Enter the May Pursuit HERE!

I think I may have been confusing everyone with my change of venue with the blog! So sorry! I would like participants to the May Pursuit of Handmade to Enter here with a comment! Just comment with your URL to the item or place where I can find it! If you want to share a little something about your item, that would give it a little more "juice" when it is featured, that would be fantastic! So, comment below!

Remember- the Tweet along- just tweet or share others and yourself, add the hash tag "#POH" at the end, and I will find you, Retweet you, and share! You can do a simple search and do the same.

May's Theme- "Something for Someone Special" Any item that one could give to that someone special in their life- The theme is in appreciation for all those special people who help us along in life that may not fit under the Mothers Day umbrella!

So, come on, post post post

New way to Promote your Etsy shop

I was emailed this link to a great little blog that is all about promoting your Etsy shop on Twitter!  Brilliant idea, actually... Here is how it goes...
Everyone uses the hashtag WWes and then post your link, etsy shop, sale, etc!  Other followers of the blog will do a search each day for WWes and Retweet all the items that pop up!  So your tweet may be retweeted a dozen or so times to a various other group of followers!  Great idea, eh?

If you would like to check it out for yourself, here is the link-


http://worldwideetsysellers.blogspot.com/

First Ever Facebook Contest! Sweetest Sweet for your Sweety!

I am having my first ever facebook fan page contest!  I enter them all the time, but rarely host them!  But, as many of you know, facebook can be a fantastic source for promoting and showing off your latest works!

So, hit the link and check it out!  Sweetest Sweets for Your Sweety contest!  Post the sweetest gift idea you have created with your shop, link, url and avatar (if you have one!)  I will show your work off on facebook pages, blogs, twitter, my site, Mulitply, and everywhere I can find that will let me post!  You have to fan the page, and you have to enter by 2/1!  Oh, and obviously it has to be YOUR creation...

So, come check it out and get started!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=262297993679

Oh, PS- I always fan or follow my newbies back!  So this is one more linkback to build your biz....

Find the facebook fan page at:
http://www.facebook.com/business/dashboard/?ref=sb#/pages/Mommy-Tyme-Bath-and-Unique-Gifts/87968482686

Mommy Tyme Bath and Unique Gifts on Facebook

Openings on the Site! New Month, New Opportunities

Well, here it is another month coming around....November! Actually, November is one of my favorite months... The leaves, the weather, the bonfires! I am also really excited about promoting some of my new holiday items! And, I have made a committment this year to Buy Handmade! I hope you all do the same? Anyway, with a new month, means a new blank slate for my Spotlight Page! I want to offer everyone here the opportunity first... If you would like to promote your shop, store, business (and it does not have to be handmade, but it does have to be something that is beneficial to women, Mom's, or the family unit), then please check out the spot and get me your info. As always, this is totally free, but it is first come first serve- AND you have to meet the criteria of what I am trying to offer to my viewers-


So, visit http://www.mommytyme.org/contact.html and see what you think. I am still in the process of getting ready for the new month, so the current featured shops will be removed, with new added! I update the ENTIRE site monthly with new articles! So browse around and if you see a page that you could add to, let me know! I will give you FREE banner and link advertising if I publish your articles or tidbits! I have recipes, beauty and health tips, ideas for families spending time together and much more! Really check it out. I am always looking for contributions from outside sources!

One more thing- if you have a contest, drawing or something fun going on at your site/blog- let me know! It will get announced on the website and on my other blog- Mommy's Reviews! Oh, yeah, do you want to promote your social network? Belong or run a Ning? I haven't started this yet, but for November, I would really love to feature a Ning or social network each month that my readers may find fun and helpful!

So, get to the site, see where you fit, sign the guestbooks with your information or comment here- and let's work together! I still have plenty of openings !!!

http://www.mommytyme.org

Win Free advertising for one month! Don't miss out! One week left!

I have several scheduled blog posts that are going to be occurring in the next week, and I don't want the contest to get lost in the shuffle, so I am reposting this! All entries in the original post have already been thrown into my "bucket", but you can keep entering- themore you enter the more chances to win! So, don't miss out and do all the extra's to get those added entries! Contest ends 10/31/09!

