Feeling So Organized!

OK, I have a confession.  I am a total procrastinator, and my taxes are no exception.  Almost every year, I file for a *gulp* extension and don't end up having my numbers together until OCTOBER!! I feel guilty every year about it.  This year is going to be different though, because I have it all done today!!

Alas, I cannot take full credit for completing this huge feat--I had a secret weapon.  I cannot thank Holly of Accounting Spot enough for creating her genius Etsy/Ebay accounting software.  No matter how much you sold last year on Etsy, Ebay or both, she makes it a breeze to download and organize your income and expenses in a streamlined and simple fashion, and I LOVE being able to see a clear breakdown and report by month, quarter or year.  I had a quick question and she answered right away.

I love her software so much, that I signed up to be an affiliate!  If you are interested in a copy, please click here to visit Accounting SPOT. 

{{update: looks like Holly has posted all of her downloads for FREE for a limited time.  Scoop 'em up while you can!}}

etsy photo tips

Etsy has a great series on the storque from last year I believe titled "How-Tos for the Holidays". I wanted to share with you the video on photographing your items - it is chock full of great tips and ideas for taking great pictures of your work.

Also - don't forget that today is the last day to enter the giveaway. It seems that Amanda's cards are quite popular around here. good luck!!

(Every Picture Tells a Story hand stamped necklace by Kristen's Custom Creations. Thanks Kristen!)

Free Accounting Software & Tutorial

If you are like me, business accounting is something that always seems to end up as a bottom priority. We are already heading towards the end of the year, and I have a LOT of catching up to do! I am happy to say that Holly from Accounting Spot comes to the rescue once again! On her fabulous blog, she points out that Quickbooks offers a totally free solution called Simple Start. Holly is offering a free tutorial that walks you through how to set up Quickbooks Simple Start to work with your Etsy shop. I now know what I am doing this weekend :) Thanks Holly!

5 Tips for Getting More Facebook Fans

I received an email from a customer who was particularly daunted by the idea of building her Facebook page wondering how she would ever be able to build a big fan base. She asked me for some extra tips and I thought I would share them here too. She has an etsy shop and also a tanning salon, so you will see I came up with some ideas for the salon as well. (names have been changed)

1. The best trick I can reveal to you about getting fans is to have as much interactive content as possible. This means that when you post something it should be an item that makes people want to mark as "like" or comment on it. When they do one of these things - every single friend in their network will receive an update that "Jane Meyers commented on a post from Debbie's Tanning Salon". Then their friends will click the link out of curiosity, and their friends, etc. This is how you go "viral" on Facebook.

2. I would suggest doing special Facebook-only campaigns. Come up with special offers for Facebook fans only.

3. Post polls, quizzes, facts about your industry...you could come up with some funny posts like "overly-tan celebrity pictures" and then you could explain how to end up not looking like that! You could do a contest for a free session, etc, etc. Just get people engaged and the rest will follow.

4. You may seriously consider paying for a Facebook page ad up front. $10/day will really help you lay your foundation for your fan base.

5. Don't wait for your old high school friends to find you--find them! And after you do, invite them to become a fan of your page. You need to try and become "friends" with everyone you have ever met, and then send them an invite to become a fan of your shop. Now is not the time to be shy!

I hope this helps some of you too...and let's make THIS an interactive thread. Please share with the group what has worked for you in building your page!

(Pick a Peach print by WozArtStudio. Thanks Florence!)

Top 20 Etsy Sellers

I just stumbled upon a pretty neat new site for Etsy and Artfire sellers called yaami handmade. In addition to hosting a handmade market, directory, and providing some useful tools, yammi also provides an up-to-date list of the twenty top Etsy sellers.

You may have seen this list before. Have you noticed that is comprised almost completely of Etsy suppliers? I would like to see a list of top handmade sellers, has anyone seen a list like this?

My question to you - have you ever thought about adding supplies to your shop or creating a sister shop for supplies? I know some of you have already done this, do you have any advice or tips to share?

The Etsy 30 Minute Social Networking Kit

I am so very excited to announce the release of my newest Etsy marketing guide. I wrote this one for all of you who are feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by the amount of time marketing your Etsy shop takes. This guide lays out a practical and methodical system for organizing your social networking efforts. And, are you ready for the best part?? This guide is FREE! I wanted to share this with you as a special thank you to all of the wonderful customers and friends I have made over the past year. Your comments, emails, and posts are all so inspiring, and you all make such beautiful work. I am truly in awe of your talents!

