What's My Niche?

As I continue to write freely here, by no means with any sort of schedule, I'm finding I should follow some of the steps I've been reading about to strengthen my biz. If it IS to become a biz. First and foremost, "who is my buyer?". Well, that's a tough one. I sell clay dishes, that are inexpensive, for the work involved in making them, and one off jewelry pieces. I make what I think looks beautiful. But you know what? That's not enough. I know. So there lies the question. What separates me from the million other jewelry designers out there? What's "my niche"?

Will have to give this some thought. Any suggestions? Are YOU a biz owner?

Thinking Cap is officially on.

Labor Day is Behind Us, Now What?

Ok, so clearly, time is flying by, and I haven't been able to devote as much time to figuring this whole "store thing" out. There are too many tools, suggestions, videos, companies, who will guide you through making more sales. But where to start?!

I haven't even looked deep into this Blogger website to finesse the design details of my blog! Good lord, what kind of designer am I? LOL, to let time pass by with a half thought out blog design. Well, just put that on my List of Things to Look At.

Today I'm reading a little about using Mail Chimp, and what it offers. Through Shopify, one viewer has singed up to receive emails, but guess what...I don't even know how to send out announcements to this willing recipient! Baby steps, i know.

Onwards. I'm going to work on tags and photos of my current stock of goods. I know I'm not supposed to create new items until my older items are all perfected, but there are too many ideas in my head. Another main thing I have to do is work on getting the word out. A never ending process.

How do you work your magic? If you have an online biz? Would love to hear.

Once again, I'm trying my hand with Spotify. "Why?" You may ask? It's 2 fold. One major reason is that you can't gather up emails in Etsy, for sending marketing messages to potential buyers. Spotify will ask if a viewer would like to sign up for a newsletter. And #2 reason, is that I keep reading that you shouldn't rely on etsy 100% for your shop, since Etsy can shut you down at any moment.

Well, I've been signed up for a month now. And still have yet to fully look into what Spotify has to offer. Rrrrr, why did I sign up in the middle of summer? I can barely devote any significant time to my shop daily. Too many chauffeur duties, kids home, etc.

The main bonus I'd say, is the ability to post items for sale through Instagram, which I believe is only available if you have a shopify account. But for $29 a month, I should at least be making double that in sales! I decided to give myself about 6 months to see if it's worth it.

What's your experience with Shopify and having an Etsy store?

What's my Story?

Over the past year and a half, I feel like I've read a lot of advice online and in book form, about how to sell stuff. It doesn't mean I know everything, by any stretch of the imagination, but one little advice nugget, I'm starting to slowly jive to. Which is, "What's your story? How is your shop different than someone else's down the street?" Initially my inner voice would answer, "Nothing, except that I make pretty things". The problem with that answer is that it doesn't help me to get that hook. Something that will drive customers to even want to bother seeing what it is I have to offer. 

It only hit me yesterday, as I was sanding down some new clay bowls, that when I make something, it's not a perfectly manufactured looking product. You can see my finger prints in the clay, the parts where I've pinched down the sides, making it thin. Or on my jewelry, where I've curled gold wire into some funky swirly just to make it secure around a jump ring. 

Could this be what separates my shop from someone elses? Maybe. I'll look into it further and see how it can indeed become my story. Because nobody's perfect, and there is beauty in the imperfect.

Thanks for reading,
Vanessa

Holy Moly, Domain Mess!!

Where do I begin? My last post here was in March. Yes I know, that is beyond delinquent! But honestly, there's just too many things happening. So while I was living life, somehow, I let my domain expire. And in that time, a bot or someone, scooped up my domain name and is now offering it in an auction?! Sigh, can you imagine all the time and effort it would now take to change everywhere I have used "Vanpinni Designs" if I were to change this brand name? Yes, people do it. And it's not like I have a huge following. "But sweet baby jesus!!" I love that quote, btw.

Apparently, last year, when I signed up to get a domain name, I decided to save money and not automatically renew. After one year, I'd know wether this was a hobby or a new company. cough* cough*, a year goes by quickly.

So now I'm faced with, do I change the name, simply taking off the "s", so it's not a crazy change? Do I pay the auction? I'd say no on principle. or do i do nothing now, till I really deal with maybe getting a stand alone website away from Etsy?

Help me. What would you do?

And now, mid-March, already?!

