Promoting yourself can be real hard, but it has been fun learning. Everyday my Twitter following grows and we get more visitors to our ETSY shop. Promoting yourself seems like bragging in a way. You tell people what you have and tell them why they should buy from you instead of someone else. This isn't any secret. Big businesses have been doing this kind of advertising for years. We know it works so where's the problem. Money for a big add campaign! So I will keep posting and keep telling about our products the way I have been. Not because I'm too cheap to pay for advertising, I couldn't afford it even if I wanted to. It may take me some time to build up sales, but I'm having a good time learning and I'm meeting some great people along the way. Welcome to the 21st century Jay. The internet market is my oyster, I have to learn to open it.

Rules To Sell By

Everyday I try to learn something new about how to sell successfully online. During this learning process I have found certain things that I can group together. This grouping allows me to get a better idea of how to go about using information that I have gathered. The groups are real simple : WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW, and WHO. The hard part is knowing what goes where, why it goes there, and when to put it there. I feel like I should have Bud Abbott and Lou Costello here to help with this.

WHAT is the easy one to answer, What do I have to offer? Handmade homedecor items made of wood. Easy answer!

WHEN is my product available? Another easy answer, 24/7 online at my website. The website is OldTimeCountryCrafts.etsy.com. That also answers the WHERE question. Now is when it starts getting tougher.

WHY should people buy from me? Can't they get the same thing some place else? What can I offer that no one else offers? This must be what politicians go through during a campaign. Yes, I make a damn good product, I have a good selection, and I can build it specifically for you to fit your color and size needs.

HOW may well be the hardest to work on. HOW DO PEOPLE FIND MY PRODUCT ? Simple right, it's online. Then the reallity appears, there's millions of things online!! How are they going to find me? After hours of looking and reading posts from other people I have to wonder, am I learning how to sell online or am I just killing time and having a little fun? Promoting on a limited budget is a real challenge but I'm going to keep trying. I will post on social networks and any other place I can find that will let me post for free. I'm starting a mailing list also. Learning KEYWORDS was not as easy as I thought but it does real well.

WHO is the question I like best. And just like Abbott and Costello, WHO's ON FIRST? WHO is on first because WHO needs my product!!!!!!! WHO is the consumer!!!!!!! WHO is YOU!!!