For 2 weeks I am doing a drive to get more subscribers here at Mishaps of Mommy! I love to help promote, and I want to share all the tips and tricks I learn along the way with you...
So, Here is what is up for grabs....

I will give you one month Front page advertising on my website at http://www.mommytyme.org Banner and link
I will give you one month advertising on my Spotlight page (avatar and link) at http://www.mommytyme.org/contact.html
I will give you avatar size free advertising on my blog at http://mommysreviewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com
Plus, check out any of my shops, pick one free giant bath bar and I will send that to your free! You won, so celebrate and relax!
check out the shops at:
http://www.MommyTyme.etsy.com
http://fuzzb.com/MommyTyme
http://www.MommyTyme.winkelf.com
http://shophandmade.com/MommyTyme


Here is what you have to do:
1. Subscribe to the blog here at Mishaps
2. Comment on what type of promoting, ideas, tips or tricks you need help with...

That is it! One free entry!
Want extra entries?

1. Follow me on facebook
2. Tweet this contest
3. Visit my shops and comment on which of the soaps you will choose
4. Subscribe to my other blog at
http://mommysreviewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com
5. Sign the guestbook at my website http://www.mommytyme.org

For each of the above, comment that you have completed it here and you will get an extra entry. Tweet me more than once, blog about this contest more than once, mention it here and I will add extra entries for you!

Grab my banner at the bottom of the page and get 5 extra entries! Leave a link here of where you posted it!

Have fun! This is a win! win! situation!

Free Advertising Contest! Plus a little extra!

For 2 weeks I am doing a drive to get more subscribers here at Mishaps of Mommy! I love to help promote, and I want to share all the tips and tricks I learn along the way with you...
So, Here is what is up for grabs....

I will give you one month Front page advertising on my website at http://www.mommytyme.org Banner and link
I will give you one month advertising on my Spotlight page (avatar and link) at http://www.mommytyme.org/contact.html
I will give you avatar size free advertising on my blog at http://mommysreviewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com
Plus, check out any of my shops, pick one free giant bath bar and I will send that to your free! You won, so celebrate and relax!
check out the shops at:
http://www.MommyTyme.etsy.com
http://fuzzb.com/MommyTyme
http://www.MommyTyme.winkelf.com
http://shophandmade.com/MommyTyme


Here is what you have to do:
1. Subscribe to the blog here at Mishaps
2. Comment on what type of promoting, ideas, tips or tricks you need help with...

That is it! One free entry!
Want extra entries?

1. Follow me on facebook
2. Tweet this contest
3. Visit my shops and comment on which of the soaps you will choose
4. Subscribe to my other blog at
http://mommysreviewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com
5. Sign the guestbook at my website http://www.mommytyme.org

For each of the above, comment that you have completed it here and you will get an extra entry. Tweet me more than once, blog about this contest more than once, mention it here and I will add extra entries for you!

Grab my banner at the bottom of the page and get 5 extra entries! Leave a link here of where you posted it!

Have fun! This is a win! win! situation!

Selling Online? Where? How?

Lately I have heard a lot of networkers say that they are not having much luck with their sales. I ask, "where are you selling at?" and they typically tell me one shop and a blog- well, that is probably not enough, unless you have a serious traffic service that is bringing you tons of customers every day- otherwise, you need to branch out, get your name known, so that the SEO's bring you up at the top when people enter searches for the type of items you have...

We all know about etsy, right? Well, what else is there?

How about Winkelf-
It is free!
you can add tons of products, share a store widget, and there are tons of tools for promoting your products...

Here is my widget:

You can place your widget everywhere! Social networks (in the text section), blogs, web sites, etc! This will get you noticed, but also, your tags for the items on this widget are being found, as well as, you Name! That is a key factor- if you have several shops, make sure you use the same name, the same introduction, etc. That will increase you in the search ranks!

Here is the link to sign up for a Winkelf Store!
When you sign up for your free store, please tell them Mommy Tyme or Valerie Poling referred you!

Give Away!

