Handmadeology

Operating a business is all about goals. Most often these goals center around reaching a certain point of success within a certain time frame. Such as, make 100 sales within the year, or make 2 sales a day.

The best kept secret to getting those customers who are yearning for what it is you create? Put yourself in their shoes. Of all the possible groups of people you know you can sell to who is it you most love?

Proper branding of your business can actually allow for faster, more sustained business growth. Done right, it can actually be an enjoyable project doesn’t disrupt the management of your day to day business. Let’s get down to the basics.

Here are five things I learned this year about building my dream. There really are more than five but these are the ones at the top of my list. Whether you are still gathering momentum, are in the midst of your best year yet, or are ready to evolve I think these will resonate with you. Five things I’ve learned about building your dream:

Looking to increase your Etsy traffic and sales or just start selling on Etsy? These 10 in-depth real tips will set you on the right path to Etsy success.

If you just realized that you have clicked your refresh page button for your Etsy shop for the 10th time within the last hour, it is time to do something slightly more productive to get your online shop found again. Here are

A common dilemma is what to do with your Etsy shop during that time, and whether or not it makes sense to put it in vacation mode.

If you want to get your shop or product noticed, I think you should consider that in the beginning, any publicity is good publicity. I’m here to tell you not to underestimate the power of your peers. Getting featured on a blog is a free service often overlooked.

So these are my thoughts on the total marketing package and in one way or another you should incorporate all of these into your marketing plan. Enjoy.

I made the mistake of waiting until January (tax time) to sum up all of my totals. After ringing up all of my supply receipts, totaling my Etsy and PayPal fees, alongside with my booth fees for craft fairs, etc. the conclusion became clear: my business expenses were near DOUBLE what I grossed in sales. I shouldn’t have been shocked, but I was.

The key to selling online is excellent photography. You don’t just want decent pictures: you want AMAZING pictures. The more fantastic the better; the better they will reflect in your sales.

Pinterest is a newer social networking site where you can market your Etsy shop.  It is becoming popular very fast and is fun to use!  Oh , did I mention addicting! In this video lesson I will walk you through the important steps you need to know to successfully market your Etsy shop using Pinterest.  [...]

The developers over at Statsy.org have just released their Clockbot.  This new feature allow you to set up your Etsy listing to automatically renew. The Clockbot utilizes the Etsy api with the new secure OAuth system (read about the OAuth here) Here is a short tutorial on how to set this up! 1. Head over [...]

Your business goals should always stretch you, but at the same time, they need to be realistically attainable. For example, earlier in the year I had created an affirmation that went something like this, “I have 500 sales this month.”

When your product is trending, it’s a golden opportunity to recruit new customers. The style of jewelry I make at the Energy Shop is a hot trend right now.

How to Gain 100 New Customers this Month: Part 1

I ask you to come to this article, and everything you read about business, with an open mind. Take a moment to notice that your perspective of your small business is always askew—you’re simply too close to it, it’s personal, and you probably carry a lot of fear and negative “what if’s” around with you.

It took me many hours to figure out how to make gift certificates work through Etsy. I’d like to be able to offer my customers gift certificates, but how to do that?

Here’s what I discovered after combing through the Etsy forums and looking at examples of other sellers.

If you want your Etsy business to become a business, treat it as one from the very start: brand yourself, network in places you enjoy spending your time on, and always keep learning and growing in all directions.