Saturday, October 10, 2009

What Was I Thinking?

I was barely awake this morning, my eyes still closed, and I layed there thinking about my Etsy shop and how I needed to re-do my pictures.  I read a tip from someone on an Etsy forum yesterday that said she uses the same background and lighting for all her pictures so that her shop looks more uniform with a similar theme.  After looking at her shop, I could see what she meant.  That was my goal today, and that is what I've been doing all day.
My style is very feminine and lacy, so I needed to make this more of a theme.  I'm using a lace background now for all my pictures.  Now I need to re-take the pictures of all the items on there.  It's going to take a while.  Today I re-did my banner from this

to this


I re-did my avatar from this


to this


And I'm now using the lace background, for example:  this

to this

When I started this Etsy thing, I thought I would just take a picture of what I made, put it on the computer, and people would be flocking to my site to buy.  What made me think that?  Not happening!  The more I get into it, the more I learn and realize it is much more complicated than that.  The pictures have to be of excellent quality, so I now edit all my photos through Picnik, which is a great tool, by the way.  Very user friendly, fun, and it does an excellent job.  This is time consuming, though.  Then you have to have good descriptions, and tag the items with the right words so people can search it, and then promote and market yourself.  This really could be a full time job.  That's not considering the time making the stuff you make.  Why did I think this would be easy? 
But you know what?  I'm having fun.  I've made no money.  I'm spending an awful lot of time with it.  But it's fun.  Right now, though, it's still a hobby.  And I know I can't be spending eight hours a day on a hobby.  So little by little I'll just keep playing with it, and if I start to sell things I'll up the time investment.
A little bit of encouragement came my way today by way of a fellow Etsian and Blogger, Julie, at http://juliesbits.blogspot.com/.  She posted one of my pincushions on her blog as one of her favorites Etsy finds.

 I was very  touched and excited by this.  Thank you Julie.

5 comments:

  1. Who would have thought ... it does make a big difference doesn't it.

    Have a cuddly warm eve. TTFN ~Marydon

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  2. Keep up your hard work...it will pay off soon. But finding enjoyment in the process is the most important thing!

    Stay Cozy...love the new photos etc.
    Carrie

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  3. Exactly! You are going through what all seasoned etsians have and are going through. Pictures are hard and time consuming and will never be perfect. You have done a lovely job revamping! I LOVE the lace background, keep up the good work and strive for excellence! LOVE your blog! It is very lacy-ish too!

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  4. Yes, I suppose that would look more 'professional'. I do love your lacy images. One of these days, I just might splurge on one of your quilt minis just to make you jump up and down!

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  5. Hello, I love all your creations. Your very talented, indeed. I wish you much sucess on Etsy. It's a lot of work and competitive, so I have heard. I'll be a follower now. take care, keri

    www.spitnglue.com

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