Simplify Your Sales podcast

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Welcome to another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast! Today I’m SO excited to be here with Mei Pak from Creative Hive Co. One of the main reasons I was so excited to get Mei on the show-- besides being an obvious fan of her work for years-- is because she doesn’t just have ONE successful business she’s running at the moment-- she has two (technically three?!)!

Because not only is Mei a 7-figure e-commerce seller of handmade tiny food jewelry (which is almost too cute to believe), she’s also the genius creator behind the ever-popular A-Sale-A-Day Business System for e-commerce sellers who are looking to create consistent revenue with their handmade businesses.

Needless to say, Mei is a productivity queen that specializes in building ease into your business so you’re not hustling your buns off 24/7 trying to make the sale. And today we’re going to dive into the nitty-gritty of exactly how she does that + keeps her sanity running these wildly successful businesses!

In this episode, Mei and I chat about:

A behind-the-scenes of Mei's story + how she got to where she is today
How Mei manages multiple businesses + staying sane at the same time (you'll want to hear this!)
Mei's recommendations for automations/systems to implement in your business to simplify things and build ease
How do you know when it’s time to “hire out” help? Is there a certain metric Mei recommends?
How Mei goes about finding good help for her business
Boundaries-- because it is REALLY easy for things to get out of control when you’re growing like crazy + trying to keep all your customers happ
Mei's recommendations for sellers that self-identify as “people pleasers” but want to set boundaries
Advice for business owners who feel like their business is anything BUT ease-filled
And many more topics...

Mei is such an inspiration--you'll love learning from her!

Want to learn more about Mei? Check her out:

Watch Mei's FREE workshop!

Website: https://www.creativehiveco.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/creativehiveco/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/creativehiveco

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Hey everyone and welcome to another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast! Today I’m SO excited to be here with Krista Miller of Summit in a Box!

I asked Krista to come on the show because people KNOW it’s important to grow their audience + email list, but it seems to be crawling along at a snail’s pace-- which is super frustrating. Krista has been there, done that, too and when she stumbled upon the concept of a “virtual summit” in 2017, she had NO IDEA that she’d be unlocking her best business growth weapon ever that would supercharge her growth like crazy.

In this episode, Krista and I talk about:

The behind-the-scenes of Krista's story and how she got to where she is today (+ what she's currently doing)
The nitty-gritty on virtual summits, what they are, and why they’re so awesome?
Virtual Summits are traditionally free-- so how does Krista make money off of these
The basic time-commitment someone would be looking at with hosting their first summit
Is it possible to implement this strategy without working crazy hours + teetering on burnout to make it happen?
How do you create a virutal summit that not only stands out, but is also highly profitable for you?
It is SCARY for a lot of new entrepreneurs to even think about connecting with people-- let alone coordinating with them long-term to participate in a summit. Krista shares he tips on going into things with a confident mindset even if it scares you to death
And many other things...

I loved my conversation with Krista and I know you will too!

Want to learn more about Krista and virtual summits? Here's where you can find her:

Website: https://www.summitinabox.co/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/summitinabox/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/summitinabox

Grab your own copy of Krista's free Virutal Summit quickstart guide: https://www.summitinabox.co/skyrocket

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Welcome to another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast! Today I’m SO excited to be here with Jillian Leslie because holy cow, she is an absolutely INSPIRING serial business woman that I feel like has had her toes dipped in absolutely everything at some point-- which I’ll have her share about in a bit because she could tell stories for DAYS.

But the main reason I wanted to bring Jillian on is because she is an absolutely GENIUS when it comes to email marketing and converting visitors into email subscribers-- I mean, she + her business-partner husband even has a couple of wildly popular apps they’ve developed that are used by business owners all over the world to grow their email lists. So trust me-- today’s episode is going to be good!

In today's episode, Jillian and I chat about:

How Jillian got to where she is today (Her background is incredible!)
How email marketing fits into the grand scheme of things with running an online business
I know you’ve got multiple email lists from your different businesses-- is there one strategy that you’ve found to work the best at growing those lists?
There’s a lot of mixed feelings around pop-ups out there-- but Jillian swears by them! She shares a bit more about why she is a fan + how they’ve impacted her list growth
Are there specific types of freebies that convert best with popups (a free video training, lead magnet, resource library, etc.)? What about the language/copy used in a popup?
How do you know if a popup is working effectively? Is there a certain conversion rate number you like to see?

I know you're going to absolutely love today's episode!

Want to learn more about Jillian? She's so good!

Website: https://milotree.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milotree/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/milotreeapp

Get your FREE Digital Product Personality Quiz: https://milotree.com/quiz/

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Welcome to another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast! Today I’m SO excited to be here with Dalia Abdalla who is absolutely CRUSHING it when it comes to product-based business strategy right now.

In 2015 Dalia founded The Handmade Mastermind, where she hangs out now coaching online sellers on how to to increase their Etsy and Amazon sales via SEO, optimization, and product research. Between her product-based business AND coaching, she’s a successful 7-figure business owner with a TON of gold nuggets to share with us today!

During this episode, Dalia and I talk about:

Behind-the-scenes of Dalia's story + how she got to where she is today
Dalia is a big believer in building your OWN brand when it comes to selling online-- and not relying on other people’s products--we dive into the why
How Dalia started selling on Amazon (ie; what led you to jump onto Amazon to start selling your products)
How selling on Amazon is different from selling on other platforms out there
Why Dalia would recommend Amazon to a product seller vs. just sticking with Etsy/Shopify
And many other topics

Dalia is so good and we love her passion for selling online!

Want to learn more about Dalia? Check her out:

Website: www.thehandmademastermind.com

Instagram: @thehandmademastermind

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thehandmademastermind

Get your copy of Dalia's free Mastering Amazon Blueprint: bit.ly/amazonfreeblueprint

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Hey everyone and welcome to another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast! Today I’m here with one part of the amazing duo that is Gold City Ventures-- Cody Berman-- to talk about a topic that I get asked A LOT about--printables! Cody along with his business partner, Julie, have taught over 9,000 students how to create wildly profitable printables shops over the past 3 years and some of those students have went on to earn multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars. Cody also is the co-host of The Financial Independence Show, a real estate investor, and a passive income expert.

In today's episode, Cody and I talk about:

The behind-the-scenes of Cody's story + how he got to where he is today
There are a million different ways to create passive income online--why are printables a great starting point for beginners?
What printables are and what they are not
The start-up costs/time commitment/tech expectations for starting a printables shop
I’ve gotta ask because I know people are wondering this already-- are printables still a viable side-hustle option for people with ZERO graphic design experience?
What Cody's recommended tools are for getting started selling printables
How many printables does a shop need to have to start earning consistently from them?
What’s a realistic monthly revenue number to expect from selling printables?
One of the appeals of printables + passive income in general is the “hands off” aspect. Is the marketing hands-off, too? What marketing strategies do you recommend focusing on to keep things as automated as possible?

I absolutely LOVED my conversation with Cody. You won't want to miss this one!

Check out the FREE Gold City Ventures workshop: Manifest Passive Income with Printables on Etsy

Want to learn more about Cody and Gold City Ventures? Here's where you can find them:

Website: https://goldcityventures.com

Instagram: @goldcityventures

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/goldcityventures

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Today I’m here with Amanda Genther who is a flippin’ GENIUS when it comes to creating consistent passive income in your business. Her speciality? Fast, imperfect action and low-ticket offers. She is all about making your business feel FUN + SIMPLE again-- which is TOTALLY a mission I get behind 1000000%. Amanda also helps female entrepreneurs create automated sales machines for their offers that result in businesses that make money every single day and feel truly effortless.

I’ve purchased her products before, absolutely LOVED them because they actually felt SIMPLE and DOABLE, and am so excited that she’s agreed to come on the show + share HER zone of genius with you!

In this episode, Amanda and I talk about:

Amanda's behind-the-scenes story + how she got to where she is today (+ what she's currently doing)!
*People think you have to have everything “perfect” right out of the gate, but one of Amanda's first “sales pages” was a Google doc...*
Amanda started out with an offer priced in the hundred. She tells us more about why she shifted away from that
Her big focus is on low-ticket offers. What is a “low ticket offer?”
What does Amanda love about low-ticket offers?
Why should someone consider creating one?
*What goes into creating a low-ticket offer*
It’s SO hard not to get hung up on perfectionism in business...what are Amanda's tips to combat that?

Check out Amanda's FREE Low Ticket Offer Ideas >>

Amanda is AMAZING! I love her approach and the way she teaches. Here's where you can find her:

Website: https://amandagenther.com/ / https://www.launchinstyle.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/launchinstyle/

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In this episode, Amanda and I talk about:

Amanda's behind-the-scenes story + how she got to where she is today (+ what she's currently doing)!
*People think you have to have everything “perfect” right out of the gate, but one of Amanda's first “sales pages” was a Google doc...*
Amanda started out with an offer priced in the hundred. She tells us more about why she shifted away from that
Her big focus is on low-ticket offers. What is a “low ticket offer?”
What does Amanda love about low-ticket offers?
Why should someone consider creating one?
*What goes into creating a low-ticket offer*
It’s SO hard not to get hung up on perfectionism in business...what are Amanda's tips to combat that?

Check out Amanda's FREE Low Ticket Offer Ideas >>

Amanda is AMAZING! I love her approach and the way she teaches. Here's where you can find her:

Website: https://amandagenther.com/ / https://www.launchinstyle.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/launchinstyle/

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Welcome to another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast!

This is part 2 of a 5-part series of bite-sized solo podcast episodes where I’m going to get real with you about what goes into creating a digital course-- the practical elements like time commitment, revenue scalability, that sort of things vs. other digital products…

And today we’re talking about TIME INVESTMENT.

There are two different “time” approaches we’re going to explore, initial time investment vs. ongoing “maintenance” time investment. And we’re going to talk about the latter in a later episode in this 5 part series because today I just want to talk about the INITIAL time investment of creating a digital course.

Curious to see just what it takes to get a digital course up and running? Come take a listen!

Part 1: Are digital courses more scalable than other passive income products?

Check out my FREE course that teaches you how to quickly create an online course without overwhelming tech or marketing >>

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Welcome to another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast!

And today we’re talking about TIME INVESTMENT.

Curious to see just what it takes to get a digital course up and running? Come take a listen!

Part 1: Are digital courses more scalable than other passive income products?

Check out my FREE course that teaches you how to quickly create an online course without overwhelming tech or marketing >>

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Today I’m SO excited to be here with Kate Hayes who is an absolute Etsy genius + rising star on Youtube. Her claim to fame? Earning over $70K in just 30 days on Etsy and being a Top 1% seller on the platform.

Even better? She’s also just about the most genuine, kind person you’ll ever meet, so I KNEW I had to get her on the show to spill her secrets of success because she’s got a surprising tip about FOCUS that she chalks A LOT of her success up to, which we’ll dive into in just a few minutes :)

Here are just a few of the things I talk about with Kate:

How Kate got to where she is today (+ what she's currently doing)!
How she was able to reach being a Top 1% Etsy seller, and how her shop evolved over the years
Kate's had a lot of success VERY quickly--especially with her Youtube channel-- who does she credit for that success?
How do you know what thing to actually “focus” on?
Kat is big on putting family first-- she has some fantastic, practical advice for prioritizing your family without the guilt
Kate and I both come from strong Christian backgrounds that we live today. We talk about how faith has played a role in our businesses

Check out Kate's FREE webinar >>

Want to learn more about Kate? Go check her out:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KateHayes/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katehayes.co

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Here are just a few of the things I talk about with Kate:

How Kate got to where she is today (+ what she's currently doing)!
How she was able to reach being a Top 1% Etsy seller, and how her shop evolved over the years
Kate's had a lot of success VERY quickly--especially with her Youtube channel-- who does she credit for that success?
How do you know what thing to actually “focus” on?
Kat is big on putting family first-- she has some fantastic, practical advice for prioritizing your family without the guilt
Kate and I both come from strong Christian backgrounds that we live today. We talk about how faith has played a role in our businesses

Check out Kate's FREE webinar >>

Want to learn more about Kate? Go check her out:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KateHayes/featured

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katehayes.co

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Do you ever have those days when you just don't want to work?

Me too!

Well, I think I may have found the secret to getting past that feeling.

Today I’m here with Sadie Smiley who is all about learning how to make full-time money through part-time work. She’s got a no B.S. attitude about getting stuff done that I absolutely LOVE and I’m so excited to have her on the show today so she can talk about one of her specialities-- content marketing (or “blogging”) and just how much of an impact it can make when growing + sustaining a profitable business!

Sadie Smiley is the founder of Passive Income Pathways, a financially accessible coaching membership that teaches people how to turn their blogs into six figure businesses. She lives in Mexico with her husband Kevin. Sadie has been blogging for more than 15 years and teaching others how to do the same for nearly as long. She loves teaching people about passive income and helping them achieve financial freedom.

Here's a quick look at some of the things Sadie and I discuss today:

The behind-the-scenes of Sadie's story + how she got to where she is today
One of Sadie's zones of genius is content marketing-- or “blogging”-- but this isn’t “blogging” like posting about what you wore that week or photographing your food, right?!
There are so many entrepreneurs that will dig in their heels at the idea of blogging because it sounds like waaaaaaay too much work with a slow ROI-- Sadie shares why blogging is such an important foundation of virtually ANY online business-- especially passive income.
How Sadie got started making passive income from blogging and specific blogging strategies
Quick win strategies for beginners wanting to earn passive income from a blog
Sadie's advice for business owners who would LIKE to give blogging a go, but aren’t super confident in their writing abilities
Sadie's response for those listening that are thinking “Yeah, blogging sounds great but I can’t do it because XYZ...”

You want to hear more from Sadie? Here's where you can find her:

Website: sadiesmiley.com

Learn from Sadie: sadiesmiley.com/pips

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Do you ever have those days when you just don't want to work?

Me too!

Well, I think I may have found the secret to getting past that feeling.

Here's a quick look at some of the things Sadie and I discuss today:

The behind-the-scenes of Sadie's story + how she got to where she is today
One of Sadie's zones of genius is content marketing-- or “blogging”-- but this isn’t “blogging” like posting about what you wore that week or photographing your food, right?!
There are so many entrepreneurs that will dig in their heels at the idea of blogging because it sounds like waaaaaaay too much work with a slow ROI-- Sadie shares why blogging is such an important foundation of virtually ANY online business-- especially passive income.
How Sadie got started making passive income from blogging and specific blogging strategies
Quick win strategies for beginners wanting to earn passive income from a blog
Sadie's advice for business owners who would LIKE to give blogging a go, but aren’t super confident in their writing abilities
Sadie's response for those listening that are thinking “Yeah, blogging sounds great but I can’t do it because XYZ...”

You want to hear more from Sadie? Here's where you can find her:

Website: sadiesmiley.com

Learn from Sadie: sadiesmiley.com/pips

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Welcome to another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast! This is part 1 of a 5-part series of bite-sized solo podcast episodes where I’m going to get real with you about what goes into creating a digital course-- the practical elements like time commitment, revenue scalability, that sort of things vs. other digital products…

…. and hopefully have you walk away with a better understanding of if a course IS a good fit for your goals or if you would be better going with something else like a printables shop or templates or something that aligns better with your personal business goals. There’s truly no right or wrong answer here--I just want to give you a practical approach to making this decision. So, is it for you? Let's find out!

Check out my FREE class that teaches you all about how to quickly add passive income to your business >>

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Check out my FREE class that teaches you all about how to quickly add passive income to your business >>

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Mom guilt--it’s a VERY real thing for so many of us trying to raise babies AND businesses! So, how in the world can you deal with that while running a successful online business?

Well, today I’m here with digital product expert and amazing mother of two, Monica Froese. Monica is a digital product coach for women business owners and host of the popular podcast, Empowered Business. She has an MBA degree in finance and marketing and runs two brands Redefining Mom, a site for helping women find their identity outside of motherhood, and Empowered Business, where she empowers women to create financial independence through building 6-figure digital product businesses. She spent 11 years working for a Fortune 100 company running multi-million dollar marketing campaigns with large brands like Microsoft and HP. Now she provides online marketing education to small businesses that are looking to build a profitable revenue stream through digital products through her online programs and podcast.

In today's episode, Monica and I talk about:

How Monica's business started off--we share a similar history with some postpartum experiences that sort of propelled our businesses into existence
“Redefining mom” and how to find an identity outside of motherhood
How to getting started selling digital products
What type of digital product to create first
What small digital products seem to naturally sell well in the online space?
Mom guilt-- it’s a VERY real thing for so many of us trying to raise babies AND businesses-- how to deal with that while running a wildly successful online business

Monica is just amazing--I know you'll love her!

Want to learn more from Monica? Here's where you can find her:

Website: https://monicafroese.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/monica.froese

Facebook:https://facebook.com/monicanfroese

Don't forget to check out her free live training, Profit Transformation

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Mom guilt--it’s a VERY real thing for so many of us trying to raise babies AND businesses! So, how in the world can you deal with that while running a successful online business?

In today's episode, Monica and I talk about:

How Monica's business started off--we share a similar history with some postpartum experiences that sort of propelled our businesses into existence
“Redefining mom” and how to find an identity outside of motherhood
How to getting started selling digital products
What type of digital product to create first
What small digital products seem to naturally sell well in the online space?
Mom guilt-- it’s a VERY real thing for so many of us trying to raise babies AND businesses-- how to deal with that while running a wildly successful online business

Monica is just amazing--I know you'll love her!

Want to learn more from Monica? Here's where you can find her:

Website: https://monicafroese.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/monica.froese

Facebook:https://facebook.com/monicanfroese

Don't forget to check out her free live training, Profit Transformation

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Do you ever get a little overwhelmed with numbers? Me too!

In this I’m here with one of my long-time business friends, Janet LeBlanc over at Paper + Spark.

She’s the CPA brains behind ALL things creative business financials-- I recommend her to EVERYONE I know whenever they have a tax question-- and she is passionate about helping online biz owners --especially e-commerce sellers-- achieve financial empowerment in their businesses + personal lives. She creates bookkeeping templates and educational content to help makers, handmade sellers and creative entrepreneurs get more confident about running the financial side of their business. She's passionate about empowering more women to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams by more completely understanding their financial responsibilities as a business owner and actually feeling GOOD about their money.

In this episode, Janet and I discuss the following questions:

How did Janet's online business journey start off?
There are a MILLION things to focus on when growing an online business-- What’s the argument for focusing on numbers + data?
Most of us in business have the creative aspect down fine-- but any tips for diving into the data for the first time when you are definitely NOT a numbers person?
Any recommendations for software to use to begin tracking the numbers + data? How often should you track your data?
Any tips for keeping consistent with tracking + analyzing data if you’re short on time + feel like you have more important things to be working on?
I know there are 3 key angles you approach numbers + data from-- let’s break them down!
- Reviewing your results & drawing valuable insights from them
- Setting goals and breaking them down in a way that is actionable & motivating
- Utilizing your new knowledge to take the guesswork out of your decision-making and take impactful daily action that effectively grows your business
What is one non-overwhelming thing that someone just getting started with data can do after listening to this episode to take action?

Do you want to hear more from Janet? She's my favorite and has helped me out more than once.

Website: paperandspark.com

Instagram: instagram.com/paperandspark

Facebook: facebook.com/paperandspark

Click here for blog post about conversion rates

Don't forget to check out her Shop Sales Amplifier (digital product about boosting your AOV) and her Goal Getting Guidebook!

Check out my free class about how to quickly create passive income from a simple online course without overwhelming tech or marketing!

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Do you ever get a little overwhelmed with numbers? Me too!

In this I’m here with one of my long-time business friends, Janet LeBlanc over at Paper + Spark.

In this episode, Janet and I discuss the following questions:

How did Janet's online business journey start off?
There are a MILLION things to focus on when growing an online business-- What’s the argument for focusing on numbers + data?
Most of us in business have the creative aspect down fine-- but any tips for diving into the data for the first time when you are definitely NOT a numbers person?
Any recommendations for software to use to begin tracking the numbers + data? How often should you track your data?
Any tips for keeping consistent with tracking + analyzing data if you’re short on time + feel like you have more important things to be working on?
I know there are 3 key angles you approach numbers + data from-- let’s break them down!
- Reviewing your results & drawing valuable insights from them
- Setting goals and breaking them down in a way that is actionable & motivating
- Utilizing your new knowledge to take the guesswork out of your decision-making and take impactful daily action that effectively grows your business
What is one non-overwhelming thing that someone just getting started with data can do after listening to this episode to take action?

Do you want to hear more from Janet? She's my favorite and has helped me out more than once.

Website: paperandspark.com

Instagram: instagram.com/paperandspark

Facebook: facebook.com/paperandspark

Click here for blog post about conversion rates

Don't forget to check out her Shop Sales Amplifier (digital product about boosting your AOV) and her Goal Getting Guidebook!

Check out my free class about how to quickly create passive income from a simple online course without overwhelming tech or marketing!

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Today’s episode answers the question I get A LOT from aspiring course creators: “I’ve created a digital course, slapped it on my website….but nobody is buying it!”

And I get just how frustrating it can feel when you have spent a ton of time + energy creating a really great product but feel like nobody wants it.

So in today’s episode I want to troubleshoot with you what has possibly gone wrong + what you can do to fix some of the most common reasons why your offer is gathering dust on the virtual shelves.

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You ever have those days where there are so many things going on with your kids and family that you don't even know how to find time for your business? Me too! Today I’m here with Lani Jackson who I am SO excited to have on the podcast because this is a girl that knows the definition of BUSY-- because not only does she host the Mompreneurs podcast + lead the Brilliant Mompreneurs Society group, she does it with 6 kiddos in tow.

Lani is a clarity + strategy business coach for mom entrepreneurs and is ALL about helping women create intentionality in their businesses and prioritizing the things that are most important to them (like family) without sacrificing their lifestyle + income dreams along the way.

In today's episode, we’re going to talk about setting intentionality + what YOU can do to get out of the hustle mentality and start really making progress towards your goals! We'll cover the following questions:

How did this business thing come about for Lani? Because it’s not like there's a lot of random “free time” lying around when you have a house full of kids!
How does motherhood play a role in your business? Is there such a thing as “balance” in motherhood + business?
How do YOU determine what tasks to work on vs. what ones aren’t important? There are so many “shoulds” in business-- how do we know what to cut out?
Any tips on how to run a flexible business when motherhood has to unexpectedly take over? What about when the business has to be the priority for the moment?
Any advice on ditching the “mom guilt”?
You talk about not comparing yourself to other moms-- any tips for how to avoid that? Social media makes it really hard to stop!
Okay, personal question here: by the end of the day after the kiddos are FINALLY in bed, sometimes I am just D-O-N-E with life and have ZERO desire to work on my business. Any tips to combat that?

You want to hear even more from Lani? She's the best, isn't she? Here's where you can find here:

Website: Lanijackson.com

Instagram: @lanijjackson

Facebook: facebook.com/groups/brilliantmompreneurssociety

Don't forget to grab your copy of Lani's Flexible Business Strategy here >>

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Have you ever thought about someone pre-selling your course? What about pre-selling your course idea BEFORE you create any of the content? Well, this strategy just happens to be one of the smartest things you can do when it comes to creating a profitable online course in your business, and something I recommend ALL of my paid students do because it is--literally-- the failure-proof way of making sure you DON’T waste your (extremely limited) time + energy creating a course that no one buys.

BUT! One thing I hear A LOT is: “isn’t that kind of unethical and maybe even a bit dodgy to sell a product that HASN’T been created yet?” Let me share a secret with you--it isn't! Let me tell you why in this episode.