Well, I have run contests on most of my blogs, web sites, even at my stores, but not here at a New You! So, to gain some input, get to know some of the followers, and increase the followers- I thought we would have one here, too! Theis blog is http://mommytymeswordsofwisdom.blogspot.com

This one is going to be easy! I will accept entries until 10/10/09! So, the more comments you leave, the more entries, the more chances!

I am offering up a 10.00 gift certificate! That's right! A 10.00 Gift certificate (just in time for the holidays) that you can spend on anything in the store! Keep in mind, some items have shipping costs, but some are free! You can combine this with any toher offer, you can combine this with other items you are purchasing (for example, some of the higher price items are free shipping, but you can combine this 10.00 gift certificate and really get the item for less than 20.00; or you can pick up a couple of butter bars, bath bars, bubble bath, etc! Oh, and this week I am listing some 2.00 specials! 1.00 specials, and more....

So, what do you have to do? Truly, this is very easy...

1. Follow or subscribe to this blog- http://mommytymeswordsofwisdom.blogspot.com You are already here, so just click on the follow button to the right!
2. Visit my shop at http://fuzzb.com/MommyTyme and to the right you will see listings of my 4 shops! Just pick one shop that you would purchase from, come back and comment on any of the items that really caught your eye!

That is it! You are now entered 1 time!
Want more entries? To grab extra entries and increase your chances -

1. Follow me on twitter and then comment here with the link (Your twitter link)
2. Tweet this page, contest, etc! Comment here with the link of your tweet
3. Blog about the contest then comment here with the link to your blog (PS this gives you a link back that helps increase traffic to your blog!)
4. Sign the guest book at my web site http://www.mommytyme.org
5. Sign up for free advertising by completing the free submission information on my spotlight page of my website at http://www.mommytyme.org/contact.html Then comment here leaving me your link, banner, and shop info (again giving more traffic to your blog or site!)
6. Join my facebook fans and comment here that you have done so

Each of the above counts as one extra entry! Remember, each thing you do, you must leave an extra comment here! Oh, and you can get 5 extra entries just for posting my blog button and a link to this blog on your site until the contest ends 10/10/09! Make sure you leave a comment here with the link to your blog!

Grab the button here:



<a href="http://mommytymeswordsofwisdom.blogspot.com"><img src="http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/9804/356826270ce5ea1m3.jpg" border="0" width="125" height="125" alt="Powered by BannerFans.com" /></a><br />




You can post the button as many places as you want. Leave a link for each and receive an entry for each! Remember, the button has to stay up until the contest is ended 10/10/09!


The below Give Away is at:

http://mommytymeswordsofwisdom.blogspot.com You must go there to complete the steps!

The contest winner is chosen at random by each entry being assigned a number in chronological order according to the entry time. Only comments left here at this blog are considered entries! Each extra entry will be verified by checking the link given. Then a random number is chosen with the installed program at the top of the blog. The winner will be announced 10/10/09.

Remember, the contest for butter bars is still happening at my other blog:
http://mommysreviewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com

Use Twitter the Right Way!

Get the most out of your twitter account! There are tons of ways to use twitter to really get the traffic to your shops. If you aren't using twitter, you are losing potential customers.

Here are some tips:

1. On your social network sites from Ning, you can add the twitter finder Application. Do this. Enter key words that you are looking for like marketing, shopping, selling, handmade, etc. Then, set your application to find 5-10 of these each time you log on. You can then click onto these tweeters to determine if you want to follow or not! This will give you leads, ideas, and the things they tweet may help you!

2. Make sure your twitter page looks fun and inviting. An interesting twitter page makes others want to follow you. So deocorate your page! There are tons of services available for this, such as webfetti.

3. Tweet everything of interest. You can install a twitter bar, or just keep your twitter home page open at all times and copy url's then paste on your home page that you want to share. Remember, once in a while just type a few thoughts or ideas in your twitter page. Otherwise, spam services may consider your page spam and ignore you. One of the filters for spam is the percentage of URL's posted.

