How to Come Up with Blog Post Ideas

Do you know what to blog about? This post is all about how to come up with blog ideas. You will need to come up with a blog post topic every time you create a new blog post. You may have a lot of ideas already. Other times, you might feel stuck. Here are some tips for staying inspired.

Write Outside of Your Blog

If you usually blog on the computer, why not try writing somewhere else? It helps to keep a list or notebook with ideas of what you want to blog about. I like to write draft posts of blog posts on a notebook and then edit them on the computer later. You can even draw or doodle when you write in a notebook to get ideas or what you want visual photos to look like. Another idea is to use an application like Bean to write without distraction.

Take Photos

Instead of writing a blog post first, take some photos. This can also help if your blog isn’t usually visual and you just want to get ideas. Try taking photos of your daily activities or things that inspire you for a day or a week. Go through the photos later and choose the best ones to inspire blog post ideas or add to your blog posts to make them more interesting.

Look at Other Blogs

Joining a blog community or looking st other blogs can help you stay inspired. Many other blogs encourage other bloggers to join them in blogging about the same topic or using a certain tag. Comment on a blog with a similar topic and let them know their blog post inspired a topic on your blog.

Search for Keywords

SEO can help you come up with popular blog topic ideas that will get you noticed in search engines. Try using Keyword Tool to find different keyword phrases that may be a good title for your blog post or a starting point when you write.

Look in Books

If you don’t care as much about writing this week’s trending topics, try looking in books or magazines. Pick an article in a magazine or a topic in a book to inspire a blog post. I like to look through old issues of magazines and see if I can find topics that would be interesting on my blog. You can also try looking at the library for books. 

Look at an Old Blog Post

If you have old blog entries, find a couple popular posts you really like. See if you can rewrite them with a new spin, add on to them or write an additional blog post on the same topic.

Want specific ideas on what to write about? Here are some specific ideas on what to blog about if you are stuck:

• Do a day in the life or post some personal photos that let people know more about you.
• Post your favorite ways to promote your business. Write about your favorite tools, websites or applications to use.
• Make a list of your top 10 favorite ________.
• Do a survey or let viewers ask you questions.
• Post what you ate that day or what you are planning to make for dinner.
• Post what inspires you or what it on your wishlist.
• Make a tutorial that gives step by step instructions how to make something or accomplish a task.
• Write about your favorite blogs or give a shoutout to other bloggers.
• Try to change up your media. Add a video if you usually don’t make videos or add a photos if you usually do mostly text entries.

How do you come up with blog post ideas?

Want to Be Reviewed?

Do you have a company with a product you want me to review? I am doing product reviews on this blog. Some examples of products I will review include:

• Handmade products from Etsy
• Vegan companies and products
• Art and art journaling supplies
• Business tools
• Digital products

I also do interviews and accept guest posts. Contact me for more details.

How to Design a Blog

Want to design the perfect blog? The design of your blog is important because it draws viewers in. Here are a couple of my favorite blog design tips:

1. Think of a theme for your layout. Do you want it to have a artsy and colorful look to match your brand (good to use for Etsy owners or artists)? Do you want it to look more simple and minimalist (great if you want more focus on the content)? Think of a few words to describe the look you are going for and even make a mood board or inspiration board. Choose a few layouts you really like from other blogs and make a note about what you like about each of them.
2. Make sure you use a font and font size that is easy to read in your blog entries. Good fonts to use are Tahoma and Verdana. On graphics, you can use more unique fonts. Stick to a few basic fonts to use throughout your blog layout.
3. Choose a couple main colors for your layout. I like checking out Design Seeds for color palettes which will give you ideas of color combinations to use. Do not use bright colors against white that are hard to read.
4. What rules will you have for your blog? Will you blog 3x a week? Do you have different collaborators? Consider these rules when creating a layout because you want the design to work with your blog. If you have different writers, you might have a plugin that shows who the author is for each entry.
5. Have personalized graphics in your blog posts with the title of your post that fit the style of your blog. These are perfect for sharing on social media. Canva is a good tool to use to create blog or social media graphics that are the right size.
6. A sidebar is important to have in your blog and you should consider its features when designing a layout. How will you draw viewers in? Have an avatar or image yourself to personalize your blog. I also like to include a “read more” link or clickable image that takes viewers to my about page. Include social media icons if you use social media pages. Also, include other links on your blog such as a link to your website or Etsy shop, but try not to overfill your sidebar with widgets. I like to have a newsletter or subscribe opt in also so readers can stay connected.
7. Have share or Pinterest button or click to tweets
8. Check how your layout looks on different browsers. I like using Browserling. Also, check on your phone or tablet to make sure your blog is responsive.
9. Fill in a style guide to keep track of your info. Write down the basic fonts, colors and rules you’ll use.

