Compare

So back to the HandmadeFuzion site... There is no doubt that there is a lot more views, faster, there at that site. I listed similar things there and on Etsy the other day (at the same time) and Handmade has gotten me 32 views, while Etsy's card only has 14. And maybe this isn't a fair comparison since I have been on Etsy for a year, here is an interesting point: I have 11 listings at Homemade, and those 11 items have 642 total views. With my 75 over at Etsy, I have 4475. Do the math...Handmade has an average of 58 views per item, and Etsy has over 59 views per item! I should take the the cards that I've listed in the same amount of time at both places.

Views do not compute into sales however. I have been slow over at Etsy, and have never made a sale on Handmade. (I confess, I have seen something on Handmade that I thought was cute, and ran right over to Etsy to see if that seller was there too. I think if I were to buy that item, I would buy it from that seller on the Etsy site!)

On the other hand, none of my items have been favorited on Handmade, and neither have any of my items. Then there is the issue of not many items being uploaded to Handmade. Imagine my shock after listing something there in the early morning, to come back at night and find that same item still scrolling across the top of the page! There is only the newest 24 items listed scrolling all the time!

This whole thing keeps me in limbo...do I keep going? About 6 months ago I started a Big Cartel shop, and that has such pathetic views (mostly because of me, that is something you have to promote your self and I am lacking in that department!) so I am going to close that down. Keep things a little more streamlined, and focus on making some decent sales!

I am excited about the Christmas season! I am hoping to jump into a bunch of card sales. I've decided to list my Christmas cards for less than my normal $2.50 price.

What I have available

For those of you who might not have noticed that I have my own site at bigcartel, I wanted to show the cards that I have available there. There are only 5 cards there, because I am terrible at the "know-how" of marketing, and am not sure how to get the traffic going. If I want someday, I can upgrade and spend some moolah to get a bigger site. That is off in the future for the moment.

Take a look...you might see just what you wanted! The last card is the one that I just added to my etsy shop.

I was reading in another blog (clearpink) yesterday about another site that someone else sells their handmade items on. The name of the site is Trendy Shoppes. I just might have to take a good look at that site also.

A small Twist on an old card

I have a card in my shop that really got a lot of views, but it's still there! So I made another one that is almost like it, but with a small change. Even though it is quite similar, I am still going to list it. The colors are awesome together- mustard yellow and brown, and of course, the lovely tree!

Also I have some cards for sale now at Big Cartel. Here is my link if you would like to check those out too. As the Etsy sellers know, there may not be the same item being sold elsewhere online as in an Etsy shop, so these cards are all different than the ones in my shop.

I am recovered from my class trip yesterday! The day reconfirmed that I am not cut out to be a teacher...and I will add bus driver to that list! The actual class trip went really well, and I had a lot of fun with the kids. Just when I got home in the quiet of my house did I realize that I had acquired a raging headache, which is solved with a few Advil and a good nights sleep.

One other fun fact: I only have 3 more lunches to make for the school year! Yay!

New...read all about it!

I started yet another thing.

Every time I start something new I think, now that's it. No more! Ha! Just for that I'm not saying that this time!

I have my own "store" now. I heard about it through the Etsy forums yesterday. There were some sellers who made some really valid points, this one is the one that hit me: every time I promote my Etsy shop, my competitors are just a click away.

So why not promote your own online store? It's a lot harder to get the views I am sure. It's work that you have to put in yourself. And I guess I am starting that here, right now. My new store is http://twiddlestixdesigns.bigcartel.com/ For the moment I only have the free account, and for the moment, that's where I am staying. My items are not big ticket, so it's hard for me to take big risks. And I only have 2 cards there right now. That is something I have to get to work on: MAKE CARDS! ;)

Here is my latest card that I will be putting in my Etsy shop. (I am still going to keep Etsy alive, the community is great, and it's relatively cheap to list there, and so far I'm doing ok there! Also, in order to get noticed, you have to list often, and my goal was to get 75 items in my shop. I am not backing away from that goal! This will be 67!)

This card says, "someone like you should be celebrated every day." I love the colors of this one. It was fun to make!

I'm also going to show you our little puggle pup! We have a couple of Beagle's that we breed to a Pug. All this is an interesting process that involves me and my hubby taking some time out to help with it, but it works! (Hubby says it's good quality time for the 2 of us, but I tend to disagree that helping the dogs breed is actually quality!) The puppies are just adorable, but this one had a hard time posing for the camera. Include the 40 mph winds that we had yesterday, the photo shoot didn't go all that well! But I thought this one turned out pretty cute!