Welcome to 2010! I had a blog post written about goals, plans, resolutions. But. It felt a little like blah, blah, blah.

I usually love talking about goals, plans, schemes… Just not now. Maybe it’s the “What are Your 2010 Goals” overload.

I do have business goals for my art. But every year as I think of what I really want to get done in the new year, making my art as good as I can make it is at the top of the list. What can I do to make my art SING?

I thought I’d share my favorite Robert Genn newsletter (from September 17, 2004):

One to another

c) Copyright 2004 Robert Genn. Subscribe to the Painters Key newsletter.

On that note, I’ve pulled out a book from the bookshelf that I started and loved, but need to finish and take to heart: The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp.

How do you feed your creative habit? How do you find your mojo? Do you have studio routines to find your muse?

Image: Dream by Tricia McKellar

Oh happy day! You asked and Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl delivered!

The blogging Diva has written a blogging guide for those of us that wonder what to write, where to find inspiration, how to mix things up, how to get started or recharge our blogs.

52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion is an ebook by Tara Gentile of Scoutie Girl. Tara is an amazing force within the design blogging community and she shares her tips for blogging your way, focusing on your creative pursuits, keeping your blog fresh and engaging.

There are 52 writing prompts, one for each week in 2010, with multiple ideas for each topic. Tara also includes a planning calendar to capture your ideas and plan your posts.

A lot of us struggle with blogging about our creative businesses. In the Wonder Thinking poll, blogging was the most requested topic for discussion. I know my art blog has hit a dry spell and I’m looking forward to invigorating it in 2010 with the structure Tara has laid out in 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion.

More time creating. More loyal blog readers. More confident blog writing. Less time preparing posts. What’s not to love?

Read more about 52 Weeks of Blogging Your Passion.

Yes, that’s an affiliate link. If you follow the link and purchase the ebook for the bargain price of $15 (which is a steal at less than 30 cents a week) Tara sends me some money. :) And I would not recommend Tara’s ebook if I did not love it!

Even as we’re in the thick of holiday sales and the general slam of holiday life with family commitments, hectic day job schedules, and the partying of the season, I can’t help but think about the New Year.

Planning is one of my favorite things to do. I’m an INTJ. I love the big picture. I love the “what if.” I love milestones and opportunities to reflect on the past and plan for the future.

I can’t help but think about next year and how I want to do some things differently.

Let me tell you about September 2009. I got a call early one evening in mid-September. There was a medical emergency in the family and I needed to get to Florida to stay with my Dad the next day. I had no idea how long I’d be at Dad’s.

The good news is that I telecommute full time for my day job. As long as I have my cell phone and a fast internet connection, I’m good.

But I wasn’t taking my studio with me. I’d have my camera, but I wouldn’t have my flat files, my printer, my papers, my shipping supplies. I put my etsy shop on vacation mode.

I ended up staying in Florida a little over 2 weeks. It was sort-of a forced etsy vacation. And I loved it.

My etsy sales are up and down. Some months are busier that other months. I had been thinking that the slow times were sort-of time off. But minding a slow shop is a very different thing than closing shop and taking a vacation. The vacation was a real break. Some days I didn’t even look for convos. I didn’t worry about staying on top of emails. It was heaven.

My epiphany was that a slow shop is not a vacation. One of my goals for 2010 is to schedule a few vacations from my indie business activities.

I’m going to identify a few weeks to take off and get them in my calendar in January. I find that if I schedule things ahead of time and put them in my calendar, they seem like a done deal and I’m less likely to think of all the reasons I shouldn’t take the time off.

Do you schedule vacations from your business? How far in advance do you schedule your time?

I am thrilled to again guest post on PaperNStitch, the blog with a daily dose of handmade, design, and style inspiration.

Last Minute Tips for Holiday Sales in Your Online Shop:

1. Ready to ship. If your items are ready to ship, let people know. Don’t be shy. Include the phrase “ready to ship” in the item title or description, it’s a subtle call to action to your buyer to buy now.

Read the rest of the tips on PaperNStitch.

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What topics would you like to see on this blog? What are your biggest challenges in your creative business?

There’s a poll in the side bar and I’d love to to get your feedback. The poll will be up for a couple of weeks.