4. Go to tweet spinner and sign up. This is free. You can add several URL's that are constantly retweeted at intervals you set. Yes, this one works and well! Try it!
http://tweetspinner.com/70912307

Try this link if the above does not work: http://bit.ly/26MTCV

5. Any time you list a new product, service, have a social network page, etc. there is generally a share button somewhere around. Share it with twitter, facebook, digg and more. For social network sites from ning, the share button is under your avatar at the left. Do this several times a day to get people to your page! You can add a share button to your blog, your web site, etc. Share it with twitter!

Have more ideas on how twitter can help? Share them here....

<
Contests are always a great way to get some promotion and to have fun! See the slide show below, this is our current contest on Artisan Jewelry Designs! The Artisan Spotlight!

Visit http://www.mommytyme.org/contact.html to find out more, how to join, and how to vote for the winner!

Also, Last months winner at I Spy- Another fun contest on Artisan Jewelry Designs was Pinka with this great scarf! Find out more about her and her products at http://www.mommytyme.org/contact.html



Social Networks offer many opportunities for link backs, to expose your products and items, your craft and your sales/promotions! Chekc out Artisan Jewelry Designs for some fun contests and fellowship

Visit Artisans/Jewelry Designers Ltd.

Check out the contest!

I have a contest/drawing running on my Mommys reviews You can Use blog at http://mommysreviewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com Go to the blog and enter today! Here is the a run down of the entry process....


From: http://mommysreviewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com

So far, I have had some great responses... but, the contest is open until 10/10! So, keep tweeting, commenting, andmore! The more you hsare and comment, the more entries you have! That really increases your odds! Thanks for your participation, folks! I enjoy reviewing your "about me" on blogger, and finding your blogs! Wow! so many interesting and talented people I have met with one little old blog!


Mommy Tyme Gifts is going to join in the contest fun! I am always giving away something on the website, but I think this time I will post it to potential new fans and see what happens!

Up for grabs is 1 Extra Large handmade bath bar or butter bar in your choice of scents! You choose. Visit my shop at http://www.MommyTyme.etsy.com and browse which item you would like!

Here is how to Enter:

1. Comment which product you would choose for the giveaway
2. Follow me on facebook (see the become a fan widget on this page)
3. Tweet the contest with a link to http://mommysreviewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com (you can just copy and paste this in your twitter bar or use the share button in the sidebar)
4. Sign the guestbook at http://www.mommytyme.org

Want Extra entries:

Just blog about this contest on your blog-
Subscribe to my blog-

2 extra entries each for completing either of those options!

When you leave your comment please leave your link to twitter and your blog where I can see you shared the contest information (Plus, I will follow you back!)

Lets get going! Contest closes 10/10/09!!!

New month, New Opportunities

Well, here it is September.... I have been very busy with the blogs this month! I hope you have learned and benefitted from some of the tips, links, and ideas we have shared here! I also hope you have had the chance to check out some of my other blogs-
Mommy's Reviews you Can Use at http://mommysreviewsyoucanuse.blogspot.com
A New You at http://mommytymeswordsofwisdom.blogspot.com

Each of these blogs has different content to help you with your life, family, business, etc. So, please give them a view!

Also, as a new business owner, salesperson, handmade/handcrafted artisan, you may still find the market a tough nut to crack! I know I do! Some weeks are great, while others I feel like I am just wasting time- but, patience and diligence are the keys! So, keep moving forward!

Last month on the web site at http://www.mommytyme.org I gave away several free sample products for my contest/drawing- and the winner has been announced- visit the site and see who it is!



This month, again, I am offering a free gift for participating in the contest that runs between all of my blogs and the site! Up for grabs - an extra large, 50unce, butter Bath Bar- these great bars are jam packed with skin loving essentials like organic jojoba oil, honey, shea butter, a heaping scoop of organic cocoa butter, kokum butter, lanolin, vegetable glycerin and more! Moisturize while you shower or bathe! These come in fantastic, rich, long lasting scents that you will love! I will be giving one bar away every 10 days until October 10th! So, check back often and see if your announced! Then just contact me with the shipping address!