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Do you ever just want to do something you're passionate about and make money while doing it? Morgan dives into this concept with the fabulous Eden Fried in this week's podcast.

Eden teaches women how to turn their passions into digital products they can launch online. She's the host of the Rebel Boss Ladies podcast, the founder of Rebel Boss University (a membership community that teaches you how to launch in 90 days), and the founder and host of the Rebel Boss Summit, a twice annual virtual summit for current or aspiring digital product creators.

In this episode, Morgan and Eden discuss:

Eden's story of how she started an online business (spoiler alert--it involves trading suits and law school for sweats and a laptop!)
Setting reachable milestones as an entrepreneur
How Eden decided what to create for her first digital product + move past the initial overwhelm of so many options?
What is a tripwire? What makes up a good tripwire? What is “too much” for a tripwire? How do you get started actually CREATING the tripwire?
What would you say to someone who didn’t think they were “unique” enough or knowledgeable enough to create + sell a digital product?

Don't forget to grab your free copy of Eden's Instant Customers Guide.

Want to learn more about Eden (who wouldn't want to?!)? Here's where you can find her:

Website: edenfried.com

Instagram: instagram.com/edenfried

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Do you ever have those times when you just want to give up on your business? Hey—you’re not alone!

In this episode, guest, Kaitlyn Kessler walks us through how to blend spirituality, strategy, and a whole lot of self-love and trust together to ditch feeling overwhelmed with your business.

Morgan and Kaitlyn discuss the questions:

I know that your business didn’t always feel in alignment for you though, right?
I know you’ve worked with A LOT of people that have similar stories about feeling burned out/unfulfilled with their business. What are common things you hear from other entrepreneurs on a regular basis?
Say I’m struggling with feeling burned out-- like, where would I even begin to “fix” that + get back on track with a business that I love? What are my first steps?
How do I determine when something is out of alignment vs. just a tedious business task (since we all have them!)?
What role does spirituality play in business alignment for you?
I’ve been working on shifting my business to align more with who I am as a person + business owner and I’ve gotta admit-- it’s been scary and hard! Any tips on making a pivotal transition in your business towards alignment?
I know you have a 4-part framework that you teach your clients to start building ease into their business-- can you walk us through what that looks like?
- E-Energetics + Embodiment
- A-Aligned Foundations
- S-Simplified Strategy
- E-Ease-Filled Expansion

Be sure to checkout Kaitlyn’s free 20-Hour Work Week guide here!

Do you want to hear more from Kaitlyn? I know I do! Here’s where you can find her:

Website: KaitlynKessler.com

Instagram: instagram.com/kaitlynskessler

Facebook: http://facebook.com/kaitlynskessler

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Today’s episode is to give you HOPE! Hope that if you have thoughts of creating an online course, you don’t have to wait 90+ days like all the gurus out there will tell you to plan for. The first course I took that taught me how to create + sell an online course had a 90-120 roadmap from start to finish.

I don’t want that for you. You SHOULDN’T have to wait that long to be profitable from that amazing idea in your head. In fact, you could be making your first sales from your simple IDEA that is floating around in your head RIGHT NOW in as soon as 2 weeks.

How? Well, tune in to find out!

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I want to get straight to the point: My first online course idea flat-out FAILED. Now I’m going to go into the details about WHY that happened in in this episode, but I think it’s really important to talk about failure as an online course creator because I’m willing to bet that THAT’S at least part of what’s holding you back right now-- if not the entire reason. Oh, and I'll teach you the 3 things I learned from my failure!

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Today we’re going to talk about the 3 areas you MUST focus on + get clarity around before you do anything else in your business.

These are serious foundational elements that have the potential to DRASTICALLY impact your success (or failure!) as an online course creator. Taking the time NOW to figure this out is going to save you a lot of headache and heartache down the line--and in this episode, I'll teach you exactly what you need to do.

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Now that you know how to build an audience from 0 - 500 email subscribers, you understand how to create, and validate + launch your online course, it’s time to focus on the best part-- the magical part-- the automation + scaling portion-- where things REALLY start to take off! This is the phase where all your hard work really starts to pay off and you start to reap the rewards from all the hard work you put into creating your first online course-- and trust me (I won’t downplay it)-- it’s pretty straightforward, but it’s still a LOT of work to get a course up + running and this “fun” part doesn’t come until after all of that. In this episode, I walk you through all that you need to know to take this final step with your online course.

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Here we are on part 3 in our 4-part course creator mini-series on How to go from 0 → $100K with your online course business in the next 12 months.

Today’s topic? The money-making one you’ve been waiting for: Launching your new online course!

This is probably the scariest step of the whole online course process--because this is when you’re finally--FINALLY ready to put your course out into the world (or at least the idea for your course) and start earning money from it.

In this episode, Morgan walks you through step by step how to launch and sell your course.

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Welcome to part 2 of this series-- now that you know how to build an audience from 0 - 500 email subscribers-- and are hopefully taking action RIGHT NOW on that, it’s time to talk about the product you are going to create to sell them.

In this episode, we’re going to talk about your product being an online course-- which is essentially an online digital product that teaches your students how to go from A - Z on a certain topic with various resources along the way to help them achieve that. This online course a product you can create ONCE and then sell over and over and over again. Take a listen and learn how!

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In today's episode, we’re kicking things off with an awesome 4-part series that is going to walk you through the step-by-step process for starting from 0 and growing an online course business to $100K in the next 12 months.

I’m excited to share about this process with you because while it looks simple enough-- create the product, share with your audience, make sales--that’s not really a game plan and it’s certainly not really what goes on behind the scenes. So consider this 4-part series the “curtain pull” where I’m going to share more of the nitty-gritty of what to expect if it’s your goal to go from 0 - $100K this year as an online course creator.

This is Part 1: Find your people (+ get them to find you!) where we’re going to talk about building an audience for your online course-- basically how you can find people that are going to ultimately want to purchase your online course.

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Last year I tried to get fancy….well, I tried to make my BUSINESS fancy. And while I certainly didn’t succeed in making anything “fancy,” I certainly did succeed at something-- creating MASSIVE amounts of friction in my business that stopped me from moving forward. Maybe you feel the same way? Maybe right now it’s feeling like you ALSO have massive amounts of friction in your business-- things that keep you from making progress because you can’t seem to move past them…and if so, then this episode is for you! In this episode, Morgan shares three keys to overcoming the friction you face in your business.

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Transitioning from Etsy seller to online course creator is a step that Morgan took back in 2018, and she can’t imagine ever going back. In this episode, Morgan teaches the three key mindset changes you need to take as you transition from an Etsy seller to an online course creator.

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If Morgan could give you only ONE piece of marketing advice, it’s this: Don’t focus on all the things all at once. Don’t try to focus on multiple product lines. Don’t try to focus on multiple social media marketing channels. Don’t try to focus on multiple target customers.

In this episode, Morgan will teach you what to focus on and when.

Get full show notes and more information here: www.morgannield.com/blog/episode46

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Ever feel like you're stuck inside your own head going round and round and round and can't get ANYTHING done? There's actually a legit reason for that--it's because your brain can only think about ONE thing at ONE time. And because of that, your mind is constantly jumping from thought to thought to thought without any real focus--because you're trying to remember too many things!

In this episode, Morgan talks about 4 surefire ways to improve your productivity.

Get full show notes and more information here: www.morgannield.com/blog/episode45

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Did you know that shoppers don’t need a reason to buy from your shop (it’s not all about patterns + options and quality)—they need a reason to buy from YOU.

Because while the item they are going to buy is LOGICAL (ie- they need a new planter for their new plant), the decision to purchase? It’s overwhelmingly EMOTIONAL. How do they feel about your brand, your products, and YOU?

Morgan teaches in this episode 3 easy ways to provide value to your audience while making them fall in love with you (and your products!).

Get full show notes and more information here: www.morgannield.com/blog/episode44

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Marketing can feel sleazy or sales-y when you’re trying to get people to buy. It’s hard to put ourselves out there and for most of us, it’s really hard to ask people to spend money on us. In this episode, Morgan teaches how to go about marketing your product in a way that feels real and natural to buyers.

Get full show notes and more information here: www.morgannield.com/blog/episode43

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Today we are going to break down 3 common myths that people tend to believe when it comes to passive income and the mindset shifts that need to take place instead.
Overcome these myths and start creating passive income and gaining freedom in your business today!

Get full show notes and more information here: www.morgannield.com/blog/episode42

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We are going back to the basics of passive income with this Throwback episode in order to gear up for season 3 of the Simplify Your Sales podcast because we are going to be focusing more on passive income this season.
Check out this throwback episode to learn (or be reminded of) why passive income is so great and how it's the smartest way to increase your income without increasing your workload.

Get full show notes and more information here: www.morgannield.com/blog/episode41

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And that's a wrap for 2020! Morgan covers the good the bad and the ugly from 2020 and walks us through how this year has brought so much growth despite it being a year that none of us planned. She also lets us know what big things to expect moving forward in 2021!

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In this episode, guest, Brittany Bishoff who is a Mastermind Your Marketing student and Mindset coach breaks down the importance of why having a marketing system in place along with a healthy business mindset can take your business to brand new heights.

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In this episode, Morgan gives key advice on how to stay sane during this upcoming Etsy holiday season (or really any busy time for you, for that matter.) After years of selling online, Morgan has learned some great ways to protect her sanity throughout chaotic seasons of her business and is sharing them with you today!

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Host, Morgan Nield, shares 6 rules for copywriting that are sure help you use your copy to connect with your audience at a deeper level-- as well as optimize it to convert when it comes to online shopping. If your copy could use some help, be sure to give this episode a listen!

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In this episode we are welcomed by Morgan's good friend and original gangster Mastermind Your Marketing student, Erin Ulko. Erin is one of the long-time student mentors inside Mastermind Your Marketing and also an incredible tech wiz. She is joining us and sharing some of her valuable insight on how she runs her eCommerce business!

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Struggling to make sales in your eCommerce shop? Here are 10 of the most common mistakes that Etsy sellers make which prevent their shops from being profitable AND how to fix them! If you'd like to see your revenue increase, be sure to give this episode a listen.

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Here are 3 tips when it comes to running a sale that will ensure it is optimized and going to bring you as much revenue as possible. After dozens of sales promotions over the years, Morgan Nield's episode today is here to help you have a successful sales promotion.

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In this episode, host Morgan Nield, shares the best way to run a sales promotion in your shop that will allow you to price your products for what they are worth all while respecting your current audience. If you need to raise your shop's prices but aren't sure how, this is the episode for you!

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Struggling with product photography in your shop? You are most certainly not alone!
Thankfully, photography guru, Kristina Nicole joined us this episode and is here to help everyone step up their product photography game. She breaks down how to get the best photos, recommended apps she loves and as well as lighting tips for consistency and aesthetics.

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In this episode host, Morgan Nield breaks down how you can run a sales promo if you don’t have an audience to market to. She offers a very effective blitz strategy to quickly build your list of hundreds of new subscribers within a matter of a couple weeks! Once that is in order, you’ll be able to run your most profitable sale yet.

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Ready to expand your eCommerce shop beyond Etsy?

The amazing Rebecca Inkrote who is a professional web designer since 2010 and soap maker since 2015 joins us today and breaks down which platform she recommends using when creating an eCommerce shop off of Etsy, how to drive traffic to your new site, how to make a shop that actually looks good and will convert into sales and more!

If you're ready to grow your shop on your own site, then this episode is for you!

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Did you know that email marketing is 4x MORE effective at making sales than social media? That's right!

In this episode host, Morgan Nield, breaks shares with listeners 5 of the highest-converting strategies out there to grow an email list that are sure to boost your revenue.

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In this episode host, Morgan Nield, shares 5 major mistakes she sees shop owners making all the time that causes their sales promotion to be a total flop. The good news is, you can prevent them! Learn more by listening to this episode.

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Host, Morgan Nield, gets real about her journey as a business owner and family woman during the 2020 pandemic. If you are in need of some hope and encouragement, go ahead and give this episode a listen!

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In this episode, host, Morgan Nield breaks down everything you need to know about getting started with email marketing. This episode will equip you with what you need to start (legally) gaining subscribers and sending emails to them in order to grow your business! If email marketing has you stumped, go ahead and give this episode a listen to get started today!

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In this episode, guest Janet LeBlanc of Paper + Spark joins us and teaches us how to properly build a financially healthy business. She busts widely accepted internet myths, gives us specific numbers to aim for and more to help e-commerce business owners get started on the right foot!

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In this episode, host, Morgan Nield shares with us her story of how her business became successful by creating and selling digital products, major key takeaways she has learned over the years and how you can get started selling digital products too!

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In this episode, host, Morgan Nield shares 4 major reasons why providing digital products is a great way to conveniently add a passive income stream to your business.

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In this episode, host, Morgan Nield, provides us with a quick + dirty guide to get the ball rolling so that you can start selling digital products sooner rather than later and enjoy earning passive income in no time! Tune in to this episode to learn more!

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In this episode, guest, Michelle Palacios teaches us all about pricing products! There was so much goodness covered in this episode from the most common pricing mistakes, to how to tastefully raise your prices in a way that boosts sales, to an incredible comparison to help shift your mindset about pricing and more! Give this episode a listen to learn more.

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In this episode, host, Morgan Nield shares with us 5 things she wishes she knew before she began her digital business online! Tune in to make sure you don't make these same mistakes.

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In this episode, host Morgan Nield, shares with us 4 awesome ways to get your feet wet in the digital product game outside of generic printables. These 4 products are a great way to educate your audience and boost your revenue!

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In this episode, host, Morgan Nield and guest speaker, Stephanie Smith talk about Print on Demand. Tune in to learn what POD is and how you can designs even if you aren't naturally a graphic designer!

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In this episode, learn what collaborations are, how they can help your business and how to do them effectively!

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In this episode, Morgan shares 3 conversion rate boosting strategies as well as different situations that might be hindering your conversion rate!

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Host, Morgan Nield, chats about how to pivot in your business as it naturally changes and grows! She shares her own story and how her business is currently pivoting again. Listen to this episode to find out more information about changes in your business!

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In this episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast, host Morgan Nield and guest Shelley Easter discuss all things Shopify!
From what e-commerce is, to why it may be a great idea for your business, they've covered it all.

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This episode shares 10 success stories from students inside Morgan Nield's Mastermind Your Marketing program. Tune in to hear tips and tricks and what these Etsy shop owners have found work best for them!

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“The market is too saturated with products to make a real income as a seller on Etsy”
“If i just tweak my SEO ONE MORE TIME I’ll finally start showing up in Etsy search…”
“I’ve tried marketing and maybe it works for other people, but not in MY shop with MY unique product.”

Ever found yourself spouting off one of those? Yep, we’ve allllll been guilty. And I think, to some extent, part of that is because it’s EASY to justify why something isn’t working if we have a whole slew of excuses we can pull out of our back pocket to back us up.

It helps us save a bit of face, right?!

But in today’s episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast, it’s time to clear the air-- and do a little mythbusters-style action because we are going to CRUSH those myths about selling on Etsy and hopefully empower you to take action to dispel those beliefs about your OWN shop. Because it kills me when I see an Etsy shop that uses one or more of these excuses for a crutch, when in reality, it’s NOT true and you just need to approach things differently.

And we’re not just going to talk about the myth and say “oh, and by the way, that’s not true.” because that’s NOT helpful at all and doesn’t teach you a dang thing. It’s like saying “oh, take better photos!” which to me was always a NO DUH sort of moment-- but that advice doesn’t help you in any way-- it just points out what you’re doing wrong and leaves you to figure it out on your own.

So NONE of that today. We’re diving into REAL examples and sharing REAL strategies today. I’m all about taking action on this podcast, right? So let’s do this!

Okay, I wanted to start by tackling one of the BIGGEST myths I see on Etsy that I really wish would just disappear.

Myth #1

“If i just tweak my SEO ONE MORE TIME I’ll finally start showing up in Etsy search and make sales…”

Yep, we’re going full-steam ahead busting a major SEO myth right out of the gates.

Unless you are brand new to the Etsy scene and hearing about SEO for the first time, I can almost 100% guarantee you that your SEO does NOT need any additional tweaking.

Now I know that goes against basically every Etsy-ingrained doctrine you’ve heard on the forums and in the sellers handbook and those 400 random Google articles you’ve read.

But I’ve gotta be honest with you-- that compulsion you have to constantly check your Etsy search stats and see how many views you’ve gotten that day from your keywords is actually hurting your shop’s success-- and the reason why is because you’re so zeroed in on this ONE aspect that you’re actually ignoring all the additional possibilities and traffic avenues that you could be pursuing-- and getting a much higher return on investment on.

SEO is a fantastic foundational strategy, but once you’ve got that foundation set up-- regardless of whether it’s bringing you 5 visits a day or 500-- you’ve got to move on or you’ll never build anything greater.

Little known fact, but working on OUTSIDE marketing strategies, like the ones I teach my students inside Mastermind Your Marketing, will actually BOOST your SEO without requiring you to to constantly have an Erank or Marmalead tab open on Google chrome. The reason for that is that as you market your shop in ways BEYOND Etsy SEO and keywords, Etsy actually recognizes and takes note of the traffic and sales you are driving into your shop on your own-- and they essentially “REWARD” your shop for it and start showing you more frequently in search results.

So key takeaway here: SEO is great as a foundational strategy, but once it’s set up, LEAVE IT ALONE and start focusing on building a marketing presence OFF of Etsy-- not only will you feel more in control of your shop’s success, but you’ll boost your Etsy SEO ranking as well, and that’s what we call a win-win. The fact that you won’t be dreaming nonstop about keyword research anymore is just an added bonus ;)

Alright, myth #2 -

“I’ve tried marketing before and maybe it works for other people, but not in MY shop with MY unique product.”

Maybe you’ve dabbled a bit at Instagram or tried your hand at pinning to Pinterest for a couple of weeks.

And you’re discouraged because you’re not seeing results right away.

I think a lot of the disconnect here comes from the fact that, as cliche as it is, we live in this digital age where it seems like EVERYONE but you can become an overnight success and that it just sort of “magically” happens to the people who are meant to succeed.

And so it’s frustrating that you’re giving it your best-- albeit not super long term-- shot at things and NOTHING IS HAPPENING. The business needle is NOT moving.

It’s totally tempting to start to believe that there’s something wrong with YOU or your shop and that marketing just doesn’t work in YOUR situation selling YOUR unique products.

Can I make something super clear right now? ANd if you take nothing else from this podcast episode, I want THIS to be the thing that you zone in on and remember for at least the next 15 minutes.

Yes, you are unique and special and wonderful.

But you’re not THAT special.

And your shop is not THAT unique.

And you and your shop are NOT the exception to successful marketing.

Now, hear me out-- I don’t mean that in a descending sort of way at all. I mean that in my 4+ years coaching Etsy sellers, I’ve yet to see a product that couldn’t benefit from a solid marketing strategy.

And trust me-- I’ve seen it ALL. Painted rocks, chapel veils, antique chandeliers, travel guidebooks, yarn holders-- seriously-- I’VE SEEN IT ALL.

And I’m here to tell you that NONE OF THOSE are magically exempt from the benefits of marketing.

The reason I am SO passionate about this is because guys, this one hits SO close to home ;)

Can I share a little story with you real quick? Well, it’s my podcast and you’re listening so I’m going to take that as a yes. If you’re not into the story, that’s fine and you can switch over to the radio or something. But for those of you who are interested in a Morgan Nield college flashback that I’m somehow going to MIRACULOUSLY turn into an Etsy marketing life lesson, buckle up:

During my last semester in college, my 3 roommates were photographers. This doesn’t mean a whole lot except for the fact that whenever we hung out all together, they just wanted to take photos.

As much as I loved these girls (and truly-- I did. 2 of them were bridesmaids at my wedding), I detested the evenings where we were all together and the DSLR cameras would come out.

I would tell them over and over again “I hate taking photos. I’m never going to be a photographer. How is this possibly your idea of fun?!” Like, I legit didn’t understand how anyone could find this ENJOYABLE.

Imagine the irony of irony when I decided to open an Etsy shop and realized that I was going to have to take photos of my product. Cue the hyperventillated breathing.

Like any normal human, I protested this for a while. As I was prepping to start LittleHighbury, I would tell my husband over and over and over again “I want to sell on Etsy but I just HATE taking photos. Taking photos sucks! I hate this! Where’s the ice cream!?”

And he put up with this for a while (he’s a saint and one day I’m going to have him on this podcast and you’re going to realize that!), but one night I think he had had enough of my moaning and groaning because he turned to me and said, “I think the only reason you “hate” taking photos is because you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Now this made me angry.

But not because he had said it-- but because the more I sat and festered over the accusation, the more I realized it was true.

I’m a perfectionist and I like to do things right or not at all. It’s a type-A thing that can be a blessing or a curse.

Photography-- because it was something I had never invested any time into learning-- was something that I didn’t know how to do. I had no idea how to use a DSLR, I didn’t understand photography composition, and photo editing? How in the heck do you even know what contrast is good? Heck, what is contrast?!

And because I had no idea what I was doing, I had decided that I “hated” photography and that was that.

So can I make a little bit of a guess about why you “hate” marketing? ;)

Now don’t get me wrong-- marketing isn’t a natural fit for everyone-- and sometimes it takes a while to get into a groove.

But if you’re currently haphazardly marketing your Etsy shop willy-nilly and hating every stinkin' minute of it, I’ve got a little secret for you: it’s because you don’t know what you’re doing.

I used to “hate” marketing too-- I felt like it was sleazy, unnatural, and took away from the one thing I enjoyed about selling on Etsy: creating. I didn’t understand how some people loved marketing because in my experience? It sucked!

But as I made a mindset shift-- and invested money into hiring a business coach and enrolling in some INCREDIBLE marketing courses that I share portions of inside Mastermind Your Marketing-- I learned how to market effectively (aka- not just asking for the sale every single time) by providing value to my customers, you better believe that I started to fall in love with the whole process.

Nowadays? It’s all I want to talk about with you guys!

And you know why? It’s because I finally know what I’m doing :)

It took a while, but over the past 9 years I’ve learned how to market in a way that’s authentic, natural, and--get this-- actually brings in sales!

(And trust me-- marketing gets REALLY addicting when you see your efforts directly translate into sales)

So the whole “marketing isn’t for me and my shop!”? Yeah, I don’t buy that ;)

In fact, I have students inside Mastermind Your Marketing who join and I send out this initial question where I ask them you know, “What made you decide to join MYM?”

And A LOT of them have said it’s because they hate marketing but they know it’s important.

And guess what? A few weeks into the program? The lightbulbs start to flicker to the “on” position. There are aha! Moments happening left and right...and then-- inevitably-- I get an email or message from them. In fact, I just got one a few weeks ago where she said:

“I used to HATE marketing-- it just didn’t make sense to me. You’ve outlined things SO clearly inside Mastermind Your Marketing-- especially the “why” of the things we do inside the program-- that I’m starting to actually ENJOY planning out my shop’s marketing system. I finally feel like I’ve got control over my shop!”

And that, my friends, is why I teach what I teach. And that’s why I need you to commit to investing in your marketing strategy. Whether it’s with me or another mentor, no matter WHAT you sell, I guarantee you there’s a way that marketing can and will benefit it. Now, sometimes we have to make some tweaks to your product before so that it becomes something marketable, which we cover in the product validation pre-lesson inside Mastermind Your Marketing-- but once you’ve validated your product idea, investing in learning how to market your Etsy shop is going to be one of THE most rewarding things you do with your time and give you such a feeling of self-confidence and control in your shop’s future success. I mean, understanding marketing changes EVERYTHING.

And I want you to know that gasp! I’ve actually followed my OWN advice on this as well. I invested in a photography online course, bought myself a dslr camera, and while i was selling physical products on Etsy, you better believe I was the one behind the camera staging the shots and editing the photos afterwards.