Can you hear it? The sigh of "where, oh where on earth, does time go?" Guess what? I still haven't finished my Pinterest Power book I bought at the end of this summer!! But, I am right at the end. The juicy part I probably should have skipped to, instead of reading it cover to cover. I didn't want to miss anything.

What have I learned so far? That Pinterest is definitely one of the best ways to get eye balls to your store or site, indefinitely. Each time a new product is posted to my store, I do try to remember to post it on Pinterest also.

It's a tiny start, to getting your products out there. The Facebook groups I used to look at daily, and comment on, adding my store link and playing the "Follow Game", became tiresome. Did it really help in the long run? I don't know. Didn't feel like it. It all started to feel like a lot of work for little reward. So I stopped.

Now I have some items listed in my Etsy Wholesale page, but each time I see the 50% wholesale price, from the retail price, I feel mildly nauseous. I understand the concept. If it took me a year to sell one item at $50, but I sold 10 items at $25, all in one fall swoop, isn't that a better use of my time? I guess so. Time will tell.

So, I continue to have visions of new products to make, new artwork to produce, like a fever, I can't stop. I just wish the days didn't fly by, the way they do.

Soon, it'll be summer break, and I'll have even less daily "free time". I better make the most out of my school days now.

Oh, and I still haven't approached a few local stores I've had on my radar for the past year!! I kept telling myself I didn't have the right products to offer just yet. I know, I know! "JUST DO IT!!!!!!!!!!" Ever see that hysterical video with Shia Labeouf actor? Google it, it's cra-zeee! Here's the link, 'cause I'm gonna watch part of it again, just to get my giggle for the day.

https://www.google.com/search?q=shia+labeouf+just+do+it&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS515US515&oq=shea+la+bouef&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0l5.8645j0j8&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Next time I write a post, it will be with some items accomplished towards getting into the retail market. Gosh darn-nit.

Mid February Already!?

Ok, what happened? A month went by already since my last blog post. It's hard. I'll say it. There's a million things you should be doing, you want to be doing, and things you actually get to. This past month, I feel like I've learned a few little nuggets of shaping my business. I finished the "Etsy Empire" book, with some good things to try. But I think the most meaningful take away was this:

You need to express what makes your shop/goods so special. 

This makes sense if you think about the materials you're using. For me, I'm seeking out 14k gold filled, sterling silver, and now Argentium silver, which is a higher quality silver that is tarnish resistant. But everyone else under the sun, or so it seems, is designing jewelry using gold and silver. But, not Argentium! So, taking baby steps, since it is a more expensive metal, I bought some materials to make 2 necklaces. Then I started creating Collection names for the shop. Not just "Jewelry" or "Stone Clay Bowls", but named Collections that can be branded and featured when approaching boutiques.

We'll see where this all takes me.

Onwards! and Upwards!

Enjoy your day out there.

What I've Learned So Far, Reading, "Etsy Empire"

I'm almost through reading "Etsy Empire". Now, mind you, I haven't read the absolute beginning part still, but before I put the book down, I'll definitely look at the preliminary pages. So...have I learned anything mind blowing? Um...no. I've dog earred a few pages with info worth going back to. Let's look now at some of them.

Pg 23: "Sell stuff that people already want to buy"
So here, they're suggesting you take a look at what's coming up in the search fields of Etsy. That makes sense. For me, I see a lot of personalization in ring dishes as popular items. Jewelry, I haven't tuned in yet to a BIG seller, because it's so huge. Maybe birthstone options. And that's an area I'm looking into by creating January Birthstone Garnet pieces. 

Pg 73: "Tags and additional SEO"
Tags are super important. You get about 30 chances to use good ones on Etsy. Mentioned in this chapter is a tool that can help compare 2 similar tags for popularity, views per day and relevance. Pretty helpful right? The link is: http://www.tools4etsy.com/tagwars

Pg 106: This page is talking about Pinterest for Etsy Sellers. It breaks down the demographic for Pinterest users. They both share a common core user group. Over 68% are women between 25-45.

Pg 109: Here are various website links that help you out with pinterest tips.
>> http://amylynnandrews.com/pinterest-tips/
>> http://youtube.com/watch?v=Lia0HR_duJU
>> http://blog.etsy.com/en/2013/how-to-promote-your-etsy-shop-with-pinterest/

Pg 117: Just some Facebook banner sizes. Cover image is 851x315 pixels.

Pg 120: Various Facebook apps for Etsy sellers. Will check them out before posting links.

