July has come... Show your Independence in your creativity...

Well, obviously June just passed me by! With my classes and the huge project I had due for my final, June just slipped away from me! So, I wanted to kick July off with a Huge Bang! For the July Pursuit I am searching for creative works that assert your Independence from the norm! Show me something that makes your creations individual and unique- How do you differentiate yourself from others who work in the same medium? If you want to share a story, tell a bit about your item, or just post the picture and link to let us ponder... Go ahead!

Now, another fun angle I have added to the pursuits is a Yahoo Group! You can share your work, your photo's, your links to your shops or blogs and more! Just promote yourself! The idea of the group is to give viewers a resource to find you! Load photos, show off your shop,link it to your blog, and more! Have patterns or tutorials? Share them!

Also, enter your twitter into the tweet along page (tab is at the top)! Once you add your link, go to twitter and do a search for the hashtag #POH and find all of us there! Then you can retweet each other and the July Independence Items you have all posted! Make sure to add this to the yahoo group, too!

It is all about promoting one another and showing each other off! I have always said, the most interesting people you will ever meet are the creative minds that work with their hands! Make new friends and share your tips, insight, and personality with the world... Here is the place to do it!

Once everyone has posted links and photo's for July I will create a slideshow and show you off on the yahoo group, the blog, my website, and the facebook fan page! So show your independence from the norm and get your most creative and unique project posted here!

Have fun! Take a minute and comment on the others, too!


Here is the link to the group:

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Taking a new turn...

Well, whew... The blog party is over- How fun was that? Did everyone grab a new idea? New craft? I have so many ideas floating around and just not the time to get to them all... In fact, I fear I will forget some of them! So, rather than overload my computer with files I may never get back to (but am too much of a hoarder to delete!) I decided to keep a notebook! So, here is my tip for everyone reading- (you probably figured this out many moons ago!)- Grab a notebook or sketchpad. When inspiration strikes, keep it there! Write it down, draw a sketch, list out some supplies, even if it is a thought that has not reached the idea point- put it on paper! When you have down time, when you are bored searching for a new means of expression- refer to your notebook!

So, with that in mind- I have decided that I want to move my blog into a new direction! In fact, time constraints force me to make some choices! So, as you may or may not know I recently started my new blog-

Mommy Tyme Gifts

- to promote and show off some of my shop items, how to's, tutorials, and really poke a punch at my Eco friendly line of gifts for the home! I really believe in these, and I want to share them- unfortunately I am not good at mass producing anything! If I make it once, I am ready to add something new the next time. That may not serve the eco line well, so I am going to have to get motivated to make several of each item and keep at it!

So, here is my idea... I have used my other blog, Mishaps of Mommy, to help others with traffic sources, ways to get customers, promoting some links and affiliate programs- unfortunately, that truly is a time sucker- so I thought I would focus on tips for selling, sharing, advice, and more at Mishaps of Mommy http://mishapsofmommy.blogspot.com I was hoping it could become a gathering place for sellers and guru's alike! I would like to use this blog as a means to focus on new items, show off others, and present great links to your shops- so this would aim to please potential customers! Than of course, Mommy Tyme gifts is about me and all the crazy I call life at http://mommytymegifts.blogspot.com

Here is the plan...

Pursuit of Handmade has been such fun for me! I want to continue. So, I thought we could show off some fun, themed products you may host and maybe link you with a customer who is searching for the same! I will post the theme here and on Mishaps- I would love it if you would write a little about yourself, your shop link, and whatever else you would like to at http://mishapsofmommy.blogspot.com Also add your item and shop link here at http://mommysreviewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com Your link will already be posted, so no worries and wondering "... Hmm... when will my turn to be featured be?" ! It will be automatic! Every few days, however, I will add the more detailed information that you gave me about yourself and your shop with an individual post to show you and your stuff off!

I will also start a publicity campaign for each pursuit participant including both facebook and twitter! Also Ning blog exposure! You have to work at this, too, though! But, the work is minimal... I have all the directions posted over at Mishaps at http://mishapsofmommy.blogspot.com But, the idea is- we all tweet and facebook each other! Simply hop around to everyone's links for that Pursuit for the month- and then Share it with the share button, or you can cut and paste their link into twitter or facebook - Add this at the end of your post "#POH" (that stands for Pursuit of Handmade. Others who are participating in Pursuit of Handmade can then do a search while on Twitter for #POH and then just retweet all the participants. So, any items that you are adding to the Pursuit of Handmade theme, share them on twitter or facebook followed by #POH and we will all retweet you! Sound like an idea? I have seen several different groups doing a similar type of Retweet and Promotion tool to help one another out! I figured we could add that to our Pursuit and really expose each other!