Once you know what you’re doing, it’s not too bad. I’m just saying.

Okay, moving onto Myth #3-- and this is one I am CRAZY passionate about. Yes, I realize I’ve said that about all of these so far. But this time I mean it!

“I don’t have to invest $$$ in my Etsy shop because I can just find all of the information I need out there for FREE.”

Yep, there’s this super-popular myth out there that floats around various Etsy conversation circles that as long as you’re willing to hustle SUPER hard, spend MONTHS researching your butt off, and test and tweak every single detail of your shop, you can become wildly profitable with $0 investment, because #hardwork and #googlesavestheday.

Can I just be the first to say it? That is RIDICULOUS :P

Now, I’m not saying the hustle mentality is ridiculous-- seriously-- I admire the HECK out of all you hustlers out there-- I KNOW it’s not easy.

No, the ridiculous part is this teensy, tiny detail that everyone seems to forget when talking about how they built their businesses “for free.”

Searching for answers and strategy on Google (or the Etsy forums, heaven forbid) is NOT actually “free.”

(wait...what?!?!)

Now, I will fully acknowledge that it may not cost you MONEY to use Google as your business mentor…

It IS costing you something else.

TIME.

Yep, we’re going there today :)

But nothing is ever truly “free” and I can’t stress that enough.

Let me show you what I mean.

Now really quick, let’s establish something to make sure we’re on the same page: I’m guessing your time is valuable-- in fact, I’m willing to bet as you’re listening to this podcast that you’re doing other things at the same time-- maybe driving home from work, playing with your kiddos on the playroom floor, making dinner for your apparently never-been-fed-before ravenging family. I mean, is it only my family that acts like they’ve been starving for days when it approaches dinner time? I promise I feed them! I minored in culinary arts for crying outloud-- trust me-- I don’t skip feedings at my house.

Okay, but back to the point I was trying to make: Your time (and my time!) is a limited resource.

So let’s talk about this “time” investment myth Now, initially, investing in time may seem to save you money.

And it’s definitely the “safety net” option for a lot of us (myself included when I started!) because let’s face it: there’s this (however irrational) fear that if we invest real-deal MONEY into our business, we might not actually get it back.

And when you’ve worked your buns off for that profit (and yes, I KNOW how many Instagram posts it took to make that sale!), it’s dang HARD to throw it back into your business for something that only “might” pay off.

Over the years (and I’ve been at this “selling online” thing for over 9-- almost 10 years now!), I’ve come to realize just how backwards that way of thinking is.

It’s time to stop looking at business investments as “risky” and instead look at it as the most straightforward way to GROW your business.

Because guess what?

Investing time in your business? That’s risky, too.

You don’t know if the strategies that you spent HOURS researching for the past week will even pay off.

And you’re definitely NOT going to get that time back.

In my experience (below!), investing $$$ in my business has been the FASTEST and most STRAIGHTFORWARD way of growing my business.

My history in investing in my biz. If you’ve followed along with me at all, you know that one of my first “business” investments was a $500 60-minute business coaching call back in 2013.

This call was the SCARIEST thing I had done in my business up to this point.

Before this initial investment, I had boot-strapped my way through my first online shop-- picking up as many free “tips” and “tricks” as I could along the way and spending a ton of TIME (see-- there it pops up again!) in that “two steps forward, one step back” phase.

Because I had NO clue what I was doing and was relying on a bunch of free articles from around the web to fashion a makeshift “strategy,” I’ll be the first to admit it was far from glamorous and definitely NOT smooth sailing.

I like to think of it as my “smeared mascara” business phase. Hey, we all have those right? ;)

Bottom line? I invested a lot of TIME during this phase.

And yes, it was technically “free” in terms of money. I didn’t actually have to spend a dime figuring this stuff out via Google.

But it was costing me in other ways.

TIME.

PROFIT.

MY FREAKIN’ SANITY.

So in September 2013, I booked that business call and made a non-refundable $250.

(and then proceeded to almost lose my lunch because $250!!!!!).

That business call changed EVERYTHING for me.

And no, I’m not just talking about the crystal clarity I got from actually being handed a STRATEGY and not just a bunch of random tips and tricks….

...I’m talking about the fact that instead of wasting 100+ hours (ps- that’s MONTHS in stay-at-home-mom standard time) like I did last time trying to hodge-podge together a makeshift “plan” on my own (that revolved around nearly 100% SEO if you’re wondering) ....

...I had one CUSTOMIZED and COMPLETED in just 60 minutes with an actual e-commerce marketing strategist (and not some random website ghostwriter).

Now, that’s not to say that it didn’t take time to implement said plan.

I still had to do the work. Yes, it was laid out for me, but I still had to IMPLEMENT it.

But because I had already created and outlined my entire marketing system plan on that 60-minute $500 phone call, I was able to jump into that IMPLEMENTATION phase right away.

(you know-- the part of the strategy where you actually make money. Aka, NOT the “research + development” phase that we all get so comfortable in but earns us $0 ;)

Shop #2 results

And that led me to earn over $1,000 my first month of running my Etsy shop, Little Highbury, selling baby headbands and accessories.

Shop #1 results

For comparison/contrasting sake, my stats for month 1 of my first Etsy shop with an 100% FREE strategy were a big fat 0.

Now, up front, it seems glaringly obvious which one cost me more money…

The $500 marketing call, right?!

Actually, no.

Because when you look at the cold, hard data, both of those options cost me something:

Shop #1: I invested $0 and earned $0, which resulted in…(wait for it).... $0.
Shop #2: I invested $500 and earned $1252.40, which resulted in +$752.40 just in month one!

See where I’m going with this?!

Shop #1 breakdown:

Shop #1 cost me in TIME. I spent MONTHS researching the heck out of my SEO strategy and having nightmares about keywords. And that was BEFORE I even implemented them. Now, were those keywords “free” to implement in terms of money? But they cost me in lost revenue.

How? Because there were shops in the same niche as me who were busy making sales and filling orders while I was too busy researching and re-researching keywords behind-the-scenes to have the time to ACTIVELY do something with my shop that would actually result in sales.

Shop #2 breakdown:

Now shop #2 cost me in MONEY. I spent $500 and 60 minutes with a business coach. Day one of opening my shop, I was in the negative by -$500. By day 30, I had made a gross profit of $752.40 (which actually netted around $675.00-- I had a high markup on my product ;)

So the bottom line?

Investing that $500 actually made me MORE money.

As counter-intuitive as it seems, investing MONEY in your business is the fastest way to grow your revenue.

I need you to understand this: NOTHING in business is free.

(dang it!)

You’re either going to have to invest TIME or MONEY in growing your Etsy shop. There are NO exceptions to this.

For me, I’ve always found money to be the better investment overall. Yes, there are definitely things I still Google to quickly figure out, and you can find a lot of incredible content out there for “free.”

But for other things (ie- like adding custom CSS to my site, designing promo graphics, or creating landing pages), spending the $1,000 to my graphic designer is MORE THAN WORTH THE COST of trying to figure it out on my own and losing valuable hours (let’s be honest: DAYS) that could be spent on strategies that actually make me money.

And give me more time with my family :)

(fun fact: at this point in 9+ years selling online, I’ve invested over $100,000 in business investments and I can count on one hand the number of times they DIDN’T pay off. ANd yes, I realize that number might seem a little extreme to you right now. Remember that I’ve been doing this for a LONG time. Don’t ever compare your beginning to my middle-- it’s not fair to either of us :)

Whew-- see? Told you I was passionate about this myth of building a business for “free”.

Okay, and finally, let’s wrap it up with myth #4. I know, I know-- you thought we were never going to get there. But we made it!

Myth #4

“The market is too saturated with products to make a real income as a seller on Etsy”

So while I’m going to myth-bust this statement, obviously, because that’s what I’ve been doing this entire episode, I’m actually going to agree with PART of it-- the market on Etsy IS totally saturated.

There’s no point in beating around the bush-- there are A LOT of sellers on Etsy and more are popping up everyday. It is CROWDED on there, my friend.

And so when you’ve got your digital printables shop set up and suddenly realize you’re competing against 1.3 million OTHER listings to get found on search, it’s easy to believe that the market is just TOO saturated to sell in.

But that’s only partially true.

Yes, if you ONLY rely on Etsy SEO and you’re competing against those millions of listings for search placement, totally-- it’s going to be tough sledding to even get ONE pair of eyes on your product.

BUT.

When you start focusing your marketing efforts OFF of Etsy and take ownership of driving your OWN traffic to your shop, you’ll quickly find that saturated competition?

It becomes completely irrelevant.

And that is nothing short of a MAGICAL feeling, my friend.

The key to getting found on Etsy even in a RIDICULOUSLY saturated marketplace-- is to do it DIFFERENT.

While everyone else is hustling their buns off and checking their SEO for the 20th time of the day, YOU are actively marketing your shop in OTHER ways.

Ways that don’t require you to fall down a keyword rabbit hole and compete directly with hundreds of thousands of other Etsy shops selling the exact same dang thing you are. Now obviously yours is better-- you know that and I know that-- but in the world of SEO, it’s hard to help the average shopper realize that if that’s the ONLY tool you’re using.

So let’s make the competition COMPLETELY irrelevant and start focusing on driving traffic directly into your shop.

It won’t matter if you show up on page 20 of search results-- because you’ve created additional EASIER and FASTER ways for your customers to find you.

And then-- just like we talked about in Myth #1 -- once you start implementing your own marketing and driving your own traffic, your SEO kicks itself up a notch or two or fifty and you start showing up in more and more search results on Etsy for more and more people.

It’s basically the biggest snowball effect you can create.

And if you’re looking for help in generating that outside traffic, be sure to check out Mastermind Your Marketing because that’s literally EXACTLY what the program teaches you how to do.

Whew-- okay, we covered A LOT and hopefully you were able to see things a little bit differently than how you’ve maybe approached them in the past.

TAKE ACTION

Okay, so what’s the take action for this episode? Well, obviously, to stop believing these myths, right?!

But also I want you to start taking OWNERSHIP for your shop’s success. It’s not up to Etsy to send you traffic and sales, and it’s not fair to blame them for your lack of either as well.

So I want you to sit down when you get a minute-- because again, I’m fairly confident you’re multitasking while you listen to this episode-- but when you get a chance, sit down and pick ONE thing you can do to take OWNERSHIP of your shop’s success. Is there a marketing strategy you can implement that doesn’t start with the letters “SEO”? A program you’ve had your eye on (hint hint: Mastermind Your Marketing. But in all seriousness, I’d love to help you figure all this out so you’re not on your own)? Whatever it is, I want you to write down ONE way you’re going to take OWNERSHIP of your shop’s success. And then put that post-it or scrap paper or napkin or whatever it is that you scribbled it down on-- somewhere you can see it everyday to remind you that YOU are in charge of your shop’s success.

You’ve got this my friend!

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Hey there hey! And welcome to another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast! Last episode--- episode 9-- we talked about the importance of taking CONTROL of your marketing instead of just hoping that Etsy will handle it for you because it’s NOT Etsy’s job to send you sales-- it’s yours! And once you understand that and get to work creating a marketing system for your shop, I guarantee you you will feel RELIEVED and IN CONTROL of your shop’s success and that is an INCREDIBLE feeling that is going to make running your Etsy shop a million times more enjoyable.

Now I am SUPER excited about today’s episode because we’re going to go DEEP into possibly one of THE most important factors to consider BEFORE you set up your shop’s marketing system--your unique selling proposition or USP. Once you’ve got this figured out, everything you do-- including all aspects of setting up your profitable marketing system-- are going to be SO so so much easier and you’re going to be blown away at just how seemingly effortlessly the sales seem to roll in once this is established in tandem with your marketing system.

A few months ago I created a poll in my free Simplify Your Sales Facebook group, which, if you’re not already a member-- definitely pop on over and join us because there is a TON of goodness going on in there-- resources, free video trainings, motivational quotes which I add my own thoughts to and pretend to sound really inspirational-- but seriously-- there are over 13,000 sellers in there and SO much goodness coming out of that group on a daily basis, so if you’re NOT already a member, head on over to the link I’ll post here in the show notes (which will be morgannield.com/blog/episode10) and join us. We’d genuinely love to support you on your Etsy journey!

Anyways, now that I’m done shamelessly begging for your company in our group, like I was saying, a few months ago I created a poll in our free Facebook group and asked Etsy sellers what the #1 marketing struggle they ran into was.

The results-- I’ve gotta be honest-- actually surprised me in a BIG way.

Some of the biggest struggles included:

Not knowing which marketing platform to focus on
Wondering how much to spend on promoted listings
Lack of time; and
Overwhelmed by all the differing pieces of marketing advice out there

So why did they surprise me? Well, I’ve gotta be honest-- and this is a good business life lesson for you, too, so listen up!-- I’ve been selling online for a while and I feel like at this point in my business I’m not entirely a newbie-- although I’m definitely learning new things everyday!-- but for the most part, I understand my audience and the challenges that they face on a regular basis.

So when I created this poll, I ASSUMED that I would know the answer. In fact, I created this poll with the sole idea of validating what I already thought to be true-- and getting people to fess up to the problems that I felt I already KNEW they were struggling with.

Whelp. I was wrong.

And I’m humbled enough now at this point to admit that.

What I THOUGHT my audience was struggling with the most and what they actually TOLD me they were struggling with the most were two VERY different things.

Overwhelmingly, they were struggling with standing out in a saturated marketplace.

Now, when I started selling on Etsy in my first shop in 2011, Etsy didn’t feel terribly saturated. In fact, it felt relatively easy to stand out and get noticed because there just weren’t so many shops constantly competing for potential buyer’s attention. And if you were smart with your SEO-- a strategy you could almost entirely bank on back then (although I did have my ups and downs with it), you could stand out almost effortlessly without much additional marketing.

Now in 2020, it’s a completely different ball game.

And having a great product and great SEO-- or even FANTASTIC SEO-- isn’t enough to get you found on the marketplace.

Now, there are a million different ideas and strategies we could talk about in this post about standing out, but I want to talk to you about one that goes a bit further.

One that makes the competition COMPLETELY irrelevant.

And that all begins with your Unique Selling Proposition.

What is a Unique Selling Proposition?

Your unique selling proposition, or USP, as I’ll be calling it in this podcast so I can avoid getting too tounge-tied-- is essentially the niche YOUR shop fills in the online marketplace, and the driving force behind everything that you do.

But in more straight forward terms-- it’s what simply what makes your shop STAND OUT as unique.

And this is a very, VERY big deal when you’re competing in a marketplace that is loaded with saturation.

Trust me-- anything you can do to stand out from the competition and become what New York times bestselling author Seth Godin calls “a purple cow” (or basically something that’s extremely different from everyone else around it), will ultimately guarantee that EVERYTHING (and I mean EVERYTHING) about marketing and running an online shop becomes easier. Like 1 bajillion times easier. And don’t worry-- I double-checked that statistic before I referenced it in the podcast and it’s true. So feel free to quote me on that.

From a customer’s perspective, your USP essentially answers the question they may be asking themselves “So why should I buy from YOU?”

And if they can’t figure that out relatively quickly, that’s when they tend to hit the “back” button on their iPhone and keep browsing. Just like that, you’ve lost their attention.

What a USP is NOT

We’re going to dive into some awesome ways that you can create a killer USP, but first I want to talk about what it is not. Because there is a LOT of misconception going around about what a USP is, and sometimes what we think is setting us apart actually isn’t helping at all. So lets clear up some of those misconceptions really quick!

Thing #1 - Okay, a USP is NOT about having a high quality product.

I’m going to assume-- and correct me if I’m wrong-- but I’m going to assume with what little I know about your current shop situation (which I would TOTALLY know more if you would join our FREE FB group and introduce yourself, hint hint)-- but I’m going to assume that you sell a pretty high quality product.

One of the things I love about so many sellers on Etsy-- is that they take great pride in their work and pay a ridiculously amazing bit of attention to detail. A few months ago-- and this is just going to prove how nerdy I am, so hopefully you can accept that-- but a few months ago I purchased a set of dirigible plum earrings off of Etsy.

What are dirigible plum earrings you might ask? I’m shocked that you don’t know-- kidding. It’s totally a really weird thing, so by all accounts, you probably shouldn’t know.

Anyways, they are the earrings that Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series wears. They basically look like small radishes, which is a strange thing to wear on your ears-- or anywhere really-- but Luna Lovegood is strange, so it suits her. And ever since I took the Pottermore house quiz and was declared a diehard Ravenclaw through and through-- which matches my personality pretty dang well, I’ll be honest-- I took a liking to this comic relief character of books 5-7. I mean, those books get heavy-- not just literally-- and she’s quirky enough to bring some of that much-needed lightheartedness.

All of that is to say that when I searched on Etsy for these earrings, I was AMAZED at the level of detail and craftsmanship out there. Now, I’m not going to get into whether there should even be dirigible plum earrings for sale on Etsy or not-- but what I am going to say is that there were some really nice options out there. And the set I ended up purchasing-- when they arrived at my house-- I literally squealed in delight. They were the perfect addition to my Luna Lovegood Halloween costume and I’m super happy that I ordered them.

So what does this Luna Lovegood “go ravenclaw” tangent have to do with anything? What I’m saying here is that the craftsmanship of items on Etsy is IMPECCABLE.

So saying that you have a high quality product for sale and trying to pass that off as your USP isn’t going to be enough. Because there are THOUSANDS of other shop’s in your niche with that same quality.

Thing #2 - it is NOT yelling louder

Okay, I totally wanted to yell when I said that but then I felt really bad for my podcast editor and for all of you who are listening to this podcast during your commute and probably would have accidently steered into oncoming traffic at such a sudden outburst, so I refrained. You’re welcome.

Okay, but let’s talk about this: your unique selling proposition is also NOT just about yelling louder.

Having MORE sales. Offering BIGGER discounts. Spamming your shop link in MORE places.

None of those things make up a USP.

Sure, they may get the occasional attention of passersby-- I mean, have you seen those kiosk things at Walmart that start talking the minute you walk by? They scare the CRAP out of me and drive me crazy, and yes, they get my attention initially because it’s hard NOT to ignore a box on a wall that suddenly started talking to you at a relatively quiet store at 6 am in the morning-- but just because they initially CAUGHT my attention doesn’t mean it was enough to move me to action. I can say with 100% confidence that I have acted on those kiosks a grand total of 0% of the time because there’s nothing there that draws me in-- they don’t have a unique selling proposition. They’re just loud and that’s about it.

And while I am ALL for being vocal about your shop and marketing, at the end of the day, if that’s the ONLY thing that sets your shop apart, you’re going to just become another noisy distraction to your audience that they’ll learn (really quickly) to tune out.

Promotion-- that yelling louder--is just a SMALL part of the bigger picture. I tell my Mastermind Your Marketing students this all the time-- no amount of marketing can make up for a crappy product. And I’ll go as far as to say in this podcast episode, no amount of marketing can make up for a generic product line.

Your USP needs to be more than just the volume that you speak to your customers.

And Thing #3 that a USP is NOT- It is NOT about competing in absolutely EVERY SINGLE AREA.

Have you ever stalked your competition to make sure your shop was competitive enough and instantly got MAJOR overwhelm by all the areas you suddenly found yourself not measuring up to?

Suddenly it was like you had to have 100 different scent options and 1 day free shipping and

...and all of that is just so that you’re at the SAME level as your competition. It does nothing to set you apart.

And so often this is where I see MAJOR problems come into play, the most common being when a shop will undercut their competition and try to offer the lowest price on the market. Just so we’re clear, this is a major NO-NO for long term business because it’s not a USP and it’s just not sustainable. Someone will ALWAYS be trying to undercut you, just as you undercut them. It’s a vicious cycle and the only winners are the shoppers. The shop owners lose so that’s not a game I want you to even attempt playing.

The trick here is that you shouldn’t be trying to play the game like everyone else-- you should be creating all new rules instead.

So instead of saying “hey, look at my shop. We’ve got just as good of stuff as everyone else!”

You should be saying something like “Here at my shop, we do things differently and here’s how.”

Just like you can’t compete on a job or college application where all the applicants come into the process with the same exact qualifications…

...you’ve got to change the rules and do something that NO ONE ELSE IS DOING to stand out.

And that’s where your USP comes into play.

What a USP actually is

Okay, so we’ve covered all the things a USP is not (and just for the record, I know I didn’t mention it specifically in example, but trying to run with the USP of being “handmade” isn’t going to fly either).

Let’s talk about what your USP is.

We’ve already determined that Etsy is saturated-- yay, right?!

And while I firmly believe that competition is a GOOD thing-- in fact, I talked about it over in Episode 6 of the podcast which I’ll link to in the show notes in case you want to check it out-- it’s still that: COMPETITION.

And you’ve got to do something to make yourself stand out from it so that when someone comes on Etsy to buy your product, they have a reason to buy from YOU and not the thousands of other shops selling the (basically) exact same thing.

Now, I love sharing examples and making an example of my business experiences as well. I’ll be honest-- most of the examples I share about my business are bad ones I want you to avoid. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I tend to share those so you don’t have to make those same mistakes.

Today though, I want to share an example of MY USP for LittleHighbury which is, surprisingly, something that I actually did pretty well right out of the gate because I had read that Purple Cow book by Seth Godin in college so I knew just how important it was.

Let’s preface this by saying that there are thousands (literally) of baby accessory shops on Etsy. Seriously— type in “baby headband’ on Etsy and you’ll get over 300,000 results. That’s insane! By all accounts, one shop selling headbands should not be able to make over 600 sales a month with that kind of saturation, which is what I averaged in my shop.

But enter a Purple Cow and viola! I was one shop among THOUSANDS and I was still making a HUGE dent in the baby headband circuit.

So what made MY baby headbands a “purple cow” in the marketplace? Well, let's just get this out of the way-- it certainly wasn’t my seamstress skills. I’m mediocre AT BEST. And while I’ll say the craftsman ship wasn’t horrible by any means, it also wasn’t anything super special.

What I did for my USP

No, there were a couple of other things I did to set my shop and product apart:

1 | First off, I designed my own fabrics.

When I first set up shop, I noticed that everyone in the baby headband category was getting their fabrics/supplies from the same sources (like Joanns, Fabric.com, etc.) and I would see the same designs pop up again and again and again. I get it— it’s much cheaper and easier to go with something that is readily available.

But I chose to make mine purposefully different because I wanted to attract a different crowd— not the type that would just spend $2 on a generic headband— I wanted the people that would spend at least $10 (and hopefully $28!) on unique one-of-a-kind designs.

100% unique fabrics gave my item INSTANT USP because you--literally- could not buy my designs anywhere else because I had designed them.

2 | I packaged + marketed them ready-to-gift.

That might seem like a waste of money when you can just spend $.10 on a plastic ziplock bag and be done with it, but by putting in the extra time and $ (which, to be fair, was REALLY minimal) to package it in a gift box + ribbon, I IMMEDIATELY appealed to the baby shower crowd in a much bigger way.

I would guess that I get around 5-6 orders PER DAY that are shipped as gifts directly to the momma-to-be because my headbands can be sent already packaged as a gift.

This was EXTREMELY different from the majority of shops that were just packaging headbands on a cardboard insert or no special packaging at all.

What does this tell us? Two things.

1- I didn’t compete in EVERY area. Like I said, my sewing was average on a good day. Nothing crazy special. So I wasn’t trying to make my USP about my sewing as well-- that would have been overkill at this point.

2- You only need 1-2 things that make your product UNIQUE to have an instant USP.

Now you may be saying, “Well, that’s all fine and good for you Morgan, but I don’t sell baby headbands, so how am I supposed to create a USP and be that purple cow in my niche if I don’t sell a product with things like fabric options?

