HootSuite

So I read all of the articles that said that if you are serious about selling on etsy you needed to do two things.

1. Start a blog

2. Get on twitter

I did both. Then I waited. I saw no spike in sales or views that I could relate to twitter page nor my blog. So now that I have gotten back into crafting I am noticing something. While I am sure that no one is reading my blog, my twitter page has a couple followers. One of my followers was using this thing called Hootsuite and so I tried it. I love it. I am obsessed.

HootSuite has combined all of my social networking pages together to create one awesome page. I can write one post and then choose to send the massage to all of my site or just one. It is free and fabulous! I suggest that you all try it.

I have also discovered, much to my followers dismay, that you can put number signs (#) before words and then they will show up in searches. While this might be trivial to most tweeters, it is brand spanking new info to me. I tested it out using #etsy, #handmade, #fashion and #etsybot with three different items and saw about a 20 point jump across the board! Crazy, I know.

So, I think that I am finally getting the hang of this twitter thing.

Thats all for now.

-LB

Today I finally picked my needles back up

Hello. Long time, no post.

It has been a crazy five months since I posted anything. It has been up and down and I have not created one item since April 22nd. That is the longest that I have ever gone without crafting. So, as I have promised to write about my entire journey and you are my captive (and hopefully adoring) audience I will give you a quick update.

My Grandmother died in April. It was sad, but she was 92 years old. She also had the best last day and died peacefully surrounded by her family.

In June I got an amazing new job that I love at the University of Chicago as the Production Manager of the Theatre and Performance Studies Department. I left the Emerald City and went to Hogwarts. It is just beautiful here.

On Friday my husband got laid off from his job. He was there for 8 1/2 years, but apparently the economy caught up with us. He is doing okay though. He is looking for new jobs and really thinking about what he wants to do for the next 10 years. He is taking things in stride and we are looking on the bright side. I would however be lying if I told you that I didn't feel like the wind was knocked out of me.

So, it has been a whirlwind the last couple of months. I just stopped crafting. However, the time has come to pick up my needles again and create.

Just wait until you see what is coming next.

-LB

Singapore!

So I just had my 1st truly international sale today. One KeyFAB on it's way to Singapore! My first etsy sale ever was to Canada, but having spent the first 18 years of my life with in a 45 min drive, it did not seem very international.

So I am off to do my homework on shipping. Luckily, it looks like I priced the shipping correctly, but I am sure there are bound to be hidden Cost.

Things I am going to research

- Delivery Confirmation?

- What does a Singapore address look like, so that I know that I am sending it to the right place?

- How does one send an order confirmation to someone who may not speak English?

- What fun customs things do I now get to embark on?

As always I will keep you up to date.

LB

- by the way the picasa post is going very well. I just have to figure out how to put in all of the screen shots...

LowlaBug's Google Tutorial

Hello Readers,

I have decided to do a series on google documents and how they can help your etsy site.

For those of you who do not know I am compleatly in love with Google and all of it's extentions. One could say that I am having an affair with all of it's features, because I just can't get enough.

There are a couple of things that you need to know about me to fully understand my love for Google. I am the Production Manager at Emerald City Theatre, one of Chicago's largest Children's Theatres. That basicly means that I spend my day managing people, money and coming up with logistical answers to everything from "We left Captin Hook's at the school we toured to yesterday and we have a show tomorrow." to "The leading actor is too sick to perform and the show starts in an hour." So organization is crucial. I also happen to love it.

I have converted all of my staff over to google so it felt natural to use it in my buisness. It is also great for people who are not naturally organized.

I plan on covering Google Docs, Picasa, Gmail/Google Calendar as well as the day to day extentions. I could not run my business without google. Especially not my craft fair buisness and that is where the majority of my sales come from.

So hopefully you are as excited as I am to learn about how Google can help you.


-LB

-- Post From My iPhone

The KeyFAB

Hey Y'all,

I have been MIA for a while because I have gone KeyFAB crazy! I am currently obsessed with making them. So far I have made over 70. 70! I ordered 100 more hardware from Mama and I should get the shipment any day now.

They are really fun to make, though I think the people at Jo-Ann Fabrics would beg to differ. The manager Robert, knows me by name and I think they call him every time I approach the cutting counter. Why you ask, because I am now the person who gets 13 bolts of fabric and ask for 6" of each. I feel bad every time I go, especially when there is a huge line.

So that is what I have been up to. My fear, who is going to buy these. I have made 70. I love them, I think that other people will love them too, but who is going to go on etsy and by them?

Things I did to decrease my fear

- Bought a showcase in May (it was the first accessory showcase they had)

- I bought flyers on VistaPrint.com to put up around the city. (for whatever reason I hate putting up my flyers, but they boost my site traffic)

Wish me luck

-LB

My 1st Etsy Purchase

So earlier this week I made my first etsy purchase from MamaSheCrazy. I bought Key Fobs, yes I am still trying to find out what a Key Fob is. I also bought a couple other things from her. I have never actually bought anything on etsy myself before, but I figured I could by from some big name company or from some actual person who is a fellow Etsian.

It is so weird being on that side of the sale. Etsy tries really hard to make it a "normal" purchasing experience, but its just not.

First off it was extremely easy to purchase something and locate my shopping cart. Then they take you directly to PayPal. The thing that I did not know is that etsy does no automatically combined the shipping discounts. So, even though I offer shipping discounts (as does Mama) they were not taken into effect.

So, I paid and received my seller's message which was good. It had a lot of things that I was looking for including an explanation of how I would have my shipping overage sent to me.

Now I am not a patient person. I want and I want now, which is why all of the things in my shop are ready to ship.

Mama offered package shipping so I was able to focus my energy in to compulsively checking the USPS tracking.

It has been a great experience being on the other side of the etsy purchase. I suggest that everyone does it.

-LB

Post Note -

The package arrived a couple days after I originally wrote this and the key fobs were Fab!

Blogging from my iTouch

I am starting to get hooked on blogging. I have now downloaded it to my iTouch.


-- Post From My iPhone

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