Open Chat

[Former_Member]

General Rules

-Follow all Etsy Forum Guidelines.
-No posting your item/s unless asked in a conversation with other team members. This is not a promo thread.
-Please avoid complaining or hopping onto a soap box about other sellers on Etsy. We all know someone else outside of the team, remember that you are a professional. Avoid the anonymous forum trap...because it isn't anonymous when your business is on the line.
-There are no subject restrictions. You can chat about anything as long as it can be considered family friendly. We may have young eyes here.


Have fun!

[Former_Member · Accepted solution]

If you want a few inspiring questions to introduce yourself....

1. Who are you? (I.e....what do you do off of Etsy.)
2. What inspires you to work so hard on Etsy?
3. When did you join Etsy?
4. Where would your dream vacation be...and why?
5. How do you want the team to help you most?

[Former_Member]

Hi guys,

I'm Stacia.
Instead of introducing my shop, I'll introduce myself.
I'm a loud whackadoo who loves gardening, painting and my cats!

I am studying Communication at SNHU. Woohoo!

I am totally corny with my jokes and love supporting small local shops. (This includes Etsy friends!) On here I can be accused of being less professional and more inclined to helping other sellers. If my shop supports me someday, great, if not, I've helped my friends get their business going.

I'm a social media buff....in some ways. I have a decent following on Pinterest and love showing off my treasuries on it.

Woohoo! Go team!
xoxo

[Former_Member]

Good morning everyone!
Anyone have any plans today?

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone! :) I guess I'll start with introducing myself too.

I am Ayman, and a bit of an internet introvert but an extrovert in real life. Haha

I finished my studies in communications last year and have been job hunting ever since, it's really really hard to find a job in Mauritius. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I am from Mauritius, a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, on the east of Madagascar.

I recently opened my etsy shop and I must admit that I am loving the process, the creativity needed behind it and the challenges. Oh also, please do give me tips to improve, I am all ears!

I am still trying to figure out how stay works, teams, forums etc, but I am hoping to make new friends around :)

I'm eager to hear from more people. Have a good day/night everyone :)

[Former_Member]

Hey Ayman!
It's awesome to meet you here on Etsy. Etsy is a great and positive place to get your stuff sold. We definitely have tips and tricks to get your items "Faved", "Viewed" and such. Your keywords are killer. They rock.

My question is this: Are you paying yourself or just covering costs for now?

I ask because your prices are pretty cheap compared to other macrame sellers on Etsy. I want you to make cash, lady!

I'm a Communications major too! Woohoo!! Finding a job is definitely not fun. I'm doing the same thing right now while I finish up school.

Hope you have a great evening! I'm finishing the rest of my afternoon by doing some painting.

:)

[Former_Member]

And so sorry guys! I'm sending out critiques very slowly. My critiques tend to be LoooOOong.

[Former_Member]

Thank you for the reply Stacia! :)

I saw you favorited some items of mine, i got happy haha I guess you know how it feels when you get favorited when you're a newbie xD

To be honest, i am only putting a tiny percentage of profit in the products, because we are just starting, so i was not very sure. But thank you for pointing it out to me. I guess i will calculate it better in my new listings.

Also Stacia, i had to tell you "I want you to make cash, lady!" it made me laugh and smile :) thank you :)

I'd love to see what your painting gives :) Enjoy your evening.

[Former_Member]

Ayman,

Haha! I'm sorry. I'm pretty straight forward with how I type. It's so not OK at times. The whole point of the team is for all of us to work together to make sales happen and to support the journey. Dare to dream we can create a full time income?

Don't worry about your pricing. I'm going to set up a pricing thread for people to shares tips and tricks about it. Try to at least pay yourself minimum wage. Money is a funny thing for some artists to talk about when they start their business. We want to compete, but it's so personal.

I genuinely love your little shop! It's going to do well. :) I'm looking forward to being your team member along the way!

[ENKRATNO]

Thank you Stacia, for opening this team. Feels very heart-warming.

1. Who are you? (I.e....what do you do off of Etsy.)
2. What inspires you to work so hard on Etsy?
3. When did you join Etsy?
4. Where would your dream vacation be...and why?
5. How do you want the team to help you most?

