BLACK FRIDAY!! Bring it on!

OK, so just like everyone else on etsy (LOL), Little Birdie Baby Shop will be having a BLACK FRIDAY SALE!

Everything in shop is marked 30% off and there will be a FREE GIFT included with every purchase!

The free gift is from a new line of products I'll be introducing at the first of the year, so what a fun sneak peek for all my loyal shoppers! Now, all you have to do is get to shopping, and be sure to tell your friends! :):)

Digging out of a rut...

Creativity and craftiness is such a blessing. Unfortunately, the very thing that allows me to run a successful and creatively based business is also the same thing that sometimes traps me. I'm sure many of you feel the same way from time to time.

Ever since the show I've been feeling a little like I'm in a creative "rut" so to speak. I'm sure it has something to do with the stress of it all, and the subsequent in-pouring of orders. While I absolutely LOVE what I do, the minute it starts to pile up and feel like "work" I start dragging. Quite the conundrum, eh?

Today I decided to take a little break from all the work and switch gears in hopes of restoring my motivation and creative drive. This time I opted for a little crocheting...

crocheted baby beanie with white flower clip

What do you think?? I like it! I can't wait to take some pics of the little one in it. Obviously she's already tried it on for sizing, but her red jammies definitely clashed, so no pics yet. ;)

I'd done some knitting before... nothing major, mostly just scarves, but I had never tried crocheting before. God bless the internet for being an endless resource of knowledge! haha!

Do any of you ever get in a rut like that? What do you do to help catapult yourself out of it and get back on track?

Marketing Tip #1

I know many of you (including myself) are constantly looking for new ways to drive visitors to our shops. I'm sure alot of you already know what I'm about to share, but all this etsy selling stuff is still relatively new to me, so I'm always excited when I come across something new and helpful! In the spirit of building a community of successful sellers, I decided to share the results of my marketing efforts as I discover them in hopes that something I do will be able to help YOU! :)

First of all, a little bit about me. :) My background is in business/legal with a smattering of marketing and advertising as well as some graphic design. I random collection, I know. I tend to be the kind of person who jumps in head first to new ventures if only to learn something new. I guess that's about how my store came about in the first place, LOL. All of those things combined are making for a really fun experience diving into the seller world.

That being said, I track my analytics like a crazy person. I watch them daily via Google, Blogger, and StatCounter. Overkill? Maybe... But it helps me formulate my next move. ;)

I've also been watching the forums on etsy, and some of the team sites I'm a member of for new ideas. Many people seem to agree that renewing your listings is the number one thing to do to drive up the visitor count to your site, so I did a trial for 2 weeks to test it out. 

Turns out, it worked GREAT! I highly recommend it! Now, I'm sure it's not for everyone, but for someone like me, who doesn't list new items often (unlike maybe a jewelry shop or a bow shop) it really seemed to help catch the eye of new followers.

Technically speaking my results were as follows:

- On days that I did not renew, my numbers stayed about average
- On days that I renewed in the morning (before 10am) my numbers went up about 30-50%
- On days that I renewed in the evening (after 3pm, before 7pm) my numbers doubled!

Now, I haven't really figured out the days to a science yet, but so far it's looking like Thursdays are the strongest days for all traffic, with Tuesday in a close second. What's funny is that no matter what, the weekends are always lower than the rest of the week... which would not have been my guess pre-research.

So, it seems as though the evening time is the best time for attracting new traffic. Makes sense being as that's about the time people are getting home from work, etc. Now, I know renewing costs money, but at $.20 a pop I usually only do about 6-8 listings, keeping my cost under $2. No biggie, but it gets the products in front of the viewers.

I would love to hear how this works for others, if anyone decides to try it and track the results. As always, best wishes!! :):)

Great idea!

Yesterday as I was blogging about something or other, I got a notification from Blogger about a new site they're partnered with:

http://blogspot.sharedbook.com/blog2print/googleblogger/index.html

It's a little site that takes your blog and makes it into a book! You can get it in either hardback or paper, and you can have your entire blog published or just an excerpt. Aaaaaand it's super easy to use and they do all the messy formatting FOR YOU!

