Gaining More Followers On Social Networks

Many of the questions I have received lately is how to get good quality fans/followers on your social networks. I am working on a few articles on just how to accomplish this. In the meantime I thought it might be a good day to share your links with the readers and maybe get a few followers. So, in the comments post your Etsy Shop Link, your Facebook Page Link, your Twitter page, etc and then go through and join everyone's who have posted. It will be a small bump to your social network.

I'll start:

Etsy: http://TangledMetal.etsy.com and http://MarketMyShop.etsy.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TangledMetal and http://www.facebook.com/MarketMyShop
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TangledMetal and http://www.twitter.com/MarketMyShop
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/TangledMetal

Go forth and follow/like/heart and share with your friends. I will do the same with each link you all post.

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

Making Time For Social Networks

Several of you have asked about how to make time for posting to social networks. I have written a couple of articles on Time Management and Making Lists to help with time management. The articles can be quite helpful to get a plan started. However, as one reader writes "Sometimes I get caught up in social networks and don't have enough time to make new items for my Etsy shop."

It is very easy to get distracted. Though I have nothing much scientific to back it up, every creative person I know tends to get distracted easily. There was this one time I was watching this squirrel. The very best thing to do is to write out a schedule and keep to it. 20 Minutes on Twitter, 15 minutes on Facebook, 30 minutes on Pinterest, etc.

Fortunately many of the social networks you can schedule your posts and also cross post automatically. I will be creating a few articles on how to do just that in the near future. The main thing to remember for now is if you can keep to a schedule you will be more efficient in the long run.

That is all for today. I just used my 30 minute allotted blog time and I must move on to the next thing on my list. Keep the questions and comments coming. Leave them here on the blog or email me at MarketMyShop@gmail.com and don't forget I have a couple of helpful eBooks for purchase in my Market My Shop Etsy Shop.