Mother's Day Sale

Are you still in need of a Mother's Day gift? Stop by my Etsy shop and enjoy 20% off with coupon code MOM20 at checkout - now through 5/8/2011. Depending on the time of your purchase, your order will be shipped either on the same day or the next day to ensure you'll get it on time :)

Happy Easter

Pepi's Picks

Postcup(TM) by baileydoesntbark

Natural Wood Earrings by OrganicArchitecture

Cafe Mocha Shea Butter and Olive Oil Soap by SymbolicImports

Vintage Dress Watercolor Note Cards by jojolarue

Baby Elephant Ring by michellechangjewelry

How to Receive (and Give) Feedback

It's that time of year - businesses are doing their annual self-evaluations and reviews, and everyone is nervous about getting feedback on their performance. But as an Etsy seller (or any self-employed business owner), feedback doesn't come just once a year - it's a daily process. Whether you're asking for critiques in the forums, or you're receiving feedback from your customers on the products they purchased, or you're being asked to give your opinion on something, you're constantly exposed to feedback. As we all know, feedback can be both positive and negative, but it's always the negative criticism that makes us cringe and become defensive. Ironically, it's also the type of criticism that helps us learn from our mistakes the most and become better at what we do and who we are. Knowing how to give and receive feedback is a precious skill that few of us have, but it's something definitely worth learning how to do.

I recently spoke to Melinda who just started a blog where she showcases successful Etsy shops. She received requests from many sellers, and given her strict guidelines on what she was looking for, not all shops made the cut. For the ones that she rejected, she actually spent quite some time going through them and giving them a review on certain things that they can improve. Most sellers welcomed her feedback and were grateful that she spent time doing it, but others were not as nice. As I was reading about Melinda's frustrations, it got me thinking. Why were some people so appalled? Isn't this a great way of learning how to improve your shop and make it better? Why take is so personally?

A few days later I came across an article in Psychology Today about feedback, and it all started to make sense! I learned a few interesting fact too. Apparently, there are separate circuits in our brains that handle information - one for positive and one for negative phenomena. The negative information sticks the most, and no matter how many great and positive compliments you get, you always remember that one minor critique! Due to our sensitivity to negative feedback, sometimes we "see" criticism where it doesn't exist, because we tend to overthink other people's comments or remarks. And it all comes down to one thing - fear of exclusion. Once you recognize this, you can become better at accepting and giving feedback.

So, you ask, how can you make this work? If you are giving feedback, were you asked to? Nobody welcomes unsolicited negative feedback, but if they asked you for it, they are more susceptible to receive it. Try to use questions when giving feedback as a way of walking the recipient through the problem and making them feel part of a discussion. Think about whether you are "eligible" to give feedback in their eyes. If they don't see you as a qualified authority, it will only bring more negativity. And finally, don't be angry when you provide criticism - be nice and calm. If you are on the receiving end, take a deep breath! It's not going to be easy, but try not to take it personally, and really think about what you're hearing. Learn from it! And although it's hard to hear it, ask for feedback as much as you can!

Spa Day - Homemade Facials

I'm a huge fan of homemade spa recipes. When I was a student and couldn't afford going to a spa, I'd go through my pantry and fridge and make some homemade spa concoctions for my skin and hair. If you haven't tried this before, I totally recommend it - they'll leave you feeling great and refreshed, without spending big bucks! Here are a couple of homemade facial recipes.

Coffee and eggs facial exfoliating mask.  You can do this after you've had your morning coffee. You need 1/4 cup of the used coffee grounds and 1 egg white. Mix the two ingredients well and massage the mixture gently on your face. Let it dry. Rinse it off with cool water and gently pat your skin dry with a towel.



Honey and eggs facial for oily skin. Whisk 1 egg white, and then add 4-5 drops of lemon juice and 2 teaspoons of honey (you can also use orange or grapefruit juice). Mix well and gently apply to your face. Let it stay for about 20-30 minutes and then rinse it off with cool water and pat dry your skin.