1. I am graduated painter. I live in nature in a small wooden house.
2. I have to pay bills and I don't want to do anything else but my creations made of wood. I enjoy it so much.
3. I opened the shop last year on May.
4. My dream vacations are right here right now in this beautiful place in nature I live.
5. Team could help me with any kind of advice how to be more seen.

Thank you.

[Former_Member]

Hi Robert! Welcome to the team! I'm pumped to have you here!

Wood items are my favorite. There's something blissful and peaceful about it. My home smells of it too, which you can't beat.

I see a lot of high quality items in your shop! Your shop has a ton of potential and I mean that sincerely. What I can tell right away is that there aren't a ton of eyes on your shop. I'll hop over and write up a full critique for you soon.

I hope that the team gives you a lot throughout your full time on Etsy! We can offer you a ton of promoting and advice as things change over time.

Stace

[Former_Member]

Hi Robert! :) I checked out your shop! Your items are beautiful. They look so well made with lots of patience, I hope it picks up for you.

On another note, since this is a friendly chat thread, I wanted to share something with everyone, I have a blog, it's pretty new, about random things and my latest blogpost is about a trip I took on the island that I am from, that is Mauritius, I think a lot of you might enjoy it, so I thought of posting it here, I hope that's okay :)

https://thoughtsandglimpses.wordpress.com/2016/04/21/travel-with-me-mauritius-southeastcoast/

[Former_Member]

SOLD

Canons? History? Water and Scenery? I need a vacation like something awful. Haha! What a fun post!

I haven't started a blog yet, but I'm dying to start. How has blogging been since you started?

[Former_Member]

Hello stacia where do you get your inspiration from?

[ENKRATNO]

Thank you Stacia and Ayman, it means so much!!!

[Former_Member]

Raul, my inspiration comes from a lot of things.
Do you guys carry an art journal?
I carry it everywhere with me and most of the things inside are not meant for the public at all, but sometimes you strike on an idea or a concept (or a new seasonal theme for your shop) by playing around.

For example, it's still too early to tell in my shop because I don't have a lot of my artwork and enough items to show it, but my shop is aimed at trendier women. When I'm out in public or out and about if something happens that inspires me and I feel will resonate with women, I try to doodle, paint or write a quote in my journal.

For some sellers it's difficult to justify an art journal, but I think it's crucial to have one even if you aren't a fine artist or work with vintage. It's a gentle reminder for ourselves to remember what inspires us first before trying to wonder what will sell to our customers. A journal is a safe place to see if the idea even looks OK before placing it in shop.

I'm going to ask you the same question, Raul! What inspires you? What hasn't been inspiring you lately which used to?

[Former_Member]

I still get lost when I check etsy on my phone, I only saw your reply now! Yes, we dare dream of making a full time income, though I have made no sale yet xD

I have to say that I love your positivity and how encouraging you are.

Thanks for the pricing thread. I'll be checking it every now and then to learn from it, I don't know how to contribute there at the moment.

About blogging, as you saw, my blog is really nothing major. And it's still a new born. But I like writing, and though I'd be writing random poems, there was no way to push me to write more and be consistent. When I started the blog, it felt good seeing that people do enjoy reading what or how I write and that is pleasing. I feel it's like exercising; the more you do it, the easier it gets. I went MIA on the blog for a while and starting was hard, so I'll try to be more consistent. Also like I said, I'm an Internet introvert, it was pretty hard starting, I had to think it through, but you won't have that problem :P :P are you planning to start a blog?

Onto another unrelated subject, art journaling! I have started bullet journaling a month ago, and I kind of merge it with art journaling, and I really enjoy it. I feel it gives me "me time" and breathing space. If I have a separate notebook for art journaling only, I feel it's harder to put pen/brush to paper, because I feel ill need more time on hand to finish it or it'll take more energy etc but combining the two makes it more comfortable for me. Have you tried bullet journaling?

[Former_Member]

Heyyyy! Sorry for being MIA.
Been shopping for stock for my shop. Business has been busy.
Also preparing for my first art fair. Woo!!

