For a little over two months I’ve been, let’s say, unwell. At first I was actually sick. For about five or six days. And then the fog and exhaustion took over.
I’ve been running on autopilot for the entire time. Barely functional. So tired and so breathless all of the time. Unable to seem to get motivated and just dragging my hind end around. I’ve still been making pieces and taking orders but I’ve been very much depleted.
I’m pretty isolated so when I got sick I didn’t get a Covid test and as the time went by I wondered if I perhaps should have. I’ve been extremely careful since the pandemic began about sanitary packaging methods and I’ve been diagnosed with mild OCD since I was 18, so nothing really changed. Except after packing up orders and getting them to the mailbox, I’d often go back to bed. Sleep until noon or 2:00 pm.
I’ve had insomnia since very early childhood and have functioned as an adult on 3-5 hours of sleep a day. Until March of 2020, when I suspect I acquired Covid from an emergency vet visit, before testing was available here and before things got wild. Then I’d sleep for 5-7 hours a day. A little nap around 2 in the afternoon. This though. 12-16 hours a day. Holy moly. Just wild.
Yesterday though. I begin to hope whatever hot mess I’ve gotten myself into has begun to abate. A regular sleep of sorts. I’m still not back up to full tilt but I feel like there’s a hint of hope in the air. I have worked the last two days.
My messy wheel after a day of throwing and trimming.
Clay is relatively unlimited already. Given time, patience, and skill you are limitless. Recent technology allows for ai to preview inspiration. 3-D printing allows for endless perfect details. Computer technology allows a person to run and monitor a kiln from the restaurant down the street. A fellow clay friend uses ai technology to preview what he wants to create. One of my best friends 3-D printed cogs and gears for me to create sprigs to add to my work. I personally prefer to be with my kiln when it’s running. But from just these three examples, you can kind of get the idea of how tech has opened a relatively open ended job up even more.
How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?
Ummmm.
I’m pretty sure saying no isn’t isn’t even part of my vocabulary. Even when I think I’m saying no, people seem to hear yes. And boy gee, that one’s hard to back out of isn’t it?
What’s a secret skill or ability you have or wish you had?
I’d like to be able to turn off my overreactive empathy. Not all of the time. But maybe for the things I cannot fix for others, especially people I don’t even know. I find an unhappy person (They find me. I’m an unhappy person magnet. 😅 )and I’ll do everything in my power to fix what was never mine to fix. To the point of becoming miserable and unhappy myself and to my own destruction.
One of the feral kittens that I spent months rescuing.
I hadn’t seen my sister for ten years until today. We’ve been getting to know each other a bit better via discord and she mentioned wanting to try a new burrito that was at Taco Bell but things kept happening and the burrito kept not happening.
Somehow we decided that a two hour drive to take her to get her burrito wasn’t unreasonable and made plans. Today we drove to Cincinnati to do exactly that.
We had a great time and visited for a few hours. I rarely leave home, having severe panic attacks after very short periods of time. Typically I start getting physically ill around 20 minutes in. I made it through with little panics throughout. For 10 and 1/2 hours!
Drink more water. Because I’m awful at this hydration game. I just forget. It’s not that I’m drinking anything else. I don’t drink soda or anything. Just coffee and water. Sans the water. 😂
Can I count the water used for the coffee? (I’m kidding. I know better.)
I don’t celebrate birthdays and never actually have. Even as a child. I’ve never had a birthday party, wrapped up gifts, or a cake. I did get an alarm clock radio for my 11th birthday from a neighbor. I got a radio for my 12th while in a temporary shelter in child services. And then my 13th birthday, I was given a little jewelry box from the staff in the group home. My wife bought me art supplies for my 35th? Back before she realized I’m broken.
It feels like yesterday I was 34. The day before that 26. A few minutes before that, 19. I still see the same person in the mirror but I barely recognize her. Not in a “wow, you got old” kinda way. More like a “look at you, still hanging on, slightly wiser, tamed down version of what you once were” kind of way.
Aging is strange. I used to panic, the threat of time running out chopping at my heels. Now I’m not worried. I’ve lived a full life. It’s okay. Nothing is considered when you die because you aren’t here anymore. It’s part of life. I’ve always puzzled about why we’re here, given such a short time frame to get whatever we’re going to get done. I’m no Van Gogh, Plato, Marx, or Marilyn Monroe. My name won’t be a consideration in another 20 years, much less hundreds. I never did anything to warrant memory.