Make sure you're laying down while waiting for the masks to dry - gravity will cause the mixture to drip down and drag your skin downwards. Besides, why not just have some YOU time and relax!

Hope you enjoy those, and stay tuned for some homemade hair masks next time!

Marketing Corner: On Packaging

Brainstorming. Hard work. Creating and crafting. Taking pictures. Editing pictures. Taking more pictures. Listing. Renewing. And finally...a sale!!! But alas, that's not the end! What happens after you get the sale is equally important to you business as branding and product quality. Excellent customer service leads to happy customers, and happy customers can become return customers.

We all love packages. In today's high tech world, snail mail feels like a blast from the past, a nice one too. When I receive a well packaged order, it always feels like opening presents, which makes me appreciate the seller even more. Etsy is becoming more and more saturated and it gets harder to single your craft out amongst so many sellers with similar products. Packaging is one way to set yourself apart.

One of my weaknesses on Etsy is bath and body products - handmade soaps, lotions, and candles. I've made purchases from several different sellers and their packaging has been wonderful. Below are some pictures of their lovely products.

So, you ask, how can you put that little extra touch to your packaging at a low cost? Here are some suggestions:

Use tissue paper to wrap your items. Even if you've already packed your products in plastic bags, wrap them with an additional layer of tissue paper, and maybe even add a nice tie around it.

If you're selling jewelry, invest in jewelry boxes. They are just a few cents each, but make for a wonderful presentation!

Include a nice thank you note or a thank you tag. This makes the packaging a bit more personal. You can easily make hang tags at home at no cost too!

Reuse and recycle materials. This will cost you nothing! Reuse tissue paper and wrapping ribbons from gifts, shopping bags, or even flower bouquets that you've recently received. You can also recycle the beautiful paper bags from department stores and create your own boxes - they are thicker and have great colors and quality paper!

Make your own envelopes or package boxes, and use unique labels on your packages. Recycle paper to make some fun envelopes. Many sellers offer free PDFs for labels or envelope patterns on their blogs. You can find some in this Storque article. Here is another great tutorial to make your own unique package bags from envelopes using decorative tape. You can also find get some great and affordable patterns on Etsy.

Include awesome business cards.  This could be expensive but will definitely set you apart!

If you are one of those people who always puts an extra touch to their packaging, feel free to comment and share what you do :)

What's New in Store

I have been working really hard this weekend to create some new items and add them to my Etsy shop. Here's a sneak peek of what's new in my shop. Enjoy!

I Love You series - Swarovski Crystal Hearts Earrings

Terra Jasper series - large asymmetric teardrops

Tree Agate Earrings
Crocodile (Kambaba) Jasper Earrings

 

Light Green Aventurine Long Necklace and Bracelet

Leopard Skin Jasper Pendants

Teal Blue Swarovski Star Fish, Pearl & Anchor Necklace

Hematite Coins & Rounds Bracelet

Marketing Corner: How to Promote Your Etsy Store

I'm not an expert at marketing or advertising but since I started my jewelry business, I'm always on the lookout for creative and cheap ways to promote it and spread the word. I've kept a list of some really good ideas shared by other Etsy sellers, or something that I stumbled upon at one time or another. I haven't tried every single item on the list so if you have any insights, I'd love to hear them! Here's a list of 25, but I've also included some useful links with a lot more info and ideas.

1. Submit your work and your Etsy shop for free on any of these promotional websites:
http://www.craftjuice.com
http://craftgawker.com
http://www.craftstylish.com/share
http://www.craftytips.com
http://www.designstolove.com
http://www.plaincraft.com
http://tryhandmade.com/promote-handmade
http://coolmompicks.com/yourpicks.php
http://thehandmadedirectory.com/directory
http://etsylush.com
These are just a few examples but there are tons of websites targeting handmade products and crafts. Here's a list of 120 websites, courtesy of Indie Pretty Projects. And here's another list here - some of those may overlap.