You can download The Etsy 30 Minute Social Networking Kit right now! If you like my site, the guide or both, please help me spread the word about this free guide by sharing it on your Facebook page, blog, or email using the "share" button below or just by including a link. Thanks so much!

Shhhh... SECRET Etsy Tips

This morning I wanted to point you over to a really great Etsy forum thread started by Etsy seller mikiep. It has been going on for over a year and is chock full of interesting tips, secrets, and ideas from tons of Etsy sellers. I like to check it out once in a while to see what new things people are posting. Enjoy!

{{surf and turf necklace by Etsy seller Jape!}}

GIVEAWAY - AccountingSPOT Software!

I am very excited to announce my first product giveaway for you! Please see the details below. Thanks Holly!

GIVEAWAY SPONSOR:
This giveaway is sponsored by Holly of The Accounting SPOT. In her shop, Holly offers some great user-friendly tools for organizing your business accounting. I asked Holly to give me a little background about how and why she started her fantastic Etsy business. She writes:

I am Holly, wife, mother and owner of Accouting SPOT. After working in the corporate accounting world, I became a stay at home mom of a little boy (and soon a second little boy). I was an ansty SAHM, so decided to start my own business. My goal was to create a business that would allow me to express my business side, while remaining the main caretaker of my little guys. So that is what I do! :)

THIS GIVEAWAY IS FOR:
Your choice of any one (1) of her excel accounting spreadsheets (No. 80, 74, 73, 20)

HOW TO ENTER:
Visit The Accounting SPOT, and post the following in a comment to this post:

1) What is your favorite item from The Accounting SPOT store?

Please be sure to leave an email address (if not in your profile) so I can contact you if you are the winner.

EXTRA ENTRIES - For each of the following you will be given one extra entry in the contest:

*Blog about this giveaway and post a link in the comments of this post.
*Send out a Tweet about this giveaway and post a link in the comments of this post.
*Subscribe to the Handmade Success blog email or RSS feed. Leave a comment on this post indicating that you have done so.
*become a fan of my Facebook page (if you are already a fan, let me know) and leave a comment on this post indicating your Facebook user name.
*Subscribe to The Accounting SPOT's blog email or RSS feed. (Hint, Holly has tons of great business tips for you on her blog!) Leave a comment on this post indicating that you have done so.

GIVEAWAY RULES:
END TIME - This giveaway ends on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2009, 9:00pm PST.
WHO CAN ENTER - Anyone with a valid email address (will be notified this way).
PICKING WINNER - Each entry will be assigned a number. After the contest is closed, a number will be randomly generated. The entry associated with that number will be the winner! If I do not hear back from the winner within 5 days of notification, a new winner will be drawn.
WINNER NOTIFICATION - The winner will be notified via email within 24 hours of contest end, as well as, a post here on the blog.

SO, Good luck!

get this done - google base

I just returned from vacation and am getting settled in to a very hot house right now, so I will make this post a short one with a great link. There is lots of buzz on Etsy forums about Google Base and how great it is, but many people don't exactly know what it is used for. Google Base gets your products into Google's product database. So when someone searches for "heart shaped soap" on google, your heart shaped soap can get to the very top of the search results page for free under "shopping results for heart shaped soap". It is very cool, and free, but it can be a little tricky to figure out.

Etsy Seller Go To Supplies has put together several extremely comprehensive tutorials on how to get your products into Google Base, along with answers to several FAQs. I recommend you check it out and cross this one off your list. Imagine being at the top of a Google search page for free!! Let me know how it goes for you.

the time is now!

Believe it or not right now, during these last lazy days of summer, you should be thinking and planning your holiday marketing strategy. Over the coming days and weeks I will have lots of neat holiday marketing ideas for you, but for right now I want to talk about the one that needs the most planning and foresight. Submitting your product for magazines and bloggers to review needs to be done well in advance of December - in fact many magazines work on a 3 month lead time for new issues! That means that in September you should get serious about organizing your contacts, press kit, and submissions. This small amount of work could yield you huge rewards if someone decides to feature you in their publications.

And now for a little plug - Although you could definitely research and find all the info you need about PR online, my DIY Publicity Kit and Jewelry Shop Publicity will save you the time and energy. It is a concise guide geared towards Etsy sellers just like you. Good luck!!

handy tool

I just found a neat little tool online. With the Etsy Fee Calculator, you can plug in the profit you want to make after all Etsy/PayPal fees and helps you work backwards. Pretty neat! I don't know about you, but these fees always end up sneaking up on me. Found via The Best Etsy Blogs, which is another useful site full of great bookmarks.