Dont worry- if this sounds complicated, you will get the hang of it! I promise, and comment with questions- I will be glad to help you through...

So....




Announcing May's Pursuit of Handmade-

For some Mother's Day is a wonderful moment of sharing and appreciating your family- for other's it can be a painful, lonely day... Families are blended and full of so many different caregivers, that Mothers and Fathers day may not apply in the Hallmark meaning, but in so many other ways that are just as meaningful! So, I wanted to go beyond Mother's Day for May and find "To give someone you love..." That is pretty open, and can mean anything you want it to! So, list your item link here by commenting! Than hop over to Mishaps of Mommy at http://mishapsofmommy.blogspot.com and sign up for the Pursuit of Handmade Tweet Along- share your link again, and if you want- a story of inspiration about the item, about you, or what this theme means to you! We will show you and your fab. item off here!



Keep up with the past Pursuit of Handmade by clicking the page for Pursuit- all the previous are kept there!

Buy & Sell Handmade Crafts, Jewelry, Quilts, Soaps & Greeting Cards, Custom Homemade Products Online - Made It Myself

Buy & Sell Handmade Crafts, Jewelry, Quilts, Soaps & Greeting Cards, Custom Homemade Products Online - Made It Myself

Made it Myself is one of those great venues where you can sell your handmade items, yet, somehow I missed the boat on this one! I am kicking myself now. Initially, I had posted 5-6 items on there, and then just sat back. Other than joining the Made it Myself on Ning site, I did little to no marketing for this venue. Ugh! Now, I checked it out today just to see if there had been changes, improvements, etc. AND WOW! There really has! Here are just a few of the benefits I see of MIM-
1. Its free! Really free.
2. You can list unlimited items
3. there is a huge image of your banner at your individualized URL,
4. you can add the badge that links directly to YOUR shop, not the marketplace in general
5.  Recently listed items are posted on the FRONT page- so you can stay up there until the amount of new items listed by others  pushes you off - but, depending upon your listing time, this could be a few days and so you are getting FRONT page exposure for free!
6.  For a super low fee of .49 you can have your item listed on the front page for the duration of your listing - that seems like a fair investment if you consider Etsy charges 7.00 for their Showcase!
7.  Now here is something truly unique- you can set your listing as Negotiable, and buyers can make offers, you can wheel and deal, make trades, etc.  And all of this is tracked, goes through your payment service, so there is a record of your agreement.  You can even issue a coupon.  How is that for customer relations?
8.  You can "link" with Made it Myself by adding their banner to your blog, site, etc.  and in return they will post a small banner of yours.  Now this appears to be a first come first serve, and it is not a neverending time frame that your banner is posted.  I assume that you are posted for a short duration (week- month) which has its benefits.  The reason this is a positive is because when a shopper checks out the link page, they are not overwhelmed with thousands of banners.  Instead there are about 12, so that is appealing and functional for a shopper.  When you are lost in a crowd of 100, what are the real chances someone is going to pick you link?
9.  finally, the community and forums is great!  These are not pages and pages of entries that you muddle through like on some of the bigger marketplaces- You can go to the forum that posts the topic you need (sales, marketing, glitches, etc) and see your post immediately.  Because it is not thousands of entries, others respond back really quick.  I found the forum and community page the easiest to use of any of the marketplaces thus far!

So, I am jumping on ship, and getting my Made it Myself Store up and running!  Thats another thing, your URL is easy to remember- for example-
http://www.madeitmyself.com/user/mommytyme.aspx




One drawback that I was concerned about is traffic?  How much is there?  But, as with any site, blog, etc.  YOU have to promote it.  You cant just sit back and hope people find you.  One tip I will share is, whenever tagging an item- always add the NAME of your shop as a tag, this will move you up in the ranks.  Second, post your MIM shop link everywhere so that linkbacks raise your rank (for example, when commenting on a blog, instead of using your google name or yahoo name, do the open ID choice / or other choice and sign in with your shop name and URL)  this offers tons of linkbacks.  In fact, you should comment on blogs  often to increase the linkbacks.  Oh, one more tip- if you have shops on variety of marketplaces like Etsy, winkelf, Artfire, etc  GIVE  THEM ALL THE SAME NAME-this increases you ranks, too!

So, how many of  your readers sell on MIM?  What do you think?   Any more tips on driving traffic to your MIM shop?