Download my eBook, Your Thread of Thought. You will learn how to find a platform to blog, what to blog about, how to create a layout, how to promote your blog and more! You will also get s free workbook with worksheets to help you blog.

10 Things I Can Do For You as a Virtual Assistant

Are you a creative business owner? I just relaunched my personal site. Instead of focusing on my art and personal projects, the new site is all about resources for business owners and creatives.

The main thing I sell on the website is services as a virtual assistant. You can buy any of my packages or work with me hourly. Services are great for creative business owners who need extra help on their social, Etsy or blog. I have worked as a virtual assistant for several years on Upwork so I am excited to launch on my own website also. Here are ten examples of things II can do with you as a virtual assistant.

1. Create your Etsy shop. If you don’t have an Etsy shop, I can get you up and running. I can create your profile, write policies, write an about page and get your first listings up.
2. Promote your Etsy shop. If you already have an Etsy shop, I can promote your products. For example, I can do paid advertising or promote your listings in the Etsy forums to get more views.
3. Promote your KickStarter campaign. Do you not have the funds you need for your business? I can start or promote your KickStarter campaign. I helped launch a successful KickStarter campaign through social media promotion that raised over $35,000 to create coastal paintings in to functional dinnerware for Kim Rody Art.
4. Improve your listings. SEO is a method that will use the write keywords to get your product noticed. I can edit your tags, description and title to use SEO to get your listings noticed. I can also write you descriptions or help you choose photos to use with your listings. I edited descriptions and helped with SEO for Cecelia Aurand Jewelry, a new shop on Etsy that sells jewelry.
5. Fine tune your social media. If you haven’t touched your social media in a while, I can improve your social media page by updating your cover photo, writing your bio and creating photo albums.
6. Grow your following on social media. When I grow your following, I will grow it organically. This means I won’t use robots to get you fake followers. Though you may not get a higher number of followers in a short time, the followers you get will be genuine and interested in your business. For example, I promoted Gardens of the Sun, on Pinterest and helped grow their audience organically.
7. Interact with your audience. If you already have an audience, I can interact with them and create new posts on social media. I can also update your mailing list and send e-mail updates.
8. Write blog posts. Do you have a blog? I can write high quality, SEO posts for you and include images.
9. Bulk list items. Do you need something a little different? I have bulk listed over 1000 items in Cuff Links R Us, a shop that sells cufflinks on Etsy and eBay. I can bulk list your items or transfer your listings from one site to another.
10. Work as your personal assistant. I can schedule appointments, send e-mails, contact companies or anything else you need for your business. If there is another project you need me to work on, I am flexible

Let me know what features you would like to see on my personal website.

 

How to Write an About Page for Your Etsy

Have you written an about page on your Etsy shop? An about page is important because it lets your viewer get a more in depth look at your shop. To edit your about page, go to Your Shop > Shop Settings > About Your Shop on the Etsy website.

Members

Your shop viewers will like to see who is behind the shop. The members section allows you to include a short bio of yourself. You can add info about yourself, what your other job is, your hobbies or where you live. You can also add a photo. Add a headshot or a photo of you working in your studio. You can also add other members or people who work on your shop.