Pg 123: Twitter tips link. I don't do much with twitter, but I might check this out.
>> http://blog.etsy.com/en/2011/etsy-guide-to-twitter

That's it for now. Ta-ta, till next time, which should be next week. Hold me to it!!

-Vanessa

Etsy Empire, Almost Free Money, Vol 6

Hellloooo! Yes, I know, I've been delinquent with writing these blog posts every 2 weeks, let alone every month. Sorry about that. 

But, right now, at 8:05pm on a saturday night, (yes I roll like that, crazy right?) instead of thinking, "oh yes, I should write a post tomorrow", I'm doing it right now. So while my daughter is climbing on my back while talking to Siri on my phone, I am writing to you, my beloved reader. Boy, sometimes a little body weight on your back, feels soooo good.

For Christmas I got the "Etsy Empire" book, by Eric Michael. I skipped to page 20 or so, because I've had my store open for a year now, and figured I don't need to read the absolute basics right now. 

So one thing I looked up, was a link to a site where it calculates your Etsy fees, and gives you an estimated profit based on calculations you enter. Check this out: http://feesnap.com/etsy.html.

A lot of sellers underprice themselves, especially for handmade items. Which makes it hard to compete against. And then there are sellers who sell items that aren't made very well, and yet people are buying their stuff. So maybe they don't spend much time on their goods, and feel they can charge less. Not sure you can accurately price according to the competition because of this, but you can average it out. I hope my items for sale are in the ballpark. I think so.

Will write more on my findings with the book in the coming weeks. 

Happy NEw YEar!

Pinterest and hashtags?!

Ok, guess what...I'm still reading that Pinterest book, I blogged about over the summer. I know, it's terrible, right? There is just so much information overload out there. I sit here typing away, staring at 21 tabs on my laptop! These are tabs holding little nuggets of information, I just can't get through this second. So it's saved for another day, which seems to go on forever. Little by little I get to close a tab, which means I have visually digested the info on the page. 

So...Pinterest...are you using hashtags now? I heard today, that if you post on Pinterest, your post will be found in about 3 months, but if you now add hashtags to your description, you can be found instantly. Stop the bus, I wanna get off! Phew. So much is changing. I need about 10 hours a day, to fully get to my to do list on marketing my baby biz. Alas, I only have about 2-3 hours, possibly.

How are you handling Pinterest and Hashtags?

Admiring Smoky Quartz Stones

There was a time when if you asked me about brown stones, I would have stuck my tongue out in disgust. BUT...have you seen smoky quartz stones?! I recently got commissioned to create a necklace using a brown stone. The customer didn't really know what kind of stone. Just brown colored because she mostly wears that color palette. So I created a search and emailed my findings for her to choose the direction I should go in. 


I'm just now opening my eyes to the sexiness of what a brown stone can be. Growing in popularity, it's an affordable option for those looking to jazz up their jewelry collection. It's apparently one of November's birthstone. Plus it goes so very well with autumn colored wardrobes.

Smoky quartz is particularly effective for ailments of the abdomen, kidneys, pancreas, hips and legs. It relieves all sorts of other pain too, including headaches, and benefits the reproductive system, muscles and nerve tissues, as well as the heart. The stone dissolves cramps and strengthens the back. It also aids in the assimilation of minerals and regulates liquids within the body.

Quartz is beneficial to one who finds the need to move forward within himself. It can be extremely helpful to one who is contemplating his relationship with life, exploring his value system, and seeking inner meaning. When meaning is discovered, the magic of smoky quartz is said to be excellent in working to bring one’s dreams into manifestation. Smoky quartz connects us with our higher self. It encourages us to take up contact with this higher self and to pray. It tells us to trust our intuition. As such, it is an excellent choice for those who are unaccustomed to the contact with our inner self.

In the United States, Colorado produces some of the best smoky quartz. Quartz can easily be scratched or chipped so it is important to be careful not to wear it when you might be engaging in an activity that could harm the stone. The best way to clean your quartz is with a plain water and soap, using a soft brush and then a soft polishing cloth. Do not soak your quartz, and do not leave it in direct sunlight as its color may fade. Also be careful not to expose it to intense heat as this too might cause the color to fade.

