Critiques and Reviews

10 Self-Employment Myths

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:41:00 +0000


Article:	10 Myths About Self-Employment

By Steve Pavlina, www.stevepavlina.com

Since there are so many myths about self-employment (especially among lifelong employees), a good place to start would be to dispel some of those myths.

I started my first business right after graduating college and have been continuously self-employed since then. The only time I was ever an employee was during college, when I worked six months as a part-time retail sales associate.

MYTH: Self-employed people have to work really long hours.
Many self-employed people work longer hours than employees. Some enjoy their work so much they want to put in long hours. Some set up their businesses in such a way that their physical presence is necessary for income generation. So working long hours is largely a symptom of the type of business you create as well as your personal choice. If you don't like working long hours, you certainly don't have to.

MYTH: The only reason to build a business is to sell it.
While you can certainly build a business to sell or to take public, you can also build a business to keep. As a self-employed person, you're free to build whatever kind of business you want. You're the boss. If you want to build a business to sell, go for it. If you just want an income source that doesn't require you to get a job, that's fine too.

You can also run multiple businesses at the same time. Once you've been running a business for a decade or more, it's not that hard to repeat the process and spawn another one.

MYTH: Self-employment is much riskier than getting a job.
Security is a result of control, and self-employment gives you far more control over your income than you have with a regular job. When you're self-employed no one can fire you or lay you off. Which is more secure? Owning your income stream or leasing it? Ownership obviously.

If you need to make extra cash quickly, that's very tough to do as an employee. But as an owner who controls all the business assets, you have the ability to channel resources to increase income in a pinch. Having control makes a huge difference.

MYTH: Self-employment means putting all your eggs in one basket.
Ask yourself this: How many people would have to turn against you to shut off all your income? For employees the answer is usually one. If your boss fires you, your income gets turned off immediately. Now that's putting all your eggs in one basket.

With self-employment, you can more easily diversify your income streams and thereby reduce your risk. You have the control necessary to make this happen. Generating different types of income from thousands of customers is a lot more secure than receiving only one paycheck.

MYTH: Being self-employed is stressful.
What's stressful is not being able to make ends meet. Self-employment is less stressful because you enjoy more control. Not having control over your time and your life is stressful. Self-employment can be very low-stress if you decide to make it so. You can turn your office into a relaxing place to work and set your own hours. If you notice the onset of stress, you can take time off to relax.

MYTH: The customer is always right.
If you're self-employed, feel free to fire customers that cause you grief. Some customers just aren't worth having. when a customer becomes obnoxiously rude, insulting, or threatening, you have the choice to not work with them. If you're self-employed, there's no need to do business with people who think it's their privilege to treat you like dirt. You won't enjoy having such customers, and you won't enjoy the types of referrals they send you.

MYTH: Being self-employed is lonely.
Many employees think they enjoy a rich social life when all they do is hang out with their co-workers. That's fine for starters, but it can get pretty stale after a while. On the contrary it's easier for self-employed people to recognize the need for social activities outside their work. At the very least, this may be motivated by the desire to network and to learn from other business owners.

MYTH: Self-employed people have to do everything themselves.
Self-employed people may be responsible for making sure everything gets done, but it's usually foolish for them to do everything themselves. That would be way too much work. You don't have to design your own systems if you can leverage someone else's.

MYTH: Self-employment is too complicated.
Self-employment can seem complicated because there's a lot to learn in the beginning, such as accounting, taxes, payroll, legal issues, insurance, etc. It does take a while to learn the basics, but most of it isn't difficult. Get yourself a good book on the subject, and you'll be off to a great start. Don't let the initial learning curve get you down. You only need to learn this info once.

MYTH: You need lots of money to start a new business.
That depends on the business. You can start an online business for very little cash. You don't need to pour your life savings into your first business. You do, however, need an intelligent way to provide value to people. The nice thing about an online business is that you can create value for a fixed time investment, and technology can deliver that value millions of times over without costing you any extra time or money. You invest a little time in the initial value creation, but you get paid for the ongoing value delivery. Technology does most of the work for a cost that's virtually zero, but you get paid for its results.

Take back control of your personal and professional life! Try self-employment or a side line business for yourself!

