Sunday - Coffee And Cake!

New Greeting Cards and Prints On Etsy - Click Images to Visit Listings




Sunday - Coffee and Cake



Hello again :)

Had a bit of a crazy week as usual. It's been a couple of weeks since I have managed to just write a normal blog post, and I'm not trying to be lazy I promise! Time has just really been my enemy, which I am hoping should change in the following week, what with the other half going back to work and me being back to my full time duties exclusively! Should have plenty to talk about besides the features which'll be nice, considering all that I've been doing lately is work work work on Etsy. I've already written out a plan of what my son and I are going to get up to from tomorrow... aren't I organised! ^_^



Anyway today I want to discuss Social Networks. This is nice and easy so don't worry about me boring you to death lol!!!



Networking Part 5 : Social Networks Like I've said, this is easy as pie. A bit time consuming to set up but once they're going you can really intergrate yourself into the handmade community outside of Etsy, which so far I find is a great way to meet like minds and to also get your name out there. Like with Twitter and Blogger, Social Networks also allow you to link up all of your web efforts into one place, so any visitors will know of all the other places they can find you! A great thing if say someone who hates Myspace, but loves Facebook would rather link to you on there :)

I think one thing that puts people off Social networks is the security side of things. At least it did for me with all the scaremongering you get about them. With Facebook for example, I would never link my business to my personal page... the same way i dislike the idea of mixing work life and home life... you get the picture.
Facebook allows businesses to use their services without the need to mix in their personal profiles. It's simply, Facebook Pages as opposed to Facebook Profiles. I'm not sure if you need to have a normal Facebook profile in order to have a "page", as i was fortunate enough to already be an avid Facebook user prior to creating mine, but once up and running I think it's a create way to network with fellow handmade artisans.
It has a system on there which allows you to create ads that link to your page (at a cost however), and obviously it gives you presence in the searchable world that is Facebook.
It allows people to "become a fan" of you page, which once done allows you to update them as you update your page, without having to go through reams of email addresses to manually update them on your endeavors. A bit like a mailing list, but a little more snazzy. Users will see your updates on their own Facebook homepages in real time. They can also interact with you by leaving comments on your page or message you direct, so it's a great way to keep the communication flowing.
You can use various applications to make your page more interesting. I use Networked Blogs which pulls the feed from my Blogger Blog into my page without me having to go back and forth copying and pasting links. Facebook is one of my favourite methods of keeping people informed of what I'm getting up to.

If you want to be able to have something that you can tweak a little more, that uses templates or HTML and looks a little less plain like Facebook, you can join lots of Ning social networks like, Indie Public, We Love Etsy and Twittermoms (obviously one for mothers!). They all use a similar kind of interface, but you'll find the communities on there are vast and there are plenty of opportunities to communicate with these communities. All of the networks I mentioned give you access to a blog, of which when used gets updated at the top of a list similar to the way listing an item on Etsy works. This can be viewed in the "blogs" tab, where your updated blog will be at the top, along with all other blog users. Like with Etsy, if someone else updates a blog, then you'll get bumped down the list. Not one to be abused, you should only ever update when you genuinely have something relevent to say or announce! They all also have forums which are great for meetings other artists and for promotion. You can personalise your homepages too by uploading photos, RSS feeds, and various other things. Another place that I've already mentioned that could be used, if you like the idea of controlling how your page looks is Myspace. This may take a little more time, but if you're tech savvy in anyway you can make beautiful pages, completely personal to you that will look great if you want to establish a name for yourself. If not there are HTML editors now intergrated into Myspace that walk you through the steps of creating a look from scratch. Once up, you can link to your shop by using your Etsy mini, various other widgets if you like, and have a lot more flexibility than any other of the Social Networks when it comes to sharing everything that you want to and having that sort of control.

Mixxmade.com is a place I'm new too myself, but the one thing that is fab about it is that it allows you to link items into a sort of classifieds ad, in the Marketplace section. You have to write your listings out from scratch mind you, and type in links for people to visit (as your ad won't link to your item directly). But it's just another Idea... I think it's relatively new, but it's a community that is growing and definitely worth checking out.