Art journaling is my obsession. I'm working on a self portrait right now in mine for a blog post. (Thanks Ayman for getting me encouraged to start!)

I don't think I know what bullet journaling is! Do you have an example or a resource? I'm so intrigued! I love my journal. A lot. Haha!

[Former_Member]

Art fair :D you've got some pretty exciting things going on! Congratulations Stacia :)

You make me wanna peak in your art journal! lol this is so wrong haha you launched the blog!! Yay :D liiiink the blog!! :) Can't wait to see it!

Bullet journaling usually is for planning and have everything in one place.

http://bulletjournal.com/

That is the offical website where things are explained, but people tend to customise it and make it more personal. Add and minus on the "key" page.

You can look for Boho Berry on youtube. She has those really amazing bullet journal artsy kind of...journal. lol (Sorry, i couldn't find a better way to out it) Hers is really REALLY neat, i can't be neat like that. Mine contains to do lists, well all other lists too, habit tracker, drawings/paintings, and random thoughts, or even quotes..... doodles..

[Former_Member]

Oh my word, please don't laugh at me. I've been working on the posts for a few days, but made it public yesterday. lol. You had me writing up stuff all weekend, you little inspiration, you!

https://colorwithstacia.wordpress.com/

There are still tons of issues with the layout, but I like the idea of having a place to make my own goals public. It's gonna be more of an artsy/healthy/lifestyle blog.

(You already know I'm in the kitchen making coffee, BUT!!)

I'm also working on a recipe too!

Let's get crackalackin' on promo today!

I'm tellin' ya (being BOSSYYYY) to set your goals for the day. We aren't going to quit til we get it. Let's do 5 goals for your shop that we can hit just by promoting it.

For example (since I'll promote alongside you) mine are:

1. Newest Item Receives 10 Views
2. Newest Item Receives 50 Faves
3. Shop Receives 10 new Followers
4. Create a Treasury for a group of people I KNOW make treasuries too. (Usually these people return the favor and feature your items too.)
5. All Dashboard Stats show I have more views/faves than yesterday.

[Former_Member]

I'm going to create a treasury first thing this morning since it's early in the day for the US.

People tend to return the favor (sometimes) to people who create treasuries frequently. I usually see who has recently featured my items to return the favor and then poke around at the hottest treasuries right now to see who made it. Even if no one adds you to a treasury you usually get quite a few faves or views.

[Former_Member]

Have had almost 4,000 views and my dedication is in several places.

1. Belle's Dream is number one but we have yet to finish a few rings as I'm still waiting on stones that I purchased a month or so ago and I tell you waiting is hard work.

2. Fabric for a few gowns shop member/designer is on vacation so skyping to get her vision for some of the works gets frustrating when it freezes.

3. I have yet to edit chapters to my fanfics on a website I write on and my readers are very demanding of updates. Yikes!

4. Work and it is tough working full time as I still work in bridal consulting although I don't work directly with bridal guest looking for dresses but brides who are simply trying to book locations and honeymoons, travel the works.

5. My beautiful children who likes to come and help out and Grandpa wants to stop working to spend time with the kiddos. As they are very much first in my life I do take them out on a daily if my time permits.

So, sales outside of Etsy are grand but I have yet to sale in my new shop. The concept we thought would work was to incorporate everything important of the Bride and that maybe the problem because as my Metalsmith makes and has in the past make men's bands I didn't think like a business woman and equality of the sexes woman at the time because my clients are almost always women. There a solutions to every problem yet I feel like we are on the right track.

Or nah.

[Former_Member]

Hi Ashley,
I'm working on reviews and critiques today for everyone. I'll send you one. Your shop looks lovely, but there are some suggestions I'll make more privately in a message to you if that's alright?
My critiques are usually enormous. D:

[Former_Member]

Please be aware this is not the thread to post your links and run off. This is a conversation thread.

Posts of that sort will be deleted in an effort to keep posts helpful and relevant.

Thank you!!

[Former_Member]

Hi Stacia,

Thank you very much in advance. As I've been doing this for sometime I would love the critique that is helpful.