I hear ya on that and luckily you don’t have to sell baby headbands to create a USP for your shop-- you just need to do a little outside the box thinking. Remember-- you’ve got to be better than your excuses! As Marie Forleo says, “everything is figureoutable.”

But let me help you get the wheels turning with a couple of ideas on how you can start to brainstorm YOUR USP.

DIMENSIONS - Is there a gap in the market for a certain size of product? Bridge that gap! Offer your artwork in custom sizes to appeal to buyers filling odd spaces, or make your jewelry into larger statement pieces that really stand out.
STYLE - Are the products in your category all photographed a certain way? There are A MILLION absolutely horrible, grainy product photos on Etsy, but yours doesn’t have to be one of them! Take a look at what the first 3 pages under a specific search term are showing, and then do something completely different. Give your company a specific branding vibe that goes against the grain and stick with it. Make it so YOUR listings stick out like a sore thumb--you’ll get noticed if you do!
FORMAT - You know those thousands of printables you see for sale on Etsy? Well guess what? Not everyone wants to print them at home-- I certainly don’t! Take a look at what formats your competitors are offering, and then go a completely different route. Offer your artwork on luxury canvas or a giclee art print. See a million crocheted scarves? Sell an easy DIY scarf kit or a scarf out of a completely different material.
AUDIENCE - Premium vs. economy. If you search for any specific item on Etsy, the first page that pops up will have a wide variety of price points-- even for the same object. But guess what? Different price points sell to different target markets. Case in point: If you’ve ever heard of the baby mocc company, Freshly Picked, then you’ll know they sell their baby shoes for $60/pair. Search “baby moccs” on Etsy and you’ll come up with thousands of moccs that look exactly the same but are sold at a much, much lower price point. Do both of these companies sell baby moccasins? Yes. But are they hitting up the same customers? Not even close! Decide now if you want to sell premium or economy and stick with it.
Timeframe. Everyone else taking 2-4 weeks for custom orders? Speed up that turnaround time! One of the BEST examples I’ve seen on this is actually for a service, not a product, but it is SO applicable. I have a graphic designer that I work with on a fairly regular basis and she’s fantastic, but I used to have to book her 2-3 months in advance of the project that I needed done and then it would take about 2-3 weeks to complete the project. And while I try to put on this show of being really organized in my business, between you and me, most days I feel like a hot mess of chaos with all the different things I’m working on on any given day. Throw a crying baby into the mix and all heck breaks loose.

Which basically means that I am NOT good at planning out my promos 2-3 months in advance. In fact, I’m usually just trying to plan out the next couple of days at a time. Not something I’m particularly proud of, but there it is.

So with that in mind, it was always a pain in the butt to hire her even though I LOVED her work-- because I wouldn’t know exactly what I needed from her before it was time. And it was a lot of hassle and back and forth communication trying to nail down the exact project which is totally not her fault-- it just wasn’t a great strength of mine.

Last year she introduced these “design in a day” things that were completely new in the design industry. Basically, you could book her design team for 1 day in the next week or two and they would spend that entire day completing as many design projects as they could for you. You paid a flat day rate and they handed you finished design files within 8 hours.

It BLEW MY MIND.

I had never had a designer offer a service like this and the ease of it all was INSANE. Like, I could have professionally designed graphics in my hand that quickly? It’s just not something that’s done in the industry! And because it was new and streamlined and AWESOME, it made her company and services stand out in such a killer way.

So use that as a bit of inspiration. Maybe there’s something about the customization process that you could tweak to be more straightforward or streamlined. Maybe you could offer a completely different way of customizing entirely that shaved 1 week off your turnaround time. Just get brainstorming and feel free to go purple cow wild.

Your marketing is only going to get a heckuva lot easier when you do!

And if you’re still stuck about what YOU can have as YOUR USP, at the end of the day, the best thing you can do is to take a look at what everyone else in your industry is doing…

...and just commit to doing it DIFFERENTLY.

And finally-- one final word before we part-- I need you to remember as you are trying to create your USP: You are NOT trying to appeal to everyone.

I know it’s tempting-- and I know logically it makes sense. More people = more sales, right?

And to do anything with your marketing or shop that might potentially alienate customers seems like a major red flag of a terrible idea.

But take it from someone with a $2,000 flopped product line centered around generic designs and colors-- when you try to appeal to everyone…

...you end up appealing to NO ONE.

So use your USP to appeal to the RIGHT kinds of people-- the people who are actually a good fit for purchasing your product-- and with a marketing system in place, get ready to watch your sales become EFFORTLESS.

// Take action

Pick 1-2 ways you can “purple cow” your business and put a plan into motion. Consider using these “purple cows” as unique branding points that you can hit home again and again when talking about your product. Remember, the point isn’t to sell just another xyz product-- it’s to sell an improved product experience. What can YOU sell that provides a different type of solution to customers already shopping for that product on Etsy?

And then feel free to post your USP in our Facebook group under the prompt-- and I’ll see you next week!

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Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast.

Today I’m exploring the reasons why taking control of your Marketing-- instead of just expecting Etsy to handle it-- is SUCH an important part of creating a successful business.

And I’ve gotta admit-- this is one of the areas of marketing I am RIDICULOUSLY passionate about because I’ve had my fair share of learning experiences surrounding it-- and trust me-- not all of them were positive ones.

For the record, I’m definitely a “two steps forward, one step back” type of learner, but I’m taking what I’ve learned over the years and sharing it in this episode so that hopefully you can hit the ground running faster than I did!

How shops with CRAP SEO rank so well in Etsy search results

Now I want you to raise your hand or nod vigorously or jump out and shout “Yes, this, exactly!” if you have EVER fallen down the rabbit hole of Etsy to “check out your competition” (<-- always a scary thing, right?!) and found yourself INSANELY jealous that shop after shop after shop that just seemed to be OVERFLOWING with sales while your product was just as good (and let’s face it—maybe even better) and you are still hustling hard every. single. day. just to hear that one cha-ching.

Like, how do they make it look so effortless?

And even worse-- a lot of those listings showing up on page one of your search results?

They’ve got CRAP SEO.

Like, SEO SO BAD you can’t (for the life of you) figure out HOW they’re even ranking for that particular keyword, let alone showing up well in search results.

Trust me-- I’ve been there and I KNOW just how frustrating it is to see that happen. Like all your hard work researching keywords doesn’t even matter because those shops ahead of you are STILL succeeding in a much bigger way.

Like, does every other seller on Etsy know some mystical, magical secret about making sales?

And how on earth did you miss the memo?

Now rest assured: you didn’t miss any sort of memo (although if there was a memo, it’s probably sitting in the same place your Hogwarts letter ended up…)

In fact, I’ve got some good news for you, my friend:

There is NO “mystical, magical secret” to making sales on Etsy.

Those power sellers on Etsy?

They’re driving their OWN traffic.

And one of the best ways to make that happen is with a little somethin’ something called a MARKETING SYSTEM (which ironically happens to be my area of expertise :)

In which I get SO fed up with SEO that I close up my shop

Now maybe you’ve heard of this term-- “marketing system”-- and maybe you haven’t.

I know that back in 2011, I certainly hadn’t heard of one.

And that’s why I spent the better part of 2 years on Etsy not knowing anything about anything and “hodge-podging” my way to the tune of $3,356.25 in sales a 12 month period with my first Etsy shop, Highbury Place.

(For those of you who are wondering, I sold custom note cards and wedding guest book art prints and my product mockups were HORRIBLE. I’m surprised I sold a dang thing, haha!).

In this shop, I relied 100% on the free tips I’d picked up from the magical place of the Internet to guide my marketing “strategy.” Now, it wasn’t pretty, but-- to some extent-- it kinda worked:

But while $3,000 is nothing to shrug at (and it absolutely helped us pay off those pesky student loans quicker!), it was the WAY that those sales came in that put me on edge.

If I’m being completely honest with you (and embarrassing as it is to admit), there was no consistency to those sales.

And that scared the crap out of me.

I was making them SO completely randomly that some days would be awesome ($200! Hooray! Must buy all the things at Target [because everyone knows that the easiest place to blow a bunch of cash!]) while other times I would go weeks between conversions (Boo. Must take all the things back).

It was ridiculously scary to feel so out-of-control over our finances-- I knew that I wanted to be able to create an income stream that I could rely on, and this certainly wasn’t it.

Is this how you’re feeling right now?

Maybe you’re making sales here and there on Etsy but there so much inconsistency that the idea of quitting your day job-- or in any way RELYING-- on this income seems laughable.

Like I shared above, I HAVE BEEN THERE. And it sucks.

It really does suck not knowing when (or even IF) the next sale is going to come in.

It sucks feeling like you are ZERO control over who sees your product and how frequently.

It sucks feeling like the limited success you’re seeing could come to a sudden halt at any minute.

Now, I just shared that my FIRST Etsy shop went through these crazy ups and downs. And I’ve gotta be honest-- for $3,000 it was a LOT of emotional craziness. I’m a very emotional person by nature (kids only having made it worse!). Man, I’m like a leaky faucet some days-- and this rollercoaster of sales only exacerbated the problem.

One thing I quickly realized: I was a hot mess most of the time.

Another thing? My husband is a saint.

Now if you’ve been around my site (www.morgannield.com) at all, you know I ALWAYS tell the story of how I made a dramatic exit and closed this shop down with the intention of being done selling on Etsy.

And while that’s true-- I DID close down my first Etsy shop-- it wasn’t because I was “DONE selling on Etsy” or anything.

(quick sidebar: I’m one of those people that gets knocked down a lot-- I mean, I make a LOT of business mistakes and failures-- and I always, ALWAYS get back up. And I don’t say that to toot my own horn because if you’re listening to this podcast episode, too, I’m guessing you’re the exact same way. You’re NOT giving up. You’re still learning and growing past your mistakes. So kudos to you and I both. We’re DOING it.)

But one little quirky thing about me--no, I don’t give up, but I’m also NOT good at making rational, educated decisions when I’m an emotional mess.

And so when I closed that Etsy shop, it wasn’t so much that I was DONE selling online...it was that I needed to be able to get to a place where I could think clearly and rationally WITHOUT letting the ups and downs of that days sales (or lack thereof) determine my thought patterns.

And I’ve gotta say-- those 3-4 months that I DIDN’T have an active Etsy shop made a BIG difference with how I went into the next one.

I finally began thinking CLEARLY

Once I wasn’t an emotional mess, I was able to see that I DIDN’T want the insane ups and downs of relying on SEO as my sole strategy.

Yes, there is ABSOLUTELY a time and a place for SEO in your strategy. It should be one of the FIRST things you implement in your shop so that you have a strong foundation to work off of.

But it should never, ever, EVER be your only strategy.

EVER.

Especially in 2020.

If you take nothing else from this episode, know this:

Relying SOLELY on SEO in 2020 is NOT a strategy for consistent success on Etsy.

It should complement your marketing strategy, but it shouldn’t not be your marketing strategy.

Anyways, I was tired of the SEO thing so in that 3-4 month period where I was-- a bit dramatically-- exploring the “business” side of me.

But first I had my first baby-- a screaming banshee newborn we named Juliet.

(fun note: she was NOT named from Romeo and Juliet, but after Juliet O’Hara from the TV series Psych because that’s what I’d been watching while I was pregnant with her.

For my baby boy, it was the c-section pain pills talking and the thrill of NOT THROWING UP FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 9 MONTHS so I’m not entirely sure where his name came from. Sheer relief? Regardless, there was DEFINITELY a clean train of thought when we were picking out her name.)

Anyways, I had my first child and realized I wanted to stay at home with her. I mean, yes, she was absolutely terrifying and angry all of the time, but being a stay at home mom was something I had been raised with and something I personally felt strongly about. It’s not for everyone and heaven knows I’m not a natural fit for it, but it was still something I wanted to pursue.

But in order to make that happen, I had to figure out a way that I could supplement our income. I’d been the breadwinner of the family prior to that while my husband was finishing up school, so it was a BIG cut to our income for me to stay home.

And so I did what some people would call absolutely CRAZY: I signed up for a 1 hour phone call with an e-commerce marketing coaching.

My personal 3K - $104K case study on a “marketing system” (and how it changed EVERYTHING)

Yep, I paid $500 for ONE single call with a business coach to try and glean some wisdom from her and figure out how I could make this online business thing happen.

Side note - I don’t think this is mentioned enough-- we assume people we see running “successful” businesses, that the decisions they made to get to this point just felt “natural” and “easy” And that’s not the case. At all.

I will be the first to say that I broke out into hives when I sent over the money because--to me-- that was A LOT of money to be paying for a 1 hour phone call. It was my very first real “business investment” outside of inventory or equipment or shipping supplies and it was TERRIFYING.

Nowadays I’m a lot more comfortable with spending money on learning strategies to GROW my business because I’ve seen over and over and over again just how absolutely CRITICAL it is to learn from someone who has the results you want-- but in the beginning? You’re darn right that it was a terrifying business expense and one that I didn’t take lightly.

This business investment was the ULTIMATE act of faith and I’ve gotta give my husband major props for believing in me so much that he was okay forking over $500 without the 100% guarantee that I’d earn it back. One thing I’ve learned is that there are NO guarantees in business. NONE. So it’s really just a lot of acting on faith and doing what you feel in your heart (and sometimes gut). And I’m a strongly religious person so I definitely spent thought and prayer on the decision as well.

But that phone call-- literally-- changed my life (almost didn’t see that coming, right?!) This coach introduced me to the concept of a marketing system and quickly outlined what that would look like for me and my Etsy shop.

I’ve hung around for this entire post-- are you FINALLY going to tell me what a marketing system is?!

A marketing system.

You may have heard this term floating around the internet and maybe you thought it sounded sleazy—like a way to just drive sales without thinking of the actual customer. And maybe you’re thinking “no thanks, that’s not for me!”

And trust me: Ewwww. Nobody wants to be “that” seller (and don't worry-- you won't be!).

I’m here to put an end to that myth once and for all!

A marketing system is simply a way to streamline your sales strategy through a series of optimization, attraction, and conversion mechanisms.

So instead of looking at marketing as simply TRAFFIC-- which is something that’s really easy to get sucked into-- it’s about looking at your shop optimization AND conversion mechanisms as well-- which are all things besides traffic that can increase your sales.

It’s the ultimate way of automating your marketing (the Etsy seller’s dream, #amiright?!) plan and never having to ask “what do I post today?” again.

It’s that BIG PICTURE you’ve been missing (the reason why you’ve failed in the past)-- because a marketing system takes every single piece of your strategy and makes it work together effortlessly.

And it is hands down THE most effective strategy you can implement in your shop.

And it’s also the one that’s going to save you from selling your soul to the Etsy SEO and marketing gods ;)

And maybe that sounds good in theory, but you’re still not convinced that a marketing system is for YOU and YOUR shop. Well keep reading, my friend because I’m going to be sharing MY experience implementing one :)

Alright, so I had the phone call. I left with a game plan.

And I got to work.

(And that’s something important to understand as well-- it’s not just learning about these strategies that makes the difference-- you’ve got to actually be willing to do the work!)

Newborn baby in tow, I worked the naptime hustle as well as I could (and yes, totally slept some days instead. It’s all about #balance, right?!) and got to work implementing.

And the results of implementing that marketing system paid off in a big, big way.

By relying on SEO and free tips and tricks from the internet, I had earned $3,000 the ENTIRE YEAR. With a strategic marketing system in place I earned HALF of that in just the first MONTH. And completely passed that in monthly revenue by Month 3.

Implementing a marketing system and taking control of my marketing allowed me to…

20x my monthly shop views from what they were with just relying on Etsy SEO
Earned me exactly 3,754 more sales within 12 months of opening my second shop
And last but not least, it increased my revenue by 3000% in the first year (what the what?!!?!)

Now those are just the NUMBERS benefits-- because I know there are some of you out there that like looking at the stats and measuring improvements. I don’t happen to be one of those people, but I am working on it. Always learning and growing in business-- and still figuring things out :)

But in terms of PSYCHOLOGICAL benefits-- which, if you listened to my podcast episode about running an online business with major anxiety, you’ll understand just how big a deal they were-- but with that in mind, the psychological benefits of having a marketing system in place almost outweigh the numbers at the end of the day.

It allowed me to feel IN CONTROL of my shop’s success for the first time.
It allowed me to escape feast or famine sales mode
It allowed me-- and this one is important and might hit home with more than a few of you-- it allowed me to BYPASS the saturated Etsy marketplace by making the competition irrelevant.

I’ve seen the power of what a marketing system has done in MY shop, and I’ve seen the impact it’s had on my students inside Mastermind Your Marketing. It’s basically just a different way of approaching and thinking about marketing, but it’s that different way of thinking that makes such a BIG impact.

Take action

Today’s take action is a little different than normal because I’m going to ask you to be a little introspective.

I want you to grab a notebook or open a blank Google doc and answer the following questions:

What would it feel like to NOT be constantly worried about making the next sale?
What would it feel like to finally feel in control of your shop’s income and success?
What would it feel like to NOT be relying on Etsy SEO for your sales?

And then make sure you click on the download below where I’ve got your ENTIRE marketing system framework all laid out for you just WAITING to be implemented:

Alright, that’s it for this week’s episode. I’ll see ya next week where I’ll be sharing one of my MOST in-depth podcasts EVER. It is SO filled with all the good stuff and I can’t wait to share it with you. So see ya then!

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Hey guys! Morgan Nield here for another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast and today we’re diving into the awesome world of productivity hacks-- yepp-- getting MORE done in LESS time. Every etsy seller’s dream, right?!

Now, one thing I LOVE about my audience and followers-- even though I don’t mention it NEARLY enough--is that so many of you are mommas. I love those that aren’t mothers and the few guys that follow along, too, trust me-- LOTS of love going around.

But I definitely feel a special connection with those ladies out there trying to juggle a biz AND raise a family. Add housework on top of that and I feel like Wonderwoman might just lose top billing to you. You are INCREDIBLE.

And while I could go on and on about how motherhood is actually an incredible prep-course for running an online business-- perhaps another podcast topic for another day-- it definitely requires more than a bit of time and priority balancing to make things happen in your business.

That’s not to say that those that work 9-5’s aren’t having to find balance to work on their creative hustles as well, but when you add little people to the mix, you have to get a bit more creative about how you work because your time becomes infinitely more valuable and equally unpredictable.

And then there’s the fact that those little dictators can throw a wrench into even the most well laid out plans-- and often will--so it’s worth your time to find ways to work productively and efficiently with the limited time you DO have so you’re still getting stuff DONE in your biz-- even if you’ve spent most of your day cuddling your sick baby.

Coming from a personal note, when I launched the pilot version of Simplify Your SEO, I had some set office hours that I was using to coaching sellers in the community + make real-time edits and clarifications to the course material.

And that was also the week that Baby E, as our family affectionately refers to the little dude in our family, decided he was DONE with taking two naps and protested his morning nap altogether. It was definitely a battle of wills there the first couple of days. I lost (although magically he picked the morning nap back up a couple of weeks ago, so who knows?! I love babies, I just don’t understand them.)

Anyways, his typical morning nap time was right when I had scheduled my daily office hours to check in with the group + course to make sure everyone was getting the support they needed.

It took a lot of creativity to make that work. Shifting priorities and rearranging schedules and just working SMARTER while I was answering questions instead of getting distracted. Because the coaching group was held on Facebook and I’ve got to be honest-- it is EASY for me to fall into the Facebook scroll of doom trap. And that couldn’t happen with a baby signaling that he wanted “up, up.” I just didn’t have the luxury of wasting time anymore. I still needed to be live for those office hours, but I had to be live in the smartest and most time-efficient way possible.

And that’s basically what inspired this post :) I wanted to share some of my favorite productivity hacks with you so that you can do the mom thing AND the business thing. Because as wonderful as motherhood can be, it IS a challenge when you’re trying to run an online business, too.

And if you’re not a parent-- this podcast episode is definitely still for you. Your business will ONLY benefit from working smarter, not harder. And these aren’t mom-specific tips, so listen up, buttercup!

So going into this episode, what I need you to understand is that you don’t have to have 8+ open hours per day to make any traction with your business. Seriously. In fact, I don’t think in the 9+ years I’ve been selling online that I’ve EVER put in an 8 hour day. I don’t know if I should be proud or embarrassed to admit that, but there it is.

In fact, I do my best work in 1-2 hour increments. And I’ll get to more on why that is in a little bit-- and why it might actually work for you, too, believe it or not-- but at this point I can honestly say I wouldn’t even know what to do with myself if I had 8 hours of straight work ahead. I’m so used to working in 2-3 hours chunks of time-- sometimes even 30 minutes at a time, depending on the baby’s sleep schedule-- that I HAVE to be productive and efficient in the time I DO have to move forward with my business. At this point, it’s non-negotiable. And I’ve picked up a few tricks along the way to help with that.

And I’m going to pretend this is super motivational or something, but it’s not about the time you DO have, but what you DO with that time that makes a difference.

So let’s dive into these 4 productivity hacks that SAVE MY LIFE almost every single day as I’m balancing this whole mom-biz gig that I signed up for. And a lot of these actually kind of meld together really well.

Tip #1- Don’t open your laptop/get on your desktop until you KNOW what you’re going to work on

This is one that was a recent discovery for me and has been completely LIFE-CHANGING. And that’s not an exaggeration. It’s a small thing but it’s produced BIG results for me.

Now, maybe you can relate to this, maybe not, but I kept wondering why when I sat down to “work on my business” that an hour (or sometimes more!) would pass and I would have-- literally-- NOTHING to show for it, even though I was doing “business-y” things.

I found that over and over again I was sitting in my office studio with my laptop open and I had been, what I called “working.”

The thing you need to understand here: Not all business-y work you do is created equal.

Because when I said “I’m going to work on my business,” that could mean ANYTHING. In the past I would just open my laptop and let the internet spirits guide me where they would under the pretense of “business topics”. And I’ve gotta be honest-- those internet spirits tend to flock to Pinterest more often than not and that’s a DANGEROUS playground to play on.

Or maybe for you it’s Instagram under the justification that you’re going to scroll through a bunch of posts and “learn” how to curate a similar feed. I’m not an Instagram junkie, but I know PLENTY of people who are.

And while I can absolutely justify my way around those types of activities and how yes, they do-- in fact-- technically count as “working on my business…”

At the end of the day, what do I PHYSICALLY have to show for them?

Another to-do list? A bunch of unwrapped Dove chocolate wrappers to help cope with the comparison trap? More information in my head that already feels like it’s bursting with conflicting business advice?

Bottom line? They aren’t things that at the end of the day will help move the needle forward in my business towards growth. They do NOTHING to help grow your business.

Now, I’m not saying there isn’t a time for learning. There absolutely is. But it’s GOT to be significantly LESS than the work that you actually do. Maybe 20% of your time is spent learning, but the other 80% of your time is spent on tasks that actively move your business forward. This is a concept I got from productivity genius Michael Hyatt and it is one that I try to live by with my business. Still taking time to learn-- my preferred method being through digital courses because they’re SO dang efficient and can teach me EXACTLY what I want to learn without having to sift through PILES of Google search results. But like I said, still taking the time to learn, but NOT at the expense of growing my business. Again, an 80/20 split of your time with 80% of your time spent on actively working and completing tasks and results in your business, and then that 20% spent on learning.

Okay, slight tangent, so let’s bring it back full circle on how I make this work in my business so I’m not wasting so much time.

Now, whenever I “sit to work on the business” I do a quick mental check of my to-do list, decide what is highest priority at the moment and commit to working on THAT specifically, and THEN open my laptop or go into my office and sit down to work.