What’s Your Story? 

Every shop has a unique story behind it. Your about page lets you share this story to your viewers. Start with a story headline that describes what your shop is all about.

The story section allows you to elaborate further on your shop. You can write about how you came up with the idea of your shop and how it get started. Maybe you have an interesting story or reason behind why you started your shop. Maybe you wanted to raise money to donate to a charity so you decided to open a shop selling a specific item to start earning money. Maybe you lost your job and thought opening an Etsy would be a unique way to earn money. Let your viewer know what your shop is all about. You can also include info on how your shop has grown throughout the years or places you have been featured on. Maybe you were featured in a magazine. This is a good place to write about it.

The story page also allows you to add five photos. Use high quality photos that are displayed 760 x 428 pixels. Since you already include photos of your items on your shop page, include other photos here. Studio photos work well such as photos of you working in the studio or in the process of making your craft. You can also add photos from craft shows, places you’ve been featured on, displays or your items or group photo shots of items.

Links

Finally, there is a section for shop links where you can include links to your shop blog and social media sites. This will help viewers find you on other websites.

Etsy might allow you to work with an outside manufacturer. If you do work with a manufacturer to create items for your shop, you can apply to work with a manufacturer in this section. Etsy will review your application.

Be sure to share it on social media.
What tips do you have for creating an about page for your Etsy?

How to Make Vegan Products

Want to make handmade products that are vegan to sell on Etsy? I always try to make sure my products are vegan and cruelty free. These are some tips I use:

Source your materials.

When finding materials, check to make sure they are vegan. Do they use leather? Do they use beeswax or animal products? When bookbinding. I make sure not to use beeswax in my products.

Check if an item is tested on animals.

Do they test on animals? Are they organic? Make sure they don’t test on animals, especially with beauty products.

Ask if something is vegan.

If you are not sure if a product is vegan, ask the shop owner or email the company. It doesn’t hurt to ask or double check.

Make a note that your products are vegan.

In your policies or about page, mention your products are vegan and don’t use animal products.

What are your best tips for making vegan products?

10 Ways to Organize Finances

Finances are important to keep organized, whether it ia for business or personal.These are some tips I try to use.

1. Keep your money organized in one place. Use Mint or Learnvest to look at all your banks, credit cards in one application.
2. Set a budget. Budgets can be helpful. See how much money you make and set a daily budget and a budget for different items
3. Pay with cash when you can. Carry cash in your wallet.
4. It may sound silly, but keeping a nice wallet can help you stay more organized and even help you make more money. Find a wallet you love.
5. Sign up to get statements electronically to save paper.
6. If you prefer paper statements, make sure to save them in a file folder dedicated to finances. Backup a copy of important files electronically.
7. Pay bills on time. Write in your calendar when a bill is due and set reminders the day before so you are not late.
8. Pay off debt. Make a plan to pay off debt. The snowball method is a great method to use. One of my main goals this year is to get rid of all my debt. With the right plan, debt is possible to pay off.
9. Save money. Set a seperate bank account for your savings. Use an application like Acorns to automatically save money.
10. Ask for a raise. You deserve it! Or get an extra job to make more money.

What are are your best money saving and organization tips?

Once Upon a Color Story…

Want to get beautiful effects on your photos?

I have been recently using the app A Color Story a lot. A Color Story was created by A Beautiful Mess and focuses on bright colors.

These are some pros:

• Easy to use
• Works well with iPhone photos
• Free to download with options for free and paid filters
• Easy to layer different filters
• Bright color styles make your photos stand out
• Good for blog photos
• Option to save editing steps

I liked a lot of things about this app. The main thing I love is the bright, colorful and modern style of the filters that is different from filters on Instagram and other apps which usually aim to give your photos a more vintage look. The filters are similar to the A Beautiful Mess actions and I love that you can save the steps you took for each filter so you can edit multiple photos with the same filter pattern easily.

