before I go back to work on Thursday.I also started a youtube channel since it will be easier to talk than type for a while.  

Here is a peek at the pocket letter I finished tonight!I used Bella Rouge papers and sentiments.  The flowers are from Michaels.I like to label the pockets!  I used washi on the side and to close a pocket because I didn't want the brads to fall out.

I made a card with Unity Stamp Co. stamps and that is up on my youtube. 

Here is a sneak peek at the stuff I have made to decorate my classroom this year!The Harry Potter is actually for a coworker who has a cubicle because she is a SPED teacher.  Her theme is Hogwarts, so I mad this for her.  I used the create a friend on the cricut explore.  This was the graduate.  I did not make the hat and changed the colors to Hogwarts robes.  I added the lightning bolt, glasses, and a stick for a wand.  

Here is the layout for last week in my Heidi Swapp Planner!  The washi is HEMA. The days of the week are a stamp from Unity.  Some stickers are from my etsy shop.  

Hope you all are doing well!

ETSY

 Etsy has officially taken over my life. I make decorative paper clips and stickers with my cricut explore. I am not sponsored by them. I had a cricut create previously and did not want to learn a new system like silhouette. Plus I don't feel the need to design my own images since they cricut came with access to 25,000 images for 3 months. Then it is about 10.00 a month. What is great is the premade projects. The search box is awesome too. You can type in almost anything and they have an image that is free with your subscription.




I digress...So etsy. I opened my shop about a month ago. I have made some money. Etsy charges .20 to post and item. When that item is purchased you are charged another .20 to re-post the listing and they take about 3% of the profit from the sale. And if someone pays with pay-pal then pay-pal takes a cut. I just thought I would tell it like it is for those of you interested in starting a shop. You can also add a daily budget for promoting. You only get charged if someone clicks so that is a nice feature. I also love being able to sell world wide. The shipping is easy since etsy allows you to print your own label at a discounted rate. I recommend that you take it to the post office and stand in line and get a receipt in case someone says their package never arrived to prove you sent the item. I do a lot of the shop's advertising myself using social media like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. I find if I post something on those and then check my stats on the etsy site I see a spike in my page views. I love the map feature of seeing where people come from that have clicked on your store or items.




Custom orders are also really nice. Some people may see them as a hassle, but the point of etsy is to get and give something original. So I get why people would want a custom order. So far the few I have done turned out great and really didn't take that much extra time.

So I encourage you to check out etsy to either buy or sell.  And when it comes to picking out your next machine you can ask me anything about my cricut explore.