When I first started selling items I used EBay and that worked great while I was learning about myself and my busines. Etsy came out and I switched to them, however the fees to put items up for grabs was costing me more money than I was making. I then created a website on square for free, which was the beginning stages on how to use one. I now use Wix as my website and paid for the premium package to unlock the benefits of it all. I still have square for my credit card transactions as well as PayPal. Facebook
My main source of social media is Facebook. I started going live about 2years ago selling items that we made for shop. In the beginning the following was slow and I was literally pricing items so low I was practically giving them away. I kept thinking to myself how do I see all these other people go live and have 200-400 viewers ... what was the secret. Well I am going to tell you I never found out that secret. The only thing I do know is a couple of things that helped boost me over time.
1) Being consistent. I know it’s been said many many times before but it is true. You want to make sure your customers know when they can see you and your items again. Pretty soon you will build up a client relationship and they will be loyal coming back for more.
2) Be yourself. I watched all these other people and would often think..well maybe if I spoke like them, dressed like them, had a background for the shows like them then I too could have that many follower. Answer No. My customers have come to know me and who I am. They have become a part of my business and many jump on to talk, hang out, shop and support my business because I am being real with them.
3) Don‘t throw in the towel! One thing I have honestly learned is never give up. I have and will always say no matter how I feel this isn’t going how I planned, I can’t stop making items . I really enjoy this business and without would find myself lost and bored.
For a long time I was paying for advertising on Facebook. I would budget a low amount for the month and I was gaining new followers but my sales were from the first few organic customers. What I found was I wasn’t gaining followers from that true connection. I stopped my advertising about A month ago so I could view my organic reach and really see my numbers and people. This has shown me that I am still reaching people but on a more personal level. Since I have stopped Facebook is sending me notifications to boost posts and extend my reach, but I’m not giving into temptation as I want to see my true numbers. Here is a pic of what they send to me
I have an Instagram account but I have never advertised with them. I also have twitter but my presence there doesn’t show on any level. I have been following the rule of thumb to get more people to my website and not just social media.
Education
I watch Youtube videos all the time for free content and inspiration. I follow Jennifer Allwood and her content. I read other people’s blogs and how they are doing or what they did to move their business into a full time income. This helps me and offers many ideas to help my business growth.
In short if you decide to advertise be smart about how you do it. Set a budget and make sure when you advertise you have a plan for how you want it to work for your business. Do you want more sales, do you want more followers, or do you want to attract people to share your page with others. Make sure to be you and show people why you have your business and what it means to you. Hope you all have a blessed day and make sure to come back for more fun posts, helpful tips and inspiration.