There are loads of social networks out there besides the ones I've mentioned, but I do think it's worth giving it a go. Particularly for ones that you think your potential focused group is larger (ie: Facebook & We Love Etsy). If you're worried about security, then just don't make it personal and keep it solely for business. (You can still be friendly lol!) Also, change your passwords regularly and make sure they're not one's you'd use all the time. These kind of things always have the potential to get hacked, the same way any other site would do so for piece of mind I'd keep a log book of your passwords incase you forget, and regularly change them so you're always in control.

That's all that I'm familiar with anyway. Until next week!


moonangelnay x

Twitch Twitch...

New Listings...Click on any image to take you direct to it's listing on Etsy.com

Twitch Twitch...

Let's just start with a short summary... ARRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHH!

LOL!

Seriously, you have never known anything more annoying than an unexplained twitch in your eyelid, when it comes to abnormal bodily functions that is. Some would call me extreme but there have been occassions over the past couple of days where my level of irritation has literally made me want to tear it off! Not the best of looks, and probably the one reason that's stopped me from testing temptation... LOL. Ok I wouldn't disfigure my face, EVER, but I have found it practically impossible to focus on anything BUT my eyelid twitching away like there's no tomorrow.



Now, the internet being such a fabulous place for random information, had plenty on the subject of this burden I have been blessed with *waves fist at universe*, however in terms of solutions it seems I'm doomed! It gave it some interesting names like myokymia or (i like this one) Blepharospasm, which both simply translate as "eye twitch". To me those just sound like an excuse for people to go around giving fancy names to make it sound harrowing for something that's apparently as common as a cup of tea. Like you really want to appear like you're diseased??? I guess it's one for hypochondriacs, but I'm someone who likes to avoid that illness lark as I hate having it plague me to the point of it distracting my life! I don't do pats on the heads I just like to get on, so to find that SLEEP and NO CAFFINE (and botox??? LOL) may help my problem I was like... ok... I'll make an effort, which I have! But to no avail. Then I found out that it can go on for weeks... or even worse, can have UNKNOWN causes...



So using initiative I've thought to myself, "AAAAH! I shall beat it at it's game and stick needles in the bugger, where's my nearest acupuncture therapist!?", but then remembered the fact that this is my EYE, and as much as needles have helped the other half's eye recently, I don't know if I want a person, even with qualifications seeping out of their ears to stick needles in my eyelid. The idea makes me shudder. My only other option is to wait for it to go away on it's own... dum de dum... twitch... twitch.



I have tried desperate measures at home. Like wearing an eye patch. YAR! My son keeps calling me Captain DJ, although I doubt I look as cool and found that it's tamed it slightly. Probably as my eye is forced shut, but it's making it hella difficult to do anything now. It's almost as if my hearing on one side is amplified on top of the temporary blindness which has left me more accident prone than my son in his early walking days. At least it's entertaining!



Anyway I've managed to get some bits done this week. I'm featured in an Artist Exposed treasury by Vicki Diane which rocks! Found out just today that I'm in another treasury actually! So that's cheered me up. I have my own treasury R a w . E l e c t r i c going, plus new updates in store. I'm looking for next weeks Monday Magic treasury features! Send me your green grass related items and I may just pop you in it! (Under 20 sales only please!) Other than that I'm excited about introducing my first Friday Finds interview tomorrow. Who do I have lined up? Wait and see :)




moonangelnay xxx

Sunday - Coffee And Cake!

New And Relisted Listings on Etsy - Click an image to visit the corresponding listing

Another late one I'm afraid! More than likely on time for most of you across the water, but here in the UK it is now 2.20pm and so far today all I have achieved is a scan of a fake wall for my other half, addictive checking of my newest Treasury and mouldy courgette clippings... Although I did get an amazing photo of a bizarre bug earlier. He's going into my queue of edits... All in all it's been a slow day of a slowing mother. Seem to be getting increasingly tireder as the minutes whip by me. Nevertheless I have an article to write! Today we'll discuss the well known social networking site, http://twitter.com/.