2. Submit your shop to renowned blogs in the indie crafts sphere. It's free but you need to do some homework to single yourself out from the numerour requests they get on a daily basis.

3. Create a Facebook page for your shop. You can see mine here.

4. Create a blog. Blogging is not for everyone, of course, and I'm sure this deserves an entirely separate post in itself, but if you have a creative mind and have lots to share with the community, this can be a great way to build a network and market your craft.

5. If you have a blog, you can submit your blog posts to other blogging sites with more traffic. I recently submitted my post about Heartsy to the Handmadeology website, and it got picked up by Tech Crunch! If you like to make tutorials, check out the Totally Tutorials blog, and also submit yours there.

6. Use your family and friends - they want to see you succeed the most! Keep them posted on what you're working on and what's new in your shop and your schedule. Word of mouth can be a very powerful advertising tool sometimes.

7. Create a Youtube video to promote your art - it can be a series of photo slides, a tutorial, or a video of you in the process of making something.

8. Put your shop links in all your email signatures (except your day job one, of course).

9. Advertise for free on Project Wonderful. Some Etsy sellers offer free ad space on their blogs as well - browse through the forums or just ask around to find who they are and contact them directly.

10. If you make jewelry - wear your designs. This is the best way to showcase your work and get people to notice it and talk about it.

11. Visit local venues that have bulletin boards and post your business cards or mini catalogs there. Those can be the local coffee shop around the corner, local centers for adult education and arts, or the local public library.

12. Visit your local public library or go to bookstores and hide your business cards in books that target your audience. You can also create bookmarks with your business info on them, and ask if you could hand them out to customers.

13. If you live in an area with lots of colleges and universities (and if college students are your target audience), visit the campus and post on their bulletin boards. You can also contact sorority houses and see if they would be willing to organize a house party.

14. Create a newsletter. It's the best way to keep in touch with your customers and let them know what's new in your store and what you're working on. It can also be a great way to offer them discounts and seasonal offers, and attract more return customers. I use Mail Chimp, and I'm still working on my newsletter but if you'd like to sign up, you can go here.

15. Cross-promote your work with other Etsy sellers. Find another seller whose products could complement yours and collaborate together to create a new item. See this example. Their customers could become your customers too! Another idea is to trade props for your pictures. If you have a close group of Etsy friends, you can also create a package of the business cards for each shop and everybody can include it in their orders.

16. Offer a referral program (or a coupon) to your customers. It can help you gain return customers.

17. If you travel a lot for you day job or vacation, leave some promotional materials in the hotels where you stay (mini catalogs, business cards, discount offers, freebies, etc.).

18. Host a house party. Sometimes telling people that you run a small business is not enough. They may know the big picture of it but have no idea exactly what you're capable of creating. Show them! Invite some friends over and share your work over wine and cheese, or afternoon coffee.

19. Host a giveaway. Competition and scarcity always attract people.

20. Join an Etsy team. Teams are great for building a great network of friends on Etsy - don't forget that sellers are also buyers!

21. Create treasuries. Or join an Etsy team for making treasuries. Being in a treasury increases the chances of your shop being noticed by more people.

22. Include your location in your Etsy profile. Many people search for local artists and this is how they will find you. You can also get a lot of offers for wholesale from local indie shops and boutiques.

23. The Etsy forums are a great source to find information about promotion ideas. You can see a long list of online venues for promotion here. In this thread, you can read about the pros and cons of different social media and marketing tools. And here is another discussion on creative ways to promote your shop.

24. Get an interview feature on someone's blog. There are tons of Etsy sellers who love to showcase others' work on their blogs and would love to interview you. Just search the forums to see how's looking for features.

25. Participate actively in the community. Whether it's by participating in the forums, contributing to a team, following other people's blogs and commenting, or chatting on Twitter.

You can find another extensive list of creative ways to promote on Almcleary blog here. Also, for a list of 101 ways to make more sales online, check out this blog post.

I'd love to hear about your experiences and what you do to promote your shop that has been successful. Please comment below.