7 Time Saving Tips For Etsy Sellers

Making time for all the things that need to be done can be a daunting task. For Etsy shop owners it is an even more daunting task. I decided to come up with a few tips to make time management easier.

1. Create draft listings. It can be really productive if you are on a roll listing items. However, what if that really productive time is 2:30am on a Wednesday? To get the most exposure for your listings, save them as a draft and list them during peek hours.

2. Schedule your posts when you can. I wrote an article about it here: Scheduling Your Social Networking Posts By scheduling your posts you can free up some time. You can also post during times when you would not normally do so.

3. Cross connect your posts. With linking Twitter to Facebook or Pinterest to Twitter you can accomplish more with less work. No more jumping back and forth to post the same info on each site.

4. Make a schedule. Yep, I say it all the time but it is still the best way to get into a routine. Budget your time. Use a stopwatch or the alarm on your phone to make sure you do not go over budget on your time.

5. Schedule a break. One of the biggest problems most people have is not allowing themselves a break. Productivity will suffer no matter what you are doing if you don't give your body and mind a break. I suggest 15 minutes every two hours minimum. Give yourself a longer break if you are doing something physically or mentally strenuous.

6. Consolidate Post Office Trips. If running to the post office is taking a lot of time schedule a daily pickup from your mail carrier or make plans to go to the post office every other day. Order your postal supplies online to save trips.

7. Work Smarter Not Harder. For me it is easier to set up and make 25 of one type of item than to make one of 25 different items. Sometimes I feel like a manufacturer rather than an artist but that is okay. Lay out all of your materials. Get several things ready to solder all at once. Get several patterns ready to cut at one time. Sew multiple items in one siting. Try and do like tasks at the same time.

I realize all of these tips will not apply to all of you. Take what you can and feel free to add to the list. Let me know if you have any questions or leave a comment here or email me at MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Scheduling Your Social Network Posts

Yesterday I touched on determining the best times to post to social networks. Today I would like to mention that scheduling posts can free up a lot of time for you to do other things. As I write this post it is actually Sunday morning. I am working on a weeks worth of posting because I have the free time to write today but may not during the week. Blogger is easy with the "Schedule" link in the right hand side bar. Other social networks are not quite as easy.

Facebook now allows you to schedule your posts, which is really great! When you write a status update or upload a picture/video there is a small button in the post field that looks like a little clock. Clicking that will allow you to set when your post will actually be posted.

Twitter, unfortunately, does not have this option. You can use a third party program to schedule your posts. Tweetdeck, HootSuite and other programs have the ability to schedule posts for you. There are also web based programs like SocialOomph that have similar services. The services usually have a pro or paid version as well as a free version.

Doing a quick Google search on scheduling posts on social networks will give you specifics for individual sites.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments by leaving a comment here or sending me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com