5 things I do everyday to increase traffic

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:12:00 +0000

Here are a few top things I do everyday to increase traffic.

On an average day without a front page spot I average 500+ views to my Etsy shop.

1. Renew 2 items. I like to renew at 11:30 am and any time after 5pm. I renew items that generate the most views. My cameras and my trees seem to be the best. I average about 20 views on the renewed item before it gets buried.

****Etsy front page tip….. if you are lucky enough to catch your item on the front page quickly add more to the quantity… this will insure the max exposure generated from the front page. See when you are on the front page and that item sells it gets replaced.

2. I promote my monthly giveaway. This is run on my blog: http://timothyadamdesigns.blogspot.com
I give away 2 of my necklaces each month. I have generated an e-mail list of about 1100 just from my giveaway. People can subscribe and unsubscribe if they want. This system is all automated which I love. I use Salesautomator.com

3. Promote in the forums. I have posted in 3789 threads so far. I like to participate in all areas of the forum. Being active keeps your shop visible.

4. I also use Project Wonderful to place ads for my shop and my blog. Pw is a great way to generate traffic at a low cost. Finding the right blogs and sites to place your ads on is the key. I never spend more than a few dollars a week and generate hundreds of hits. I am spending one penny per click.... i find this better than Google Adwords..where you can spend way more! PW is important traffic, because it is not Etsy traffic.

5. I run 4 blogs.

http://timothyadamdesigns.blogspot.com
http://buriedtreasury.blogspot.com
http://critiquesandreviews.blogspot.com
http://z00mcamera.blogspot.com

Now I try to keep them updated everyday…..but. you know how that goes. Each blog I run has links and ties to my Etsy shop.

Some of the topics I blog about include:
artist features
cool stuff I find
giveaways
new products
blog tips
etsy tips
product reviews
how to videos
and much more…….

Along with blogging I leave comments on other blogs with my link back to my blog. This generates traffic later down the road.

Ok there you go that sums up my day online….. oh then I have to design and make all my metal!

What does your day look like?

Blog tip 8.3.08

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:09:00 +0000

Why would you use Scoutle?

Each day, millions of bloggers work on their blogs, creating a valuable resource for other people interested in that subject, whatever the subject is. A blogger wants interested visitors, a visitor wants interesting content. But how to bring these two together in an effective way? How to promote your blog and attract only interested visitors? How to find an interesting and active blog with a specific subject, language or location? How to check the quality of a blog? But more important... How to do all this without spending hours of your valuable time? The answer is actually very simple: Just don't do it yourself.

I have created 3 Etsy networks on Scoutle:

Etsy (everything handmade)

EA (etsy anonymous)

Etsy bloggers

Scoutle is looking to be the next successful social networking site.. it is free to join and a powerful networking tool.

Web 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:22:00 +0000

“

Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform.^[4]

”

As Etsy shop owners here are some basic Web 2.0 tools we can use to increase traffic to our shops and blogs:

These are all used by me everyday: Each on has a search option that will allow people to find what you are all about!

**The first tool is Stumbleupon which is very popular with millions of users. Use this to mark every page in your shop and on your blog..Make sure to write good descriptions and give the right tags..

**Next take a look at Technorati .... this is Highly recommended tool for your blog. It will show all the back links to your blog...This is a great tool to fave other blogs and your own posts.

* Delicious is next on the list...this is also a highly popular site...you can fave any url... Fave your shop, items blog, and blog posts..

Etsy shop review #8

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:48:00 +0000

Lets take a look at this weeks review....Stick Nymph

Shop

blog

video review

This card looks great framed as a little art print!

This 5x7 greeting card is printed to order on soft, weighty ivory cardstock and together with its own matching envelope is enclosed in a protective cellophane sleeve.
It will arrive blank inside, awaiting your inspired message.

A little kitty, down in the garden. With the ringing of the bellflowers and the buzz of the cicadas, butterflies kind of go unnoticed.
This 5x7 greeting card is printed to order on soft, weighty ivory cardstock and together with its own matching envelope is enclosed in a protective cellophane sleeve.

Aquilegia is the Wild Columbine flower. In Michigan, ours are red on top with a yellow underskirt.

This particular type of card is folded at the top, so it opens like a little spy notebook and the colorful design goes all the way to the edges.