Networking PART 2 - Twitter If any of you have braved this leap in the world of marketing, I think I'll have a lot of nodding heads when I say my first encounter of the networking site almost floored me with fear. I'm sure my first tweets were full of clumsy related banter of the sort actually... I think the most intimidating thing about Twitter isn't so much what the hell you need to do to make it work, but the idea of whether the millions of people at your disposal would give you any consideration. I'm sure you will have discovered as a newbie, not many people will begin to follow you if you haven't mastered the new power in your hands! I have to say though it's pretty easy to work out in terms of tweeting. Once you're set up, you can visit the homepage to "tweet" to your hearts content, as long as the bites of your mind are 140 characters in length. You are able to check personalised messages layed out on the right of the page, which also have this character limitation, and you can also find out who is tweeting about you and what they've said by visiting the @"yourtwittername" link above your messages. To view only your tweets, just click on your profile at the top navigation, and to view your followers tweets, just go back to the home link. Easy as pie.

But how to make yourself known? Well the trick really isn't to find whomever you feel like in the world, but to target your audience via relevent keywords. There are loads of third party style sites that run these "myspace" - like trains for people to jump on and gain followers. This works... you get loads of followers via these methods don't get me wrong! but to be fair this isn't good if you expect all of your new follower gain to share an interest in crocheted teapot covers, or baby hats; whatever it is you're trying to give some attention... Not everyone on these trains share the same interests, and may only want to have a large follower gain, and won't necessarily follow you back if you follow them (try and keep your follower ratio between 1:1 and 1.2:1 - following to followers. It'll keep things consistant for you in terms of Twitter follows).

However, you have fabulous sites like http://twibes.com/ which connects to your Twitter account and allows you to join "target" groups for you to post your specific tweets to people that will definitely have an interest in your stuff. For example, I am part of the photography and Etsy groups and I regularly post tweets on there when i update my store, knowing that both Etsy users and photography enthusiasts will find them and more than likely look at them. Compared to just any old person. The beauty about Twibes is you can also allow your tweets to go through Twitter aswell so your tweets will blast themselves into 2 venues, which is more exposure at the end of the day. Bonus. I'd recommend everyone to join it if you're serious about using Twitter.

On Twitter itself, the best way for you to get people to notice you like I say is to make sure your tweets include relevent keywords and if you can, link to your store, or items etc. If users search for particular keywords that you've used, you can bet your tweet will pop up infront of them if the timing is right, and if you have a link they'll check it out. Baring in mind that loads of people will use your keyword too so just like Etsy, it's a case of being bumped down the pile as time goes on. If you're lucky and people like your tweets, they will more than likely "retweet" (RT) your post which means they're offering further exposure of your tweet. That is simply forwarding your tweet with RT @"yourtwittername" at the start of it (like with me - @moonangelnay would direct the tweet at me, like emailing in a way), so people know who is being retweeted and the person being retweeted will be aware of your gesture :) An example that i've used today is.

"check out the beautiful new fine #art and #abstract photo prints on my #etsy store! http://bit.ly/fyZIt"

So anyone checking out any words in my tweet will probably come across it and may or may not follow me, check my links etc... If they retweet it on their own profile it'll look like this

"RT @moonangelnay check out the beautiful new fine #art and #abstract photo prints on my #etsy store! http://bit.ly/fyZIt"

So keywords! make them relevant to what you're about! Now another great thing you'll notice on twitter are the use of # or hashtags. This is a popular way to catagorise trends to follow. You'll notice my example tweet has a few. Notice how they are very specific. #Art, #Abstract, #Etsy... if I had more room I could have included #Prints and #Photo but that's excessive. There are tonnes of hashtag trending topics. I wouldn't go overboard with it though. There is an invisible etiquette to hashtag use. I had someone complain to me once that it's only supposed to be used to promote other people, yet many people say that it can be used how you like and you see it being used in alsorts of ways all over twitter. So far I havent come across anything that suggests rules for it, considering that I don't think twitter made up the idea. I think it's a to each their own thing. But it's nothing to be afraid of. When it comes down to it, hashtags are very good at narrowing down trends to catagories that many people will use or search for and as long as you dont go nuts with it, it can work with your tweets nicely. If you don't like it, don't use them. I have noticed that regardless of the hashtag, your keywords will fall within the trending topics anyway.

