One week out

Today marks seven days to Christmas Eve! You’re more than likely winding down in your shop. Inventory has become much smaller. Boxes and envelopes and more boxes have been packed with care and precision. Personal touches have been added to each parcel. These were then carefully shipped to new homes with love. All of this being a reminder to those who purchased your items that it was handmade by a small business owner somewhere out in this great big world!

The new year ahead

We hope your season is beginning to slow down! Some of you might still be in the trenches of holiday shipping, but with a week until Christmas arrives, the craziness is about to be over! For the next couple weeks, our little blog space will be taking some time off. I’ll be enjoying my holiday with family, while also taking days to create new content and plan for future blogs 🙂

I hope you are able to do the same in the coming weeks. If you can, sit back and reflect on the past year! Man, what a year it’s been for us around here at Marmalead! So many changes, Jams, more Jams, blog posts, designing, a trip to Vegas and constant planning and brainstorming on how we can make Marmalead an even better tool for you, our customers!

Looking back

As you look back over this year in your Etsy shop, we hope you give yourself a pat on the back! You made it through another year. This is no small feat in the world of Etsy selling. Now, that you’ve made it here, however, it’s time to start thinking ahead to what you want to accomplish in 2019. What would you do differently, now that you’re sitting here? Would you get more creative in your shop? Do you plan on releasing more product lines or creating brand new inventory? Are you hoping to expand in the coming year or have you come to a place you’d like to stay for a time? What defines success in your shop for you?

Caught up

So often we get caught up in all the numbers. How many friends do we have on Facebook? How many followers look at our images on Instagram? Do we have a ton of subscribers to our email list? What is the number of sales in our shop? Not that any of this is a bad thing, but focusing only on these sorts of numbers can lead to comparison and disappointment. Instead, focus on what success looks like for you, not for everyone else. And make goals that will move you toward your personal goals for success!

2019 here we come

Have you got some new ideas and plans for January? Are you stuck and know you need to have a plan, but aren’t sure where to get started? Here are some things to get you moving in the right direction come the new year and to help you find even more Etsy shop success:

• Be more active with your cyber followers so they will want to come in with you to see all the new and exciting things you have going on!
• Use those shop updates! Show pictures you’ve taken behind the scenes while you’re creating all that fantastic product 😉
• Consider where you’re at price wise and decide if you’d like to add variety to your pricing or if a change all together needs to happen. Deciding this at the very beginning of the year ensures you’re on the right foot and not being paid less than you deserve.
• As always make sure you’re up on your SEO in your shop! There are so many resources available for you, from the Etsy Seller Handbook to Marmalead and making sure you’re utilizing them is one of the smartest decisions you’ll make for 2019.
• Refresh those images! Have you been stalling on hiring a photographer to take product pictures for you? Or have you been procrastinating taking them for yourself? Whichever avenue you choose to take, make sure it gets done sooner than later! Professional and cohesive images can make a world of difference in an Etsy shop and there’s no time like the present to get started.
• Update your about section! Does it have old info and an outdated story about you and where you’re at as a seller? Now is the time to get that taken care of before the new year gets into full swing.
• Start planning for the next upcoming holiday…Valentines anyone? 😉
• While the 2018 holiday season is still fresh in your mind, sit down and write a list of things you’d do differently. Did you run into shipping issues? Customer issues? How will you tackle those next year in order to have a smoother season?

These are simply a few ideas to help you get started with your new year, but we’d love to hear your ideas for 2019! What are you dreaming up for your shop? Do you have any New Year’s resolutions for your shop? Are you planning on doing something different altogether? Whatever it is, let us know about your plans and dreams in the comments below!

Your blog, your content

While we’re on the topic of new ideas and planning ahead, we would also love to know what you’d like to read more of on this Marmalead blog of yours? We have a variety of things we cover here from Etsy SEO and how to use Marmalead posts, to design and positivity posts. So what would you love to see more of in the upcoming year? Let us know below in the comments because we’re all ears 😉

From us to you

It’s been an awesome year filled with awesome memories! Thank you for being part of our community and our Marmalead family! From our team to yours, we hope you had a happy Hanukkah and may you have a Merry Christmas, a happy Boxing Day and a joyful Kwanzaa! And to each and every one of you, a very, very happy New Year!

Happy selling, everyone!