So take a look at some smoky quartz stones, you'll be happily surprised. I should be listing some new designs in my shop within the next couple of weeks. vanpinnidesigns.com

Creating Jewelry Card Holders

After 8 months in "business" I've finally come around to putting some more thought into how my jewelry is shipped out to customers. Once again, seeing examples online and taking note in the boutique stores, I saw that I could make a few holders made out of heavy stock paper. And so, with a few watercolors, my frame stamper, and some gold acrylic paint, I started creating. The end result, is an artistic visual, using my favorite colors for a cohesive look. It also helps to offer up each design, as something that could be found in your local boutique store.

So how much does the packaging affect a customer's view of what they've just spent money on? Research shows that if you are able to invest in slightly better looking packaging than the cheapest option, your customers will believe they are getting their money's worth. I too, feel better about sending off that necklace that seems  slightly elevated with a piece of artwork and my logo on it.

Progress...slowly but surely. I'm still finding ways to get my business off the ground.

What have been the best steps you've taken to seeing more sales? Share in the comments below, am always glad to learn. :)

I'm Being Featured, As Artist of the Month!!

A huge thank you to Jessie, of Wanderingeducators.com, who has featured me as her website's Artist of the Month. It's an honor, and inspiring to see your images and text up online all together. Hopefully this will propel me to seek out other avenues of exposure.

Here's a direct link:
https://www.wanderingeducators.com/artisans/artisan-month/artist-month-vanessa-pineda-fox.html

"Pinterest Power" Thoughts So Far

Where does the time go? A month has gone by since my last blog post. In that time, I've purchased and started reading, "Pinterest Power" by Jason Miles and Karen Lacey. The biggest take away so far, is that when you post something to Pinterest, it's always out there in cyber space. People can stumble upon it years from now, and still be directed back to your site. Post something to Instagram? It's old news after a day or 2. Plus, depending on the tags you include, the amount of eyeballs seeing that post, depends on your existing followers and the tags used.

Before IG, I lived and breathed the joys of inspiring Pinterest posts. It amazes me, all the cool crafting, culinary, gardening, interior design, and travel ideas that are out there. But I thought the way to go was Instagram for marketing my new Etsy store. It is for some people, but boy, does it suck a lot of time every day. Which is why, I thought reading this book can help me to elevate my marketing efforts with less time devoted to it everyday.

I didn't realize that naming your board, was just as important as what you pin. It's how people will find your board when they type in a search for particular pins. Also, the title of your pins help in searches too. So each listing I have on Etsy, is now pinned to my store name's board.

Have I given up on IG? No Sirree...I'm just slowly trying to work on the two platforms. There's still so much to read, but this is what I'm learning right now.

Fixing Up Your Tags & Joining FB Groups

Holy Moly, I thought  my older products from a few months ago, were finnnne. No sirree, the tags were not well thought out and didn't jive with the titles. I think I've gone through all of them now, and reworked them. But it's not like I'm now getting hundreds of views, based on this small change, but I know it helps.

It's now been about a month and a half since I entered a Loop Giveaway on IG. My follower numbers are hovering around what I ended up with after that contest. So what does that tell me? I need to do more. What a chore! I've been posting almost everyday, except weekends, and sometimes 2xs a day. This is attracting new viewers, and followers, but I wouldn't say it's growing my "Tribe". I need to look into that still.

Are you growing your IG "Tribe"? Send me a comment and let me know how it's going.

I've also joined a few FB groups for Makers, but honestly, I can't find the time to contribute much. Even though I would love to. People write that through groups, they've found their customer base. Will just put that on to my list. Groups I belong to: Creative Movers and Shakers, Handmade Seller, Etsy Shop Help, & Handmade Journey. What groups do you belong to?

Time to Get Serious About SEO

Ok, I'm now into month 4 and a half of trying to sell on Etsy. There is soooo much information out there, it's really overwhelming. But that's a good thing! It's just that I don't have enough time in a day to fully digest the copious amount of videos and articles covering how to market your shop.

This morning I spent a few hours re-listing some of my older items, and double checking the titles, tags, and information on each listing. Or at least, until I started going stir crazy because I knew I had to get out to the market before it got too busy. To my surprise, the older listings didn't have the latest "Important Info"! Oh boy. So, I had some work to do.

Let's see if changing the titles and tags will affect views and hopefully sales. I know it should, I just don't know if I'm doing it correctly. As I type this, I'm listening and watching a video on "How to get buyers to your shop". Yes, I'm multi-tasking! There's only 30min left till my afternoon will be filled up with chauffeuring, cleaning up the kitchen, and doling out snacks.

