30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 2

In September I started learning to crochet. After failing miserably at making a scarf, I kind of gave up. All the inspiration on Etsy got me to try again. I still can't start a project myself, I have to get my mom to do the first row, but I'm slowly getting away from the "shrinking" size thing where the rows get shorter and shorter. Once I start crocheting I think, one more row, and then five rows later I'm still saying the same thing.

A good friend asked me to crochet a blanket for her soon-to-arrive baby...I only hope I can do it justice. I may need Mom's help...especially if it's more than one color :)

Crochet!

Tonight (rather last night) I started to crochet again. Don't be misled by that statement, I was never a big crocheter, only made it to the beginning stages, but I decided to give it another try. It's a little late in the season to be making a scarf again, (which I never finished) so I'm making a blanket for my dog, Sophie. She weighs 13 pounds so it's not really big. So far so good, it's looking nice and straight and not shrinking like many crocheter's first projects. Not sure why I chose white yarn as my dog is black and leaves little black hairs all over anything fabric-like...but it's what my mom had lying around so I grabbed it and had her start the first row for me. I still don't know how to start a crochet row...mainly because I suck at tying slipknots. Here is my progress so far:



And yes, my shelves/bed are a mess...I'm putting together resume packets and have lots of different papers strewn about. I can't wait to show you my packets...they're coming together nicely! I need to write my cover letter still, but the resume and samples are all done. Applying for a graphic design position requires a bit more work than some other jobs as it's usually a bright idea to include some samples of your work. I got a little bit creative with my presentation of samples so as to make my resume stand out. I am mailing out 14 resumes right now, and if I get no bites I'll send out more. Hopefully that will not be the case, but God has a plan for me and I will get by as long as I trust him. And listen to him too!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 1

So this whole "30 Day Photo Challenge" thing is pretty popular. And it sounds fun. So I'm going to do it. I took this photo early this morning on the 27th of February.


Someone in Etsy chat said I look confused...I wasn't confused but rather looking at my computer screen, watching the posts scroll up my screen. I chose this photo because I spend a lot of time in Etsy chat. When my friends aren't online chatting on Facebook, I go to Etsy for my social fill. It's a great way to learn new things and meet some very friendly people. Yesterday I encountered a not-so-friendly person, but those are few and far between. The papers you see on the right of the photo are all for my resume packet that I will be mailing to 14 different places. I am on the hunt for a design job!

Dealing with Troublesome Buyers

My second order with my new store has of course hit a snag. My printer has decided it no longer wishes to work properly. Thankfully my customer doesn't need these until March, so I can wait until pay day to buy a new printer. It makes me wonder if any order is ever easy. There's always something...shipping goes wrong, item goes missing, etc., etc. Then there's the wonder if the customer is happy. When that glowing feedback rolls in all that fear is thrown out the window and success has been had.

But when running a business you have all kinds of troublesome people. Some people are just plain impossible to please, others expect way more for their money than what they're getting is worth, and some only exist to complain. It's so nice to get a decent customer. I have this problem much, much more on eBay. I really wonder why that is. Are eBay buyers more rude than Etsy? I'm inclined to say yes. I think their personalities are different. Etsians are on Etsy for a reason: to find unique things, not a bargain. So when something is slightly wrong on eBay, the customer flips out because they didn't get the great deal they thought they were getting. They may be right, they may be wrong, but either way they want things done their way. So I guess my point is, you can't please everyone, but all you can do is your best.

On Etsy, people are usually pretty reasonable. Note the "usually" in that sentence. There are always exceptions to that statement. And when you find that unreasonable person, all you can do is damage control. Stop trying to make yourself sound "right" and try to keep the buyer under control. Keep the lines of communication wide open, and stay calm. Before sending conversations think carefully about what you've written...is it snotty at all? Does your attitude reflect professionalism? Think about a time when you were on the other side -- the disgruntled buyer. What did the seller or store do right and wrong? Follow that experience and learn from it. Respond as if the buyer isn't steaming mad, never retaliate. If you have to think twice about what you've written, you probably shouldn't send it.

Just remember that all you can do is your best. If you have done your best, you have no reason to feel defeated or down when something goes wrong. Just keep a cool head and take advantage of the fact that you are not dealing with people on the phone or in person -- you have time to compose your messages and edit them before sending. You're not likely to let something slip while typing like you would in person, such as a condescending tone or bad attitude.