Some people get infuriated at the 140 character rule when it comes to wanting to share links. It's easily overcome by sites that offer link shortening. http://bit.ly/ is my favourite as like Twibes, it can link to your Twitter directly and you can post straight from it. You can also monitor your links and post them again if you want, without having to go through the process of typing or copying and pasting the original link again. You'll notice an example of a bit.ly shortened link in my example tweet. If you follow it, it leads you straight to my Etsy store, as promised in the tweet. Perfect.

So that's all there is to it really. Other than that i'd suggest posting your twitter links around to share in the Etsy forums, link to it (even via a widget) on all of your pages, blogs, social network profiles etc, and make sure you keep your tweets interesting! Don't always go on about your work. You're artists, not machines! Just like in the blogging world you can meet great people on Twitter, and being personal and tweeting about everyday things, or interesting things you have found, debates, news etc will keep lots of people keen on what you have to say!

OK! So thats that. Wow its 3.40pm where I am now. I thought I'd spend longer on this but I'm glad I can get it out now for everyone! Don't forget to Google Connect with me, to keep updated on my blog, and if you're on twitter, come by and follow me on mine! Just search for @moonangelnay or click here http://twitter.com/moonangelnay.

I look forward to writing my next networking article. Don't forget tomorrow is my first treasury like feature for my blog! Monday Magic! Otherwise come back next Sunday for part 3 of Sunday Coffee And Cake!

moonangelnay xxx

Balloon Head

New Listing on Etsy - Click image to visit the listing

hello! Yes I know it has been a few days... man it's been a knackering two days but I have quite a bit to talk about. Next Monday and Friday as you know I am introducing my new features for Etsy sellers that are at around 20 sales or under, and had a fantastic response to requests on the Etsy forum about it! Already I have slots filled up for Monday Magic and I'm compiling an interview for a fab seller for Friday Finds! It's going to be great, I'm really excited about the introduction and hope that it does well to drive traffic into their stores. I know how hard it is to do that whether time is your enemy or lack of marketing knowledge. But next week I'll be blasting both posts around my individual communities on the web, including the likes of Twitter, Indie Public and Facebook, which should most definitely help a bit if not a lot! I have a lot of faith in Twitter for marketing and I intend to expand on the reason on my upcoming Coffee and Cake article this Sunday. So keep an eye out for that post as it's part two of my marketing series!

So yeah all in all I have achieved something for once! Lol!

Now, my fatigue... would you believe is completely about paper? LOL I have spent the ENTIRE week fussing over paper, i swear until 2am each night. As you may know already I am introducing my own line of ACEO, 5x7 and 8x12 prints to my Etsy store, in a choice of Archival Matte, 100% Cotton Rag, Satin Lustre or Premium Glossy paper. And I have my beautiful new printer to thank for that. I'm just so excited that I have not been satisfied with any old paper, as the last thing I want is for people to have my art adorning their walls or desktops, and for something bad like fade or moisture runs to damage them! So yeah... archival paper... weeeeeee!

Now another thing i want to introduce in a short while are greeting cards, note cards, calenders and gift tags. I'm quite excited about this, and doing my research today has made me even more enthusiastic at the prospect. it's going to be a fab way (as will my ACEO prints) to offer bundles of my work at lower prices, and value for money is something I think we all think about in times like the present! So this is something I think will be great for customers that want to purchase my work but would like to spend less. And despite being stationary I won't compromise on the paper! Nope, it'll still be archival and of the highest quality coupled with the pigment inks I use. BUT... As I'm still updating items in my store with new descriptions, and have a long list of ACEO's to list, plus new prints to make... it'll be a little while before I can devote time to it. But DEFINTELY in time for christmas, you can expect my high quality and stationary for yourselves or as gifts to hit my store :D