Items on my To-Do List for this month:
• Contacting local and not local shops that sell Artisan wares.
• Posting and interacting on IG at least 5 days a week. I don't tend to post as much on the weekends, because not much creative work gets done in the house when it's full.
• Read articles on SEO and building up a "Tribe" of followers on Instagram.
• Think about creating separate Instagram and Etsy stores for artwork and jewelry bowls/jewelry.

So that's about it. Onwards and Upwards. I hope.

Renew or Not to Renew on Etsy?

Recently, I finally came up to my 4 month expiration date for my first few Etsy items, posted in my store. Should I renew them in the hopes that my store will soon get the traffic I crave? Or should I hold them back so that when I finally approach those stores I have my eye on, I'll be able to show them some products that are not currently listed in the store? Hmmm. I'm betting that holding off on the 12 items will work out, at least until I speak to someone at a bricks and mortar store. There are also new products I haven't even listed because I might want to sell them on consignment.

Tricky.

What's the 411, if you know? Would love to read any suggestions from others out there who have gone through this.

My Experience with a Loop Giveaway on Instagram

To be honest, my first experience entering a loop giveaway, was not pleasant. I mean, really? I have to follow stores I'm really not interested in, and then wait a few days to a week to find out if I won? The directions were even a little screwy. Do you tag other stores on all the IG feeds you're supposed to be following? I didn't have a clue. Then I decided to join a loop giveaway to see what the fuss was about.

The Hive Handmade was the organizer. There were 8 other stores involved. At first I was a little overwhelmed with the details and preparations needed to be done for the contest. I've never really dealt with reposting yet, and have never tagged an image with an IG handle. So I learned as I went along. The organizer was very helpful, and the stores involved, were welcoming. It really felt like a camp almost, where we were all in this together.

When the contest launched, it was fun to experience so many follows and likes. At the end of the day, I'd say it was a positive experiment. I started off with 225 followers and ended up with 305 followers or so when the contest ended. Since then, I've lost a few, and gained some others reacting to my newer posts. Seems like I've been getting quite a few bots probably, following me. IGers, who don't exactly look like shops that would be following me. No doubt, looking for a reciprocal follow. Sometimes I follow, and sometimes I don't. I'm still trying to follow only those that interest me.

So, I think I'll do another one, for sure, but I'm not sure I gained followers that will necessarily be buyers from my shop.

My Experience with Publish Craft & Etsy Hunter on Instagram

Just yesterday, Publish Craft, posted an image of my "Gold Collection" jewelry bowls, on their Instagram feed. They have 134k followers, and the average likes per image they post, is about 1k, give or take. After a couple of hours, my gold bowls image garnered 1k in likes. Not a huge change in followers. Seems the majority liked the image and that's about it. But it was still a great feeling to see the positive likes. I think it went live around 7pm EST, on a saturday night. So, overall, i'm very pleased with the back and forth with Chris, at Publish Craft, and the willingness to work with me in choosing an image to feature. I'd most likely work with them again.

Etsy Hunter, on the other hand, only gathered around 448 likes. Could it be the time of day, the image, the txt used describing my wares, or the usage of the same exact tags I used for the same image? I don't know. But there you have it. For $23, I probably won't be running back to use this form of marketing dollars. Publish Craft was having a special price break, so I got the spot for $13. Now that's a bargain.

Baby steps. And boy does it ever feel like BABY STEPS!!!

What's your experience with using these marketing companies on Instagram?

I'm Featured on Etsy Hunter!

Ok so, it doesn't sound as thrilling when you hear I paid $23 for the honor. But they say they "choose" who gets to be featured on their IG feed. So that means we're all really good, right? Sales galore, I'm ready for ya! Post time was at 4:24pm, to be exact. Normally, each post is getting roughly 1k likes. As far as followers, who knows. It really depends on the product, the image chosen, and the tags used. Now, get this, I noticed the tags I wrote up myself, for the image Etsy Hunter ended up choosing, were used again by Etsy Hunter! Now that was weird I thought. Shouldn't they have used their own magic mojo combination of tags that grab the most eyes? Hmmm, I'll have to enquire about that.

So, last time I checked, the post has garnered about 293 likes at 8:25pm. A few followers, but who knows who are following because of them. Maybe it's from my own feed.

Tomorrow will be like xmas morning to see how many eyeballs have liked my bowls.