For a long time that bothered me. What is my legacy?! I had three children. I make ceramics, which are pretty permanent, even if broken. In recent years I’ve come to realize it doesn’t matter much. I know it sounds rather pessimistic for such a positive minded person. But it’s honest, if nothing else.
I’m not saying I’m finished. I finally have and am in love for the first time. I am passionate about my work and I see that continuing to get better. I have several rescued cats that I practically worship, they’re so spoiled. I can afford to pay my bills. I am living my best life right now at 46 years old.
I guess I’m just saying that it’s still another day that somehow I didn’t see coming because it crept up on me.
So here’s to another year gone and another day in paradise.
Kitties on the Catio. Israel (ginger muffin), Ginger Snap Cookies (calico), and a toss up between Xavia or Roxanne for the little grey kitty. They look a lot alike and I can’t tell from here.
What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?
I have one tattoo. It said “Stop lying to yourself” when it was first done. With a cute little butterfly. You can’t read it now and I still want the “Stop lying to yourself” because well… I like the reminder that we lie to ourselves more than we’d ever lie to someone else. (Unless you’re just a liar… But that’s a different story.)
So maybe a dragon to cover the messy tattoo on my right forearm and then “Stop lying to yourself” on my left arm. It wasn’t the tattoo artist. I think it’s me and my skin. The same artist did my wife’s kinda matching tattoo and it still looks great. You can definitely read it. It’s just mine that’s wrecked. 😭
TLDR; there’s a list at the bottom. It’s also long. ❤️
For those of you who didn’t skip to the list. I have mentioned that I would delve a little bit further into my Etsy story so I’ll do that while I wait for the other two red underglazes to arrive and wait for the pieces I made earlier to dry enough to trim.
I started selling on Etsy in 2015. Intended as an inventory control resource, I made my actual first order just days in and decided to maybe take it seriously. I followed the same pattern most people do who are new to Etsy. Joined a ton of Etsy groups on Facebook. Smart, right? Learn a whole plethora of really terrible habits and not actually focus on the Etsy shop? SOLD!
I ended up invited to a rather small elitist group that did daily and weekly tasks. We had like for like activities each evening. We had to create collections that included items from each of the other sellers in the group. We got on Twitter and Pinterest and retweeted for two hours. I had about 7k+ followers on each platform. Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram all at that point. As well as over 2k friends on Facebook. So, a decent following but little true engagement. I got an order once or twice a week with crap photos, meh descriptions, and terrible key words.
One day I realized someone in the group (the leader) was actually being snarky with me and I was pretty sick of spending 10-15 hours a week dealing with this high maintenance group. So. In my infinite wisdom, I left.
Let me say, I’m not a top seller. I average around $2-2.5k a month in sales. I’m not a 6 figure seller. But I can pay the bills. I don’t have a magic formula. I’m not selling you anything here.
2022
I left the group. I was pretty stressed out about that. I’m a people pleaser and get very anxious about doing what’s best for me. I started reading the Etsy seller handbook. Specifically the parts about photos. I delved into Search Engine Optimization. Researched key words. Was still doing the likes for likes, retweeting, pinning to Pinterest. Just really bad habits I picked up. But now I was at least more focused on MY shop and my work. I was also learning a lot from my customers. Granted, I’m still learning and hope I always have the capacity to set my own ego aside for these lessons.
It’s hard. A three star review can really devastate a person. I’ve struggled with accepting that it’s not a personal attack on me. That listening to what the customer is saying will help you improve your shop. Now. I’d also like to say, sometimes bad things happen to good people. I had a three star review, with no feedback at 5:11 pm on Thanksgiving day, almost a full month to the day of her receiving her order. I messaged her right away. She didn’t respond. So after about a week, I added a note to her review explaining that my messages are open and I strive for 5 star quality and customer service so if she’d like to talk, I’m available. She immediately messaged me. “It wasn’t you or your product. I dropped it and broke it three days after I got it. Lol”
I’m still a human being folks. Haha! Such decadence. To leave someone a terrible review because you broke it. The messed up part, if she had messaged me when she broke it, I’d have probably sent her a new one. My five star customer service did a rather ungraceful nose dive off a high ledge as I responded with : Well. That’s unfortunate.