Critique: this critique with Stick Nymph is NOW available....sign is at the top of the page....at the Critique and Review News!!! You will get the critique with Torchwood studios first!

OK for next weeks review/critique just leave a comment here on this post about Stick Nymph....make it good....again the best comment will get the Review for next next week...

Google PageRank Boost (inside and out side your Etsy shop)

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Thu, 15 May 2008 11:53:00 +0000

Google PageRank Boost

inside and outside your Etsy shop

Google Page Rank, Etsy and You (main article submitted by April )

I've seen the question so many times on the Etsy forums, "Why isn't my Etsy shop showing up in Google when I search for XYZ?"

While that is actually a very complex question, in a nutshell -- you need PageRank.

How do you get this PageRank? You need to optimize your website. This is SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Google's PageRank is the results from 1 - 10 of an algorithm that assesses how important your website is on a generally monthly basis. The kicker is that its machines making this determination. You may have heard these machines referred to as "spiders" or "robots". I prefer to think of them as spider robots merely because it amuses me. These robot spiders crawl the web hunting for in and bring it back to the Googleplex. This is known as indexing. If your information is good and full of SEO, the robot spiders will come back often and give you a higher PageRank.

If you search the web for SEO techniques you'll find plenty of them -- too many. Unfortunately, a lot of the information you'll find is either not applicable to current versions of the algorithm, spam techniques, or not applicable to Etsy. Etsy is not the same as your regular personal website and I'm not going to suggest you obtain a personal website today either. Baby steps.

Since you don't have access to the source code of your Etsy store, your SEO Options are limited. Let's make the best of what's available to you without manipulating source code.

INSIDE YOUR ETSY STORE

Frankly, the most you can do here is provide good titles and descriptions and use all of your tags. When writing your titles and descriptions, think of key terms. “Key terms” in this sense simply means that you are using descriptive language.

If you were searching for items such as yours in Google, what kind of language would you use? Put yourself in the mindset of the searcher and write accordingly.

Keep in mind that Google likes change. If you relist,or renew the same items again and again, change your titles and descriptions up every once in a while. Try some slightly different verbiage and new key terms each time.

OUTSIDE OF YOUR ESTY STORE

Link, link, link! As in, get people to link to you (inbound links/ IBL). To start, use links to your Etsy store in your signature on any blogs , forums or message boards you belong to.

One of the biggest factors in boosting your rank is inbound links from sites with a high PageRank. Not only is Google more likely to index these high ranked sites quickly and repeatedly, but you're more likely to get click though traffic to your site and more people linking to you. Site click through rates (CTR), are another important factor to determining your PageRank. Inbound links from a low ranked site won't necessarily hurt you, so don’t don’t freak out on your friend for linking you from his low ranked site . Ignore reciprocal link services and engines that litter the web. These are spam and Google hates spam.

Timothy says:

A great way to boost your rank is to leave comments with your link on higher ranking blogs.

Here are a few blogs that worth commenting on:

Do not visit these blogs to SPAM! Most of their comments are checked so your comments (SPAMS) will not be approved. so don't waste your time. Try to contribute something in their posts, react on their main ideas or add your own. (LIST brought to you by whydowork.com)

WEBSITE	GOOGLE PAGE RANK
Computer Science Canada Blog	5
aaronroselo.net	5
Instigartor Blog	5
Dawud Miracle	5
Successcreeations	5
Randa Clay Designs	5
Andy Beard	5
I Saw Your Nanny	5
Talk, Don’t Run - Credit Cards	5
3 Minutes - Real Estate Blog	5
eMoms at Home	5
A Simple Kind Of Life	5

WEBSITE	GOOGLE PAGE RANK
David Airey : Creative Design	4
Mom Gadget	4
Meikai - Bargain hunters	4
Essential Keystrokes	4
Geeky Speaky	4
Nimble Theory	4
Smart Divas	4
Pony Tail Club	4
Personal Development	4
What is? What!	4
Jon Lee Dot See Eh	4
Web Design and Development Tips	4
3 Day Mom	4
Self-Defense Blog	4
Brigid’s Blog	4
Medical Spa MD	4

WEBSITE	GOOGLE PAGE RANK
Timothyadamdesigns Critiques and Reviews Spoken Word Blog	3
My Garden : House And Style	3
Web Business Resource	3
Wtricks.com - The Blog	3
Rob Cubbon Freelance Graphic Desinger	3
Two Dog Zoo	3
Exploring Classical Chinese Medicine	3
Body Mind and Solar	3
TEFLWatch	3
Clement Nyirenda’s Blog	3

RELATIVE LINKS

Some will argue that any links anywhere are a good thing, but most agree that your IBL should be “Relative”. Relative refers to the relevancy of the IBL referring you.