These are some of the cons of this app:

• The effects don’t work as well with non iPhone photos
• Could offer more free filters
• Bright color style might not suit everyone

I think the editing and filters fit well on blogs and the web. They might not work as well for other photos. I tried on a couple photos I didn’t take on my phone and I didn’t like the effects of the bright filters as much. Sometimes, it was too much of an overkill. I liked the effects on phone photos and old photos though.

Here are some examples of photos I edited and how they turned out.

I started with a simple photo of a plant.  The first thing I do when working with a photo is to crop it and adjust brightness and contrast.

This is the photo after I played with the color a little. It has a sort of soft look now.

I thought the filters looked a little dark  so I also tried this style where I made it more green. I can’t remember what filters I used, but I like how it turned out. Here is another example: 

I liked this rose photo I took in my

neighborhood. I cropped it and then brightened it and played with colors.

Next time, I would recommend adjusting the filters and colors little by little (instead of turning a filter all the way up, just do it a quarter or a half way). You should also layer filters to get different effects.

Let me know which photo you like the best. Have you ever used A Color Story?

Why I Didn’t Make Money Online

Have you ever tried making money online? I try out a lot of different methods to make money online. These are a couple reasons I think I was unsuccessful at making money:

I fell for scams.

There are a lot of scams online. It may look good to read how someone made a million dollars online, but is it really a practical method for making money? Did they spend years doing what they are doing to make money before seeing a profit? Also, do not pay for anything unless you know it is legit and try to set a budget on how much to spend if you do pay for a service. One way to check if a site is a scam is to use a site like Better Business Bureau which reviews websites and checks if they are scams.

I wasn’t careful when working with other people.

It can be great to work with other people to make money, but make sure you set guidelines beforehand. I worked with someone selling products on eBay and got scammed twice so be sure to know what you are doing. Use a site like Upwork to work with people so if you ever have problems, they will be held responsible. If a site has an option to review someone after working with them, this is a good feature to have to make sure they don’t scam you. I have good results with Upwork and Fiverr and some problems with finding people to work with on Craigslist. I think the review system helps make sure you are finding real people to work with.

I didn’t invest in myself.

This is there other side of being scammed. Sometimes, investing in your company does pay off when you spend money in the right places. If you really want to take a course, go ahead and sign up for it. If you see a product at wholesale price and have already proven it will sell, it could be  good step for your our business.

.

I didn’t backup my stuff.

I have lost files from not backing up my stuff so always do this. A program like Carbonite works well for your computer. I use Flickr to auto backup photos. Keep stuff on Google Drive and other cloud based services like Dropbox. You should also stay organized and keep track of any money you receive and any money you spend on your business. Consider having a seperate bank account, or even just a credit/debit card, for your business

I was overwhelmed.

Sometimes, it can be overwhelming to figure out what to use to make money. You can try all the methods at one time, but I think it works better to try or one or a couple methods at a time and then move on to another method later. For example, if you want to learn more about monetizing your blog using affiliate marketing, just try that out for a month. If you want to also learn about making money with guest posts, try that out next month. It can also be overwhelming to know which information to use. Do you use eBooks,  videos, classes or articles to get new info? I recommend choosing one to two programs to start with to focus on so you can look at it in a detailed way and then looking for other info.

I didn’t keep a schedule.

A schedule will help keep you organized and productive. On some projects, I never set a deadline so they just went on and on or sat in the background without getting finished. If you are a perfectionist, it can be hard to mark something as finished. Set deadlines for each milestone or project you have. Give yourself breaks also.

What are your best money making tips?

30 Ways to Update Your Etsy Shop

Have an Etsy shop? These are a couple ways to organize your business to make it run smoothly.