Work aside, I've also been trying to devote more time to the family. The other half is recovering from his cataract operation for the next few weeks so my son has been in his element squealing the house down with joyful noise (although I don't know if the neighbours would think that LOL). It's been none stop since mummy explained last week about daddy's trip to the hospital! He's "doctor" Yukio this week. So far he's been more of an entertainer, like getting his hairy troll puppet to do the can-can, and putting cups on his feet... oh I can't forget him prancing about in my hat and shoes the other day... I don't think we've really been able to contain the laughter since! Particularly as he dressed himself... seriously! I HAD to take photos LOL! But yes It's been hard not to want to get involved in the fun so part of me has been very easily distracted for the past week, even though I have had the opportunity to work. I have been mind you! Just with the odd distraction. But yeah... work and fun leads to a sleepy mum! So I'd better crack on! I may not get a chance to blog again until Sunday but hopefully I should do! Until then :D

moonangelnay x x x

SUNDAY - Coffee and Cake

Relisted on Etsy - Click image to visit the listing

Dunno about people overseas but it's approaching midday here in the UK and I am ever so slightly behind with my first Sunday feature, what with promising that it'd be a morning thing; but I guess that if you're part of my main following that are 5+ hours behind GMT then I guess the timing will be perfect! The reason I'm behind is pretty pathetic really... Paper. I spent about 6 hours last night until 2.30am looking at paper. Not just any old paper! Noooooo I wouldn't use just ANY old paper in my sparkly gorgeous new printer (here I go), no it's quite amazing actually that I have stumbled across this fab idea whilst I was trying out it's loveliness yesterday on Lustre Satin paper (which is GORGEOUS omg). After testing the quality and having one of those DOH I should have realised moments, I came up with an incredible plan for my prints both 5x7 and 8x12 that will not only make them archival lasting a lifetime but now that I have the right gear, I can purchase the most optimum papers and still offer the same prices on my Etsy store which in turn means the ultimate value for my customers for quality Giclée prints (and soon ACEO prints). No more photolab, waiting for millions of years and expensive postage for my customers for these sizes! Hurray! That's what I wanted all along for my work, and considering I can make this leap at home it's any wonder the photolab don't offer the same printing ability (that's what happens when you can only think about making money! Shame on them). I find it amazing that I can print Giclée now that I use pigmented inks and using the best of papers I have found that have accredition from the Fine Art Trade Guild for the papers archival nature and museum-like quality, means that my work is going to look AMAZING where ever it hangs. I'm hoping to use 315g 100%cotton rag although I have never seen my work on such quality paper I'm for some reason hesitant about the leap! LOL! What it'll mean though is I'll have to take my Etsy shop down for a while so I can readjust the print info on all of my work. In the long run I'll be spending more to make this happen and earning less to keep value for my customers, but ultimately as good as matte or glossy archival paper goes I think that if you're an artist and you want to give your customers the best of your work you need to use the best media to showcase what you do. Now this is just coming from the fine artist in me. I wondered when it'd creep into my photography LOL!


NOW! enough blabbing. The point to my Sunday - Coffee and Cake articles is simply to give back to the handmade community a little something of where and how I have come so far with my work with the purpose of hopefully guding others that may be wondering what the hell to do in the right direction. I'm not one of those Etsy sellers that has thousands of sales, I'm still pretty new myself, but I do know how to drive traffic into my world online, and that I know is quite possibly the most time consuming and difficult thing any person that attempts this can manage. So I want to be able to help by mentioning my trials and errors along the way and also leave useful articles or advice I have come across to hopefully turn any new home workers in the handmade community into established workers. I have found a notable change in my Etsy traffic and my web presence through the hours (sometimes tears lol) i have put into marketing my work. Today I'll discuss part 1 of a big thing that seems to stump a lot of people online (even in the real world). Networking as I see it happening a lot both in and outside of Etsy, sometimes done well and a lot of the time done without a mindful attitude. Let me explain what I mean.

