"Lost My Day Job" Chapter Five: Depression, Etsy Induced Stress, and Shipping

I have to be honest. I am failing miserably at focusing on ColieArt. I've done nothing I said I was going to do, have not followed through on thing I've started, I haven't even posted here since March. 

When I first starting seriously creating it lifted me up out of a terrible bout of depression. Over the years since it has helped keep my depression at bay. Recently I've been experiencing some difficulty, in addition to my regular depression I am dealing with a few serious problems. So far, this time, creating hasn't helped...I hate to say it but sometimes it has even become a source of stress. 

OK. I've got my new goal. Working my etsy shops will not be a source of stress. I will figure out what is causing the problem and fix it! 

  The first thing that comes to mind is shipping. Two of my last 3 orders have been to the UK, I paid $12- $13 but only charged $8. I can't afford to lose $5.
    How do I fix shipping? I've noticed that etsy will now calculate your shipping costs for you! I wonder how long I've been missing out on this? Are you using this feature? If so I'd love some advice! If not, well, now is the time! I'll be sharing my process for those of you that are interested. 

So, go to your shipping profiles. 

I went to my shipping profiles and found like 5 different profiles I had created over the years so the first thing I did was delete everything. 

Then I click on the orange "Add a shipping profile" button. The first thing to fill out is the shipping costs and what do you know? "Calculate them for me" is recommended! 
There is a link to a handy article about "Calculated Shipping" there which I will share with you here: "Calculated Shipping"

You plug in where you want to ship to and then select up to 6 USPS services to offer your customers. 
Up until now I have only offered USPS First Class. I have not consistently offered international shipping because it's been a pain to estimate shipping charges! Guess that solves that. 

This is nice: there is a place to add a handling fee and etsy says the buyer will not see it separately! I learned the hard way that tissue, ribbons, boxes, bubble mailers...all add up. 
This sucks: there doesn't seem to be an easy way to apply the new shipping profiles to listings...if I try to do it in batches it won't work because each listing needs to have its weight and package dimensions entered first. You might as well apply the new shipping profile while your doing that- one listing at a time.

Pressed Flower Phone Cases!

Just googling around I happened upon these beautiful I-Phone cases! Aren't they lovely? I'm just going to share a few of my favorites...

This one is from House of Bling

This is from ShopOhMyGoodies

And this is from MattFlowerShop

DIY Shadow Box/Frame

I used scrap-booking paper that had a pattern on both sides to make this one to house a little brass Buddha.

I made this one from card stock to frame an ATC.

Here is how I made the frame for the ATC: 

I cut a piece of card stock down to 5" x 6"

I make 4 score lines, 1/4" apart on each side. On the long side I cut the edges flush with the innermost scored line of the short sides. As for the short sides: the innermost 1/4" gets cut flush with the score line of the long side; the next 1/4" gets cut at an angle; the next two 1/4" sections get cut up from the angle, taking 1/4" off. 

This is what you end up with! Have fun and feel free to contact me with any questions!

"Lost My Day Job" Chapter Four: Trying to Make it Work

In chapter two (http://colieart.blogspot.com/2015/02/lost-my-day-job-chapter-two-what-are.html), I identified some things that top shops were doing that I wasn't. I have made some changes to my shops hoping they will increase my sales. 
1) The first thing I noticed was that top shops carry very specific items. I've been slowly doing this since I opened my second shop but now I'm really getting it done, as I said in chapter two, I opened a 3rd shop. 
I had opened a second shop because my original shop was becoming a catch-all for everything I like to make. So I decided it made more sense to have that shop be strictly jewelry and to move my polymer clay beads, destash beads and supplies, and origami boxes to a 2nd shop.Soon enough that 2nd shop became a catch-all for everything I like to make besides jewelry. Thus my 3rd shop. I am in the process of making the 2nd shop strictly polymer clay beads (I haven't decided if I should or shouldn't continue to destash my craft books and beads) and moving my origami boxes to the 3rd shop. I also love making books so those are going in there. Things I make from paper and or fabric will go in the new shop.

   Check out my 3rd etsy shop! 

ColieArtBooksnBoxes

                                               

2) I have been working on my titles. But unless I figure out how to use the shop stats I won't be able to tell if that is helping or not. I'd appreciate any advice on how to do that.

I've been trying to copy the way top shops title their listings. For example the title for that box at the bottom right is "Pearl Pink Mosaic Mini Trinket Box, Small Round Handmade Polymer Clay  Box". The one on the right's title is  "Pink, Turquoise, White, and Lime Green Chevron Tall Origami Box, Fabric Origami Box, Chevron Print Tall Gift Box"
3) I am offering variations for listings. 
For example a customer can choose to have the necklace with a chain 16", 18", or 20" long, and the earrings with a hammered, brushed, or polished finish, and this pendant in blue, pink, or purple. 