Having that “game plan” talk with yourself BEFORE you begin working is one of those things that seems so easy it can’t possibly work, but I’m here to tell you: it is INSANELY powerful. I know that when I sit down to write a podcast episode, for example, I can’t be checking Facebook or refreshing my email because that’s not what I committed to doing and can only serve as a distraction at this point. When I sat down to work on this episode, I made it clear to myself that THIS was what I was working on during this block of time. And if you’re listening to this, that means that I followed through so it must be working :)

So I want you to go into your work creations sessions knowing EXACTLY-- and I can’t stress that enough-- EXACTLY what you’re going to be working on BEFORE you begin to work-- and make sure they are actual tasks that will move your business forward.

And that leads us right into #2:

#2 - Work on RESULTS, not time-frames.

Raise your hand with me-- and yes, mine is up right now-- if you’ve ever said “okay, so tonight I’m going to work 2 hours on my business…”

Famous. Last. Words, my friend.

Let me share a personal experience really quick.

Earlier this year I went on a business trip-- my first one-- to Boston. It was equal parts terrifying and exhilarating. I had NEVER left my children behind for more than 1 night at a time, and being away from my family for 4 solid days scared the TAR out of me. While I’m definitely a mom that loves her work, I also really love my family and am a homebody by nature.

Anyways, so I went to Boston and spent 2 ½ days sitting in a room with dozens of other successful six-figure entrepreneurs who are in the same industry I am-- online education and coaching-- and brainstorming and collaborating and just SHARING with one another the successes and failures and what we’ve learned along the way.

And at one point, the subject turned to “well, what do you want to accomplish with your business in the next 5 years?”

SO many of my colleagues wanted 7-figure businesses, which is TOTALLY admirable-- and maybe that’s your goal, too, which is REALLY cool. But when asked what my goal was, I said that I didn’t want to put in the hours required to run a 7-figure business. I didn’t want to spend those 8-10 hour days. I was PERFECTLY content with the work schedule freedom I had now that allowed me multiple six figures.

And the girl teaching at the time-- Megan was her name-- shared something with me that changed my life. Like, I still think about it everyday. Enough to mention it on this podcast episode, haha!

She said that I was too busy thinking about the TIME it would take, and instead I should be focused on what I would need to PRODUCE to make those results happen.

Which means that instead of saying to myself “Okay, so if I want to earn $10K this month, I have to work 6 hours/day 5x/week,” I needed to reprogram my mindset to say “Okay, so if I want to earn $10K this month, I need to host a viral giveaway with some collaboration partners and then send a follow-up sales email sequence that converts those entries into sales.”

And suddenly hitting that $10K month seemed TOTALLY seemed doable. Alright, and $10K is just an example. It could be $2,000...it could be $30,000. That’s really up to you and YOUR goals.

But the point is that as I reworked the way I was thinking, I found that I was getting A LOT more done in a shorter time frame-- because I wasn’t locking myself into working a set number of hours-- I just have to make sure that I complete the tasks I had and then I was done.

Can I schedule 5 hours on a Saturday to work on the podcast? Totally. Tell me I have 5 hours to work on the podcast on a Saturday and I will take all 5 of those dang hours to complete 1 single episode.

But if you give me the task of outlining + writing 3 podcast episodes on Saturday, I’m going to work my butt off to get them done as quickly as possible-- while still being thorough-- so I don’t have to sit all day on Saturday working on it. The faster I get done, the more time I have with my family which is a BIG win and motivator in my book. Unless the baby is teething-- and then I might hide out for just a few extra minutes-- please don’t tell my husband.

Okay, so Always, always, always go into your work sessions with a specific outcome or a result you’re going to achieve. Simply saying “I’m going to work on my Instagram content for 5 hours” isn’t enough-- you need to be specific like “I’m going to plan out + schedule 60 days worth of Instagram content” and then GET THAT DONE. And once you’re done, you’re done! You don’t have to log-in extra hours because you got it done quicker-- you get to be DONE because you got it done quicker-- and idk about you, but that’s MAJOR motivation for me. I love working, but I love working EFFICIENTLY and QUICKLY.

So bottom line? We need to stop thinking that time = money. No, RESULTS and the things you PRODUCE = money.

Changing your mindset and how you approach your work is going to be an incredible productivity hack for you.

Tip #3: Stop context-switching

This is ANOTHER concept I learned from business coach Michael Hyatt over on Amy Porterfield’s podcast. It’s the idea that you can’t keep bouncing from task to task to task and expect to be productive.

Because each time you switch the task you are working on, it actually causes you to WASTE a significant amount of time.

So what does this look like for the shop owner wearing about 20 different hats right now? You’re probably laughing at me right now which is totally fair-- because you’ve got so many things that have to get done on a daily basis that you HAVE to context switch. And I get that. So let’s me explain what this actually looks like for YOU.

So let’s say on a Monday you write out your to-do list and you’ve listed the following:

-Create, photograph, research SEO, and list 5 new products in shop

-Fill all open orders

-Write out Instagram caption for the day + find coordinating photo

-answer customer service inquiries

-check email

Etc. etc. Your list is probably at least twice as long.

Now what I need you to understand here is this: As you work throughout your to-do list, you’re going to be context-switching. Creating + listing orders, then filling open orders, then writing out Instagram posts-- each time you switch the task you are focusing on, you are losing MEGA time.

Time that you now have to re-situate yourself and get in “the zone” for the new task.

And while 10-15 minutes/day doesn’t seem like much, over a year? It’s--literally-- DAYS of time you have wasted just switching between tasks.

A better way to do things?

Batch your work.

This probably isn’t a new concept for you, but you may be in need of a refresher which is totally fine. Batching simply means that you are using your time to start + finish large quantities of similar tasks.

Meaning that to batch your Instagram posts, you would sit down one afternoon or evening and work out 30-60 days of pre-scheduled content.

...Which means you can cross “work on Instagram” off your daily to-do list for WEEKS.

You can even take it one step further-- and I’d recommend you do-- and when you schedule that Instagram content-- or whatever your task is. This is just an example I know a lot of sellers can relate too--but when you start to schedule that content, begin with photos and do all the photos. THEN the captions. THEN the hashtags. You see what I’m saying here? You can take that one task-- working on Instagram content-- and make “mini batch” sessions to further streamline your work.

Another example of this that might hit close to home? Answering Etsy convos.

And I wanted to talk about this one specifically because it’s not one like Instagram that you can schedule out 30-60 days at a time. If you did that, you’d never make another sale off of a conversation again which isn’t good.

However, this is an area I KNOW a lot of Etsy sellers are wasting a lot of time in when it comes to context switching so let’s talk about it.

Now, it’s always a good idea to respond to conversations in a relatively quick time frame, however, if you’re stepping back from whatever you’re working on at the moment to answer a convo the minute it comes through, you are wasting VALUABLE time. Time that you have to shift gears, get in the zone for talking with a potential customer, answering the conversation in enough detail to make the sale, and then coming back and trying to remember what Lightroom presets you were using to edit your product photos.

Sounds exhausting, right?! But without realizing it, you’re doing that jumping back and forth sometimes MULTIPLE times on a daily basis. And it’s causing you to slow down your productivity.

So batching, for this, I recommend having 2 set times per day-- one in the morning and one in the evening-- where you handle answering ALL your convos.

By batching your to-do list-- whether it’s product creation, social media posting, customer service inquiries, working as a student inside Mastermind Your Marketing wink wink-- is going to be a productivity GAME CHANGER for your business.

Tip #4 - Automate what you can as soon as you can

This one is so, so obvious that you might even be rolling your eyes at me right now. But I’ve GOT to mention it because it’s kinda like eating healthy + exercising-- you KNOW you need to do it, but it still isn’t getting done. So consider this your friendly reminder :)

You’ve GOT to automate portions of your business.

Now, I’m not asking you to lose that “personal touch” aspect of your business. That’s one of the reasons you sell on Etsy and frankly, probably one of the things you enjoy about running a business-- connecting with your customers.

But there are other things in your business that, quite honestly, probably should have been automated yesterday.

Here are the top two areas I recommend automating even if you’re in the new, new, new stages of opening your shop or business.

Pinterest-- it’s no secret that Pinterest is my favorite promotional channel of choice for Etsy sellers, but in order to make it work for you, you have GOT to be consistent. That’s non-negotiable. If you’re NOT consistent, that’s when your pins will disappear into oblivion and you complain to everyone that Pinterest doesn’t work for Etsy sellers, and certainly not for YOUR shop. I’ve heard that A LOT and I’ve got to be honest-- 100% of the time it all starts with lack of consistency in pinning.

This is a probably SUPER easily solved with a program called Tailwind-- which I’ll link to in the shownotes. They’re a Pinterest-approved partner-- meaning they work in tandem with the team at Pinterest-- to help you make the most of scheduling your pins to Pinterest.

So you sit down and BATCH your pinning 1-2x/month MAX and then let Tailwind do all the work for you of getting it out there-- they’ll send your pins out at the most optimized times-- when your audience is actually online-- and they give you the opportunity to take advantage of Tribes-- which is a Tailwind-exclusive tool that connects you with other like-minded pinners to get your pins in front of more people even faster, as well as Smart Loop, which is a feature that automates your repinning schedule. So, SO many cool tools for Pinterest.

I’ve used it for YEARS and my students inside Mastermind Your Marketing do as well and it’s just so, so good. Again, I’ll link to a free trial for you in the show notes if you’re like “um, yes, this sounds like something I’d love to check out.” Trust me, you’re going to love it and absolutely LOVE the time it saves you.

Conversations-- while I am ALL for personalized responses and making sure every customer’s questions are answered thoroughly, I’m willing to bet there are a few questions that you’ve gotten more than once and you’ve typed out basically the same response to. Things like “can you make this size?” or “can I add personalization?” those types of questions pop up ALL THE TIME and there’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with creating some standard responses to those questions, saving them as Etsy snippets, and using them again and again.

This is going to cut down on your response time DRASTICALLY and help you respond even more efficiently and thoroughly to each customer-- you’re making sure you don’t leave anything out! So not only are you doing yourself a major favor by making it easy and quick to respond to customers, you’re also giving them the best customer experience possible.

And if youre’ like “I don’t have time to write those out and set those up-- it’s going to take me longer to do that than to just respond quickly!” then make sure you grab the freebie I’m including with this episode over in the show notes-- it’s a PDF with swipe copy-- meaning copy you can just copy and paste over in your own conversations-- that answers some of the most frequently asked questions I received in my time selling on Etsy. Questions like “How long will this take to ship?” and “do you offer personalization?” you know-- the questions that you get asked ALL DAY LONG. I’ve totally already written all those detailed, thoughtful responses out for you-- you just need to grab them over in the show notes which are under www.morgannield.com/blog/episode8.

Okay, so I believe we covered all 4 productivity hacks to make the most of your time. Let’s do a quick recap shall we?

Tip #1- Don’t open your laptop/get on your desktop until you know EXACTLY what you’re going to work on. K, saying “I’m going to work on my Etsy shop” is NOT going in with a plan and you’re going to end up wasting a lot of time you don’t have scrolling on Instagram and updating your Etsy stats over and over again. Okay? You need a GAME PLAN before you ever sit down to work.

Tip #2 - Work focused on results, NOT time-frames. Always, always, always go into your work sessions with an outcome or a result you’re going to achieve. Simply saying “I’m going to work on my Instagram content for 5 hours” isn’t enough-- you need to be specific like “I’m going to plan out + schedule 60 days worth of Instagram content”

Tip #3 - Stop context-switching

I KNOW you’ve got 1 bajillion biz hats right now-- but you don’t have to wear them all at the same time. Pick ONE task, batch it, and then move onto the next one. Don’t be a ping-pong ball of back and forth between tasks. Focus in on that one TASK, committ to getting it done, and watch your productivity go through the roof.

Tip #4 - Automate what you can

And then finally, automate whatever you can. Whether it’s your marketing, your Etsy conversations, whatever this might look like for you and your business. The earlier you can start automating things, the more time it’s going to free up in your business to grow and expand and feel empowered to take more on (if that’s your goal of course).

// TAKE ACTION

So what’s your take action for this episode?

I want you to sit down--actually sit down because I want you to put some thought into this-- and write out the top 3 “BIG” tasks you need to do this week with your business. Then take that list, grab a paper calendar or your Google calendar if that’s more your speed, and schedule those tasks in and make a promise to yourself to ONLY work on the tasks you have listed during the time frames you’ve scheduled them in. Break them down further if you have to like we talked about-- into individual tasks within the bigger task.

Now, I know that sounds SO easy and no-brainer-ish and hardly like a “take action” at all, but I’ve gotta warn you-- the first time you do it, it’s going to feel HARD. You're going to want to check your Etsy stats a few times or pick up your phone and mindlessly scroll through Instagram for a couple of minutes. DON’T DO IT. Keep on task and at the end, evaluate how you spent your time and what you got done-- was it worth it?

Pipe in over in our Free Facebook group Etsy community and let us know how it’s going-- we’d LOVE to hear! It’s the Simplify Your Sales Facebook group and I’ll be on the lookout for you over there-- I’ll totally link to it in the show notes for this episode, which you can find at morgannield.com/blog/episode8 as well as a whole slew of copy + paste Etsy snippets you can steal to use in your own business!

Alright, that’s it guys-- I’ll see you next week!
Social media posts

Tuesday post

Where are my tired hustling mommas at? raises hand

In case nobody has told you lately…

YOU ARE INCREDIBLE.

Not only are you building up a thriving Etsy shop, but you’re doing it while raising a tiny (extremely demanding) human or two.

And that takes MAJOR drive + motivation. ESPECIALLY after a painfully long day of wrangling kiddos (I swear it was a full moon last night...)

But I stand by what I’ve said before: Mommas make some of the best entrepreneurs-- and I think a large part of that is because we’re “programmed” to show up everyday (yay motherhood!).

But here’s a question for you: What if you could “show up” for your business LESS and still accomplish MORE?

On today’s podcast I’m sharing 4 of my top productivity tips that have come as a direct result of trying to balance a family + run a multi six-figure biz.

Tips that have allowed me to still grow my business in a big, BIG way…

...without sacrificing valuable time with my family.

Give it a listen here: morgannield.com/blog/episode8

...and then let me know what tip YOU found to be the most helpful.

I can’t wait to hear :)

xo, Morgan

PS- thank you SO much for all the thoughtful comments /messages/emails that have come my way since starting this podcast. I am SO thrilled that you’re finding value in it + willing to let me jabber in your ear for 30 minutes/week-- it means the world to me <3

Thursday post:

Raising a kiddo (or two or three) while running an online business is NO JOKE.

How do you get it all done?

Share your best tips below (or if you’re really struggling, ask for some advice!) + let’s help each other out!

PS- if you want to know MY best advice, hop on over to this week’s episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast where I’m sharing my top 4 tips for MAJOR productivity when time is short! www.morgannield.com/blog/episode8

Email:

Subject: My baby decided to drop his morning nap…

..and OF COURSE it happened EXACTLY when I had scheduled coaching office hours during that time block. Of course it did.

Being a working momma isn’t always (read: ever) a walk in the park.

I absolutely love it and wouldn’t trade it for a dang thing, but dang, some days trying to find the balance between the two is just TOUGH SLEDDING. (<-- my husband says nobody knows what that even means, but then I heard one of the guys on ESPN say it during a college basketball game halftime report so that makes it #mainstream, right?!)

But I tell ya-- those kiddos can throw a wrench in even the most well-laid out plans.

Like those coaching call, for example.

I had EVERY intention of being relaxed and 100% present for my students during our coaching sessions for the pilot launch of Simplify Your SEO….

...and instead I found myself typing one-handed while bouncing an (overly tired) fussy baby boy on my hip.

The best laid plans, am I right?!

I truly believe that momma’s are some of the BEST entrepreneurs out there (I mean, we’re used to showing up every single day even when we don’t want to, right?! #motherhood)...

...but we’re also the ones with the LEAST amount of time to spare.

And sometimes that means we have to get a little creative with how we work (exhibit

Over the years I’ve learned a thing or two about getting stuff done when it feels like you’ve got no time to spare…

...and I’m spilling the beans about what works for ME to get stuff done over on today’s podcast episode. Listen to it here :)

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Hey everyone! Morgan Nield here for yet another episode of the SImplify Your Sales podcast and today’s episode is one that I know SO many Etsy sellers are interested in-- Etsy SEO

And in this episode, I’m going to walk you through demystifying the Etsy SEO algorithm here in 2020. I know it’s confusing and I know there’s a lot of conflicting information out there on best practices, so I want to set the record straight for what we KNOW is working for Etsy SEO in 2020 based on research as well as practical application in various Etsy shop’s I’ve been working with to test these out.

Fun fact: I actually wrote my first Etsy SEO blog post back in 2017 even today, it is hands down my most popular post and it still drives THOUSANDS of visitors to my site every single month-- proof that content marketing is a big deal for your business-- but that’s another topic for another day.

Regardless, it’s now 2020 which is all sorts of crazy and so I figured it was probably time to give it a bit of a refresh since things have changed SO much in 3 years.

In fact, things have changed SO much so that I actually ended up creating an entire course around it-- Simplify Your SEO-- that breaks down your entire SEO process step-by-step in a logical way so you’re NEVER left wondering what to do with your listings.

This course just launched in January 2020 to an intimate group of 130 students and while I was initially incredibly nervous-- yep, I totally still get scared whenever I release a new product-- the reception has been INCREDIBLE.

I’ve been told the spreadsheet you get-- yes, you get a spreadsheet that organizes and categorized ALL your keywords for you so you essentially just plug and play-- is a complete GAME CHANGER.

I’ve gotta admit, that’s my favorite part as well-- it’s something I’ve wanted to create for a looooooong time and when I finally sat down to create it, it turned out incredible and I’m kicking myself for waiting so long, haha! It’s basically the tool I wished I had back when I implemented SEO for the first time. You will be SO stinkin’ organized that it will--ilterally-- take you 5 minutes (if that) to add killer SEO to any new listings you create moving forward. It’s an SEO lifesaver.

So if you’re like, I just want a step-by-step plan that takes 100% of the guesswork out of things for me-- literally, it takes ALL of the guesswork out of it-- then come over to the show notes at morgannield.com/blog/episode7 and I’ll have a link for you to learn more and check out the course. I’m ridiculously proud of it. I’ve also got a freebie sitting there for you as well-- so if you’re looking for a little SEO booster, definitely head over to the blog to grab that.

Straight from the course, today I wanted to share 10 SEO hacks/understandings that will help solidify your SEO standing and demystify a bit of the process for you hopefully-- because there is A LOT of information out there and if I can streamline and ease it up a bit for you, then I am ALL about doing that.

Really quick though-- I want to address the question that a lot of people have-- WHY should we even bother with SEO on Etsy?

Truth: you could be setting your online shop up ANYWHERE online, but a lot of people choose to host on Etsy for a couple reasons:

It's an easy and low-cost way to get started with e-commerce for those of us who are tech-challenged (raises hand slowly)
Etsy already has a brand, and therefore drives a lot of it's own traffic. By listing your items on Etsy, you are exposing yourself to traffic that is already there just waiting for you to take advantage of it-- once you implement good SEO practices.

That second reason-- the innate Etsy traffic-- is why we're focusing on SEO. There's no point in setting up shop on Etsy vs. elsewhere unless you are taking advantage of the built in traffic.

What is SEO + how does it work?

Alright, so now you know the “why,” let’s talk about the “what”

At its very core, SEO, or “search engine optimization”, is simply the way that people find your product on Etsy.

Seriously-- it’s as simple as that.

Whenever somebody hops onto Google (or Bing or Yahoo) and starts typing a word or two into the search box, they’re using SEO.
Whenever a buyer hops onto Etsy and starts browsing by category, they’re using SEO.
Whenever a pin appears at the top of Pinterest, it’s using SEO

A strong Etsy strategy begins with a solid SEO foundation, which will lay solid groundwork for your business growth moving forward.

So...how does SEO actually work?

SEO works by using these programs known as “bots” – you may have heard of them before.

Bots—at their very basics—are a type of software component designed to scour the internet and discover what is out there, and then brings back that information and presents it to you-- the casual browser-- with what it has deemed “most relevant” based on keyword terms you are searching for.

And then what is a keyword? So keywords (or “keyword phrase”-- I'll use these terms interchangeably) are words used to describe your items to these SEO bots and are the BIGGEST factor in determining where a product will actually rank for SEO, both on Google and Etsy and any other search engines out there.

So without further ado, let’s dive into that SEO list!

1- and this is something I need you to understand from the beginning-- You CAN’T check your ranking on Etsy anymore

This one used to be SUCH a big deal. People would waste HOURS of time constantly popping onto Etsy and searching for their items to see where they placed in search-- if they’d show up on page 1 or page 6 or wherever.

I’m here to tell you-- THIS STRATEGY DOES NOT WORK ANYMORE.

It’s been a SLOOOOOOW process, but back when Etsy went public and acquired BlackBird technologies to help with their search, the SEO landscape began to change in a big way...we talk about all of those ways in the Simplify Your SEO course, but one of those ways is working more closely with personalized shoppers searches

Meaning that the aSEO algorithm has started to show customers search results based on your past searches, purchases, and interactions online-- a whole slew of additional factors that didn’t use to matter-- and factors that you, unfortunately, have NO control over.

Now, what this means is that while you can search for your most common search terms and see your products pop up 4-5 times on page 1, that’s because YOU have been actively interacting with YOUR listings. So with this newer technology, that’s what Etsy will show you.

Unfortunately, those aren’t the same results that everyone else sees.

For example, in the past, you and I could both type “baby headbands” in the Etsy search bar and see the exact same results-- the listings with the best SEO for that keyword phrase would show up first, regardless of any other criteria. Someone from Australia could also type in “baby headbands” and see the same exact results.

This was awesome for a variety of reasons-- the main one being that you could actually track how your item was performing in search by simply “searching” for it and taking note. It was VERY easy to see if your SEO was working or not and to adjust it accordingly.

Not so in 2020.

Nowadays I can type in “baby headbands,” you can type in “baby headbands,” and someone from Australia can type in “baby headbands” and we’ll each be shown a different set of results-- based on our personalized history and interaction on Etsy.

This is absolutely CRUCIAL to understand. You cannot go in and check to see where you rank any longer (so stop obsessing over it!)-- because you won’t be “ranking” the same with any search result-- you’ll appear in different places for different people.

Does this mean SEO is no longer relevant?

Hardly!

The items with the best SEO are still going to be shown first in these personalized results-- just to different people at different times.

2- Renewing listings has EXTREMELY minimal effect on your placement in search

Another big change to the game-- you used to be able to manually “renew” your listings for an instant refresh in search. SO pay the $.20 listing fee and watch your item magically jump up a few rows in search, hopefully catching the eye of a potential buyer.

But because of the personalized search results that we JUST talked about, this is no longer an effective use of your time OR your money. In fact, every time you do it, it’s essentially like you’re throwing $.20 down the toilet. And I’d much rather you use that money to invest in your business and tools to actually GROW it instead of wasting it.

3- Keywords are NOT the only factor to consider with your search placement

So keywords are a BIG deal to getting found in Etsy search, but they’re not the ONLY way to get found (of course they aren’t…)

So I wanted to quickly go over the additional factors that Etsy takes into play that determines the who/what/when/where/why/how of showing up in search.

