Chawlk

1. Drawar
2. Fenxy
3. Decaflon
4. Two Credits
5. Wriging
6. Loose Suits
7. Chixe
8. Dud3s
9. Wing Colors

 

...when I feel discouraged about writing, my Etsy store and just plain creating. Usually this happens because the blog isn't getting enough hits or I'm not selling much on Etsy. I start to believe that my writing is crap or my items aren't great.

Then...suddenly...my views skyrocket and sales increase! I get an excitement for my projects again and I attack them full force.

There's buttons that I can press to get this excitement without having to wait for other people's response to my writing etc. Literally, buttons. They're on the right hand side of my blog...under the "Blog Roll" title. Their blogs that I look up to, that have challenging and interesting entries and that are constantly encouraging their readers to be creative and inovative.

Today I've written an entry for a blog contest, the subject being "who inspires me". Take a look at the entry!

In blogging and selling on etsy promoting is BIG. Without promoting yourself, getting out there and letting people know who you are and what you do, it's sloooow going! People need to know who you are, they need to know that you care and what you're offering. If they don't know any of these things, they won't make an effort to find / visit you.

If you're hoping to be a successful blogger (ahem, I am!) it's always important to get the word out about yourself. Visiting other blogs and commenting on their posts will help the authors to know who you are...they, as well as their readers, will also then have a link to your blog.

Promoting like this is also very important to Etsy sellers. Without commenting in the Etsy Forums or making friends with other sellers, no one would know you were there unless they were specifially looking for your items.

In Etsy, just like blogging, it's important to join other sites in order to get your name out there. This way you can make connections outside of the Etsy / blogging box and more people will become aware of what you offer.

I've posted another blog entry in the Selling on Etsy series I'm writing so make sure you check it out for more promo ideas!

And the road constantly twists and turns!

Like I said in a previous post, I made a goal of 50 views on my blog per day. So far this week, I've exceeded that goal! This really does surprise me! Until I made that goal, I was only getting 20-35 views per day...if that. I guess promoting myself really does help (:

I'll keep this goal for the rest of the month, and then up it in July.

I've also started a series on how to Sell on Etsy. It's mostly for sellers, but can be applied to anything really. I'll be running this series in an attempt to not only share my experience but also to help other sellers get re-excited about their stores and products. It's always easy to get bored of the process and lose site of the goal. I find that articles like these help me out a lot, and I'd like to give that to others. Also, I'm hoping it will bring in more readers / views and make it so they keep coming back.

I also had Damien from Postcards from the Funny Farm share a bit about his creativity in a special Guest Blog entry. I hope to have more of these, if you're interested in writing on my blog, just let me know!

Come on by and let me know what you think!

I've been reading from Postcards from the Funny Farm for a while now and Damien is flaunting his stats (showoff!!). Every month he has one entry about his goals, if he reached them and what exactly they were. It's amazing seeing a blog, or just someone for that matter, grow and surpass their goals.

Goals have always been a huge part of my life. My Dad instilled the importance of them in me when I was just a kid, telling me that I would have no direction in life without them. How right he was!

Now, without goals, I notice that I walk aimlessly. Not only in every day life, but also with my blogging, my writing (articles, those novels etc.). I have to make goals, achieve them and then make bigger goals in order to DO something in life.

Even though this was always a "Have-To" for me, I've been afraid to give myself goals in blogging. I guess I must be afraid of failure. When you really think about it, failure is how you learn...but it's one thing to know that in your head and another thing to actually apply it to your life!

And so, I hereby make my first goal:

Goal #1: 50 Daily Visits to my blog.

Yep, it's on the easier side, although it will take some work. But it's a goal, and I'm slowly working towards it. I need to make other goals, I know, but they'll come with time. I'm not rushing myself. Yet.

So I've been cruising through this site for a couple days now and I've noticed a couple things.

First of all it seems to be pretty new, which is cool because it's always interesting to see sites grow and develop.

Second of all, I'm not really sure how the point system works...I know you can give points and spend them on a banner for your page, but when you give points, do they come out of the amount you have stored up? Is the thought that you'll get these points back as you make friends and give out more points?

Also, how many points is required for what? It seems to be what you feel is right, after considering the note you read or the clip, but is there some unwritten rule of politness?

Things I need to do on Wriging:

1) Get these questions answered...I'm hoping someone will stumble across this post and help me out a bit.
2) Make some friends!
3) Re-size a pic so I can get a avatar, that weird smiley face is getting old (:

I was just writing on my blog about jogging and it came to me...blogging is like jogging (only with a "B" and "L" :).

I love running and try to get to the gym or hit the road to do it several times a week. I've slowly built up my endruance to run a solid half hour (not counting the couple minutes to warm up at the start and finish).

Running, I've heard it's 90% mental and 10% physical. I don't know if this is an actual fact or just someones analysis of their jogging experiences, but I honestly think it's right on the mark. Jogging is hard work, if you're tired or not into it, it's almost impossible. It's so hard to give up at the slightest change or challenge; if it's too hot, if you don't have the right kind of music or if the road is too steap. If you don't remember to congradulate yourself or give yourself a reward every now and then, it can become very discouraging. Sometimes, to be able to keep going, you need to change your pace, your breathing, or your music.

This is kinda like blogging. Blogging is 90% mental, you need to constantly be up on your game to present attractive and interesting information to your readers. You need to always think of what will bring the viewers in and what will keep them coming back. Sometimes this means you need to change the look of your blog, the type of entries or just getting out there and saying Hullo to fellow bloggers. Annnd, unless you get a response, a "Good job!", comments, views etc. you're going to get frustrated and it will be easy to give up.

With both of these hobbies you need to be willing to change, improve and challenge yourself. Without challenging yourself you won't grow mentaly, physically, your reader base will either stay the same or dwindle and you'll probably become uninterested in it yourself.

Lesson? Challenge and grow, in blogging or jogging. It will make you grow and will bring success and accomplishment...who can say no to that?

I've been blogging for a while now...maybe a year. Ok, a "while" for me. But there always seems to be more you can do to market yourself or learn. Always more.

I'm on several different sites for this type of thing, but this is the first one that I've been on that you actually have more that just an "account" with. I love writing notes or entries (duh, I'm a blogger, of course I love this!), I think it's a great way to get to know people and for people to get to know me. And, like talking, I could go on for hours...although I'm not the type that doesn't know when to stop :)

Blogging is an escape for me, not that my life is awful, but it's just a good "out". And sites like this help me to continue to learn (which I love!) how to make my blog better and how to bring in more readers. I love that. Any excuse to research or improve is just my cuppa tea!

I actually learned about this site from a fellow blogger. Most of the marketing ideas I have, come from him, Damien, over at Postcards From the Funny Farm. (Thanks Damien!).

Anyways, it's my first trip to this site, I'm still checking everything out and seeing what I think of it. Hopefully it will be another successful site for promoting my blog and etsy store!