Spend 30 Minutes or Less on Etsy a Day & Still Succeed:

I have several friends on Etsy right now who have been struggling with time management and getting everything done in their Etsy store. Running at Etsy store can be a time-consuming, all-day job if you let it.  Even Etsy is aware of this as their forum this month is teaching you how to be more productive with that time.  Several of the tips Etsy is giving you I have already posted about on my blog in our Build Your Brand Series. But it’s summer and it’s time for you to have a break! Besides, with the notoriously slow retail shopping season that peaks in July and ramps up toward September again, there are much better things you should be doing with your time. In today’s Build Your Brand series, we are going to talk about how to get the basics done in just 30 minutes a day…no more and no less!

First: Get a Cup of Coffee

This is crucial.  Why? It will help you work faster! (I know you think I’m telling you this because I’m a coffee addict, but you’re wrong). By the time your coffee cools (approximately 30 minutes), you should be DONE with Etsy for the day. It’s kind of a no-brainer.

Second: Set a Timer

Set a timer for 30 minutes.  This will help you to stay on task…but here’s the catch, when it rings, you are done!

Login To Etsy & Get Started:

Check your convos – 5 minutes.

You may or may not have any convos. But spend no more than 5 minutes answering your convos, thanking those who wrote to you for features, answering questions, and anything else that has been set to you.

Relist 1 Item or List 1 new item – 5 minutes.

I have written several times about the importance of not going on a listing spree.  If you have 15 new items, great! Now list them over the next 15 days. Avoid listing all the items at one time.  Read this article for more information. Remember when you relist that there was a reason your item didn’t sell the first time around.  Change the category, take new pictures, use new keywords, and see if you can adjust your price. But resist the temptation to keep it the same.

Schedule Your Daily Promotions – 5 minutes.

I have posted a full free tutorial on HootSuite, so there’s really no excuse why you haven’t signed up for this free & helpful service yet. Here’s the key. Don’t schedule the EXACT same worded post for every social media outlet you have. This is boring and what if you have the same group of fans on each network…now that’s spamming.  So resist the temptation and spend the time writing strong content, big on keywords for your posts to your social media outlets. And don’t forget to shorten the URL links so you have more space to write.

What are you promoting? That’s up to you. Here are some general things that you can promote for your store:

• Your most recent blog article
• Your website
• A call to action (“like us on Facebook” or “follow us on Twitter”, etc)
• Your “Item of the Day”
• A tip, trick, or help from your medium (i.e.: Use wax on your string before beading your pearl necklace to allow the pearls to slide easier).
• An article you found online that is interesting to you.
• Someone’s work from your field that you admire.

Update Your Store Front – 5 minutes.

I have mentioned in almost every Build Your Brand article the importance of maintaining control over your Etsy store and putting your store into a ‘custom sort’ order. If you’ve just listed a new item or relisted an old item, your store is now out of order.  Fix it!

Write Your Blog – 10 minutes.

First, let me begin by saying that almost every one of my blog articles takes me well over an hour or more to write.  Don’t let this scare you. If you are not blogging now, you need to start. You can get free blogs through either Blogspot or WordPress. It will help you promote your business and allow you a place to share your love for your hobby or craft. Your blog does not need to take you an hour, it can take as little as 10 minutes. As you open your Etsy store and first begin blogging, just get comfortable with your audience and writing online. Feature your own items, and other people’s items, and post tips or techniques.  But do me a favor, only write if you are inspired, otherwise, any potential audience you have will get lost in your ramblings. Your blog is the one place where you can be yourself! Express yourself and talk like you were talking to your best friend (over coffee of course) and be real.

Bottom Line: If you spend 2 or more hours online a day there is a tendency for you to become unproductive in your own efforts to succeed … set a clock and stick to it!

Thanks for joining me today. Join me next week to Build Your Brand on Etsy & experience success.