Networking PART 1 - Commenting This is probably one of the least considered form of marketing that is thought of but spreading yourself around with meaningful notes in relevant places not only will expand your web presence without the need to set up millions of networking sites, blogs etc, but it also can be a useful way of showing potential customers what your made of, particularly if you write something people can identify with. Unfortunately commenting on anything nowadays is either a race for the top spot or a lazymans ground for spamming links. Or at least from what I've noticed it is. For everyone in the world, sparing time to read and write to people regarding their posts whatever they are is something that is almost like giving away a limb when time is particularly precious to you (I'm a mum, and I can struggle with that even in the world outside of the web). However, trying to get in the first comment by writing a few words that aren't necessarily meaningful to the posts curator will in the long run be bad for both parties and there are a whole host of reasons as to why. The main one being a high bounce rate means that anyone coming in to look at your page pretty much does only that and doesn't intereact with it at all. So the higher the bounce rate, the less people are clicking away browsing all your hard work. Therefore people with their mini "woop" comments, you're drawing that to the curator and also to yourself! It is a killer and these short posts are magnets for a higher bounce rate. Whereas, meaningful posts encourage people that like to read interesting things to check out just how interesting you are. Yeah you're only leaving a comment, but come on you are doing the right thing by showing your genuity and people that spot your words will see that. Oh also, "link spamming" which for some reason people think that if they leave it there it's bound to get clicked on. Well if people don't know what they're clicking on then they're more than likely to close the window (high bounce rate). You could be leaving a link to your toaster decorating website on somebody's post about their summer holiday. If someone is reading about a summer holiday they're not likely going to want to check out pretty toasters, even if they are amazing. Whereas if you tell the curator just how interesting their post is to you, say why, give them some time to discuss their post, and if you like maybe relate it to yourself (it's not necessary), even those people that have no idea what you're about will have a higher chance of giving you some of their time as they will see in your comment more than just a link. Your potential livelihood IS more than just a link so give it some credit. Links not only looks like you haven't shown a real interest in a curators post but it looks awful on their page having reams of unrelated links flying down the page. There is an etiquette to making yourself known to the world and I have done the above things and experienced the lack of acknowledgement in return (I think we all do, because it's quick and easy), yet found that once I actually made a point of reading things properly, and only commenting when I GENUINELY wanted to in related fields or completely random ones, and maybe leaving links in places where it was of reference or relevant (ie: Etsy promotions forum), meant that suddenly people noticed I existed and to be fair this all should be obvious because we only read stuff that is meaningful to us anyway don't we? Why not leave something that is mindful and meaningful for OTHERS to enjoy? And heck, not for the marketing aspect but because it's nice to interact with the world? To have a business you MUST like people! And show them that you're personable and prepared to make time for them; it's no different from building relationships in person. This means that for time scrooges like I was once, you must have the inclination to find more time to inject into communication. But there is no gloom about it. People across the world have pretty interesting things to say about their craft or their lives, and you'll find that you can make good friends with people as you build rapport through your interest in what they do. THIS is what drives traffic to you. If you make yourself known to the world as being human, someone who actually likes to communicate with people (which will reflect on how they see you as a business owner and them as customers), other people outside of the immediate communication will notice your genuity and will more than likely give you a moment of their time to check out what you are about. Whatever you give out you get back. Stick a post it note of that as an affirmation on your computer screen if it helps, that is a seriously big thing to remember when it comes to any kind of relationship, not only in business. I mean we all hate those door to door sales people don't we? Getting their script done before you slam the door in their face and money is all they think about. And to me leaving these short "woop first comment" like messages is no different as the intent of them is never about the curators post (I don't mean to offend but really... they're not). Be personal, make the time (yes I am staying up later but it's worth it as I WANT my business to work, and I want to meet great people across the globe), have the right intentions, and be genuine. You'll meet some fab people out there along the way.

Right! so next Sunday I'll continue with Part 2 of this series of articles that I hope can be helpful to anyone wanting their online business to work. I'm not a money making fatcat, nor am I a huge business but I am coming from a place where I know a lot of people are stuck in at the beginnings of their new venture as I have been and I'm still learning. I hope this can make me relatable to people and my articles will be of help!


REQUESTS - right on Monday and Friday are other days I would like to be of help to the handmade community which is why I want to introduce the following things. On Monday the 3rd of August I am going to bring in Monday Magic! An expo, similar to Etsy's treasury where I will feature a themed treasury of my own. The difference is I want Etsy sellers with 20 or less sales to take part and I want you to show me your work! The theme for the first expo will be breathe, so send me items in white! As it's a new thing I'm introducing breathe seems to be a good theme. So If you would like to take part and you have the right credentials please send a convo to me on Etsy with a link to your active item you want to feature so I can review it for approval. This will be limited to 12 features so first come first serve!

