There's no one formula that works for every business, so you have to find what works for you. For me, I know that marketing works wonders. A big part of that marketing right now is Etsy Relevancy, Search Engine Optimization, and Pinterest. I have a FB and Twitter, but seldom use them. I have a blog, but rarely post. However, I can say that when I did post on the blog, I got lots of traffic from it-- didn't get blog comments, but my stats showed traffic. In fact, I still get blog traffic and I haven't updated in many months (my blog articles were related to things I noticed people searching for, so they brought it instant eyes).
I try not to kid myself. Sometimes the stuff I make is not so desirable, and no surprise, it doesn't sell. Just because I had the time of my life creating it doesn't mean someone else wants it! I started off making crafty stuff that sorta sold, and had a scrapbooking shop that did well, but it was too time consuming and didn't do as well as I wanted.
Some of the designs I create now don't work. I try to learn from that and create according to what people want. I know some makers who are bent on doing one thing, one way and will not flex even if people don't seem to be interested. If you have a skill, use it to create what you like AND what will sell. I'm trying to figure out how to combine the two.
What I'm doing now is working for me because I'm improving EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. Right now I'm simultaneously watching tutorials as I work. I revise my listing titles, tags, and descriptions daily (before I renew a sold out or expired listing I scour it and make improvements). I research my market and my competitors. I look at lots of details to determine what needs work in my shop... and, boy, is there a lot!!
This was a hobby for me at first, and now it's my full-time-overtime gig. I have tons of ideas and a to-do list a mile long that I KNOW will bring in waaay more sales. Just gotta figure out how to clone myself to be able to handle more business.
