Trying to get your name out there, getting people buy from your shop, and networking is a lot of work and time consuming. I have my Etsy shop, 1000 Markets shop, this blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Cosa Verde that I participate in regularly. Of course there are social networks and business sites such as Indiepublic, Handmadeolgy, We love Etsy and more, and if you are like me blogs to read and comment on. I could go on but you get the point.
I spend hours on the computer, but I don't see a lot of sales, or people checking out my sites from these venues (according to Google Analytics) is it a waste of time? Or am I just building my business?
I know this post should be a business tip, but I thought I would share with you an experiment I am going to try to see if I can still get customers to my shop by spending more quality time on my online and offline business needs.
I am going to schedule my computer time so I spend fewer hours on the computer and each week concentrate on one venue to build a good base of core customers.
Week one - May 5 - 11
-I will be on the computer in the morning only - 3 hours max (checking my shops, sending and answering e-mail, twittering, reading blogs, etc...)
-Work on my Blog to grow my followers
Week two - May 12 - 18
-I will be on the computer in the afternoon only - 3 hours max (by the end of this week I hope to know which time of day produces the best results morning or afternoon)
-Work on Facebook to grow my fan base and create a nice page
Next week I will post what I am going to do in week 3 & 4.
When I am not on the computer I am going to create more pieces and start building my inventory. I also want to start working on a collection to sell to retail stores. I have a retail store in Alaska that is going to start carrying my pieces at the end of this month (they found me on Etsy) I would like to do more of that.
Doing this I hope to find balance and more creative ways to build my business. Maybe putting my efforts into fewer venues and giving them my best effort I hope to see a growth in my business.
I will let you know next week how its going!
Question of the day - Are we doing to much?
Do you think spending more quality time on a few venues is better then spreading yourself around to attract more customers? Or is more better?
I would love to here what is or is not working for you. Please share your experiences.
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How much time? Well that is so hard, as you have explained. I find myself attached to my Blackberry when I am not online. I too have started to limit myself as to the hours spent. Trying to build relationships and networking online is nearly as full time as me producing product. A double edge sword we are all dealing wuth as the Handmade online markets grow at such a rapid rate. I would love t know how you are doing I will check back to see.
ReplyDeleteI feel so much better reading this. I've been having the exact same dilemma. It seems that I sit at my computer and suddenly it's 4 hours later. I've been getting some site traffic, but I don't know if it's justified. This is also the third post I've seen like this today so we're definitely not alone.
ReplyDeleteI was just thinking that same thing over the weekend. Lots of computer time is not translating into sales. Have decided to pull back a little on the computer time and spend more time doing what I love- creating.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I had decided to try the same sort of experiment myself. I also started approaching the different venues one at a time this week. As opposed to spending an entire week on one, I am doing mine by the day. One day on one site, the next day, a different site. It's just so hard to quality-post on many on a daily basis. I believe the quality must be there in the content of our posts or it is wasted effort. I'm interested in the results of both of our experiments.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this, although I don't do nearly as much different venues as you do. I also spend quite a bit of time preparing new things for my website. It's hard to judge from a week or two... now should be a good season, I know business usually picks up for me in April and May... Looking forward to hearing more from everyone!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for all your feedback! I feel better knowing that we all are thinking along the same lines. Please keep sharing I would like to know if making changes in the time you spent online changes your business.
ReplyDeleteValerie
Whenever I feel like the time I spent online isn't doing anything for me, I do what many folks have suggested...I go make something. That is my first joy and the marketing aspect of it, while fun especially when I've met so many fantastic folks, should take a secondary seat to that. If my craft isn't a strong base to build from, then all the marketing is a bit crumbly.
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