If you're ever unsure of what to do, you can do several things. One, contact Etsy. You may or may not get a prompt response, so do not rely on this too heavily unless the issue has escalated past your ability to handle it. Next you can go to the forums and post under Site Help, just be sure to state your situation hypothetically or else your post will be considered "calling out" and your post will be closed. Third, you can go into Etsy chat (under the Communication tab on Etsy) and get some live advice. Lastly (and this can always be your first option!) talk with friends and family. Find out what they think you should do. Get several opinions before making a decision on something you're unsure of.

Lastly, don't get too worked up over troublesome customers. They are few and far between for the most part and you have to focus on the good transactions. That is what will make your business grow!

Reinvention

Reinventing your shop is a scary thing…especially when you’ve enjoyed a small taste of success with another medium. What about your old customers? How do you promote your new image? It’s something unfamiliar and you’re new at selling it. This is my situation at the moment, and to be honest, it’s a bit frightening.

Today I assembled and shipped off my first order from my “new” shop. Sure, it’s the same name but I’ve switched from handcrafted paper products to graphic design. Design has been a passion for several years, and my scrapbooking took off when my computer drowned in diet coke and I lost all my design software. Now that I have it back…scrapbooking and paper crafting has taken a back seat and graphic design, my future career, has flourished. I have filled my shop with banners, shop packages, business cards, invitations, and party kits. It has been more than a blast doing it. I have loved every minute of it!

But back to my first order from my “new” shop…I encountered the problems typical of a newbie. Printing errors, learning what paper to NOT print on, how to adhere the paper to the cardstock correctly, how to not get adhesive all over the invitation, what size to make the invites so I can actually obtain envelopes for them…and this had to be a quick job, too. My customer was in a time crunch and needed things ASAP. So with an ice storm getting in the way, I had to hurry while not sacrificing quality. After not making much money off the deal but having learned a whole lot with just one sale, I feel better about my new shop. I still have reservations about things not working out, but I suppose I will cross that bridge when I come to it…or those bridges and when I come to them.

The Renewing Conundrum

To renew or not to renew…that is the complicated question. On the one hand, it will get your item boosted up in searches. On the other hand, it will cost you $0.20 for each item you renew.

But let’s start with the basics. What is renewing? To renew a listing is to click the check box next to a listing in your “My Etsy” page and clicking the “Renew” button. The page will remind you that it will cost you $0.20 for each item and give you a total for how much you will be charged if you choose to continue and renew. People renew for two reasons: 1.) To keep the listing active longer (extend it from the standard 4 months), and 2.) To bring their items to the front of searches. The longer an item has been listed, the less likely it will be found in a search. So when you renew an item, the item gets bumped up in the search results. And that, my friends, is a great thing.

There is no “best time” to renew in terms of hours of the day. If you ship internationally, it can 5pm where you are when it’s 5am somewhere else. If you only ship to your country, you may want to consider the most common times people will be online shopping, often after a workday ends. Weekends are also popular for shopping. But if you’re like me and ship anywhere and everywhere, timing isn’t so crucial.

One thing to consider is the cost of the item you are renewing. I have some items that are only $3.00. If I renew it just once, that’s 7% of my item cost right there. For higher priced items you are better off renewing than for lower priced items.

You may want to consider giving yourself a daily, weekly, or monthly budget for renewing. One Etsy seller gives herself $30 a month for renewing fees. Using Excel you can easily keep a digital file of what you’ve renewed and how many times. Or you can just keep a notebook, any way you keep track is fine as long as you are in fact keeping track. This will also help you figure out your profit once your item sells.

If you are not too keen on the idea of renewing all the time and keeping track of it, here are some alternatives from Etsy administrator daniellexo:

“1) Make sure you are using all 14 tags. Your item’s tags are directly related to search. If you aren’t using all 14 you are missing opportunities! (Helpful article: http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/guidelines-tips-tagging-on-etsy-281/)

1a) And make sure those tags relate to your items style, very specific colors, textures, size and themes/motifs. (Helpful article: http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/seller-how-to-tag-o-rama-with-descriptive-keywords-5474/)

1b) Don’t just copy and paste your tags from one listing to another. Varying your tags will get your work seen in many different searches.

1c) Make sure your tags are accurate! If you are tagging a necklace with “earrings” in the hopes of getting more views, I beg you to reconsider this tactic. Shoppers looking for earrings are going to pay no mind to your listing so you’ll only be wasting a tag!

1d) Team Tags don’t need to be added to every single item in your shop. Just use them on a couple of items. Same goes with your shop name. It’s smart to tag a few items in your shop with your business name – just in case someone searches your name in search but forgets to use the drop down menu to choos search sellers.

2) Follow the Etsy blog. There are all kinds of buyers and sellers reading the blog (check out the views each article gets – anywhere from 3,000 to 20,000). If you leave a thoughtful comment on a blog post, you’re bound to get people curious about you and that means they’ll check out your Etsy shop.

