Too Much to Take In – Eating a Marketing Elephant

When you haven’t left your computer for six hours due to Etsy marketing ideas, you may feel slightly overwhelmed!  There are so many wonderful tools provided by Admin at Etsy.com, other sellers, social networking sites, online craft fairs, etc. that you may just want to cry because you can’t take it all in.  You aren’t alone!

The reason our HandmadeMarketing.org team decided to create this website is to give our readers a resource that is  organized, informative, and, most importantly, Etsy seller-written.  When seller Amy Vander Vorste from the Etsy shop Avolr contacted us with her “Eating a Marketing Elephant” article, we were reminded of the difficult time many Etsy sellers have – especially at first!

Below is Amy’s article:

“Eating a Marketing Elephant”

Have you felt overwhelmed at all the things you can do for marketing, networking, or improving your shop? You’re not alone. Among my fellow Etsians, I’ve noticed a fabulous trend to improve. But we seem to want to do it all at once and when we can’t it frustrates us. I’ve been there too. Big time.

So I’ll offer up a piece of good old fashioned advice regarding our all those wonderful things we can work on. We’ll call this gigantic list of really-want-to-do things to do our elephant.

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

I won’t even ask how many times you’ve heard this trite little saying. Let’s ask instead, “How do we apply it?”

There’s no reading of minds abilities in my lineage and I can’t just make things happen for you. I can only tell you what’s working for me now and you are welcome to use these ideas.

• Make a list. Some of us are list makers by nature, and some are not. Lists can help be a focal point when they are short. Long ones can be unwieldy and excuses for procrastination. Keep your list of “going-to-try-next” short. Make a separate list for “want-to”, so they are written down somewhere and don’t plague you when you try to sleep.
• Pick one thing off that list to try. Work on that until you are satisfied with it. If you saw a gob of social networking sites that you want to check out. Try one. They can be overwhelming and addicting those first few days. Resist all urges, no matter how strong, to sign up for 50 sites in one day. Check out a group or two, reply to some conversations, say hi. But go slow. Networking is great, but it doesn’t get your products created.
• Find a good flow and schedule. This came slowly for me, too. (Patience, grasshopper.) You can’t do it all in one day. I have one networking site I focus on, and visit others less frequently.
• Breathe. This one is a toughy. Take time for yourself. Not just for making your products. But for you. You will get to where you want to be. Breathe while you work on arriving.

My hope is that these tips will help you have fun while you work on the many ideas you come across.

Peace!

Amy Vander Vorste (Avlor’s Imprints on Etsy.com)

—

Thank you for the wonderful insight Amy!  Sometimes it’s hard to remember the little things when “Eating a Marketing Elephant!”

How do you “Eat a Marketing Elephant” when marketing your Etsy shop?  With so much to do, how do you stay calm and sales-driven?

Join HandmadeMarketing.org by suggesting a tip about keeping your sanity while being bombarded with marketing ideas. If our editors like your idea, we will feature your tip and cite you as the source.