FEST Boot Camp is On!

Woo Hoo! Today is the day! If you signed up for the Florida Etsy Street Team Boot Camp, you’ve been waiting for this! I know I have and I’m rarin’ to get started!


This is YOUR boot camp! Do as little or as much as you think you can or have time for. The more you do, the better prepared you will be for Mother’s Day – our ultimate goal.

(FromBeths on Etsy)

Though I originally thought I’d take the easy way and follow Etsy’s Holiday Boot Camp steps, I’ve decided that we’re all too busy for long lists of “to do’s” so you’re getting my version. Feel free to chime in here with suggestions….I’m very open to ideas other than my own!

So, let's get started!

Step 1: Clearly define your goals. What do you want to accomplish? Write it down and share it with us, if you want. Here’s mine: I have always wanted to have a mailing list so I could send out news of specials for the holidays. I need to make a plan to do this. But I’d like to have a list started by Mother’s Day. So when you define your goal, think about what it’s going to take to accomplish it. Maybe you have a financial goal, or a sales number in mind. Maybe you want to improve your photography. If you share your goal with the rest of us, we might have some suggestions on how to get there!

Step 2: Make a budget for time and money. This doesn’t have to be complicated. Think of renewing and relisting as well as new listings. It will help you if you set up a plan that includes how much you want to spend each week for these things, and how much time you want to spend doing it. You may want to take advantage of Etsy’s ad program or use google ad words or Facebook Ads. All are viable options, and if you want to get noticed, you need to get customers from outside Etsy. There are plenty of free ones – like using your social networking (twitter, facebook, flickr, etc). Here’s how I’m doing it: I allow $30 a month on advertising. That’s all, no more. If I break that down, it’s $5.00 a week. It’ll come back to me with one sale, so it’s worth it. I plan to spend one hour a day listing a new item or renewing, then on to twitter and facebook to post something. One hour per day on line is enough for me. I can get carried away and spend several hours on the computer which means less time in the studio. Fun but not good! I want lots of new items to list for Mother’s Day, so I need to work! This plan may not work for you, it’s just an example to get you started. Your financial goals should include how much you want to make in a defined period. Example: $250 a week for the two weeks prior to Mother’s Day. What will it take to make that? More listings? More exposure? Think about it.

If you complete these two tasks this week, you’ll be off to a good start. Next week we’ll expand on the plan. Last time FEST did this boot camp, you were to pick a buddy. It’s not required, but if you can find a buddy to work with, I highly recommend it. It’s nice to have someone as a sounding board, but that’s just one more option to help you work your plan. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Most important: have fun!

Toodles,