So, here are the new entry rules for the Butter Bar Giveaway:

1. Follow Mommy Tyme on Twitter - see the follow me button below (I will follow you back!)



2. Follow the blog
3. Sign the guestbook at the website http://www.mommytyme.org
4. Use the share button below - simply share this with at least 3 places (facebook, twitter, digg, etc. any of the choices listed, or you can share with the same site 3 times- it does not matter to me!)

Once you have done that, your name goes into the drawing bowl! That's it, that's all! To ensure your name is entered (in case you have any doubts) you can ask for confirmation in a comment on any of my blogs, or you can request confirmation in the guestbook at the site, or you can even email me at Mommytyme70@yahoo.com

Good luck!


More opportunities- Do you write well? Would you love to share a story about your WAH? Your opportunities you offer? Your items? etc? Do you have an article that women can benefit from? Well, write me an article for the website! Submit your article to Mommytyme70@yahoo.com and if I use it on the site, you will receive free Banner advertising with a link for as long as I use the article! You can write about your work, your items you create, offer a free pattern, recipe, whatever. I am open to take in all types of content! This is a great chance for more exposure for you, and for your business!


Finally- Interested in posting a link on my shopping pages of the website? It's simple! Just pick up one of my banners listed below, - post it on your site or blog with my link



Link to : http://mishapsofmommy.blogspot.com



http://mommytymeswordsofwisdom.blogspot.com





http://www.mommytyme.org



then send me an email with your banner and link and let me know where I can find mine on your site! That is it! I love reciprocal advertising and banner exchanges!

Get more Sales- Series 4

Linkbacks-

If you have been following the "get more sales" series, by this time you should have your store chosen, and have become a member of a few social network sites. If you have not done those tasks, refer back in the archive for great leads on these...

Now we need to focus on getting your store or selling venue found when a potential customer types in a search of products you may have...

It really is not as easy as just submitting your site to web site submission sites. That is a start, however. You also need to focus on linkbacks- the more linkbacks, the higher your site climbs in the ranking. So, how does a linkback work? What is a linkback? I will provide you with some resources, but explain it in "Mommy Terms"-

A linkback is a means or method in which other sites will link back to your site. You will submit your site, and that site will have your URL registered along with theirs (and other submissions). Generally sites allow a description or keywords to be attached to your URL. Make sure you choose these carefully. Many request a banner or avatar (which you should have now if you have been following the series, if you do not, scan the archives and find the post titled Banners or Free Banners)

The first places you will want to provide your linkbacks is your selling sites and your social networks you have joined. Check under banners, links to our stores, or another similarly worded tab at your selling venues. Made it Myself has this on their last page of the site. It is titled Member Stores. Grab the code for the MIM banner and place it on your selling site, your blog, your social network, etc. You will then submit to Made it Myself (per their instructions on the page), your banner and link and the link where their banner can be found. Simple as that. Check all of your selling venues for these opportunities.

As for the social networks, when you register, typically the network requests your website or selling venues as part of the application process. Enter the page of your site you want members to see (it does not have to be the first page of your website, you may want to direct people to a mid page where there is more of attention grabbing detail). Once a member of the network, there are a variety of places you can add your linkback. You should have already added your RSS, so that provides one link back. You can also join groups for banner exchanges, post your stores, etc. In those groups, members post their banners or avatars, other members pick them up and place them on their sites, in exchange you place their banner on yours. This can be for blogs, shops, and more. Join as many of these groups as you can, and link back as many sites as you can fit. This constantly raises your rank. The network may also have a place where members post a business directory, a member store page, etc. You can submit your information in these pages, also.

A good starting goal for the next two weeks would be to submit at least 20 linkbacks. If you have difficulty with this, check my site and see the linkbacks at the bottom of the following page http://www.mommytyme.org/contact.html if you would like to link back to this page, simply follow the submission guidelines provided higher on that page. If you have problems, feel free to comment here at the blog and I will help you.

Once you have submitted some of your link backs, share the places where you linked here! We can help each other find great link back sites to help expand each of our linkbacks and rankings! Post them in the comments, and remember, every comment increases your chances to win free Mommy Tyme products! See http://www.mommytyme.org for more details on the free drawings!