An example of relative IBL I used in the Etsy forums…

If you Etsy shop containing crocheted face scrubbies is linked to by a cage fighting website, Google is going to see that and be all “WTF?”

If you Etsy shop containing crocheted face scrubbies is linked to by Martha Stewart, Google is going to see that and be all “WORD!”

Consider how relative IBLs are before perusing them or paying to advertise.

HYPERLINKS

A hyperlink (How to video) is when you use words to link instead of graphics, or in addition to graphics. Remember, the spider robots can’t see pictures, so do not rely solely on graphics when you link to your shop. Use descriptive key terms in your hyperlinks. Creating a link to your shop that says “buy handmade crocheted face scrubbies” is going to be more valuable than a link that‘s your shop name. “Daisydoodle’s Boutique” might be the perfect shop name for you, but how the heck is Google supposed to figure out that has anything to do with handmade crocheted face scrubbies?

DON’T TRY TO TRICK GOOGLE

Google’s main purpose is to weed out spam and garbage content and organize legitimate content. Google also carries a grudge. Even though we’re dealing with spider robots here, they’re a lot smarter than you may think. Filling descriptions and links with nothing but irrelevant key words and trash can get you on the blacklist or “sandboxed”.

BE REALISTIC AND DON’T OBSESS

Get this through your head right now. Say it out loud… “I WILL NEVER RANK A 10”. Say it again and believe it.
You have to remember that PageRank is global compared to all other websites in the world. Etsy’s homepage has a PageRank of 6 , Ebay ranks in at 8 and Amazon has a 9. Google itself has a PageRank of 8. Those would have to be some magical face scrubbies to get results like that.

Find another shop that is doing very well and compare yourself to that. Figure out what it is that their doing right. Your ultimate goal might be a 4. That’s completely OK and likely very appropriate. In my business, I run very popular statewide real estate websites -- if I can rank a 5 I’m over the moon.

Be patient. New shops might take a while to be indexed at all and jumping and entire number is an enormous job.

Keep up with ethical SEO: write organically, be thoughtful, network for relevant IBL , DO NOT SPAM, and in time you’ll get there.

The cream always rises to the top.

(Thanks again April.....check out her website and etsy shop)

This is the most effective way to boost your page rank

dmoz

The Open Directory Project (ODP) is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web, with more than 4 million listings in over 590,000 categories. It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors.

Instead of fighting the explosive growth of the Internet, the Open Directory provides the means for the Internet to organize itself. As the Internet grows, so do the number of net-citizens. These citizens can each organize a small portion of the web and present it back to the rest of the population, culling out the bad and useless and keeping only the best content.

The last way to boost your google page rank it to list your blog and etsy shop on www.dmoz.org
Google relies on this site a ton to define your page rank....check out the site and follow the steps!

Advertising Opp

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:41:00 +0000

If you have not heard of the Handbook To Handmade...here is a little back ground.

With 210 etsy artists featured in 6 volumes, the handbook to handmade is a small cut of very talented artists from around the world.

"the handbook to handmade" is a 80 page monthly volume of 35 ETSY artists and their shops...this is a promotional tool that is used to help promote artists and etsy. the first volume was a success, with a great mix of artists from 36 different cities from around the world.
The handbook is sent out to each of the 35 artists for them to use it as a promotional tool.

Volume 7 Preregistration is now available here

Volume 7 $10 ad spaces are available here

Easy way to check your PageRank

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:20:00 +0000

First off what is Google PageRank....

PageRank (PR) is Google's method of calculating a web page's relevance and importance through the quality of sites linking to it. ... more info

PageRank is a link analysis algorithm which assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of "measuring" its relative importance within the set... Wiki

Every page on the net has a page rank...your Etsy shop has a rank....and your blog...check any site you want! You can also check each item in your shop...fun!

