I love getting feedback from all of you who are part of the world of handmade and Etsy. A great comment can seriously make my day!
EverythingEtsy has really grown to feel like a little budding community itself and I think it’s great getting to know you all through all the different channels we use.
Your comments are always so inspiring, so creative, and so true! One comment from LuLu of LuLu’s Nest the other day really struck me as a key point that we so often forget to talk about.
Loving Your Craft!
Our business posts sometimes get so into the thinking about what you “need” to do, that we forget to talk about why you started this whole thing to begin with.
Because of what you love to do!
People actually pay for something you created…Yay for you! Most of you are the same as me, you love, love, love, to create things. You love the challenge of figuring something out. You love the thought that somebody across the country or even around the world is enjoying and using something you made.
You love the “idea” of handmade. The dream that maybe, if we all work together, if we make enough of a ruckus, that we’ll get noticed and we can actually compete with the giants of mass-production.
Or, a little less high-minded, we can make a few extra dollars while having a great time!
Don’t Push Too Hard
I often hear from girls who are just plum tuckered out. She’s working on creating, listing, photography, blogging, SEO, and more…usually on-top of what she was already doing such as a full-time job, or being a mom, or a wife, or all of the above!
Deciding on Etsy doesn’t mean you have to become a “must-work-24-7” crazy person!
Success online takes time by default for most people. It’s tough to create an overnight success and most true successes on Etsy take years to make happen. So don’t stress. Enjoy each day doing what you can.
And loving your craft! 🙂
~Kim
thanks for this posting, i remember one of the first comments i received from someone who happened upon my blog, take your time…
I try to express my love of sewing and creating with my customers. I hope that they can feel it in my finished product, in my blog, and even in the replies to their questions. Then, on days that I am struggling with being a mom and a business owner and a seamstress, I try to find my inspiration in customer photo pics, happy feedback, and my own blog posts about why I do what I do.
I so agree with your post! I actually wrote a post like 2 days ago where I was sharing the “secret” of working from home, which is to do what you love to do! Working on SEO and listing 10 times a day isn’t fun… and I don’t think people loooooove to do it. The most important thing is your craft and the effort and love you put in it! That’s why people will buy from you, not because you’re good at SEO! And that’s what will make you smile too, not SEO!
i think i’m at a good place right now. I work part time, so i still get some income. but i plan ahead to craft on my days off. i don’t stress myself out over no sales on etsy. i just list as i create. on my own time, my own target. i have goals for myself though. i am aiming to sell at an arts market coming up in september, so whatever that’s not sold will be inventory for the market. i’ve never felt so happy ever since i started crafting.
Thank you Kim. Your post was just what I needed. I have had some ‘guilt’ the past few weeks as I have slowed down marketing and listing so that I could enjoy some time with the kiddos during summer break. This post was a simple reminder for why I began doing this, the joy I get from creating, not selling. The next few months of summer will be spent having precious time with my children and finding inspiration for my fall line.
Thanks for writing this post! I needed to hear it today 🙂
Thank you! We really need to remember this often. I gave myself plenty of time when setting my goals, but I often find myself stressing out anyway. I need to remember that I have plenty of time, and to just enjoy what I do!
Kim, thank you for this post, I needed that reminder to stop stressing over SEO and all that stuff and keep enjoying making my products.:)
Such a perfectly timed post! This may sound crazy but I check my feedback somewhat obsessively because it gives me such a boost to hear from the moms that usually purchase my items. My items are pretty personalized so it is to rewarding to hear someone appreciate receiving it as much as I enjoyed making it. And, when I am feeling discouraged, I do remind myself that I do it (the business) because it brings me (and the recipient) joy; not because I am getting rich (which I certainly am NOT).
I have let my craft slide the past few months…I think I burned myself out on it. Plus we had the hardest year of our lives last year, and the residuals from it bled over into this year. I hope to get back to what I love doing soon. I needed to read this post, Kim!
I’ve been telling myself “two steps forward and one step back is still progress.” Yea it feels like baby steps mostly for me. But if I keep reminding myself that thats ok then I don’t get stressed out for not being that not being were my expectations are at.
Push too hard?? Who, me?? I have been making myself crazy lately trying to do everything all at once. I had to close down my two shops recently because of major surgery, so of course my visitors dropped way down. And I still have a long recuperation that requires extra exercise time. I feel like I’m climbing back up the Etsy mountain …
Thanks so much for the words of encouragement…I needed that this morning
Hope everyone has a blessed day!
Thank you for the words of encouragement! It’s so easy to get caught up in all the SEO, listing, ‘when do I Tweet?,’ how often do I list?’…especially when you read all those, what look like instant success stories, that you forget that for most of us, it takes time to succeed. We can make ourselves crazy, thanks for showing us a road back to sanity!
looking good
nice post