1. Get rid of old listings that aren’t selling. If you have Christmas items and they are not selling, save them for later.
2. Do you have sections for your items? Create 10 sections, or however many sections you need.
3. Switch up the photos for items. Use a new photo or angle for products that have been listed for a while.
4. Keep four featured items at the top of your shop and star a couple extra items in case one sells.
5. Organize your products in to collections of 10 with a thene instead of randomly listing items. See my printable here.
6. If you have a bunch of favorites, organize in to sections for easier buying
7. Write an about page and clear policies.
8. Create shipping profiles that will make it easy to add to lsitings
9. Use a similar template for listing titles and descriptions. Write a format or brief guidelines for a writing style you want to use
10. Download a spreadsheet of your orders and listings and keep them backed up on your computer.
11. Have ink and paper ready for shipping labels. Keep shipping supplies in stock for easy and fast shipping. Buy shipping supplies in bulk.
12. Keep all your finished handmade items organized in one place.
13. Label all your products and keep them in a protective covering such as a box or clear sheet.
14. If you have items with imperfections, give them away or use then yoursed
15. Keep enough supplies in stock if you do made to order items.
16. Have a crafting room or place where you do all your crafting
17. Keep craft supplies organized in boxes, bins and baskets.
18. When out get an order from Etsy when buying, keep all business cards and samples in one place.
19. Have enough business card said in stock. Keep a couple business cards in your pocket purse to give out.
20. Save articles about business you like with a tool such as Feedly or Evernote.
21. Use Google Drive or a folder on your computer to save Etsy latest documents such as spreadsheets, worksheets and documents you write.
22. Keep photos organized in folders on your computer. Favorite photos you want to list on Etsy and get rid of duplicates and bad photos.
23. Easily five photos a white background with FotoFuze.
24. Start a mailing list and if you sell wholesale, keep another list for retailers.
25. Create a media kit, press kit or line sheet.
26. Make sure your social media links and website links are accurate on all platforms.
27. Use the same logo and colors across multiple platforms.
28. Carry a notebook with you to jot down creative ideas and inspiration.
29. Have your Etsy items and updates automatically post to social media
30. Get help! Hire a virtual assistant and delegate tasks.

What are are your best Etsy tips? Let me know in the comments.

A Beautiful Mess App Review

I love checking out all the things A Beautiful Mess does. I have the A Beautiful Mess photo editing app on my phone and thought I would do a review on it. I edited these four photos (pictured above) on it by adding text and doodles and then collaged them together in a grid using the app.

Pros:

• Fun scrapbook style that is good for blogs or digital scrapbooking
• Good for adding text and doodles to photos
• Paid and free options for doodles and text
• Collage feature

The highlights of this app are the fun text and doodle elements you can use. It is fun to play around with. I am not sure if I would use this for professional photos, but the editing options are nice for social media and blogs. There is a paid version of doodles with craft items I would like to try out.

There is also a collage feature that has square collage options and fun shapes like triangles and hearts. I played with the collage feature for fun with some patterns I found on Pinterest:

Cons:

• Can’t change the text or doodle size
• No undo options
• No custom color option
• Lack of editing features

The things I didn’t like about this app are it doesn’t have some of the features a lot of photo editors have. You can’t adjust brightness or play with levels. It was also hard to customize options. For example, you can’t change the text or doodle size and there were also no custom colors when choosing a text color (for example, you can’t enter a HEX code). They do have filters though which are the same as their other app Party Party. I could not find an undo button when editing photos which was kind of annoying because I would have to start over when I messed up.

Overall, this app is for fun and quick editing. It is something you would add doodles to after editing or a way to make a collage out of multiple photos. In combination with other apps, this app add a bit of jazz to your photos.

Have you ever used this app? Let me know in the comments. 

8 Instagram Tips

 

Instagram is a mobile sharing social media application. Instagram is photography based and good for uploading photos you take on your phone or with another camera. 

Instagram is one social media network that took me a while to get in to, but now I really like it. I have the accounts. My first is mythreadofthought and I use it to upload blog photos and photos from my shop. My second account annaleeheybusiness. It is more personal, but I am trying to promote my second Etsy shop on it more. 