Please Vote on this web page --

Here is a great link for submitting your site to various search engines. You can scroll to the bottom of the page and submit to over 20 search engines all at one time. Also a variety of link back and search engine banner opportunities available.

http://www.freewebsubmission.com/

Here is another free selling venue you might be interested in:

http://www.wigix.com/index.php/myprofile/orders/8415862/8

Women in Business

One area you may be neglecting in your attempt to promote and sell your products is that of learning. Yes, learning. We can learn from others who have been there, done that, and tried this. So, one fantastic resource that you might want to take advantage of is: Women in Business This is a great social network site that has immense opportunities for the experienced, as well as, the newby!


Visit Women In Business


There is tons of information on this network. As with all social networks you will have your own page to decorate as you like. The owner of this network, Tongya, is super flexible and nice. She allows you to promote how you want, what you want. She does like active participation at least one to two times per week. You can truly learn from some of the business owners on there. This week alone Women in Business hosted vendor parties, information about business taxes, work at home opportunities, prizes, contests, giveaways. This site gives you the TOOLS to succeed, and the KNOWLEDGE to retain success. I sincerely hope you give it a try! Tell them Mommy Tyme sent you.


For those of you who have visited Women in Business- what are the events/activities/forums you found most beneficial? What did you learn? Please share here with others!
Remember- every comment enters you into the drawing for goodies from Mommy Tyme Bath and Gifts

Promote your shop

I wanted to share this social network with you- A great opportunity to promote your links, your badges, stores and more...





Visit Cross Promotion

Get More Sales Series - RSS Feeds

Well, as promised a few weeks ago, we are going to discuss RSS feeds. These feeds allow you to track new information from specific sites, or to post your information from one site to another. Because your info is getting around on the web, it increases the keyword hits and your google/yahoo rankings, plus it brings that customer who may never have found your original site but found your RSS feed on another site. I will try to give you some more information on the "techy" stuff related to feeds and how they benefit you, but for now, let's get started on creating them.

First, just to get the hang of it... Let's place an RSS feed on your social network.

So, here it is broke down into simple steps-
1. Choose which social network you want to place your feeds on
2. Go to the social network site, go to my page, and then click on add apps under your avatar on the left column
3. In the search box for Applications- type RSS feeds
4. An RSS feed application will pop up, click on add to my page.
5. Once it is added it will direct you back to your page or allow you to add the settings or feeds directly from there. Either way, click settings/edit and several empty URL boxes should appear. This is where you will add your feeds. Keep this screen open.
6. Choose what feeds you want to add. Since this blog is for online sellers, lets add the feeds from one of your selling sites. I will use Artfire as an example, but all selling sites will have an RSS feeds icon somewhere on their page- if you can't find it, type RSS in the search box. It looks like:


7. As an example, go to my artfire page at http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&op=listing&product_id=276101 Go to the RSS feeds icon in the left column and click it (orange and diagonal white striped box, see example above).
8. Once you click on the icon, it will take you to your google or yahoo page and ask you how you want to save it. On Google, you do not have to actually save it, just look up at the left hand corner and the feed will be highlighted there. You can right click, copy and then go to your social network RSS feeds and past it there. See the example of my Artfire feed at the following URL: http://www.google.com/ig/add?feedurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.artfire.com%2Frss%2Fstudio.php%3Fid%3D37556

You can add several feeds to your page, and set how many feeds you want displayed through the tools on the RSS feed application. Once you have set this up, click save. Your feeds will then be shown on your My page of your social network. You can move this RSS box by clicking and dragging it to a different spot on your My Page.

That is it. Now you have added RSS feeds to your My Page of your favorite social network. Your latest items added to your store will also be updated on your My Page of your social network site.



I would love to hear from anyone who has done this? Did it help your sales? Were the instructions easy to follow? Share your experience with us here.

Mommy’s gone overboard, AGAIN

In my attempt to market my products and advertise my items, I started spending endless hours scouring the web, free website submission services, joining social networks, etc. What has now happened is I have joined so many groups and signed up for hundreds of free web surfing sites that I actually spend about 2 ½ hours each morning just trying to catch up with my obligations to the groups I have joined. I then found Twitter. Wow! I thought this is a fantastic opportunity to advertise my items and my sales to thousands of people. That, of course, led to face book, my space and more….