The question is: What topics would you like to see on this blog? There are 9 topic areas listed and I ask you to choose your top 3. Or don’t. Write in a hundred ideas in the comments. I’d be giddy. I’m getting sidetracked.

The topics are:
Accounting and bookkeeping
Advertising
Blogging (getting started and recharging)
Creating a business plan
Developing a mission statement
Marketing
Pricing
Social Networking
Time Management

Of course, you can post your ideas in the comments too! Thanks for your feedback. :)

In the first part of the Secret to Etsy Sales series, we looked at 6 core areas of your business. Small gains in each area can lead to a significant increase in sales.

Let’s dive a little deeper in the first of the 6 areas: Lead generation. Getting more eyes on your stuff. More visitors to your website. More views in your online shop.

Lead generation is all about getting more folks to know who you are and what you do. The good news is there are hundreds of ways to get the word out. The not as good news is that it may take you some time and trial and error to figure out what works best for you.

The thing to keep in mind with lead generation is that you aren’t only trying to reach buyers– you are also trying to reach people that may spread the word about you, or may tell you about an opportunity. You’re looking for leads. Leads to opportunities.

Some ways to get the word out:

1. Add your website or shop link to your email signature. Maybe your cousin knows you make those lovely handbags, but she hasn’t yet seen your etsy shop.

2. Blog about your items and creative process. Blogging is really critical for building relationships and a solid fan base, but blogs are also great for getting the attention of search engines. Search engines, like google, love blogs. People who google for items like yours may find your blog.

3. Add photos to flickr. Be careful here– flickr does not allow blatant promotion or sales language. But flickr is an excellent way to reach bloggers and people interested in your craft/art. Set your flickr preferences to allow people to use your photos in their blogs (the photos in their blogs will link to your flickr photo stream).

4. Get a free trunkt portfolio or upgrade to a paid portfolio.

5. Submit to craftgawker.

6. Create a facebook fanpage for your creative business. Facebook isn’t my personal favorite thing, but some people love it and swear facebook brings them sales.

7. Use twitter. Again, you may like twitter as promotional tool. Or not.

8. Share the love. Create a gift gallery at Scoutie Girl Gifts and include one of your pieces that complements the other items.

9. Submit your work to Cloth, Paper, Scissors and the Somerset Studio magazines.

10. Contact bloggers and ask them to write about you.

11. Buy advertising on blogs.

12. Include freebies (that include your shop name and website address) with your items that buyers may share with their friends. I send a few postcards of my photography with purchases of my prints. And give a big stack of those postcards to your mom.

13. Get hits from google. Optimize your etsy shop titles and descriptions for search engines. Be sure your item titles include words that describe what the item is. If it’s a necklace, put the work “necklace” in the title. If it’s a photograph of a red truck, put the words “red truck” in the title. The first couple of lines of the item description is most important to google; put information on shipping or policies further down in the description.

I recommend you pick a few venues that you think won’t drive you crazy and work them regularly.

Some of these venues could be updated with each new item you create. For example, at one time I was disciplined and would post new photographs on etsy, trunkt, flickr, 1000 markets and my blog. New work always got posted to five places. I’ve fallen out of that habit and I think it would be a good habit for me to get back into.

Other methods for lead generation are better suited to occasional review. Blog ads. Keyword strategies for your etsy shop. Creating postcards or other promotional items.

What other sites do you recommend for getting the word out about your shop? Where do you post your new items?

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I am thrilled to guest post on PaperNStitch, the blog with a daily dose of handmade, design, and style inspiration.

As an artist, I know marketing can be a challenge. How about 5 easy tips for selling your art?

1. Nail your elevator speech! Create a short description of who you are and what you do that you can say naturally and quickly. Don’t be a deer in the headlights when someone hears that you are an artist and asks what you do. You know they will ask; be ready. For example, “I’m Tricia McKellar, a photographer of southern landscapes and birds in flight.” Be specific and memorable. Use words that evoke images. Practice saying it in the mirror until it is natural.

Read the rest of the post at PaperNStitch.

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How can a high end item help sales of a more moderately priced item? Why should you include higher priced items in your online shop?

In Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be More Persuasive, the authors discuss Williams Sonoma’s introduction of a high end bread machine. The introduction of the luxury machine into the kitchen store’s product line doubled the sales of their more moderately priced bread machine.

The new high end machine was a Cadillac of bread machines with luxury features and a corresponding price tag.

For many buyers, the high end bread machine was wonderful but expensive. It also made the more moderately priced bread machine seem to be a good compromise. People had an easier time justifying to themselves the purchase of a mid-priced machine after seeing the luxury appliance. Sales of the mid-priced bread machine doubled.

The Cadillac bread machine served two purposes: 1) it sold well to a small market that was looking for a luxury appliance and 2) it helped buyers decide to buy the moderately priced bread machine.

What is your Cadillac item? Are you hiding it? Are you assuming there’s no market for your more expensive items in your etsy shop? It may be true that many etsy sales are in the $50 range, but I have made many sales of big prints of my photography after I stopped assuming people won’t buy them.

Add your higher priced products to your online shop. You may find a market for them and you may help buyers see the value in your more moderately priced products.

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My very best tip for marketing your online shop is not sexy. It’s not a magic bullet. It’s not going to make headlines. My best advice to set your etsy sales on fire is to work your business in 6 core areas. Small gains in each area will add up. This is my secret to etsy sales success and I know it will work for you too.

The 6 core areas of your business to develop (from my hands down favorite marketing guru Naomi Dunford of IttyBiz) are:

1. Lead generation. (More people seeing your stuff.)

2. Conversion. (More people buying once they see it.)

3. Dollars per sale. (More money per purchase.)

4. Personal relationships. (More people who really like you.)

5. Personal effectiveness. (More good work done in less time.)

6. Repeats and referrals. (More stuff down the line.)

What improvements can you make in each area? Make a list. Write it down. You need to come up actionable steps for each area. These do not have to be huge, take-over-the-world tasks. What are the small, almost painless things you can do in each area?

I started making significant gains in my etsy photography shop after I wrote down this list and came up with specific, achievable actions in each area. It’s an ongoing process; I should revisit this list regularly (and schedule that in my business calendar).

1. How can you get more folks to your online shop? Twitter. Facebook. Paid ads on blogs. Your mailing list (see How to Market Your Etsy Shop with Mailchimp).

Don’t stop there! A mistake I see many etsy sellers making is thinking that marketing is all about getting people to the shop. That’s just part of the equation.

2. How can you turn browsers into buyers? Etsy usability testing shows that the number one reason people don’t make a purchase online is that they don’t feel that they have enough information about the product. (Data gathered from Etsy’s online workshop Turning Browsers into Buyers.) Are you using all five photo opportunities in your etsy listings? Are your descriptions answering your buyers’ questions? When you are writing your descriptions, pretend that there isn’t a photograph in the listing and describe your item.

3. How can you increase your dollars per sale? I increased my dollars per sale in two specific ways. 1) I offer sets of prints at a special price (for example, four 8×10 photographs at a lower price than four 8×10 photographs priced separately). 2) I targeted my larger prints (higher price point items) for marketing efforts. Both tactics are paying off for me.

4. How can you connect with more friends and fans? Use social media. Work to build relationships, not just bigger numbers of followers and fans. Blog. Facebook. Twitter. (Haha, I used “facebook” as a verb.)

5. How can you streamline your studio? What can you do to get more good work done in less time? For me, one task was to organize my photography prints in my flat files. Simple. But somehow I hadn’t done it before. Maybe I hadn’t really considered how the small task of organizing my flat file would contribute to my online sales success.

6. How can you encourage repeats and referrals? Offer discounts to repeat buyers. Ask people to tell their friends about you.

The key is to make a list of easy, actionable steps. Do it now.

I got this fabulous list of 6 core areas of your business from Naomi Dunford of IttyBiz in an email explaining the the marketing magic she and Sonia Simone would be covering in their course Marketing for Nice People. If you are ready to get serious about marketing your business, I recommend IttyBiz’s Marketing School.

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Wonder Thinking is offering free mini courses to help you with your indie biz! The first to be released is Five Step Etsy Shop Tune-Up for etsy sellers who are looking to uplevel their shops. Five tips to help you rock your shop, each in an email, with a day in between. Each easy to implement. No stress. :)