These are some Instagram tips for your small business:

1. If you have an Etsy shop, show off studio photos  and product photos. Also, add a couple of personal photos. I like to keep a schedule of what I post each day. For example, on one day I will upload studio photos and another art journaling photos. 
2. Instagram is meant for adding photos you take with your phone. If you have photos you have taken with another camera or older photos, you can add these by saving them to your phone and uploading them. I will sometimes repost photos I have posted on Flickr on Instagram, but will add a filter to give them a different look.
3. Do not feel you only need to use the Instagram filters. You can edit photos first with apps such as A Color Story or Canva. A Color Story is good for making photos brighter and give them a colorful style. Canva allows you to add text to photos.
4. Use the maximum number of hashtags in your post. You can use up to 30. Check which hashtags are popular and find ones that relate to your photo.
5. Make your Instagram look cohesive. Think of how the photo grid looks overall and think about what photos will look good together. For example, you might use a certain filter for your all of your photos or choose to focus on a certain color. You can also try to form a bigger photo out of smaller photos which will give your grid a unique look.
6. Choose to upload a certain number of photos a day. You can upload one photo or do a group of photos. I like to upload either 3 or 6 photos at s time to make my grid look cohesive.
7. Fill in your bio. Wrote a short couple of sentences about yourself. Include a link to your website, blog or mailing list. 
8. Follow people related to your niche. Leave comments and like people's photos to gain followers. Respond to comments you get.

Do you use Instagram? 

How to Promote Your Business for Halloween

How can you promote your business or Etsy shop for Halloween? Here are a couple ideas;

• If you use a logo, find ways to make it Halloween theme. For example, you can add a pumpkin to your logo or add a witch hat to a logo character. 
• Offer some products ir items in your shop that are Halloween themed. For example, I have offered Halloween cards in the past in my Etsy shop. Orange and black colors work good for colors. Halloween is a good time to sell any type of costumes such as fashion costumes, masks, accessories or pet costumes. Treats or trick or treat bags are also good to sel. 
• Consider having a sale for Halloween. Offer a discount code for buyers to get a percentage off or free shipping. 
• Have a giveaway for Halloween. You can host a giveaway on your blog or social media.
• Change your social media graphics to fit a Halloween theme. Make some posts related to Halloween and repost/reblog/pin Halloween items.
• The winter holiday season is just around the corner so consider starting to offer Christmas and winter holiday themed items when Halloween ends.

What are your best business tips for Halloween?

How to Price Your Handmade Products

 

 

If you want to sell items on Etsy, it's important to have a good product pricing strategy. You want to make sure you cover all your costs. You also want a consistent pricing formula throughout your items. People are usually willing to pay more for handmade items so don't be afraid to price a little higher than you think you should. 

Use this selling price formula as a guide for pricing your handmade work. See what price you come up with for each type of item you sell.

Materials 

The most important thing you want to cover in pricing is the materials you use to make your item. If your item price costs less than the materials you used to make it, you are losing money. 

Save all your receipts for Etsy related shopping trips and materials. Keep these in a folder or some other way to keep them organized like through the online service Shoeboxed  You will also use your receipts, especially ones for smaller and non material expenses, to calculate expenses. 

When you calculate your materials price, you should consider how much material you use for each item. I like measuring items like fabric or decorative paper in square inches. You can use the method of measurement that works for you. For example, find out how many square inches are in the full size of a product you bought. Then find how many square inches of a material you use in your item and use it to calculate the approximate price of the material you used. If you buy a roll of decorative paper that has 100 square inches and costs $4, a measurement of 25 square inches of decorative paper you use in a product would cost about $1. 

You only want to include the main materials you use in a product. Don't include smaller materials like thread or glue in your materials price. These go in to the expenses price. 

Expenses

What are expenses? Expenses are those hidden materials and costs. Hidden materials are things such as glue, measuring tape, scissors, thread and needle and other materials you use multiple times to make your products. 

Your packaging supplies and any materials you use to ship things are also expenses. Think of mailing envelopes, packages, bubble wrap, tissue paper and computer paper and ink to print out shipping labels. 

