Tags: More important than you think

If you have an Etsy shop you know what tags are. I know a few people that have started up Etsy shops recently and just wanted to share my two sense. I don't claim to know any secrets or even how to actually make sales on Etsy. I think it is hard and something you really have to work at. I think great products are the first step and then being able to capture your products in great photographs are important. Spending time on your profile and descriptions of your items is important. Then I think relisting and marketing are some of the biggest keys, but those cost money and add up quickly.

I think the easiest and most important thing you can do to bring people to your shop is to use all your tags. You get 14, don't waste them!

When someone searches for a certain word on Etsy and one of your tags matches: bingo! They are more likely to find your item. Think about each item in your shop. So the first few might be easy...What category it fits under...What your item actually is... But then think of other words to describe your item. Who is it geared towards, men, women, kids? Where would you use it, kitchen, living room, bathroom? Is there free shipping? What color is it? Anything you can think of that relates to your item will help.

Just think, if I search for something in my favorite color for my kitchen and you have the perfect item in your shop, am I going to find you?

Image: wordle.com

Don't throw those letters away

What do you do when you don't have enough matching letters left to spell something out?

You might think your only option is to throw that sheet of stickers or rub-ons aways or buy another sheet to find the letters you need.

But wait! What about mixing up different styles of letters or upper case and lower case letters? Give it a try. It might turn out to be something better than you were expecting. Check out these examples from some of my projects:


So what do you think? Are you going to give it a try?

Wow!

ow! Thank you to everyone that stopped by for my big day! I was excited but never imaged the response I got. Thank you for all the wonderful comments and new followers!

I still haven't read all the comments (over 350!) but am enjoying them so much as I do. It is wonderful to meet so many new bloggers (new to me) and also for others that have been here before to stop by.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend! Here in Nashville it is beautiful outside. With rain and snow in the forecast this week I'm enjoying it while we have it!

What a wonderful Friday!

I can't believe it! Today I am the featured blogger at The Secret is in the Sauce. Welcome to everyone stopping by for the first time and to everyone that has visited before. I discovered SITS shortly after I started blogging, a little less than a year ago, and have met so many wonderful women in this group. I'm so glad you are here and want to tell you a little about myself, but first, have you ever found yourself in a friend's house looking at what's on their refrigerator? I love to do that, and always think it is a great way to learn a little bit about someone. You can see where they have been, what they use to look like, or how silly they can be.

My refrigerator doors are a glimpse into my life just like my blog. They are full of some of my favorite photographs from trips, postcards from friends, recipes for inspiration and my magnets. I started making my own magnets after I made a huge magnet board for my living room and couldn't find any magnets that I liked. I make a few different types, but here are some glass pebble ones that I made last week.

I'm a 30 year old, scarf loving, globe trekking, kickboxing, inspiration seeking girl. My favorite quote is “It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”

Recently I took a 5 week trip to India and traveled around on my own. Because of my blog I made a wonderful connection in India before I left and was invited to visit a school in a small town which turned into three of the best days of my trip! Here I am dancing on stage at the school assembly I attended. I had no idea what I was doing but had the time of my life!

Here are a few of my favorite posts:

A great crafty photo project - Take your photos with you...

A funny true story - Attention customers

And a funny post about traveling in India - Warnings

I also do a post called Wednesday Wonderfuls most Wednesdays where I feature different artists and their wonderful creations. These are always full of some wonderful things I have found recently.

Since I love to travel I'd love to know where everyone is coming from. If you leave a comment here please let me know where you are visiting from!

I hope you will look around a bit and maybe find some wonderful inspiration for yourself! I am always looking for inspiration in the world and hope to inspire you today.

Hanging out with you...

My Creatvie space...
A card for someone special...hanging out with you....

is the Best part of my Day!

Check out more creative space posts at Kootoyoo!

My Favorites

My goal for 2010 is to do at least one scrapbook layout each month. Last month I made Searching the last day of January. This month I started earlier so I might be able to get another one done before the month is over!

This layout was inspired by a layout that Ali Edwards did in a recent issue of Creating Keepsakes. It is one of my favorite ones I've done so far.

What are some of your favorite magazines?

Wednesday Wonderfuls

Welcome to another Wednesday Wonderfuls! Today I want to share some wonderful things I found recently.

I instantly feel in love with these hearts when I came across LaurieMade. This artist loves to sew and I absolutely love her creations! These aren't just for Valentine's Day. I think they would look great hanging all year round!

I have been connecting with so many crafty and creative people on Facebook recently. When I connected with Debra of End of the Day Crafting and saw her shop I was so excited. Scrapbooking, cardmaking, craft supplies...she's got it all! Here are some of my favorite items.

Zany is a craft junkie and runs Zany Hoopla. She does a little bit of everything and always enjoys trying new crafts. On NPR the other day they were talking about a new about Mark Twain and ended the segment with a shorten version the quote below. Isn't it a great one?

Pocket size matchbook calenders, black print on brown paper, oh the simplicity. What could be better than that? Oh, and her colorful items are beautiful too!

Please take a moment and check out these wonderful shops!

Also my giveaway is still going on until Feb 14th so please check out the next post and enter!

Susan Sabo Photography

I want to introduce you to Susan Sabo Photography. Susan is an amazing photographer that I found recently. I love the feelings and emotions captured in her photographs.

All of the photographs she sells are original prints that she makes herself.

Last year Susan shot a series for an exhibit on Shelter Dogs. A portion of her sales on these photographs go to a different shelter every two months. This month proceeds will go to HelpSaveOne. Please take a moment to look at some of her photographs here and for even more wonderful ones drop by her shop here.

shelter dogs no. 1 shelter dogs no. 11

shelter dogs no. 22 shelter dogs no. 21 shelter dogs no. 20

What do you think? Do these make you want to go out and adopt a new dog or what?

Searching

January 2010 - "Searching for what will make me happy this year..."