themerriweather council blog - Page 2 of 108 - turning crafty tendencies into profits

June 13, 2017

Episode 39: You Don’t Need Two Etsy Shops, ‘kay?

Episode 39: You Don't Need Two Etsy Shops, 'kay? | The Merriweather Council Podcast

Sometimes, as amazing creative people, we have two specialties we want to share with the world and that’s awesome. Sometimes we just get confused. In this episode I’m sharing my short and long answer to the question “should I open a second shop?” Tune in and find out what criteria I suggest you evaluate when reaching a decision on this!

In this episode:

The reality of having more than one shop
Cohesion and cohesiveness in your shop
The real reason you may or may not want/ need t have more than one shop
How to approach your shop if you have more than one item
The key thing people want to see in a shop – if you can achieve it in a single shop, do.

Mentioned in this episode: my Etsy Training Course

June 8, 2017

Episode 38: Overwhelmed with info? Here’s Why and How to Fix it

Episode 38: Overwhelmed with info? Here's Why and How to Fix it | The Merriweather Council Podcast

Allow me to cut to the chase: we are INUNDATED with information. You go on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook… links, blog posts, videos galore, right? Information is everywhere and it’s so so overwhelming. This information is coming from all different sources, of course, and sometimes even straight up conflicts. It’s a lot, you guys. How do your make your way through all of this?? My friends, that is the subject of this episode! I will be discussing how to avoid info overload and begin actually learning things!

In this episode:

Why you get overwhelmed
A trip down memory lane
How to create a class schedule
Reality check about consuming information
A reminder about info hoarding
How to make the most of the info you are taking in

>> Click here to download your free class schedule creation page.

June 2, 2017

 10 Reasons Etsy is More Worth Your Time Than Instagram: 

Feeling discouraged with Instagram lately? You’re not alone. Lots of people are starting to feel majorly MEH with all of Instagram’s algorithm changes and apparent hit to engagement on accounts.

Now there are LOTS of reasons engagement could be down. Some of these reasons are plan factual – based on how IG currently works. Others would be content or user based. This is a topic for several other days, ha!

This post is a reminder/ meant to provide some insight on the fact that your time might be better spent elsewhere (ahem, Etsy.)

10 Reasons Etsy is more worth your time than Instagram:

1. Posts to Etsy (listings) can only ever GAIN in relevancy, until they are sold out or deleted. Such is not the case on Instagram where a post hits its high point within 24 hours max, usually. Then it’s donezo.

2. Etsy is a selling platform. People are much more likely to go to Etsy when they want to buy something than Instagram. On IG, your best bet with a regular account (not a shop account) is to capture people’s attention and make yourself top of mind the next time they want to purchase the sort of thing you sell. Whereas on Etsy, people will go looking to buy, search and purchase.

3. Further, it’s easier for people to purchase from you on Etsy than IG  . Again, because Etsy is a selling platform. You do not need to be manually invoicing and tracking inventory.

4. IG is free and open to everyone. Etsy is a much smaller search pool AND is more specific (IG hosts all industries, niches and subject matter, etsy doesn’t. You’re not competing with memes, TV shows, or restaurants on Etsy. Your chances of being found on Etsy are better. Period.)

5. Your chances of being found on Etsy are better also because Etsy’s search system is more powerful and there are more ways to appeal to it.

6. Favorites on Etsy can be public, on Instagram they aren’t beyond the up to the moment ones in the “everyone” feed. That means that majority of the times someone hearts an Etsy listing, a backlink is created to that item. That’s good for you if it’s your item. Most people have public favorites on Etsy.

7. If you put an etsy link in an etsy description, it will remain active. If you put a link in the IG caption, it’s NEVER active.

8. Etsy is just as likely to be explored by influencers, publishers, media folk etc as IG — more likely if they are looking for art/ craft.

9. Etsy listings last longer, have better reach, have a better chance of converting.   Etsy listings show up better in Google natively as well.

10. Etsy can still work for you even if you don’t post anything new for a week. Instagram barely would. You know that.

To summarize:  if you are feeling deflated by Instagram, you should consider spending more time optimizing Etsy and less time struggling with with short lived IG posts.

Truly.   I’m not saying ditch Instagram. Nope, sure wouldn’t say such a thing. What I AM saying is ditch your Instagram stress for some Etsy productivity. Think about it.

In this episode:

In this episode:

In this episode:

10 Reasons Etsy is more worth your time than Instagram:

To summarize: if you are feeling deflated by Instagram, you should consider spending more time optimizing Etsy and less time struggling with with short lived IG posts.

Wanna get started on optimizing Etsy? Click here for my free Etsy Lessons email series. Your first lesson is just a couple clicks away!

To summarize:  if you are feeling deflated by Instagram, you should consider spending more time optimizing Etsy and less time struggling with with short lived IG posts.