I realized tonight that I have been very sluggish regarding the care and feeding of my Etsy shop lately. A sale tonight for one of my Class Reunion Reports woke me up.
These reports are not crocheted or knitted or handcrafted in that sense of the word. However, the background design is custom made. It takes some thought and effort. And they are a strong presence in my shop.
The Reunion Reports really need to be expanded. Right now, I'm only offering Class Reunion styles. It's time to begin to design some for Family and Military reunions, and other events (Birthday and Anniversary) as well.
What I realized tonight is that I can't just make something and plop it into the shop and expect to catch someone's eye. Shops need care and feeding. I need to look at the items and use the online tools to see which ones are catching the most attention. I need to focus on adding more choices for those. I need to see which Etsy sellers are "hot" right now and which of their items have most recently sold, and try to find a similar product for those niches.
I know that lots of crafters never even desire to sell any of their handmade projects. There are probably more folks like me - we love making and giving away our hand crafted gifts of love. But we also enjoy pulling in some funds to supplement our income or even just to fund our gifting projects.
For those who fit into that category, I share these thoughts tonight. I can't just sit back and expect it to run itself. I don't intend to make my shop an obsession, but the management of it needs to be more organized than it is right now. I guess it's time for me to stop and "sell" the roses (or slippers or cozies or whatever)!
These reports are not crocheted or knitted or handcrafted in that sense of the word. However, the background design is custom made. It takes some thought and effort. And they are a strong presence in my shop.
The Reunion Reports really need to be expanded. Right now, I'm only offering Class Reunion styles. It's time to begin to design some for Family and Military reunions, and other events (Birthday and Anniversary) as well.
What I realized tonight is that I can't just make something and plop it into the shop and expect to catch someone's eye. Shops need care and feeding. I need to look at the items and use the online tools to see which ones are catching the most attention. I need to focus on adding more choices for those. I need to see which Etsy sellers are "hot" right now and which of their items have most recently sold, and try to find a similar product for those niches.
I know that lots of crafters never even desire to sell any of their handmade projects. There are probably more folks like me - we love making and giving away our hand crafted gifts of love. But we also enjoy pulling in some funds to supplement our income or even just to fund our gifting projects.
For those who fit into that category, I share these thoughts tonight. I can't just sit back and expect it to run itself. I don't intend to make my shop an obsession, but the management of it needs to be more organized than it is right now. I guess it's time for me to stop and "sell" the roses (or slippers or cozies or whatever)!
No comments:
Post a Comment