Friday will be reserved for a single artist and an interview. Like Etsy's featured artists, but we all know those artists are doing great, I'd like to see artists who WANT to do great and to have the opportunity to show off their skills to the world. So Friday the 7th of August is Friday Finds! Send me a convo on Etsy and tell me why you would like a feature. I may surprise you with an interview :)

Look forward to working with you again!

moonangelnay x x x

My New Lover!

New Prints in store NOW - Click each photo to visit their listings on Etsy

Before anyone jumps the gun, no I don't mean a real live human lover of that kind. I'm a very good person! No, I today have aquired a new printer.... and OMG... I can't wait to set it up. Nope, I havent set it up yet, as unfortunately its nearing midnight and I'm not quite certain yet of how noisy it's gonna be. If it's anything like the other halfs printer I may have to dig into my handbag for my earplugs. (Yes I carry ear plugs in my handbag... what? LOL!)

Not only that but I'm a sleepy head so thought I would blog first... maybe check Etsy again... and my treasury... possibly recheck my emails. Well yeah at this rate it'll be tomorrow before I'm in bed so you get the picture :) But yeah OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I'm excited. For a coupla reasons besides being a complete geek. The big one is that I should be able to offer prints up to 8x12 in size for less international postage and the 10-28 day wait would be slashed to 5-7 days. I normally use a professional photo lab to print my work as it's of the UTMOST importance for my prints to be of the best quality and for longevity that they are printed properly. Well... my sparkly shiney new printer has just that capability now including the guarantee (this comes from the manufacturer not me) that the prints will last for 100 years stored in an album whilst retaining it's amazing quality and crispness. This is a process that I have been longing to be able to control myself as I'm not entirely comfortable with the million year wait for my prints to get done (even if it is well... most of the time), as well as not knowing what will arrive in my hands before I send them on to customers. Someone needs to tell the lab techs to check these photos before sending to omit errors which is why I proof my prints before sending them (hense the possible 28 day wait. which so far has never happened but I have had to complain for botched prints before!). Now at least for my most popular sizes I can have 100% control of your prints and my sanity :) So this is great for me, and the quality will be extreme! I only wish I could have afforded the larger one but that is my goal. Baby steps.

Now... I didnt write about it yesterday but I will today. I earned a blog award a couple of days ago from worthburning! I'm super chuffed about it although it has meant that I am now obligated to pass it on to 15 or so other amazing blogs (not incinuating that mine is amazing!). That portion of paying it forward I think may have a delay but I am pleased that I can pin it on the right of the blog somewhere and know that someone somewhere in the world actually thinks that I'm not insane! Or maybe they do that that's the point LOL!

Anyway! Gotta run, tomorrow I want to talk about what I planned to today, but you know, kids, then late nights, stroking printers, the usual :)

Moonangelnay xxx

Think Thinking...

ALL NEW ETSY LISTINGS. CLICK EACH PICTURE TO TAKE YOU TO THE LISTING IN MY STORE! :D

I've had the chance to do a lot of that lately. Not so much time, that's still stressing me out but I have managed to lift a fair weight off my shoulders by discovering a few things that have helped me get this marketing thing down a little better, and also in the process given me some wonderous ideas!

I made a FAB treasury the other day. I actually made it into the top 5 before it expired. I'm hoping my newest one is just as good. I may post a pic of that in a few days. But it made me think about this blog and what I can do with it. There is nothing really of value on here for my readers unless you like to hear me chat rubbish all the time, but I thought about my journey so far on the marketing train, and also where I am with Etsy and figured it'd be a great opportunity to share my discoveries and tips whether they are my own or great articles I've come across once a week to help other "new" or low sale etsy artists drive traffic into their stores. I'm very excited at the prospect of doing this as I want to be able to give more than just whether I've had a coffee that morning or not LOL! You get me? I don't see how it's fair I do all this work and not share it as ultimately the whole point of Etsy to me besides selling handmade is the communal aspect of it. Everyone helps eachother on there and I want to do my bit, and make a feature of it weekly now that I'm in a position to document what I've done trial and error wise and let you guys know what works and what doesn't when it comes to getting your name out there. I am JUST starting to make sales now because of what I'm doing and who knows maybe it's just that time of year, but I really do believe that the numbers suddenly rishing into my store has a lot to do with it, whereas before the past 3 weeks (thanks goodness for the other halfs holiday!) I would skip across the room if just one person managed a 5 second glance at my homepage in a day. I can totally feel for anyone who may be in that position, and if you want to work at a home business it's the most devestating and motivation severing thing in the world to have your hopes shattered by lack of traffic. It's hard work but I have done a lot of experiementation (still am doing) and I think so far what I'll share in the coming weeks will take people further step by step and hopefully work some magic in those empty stores.