Another way I'm trying to make it work is by using up all the materials I have in stock. Trying to work with only what I have on hand and not buying anything new used to be something I did as a challenge! Without income from a day job I have to do it that way. I found myself unable to pay my etsy bills because I had transferred all the money from pay pal to my bank account so I could eat the billing period before last. Sales were non existent and I only had enough money to keep one shop open. I kept my jewelry shop open and had to wait for a sale so I could pay the bill on my other shops. That can not happen again. 

Today I pulled out all my canes and scrap clay and started to make beads.

all my canes and loaves from my stash, some couldn't be saved because they were hard and crumbling

scrap clay container

I rolled the scrap clay into sheets which I then rolled into logs, ready to make beads with

Now I'll use those scrap clay logs to make beads by covering them with slices from canes or loaves or with a sheet in bead color I want. For example

So, turning scrap clay and forgotten canes into beautiful beads...stay tuned to see if I made it work!

update...
So those turned into these! Which sold within a few days! I love them so much I want to make more. I don't usually recreate designs but...and it kinda defeats the point because now I have to make a new cane instead of using up old ones...

Is Anybody There?

I'd love to hear from people, it'd be nice to know I'm not talking to myself. So, to that end I am offering 15% off in any of my 3 etsy shops to thank you for leaving a comment. Here's what I'd love for you to do.
1) look through my posts, there's only 12 right now, decide which one you'd like to leave a comment on.
2) decide which of my etsy shops you'd like to have a coupon for
3) comment on the post and mention which shop you're interested in
4) I will contact you with a coupon code!
 How's that sound? Does that make sense? If there is a better way to do this please feel free to let me know.

Here's a look at my 3 shops...

Do you love jewelry? Check out my jewelry shop!
                                                https://www.etsy.com/shop/ColieArt





Do you collect little boxes? Do you love journals and sketch books? Check out my newest shop!
                                      https://www.etsy.com/shop/ColieArtBooksnBoxes





Do you make jewelry? Check out my polymer clay beads!
                                            https://www.etsy.com/shop/ColieStash



I hope you find a post of interest to you! I know I just started blogging but I hope I've given something of value in the 12 posts I've created so far...

"Lost My Day Job" chapter two: what are they doing that i'm not?

Obviously, I am doing lots of research as part of my quest to improve my sales. This includes looking at top selling shops and trying to understand what they are doing that I am not. I went to craftcount.com and checked out their list of the top 100 handmade jewelry sellers on etsy. FYI if you haven't been to craftcount.com definitely check it out!

Let's take a look at the top 10 sellers and figure out
1) what they have in common
2) what they are doing that I am not

1	DistinctlyIvy	76633	United States
2	applelatte	75984	South Korea
3	frostedwillow	60505	United States
4	Holylandstreasures	56584	Israel
5	laonato	53226	South Korea
6	LayeredAndLong	48843	United States
7	briguysgirls	47366	United States
8	spiffingjewelry	45954	United States
9	HomeStudio	43596	United States
10	TribalStyle	43176	United States

As I began clicking through the list and checking out shops one thing became apparent. All the shops have one thing in common that is completely different from my shop.

The first thing I noticed is that most or the shops have long titles for their listings. "Long" because they are made up of short, descriptive titles separated by a "," "/" or "-". That's an easy enough fix.

For example, check out this title from "briguysgirls":
Bezel set freshwater pearl necklace, pearl necklace with birthstone and initial, gold necklace, bridesmaid gift, mothers necklace 

and this one from "frosted willow":
Little Owl Bracelet, Cute Owl Bangle Bracelet, Silver Bracelet, Silver Bangle Bracelet, Owl Jewelry, Frosted Willow Bracelet

"distinctly ivy": 
SALE - Teacher Keychain - Teacher Gift - Owl Keychain - Play Teach Inspire - Thank You Gift - Graduation Thanks Gift - Phrase Quote

Another thing the top shops have in common is selling one style, a specific type of jewelry- Scrabble Tile Pendants...Stamped Personalized Jewelry...Wire Wraped Jewelry...

The top shops aren't that different from each other. There is a few that carry all types of personalized hand-stamped jewelry.  Many shops carry delicate, simple silver and gold jewelry with cute little charms on a chain, post earrings, and bangle bracelets. They offer choices in metals so you can order, for example, a necklace (a chain with a small pendant) in either sterling silver, gold, or rose gold. They don't seem to make one of a kind pieces, a quick look through their sold items shows that necklace sold 20 times.