My les paul table has a PageRank of 3....it has been around a while!

If your Etsy shop or blog is new it may say NA...or if you are not networking on the net enough you may get the same results....

Check Page Rank of any web site pages instantly:

This free page rank checking tool is powered by Page Rank Checker service

Stay tuned for ways to increase your PageRank!!!

I will make this tool available on the blog for good

Goals written are dreams achieved

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:40:00 +0000

Write your 5 goals for May in the comments....
Here are mine...

Reach 900 sales
prepare my business for the move to ohio
launch my new project
grow my readership on my blogs
send one promo package to someone famous

Etsy shop review #7

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:00:00 +0000

This week we are taking a look at Sea Glass Things. Click HERE to visit the blog

I added a new feature to the weekly reviews:

Review Videos

For the best viewing Please let the video load all the way

Here are some great items:

This statement cuff bracelet of this set consists of 15 total pieces of cobalt blue, seafoam and white North Shore sea glass, swavorski crystals, deep blue freshwater potato pearls, and peridot freshwater pearls. The focal point for the bracelet is a Hill Tribe Sterling Silver Starfish - purchased directly from the tribe located in Thailand. The bracelet is a cluster design with all elements affixed by handcutting and turning sterling wire.

That is exactly what these are - beautiful frosted seafoam sea glass that hang from 1 inch diameter sterling hoops adorned with sterling ball beads.

The title says it all! A bit vitage retro - rare lime green, aqua and cobalt blue sea glass that was found on the beaches of Salem, MA - drilled and hung on a pair of funky sterling silver threader earrings.

Critique: this critique with Sea Glass Things is NOW available....sign is at the top of the page....at the Critique and Review News!!! You will get the critique with Torchwood studios first!

OK for next weeks review/critique just leave a comment here on this post about Sea Glass Things....make it good....again the best comment will get the Review for next next week...

Project Wonderful Revisited

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:18:00 +0000

Where should you spend your advertising budget?

Lets check out Project Wonderful again in depth!

PW is a great way to gain some exposure for very little cash, but there are some tricks to the whole process. You can use PW for advertising your Etsy shop or your Blog. I use it for both.

Here is a look at the month of march on PW...

I spent $22....so what did that get me? My ad was displayed 3,159524 times...and was click on 332 times in one month. You can see the cost per 1000 page views is .01 and the cost per click is .07.

I look for sites with very high traffic and I watch them very close...if i am spending money and there are high displays and no clicks then i cancel....

Here is one of the top site i advertise on....Ad Sneeze. You can see the return for only spending $2 so far.

here is another great site I found. Here ..I have only spent $.37 and look at the results

Craftster Is another great site to get your ad on!!!

Lets talk about the look of your ad....

there are many different options but the most popular is the 125x125. This can be flash of just basic....i have had great success with my simple ads:

Ok i hope this all helps you as far as PW goes......feel free to post any questions that you may have and i will answer them in the comments below:

Fun new tool..........

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:09:00 +0000

Check out the picture above.....you can click on all the links...it is small but look for the Community button...it will take you right to the Etsy community page!~~

I did all this in a program called SnagIt...You can download it for FREE for 30 days....
You can capture any picture on the net and do tons of cool things with it...one great tool is adding a watermark.....

Verve Earth

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:43:00 +0000

I just found a new way to drive traffic to your blog.......Verve Earth
is a cool NEW way to search for new blogs. You can also network, chat and favorite blogs from all over the globe. Oh did i mention it is FREE....this a must for any blogger....Stop in and say hi...here is my home..click

Let me review your Etsy shop

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 01:29:00 +0000

With 2007 behind us.........taking a look at my success on Etsy i would like to extend my knowledge to the rest of the Etsy community. Timothy Adam Designs has had over 750 sales in 11 months of being a Etsy seller. Items have sold in the price range from $2400 to $5. Please take a look at this shop and see if a critique is something you would like.

I am looking for the next Etsy shop to Critique and Review..Your shop will be featured on this blog and i will check out your shop and give some tips on how you can better your shop. Be ready for some real advice....the review will be done on the blog and the critique will be done via convo. This critique will not be a full blown critique, but enough to point you in the direction of more sales and traffic...