// Listing Quality Score

Your listing quality score is essentially the algorithmic “score” that the Etsy internal algorithm has assigned to each of your shop’s listings. Based on what Etsy has told us in this regard, the factors that go into your listing quality score are:

strong sales histories-- meaning that when people click on this item, it leads to a sale on a regular basis. Items that are clicked on and then clicked out of nearly every time indicate to Etsy that something in the listing is turning people off from buying-- and that’s not good
strong search engagements (meaning people are clicking on your items when they see them in search) and
completed attributes (which are one of those things you fill out as you’re creating a new listing with the shop manager. If they give you an option to fill something out, DO IT. Don’t leave anything blank if you can help it. It’s just one more additional way to get found-- yay!)

//Shop Quality Score

Alright, so it’s not enough to have high-quality listings-- your shop has to be scoring high, too. So what factors does Etsy look into to determine your Shop’s Quality Score?

Excellent customer service (You’re quick to respond to customer questions (within 1-2 business days is perfectly fine-- don’t feel like you have to respond the exact minute every question comes through), you fill your orders in the allotted time-frame, and don’t have cases opened against your shop on a regular basis.)
Positive reviews -Don’t stress too much about getting reviews on all of your orders (a 10-20% response rate is completely normal on Etsy. If I've ever purchased something from you, I'm in the 80-90% that always forgets to leave a review so I'M SORRY!), but DO make sure you’re doing everything you can to get those 5-star reviews. Will the occasional 1-star review hurt you? No (I’ve had them myself and noticed NO change whatsoever in sales), however, you will do well to maintain an average 5-star rating in your shop. This increases trust from Etsy as well as buyers purchasing from you.
Shop policies. It’s not a thing now, but you used to be able to create your OWN shop policies. If you still have those in place, consider now the appropriate time to drop them and adopt Etsy’s policies. Your SEO will thank you.

// Additional ranking factors

Localization
- Where you’re based in the world does (unfortunately) make a difference in who Etsy shows your products to. Your items will be shown to YOUR home country first before being shown to international buyers.
Recency + renewals
- Manually renewing your items is no longer considered an effective strategy for placement in search (so don’t waste your money!)-- we talked about it earlier-- but if your item is selling regularly, it is getting “renewed” from each of those sales and that will give you a generally higher placement in search over time.
Photo recognition
- More and more with the acquisition of AI, Etsy is heading towards a more visual search experience-- so your first photo needs to be crystal clear of what you’re selling. No busy backgrounds, no crazy props-- make it clear what your item actually is. You can style additional photos to your heart's content, however (although I still recommend keeping them relatively simple to avoid buyer confusion).
Note that this is still in the early phases of rolling out, however, it will become an increasingly more important factor as time goes on. * Free shipping * + Now, this one is important enough that I’m totally making it it’s own numbered tip in this podcast so….

4- Free shipping is NOT as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be

Ooooh, let’s dive into possibly the MOST controversial topic on Etsy.

Free shipping.

If you went into a crazy panic when Etsy rolled out this feature, you were in good company.

And I’m not going to debate the virtues of whether this is a good move on Etsy’s end or a bad one. That’s neither here nor there for our purposes. The Etsy forums can give you your debate fix if that’s what you’re looking for.

Instead, I want to talk to you about whether free shipping is really affecting people finding your shop and listings in search results.

Yes and no. (It’s never a clear answer, is it?!)

It all comes down to YOUR unique niche and what YOU are selling.

So this is something you’re going to need to research for yourself to see if it’s something you should consider.

So what I’d like you to do is hop onto a keyword research tool like Marmalead, which is the tool I recommend, and you can EASILY check out what percentage of shops in your niche are offering free shipping with their orders...and what ones aren’t (and then able to check what they ARE charging for shipping).

This is EXTREMELY important information to your profits!

If hardly anyone in your niche is offering free shipping, you don’t have to do it either! Yes, it may give you a competitive advantage for someone looking for a shop specifically with that offering, but you’re not going to get “buried” in search because you don’t offer it-- especially if no one else in your industry is offering it, either! This might ring true to those selling heavier items-- like wooden signs or furniture.

However, if most of your competition IS offering free shipping-- which is a SUPER common thing in the baby industry where I was-- I would highly, HIGHLY encourage you to do it as well. We want you to remain competitive in the marketplace and free shipping is another way to give your customers an “easy yes” in purchasing from you.

So the bottom line here? Free shipping isn’t going to “break” your SEO strategy-- but it is something to consider as part of your overall business strategy-- and whether for YOUR specific niche and product if it’s worth it or not.

5- You should never, never edit the SEO of the original listing if it’s doing well

I watch Etsy sellers make this mistake all of the time-- and I’ve done it too and it’s PAINFUL. So let me spare you the excruciating suffering that so many of us have gone through and share my top tip for adjusting your SEO WITHOUT tanking your views.

If you have a listing that is performing well, but you want to play around with the SEO (because SEO is such a fun way to spend your time) to see if you can make it even better, do NOT edit the original listing.

Instead, make a duplicate and edit THAT listing.

And no, Etsy does NOT punish shop’s for having duplicate listings. I have no idea how that rumor got started, but it drives me crazy. I had duplicates of ALL my best sellers and put the best SEO in each of them so both versions of any one listing were performing well and making sales Every. Single. Day.

So before you ever do ANY edits to anything-- and I’ll go as far as to say even with photos if you’re playing around with a new style of photo-- make sure you DUPLICATE the original listing first and make the edits to the duplicate.

6- Focus keywords are a KILLER part of your strategy and will give you a boost above your competitors not using them.

Wait...a FOCUS keyword? What the heck is that?!

Well, we have a whole lesson on it inside Simplify Your SEO and how to pick out profitable focus keywords for every single one of your listings, but I wanted to touch on it here in the podcast, too, because it is SO important to your overall strategy and I feel like it’s something a lot of people either don’t know about, or don’t know how to use correctly.

Okay, so really quick if you’re just hearing this phrase for the first time-- A focus keyword is a keyword phrase (2-3 words long) that you choose and have decided you wanted to rank for in any particular listing.

Now you may be saying “well, all my keywords are focus keyword then! I want to rank for all of them!” and obviously that’s why we’re using multiple keywords-- so you can appear in more places under more search terms. But this FOCUS keyword of yours enables you to place a greater emphasis on one particular keyword for a listing and then maximize your chances of ranking for it by listing it in multiple places strategically.

You’ll want to use it in your title, your tags, your description. This is where repetition becomes VERY important. And you’ll also want to put a good deal of thought into picking each one of them out-- because there’s a fine line of balance between too broad and too niched-- and you’ll want to find that middle ground with your focus keyword. Again, we talk about that super in-depth inside Simplify Your SEO if you’re wanting step-by-step instructions on how to research + analyze your focus keywords to pick the best possible ones.

7- The most profitable title formula contains 3 different types of keywords.

Okay, so we touched on focus keywords earlier but they aren’t the ONLY types of keywords you should be using. There are two others-- broad and long-tail keywords-- that need to be used in your listings as well.

The strongest title formula will contain Broad and targeted long-tail keywords also have their place in your strategy.

8- Short and sweet is NOT the best policy

Etsy has mentioned that shorter, easily readable titles are best for shoppers to be able to quickly scan your listings and determine what you’re selling.

But if you’re not using nearly every ounce of available title space, you are missing out in a BIG, big way. Yes, make your titles readable and use descriptive keywords that describe what your listing actually is, but continue to add additional SEO .

I like to think of your title as broken into keyword “sentences.” This is a strategy we go into really in-depth inside Simplify Your SEO, but basically, you’re going to use your keyword phrases and write out little “sentences” and you should be able to fit 3-5 of those “sentences” in your title.

Bad Example: Someone might write out a title like: Chunky Knit Scarf, Chunky Scarf, Chunky Knit, Infinity Scarf, gift for her, Scarf Women, Knitted Scarf, London Infinity Scarf

And yes, repetition in a few areas is good, but that title is wasting A TON of space by using the word “scarf” like 6-7 times. Definitely NOT necessary. 2-3x MAX is perfect. Any more than that and Google tends to classify you as “keyword stuffing,” which is NOT a good thing. So let’s not tempt them :).

It’s also really choppy-- just keyword after keyword after keyword. It makes it hard for shoppers to read and understand fully what you’re selling.

Okay, so what would a good example look like? Instead of listing “scarf” 5 bajillion times in choppy keyword fragments, you’d be better off creating a title that looks more like this: “Chunky knit infinity scarf for women, red winter cowl gift for her...” and then using the additional space to craft 1-2 more keyword “sentences--” or phrases using keywords that sound natural and are easy to read. Google also likes these better, so it’s a win-win :)

9- Driving your own traffic actually BOOSTS your SEO.

Say what?! I know, I know-- it’s easy to get caught up in the SEO research hamster wheel and forget that anything outside of researching endless keywords for Etsy actually exists as a strategy.

But guess what? Driving your own traffic-- be it through Instagram, Pinterest, email marketing, blogging, wherever is actually going to help BOOST your SEO-- no additional keyword research required ;)

That’s because when you mention your product OFF of Etsy and people take notice and click into your shop, you’re creating BACKLINKS and Etsy finds those INCREDIBLE valuable and rewards you with higher overall placement in search results.

So maybe those social media posts aren’t such a time-suck after all ;)

10-And finally (and perhaps quite obviously) SEO adjustments TAKE TIME.

I know we live in this incredible age where it’s possible to get a package ordered and delivered from Amazon in less than a day-- and that may just be because we’re only 25 minutes away from a major Amazon distribution center, so we might have an unfair advantage there-- but regardless, we live in this “instant gratification” age.

And it’s incredible and wonderful and also incredibly OPPOSITE of how SEO works.

You’ve GOT to give your SEO time to work it’s magic-- and 2 days isn’t going to cut it. Plan on leaving your SEO ALONE for 4-6 weeks before you go back in, check your stats, and make any adjustments to it. Any sooner than that and you’re not getting an accurate picture of just how well (or poorly) your keywords are doing.

Now, SEO for Google usually takes about 8 months to go into effect, so by comparison, Etsy is actually quite speedy. Just sayin ;)

Alright, and there you have it. We have just hammered out some KILLER SEO strategy together and I’ve hopefully helped demystify the Etsy SEO algorithm a bit for you. But now you’re left wondering, “ So what’s the take action for this episode?”

Well, If you’ve been putting of implementing a strong SEO strategy in your shop, I want you to commit to getting that in place ASAP. While I never recommend SEO as the ONLY marketing strategy an Etsy seller should rely on, it’s a foundational strategy that you MUST implement if you want to see exponential growth. SO many things build off of your keywords and you’re making it harder for yourself to get found in ALL areas of your business if you haven’t given your SEO much thought.

So commit to implementing a strong SEO strategy in your Etsy shop as soon as you can. If you’re like, “I just want someone to tell me exactly what to do in a logical and ridiculously step-by-step organized way in a 2 week time period so I can cross this puppy off my to-do list FOR GOOD” then you are in luck because that's EXACTLY what I teach inside Simplify Your SEO. Down to the 2 week time period EXACTLY. I mean, what are the chances?!

I’ll include a link to the course if you want to check it out over in the show notes over at morgannield.com/blog/episode7, as well as an awesome freebie for this episode to help you get those SEO ducks in a row. Again, thats morgannield.com/blog/episode8.

And I’ll see you next time!

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Hey there- Morgan Nield here and while I”m usually ALL about sharing the latest in marketing strategies and advice, today’s episode is going to put that on the back burner for a hot minute-- pun definitely intended-- while we dive into one of the most important things you need to figure out BEFORE you ever do a drop of marketing in your Etsy shop.

And it’s called….dun dun dun… PRODUCT VALIDATION.

Now I know that sounds all official and tedious, but I promise it’s not!

Basically, we’re ensuring that your product is DESIGNED to sell before you EVER put in the marketing grunt work.

Because I don’t know about you, but even after all of these years selling online, it is NERVE WRACKING for me to put out any type of new product into the world, so the more reassurance I can feel that yes, my audience IS interested in what I have to sell and it’s not going to be a total flow, the more confident I am moving forward with my ideas and putting them out into the world.

Now, I’m going to walk you through a step-by-step product validation sequence to follow that is not only going to make this EXTREMELY easy and low key (no major comfort-zone pushing out of here!), but it’s also going to ensure that:

You won't spend wasted time or money on product that won't sell
You'll have deeper customer insights that can propel your business moving forward
You'll be able to move forward with marketing your shop confidently-- because you have a product you AND YOUR CUSTOMERS believe in. And that’s a big deal.

Sounds pretty sweet, right?

But before we dive in and get to the nitty-gritty take action stuff, I need to make a disclaimer: You HAVE to be objective about your product going into this podcast episode exercise. There is NO room for emotional attachments to your products in this process because those kind of thoughts tend to cloud your judgment as you go throughout the process. Yes, I KNOW you love your product line-- and I’m truly thrilled that you do! But product validation isn’t about you--it’s about YOUR POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS. So we’ve got to leave your emotional baggage behind when we dive into all of this.

Sound good? Good. Alright, let's get started!

Step 1: Determine whether or not your product is already validated

So let’s start off by answering the question I bet at least a few of you are probably thinking to yourself right now: “How do I know if this applies to me and I need to validate the products in my shop?!”

Fair enough question-- I wouldn’t want you to waste time on a task that isn’t necessary to grow your business. SO here goes:

Chances are, if you have been around on Etsy for a while, you probably already have completed the product validation stage without even realizing it!

So if you:

already have a good Etsy sales history
do well at in-person events (think: craft fairs)
have past customers who are delighted with their purchase

...then congratulations-- your product is already validated! You've got the stats to back you up that there IS a market for your product, so I want you to feel confident moving forward. You have EVERY right to feel good about the products you are selling in your shop right now.

HOWEVER.

If you:

have a difficult time making sales
are gearing to switch up product lines, but are worried about interest levels
are just getting started and have NO CLUE what actually sells

...then let's move on to the next step in product validation to make sure that you won’t spend a lot of money and time on building up supplies and inventory-- without a guaranteed way to make it back. Yikes!

Alright, so moving on for those that are like “yes, my product line needed to be validated, like, yesterday!” then let’s move on:

Step 2: Research the competition

Most of us-- myself included-- have been conditioned to believe that competition is a bad thing-- that if someone has already created something, there won’t be any sales left for us because there’s some mystical sales “limit” that has already been set.

In reality, the opposite is true!!

Competition in the marketplace is not only a GOOD thing, it’s actually something you should feel encouraged by.

Why? Because if multiple shops have already created a product like yours, it tells us two things:

There is a market for your product-- hooray!
Your marketing just got a heckuva lot easier. You now have prices, materials, marketing strategy, and more to reference when creating your own killer product line.
(Note: I said "to REFERENCE," NOT "to copy" ;)

To actually do the research, simply hop onto Etsy and type your product idea (such as "baby headbands" or "beaded necklace") into the search bar. What are the results like? Click on some items that are similar to yours, and take note of how well those shops are doing.

Again, if there isn’t any competition, this doesn’t mean your product idea will bomb-- but it DOES mean you have a lot of work ahead of you to educate your audience on your product and why they need it. I want you to ask yourself honestly-- are you willing to put in that extra work? If not, it's time to go back to the drawing board. :)

(Note: this brings up the whole “do you mean I can't sell my original state-of-the-art invention??" Of course you can, BUT if you’re introducing something completely new to the table, you had better be willing to do the grassroots legwork to actually EDUCATE people about your product-- because the awareness isn’t there for them to even know to look for it.)

Now onto...

Step 3: Choose your flagship product line

It's easy to get sucked into the trap of "if I can make it, then I should list it" as an Etsy seller, but please trust me on this-- that is a HORRIBLE product “strategy.” And yes, I said “strategy” while making air quotes even though I know you can’t see me right now, (which I’m actually kinda thankful for because it’s after 9 pm here and I’m in my pajamas. The beauty of a podcast, eh?)

In fact, I recommend that every Etsy seller starts out by focusing on just ONE (gasp!) type of product-- your FLAGSHIP PRODUCT.

Your goal with this product line is to be seen as THE EXPERT in this niche-- the "go-to" shop for this particular type of product, and the industry standard that people look to.

Please do NOT make the mistake of dipping your toes into every single market niche to “experiment” and “see what sells,” because that’s going to turn away a lot of people; plus, it will fail to give you an accurate idea of your sales potential.

This lack of focus = Major problems.

Because let’s get real for a second: when you’re starting an Etsy shop, you’re already trying to wrap your head around a million different things-- photography, copywriting, marketing, etc. SO many business hats!

It’s hard enough figuring all of those things out for ONE product, let alone 10.

If you’re trying to market 10 different things to “see which one sells”, you’re going to put out disjointed marketing messaging, and confuse your customers on what you’re trying to sell and what they should buy.

Believe it or not, customers like being told what to do. Basic human sales psychology.

They LIKE having limited choices (too many choices = decision fatigue).

So make things easier (and much more clear!) for them and yourself (and your bank account!) by simplifying your product line down to ONE flagship product.

I don’t care that you can make tea cozies and baby blankets and slippers and scarves (well, I do care-- I mean, you sound really talented!). But that doesn’t mean you should.

Did you get that?

Just because you CAN make it, it doesn’t mean that you SHOULD.

I am SO serious about that

If you are looking for more guidance on creating a killer flagship product line, check out morgannield.com/blog/episode2 (which I’ll link to in the show notes) where you’ll get a SUPER in-depth approach to designing a killer flagship product line with major focus. It’s a must-have for success and has PLENTY of examples to further illustrate the point because I don’t know about you, but I always seem to understand concepts better when I can “see” them in real life.

Now, I’m not going to dive into all the nuances of a strong flagship product line today-- since you can get a super detailed breakdown over at morgannield.com/blog/episode2 already, but the bottom line here?

I want YOU to look like an EXPERT at just ONE thing. You are a boutique, and selling 5 different types of items just to “see what sells” is going to INSTANTLY make you look more like a garage sale.

Now, maybe you’ve been on Etsy for a while and as you’re sitting here listening to this podcast, you’ve thinking to yourself “Hey, I’m TOTALLY that shop that Morgan’s talking about-- I’m selling tote bags and mouse pads and towels and t-shirts and mugs right now.”

So what do you do if you’re at that point? You KNOW that you need to cut out the excess, but how do you even BEGIN to narrow things down so you can focus on just ONE type of flagship product like recommended?

Let's start by taking a closer look at just your top few best-selling items. You can do that by heading over to Etsy → shop manager → stats → and then sorting your listings by the “revenue” column.

Once you’ve got them sorted, take a quick glance at the list and ask yourself “Do any of these items have things in common?”

I’m willing to bet that you’re quickly going to see a pattern of what is selling and what isn’t-- and I’ll let you guess what that means for your flagship product line.

Also keep your dream customer and attraction statement in mind-- and if you don’t have that yet, head over to morgannield.com/blog/episode3 where I give you a ridiculously easy 4-step exercise for nailing that down for good. I’ll also link to it over in the show notes for this episode-- morgannield.com/blog/episode6.

Okay, so once you’ve got that dream customer and attraction statement in mind, take a closer look at your best sellers and ask yourself “What is the ONE product I sell that can provide the best solution to my customer's struggle?”

Quick tip:

Now really quick, I want to interject with a quick recommendation here.

It's a good idea to have a decent number of products within your flagship product line-- I recommend at least 20.

For example, instead of selling a wide variety of baby items, choose one type of item (like baby headbands) and sell 20 of those in a variety of patterns. If you’re selling a wide variety of spa products, choose lotion for your flagship product and focus your efforts there.

And then one additional thing you’ll want to consider is that even your flagship product line needs to have some degree of cohesiveness. So if you sell floral watercolor greeting cards, having a couple random bold abstract art cards isn’t going to fit in with your flagship product line-- even though they’re both greeting cards. You want your items to feel like they belong together. Again, check out episode 2 for more details on exactly what that looks like if you’re still feeling a little fuzzy about things.

Moving onto...

Step 4: Choose 1-2 additional complementary product lines

Now, just because you're focusing on one main type of product, that doesn't mean you can't sell any other type of products as well-- in fact, I encourage you to!

So I want you to ask yourself what products would pair really well with your flagship product and complement it.

So an example of this is that in my Etsy shop, Little Highbury, I sold baby headbands. These were my flagship product line and I had more of them than anything else. In addition to that, I also sold just a couple of other newborn essentials, also made from the exact same soft, organic material-- baby hats and swaddling blankets.

Okay, so when it comes to choosing complimentary product lines, don’t go so broad that you begin looking like that garage sale we just cleaned up-- keep it simple with just 1-2 additional product ideas for now, so your shop feels nice and organized.

I also want to add at this point that I KNOW it’s extremely tempting for print on demand shops to slap their designs on everything under the sun and claim it as a “flagship product line” because they have similar designs.

Um,no.

If the same dream customer couldn’t easily be seen shopping for each of the different items in your shop at once, then they’ve got to go. Your flagship products MUST have something in common besides just the artwork on them. They need to be created for the same type of customer. This is going to save you from SO many marketing headaches down the road-- just trust me.

Okay, and now we’re at our final step and it’s one of the scarier ones for a lot of Etsy sellers:

Step 5: Reach out to your dream customer for feedback

Once you’ve got chosen a flagship product idea (and, ideally, created some samples, too!), it’s time for the hard part-- you need to start talking to people.

And no, I don’t mean your mom and your sister-- I mean people who actually fit your dream customer description, and who could use your product to help with a real struggle that they are facing.

(Fun fact: I actually pitched my custom fabric baby headband product to my mom before anyone else, and she thought I was crazy and told me to go back to the drawing board! Spoiler alert: I didn’t). So perfect example of why it’s SO important to talk to the people who could potentially be buying your stuff.

I KNOW it’s easy to want to take the “shortcut” and cut corners on this step, but this is arguably the MOST important.

So what does this stage look like?

Part 1: Reach out to people you already know who match your dream customer profile (read: the person you want to buy your product)

If you're in the baby industry, reach out to friends/family who have recently had a baby or are going to soon.
If you’re in the health and beauty industry, reach out to friends/family who are obsessed with organic products and see what they think.
If you’re in the planner industry, create some prototypes and test them out on your organizer-obsessed friends.

What kind of questions should you ask? Use the following as suggestions (but feel free to substitute in your own!):

What do you like best about this product?
What don’t you like about this product?
Is there room for improvement with this product?
What is the biggest struggle you face with using a product like this?
What would you be willing to pay?

Bottom line?

Ask for feedback on your product(s).

Be willing to take the good (and the bad!) and act on those suggestions (<-- SO important).

This is NOT a time to let personal bias get in the way. While you may think you know what will sell, you’ll never actually know until you ask.

Remember- you’re not creating a product for YOU-- you’re creating it for THEM.

Okay, and then part 2 of this step: Reach out to people you DON’T know, but would be a good fit for your dream customer criteria. Now that you’ve gotten some good feedback from people you know (and have hopefully made some tweaks based on their feedback), it’s time to pitch your product to an audience of people you don’t know.

Now, if you’ve got an existing fan-base, this is a GREAT time to reach out to them. However, if you’re just getting started, chances are you don’t have a pool of people to pull from.

So where can you find people to get feedback from?

Reddit threads
Facebook groups
Niche blog forums

Again, you're going to want to ask the following questions:

What do you like best about this product?
What don’t you like about this product?
Is there room for improvement with this product?
What is the biggest struggle you face with using a product like this?
What would you be willing to pay?

Yes, I know these are hard questions to ask-- but they NEED to be asked.

There is nothing worse than blowing cash on a huge inventory of product that no one will be interested in buying.

Save yourself the headache (and the financial stress!) and do a bit of research before you dive in-- you'll thank me later, I promise ;)

Alright, and that’s it-- you have JUST learned how to successfully run product validation in your Etsy shop to ENSURE that the items you have are designed to sell and won’t just be gathering dust on your virtual shelves.

