As if I need MORE Resolutions?!?

I got my Etsy success delivered to my in box today and, as always, it was filled with tips for improving my little business. With so much useful information out there lately, I have found myself immersed in reading and researching ways to market. I, like most people, see the beginning of the year as a fresh start and an opportunity to leave the bad behind and embrace the new- so I couldn't resist clicking on the link to "Creative Ways to Promote in 2011". This little Etsy post led me to another link featuring New Year's Resolutions for your online business. Now I read through these very interesting resolutions and couldn't resist adding my own 2 cents to each for my blog, where I hope to use them for future reference.

22 New Year's Resolutions every Etsy seller could benefit from:
Original unaltered post by Justin Smith on The Bottom Line.

1- Keep a Calendar
I just recently tried this feature out in Yahoo!, but I know Google has one too. You can set up a reminder to frequent your inbox on a regular basis with your "To Do" items for each week, appointments, or anything else you have scheduled. So far I really like it, as long as I can remember to update it. Oh, and actually act on my pre-planned reminders when they are brought to my attention.

2- Build a Mailing List
Mail Chimp, which has a free account, was suggested by the original author and looks promising after a quick glance. I bookmarked this site for future research. (Maybe I should add this to my Yahoo! calendar... um.. later.)

3- Market More
Yeah, so do I spend all my time marketing, or designing? Oh maybe I should spend it all on paperwork... there are not enough hours in the day, but I promise to try.

4- Over Commit Less
Yeah, I do need to work on this. I try to do too much to fast and then I just don't get anything useful accomplished.

5- Keep to a Budget for Fees
This I think I have under control. It gets a bit shaky at times, but I'm dealing.

6- Retake Bad Photos
Very important for Etsy shops!!! I had several bad photos in my shop and right around Christmas I started updating. It is getting better... but there are still several that need work. If you want to give me a critique please feel free I need all the help I can get!

7- Add More Price Points
Having a wide variety of pricing options can help to bring in a variety of buyers. It also helps to aquire repeat business when there is a wider range of buying choices.

8- Carve Out a Better Work Space
I have a decent work area. In fact, it's an entire room devoted to my business. So, I am working on creating a more organized work space.

9- Take a Day Off
Ha! Yeah RIGHT!

10- Cut Out the Crud
I see this one as if you did it wrong or it didn't work last year then either do it right this time or don't do it again at all. Forget about the time consuming jobs that didn't yield worthwhile profit and move on to the next, better idea that hopefully will.

11- Add Income Streams
Expand outside of the Etsy bubble.

12- Learn More, Do More
ok- be like a sponge and soak up as much useful pertinent business information as you can, then put that new found knowledge to work in your own business.

13- Organize Paperwork
Of course. This is one of my major goals. I absolutely loathe paperwork and record keeping. But, tax time is looming and I know I must keep everything up to snuff. Quickbooks simple start is my chosen format you can download a free version here.

17- Beautify Your Copy
Pertaining to Etsy listings, buyers seem to want to know the story behind this handmade thing you want them to buy. If there is a story they can make a connection to this item and, hopefully, your shop which will make them more likely to buy that funky cool alien hat you've been trying to sell for three months and maybe they will heart your shop and become a repeat customer.


Ok, so these are not my original New Years Resolutions, but they do make the cut as great ones to have if your selling online. I will definately be checking into several of these, but for now I need to get some sleep. If you didn't notice I skipped over #14-16 and #18-22 then you probably should get some sleep too.