To have your Etsy shop reviewed and critiqued write a comment on this post telling me why you want/need a critique. You must either post your link or your shop name.

I will review one Etsy shop per week....the shop with the best comment will be chosen.

If you can not leave a comment feel free to convo me with the title "Critiques and Reviews"

Review #5 will be Tuesday....4.22.08

thanks,

timothy

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:13:00 +0000

Lets take a peek this week at Bella Rhys Designs. This is a very cool new Etsy shop based in Springfield Illinois. Also take a look at her blog. Lets dive right in to some wonderful items....

This lampwork glass disk is made using Bullseye glass in deep plum, lime green and clear. It is looped onto a hand-dyed silk ribbon in lime green with two color coordinated lampwork beads used for easy adjustment.The disk measures about an inch wide with a 1/4 inch hole. At it's longest it measures 32 inches but adjusts to where you're comfortable wearing it. All beads are kiln annealed for strength and durability.
Spring Grass lampwork disk necklace
by BellaRhysDesigns

This is such a bright and fun necklace. I picture it dressed up w/ a black dress or worn w/ your favorite white tee shirt-I think anything goes!There are 9 handmade lampwork beads attached by long rectangular sterling links-each soldered and forged by hand. They are lightly hammered for a shimmery effect when the light hits them.

Kaleidoscope necklace
by BellaRhysDesigns

This handmade lampwork heart is teal with ivory dots that has a really cool effect when melted in and features a cute little raised purple flower. The bead measures about 1 1/4 long. I used moretti glass for the heart bead and it has been kiln annealed for strength and durability. The horseshoe keychain has one ball that unscrews to easily change out your keys. It is stainless steel so it's nice and sturdy and the finish won't rub off like others. All beads and headpin are sterling silver.

Teal and Ivory Heart Lampwork keychain
by BellaRhysDesigns

Critique: this critique with BellaRhysDesigns is NOW available....sign is at the top of the page....at the Critique and Review News!!! You will get the critique with Torchwood studios first!

OK for next weeks review/critique just leave a comment here on this post about BellaRhysDesigns ....make it good....again the best comment will get the Review for next next week...

International shipping..Don't take advice from the employees

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:54:00 +0000

more Info on International shipping

this is straight from usps.com here

131.34 Foreign Customs Information

The Postal Service does not maintain or provide information concerning the assessment of customs duty in other countries. Postal Service employees must not attempt to inform customers whether articles (gifts or commercial shipments) will be subject to customs duty. Postal Service employees may suggest to customers, however, that they inform the addressees in advance of the articles they intend to mail. Addressees can then obtain information from their local customs authorities. No provision is made for prepayment of customs duty on mail addressed for delivery in foreign countries.

If duties or taxes are assessed, most countries will collect from the recipient a customs clearance and delivery fee, in addition to the duties and taxes. This fee is authorized by international postal agreements to reimburse the delivery service for the costs it incurs in clearing the items through customs and collecting duties at the time of delivery. The duties, taxes, and fee, if applicable, are not included in the postage paid by the mailer.

Shout it out..........

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 01:47:00 +0000

Real quick post......i just added a shout box to the blog. You can login and start chatting.

If you want to add a shout box to your blog check out free shout box
You have complete control over who can login...you can also delete any comments...You can be your own forum police..and admin!

No I will not mark it as a gift.....

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:34:00 +0000

Warning

If you are a buyer PLEASE DO NOT ask sellers to mark the item as a "gift"......or lower the price on the customs form...

>>>>IT IS A CRIME<<<

Any person who knowingly submits false or misleading export information through the Shippers Export Declaration (SED) (or any successor document) shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $10,000 per violation or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both. Source: U.S. Code: Title 13 : Section 305 here is the LAW

And sellers Don't do it....5 years in jail..or 10,000...not worth it....

How To: Adding Hyperlinks

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:34:00 +0000

Here is the next video in my How To series....This video explains how to ad hyperlinks to your blog posts and to e-mails. I also explain how to hyperlink a picture right to an Etsy listing in your shop.

For the best viewing Please allow the video to download completely.

Let me know if this was helpful!!!

