Just Smile and be Positive!!!

Okay does this scenario sound somewhat familiar?

It's been a long week....an extremely long week. Finances are super tight, your barely paying your bills, your kids need new shoes, wardrobes, diapers and your dying for some fun money just to get out of the house. But you spend hours sitting in front of the computer renewing, promoting and doing any and every obnoxious thing you can think of just to promote your Etsy Shop so you can just make at very least one sale! Because let's face it...you could really use the money.

Sound familiar?

I know that all of us have had days, weeks and months like this, and it gets to the point where you want to pull out your hair and run down the street with your arms waving above your head screaming...."That's it...I'm done with Etsy...it's not worth it."

Okay...so I've exaggerated a little bit...you don't run up and down the street but you run to the Etsy Forums to vent with the hopes that people will somehow convince you otherwise.

Ringing Any Bells?

I tend to trip over these kind of posts on Etsy all the time...sellers who are just about to give up, and I'm always the person to rush to their side to lift them up. Here's the advice that I always give them, and this is from my personal experience...and I just want to share it with you:

~You get exactly what you expect out of your shop. If you don't expect to sale...you won't.

~If you ignore your shop, buyers will ignore you too.

~If you spend too much time sitting in front of your shop just staring at the number of sales in the hopes that it will just start climbing up before your eyes...(good luck with that, let me know if it works.)

~If you hit this point or anywhere near it...it's time to turn off the computer and go for a walk or clean or do anything not Etsy related. Sales seem to only happen when your not sitting on the site waiting for them. If they happen for you this way....SHARE THE WEALTH!!! j/k

~No sales in a couple days, weeks or months? No problem, retake photos, revamp your shop, create something completely different, switch up tags, or just browse through all the talented shops on Etsy and you're bound to be inspired.

~Set reasonable goals...such as "I want to make 5, 10 or 15 sales this month" Don't kid yourself by setting your goals too high, and don't set too low. Just believe that you will reach it...and somehow you will it just works trust me.~

~Don't go searching trough shops just to see how many sales they've had that day...it will only depress you.

~ In the forums keep in mind that the people that are bragging about 10 sales in one day are either showing off or they have been around a lot longer and want to encourage others that the hard work eventually pays off...look at their example as where you will be in a year or two.

~Don't compare yourself to others, your shop is different and things happen differently for all of us.

~When you are super busy trying to meet all your orders and deadlines, be grateful and remember the slow times. When times are slow...take a nap, read a book and just enjoy.

~The fact is that Etsy (like life) is a Roller-coaster and you can enjoy the ride or hate every minute of it. The choice is up to you!

So no matter what your day has been like just be positive.... and keep being positive and things are bound to turn around!

~Have a Great Weekend and Enjoy the Summer, it'll be gone before you know it!~