I personally am no stranger to book publishing, as I've done many in the past, but this site takes like, oh 90% of the work out of it. Hopefully it's still around in a few years when I get ready to publish my baby blog for my little girl. Talk about your cheaters' scrapbook, haha!

Anyway, just wanted to pass it along to any who may not have seen it yet and could really use it. :)

Have a great day!!

So you think you're crafty?

Hey all! I want to take a moment to direct your attention to the new button I added in the right column. Looks like this:

It comes from a really great site, www.soyouthinkyourecrafty.com where some of the craftiest people I've ever seen come together to compete in a weekly crafting contest. Much like "So You Think You Can Dance"... get it? It's really fun! Each week throughout the 10 week period the competitors are given a "theme" from which to work from and then people come vote for their favorite.

I have seen some incredible things come out of this contest. The best part is, the winner of each week shares instructions so you can make your own version of their winning craft. Here are a few of my favorites of the past weekly winners: (I linked the captions to their tutorial page if you're interested!)

flower party lights

leaf rosette wreath

linen cashmere wool frame

etched glass window

toad stools

Needless to say I am loving this blog. So in ANOTHER first for me, I decided to advertise on her site. Yay! In addition to the advertisement, Missy, the creator of SYTYC, will be doing a review of my onesies in the coming weeks coupled with a giveaway I'll be doing from my shop! (I will keep you posted with details!)

So if you've got a minute, go check out the site and maybe even vote on your favorite craft of the week. You won't be sorry! :)

Spreading holiday cheer...

One treasury at a time! Here are a couple I did this morning showcasing the holiday creativity of Team Etsymoms. Enjoy!

'Evergreen' by littlebirdiebabyshop

Christmas trees, Christmas trees, and more Christmas trees! Etsymoms know how to bring the old favorite to life!

A La Mode - 8x10 Fi... flandersfield $20.00	Lexi Lou Christmas ... lexiloudesignu... $3.50	Mistletoe Room and ... LifeSoapSimple $7.50	PDF Greetings Card ... NattyKnits $2.00
Peridot Green Chris... cuteandfun $22.00	5 Tree Soap on a Ro... AquarianBath $10.00	Christmas Tree Card homemadebyaman... $3.00	Silver Twig Crystal... LuminessIce $35.00
HUGE CHRISTMAS SALE... daisysanddots $8.00	Trees on Red Tissue... muppetloon $5.00	Tree Whimsy -- 2 Ch... LadybugLimited $4.00	Stocking 1 red with... artsygaljess $13.00
Oh Little Christmas... chriscloset $14.50	Holiday Pajama or L... lavenderave $35.00	Button Christmas Tr... JustBeccuz $4.75	Boutique Christmas ... prettybowtique $7.50

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.

'It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...' by littlebirdiebabyshop

We are getting our first good chill down here in the South and it's putting me in the mood for the holidays! Thanks to team etsymoms for showing us how to do the holidays right!

Winter White Christ... Cr8something $9.00	GREEN SATIN COVERED... anasbabycoutur... $13.50	Boys Neckties for C... MeandMatilda $42.00	Christmas Ball Pend... paulasstressar... $20.00
Six Gingerbread Men... AquarianBath $12.00	Noel Card homemadebyaman... $3.50	chubby red bird orn... madgemdesigns $8.00	Flakey Fancy Pants.... momiboutique $32.00
Custom Holiday Part... lovethierry $10.00	Santa Barnwood Sign... CountryChicCot... $18.00	Unbreakable Christm... EBSpider $3.00	25 Real Pinecones -... littleshopofph... $4.00
Custom Boutique Hol... ladesigns2 $18.00	Christmas Ornament ... personalcharms $21.50	PreOrder NOW for Be... LetterMeThis $60.00	CHRISTMAS CANDY CAN... cuddlehugs $17.99

Generated using Treasury HTML code generator by Whale Shark Websites.