Building Social Proof

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:55:00 +0000

Lets talk about social proof today!

Here are some common examples of Social Proof. I’m sure you would have noticed some of these on a daily basis:

People being attracted to a crowd looking at a spectacle.
People ignoring public fights because most people seem to ignore it.
The use of canned laughter in sitcoms to encourage audience enjoyment
The seeding of tip jars at bars or cafes to encourage tips
Manipulation of the line-up queue at clubs to boost its attractiveness
The use of crowd-centric headlines such as ‘Most popular’ or ‘America’s best’
Personalities who surround themselves with objects of social prestige
The gradual increase in standing ovations as more audience members join in

list from doshdosh.com

Why do you need to build Social Proof?

Encouraging interaction around a specific topic is important. It triggers a flow of comments. When someone leaves a comment on your blog...more people are more likely to follow.

Foe example check out these blog posts......

107 omments

100 comments

These are just two examples of my blog posts with great comments! Prompting readers to leave comments is a great way to start building social proof.

Here are a few other ways to build Social Proof:

Being Etsy sellers, this is absolutely essential. Testimonials are one of the most effective ways to encourage an impulse sale. Try asking for testimonials from your clients or customers and display the notable ones prominently on your site. This is very easy to do just copy some feedback from Etsy. You can also link your feed back page to your blog! A great example of this type of social proof is when i first started Reviewing and Critiquing...DID YOU look at my shop to see how many sales i had? DID YOU read any of the feed back from my customers.

Using social widgets is a great way....

examples:

Visit Indiepublic

Also using Blogcatalog

Wrapping it up......

Social Proof is in the eye of the reader, so you need to use more than one method. Comments, feedback, and widgets can help improve your Social Proof to a wide range of readers. Good luck and don't forget to subscribe to the news letter at the top of the blog....

Juicie Julz Review/Critique

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:26:00 +0000

This week we are looking at JuicieJulz. This new Etsy shop is run by Gail in Ontario Canada. She has a wide variety of items....Bracelets.....Earrings....Necklaces. She also offers free shipping on all her items...I love her banner, it fits perfectly with her shop! Lets have a look at some of these great items!

Resin Rings by JuicieJulz

This bracelet is made from black resin rings which are very lightweight. The rings have been accented with large silver plated jumprings. The clasp is a silver plated heart which is a safety clasp.

A fun bracelet made with Czech crystals and olive coloured drop glass beads. The lobster claw clasp is silver plated.

Great Grapes by JuicieJulz

Crystal Cluster by JuicieJulz

Vintage look necklace. Five filigree accented, wire-wrapped fire polished crystals dangle from a smll chain. They are accented with 3 tiny glass pearls. The chain and findings are antiqued brass. The chain measures appros. 18" and the dangles measure 2".

Critique: this critique with JuicieJulz is NOW available....sign is at the top of the page....at the Critique and Review News!!! You will get the critique with Torchwood studios first!

OK for next weeks review/critique just leave a comment here on this post about JuicieJulz....make it good....again the best comment will get the Review for next next week...

My Best Friend's Soap Review/Critique

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 12:38:00 +0000

Lets have a look at My Best Friend's Soap. This is the forth Review/Critique in the series. They make their soap the old fashioned way "from scratch". Their all-natural method produces a firm bar of soap that is very creamy with a rich and fragrant lather. This shop has been around since Jul 14, 2007. Here is their blog, it is new! Let take a look at some great items...

SOY CANDLE TIN

SET OF THREE CUTE SPRING TINS 16OZ. 8OZ. AND 6OZ. WITH YOUR FRAGRANCE CHOICE OF HAND POURED SOY CANDLE. (AMBER ROMANCE) (WARM CINNAMON BUNS) (BAYBERRY) (SOOTHING SANDALWOOD)(MANDARIN COCOA) OR (APPLE JACK AND PEEL).

FRUIT SLICES Soap Giant 5.5oz Bar Homemade

You will receive one BIG bar of 100% handmade hot processed with all vegtable oils.Olive oil; soothing and emollient.Coconut oil;very good for the the skin and makes incredible lather. Palm oil; for a hard long lasting bar. Soybean oil; for great lather and conditioning.Castor oil; also for incredible lather.Shea butter; moisturize and nourish the skin.Also lye; necessary for the saponification process to happen.