 I sell a bunch of different kinds of jewelry, including: sterling silver, polymer clay, metal smithed, wire-             wrapped, beaded... I hate creating multiples. I always was torn about it.  I can't work like that. I love making all kinds of things, working with all kinds of materials. Is that hurting me? Does it make my shop seem confusing? On one hand my variety of items should mean there is  something for everyone. On the other hand my shop looks a mess, not cohesive, I don't have a style or look.

This is something I've thought about before. When I first opened up shop I listed everything I made and I sold a bit of each thing. I eventually decided to separate stuff and open a second shop to which I moved my polymer clay beads, destash beads, origami, and paper art. I thought it was a good idea, it looked better, made more sense. Unfortunately my polymer clay bead sales dropped off. Despite informing those customers they never did come to my new shop.

Well, I went ahead and opened a 3rd etsy shop. The point of the 2nd shop was to stop my original shop from looking like a hot mess, a catch all for everything and anything I make. I should have opened 2 shops at that time. I should have one shop for my polymer clay beads, destash beads and one for my origami, and paper art. So now I do. Check it out!

Earrings from my shop...

I'm so into these antique brass kidney earwires lately. I'm not going to make another pair until one of these sells.

"Lost My Day Job" chapter 3: I wanna be a Crafty Superstar!

I am on a quest to improve my sales in my etsy shops. I've had my jewelry shop for 8 years now and haven't broken 400 sales! I've had my other shop 5 years and recently broke 200 sales! I've not really paid them any attention but now's the time. I certainly have the time...

One of the things I am doing on this quest is reading this book

Isn't it too cute! I love it, super easy to get along with, great resource, if you're trying to be a crafty superstar I suggest you check it out. It is readable, informative, helpful... what else can I say? What do I like so much? There are interviews with different superstars which provide a glimpse into their business and advice on different topics. There is nothing I appreciate more than hearing from someone who is where I want to be. It also has very useful appendices including a price calculator and sample inventory form.

One of my favorite things in the book is this

 "10 Ways to Kick-Start Your Sales" List.

 I think I will share the list with you and take the time to apply it to myself. I'd appreciate any feedback or suggestions on my responses. 

1) Give an item to a popular craft blog or Web site for a giveaway.

Haven't done this yet. I did something similar, I admire jewelry artist Lorelei Eurto so I contacted her and told her so. I offered to gift her some of my polymer clay beads, she took a look at my work, pointed out some stuff, I sent them, and she has since sent me a link to a necklace (I talked about it in a previous post) she used a couple of  them in! 

2) Put your store URL in your e-mail signature.

It seems silly I haven't done this, it's easy enough. But do you want that there even on emails that aren't related? Guess I can always not include it and it would be nice if it was just automatically there.

3) Offer coupons to repeat customers.

Repeat customers...why don't I have repeat customers? I do have a few that purchase my polymer clay beads but not jewelry. Considering my feedback is always awesome, why don't they come back? I tried to offer a coupon to customers hoping to make them repeat customers but not a one responded.  I have also tried like a referral program with no luck. I created two coupon codes- one for the referred (15% off) and one for the referrer (20% off). 

4) Give a gift certificate to the fan who creates the best You-Tube video about your products.

I don't know about this one. I keep hearing "you gotta get on You-Tube. Post a tutorial on You-Tube". Haven't gotten the nerve or an idea for a unique tutorial yet. This leads me to #5

5) Create a tag or pool on Flickr for customers to use to post pictures of themselves with your goods.

I would love to have a place for people that have purchased my beads to post pics of what they created with them. I've only been able to get pics from a couple customers. I have a Flickr, don't really use it. I was thinking of creating a board on pinterest for customers to pin pictures of jewelry they created with my beads but I haven't been able to pull that off yet. What do I do? Go back and harass every customer that's bought my beads? I'd have to offer an incentive. Post a picture of an item you created with my beads and get 15% off your next purchase...

6) Put links to your store in all your social networking profiles.

With 3 shops I think I need to link back to this blog or facebook? I'm making a half-assed attempt at this...important though isn't it?

7) Offer free shipping for a limited time with a minimum purchase.

I've never done this. Why not? It's one of my favorite things about fusionbeads.com

8) Include cool swag with every shipment (buttons, stickers,etc).

How can I afford that? When someone buys at least 3 sets of beads I'll add a freebie pair to say thanks. I have wrapped my jewelry in boxes that were keepers- matching origami box, altered matchbox, fabri-gami box- but that gets expensive. Maybe stickers with my web address on them so they have something to remember me by?