Another thing I am planning to do soon is offer advertisement slots on my blog although this is still in the making so details will have to come later!

Ah, and especially for the Etsy newbies or under 10 sales people I have a special plan for you all which will also like my weekend help articles, be a weekly occurance. More details about that on Sunday with my other announcements :)

So yes! Sunday will be my first article day. I am going to call it Coffee and Cake, as that's all you need on a relaxing Sunday morning whilst browsing the net. I look forward to it!

Whilst im at it, here are my recent photography prints to Etsy. Enjoy!

From Day To Night

I seem to be cursed with this whole time malarky. Lol! I tell myself all the time about how much more efficient I will be after letting the wee hours anxieties form long lovely lists of plans for my future days. But I seem to get plagued with distractions (although they are necessary some of the time), then lo and behold I end up behind with my endevours. Today at least I'm slightly more relaxed about it, but I think that is more of a succumbing to the inevitable (no Naomi you cannot play the grand creator and MAKE time... not literally anyway). Ahhhhhh *that is a sigh I promise*, the joys of a mothers schedule! Well despite not getting absolutely all of what I hope to achieve daily done, I have at least catalogued a few new pieces to stick onto my etsy store over the next few weeks. I'll be playing nurse / "single mum" next week as my other half is having an operation and is on strict orders to take it easy for 3 weeks after. Which means I need a plan of action for keeping my son from bouncing off the walls for at least the first week so his father can get a good rest! So the ultimate full time action will be on the cards which sadly means I'll be cutting back on my beloved etsy work to cater for the boys needs.

I've planned ahead and have lots of goodies to share daily with everyone. It doesn't take a bajillion years to list on Etsy. It's the marketing that slows up my days, so treasuries will probably have to get cut (maybe not though), as will my hunt for the ultimate advertising tools. I should hopefully be able to continue blogging although they may be a little shorter and more scary due to impending bald patches (oh how will i live without my Etsy!), and i think a tweet here or there may get slipped past the little one without him noticing :)

All in all earlier this week had been about planning, so the stress levels were high, and I had been in a bit of a dark place... so to follow suit some of my recent work had taken a bit of a darker turn. That doesn't surprise me in the least. My style changes CONSTANTLY. I'm not a conventional artist at all really, I don't know why but I find it very hard to keep my style consistant yet I think it adds character to the fact that I lack it LOL. Contradiction and a half! It's the same with my fine and abstract art aswell. My photography has metamorphised now into something that I can now consider part of my being and not something I search for through a lense. I have total comfort in how I express myself through it so like I say it doesn't surprise me when each piece is as sporadic in style consistancy as i guess i am in moods LOL! i promise though that the work that is coming just as interesting. Becoming more light and wonderful (as has my mood the last few days lol!).

Tomorrow which is Friday the 17th of July my Etsy treasury "LAVENDER DREAMING" will be ending at around 9pm GMT London time so if you get the chance to check it out, please do! It's my best line of picks yet!

So I'd better show you a selection of recent uploads to Etsy. They are below! just click the titles if you want to see the listings directly :) All the best my dears!



Mandala Fire No.3 5x7 Abstract Fine Art Photography - By Moonangelnay



Rose Gold 5x7 Inch Print - Creative Fine Art Photography By Moonangelnay


A Walk Through Life 8x12 Inch Print - Creative Fine Art Photography By Moonangelnay

Vintage Bloom 5x7 Inch Print - Creative Fine Art Photography By Moonangelnay