Saturday, February 9, 2013

Week 6 - Focus on Life

This week's project is to find LOVE and capture it.

Sally, our friend who has started this fabulous journey on Focus on Life says
 " ...since love is in the air ( this is February), breathe in all that love, feel it and capture it in a photo."

Here is mine :



I love this quotation of Emerson - his Definition of Success:

To laugh

often and much,
to win respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch, or a
redeemed social condition;
to know even one life
has breathed easier
because you have lived. This is to have succeeded


 especially, I love the third line... the affection of children.


Please visit all the others who are also in this unique journey of 52 weeks with Focus on Life.





 

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Strategies to boost online business and sales in my Etsy shop

I was thinking about the strategies I should take right now for improving my online business.  What should I  prioritize in  to boost sales in my my  Etsy shop?



Researching, I came to know there are lots of  things I need  to do to boost my online business.  There are quite a few good articles and books  that talks about how to shine  in your online business  or improve your Etsy shop. There are  so many advertisements, everyone shouting to buy their product,  At the end  I feel   confused and overwhelmed.

So, I decided to start with  the very basic strategies.

 Do what you do best- make more jewelry: Add new items regularly:

This is crucial we all know, yet quite difficult to accomplish. It involves not only making products, but photographing, editing, writing and marketing too.  But it has to be done and I plan to bring at least two new items a week- that is my goal.

As I have about fifty items on my shop  I can renew at least one item on a daily basis.

I also came to know that deactivating an item and then activating it with in a short period of  time  works wonder for the search engine .  In an Etsy Team discussion  Donna from Classy Lady has suggested doing  this.  This was quite new to me.  What do you think?   I'll give it a try.


 Be social- have some good karma too :

Regular blogging and taking part in the social sites become absolutely essential for  running an online business successfully  .  As I  am not techno savvy at all, I miss a lot in  understanding Facebook and Twitter techniques.

 One thing I can not stand is when people only talk and show  off what they have done.  It is like tacky advertisement to me.

 I understand that it is necessary to post in Facebook, tweet it and pin it as soon as I post a new item in my store.  At the same time  I think it is equally important to appreciate other creations , take interests in other peoples thoughts, beliefs and lives and promote other artists in these social net work  platforms. That take enormous time.

Writing blogs is not enough, reading and commenting  on others' are equally important too.

I don't do that as much as I should.  I need to put it in my calendar.

Write right:

Writing  excellent articles,  not just for my own blog but for other blogs and do that consistently is another thing I need to work on.  Chris Guillebeau writes about the importance of guest blogging in his excellent blog 279 Days to Overnight Success 

Keep it simple. Simply  work consistently

From Chris' blog I came to know about another  powerful blogger - Leo Babauta.  His Zen Habits clicked with me.  I like his minimalist approach on life.

Slow down, remove the clutter around you, with in you and you'll get where you want to go...slowly and steadily.  This is what he says in his book - The Power of Less.   This is how I want it too.

I have not finished his book, nor am I an affiliate. I am just writing as it helped me in my plans.

Editorial Calendar:

This is the concrete approach of what I was just  talking about.

 Rena Klingenburg  in her  excellent e book Jewelry Blogging Success Guide  talks about the importance of having an editorial calendar.

Again I am not an affiliate of this product of hers,   but I think it's an excellent resource that I have and I  own this book  but did not incorporate all the tools.  What a shame.

This is what I am going to focus on.

Now,  I know I did not mention that the banner in my Etsy shop could get a little help, the photos could be redone,  writing the descriptions all over to make them SEO happy is a must, and  the tags... and all that

.  Slowly and steadily I'll get there I hope.

What strategies did you use for your online  business  and had good results?  If you are joining me in this journey, will you give me your feed back, please?



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