Materials you use multiple times and other things you pay for in your business can count as expenses. Your laptop and studio space are considered expenses. For bigger items, you should calculate the monthly price of them by thinking of how many months the expense will last and dividing it in to the total cost of the item. For example, if a $1200 laptop lasts for 12 months, the monthly cost is $100. 

Think about online expenses. Did you purchase web hosting or a domain? Do you pay for any Etsy related applications or services or computer software? This counts as an expense.

As you can see, the cost of expenses can add up. Every time you think of an expense, jot it down. 

So how do you figure out your "expenses" cost in the pricing formula? Add up all the expenses you thought of. How many items do you think you will sell in a month? Divide that number in to the total expenses costs. If you don't like the price you came up with, try altering what expenses you think you should include in your cost and play with the number of items you think you will sell in a month. 

Labor 

How do you find a fair labor to give yourself? Start by looking at the minimum wage in your state. If you don't want your price to be too expensive, start with the minimum wage. 

However, you should take in to consideration what is actually a fair price to pay yourself. Research what artists are paid per hour. Think about the skills you do. Do they require a lot of work? Is your talent unique? Do you do a skill not a lot of other people know how to do? Take all these things in to consideration.

To find your labor cost per item, time yourself or estimate how long it takes to make each item. For example, it may take you to 1 1/2 hours to make an item. Don't count drying or waiting times in to your timing. 

Now just multiple the hourly wage you gave yourself by the number of hours you worked. If you pay yourself $10/hour and it takes you 1 1/2 hours to make an item, your labor cost would be $15. 

Profit

Last, but not least is profit. Profit is how much you want to make per item. You can make this whatever you feel the item is worth. You want your hard work to pay off. You may tweak the profit depending on what your final price is. 

Wholesale Price

Add up everything in the formula sofar. This is your wholesale price. Where do you use your wholesale price? If you sell items in bulk or wholesale (such as to shops that want to sell your item), you should use this price. List your wholesale price on your line sheet if you have one. If you don't sell items in bulk or wholesale, your can just keep the price in mind if you have to use it later. 

Retail Price

Retail is twice your wholesale price. Retail is the price most customers will see. Use your retail price for your Etsy items. If you have a discount or sale on an item, just calculate the percentage off for the retail price. You can list your retail price as MSRP or manufacturer's suggested retail price, or list price, on your line sheet. 

I like using this formula to calculate my prices for each type of item I sell. Try plugging in the formula again for a different type of product. You may find using an exact formula works for your item or you may prefer to use the formula as a guide and come up with your own price. Other things you should consider are market trends and competition for similar items. You don't want a price that is completely different from other similar products being sold. Do what works for you and your business.

Want more tips on how to run an Etsy shop? Check out my new eBook, Needle and Thread. This eBook is all about running a creative handmade business on Etsy including pricing tips and how to grow your business. 

What pricing tips do you have? Let me know in the comments. 

What Goals Do You Have for September?

 

What goals do you have for this month? I love setting goals at the start of the month so I can see what I accomplish. I think it is a good idea to set monthly goals to get an overall focus on what you want to accomplish. Here are a couple of my goals for my business (as well as one personal one): 

• Promote my new eBook, 
• Make enough money to pay off my debt 
• Move my blog over to WordPress 
• Grow my mailing list
• Wake up earlier 

Let me know in the comments or use the hashtag #myseptgoals on social media. 

What is Your Favorite Way to Make Money?

What is your favorite way to make money online?: 

There are many ways to make money online. With all the different options, it can sometimes be confusing what works and what doesn't. I have been experimenting with different ways to make money online. I often post reviews and different thins I have tried on this blog. I am curious what your favorite way to make money online is.

My favorite way to make money online right now is to do freelance work for other people. I have found it is a good way to make money quickly and also lets you connect with other businesses. Another way I like to make money online is to sell things. I sell things through my Etsy shops, Move the Needle and Printables and Things. I also like to use eBay to sell used items and things for other people.

Let me know in the comments what your current favorite way to make money online is and what works for you.