 

So, what I have run into is about 240 emails each morning when I wake up that need answered. After that I have to check all of my stores (which I also went overboard on, and opened one in several marketplaces), then my pay pal account, and finally, as time allows, I get the chance to update my own website, blog, and add items to my store. This is crazy! I have put myself out there in so many places that I am spending more time on the web then I am on creating the projects I love.

 

So, this week I have decided to review, reduce, and downsize my outlets and marketing attempts. The reality is, that when you spread yourself so thin, the work you are doing is quantity and not quality. Just putting a badge or banner up on a social network page and showing a few pictures, really isn't what social networking is about. The idea behind the social networking groups is to show yourself to others, make friends (thus the word social), learn new techniques, ideas, share thoughts and more. Your social networks should not just be networks that you think you can sell yourself at, or that you think you can market from. Social networks are not designed for that purpose unless that is in the name and description of the network. Rather, the social network is designed to meet new people, make friends, and find similar interests with others that you can share. Somehow I have missed some great friendship opportunities on these networks because I am so busy trying to catch up with every network.

 

Another mistake is joining several free web submission services that require you earn credits by surfing pages. Joining one or two of these sites is truthfully all one person can handle if they only have 1-2 hours on the internet a day. If you are not familiar with these programs, the idea is that you surf and review other's people's web sites. You earn credits for each site reviewed. You can then spend these credits by having your website posted for others to review in the same program. This does bring traffic to your site; however, it is not the right traffic. That is the key. You want traffic to your site and stores of people who are interested in purchasing or shopping for your line of items. That is the mistake so many of us make. We think that the odds are in our favor if we get enough individuals browsing our sites, but reality is these individuals are viewing your sites for the same reason you are viewing theirs. Not because you are interested, but because you need credits. So, if you agree to these programs, make sure the program is one which allows you to choose your interests for the sites you will be viewing, and that allows you to plug your site into certain categories that a viewer can choose to look at. So, you would not want to list your site under web development if you are selling jewelry. Otherwise the people who are searching web development may look at your site, but they are not interested.

 

The same concept applies to your twitter messages. You don't want just any followers, you want the right followers. The same applies when you are searching twitter for people to follow. If you are interested in free web submission, and you type that in, that is what you will get. You can follow these individuals, but it may lead to you getting followers who are interested in free web submission services- not the true items you are marketing. So, at least once or twice a week you should look for twitter's that has key words relative to your items. Examples would be, "shop for jewelry", "green gem stones", etc. Or if you have bath and body products, "lotions on sale", "buy handmade soap", etc. Once you find the twitter's with these key phrases, follow them. Even if they are a seller, too, you may gain some of their followers by the follow list posted to the side. Make sure you tweet some general interest items once in a while, too. People want to get to know the seller, and short brief phrases allow some insight into your personality.

 

So, learning from my mistakes the past few months, my agenda is now to downsize some of my outlets. I am going to review all the social networks I belong to and reduce my participation to those that I really enjoy, those that I have made friends on, and those that have similar interests to my own. I have listed a few great sites below, and hope if you have time you will check them out! Second, I am going to withdraw my site surfing programs to only two. The two that I choose will allow the viewer to choose categories of sites they want to view, and categories for which they can list their own sites. Finally, I am going to review my twitter follow list and reduce to those that I actually want to read and follow. Hopefully, this will free up at least half of the time I currently spend on the internet and allow me to get back to Creating! I haven't been in the kitchen for a week to make a batch of lotion, soap, or melts. I have barely picked up my crochet hook! Without my time for those interests, I feel empty and lost.

 

I hope this helps someone else out there who find themselves being sucked into a variety of outlets, and unsure which ones to let go and which ones to pursue. There are only so many hours in the day, and the majority of those hours should be spent doing what you love. If you love marketing on the web, then you are fine, but if you love creating with your hands, you may want to consider downsizing.

 

 

 

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