Take action: Today’s take action comes directly from the steps we listed out for product validation, so let’s quickly recap:

Step 1: Determine whether or not your product is already validated

Step 2: Research the competition

Step 3: Choose your flagship product line

Step 4: Choose 1-2 additional complementary product lines

Step 5: Reach out to your dream customer for feedback

And then go ahead and head over to the Simplify Your Sales Facebook group, which I will link to in the show notes over at morgannield.com/blog/episode6, and share how your product validation is going. Do you have any questions on how to narrow down your product line? Struggling to figure out what to ask your dream customer for feedback on relating to YOUR shop? Hit us up with your ?’s inside the Facebook group so we can help you make progress.

Thanks for joining me on this week’s episode-- now get to work! I’ll see you next week :)

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So I wanted to switch things up a bit today and talk to you guys about something that I keep seeing pop up over and over again. It’s a topic that I witness inside the free Simplify your Sales FB group, and also inside my paid Mastermind Your Marketing group as well.

Anxiety.

It’s a very real thing and it absolutely has an effect on your ability to work on your shop + business.

If you’ve never struggle with anxiety, you don’t know just how crippling it can be and this episode might not even make sense to you. That’s okay-- no hard feelings.

However, if you struggle with anxiety, I want you to know that I’m here for you and I HEAR you. I want you to know that you’re not in this alone and that it’s something I’ve struggled with as well and it’s only in the past few months that I’ve really managed to contain it in regards to getting things done in my business. Not 100%, but it’s not my everyday normal anymore.

Now, that definitely didn’t happen overnight, it was a deliberate effort on my part.

Understanding that anxiety can be a fuel and not just an excuse. I’ve been blessed-- which I know is a weird and crazy thing to say-- with anxiety and the reason I say it can be a blessing is that even with it’s challenges, it allows me to never fully feel satisfied with what I have. Not in an ungrateful way, but in a way that I COULD do more and I COULD build something bigger. It motivates me to not get complacent in my business and has helped me accomplish AMAZING things. So yes, it’s a HARD thing— a DANG HARD THING— but there are hidden “blessings” that come from having it and using it to fuel your business.

So today I wanted to talk to you about some things that can help with managing your anxiety as an entrepreneur. Because while anxiety can be a great motivator, it can also be paralyzing if it gets out of control. And when it’s to that point, NOTHING feels possible. I’m going to share a bit about my personal experience as well— which feels VERY vulnerable— but I want you to see where I’m coming from and my experience with it and hopefully find some strength from MY story as you relate it to your own.

And just as a disclaimer, I’m NOT a professional-- these are just things to help you get a glimpse at what I do that has worked for me.

Where my anxiety came from

Okay, so like I said, before we dive into some of my tips on managing anxiety, I wanted to share a little bit of personal detail about MY story and what triggered anxiety to start for me. I know some people have dealt with it their entire lives and I am amazed by you.

So just to set the record straight, I haven’t always struggled with anxiety-- I’m definitely blessed in that way. I always go back to when my first daughter was born in 2013 as kind of this “catalyst” for when I started my Etsy shop-- which is true-- but it’s also the period when I experienced anxiety for the first time in the form of a panic attack. 2013 was a BIG year for me in many, many ways.

I--literally-- thought I was dying the first time I felt major anxiety. I felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest in a frantic fury and that the oxygen was running out of the room. I remember curling up in a ball underneath a desk at my in-laws house one day a few weeks after my daughter had been born and rocking back and forth madly because I was convinced that I was going to crawl out of my own skin at any moment and I was trying to hold it all together-- quite literally.

Now not every moment of every day was panic-attack worthy, but it very quickly became my “new normal” that I would wake up in the morning with a dreaded pit in my stomach that would physically ACHE because I was so anxious about how I was going to get through the day. The idea of waking up with the baby at 6:30 am in the morning and knowing I had to go 12+ hours throughout the day with her in tow BY MYSELF [we had just moved to a new townhouse] and not knowing what the day would hold: would she nap? Eat well? Scream all afternoon? I literally had no idea basically convinced me that this was my new “normal” and that pit wasn’t going to go away.

Now, Juliet did eventually become a bit more predictable and stopped crying every minute of everyday— I mean, it took 6 months— but it happened. But funny thing: the anxious pit in my stomach didn’t go away.

Even if the day very rarely turned out EXACTLY how I had planned it in my head and on my to-do list, I was still a twisted mess of anxiousness throughout it all.

So with that post-partum anxiety, I also got post partum depression which was it’s own problem. That took about 18 months to go away-- at the time we didn’t have the medical insurance to get me help, and combined with a variety of other less-than-ideal factors and just general cluelessness that PPD was a real thing that needed to be treated, it lasted far longer than it should have.

If you are listening to this podcast and even THINK you might be struggling with post partum depression, please get professional help! Life does NOT have to feel this way permanently— and the sooner you get help, the sooner you’ll start to feel better. I know right now it doesn’t feel like you will. I’ve been there. I didn’t believe I could ever get better. But you can. AND YOU WILL.

Coming back to my journey with anxiety….At around 18 months post partum, I remember smiling-- truly smiling-- for the first time in a year and a half. We had just decided to plan our first family trip to Disneyland and I actually felt some degree of happy about it which was absolutely FOREIGN to me at the time.

My days got less and less dark as I was pulled out of the PPD. And someday I’ll talk more about how that happened.

But the anxiety? It stayed. And it’s still something I struggle with on a regular basis.

But it’s not my everyday normal. Before it would throw me into a full blown panic attack by breakfast, but nowadays it’s much more manageable and even after having my second child back in November 2018, it didn’t spiral out of control again-- for which I feel incredibly blessed.

A large part of that is because of skills I’ve learned that have helped me cope with it. Note that I’m not saying “thrived with it” because I still wouldn’t wish this upon myself or anyone I know, but these things have made it manageable as a mom, a successful business owner, and a human being in general.

I still struggle with anxiety. Point blank. It’s something that pops up a few times a day, but it’s not debilitating anymore.

However. It definitely HAS affected my work and ability to get things done in my businesses-- which I think if you’re still listening to this episode-- is something that you may be able to relate to and maybe even currently struggling with.

And that’s what I want to talk to you about today.

I want to share what I’VE found to help me as I work through it and get things done with my business. I’m not touting some “cure-all” or a way to manage anxiety in EVERY aspect of your life, but in regards to running an online business, I’m always looking for people who have gone through similar things to me and how they’ve dealt with it, so I hope you can use this episode in the same way.

Now, if you’ve been around for a while, you know that I started my Etsy shop, LittleHighbury, with a newborn in tow. Don’t ask me HOW— I still am unsure. But I needed an escape from motherhood, and running an online shop somehow happened and it became a much-needed distraction.

Now, less you think I hit the ground running, it’s important to understand that I wasn’t able to work on it all the time— in fact, I enlisted my mom and husband to do a lot of work for me— because my post partum depression would ebb and flow. Some days were easier than others. Most days were REALLY hard. In order to make it work, when I felt good, I worked on the business— answering convos, designing fabrics, etc.

When I was REALLY struggling, I gave myself a bit of grace and asked for help to fill orders. It wasn’t ideal by any means, but it’s how I got things done. My husband is truly a rockstar and kept the business afloat more than once.

Things got A LOT easier when the PPD disappeared, but like I mentioned earlier, the anxiety stayed. And I still found it challenging on some days to actually get the work done— just the IDEA of working on my business caused my anxiety to spike.

But as LittleHighbury grew, it quickly became apparent that I would need to figure out something or some coping mechanism that allowed me to still get orders filled and completed— even if I was having an “off” day. The consistency in sales was incredible, but it also meant that I couldn’t just “disappear” for days at a time because things HAD to get done.

It’s the same thing with morgannield.com. I still get those massively anxious days, usually on days when I need to go live for a coaching call or a webinar. And the 3 tips I’m going to share with you are HOW I’m able to still get things done in the business even when all I feel like doing is curling up in a ball under the covers.

So again, the tips I’m sharing today are related to your Etsy shop business and how to cope with anxiety and still get things done. I realize this is just a TINY sliver of the anxiety you may be struggling with in your overall life, but I DO know that a lot of Etsy shop owners struggle with major anxiety whenever they think about working on their business, so that’s what I wanted to talk about today :)

Okay, let’s dive into some of the tips I’ve found that help me.

Okay— Tip #1 - Work through it - just get ONE thing done

If you get anxiety about your never-ending to-do list, it can feel near IMPOSSIBLE to even look at your to-do list, let alone actually accomplish something off of it.

Trust me when I say I’m talking from SO much experience here.

When you’re stuck in the depths of anxiety, the idea of running a business can seem laughable at that point. Like, how are you supposed to accomplish ANYTHING when you feel this way?

And I get that-- I really do.

And again-- I’m no doctor or therapist, so take this for what it’s worth-- but I’ve found that a lot of times if I’m feeling anxious about my business in particular, it’s because I’m not actually making any progress in it.

Now, I don’t just mean that in terms of sales. I mean that I’m not ACTIVELY doing anything to grow my business. I know that there are things I SHOULD be doing to grow my business, but I’m afraid to start tackling some new task because it seems incredibly daunting or it’s not something I’ve ever done before or maybe I’m just feeling unmotivated.

That particular branch of anxiety is stemming from FEAR. And I’ve found that most business anxiety comes from that-- you’re worried about taking the leap or making the wrong “step” and that’s causing you to not make ANY progress (which, in turn, feeds your anxiety)

And sometimes just the ANTICIPATION of knowing it needs to get done is all it takes to send me into a wave of anxiety that is crippling as I spiral into the “I’m a failure, this is impossible, etc.” depths.

And guess what? When I feel like that, I don’t ever make that progress or get that thing done.

And so the process repeats itself again and again. Vicious cycle.

So my advice to you is this (and I know it’s harder than it sounds). Just do ONE THING.

Pick ONE thing to do today to grow your business.

It doesn’t have to be the hardest thing on your list or the most tedious. It just needs to be ONE thing.

And a lot of the time, I’ve found that if I can do that one thing and just get started, my anxiety becomes more manageable. I’m not saying it completely disappears, but I recognize my own strength that I CAN work through it.

And usually I want to keep going after that ONE thing.

As I was creating this podcast episode, this was actually INCREDIBLE prevelant. I have been putting writing this episode off because I was worried about what people would think-- since it’s not strictly “Etsy marketing advice.” And it felt daunting to lay it out on the line and talk so candidly about my struggles.

But as I was writing this episode, it felt AMAZING. I had to push myself MAJORLY to start, but once I did, the words came effortlessly.

Now this is obviously not going to work 100% of the time and your personal situation may be completely different. But getting started and just DOING SOMETHING and taking action instead of treading close to a panic attack about all the things that need to get done with my business has been an incredible help for my anxiety.

And after I finish that one thing-- if I’m still struggling, I can check out. I don’t have to log in 5 more hours. If I need some self care (like a nap), that’s totally okay. Assuming someone is watching the baby, of course!

But this way I KNOW I’ve done at least something to grow my business today-- and it makes the anxiety easier to cope with for tomorrow because I don’t have that added guilt of feeling like a failure + that my anxiety is in control and not me.

So on the days where you need to get things done but you don’t feel like you can do any of it, just pick ONE thing and do it. And then reassess— see how you feel— and make a decision after that.

Tip #2 - Figure out systems that can allow you to take a break if you need it.

Now, this doesn’t “solve” anxiety by any means. But it does take the pressure off, which is definitely something that anxiety feeds off of.

One of the most common problems I hear is that people are afraid that if they take a break from the business-- or stop working for a hot second-- that all their success--even if it’s just a little-- will disappear overnight.

I have two things to say to that:

1- Make sure you’re not relying solely on SEO for your sales. This is where a lot of that anxiety can stem from since you have 0 control of the Etsy algorithm and whatever tests and changes they decide to make on a whim. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t worry about SEO at all-- you absolutely should have that set up so you have a strong foundation and can take advantage of the benefits of the built in traffic that Etsy naturally has.

And if you’re struggling to get that started or have been “working” on it for over 6 months and still aren’t done, I’d HIGHLY encourage you to check out my SEO One + Done course that will whip your SEO into shape for Etsy, Google, and Pinterest in just 14 days. So you can move on and cross SEO off your never-ending to-do list for good. Hallelujah!

Okay, and then thing #2 - Figure out how you can work “ahead” to take the pressure off when you really need it.

You’re not always going to be able to plow through things and get them done when you’re feeling particularly crippled by anxiety-- I know I’ve seen it in my own life-- and it’s AMAZING to have a sort of “buffer” to back you up when YOU need to step away from your business.

When you have those “good” days that you aren’t feeling the drag of anxiety, I want you to take advantage of them and work ahead in your business.

This may look like:

Create ready-to-ship orders
Have canned responses ready for Etsy conversations
Batch your social media + pre-schedule it in advance (+ keep a reservoir of content on hand for those “days”)
Set up an automated email sequence to sell your product for you (we talk about this inside MYM)
Hiring a VA to do some of the “lifting” for you. You may not be to this point now-- and that’s okay! But this is a GAME CHANGER!
Basically anything you can do to work ahead and not have to be in the moment all day everyday? DO IT.

Bottom line? You are allowed to take breaks, especially on those days that you are struggling.

Set up the systems and things in place so that you can feel okay when you DO take those breaks.

And going right along with that...

Tip #3 - Give yourself grace

This is probably THE most important piece of advice I can give to you today and is CRITICAL for working when you have anxiety.

You’ve got to give yourself grace.

This is a lesson I learned the VERY hard way back in February 2018.

At that time I was running LittleHighbury, making consistent five-figure months, and I was also running morgannield.com-- the site I run today.

I had a hyper-active and very needy 4 year old at home, and I was lucky enough to have a surprise pregnancy that left me with a term only a few people know about-- hyperemesis gravidarum.

This is the Princess Kate sickness— the one she got with all 3 of her children. The one where you puke all day everyday for 9 months of your life while you’re carrying a child. You get to know the local hospital staff REALLY well, you get IV’s brought to you on a regular basis, and you become SUPER familiar with the toilet bowls in your house. You also realize that you don’t clean them nearly enough, but at that point, the smell of the cleaner makes you puke more so you let it slide.

So I was throwing up about 20+ times/day, taking care of my 4 year old who was only in preschool about 8 hours/week, and running two businesses.

Now, I wrote a very emotional blog post all about this that I’ll link to in the show notes which you can find over at morgannield.com/blog/episode4, but basically in February 2018 I had a mental breakdown-- I couldn’t stop sobbing (or puking) and my anxiety about everything was THROUGH THE ROOF. I literally thought I was going to die at any minute. I was trying to launch my Mastermind Your Marketing program for the 3rd time and also fill 20+ orders/day with LittleHighbury.

In between puke sessions.

Any NORMAL person would say that I was crazy-- and I totally was-- but at the time I was convinced that I had to keep doing both businesses or I would be a failure.

Now, I know most of you listening are Etsy shop owners and have never “launched” a digital course, but I’m here to say: IT’S A LOT OF WORK. What looks effortless on the outside is literally just that tip of the iceberg to a whole lotta crazy going on beneath the surface.

My husband found me in the bathroom after an especially grueling puke session and basically told me I had to stop. You know, in between the heaving and sobbing that I couldn’t control.

I couldn’t do both businesses AND be pregnant AND care for our 4 year old daughter anymore.

I couldn’t see it, but of course he was right.

So I (he, WE) made the decision to close up LittleHighbury right then and there.

And I had to GIVE MYSELF GRACE that at that exact moment in time, I couldn’t do it all.

And that was okay.

The world didn’t implode, our bank account didn’t dry up, the zombie apocalypse never happened-- (although if that does ever happen, I’m pretty sure I want to be one of the first to go. Kind of a “peace out, cub scout” sort of thing. And for the love of all that is holy, will someone PLEASE explain to me why you would ever want to survive a world where you’re constantly in fear of your life with zombies chasing you. I genuinely don’t understand that!)

Okay, so like I was saying before I popped onto my zombie soapbox-- none of those things happened.

But I was able to focus LESS on being busy and more on taking care of myself.

Not completing 20+ orders/day freed up A LOT of time that I was able to nap, watch movies, and recharge after an awful day when I felt like crap.

Now, those aren’t the most productive, amazing things ever.

But they were the grace I needed to get through that point in time.

And they ended up leading me to having my BIGGEST launch EVER because I was able to focus more on that instead of trying to split my time between managing two businesses.

So give yourself grace.

If you’ve got 4 kids under 4 and the little one kept you up all night teething, it’s okay that you didn’t add the 10 new products-- or even 1 new product-- to your shop that you “promised” yourself you would do today.

If you’ve had a family emergency and been putting out fires all day for everyone, it’s okay that you didn’t photograph your entire new product line today.

If you feel such a pit in your stomach for no reason at all that you can’t even get out of a bed, much less run a business, that’s okay.

You’ve GOT to take care of #1 first and foremost. And that #1 is YOU.

Your business isn’t going anywhere and it’s not going to go belly-up because you took a nap this afternoon that you really needed instead of answering 5 million Etsy convos.

Give yourself grace and give yourself permission to step away, take care of YOU and what YOU need, and then come back to the business.

I promise it’ll still be waiting for you :)

Conclusion

Holy cow. Okay, so I thought I’d maybe have a couple things to say about anxiety + running my business but apparently I had a TON to share. In a way, this episode has been therapeutic to me, and I hope you found some value in it. If nothing else, know that you are NOT alone. I still absolutely have days where I don’t want to show up or be running a business because my anxiety is sky high and I literally don’t feel like I can check my email without spiraling into major overwhelm and panic. Mondays, in general, are HARD for me.

It happens. It’s part of being a human who struggles with anxiety. And if that’s you as well, I’m here for you. You absolutely CAN run a business while struggling through anxiety. It’s not something I ever thought I would have to deal with, but I do and it’s here and to some extent? It’s a blessing as weird as that sounds. It means I need to be more thoughtful and deliberate about the things I DO work on and how I plan + run my business. Because some days I just can’t show up.

You are NOT your anxiety. It’s a part of you that you have to learn how to work with, but it isn’t “YOU” -- you are more than your anxiety and you’ve got this.

Alright guys, be sure to check the show notes for any resources I mentioned in the podcast + I’ll see you next week!

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Hey guys! Morgan Nield here for another episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast and I am SUPER excited about today’s episode because I know it’s a pain point for a TON of Etsy sellers and hopefully you’re going to leave today with some incredible gold nuggets and ideas that you can implement right away in your business.

I’m talking ENGAGEMENT on social media.

Because while everyone and their dog shares how important it is to grow your social media, there’s not a lot of stress put on growing an ENGAGED presence on social media.

I want to change that today and walk you through some ideas I’ve tried and tested in my OWN businesses that have upped engagement and actually got people talking. Because there’s nothing worse than putting tons of time + effort into a social media post (and yelling at your kids over and over again to give you a minute in the process) and hearing CRICKETS. It’s the worst, right?!

We’ve all been there. I’ve even seen it in my morgannield.com FB group where I have over 13,000 members and have posted something that got buried IMMEDIATELY. That’s 13,000 people and not ONE of them responding. This happened with my Etsy shop, LittleHighbury as well. So trust me-- I know how hard it is to put yourself out there and get nothing back in return. Nobody is immune to this-- it’s happened to 100% of us business owners. So know that you’re NOT alone if you just saw a tumbleweed roll by on your Instagram account. We’ve ALL seen that tumbleweed

Lesson:

Now, before we dive into 5 engagement-boosting types of posts you can create, I want to make something REALLY clear before we dive in. If people don’t feel safe or heard over on your Instagram account or Facebook page or wherever your audience is hanging out, you will struggle to get engagement. No matter how captivating your post is, if people don’t feel valued, they won’t engage with it. It’s a foundational thing that MUST be fixed before you try to boost your engagement.

It’s the same kind of thing that I tell my MYM students-- no amount of clever marketing can fix a broken shop-- which is why we cover product validation and shop optimization in the course. You could be the BEST marketer in the world, but if your product sucks or your shop looks like crap, you’re never going to sell a thing.

Same deal here with getting engagement on social media. If your profile is a hot mess and you’re ignoring your followers, you’re going to struggle with engagement.

So before we dive into 5 engagement-boosting posts, let me cover a few tips that I’ve found helpful to create that “safe” and “valued” space that our followers need in order to feel moved to engage with our brand.

#1 -First up - Acknowledge all comments.

This is SO important! If you’re asking for their opinion or feedback or just to respond to your post, and then you ignore them when they do, how do you think they’re going to feel? Are they going to keep responding to your posts? Probably not because they need to feel heard. If you’re asking for engagement, be prepared to give some engagement back!

Now, if you’re getting hundreds of comments on every post, obviously that’s a lot of commenting you’d have to be doing. At that level, commenting on just a few is perfectly fine. But you’re listening to this episode, so I’m guessing that most of you don’t have this problem...yet.

So if people are taking the time to interact and comment with your brand, YOU need to make the time to interact and comment back at them. Let them know you value them as followers, appreciate their comments, and that they are heard. That goodwill will go a long way not only in building loyalty with the people you comment back to, but also to those “lurkers” that see the positive interaction you have.

Okay, #2 - Delete rude/potentially hot topic comments

This is one of those “nip it in the bud” sort of strategies. The MINUTE you see a customer service complaint or someone else snap at another commenter, you MUST delete that comment. If it’s a valid concern, message them privately and ask them to email it so you can handle it over there. But do NOT allow it to remain on social media. Take it from someone who has learned this the hard way and been bombarded with 10+ personal messages about hurt feelings in our FB group-- you’ve GOT to stop these sorts of comments the minute you see them happen.

Things can spiral out of crazy control very, very quickly in the online world. While someone may mean something in a joking + sarcastic tone, it can be hard to read that emotion over the internet-- and things can be interpreted by others as just plain rude.

This will discourage your audience from commenting if they feel they might get “attacked” for their comment, so keep things lighthearted + positive.

Tip #3 - show up consistently

This one is a constant struggle for me and actually one of the reasons I started this podcast-- so I could have a place where I plan to show up consistently. People flock to consistency and the things/people they can count on being dependable.

So if you’re serious about growing your engagement, then SHOW UP. If you take NOTHING else from this episode, showing up is enough to get the snowball rolling. The rest is icing on the cake.

Alright, so now let’s dive into the 5 different types of posts to create buzz in your community. Remember-- this can be Instagram, Facebook page or group, wherever you’ve built up your community.

Type #1 - Feedback post

We’ll kick things off with one of my favorites-- asking your followers for their opinions! Sometimes we get so wrapped up in creating what we think is going to sell that we forget to consider our customer! Talk about some killer market research! Just asking what they think of a business decision or having them pick between 2-3 options can be HUGELY eye-opening and give them that feeling that THEY matter.

So what does this actually look like?

You could post something like “What should the name of my new product line be called? [offer 3 different options] in the comments, say 1,2 or 3.”

“Playing around with some new design ideas and wondering what you guys think. Which one is your favorite?”

The key here is to make it EXTREMELY easy to respond. Don’t ask them to name your product line for you or tell you what designs to create-- give them 3 options and ask for their opinion on those options you presented.

Type #2 - Permission post

This is a post type where you’re going to get just a little vulnerable. Not a lot-- no need for oversharing here-- but enough that your audience feels like you’re approachable. We’re removing that customer/business barrier.

A permission post is simply giving your followers permission to be who they already are. I first heard about this post type from Boss Mom Dana Malstaf and it is BRILLIANT and SO stinkin’ effective. Basically, you’re meeting them where they’re at, sharing that you too have struggled with that EXACT thing, and give them hope that they don’t have to stay trapped there.

For example, if you sell planners, you might give your followers permission to be completely unorganized and a hot mess. Saying something like “I was here, you’re probably here, too. I got out of it-- you’re not crazy. You’ll get it out of it too. Permission to be a hot mess.”