Because we ARE human beings. Nothing to be learned from experiences like that one. Except to maybe cry until we laugh and laugh and laugh. Sometimes that’s literally all you can do. Look for the grace in her response? At least she eventually responded. I no longer play the “try to get them to change the review” game. I will reach out to the customer to see what I can do better but the review is final. After a review is left, my obligations are at an end. Unless it’s an amazing review, with 4 stars. Then I’ll leave it alone after messaging my customer. Sometimes they think they left a star review but the slider stopped at 4. I’ve had three of those total. So it’s not common but do reach out.
Another difficult challenge is accepting responsibility. No excuses for your actions. No blame on others. Even if it feels justified. The post office was rough with the package. That’s still on me. I know the risks and must anticipate that is going to happen.
I’ve learned to not give too much information. I used to send in progress photos as I made pieces. Now I send final product photos unless requested. Because I’ve had to go back and explain why I just showed them this photo but the piece isn’t shipping out because it messed up somehow. That’s not my fault, right? But it is. The customer doesn’t care about the why. They may even be sympathetic to your plight. But that’s not going to be on their mind when they drop that 3 or 4 star review because they FELT like there was a delay, even if there was not.
So how about a list. Everyone likes a list, right?
The important things I’ve learned:
The LIST
Determine who your customer is. My customer is a reasonably educated person between 25-45 who likes nice things but lives responsibly. They dress the way they want. They love animals and are environmentally conscious.
Read the Etsy seller handbook. Bookmark it. Go back to it often.
Set a clear goal that’s reasonable but uncomfortable. My goal is $1000 a month, after making $500 a month for a year.
Clear descriptive titles that tell what you’re selling. Ceramic coffee, tea, or espresso cup with galaxy blue and stars.
The important details in bullets for the description. * Food, microwave, and dishwasher safe.
A clear description with the same details as your title. This ceramic coffee, tea or espresso cup has a delightful hand mixed combination of blue glazes created in my home studio with stars.
Other important details that you need to express. * Colors may vary per monitor.
Research keywords. These are how people find your products. Single words are no good. “Red” and “Cup” are such broad search terms, they’ll be lost in thousands and thousands of other listings. Red espresso cup is still very broad but it’s definitely a start.
Stay out of Facebook groups. Like for like and follow for follow games will lower your conversion rate, thus lower your shop in search.
Learn SEO. It’s extremely important. I don’t pay for ads and do not have a social media presence and make sales almost daily.
Photos. Learn photography OR hire someone. I pay my spouse to take my photos because she’s faster and then I go back and take the ones with a setup like flowers or different backgrounds. You cannot sell what isn’t listed. Invest in good lights, backgrounds, and a camera. I believe photos can make or break an Etsy shop.
Make something repeatable. I make a special kind of cat food bowl.
Everything should link back to your Etsy shop. This is where you want the customer to be. Don’t put in social media links or anything else that lead them away. Each of my listings has a link to my shop. Because sometimes we fall into a rabbit hole and now we don’t even know where that cool thing was we were considering buying. “How long have I been watching TikTok videos???! What was the name of that shop? Oh wellll.” They move on. You have them in your shop. Keep them there.
Pay attention to color trends. The Pantone color of the year (2023) is Magenta.
Pay attention to trends in general. Find a way to make it original and yours. Mushroom core. Tree core.
I don’t offer “free” shipping except the free shipping guarantee.
I don’t run sales. I sell my pieces at the lowest price I can. I find sales quite annoying. If you could sell it for 20% off for three days, why not always?
I buy good boxes and send a tiny branded thank you card with each order and use eco friendly packaging with no fuss . I don’t include business cards or coupons or anything else. That stuff gets tossed and they know where they bought your items.
Listen to your customer. 1 star reviews can be helpful even if they really hurt. Also, thank them on their review.
Be kind and patient. I know. That’s a lot. People sense your snark and impatience. Take a break, cool down, come back later. That’s my favorite thing about Etsy. We have time and space. I completely ignore any hostility and pretend that I cannot sense it. I just walk right through it with kind words and try to convey sympathy and to get the message through that I want to help them.
Stay out of other people’s shops. They’re not your customer. You are your competition!!!
I’m sure there’s more but that’s the end of what I have at this moment. Feel free to ask questions or share your own experiences. When we set aside ego, we become vessels of insurmountable learning capacity.
methodtomymadness 