3) Set your location. In your profile, make sure your location is set to City, State, Country. That way buyers who are using Geolocator or Shop Local are going to be able to find you. More info: http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/how-to-sell-local-873/

4) Etsy Karma. Do you know what my favorite way to shop on Etsy is? Browsing favorites. Hearting other items and sellers can help people get to know you on Etsy. And maybe they’ll like your work and heart you back! Don’t just go heart crazy and favorite every single item or seller you see, however. A discerning eye will help people understand your style and design sensibilities when they are browsing your favorites. The Etsy community is pretty savvy, so always be authentic.

5) Get seen off Etsy. The more content you create to float out there in the world wide web the more people are going to bump into you. If the content is interesting (or funny, smart, weird) people will want to know more about you and will find your Etsy shop in the process. Best part? Creating this content is free! What do I mean by content? Anything from a tweet to a Flickr account to just commenting on blogs you love. Just make sure it’s not spammy. Nothing will get ignored faster!

6) Photos. If your photos are bright, crisp and pack a punch you’ll get more views. Your ideal customer might be glossing over your items and it might take the 3rd or 4th time of seeing your item listing until they actually SEE your item. How do you know if your items are standing out from crowd? Go to the Poster Sketch tool (http://www.etsy.com/poster_sketch.php) and plop your newest item in with items from the sellers that inspire you. Does your item stand out?”

You can find this advice at this link: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6390019

If you have any insight or comments, feel free to comment!

Better Photos for your Listings

Don’t we all wish our photos were impeccable? Don’t fret, there are some very simple and easy tips to help you take brilliant photos that will display your product well. I went to the Etsy forums to get the best and most common suggestions for better photos.

Lighting
Perhaps the most important part of a photo is the lighting. Never take for granted the power of good light. And no, good light does not translate into “lots of it.” In fact, too much light can be just as bad as too little. But how do you go about lighting without fancy equipment?

All you really need is some daylight and a camera. That’s it. Editing software (freeware, nothing you have to pay for) is a definite plus, and I have some recommendations, but it is not absolutely necessary.

The basics of lighting:

Do not take photos in direct sunlight. This will cause shadows that can distort your item’s look.

Afternoon light is the best.

Try photographing near a window. This will give you a source of light direction and really add interest to your photos.

Never use your flash! This will wash out your pictures, cause glare, and make for a quite unappealing picture.

Next we’ll consider composition. This simply means where the item is placed in the photo. In photography and design classes the Rule of Thirds is always taught, but on Etsy you want to focus on the item. Crop, crop, crop! Get as close as possible to your item and capture the greatest detail you can. This can be achieved by using the macro setting on your camera. If you’re like me and don’t have a macro lens for your professional camera, I rely on cropping and zooming quite a bit! Another thing to consider is that Etsy always uses thumbnails. If you have too much background and “atmosphere” in your photo, the automatic square cropping may make your item lost in the thumbnail. This is why I suggest centering on most photos.

However, keeping good props for your atmosphere around can really make a difference. For instance, the other day I took photos of a gift box topper flower. I actually showed it on a present in use with Christmas trees (small ones) nearby to set the mood. Don’t get carried away though, always make sure your item is the focus. Too many props or unnecessary ones will detract from your item, and that’s a no-no.

Next, consider your background. Many things do well on white backgrounds, though if your item is light colored you certainly want to opt for a darker option. White gives the greatest contrast to most items, and you want contrast! This will highlight the detail of your product. Stay away from busy backgrounds, especially ones that are close in color to your item! This may seem like common sense but sometimes we have brain farts and forget that basic rule. It happens, we’re human. No worries if you mess up, you can always do it over.

Next you want to take many angled photos, meaning different shots of your item. Turn it 90 degrees, 180 degrees, for God’s sake rotate it 124 degrees, doesn’t matter, just get an interesting angle. In addition, it is always helpful to show the product in use. Utilize models if you are selling something wearable. Like I mentioned before, I showed my gift topper flower in use to give buyers an idea of what it would look like on their gifts. Consider catalogs and how they photograph their items. Successful use of models and props can make a huge difference in your listing.

Finally, you get 5 photos on Etsy. Use them all! Don’t be afraid to post five pics of the item at different angles. The more the better. It has been suggested to always have one photo showing your item in use.

So to sum up, these are the guidelines:

Use filtered natural light

Don’t clutter your background and consider color

Use interesting angles to showcase your item

Show your item in use in at least one photo

Use all five photo spots

Utilize props and models wisely

And in the wise words of blackcatsupply, “Make sure your lens is clean.”