Juicy Pineapple Lip Balm in Three Cute Tins

Pineapple and juicy fruits are the new rage! You will receive three cute decorated and shrink wraped tins of this yummy lip balm.Juicy Pineapple Lip BalmIngredients:White BeeswaxRefined CocobutterMango ButterSweet Almond Oil

Critique: this critique with My Best Friend's Soap is NOW available....sign is at the top of the page....at the Critique and Review News!!! You will get the critique with Torchwood studios first!

This week i am sending everyone the Lucky girl trading co. critique...check your e-mail!!!

OK for next weeks review/critique just leave a comment here on this post about My Best Friend's Soap....make it good....again the best comment will get the Review for next next week...

Blog rush update 4.4.08

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:55:00 +0000

Here is how Blog Rush has been working on my blog.....Here you will find my post about Blog Rush.

Here you can see the amount of time my posts were syndicated on other blogs.....Not bad for FREE.

Etsy Traffic tip Monday.....

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:52:00 +0000

Lets talk about Project Wonderful . I am sure you have heard about PW on the Etsy forums, there are a ton of Etsy shops that have PW ads on their blogs.

Here is my blog....you can see i have a PW ad space on the left side.

Here is PW mission statement..

Everybody wins.

Project Wonderful is an online advertising broker with an innovative model that brings fairness, transparency, and profitability to the advertising process.
We're all about making online advertising more profitable and easier for everyone involved! Our own members will tell you how good we've been for them, as both advertisers and as publishers.

You don't need a blog to advertise on PW. You do however need to make an ad. The most common ad is 125 x 125. I like to advertise my Etsy shop on PW. I use my clock avatar as my ad.

Here are a few tips for advertising on PW:

Make sure you look at the traffic the ad space is getting... Here you will see the stats from my blog. If the blog of website has no traffic there is no point in buying ad space.

You also want to make sure the blog/website subject coincides with your ad. For example, it would be better to advertise on blogs/websites that have something to do with handmade items.

OK i know i only touched on PW if you are interested in seeing a How to video on all the ins and outs of PW leave a comment...

Lucky Girl Trading Co...Review/Critique

noreply@blogger.com (timothy) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 12:54:00 +0000

The Etsy shop up for the 3rd review is Lucky Girl Trading Co. You will find a mix of great items in her shop. Also she has a sweet blog here . She has been on etsy since August 2007...look and see what everyone is saying about Lucky Girl...Here Lets get to the items.....

Red Blue Green

This pretty fused glass pendant features bits of blue, red, green, and lavender art glass in a fused mosaic. Approximately 1" x 1-1/4", plus your choice of silver-plated or gold-plated bail, with a smooth top finish. If you'd like a gold-plated bail please say so in the notes to seller during checkout, otherwise I'll attach a silver-plated bail. item 198.

The Stars at Night Temari

I created this temari ball with purple and twho shades of blue plus a metallic silver thread on a base of black thread. It's approx. 3" diameter with a hanging loop. Ready to hang on a Christmas tree or hook, you can easily clip the loop if you prefer to display it on a stand or table. Temari also make terrific good luck and housewarming gifts.Temari is a craft friendly to recycling, and the inside of this ball is filled with part of an old stocking stuffed with rice hulls and padded with yarn reclaimed from an abandoned knitting
project.

Teal and Sunshine Temari

I created this temari ball with pale yellow, light blue, and navy plus a metallic multicolor thread on a base of lovely teal thread. It's approx. 3.1" diameter with a hanging loop. This Temari ball has a rattle housed in bottle caps inside, so playing with it can become addictive. (The rattling bits could pose a danger to a small child or pet if the ball is taken apart, so please don't use this as a toy.) Ready to hang on a Christmas tree or hook, you can easily clip the loop if you prefer to display it on a stand or table. Temari also make terrific good luck and housewarming gifts.

Critique: this critique with Lucky Girl Trading Co. is NOW available....sign is at the top of the page....at the Critique and Review News!!! You will get the critique with Torchwood studios first!

OK for next weeks review/critique just leave a comment here on this post about Lucky Girl....make it good....again the best comment will get the Review for next next week...