Poll: What is your favorite way to promote your business?

I have a question for you.

What is your favorite way to promote your business?

Whether you have a shop or small business, there are many ways to promote your business online. There are a number of methods including social media marketing, e-mail marketing. blogging, press releases, online directories and advertising.

My current favorite way to promote my business is through blogging and social media marketing. I like that these methods allow me to connect with other people and also allows me to reach out to other businesses. I also like how you can see results quickly through social media and see what is trending. Another promotion method I am trying is to use SEO more in my blog posts and content to show up higher in search engine results.

Let me know in the comments your favorite way to promote your business.

How to Make Money Online Being Creative

Do you have a creative talent? You can make money off your skill or hobby. These are a couple ways you can make money online by being creative.

• If you have a craft you love to make, try opening a shop on Etsy. I like using Etsy to sell and buy handmade items. You can see my shop here. If you sign up through my link, you will get free listings on Etsy. 
• If you make fine art, see my list for selling artwork online. Websites such as AbsoluteArts allow you to sell your artwork to make money. 
• eBay is also a good website to use to sell items whether it is crafts, artwork and vintage finds. If you are good at upcycling items, you can use eBay to find items to upcycle or rework.
• You can sell your photography to make money. You can license images on Getty by using Flickr. You can also use sites that pay you for your stock photos like iStockPhoto. 
• If you like to write, you can check out my article on how to become a freelance writer. I am currently using the site Hire Writers to make some extra  money. 
• Why not make a video or podcast? Learn how to make money with YouTube here. 
• If you love teaching, why not teach your talent in a class on SkillShare? 

How do you like to make money? 

Free Printable: Social Media Guide to Hashtags

Do you use hashtags on social media? A hashtag is a keyword or phrase within a post on social media. You create a hashtag by using the number symbol (#) sign in front of a word or a phrase (for example #blog). Hashtags allow you to categorize topics and join conversations. You can also see what topics are trending with hashtags.

Some websites that support hashtags include Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google + and Tumblr. On Twitter, hashtags allow tweets to get more engagement. The magic number to use on Twitter is two hashtags. Instagram is a big fan of hashtags with interactions highest on Instagram with over 11 hashtags. On Facebook, it is preferred to not use a hashtag.






What hashtags should you use? Download my free printable for some top hashtags to use for bloggers and creative business owners.

What are your favorite hashtags to use?

Slice the Pie Fashion Review Tips

Want to get paid to review fashion and music? Slice the Pie is the largest paid review site on the interview. Your opinions will help brands make decisions. I did a review of Slice the Pie in a previous entry when they just did music reviews.

Now, they have new sections where you can earn money writing fashion and mobile accessories reviews in addition to reviewing music. You write a short paragraph or so about what you think of the product and if it would do well on the market. Here are some of some my tips for reviewing the new fashion and mobile items:

• Describe your overall first impression. Do you like the piece of clothing or product? Do you generally feel positive or negative about it?
• Describe the style and what you think of it. Is it unique? What do you think of the color? Is it trendy? Is it too out there or over the top? 
• What do you think of the fit? Is it too tight or loose? Do you like how it looks on the model?
• Do you think it would sell well? Would you buy the product yourself? Could you see other people buying it or talking about it?
• Make sure your review is over 100 words and try to vary the reviews between each other so your account doesn't get locked. Be honest in your reviews and try to write what you really feel about each item.
  
  
  

Next, you give the item a rating of 1 out of 10. 1 is the worst and 10 is the best. The final step is to estimate the price of the item. You give each piece of clothing a minimum and maximum cost.

I make about $0.10 per fashion review. It won't make you rich overnight, but it is a good way to earn extra money online. You can get withdraw money in to your PayPal account when you reach $10. .

If you refer friends the Slice the Pie, you can receive 20% of all their review earnings for 60 days and 10% after that. If you want to join Slice the Pie, you can use my referral link by clicking here or click the bottom below to join:

http://slicethepie.com/join/U696EA40