Instant Success!

Dragon Eye Brooch by FantasyClay

 Bad news- it doesn't exist and just because you open a store, people won't necessarily come and buy.

If you are like many people who selling their handmade on line, including myself, you may have started selling without really knowing what you were getting into.

It's one thing to make things, it's another to make things that will sell. I started making little figures in polymer clay. Eventually friends started to say I should sell them. It sounded so easy, Etsy was still pretty unknown, but listing a few items and getting paid for it seemed like a breeze. Then I needed pictures - I didn't even have a digital camera when I started. I was using a scanner to take pictures.

We all started somewhere, my beginning was really a mess but I can admit that now because I have spent the last six years trying to figure out what I could be doing better.  I have given up on the idea of getting everything right because as soon as you think you have it down, conditions change. Venues, Google, trends, SEO, picture taking, pricing, promoting, and of course there is always the next best web site to use. How do you keep up with it all?

I'll be honest I've often learned stuff not because I planned to or wanted to but because it got thrown in my face. The real trick is to stay open to learning new stuff, adapting to new sites, listening to customers, other sellers. What sells? What sells in your store, what doesn't?

Does any of this have a point? I guess not. I