9) Create a coupon code exclusively for your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or Flickr.

I've tried, nothing came of it. 

10) Post about new items in your blog once a week (if it's regular, people will come to anticipate your latest offerings!).

Just started blogging! 

So there it is. I've got some work to do...Thoughts?

"Lost My Day Job" Chapter One: "Don't you make one other thing until you sell something."

I love reading those "Quit Your Day Job" stories on etsy. Well, I've lost my day job.  I am going to take this as an opportunity to focus on "ColieArt" and improve my sales! I've been on etsy since 2007 and have only made 330 sales. Why? I know that I haven't put much effort into it so it is lucky I have any sales at all. So...what am I going to do about it?

"Lost My Day Job"

Chapter One:  "Don't you make one other thing until you sell something." 

It wasn't even my idea- selling my jewelry- my brother was visiting for the holidays and when he discovered me drowning in beads and tools and projects he said "Don't you make one other thing until you sell something." I make jewelry primarily. But I also make polymer clay beads, origami functional art, and paper art like journals and sketch books. What? Sell something? Why not? I found etsy and it seemed so easy it would be a shame not to do it. So, I did, I set up ColieArt. I opened my shop December 4th of 2007. I made my first sale before I was done setting up my shop! 

It was this necklace, earring, and bracelet set I made from polymer clay.

10 days later I sold these two pair of earrings I made with my own polymer clay beads. The customer had written "The finials are cute too so I must have them!" in the message to seller box. I was like "Wow! She thinks my beads are cute!" That felt good, but after she'd gotten them she left even more uplifting, encouraging feedback! 

"These earring are quite girly and cute. They are also well made. (Love the paint job, Nicole!) I can't wait to see what ColieArt offers next."

"These earrings are lovely, and at the same time they're funky. I love them!"

I was in awe. Someone likes my work! Wants to pay for my work! Is complimenting not only the design but the craftsmanship of my work! And while I love all compliments, the ones I get for my polymer clay work mean the most. 

At first, I listed everything I made in my shop...my polymer clay beads, my origami boxes, and my jewelry- polymer clay, custom metal clay, wirework...everything. I kept saying I'll let the customers tell me what I should focus on. But that didn't happen. I didn't get vary many sales and I was selling a little bit of everything and getting wonderful feedback. I love making all kinds of stuff and working with different materials. I couldn't figure out what I was going to do to focus my shop. 

 Let me share some sales and their feedback from my first year on etsy with you then call this a night!

"SO PRETTY ! these are wonderful, perfectly shaped and beautiful color combination, Thanks for everything. Super fast shipping and easy ccommunication, beautiful beads!"

"THANKS A BUNCH! This was an amazing piece, and I am SO proud to wear it! Great seller, fast turnover, will do business again!"

"Nicely packaged and beautifully crafted!"

"These are my new favorite earrings. The wirework and stones work wonderfully together. Wearing them truly is a regal experience."

Finished the necklace from my works in progress post! I've got it listed in my etsy shop.

Okay. It's a new day. I'm going to attack this layout thing again and see if I can't get this blog to look like I want it to.
Anyway. That's only half the problem. The other half is what to post. How about sharing my works in progress? That will give you an idea of who I am. And please feel free to comment, I love feedback and it'll let me know someone is out there! 
I love working with all kinds of mediums, in the chaos of where I create I have a polymer clay station, a paper station, a metal station, and a beading station. I'm in the middle of a few different things... lets see...

At the Polymer Clay Station

I was working on a pendant but too much has gone wrong I think for me to salvage it. What do you think? First the liquid clay is lumpy. Second, when I added the first liquid clay layer I smeared the word "bloom" I had stamped in silver. I don't know if i didn't let it dry long enough, maybe I should have heat set it? I'll try again, unfortunately I don't have another image transfer of that- its my own photograph of a flower.

At the Beading Station

I'm working on this coin pearl necklace, it's going to have a toggle clasp that doubles as the focal.

At the Metal Station

I hate sawing but I managed to get these two pieces for a toggle clasp for the pearl necklace out of a sheet of brass, now I have to finish them. I've still got to sand them smooth and I'm thinking a hammered finish. 

At the Paper Station

I'm working on these snowflakes for a garland. I used my Cricut and white card stock.
At first I planned to use glitter but I hated the look so I'm going with silver embossing powder.

Now I've gotta add silver embossing powder to all the tips and then string them up!

Also at the Beading Station 

I've been on a mission to use up materials I already have and I was staring at my seed bead stash (I used to love to bead weave) and thought I'd tackle a project from this book again.

That covers the big ones. The only one that is for me is the tuffet box. The rest will end up on etsy.