Or if you sell bath bombs, it might be giving them permission to not have a self-care routine right now. To feel frazzled and stressed like they don’t have any time for themselves. And then again, you’re going to reassure them that you struggled with this too and that it’s not the end of the world-- it’s easier than they think to establish a self-care routine and you can show them how using your products.

The biggest thing here is that you point out that

a) you’ve struggled with it too. If you haven’t, you can share about someone else (a past customer?) who struggled with this, but it WILL be more impactful if YOU personally have struggled with it.

And then b) your product should be the solution to helping them solve that problem you’ve just given them permission about. If you don’t feel like your product solves a problem, you need to head back to that dream customer/target market drawing board and understand the WHY of your product and what it does for your customers. Head over to the show notes to see the link to my podcast episode on your dream customer!.

Type #3 - Human nature post:

This one is a FUN one and while it isn’t a straightforward impact to your sales, it WILL boost engagement and get people talking.

This type of post is a completely RANDOM type of post and asks things that aren’t related to your business at all. You’re showing them that yes, you are human as well, and it’s not all business all the time-- there’s a relatable aspect to your business as well. It also allows you to share what your opinion is so people can get to know you at a deeper level.

The point of this post is to ask a question that people have opinions on that they just can’t help themselves but respond. Now, I’m going to say this with a disclaimer-- I would STRONGLY encourage you to stay away from hot topic posts.

Now, I know some people will say that there are tough conversations (political/religious come to mind) that need to be had and we shouldn’t censor these discussions. I get that. But I need you to understand that there are PLENTY of other places that these comments can be had and usually are encouraged. Unless your brand is political or religious in nature, they shouldn’t be happening on YOUR social media-- it’s not going to help your brand at all and can actually create negative emotions within people that they will automatically connect to your brand. And we definitely don’t want that!

So stick with fun questions--

What's your favorite 90’s sitcom? (the correct answer to that is Saved By the Bell, in case you’re wondering)

If you had to live off of ONE type of food forever, what would it be? Chips + salsa

What’s your favorite podcast episode at the moment?

People LOVE to share their opinions on these types of things so this one is a SUPER easy way to get engagement with your brand!

#4 - The struggle post

This is similar to the feedback post, but a little different. This is more of an open-ended type of post asking your followers for their opinions on things that relate to your brand. Mariah Coz coined the term “copy stalking” and it is PERFECT. If you can find out what your people are saying, you can work that into your copy! We want to steal the words right out of their mouth about what they think about our product.

Now, this isn’t just “which cake topper do you like better? This one of that one?” That’s an okay question to ask, but we’re going to go just a little deeper with this type of post.

So going along with that cake topper post, maybe you sell party supplies. So you’d want to ask something like “What’s the biggest struggle you have when planning a party?” but make it more fun like “Party planning is HARD! I always struggle with xyz-- but what do YOU struggle with? I’m curious!” and BOOM. Suddenly you know EXACTLY what your audience is struggling with and you can use that exact phrasing as you write your descriptions + market your product. GENIUS and you don’t have to create it from scratch!

Or say you sell hand-lettered home decor signs. You could ask something like “What hangups do you run into when you’re trying to style your home?” or something more inspirational: “If you had a perfectly styled home, how would you feel?” The comments you’ll get are GOLD.

Alright, so there you have it-- my 4 favorite types of posts to boost engagement within your community. If your community has been silent up to this point, you’ll want to post more than one-- and keep at it. It’s easy to give up when we post once and nobody responds. Save face, right? But the magic is in showing up. Keep trying these posts and I GUARANTEE you will see increased engagement over time.

So I want you to pick just ONE and try it out this week-- and then let me know in our free Facebook group (I’ll link to it in the show notes!) and share how it went-- we want to hear!

See you next week!

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Hey guys! Today we’re kicking things off by going WAAAAAAAAAAY back to the basics with your Etsy shop.

Today we’re talking about your PRODUCT LINE. You know-- the stuff you sell.

Because while I can go on and on about marketing like it’s going out of style (and trust me-- in the upcoming episodes, I definitely will!), but at the end of the day, if you don’t have a strong product line in your shop, no amount of clever marketing is going to bring you that long-term predictable revenue you’re aiming for.

And I don’t know about you, but I’m ALL about setting my shop up for long-term success every step of the way. If I’m going to put in all this work upfront, I don’t want to be just a one-hit wonder-- I’m in it for the long haul and financial freedom.

So let’s dive on in!

// Flagship product

Alright-- so first things first: What makes up a strong product line? Isn’t having awesome products enough?

Trust me-- I know just how easy it is to get sucked into the trap of "if I can make it, then I should list it" as an Etsy seller (I mean, if you think about it logically: more products = more money, right?!), but I need you to trust me on this: Just because you CAN make it doesn’t mean you should LIST IT in your shop.

In fact, I’m going to go so far as to recommend something that you MIGHT not agree with-- you ready for it? ...I recommend that every Etsy seller starts out by focusing on just ONE (gasp!) type of product-- which is known as your FLAGSHIP PRODUCT.

Now that term totally sounds more intimidating than it is-- but when I use the term “flagship product” all I mean is that you have ONE major product player in your shop-- and that’s the product that your brand becomes known for.

Your goal with having a flagship product line is to be seen as THE EXPERT in this niche-- the "go-to" shop for this particular type of product, and the industry standard that people look to.

And it’s a strategy you see in play ALL THE TIME-- even if you don’t realize it.

Think about it:

When you hear the name “Dollar Shave Club” what product do you immediately think of? Razors
When you hear the name “Hydroflask” what product do you immediately think of? Waterbottles
And when you hear the name LittleHighbury, my Etsy shop, if you were familiar with me, ideally you would think of baby headbands ;)

The reason you see this product line strategy pop up over and over again in small businesses when they start out?

IT WORKS.

And it is KEY to making those early-on sales-- with the added bonus of not wasting hundreds of dollars in inventory for multiple product types.

Now I know you might be thinking right now, “But morgan-- I need to list a bunch of things in my shop so I can experiment and see what sells” and I’m going to tell you- in the kindest way possible-- that logic is flat out WRONG and is actually holding you back.

Let’s take a look an example of this.

Let’s say you’re in the market for a wedding invitation because YAY you’re getting married-- congratulations by the way-- and you’ve done your research and found 2 awesome invitation designs on Pinterest that link to Etsy shops where you can purchase those invitations.

For the first one-- SHOP A, we’ll call it-- you visit their shop and see that they definitely DO sell some wedding stationary-- including the listing you liked. But because they don't want to "limit" themselves in the market, they've also got a line of kids birthday invitations, graduation announcements, raffle cards, banners and more. They don't have a dream customer because they "have something for everyone!" so their marketing copy and turnaround times are all over the place to try to appeal to everyone. You’re not even sure they could get you your invitations on time because there’s no clear-cut wedding stationary turnaround time-- just a generic “custom orders may take longer!” message.

Now the second shop--Shop B--is STRICTLY wedding-related. They have invitations, save-the-date cards, RSVP cards-- the entire wedding suite. They have only ONE type of customer in mind-- the bride-to-be; so they're used to working with wedding deadlines, and they understand the importance of attention to detail-- the paper type, the coordinating envelopes-- all of it. They have set policies, exact turnaround times, and a streamlined system for customization.

Now, let's imagine, to take it even a step further for our example’s sake, that both of these shops have the EXACT SAME invitation design that our bride is looking for because #copycats on Etsy is a real thing.

I want you to honestly answer to yourself: Which shop do you think you would feel most confident purchasing from?

The answer is Shop B, of course!

In fact, I'm willing to bet that even if Shop A sold the wedding invitations for a little bit cheaper, you would probably STILL purchase from Shop B.

Why is this?

Shop B looks like (and likely is) an EXPERT in their industry. They understand their product, their customers, and their processes and have them nailed down to a T.

And--spoiler alert-- buyer trust is what ultimately converts a browser to a paying customer every. single. Time. Yep, sharing the secrets of the universe here, my friend.

So with that example in mind, I need you to go into creating your flagship product line with FOCUS above everything else. I don’t care if you sell candles or party printables or tote bags. FOCUS is absolutely key to a strong product line.

How focused should you be

With that in mind, you might be wondering, “well then, how focused do I really need to be, Morgan? Like are tea towels enough focus? Or do I need to take it a step further and sell only tea towels with pictures of fruit on them?”

And this is where it gets to be a bit of a gray area because each shop niche is so unique.

My advice? You shouldn’t go SO niche that there’s no market for it. Tea towels JUST with images of lemons on them, for example? TOO niche. You’d be better off with tea towels that follow a certain design aesthetic-- like typography tea towels or vintage-designed tea-towels.

Selling custom tumblers? It’s probably too niche if you JUST have images of bulldogs on them. Maybe broaden your shop to include listings of ALL dog breeds.

And finally, maybe you sell party printables. Doing JUST princess themed printables is a bit niche-- focusing on modern kids birthday printables or maybe even just baby shower printables is going to be niche enough for you. But again-- don’t cross over into the kids birthdays AND baby shower printables in one shop. That’s not focused enough. It can be a tricky kind of balance to find, so if you’re stuck, consider taking a look at other successful shops in your niche doing well and see where they draw the line, so to speak.

No fail product formula

Once you’ve determined your flagship product line “niche,” it’s time to actually decide what designs will go into it.

And with that in mind, I’m going to do my best to give you what I consider to be a no-fail product line formula for your shop that you can take and adapt to fit YOUR product line.

Just be sure to keep in mind that as you’re designing this product line, we still want all of your items to look like they belong together-- that they’re coming from the same shop owner. Our goal is to have your shop feel like a boutique, not a garage sale!

Your product line

Alright, so we’ve determined that you just need 1 REALLY strong product line (your “flagship product”) designed with your CUSTOMER in mind. And really quick-- let’s bust the myth that “You have to have 100+ items in your shop to be successful (or add new product every single week)”.

Um, no.

Believe it or not, you only need 15-20 listings to start making consistent sales on Etsy. So stop the overwhelmed feeling that you’re never going to make it because 15 listings?

Totally attainable.

Now, if you’re starting from 0, it’s pretty straightforward. But if you’re listening to this with 200+ digital printable listings, you may be wondering how the heck you can even begin to apply a flagship product line to your shop. Never fear-- here’s what I recommend as a breakdown of listings in your shop:

50% relatively neutral options
30% should follow trends in patterns + colors
20% over-the-top fun “out-there” unique options that YOU love

Okay, let’s take a look at breakdown of what each of these categories actually mean. Because I bet you’ve got questions-- so let me do my best to answer them!

50% relatively neutral options <-- this is what people tend to buy.

Even if you have the COOLEST custom color options for your jewelry, you’ll usually find that most of the time people will be drawn in by the colors, but ultimately end up purchasing the neutrals as a “safe” option.

I saw this ALL THE TIME in my Little Highbury Etsy shop. People would come in for my watercolor pattern designs and usually end up purchasing maybe 1 (MAYBE) watercolor floral pattern and then 2 solid colored headbands that they could-- literally-- purchase anywhere else.

So having neutrals and solids-- while not particularly ground breaking-- will always make up a surprisingly large portion of your order totals.

Now, with this in mind, I mean neutrals for YOUR product. I don’t just mean cream and brown and black. Yes, those are neutral colors, but they might not be neutrals for your shop. Neutrals simply means the “standard options”

So if you sold custom sprinkles blends-- which, if you do, please send me your shop link because that’s ones of my biggest weaknesses-- but if you sold custom sprinkle blends, you’d want to have some more neutral options-- not necessarily brown and black because those aren’t usually typical sprinkle colors, even though they’re “neutral” by definition. But a basic red, yellow, orange, blue-- those would be considered neutrals in YOUR niche. So keep that in mind when designing the neutrals for your shop.

30% should follow trends in patterns + colors <-- this is what will bring people into the shop via popular search terms on Pinterest or Google

If you’ve avoided trends in the past because you’re worried about appearing as a #sellout, know that I hear you, but I also want to add that you’re missing out on MAJOR sales and traffic because of your stubbornness.

Following trends in patterns and colors is one of the SMARTEST biz strategies out there for designing a flagship product line that is going to sell.

People flock to and buy trendy items. It comes back to that sales philosopy that you have to see something 7 times before you feel confident enough to purchase it. Well, when you see a pineapple pattern 1, 2, 3, 7 times, you start to pay attention. And you start to think about pineapples. And suddenly you’re yelling out “pineapple for the win!” when you’re spot a pineapple for your husband and it becomes a competition to find them first in every episode of Psych.

But regardless, when you start seeing pineapples pop up everywhere, you start to take notice. And you start to realize that yes, maybe there IS room for a pineapple in your life. And before you know it, you’ve bought a pineapple pool floatie and swim trunks for your baby boy who probably won’t actually get in the pool this year, but you’ve got them JUST IN CASE.

With trends, people are searching for these “themes” at a higher search volume. And there’s actually LESS shops competing for them-- because they’re more niched-- so the sooner you can jump onto a trend and introduce it into your shop, the better.

This is a strategy I adopted VERY early on in LittleHighbury and it sealed the deal for me. Just using Pinterest to scout out trends, I added Chevrons, tribal, unicorns, pineapples-- all those patterns into my shop depending on the trend season and saw crazy-high spikes in views and sales because of them. Mind you, a lot of people would STILL purchase neutrals to go with that trending item-- don’t ever underestimate the power of neutrals--, but it was the trending item that got them into the shop, whether they purchased it or not.

Alright and finally, 20% over-the-top fun “out-there” unique options that YOU love <-- this is what will go viral + get people talking about your stuff)

Time for another Etsy myth: If YOU love it, your customer will automatically love it.

NOPE.

If you are designing the majority of your product line around the idea that YOU love what you’re selling-- with NO consideration for your customer or what they’re interested in-- then no wonder your items aren’t flying off the virtual shelves.

However. I’m not telling you to weed out everything that you absolutely adore in your shop-- that sucks the fun right out of selling on Etsy.

Instead, I’m asking you to dedicate just 20% of your product line to these fun, over-the-top designs that maybe you completely love, but aren’t necessarily there for the sales. They’re just so plain cool that people feel compelled to look closer, talk about your stuff, and share it with everyone they know.

Think about it: have you ever had your mom send you a link to a product because it’s just “so you” even though it’s not practical at all and there’s no real need for it in your life? My family does this ALL THE TIME with gnomes for me. I have no need for gnome products in my life, but I like them, so whenever my family sees something especially clever-- like gnome shaped crayons, or a “oh gnome you don’t” board game-- which is an excellent game, by the way. Totally bought it for a gag gift for my sister and then purchased one for ourselves as well as our best friends down the street.

But whenever you see something SO AWESOME, we feel compelled to share. And I want that last 20% of your product line to be that AWESOME stuff that pushes the envelope and get’s people talking about your shop.

Fun fact: People will visit your shop JUST for those unique items and probably end up purcahsing a neutral item anyways.

We’re not trying to turn that unique over-the-top item into your best sellers (although it may become so strictly by accident if it goes viral), but we are trying to leverage them to get people to share them, to pin them, to talk about them. We’re using them as a master traffic-driver into your shop.

So when I say “over the top,” what am I talking about?

Let’s say you knit hats. And you’ve got a bunch of standard knit beanies very soft, neutral colors-- totally cozy and beautiful and neutral options for your audience.

Your on-trend options would be possible on-trend colors or shapes (ie- like a slouch beanie or a giant pom-pom beanie or a chunky knit beanie, depending on what is on trend for the winter-- I can’t keep up with winter fashion. Basically if it’s comfortable and warm, I wear it).

Your over-the top ones? They might be themed-- and include a cat design knitted in or maybe cat ears on top. Not ones someone would wear everyday, but unique enough that someone would see that and IMMEDIATELY share it (or even buy it!) for their crazy cat lady mother. I like cats, so obviously that’s why I used them as an example. It might be something completely different for you. Maybe you sell soap-- and your over-the-top ones could be crazy scents-- like funfetti cupcake soap or churro-scented soap. Yes, those are TOTALLY weird, crazy combinations that the average bather won’t be using (although I’m tempted to buy them), but that’s the point. They’re FUN and have viral potential :)

Alright-- so just a quick recap:

50% relatively neutral options
30% should follow trends in patterns + colors
20% over-the-top fun “out-there” unique options that YOU love

Additional product lines

Okay, and now the moment you’ve been waiting for-- when is it appropriate to add in ADDITIONAL product lines. Because you’re a creative and I know you’ve got a million ideas going on in your head. Trust me, I get it.

Once you’ve created a STRONG flagship product line and it has STARTED SELLING, THEN you can toy around with the idea of adding additional product lines.

Why the wait?

It all comes back to FOCUS. When you’re just starting out-- or at least just starting out with actual STRATEGY in mind, it’s easy to get distracted and run a million miles per hour in a million different directions.

Take it from someone who has seen this over and over again inside my paid Mastermind Your Marketing program with new students coming in: Lack of focus is the fastest way to burnout and failure. That’s why we keep everything in a 12-week step-by-step program inside Mastermind Your Marketing-- you can’t work on it all at the same time and expect great results. Nothing EVER works that way. Focus is KEY to success.

I mean, even as I’m working on this podcast, it’s worth noting that I’m NOT scheduling out new social media posts and creating a new Facebook group and trying to add in a youtube channel right at this moment. If I did, this podcast would NEVER get anywhere. And while this podcast is not a paid product, it IS a priority for my business right now and I absolutely need that focus to actually get it done and out there. So even after 9+ years in business, I still live by and preach FOCUS. It’s a game-changer.

So ready for some take-action from this episode? Good!

Here’s what I want you to do: Brainstorm your new flagship product line. If you’ve got an older shop with hundreds of listings, let's start by taking a closer look at just your top few best-selling items. Do those items have anything in common? Use that common “theme” as the starting point for your flagship product line.

And yes, this MAY require you to deactivate/flash sale/burn a few items currently in your shop that don’t match. This is a GOOD THING. If they don’t fall under your flagship product line, they need to go. So set aside some time to do some major housekeeping this week.

And then post your progress in our Simplify Your Sales Facebook group. Or ask for some feedback if you’re having a hard time wrapping your head around this concept. Everyone always things that applying strategies is hardest for THEIR product, so if you need some people to bounce ideas off of, our FB group is where it’s at-- and I’ll link to it in the show notes, which can be found at morgannield.com/blog/episode2.

Alright, so we’re now at the point in the show where I tell you to get to work. I’ll see you next week!

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Hey guys! Super excited for today’s podcast because it is one of THE foundational things you need to have in place before marketing your Etsy shop: Your Dream Customer. Now don’t turn off this epsiode or be tempted to skip it because maybe you’ve heard it all a million times before. Okay? Don’t do that! I GUARANTEE that the exercise we go through today is going to give you so much more clarity about WHO you’re selling your product to and HOW to sell it.

So if you’ve always jsut said that your dream customer is a “woman shopper,” then listen up, because today’s episode is for you! Narrowing down that focus from “woman shopper” to a concrete, ideal customer is going to make your marketing approximately 1 bajillion times easier so YOU NEED TO DO THIS. Don’t just put it on the back burner and don’t assume that “you” don’t need a dream customer. EVERYONE NEEDS a dream customer.

The reason EVERY business coach/mentor out there pushes a “dream customer” or “target market” or “ideal client avatar”-- which are all basically the same thing— is because it is absolutely CRITICAL to your shop’s success and being able to market effectively and attract the right type of customers. And by “right” type of customers, I mean customers who actually want to BUY from you.

You will use this “dream customer” over and over again so make a commitment to yourself to get it done now—this week--and then cross it off of your to-do list for good! I think you’ll be amazed at just how good it feels to have it DONE.

And then really quick— throughout this episode I’m going to be referring to this ideal customer as your “dream customer”. Again— same thing as target market, ideal client avatar— but I’m just going to call it “dream customer” throughout this episode.

Okay, so let’s dive in!

First things first: What exactly is a "dream customer"?

So when I say “dream customer,” what I mean is the type of customer who you would LOVE to have buying from your shop. This person loves everything you do and everything you post on social media; he/she signs up for your email list and even replies to your emails; this wonderful customer recommends you to EVERYONE he/she meets.

The important thing here is that this is ONE person.

We’re not talking about an entire fan base. We’re not talking about every person that comes into your shop to browse. This is ONE person— your dream customer— that we’re focusing on.

Why just one person? I get it— it almost sounds counterintuitive and limiting to focus on one type of person. This means your products, your marketing, copy, everything is focused on just ONE person

But it’s that laser FOCUS that is going to pay off for you big because this focus is going to help you nail down EXACTLY what your ideal customer— and likewise, audience— wants and needs from you.

We’re NOT trying to appeal to everyone here. When you do that, you lack focus and your marketing, products, everything is all over the place. And that doesn’t convert customers.

So don’t be afraid to narrow it down to just ONE dream customer.

You’re still going to attract TONS of people that maybe fall under the “umbrella” of that dream customer— or even outside of that umbrella. Trust me— and I know it’s hard to do right now— but TRUST ME— you are not limiting your reach by having a dream customer. You’re giving yourself permission to make marketing easy.

And that’s what we all want, right? Marketing to feel easy so you can get back to doing what you love— creating. Or napping. You do you. ;)

Now, I want you to be honest with yourself for a second— you’ve probably been trying to appeal to everyone with your shop up to this point. And I get that logic— the more customers you appeal to, the more sales you’ll make, right?!

But that’s actually REALLY backwards thinking in online business.

There are SO many shops online— SO many just on Etsy alone— that you probably feel like it’s impossible to stand out. It’s a saturated marketplace— no point sugar coating it.

And without that laser-focused vision and voice, you are going to get lost in the sea of other Etsy sellers out there. General = boring

Laser-focused = standing out.

And the thing that is going to set you apart from the competition— to help you STAND OUT— is speaking your customer’s language. So that when people come into your shop to buy a digital art print that they can buy a similar style from another hundred thousand shops— they buy from YOU.

Step 1: Write a detailed description of your dream customer

Use the questions below to start creating an imaginary profile of just the ONE ideal person you’d like as a customer. The more specific you can be with your answers, the better, as this will give you a perspective shift and help you really understand not only WHO they are, but also what they’re going through.

What is his/her name?
How old is he/she?
What is his/her relationship status?
What does he/she do for a living?
What are his/her spending habits/favorite stores?
What are his/her favorite books/magazines/TV shows?
Where does he/she “hang-out” online?

Remember-- this is your DREAM CUSTOMER-- it's not an actual, living human being. So YOU get to decide how these questions are answered. There is no right or wrong answer!

If you’re stuck and can’t start from scratch, a tip I have is that usually YOU or SOMEONE YOU KNOW tend to match your dream customer pretty well. So use that as a starting point.

For me, with LittleHighbury, I was definitely my dream customer. My dream customer was a new mom in her mid twenties/thirties struggling with motherhood and feeling like life was really chaotic and a mess and looked like NOTHING she was used to. Which basically described my first couple of years as a new mom. Some people ease into motherhood gracefully. Others tend to struggle a bit. And then there are others that consider it a small miracle that they even made it through the next hour. I definitely fell into the latter camp.

So when I was creating this “imaginary dream customer” — I named her Ashley — she was A LOT like me. Not 100%, but had a lot of similarities because I genuinely understood where “she” was coming from.

It’s kind of like how you’re supposed to “write what you know.” It’s a lot harder to have a dream customer who you share NOTHING in common with. It’s doable, just a bit harder. So something to consider.

So use that as a starting point if you’re really struggling to figure out your dream customer’s descriptions.

So here’s my example:

My dream customer is a 25-35 year old new stay-at-home momma. She’s just had her baby and is adjusting to this new “motherhood” role, which feels a bit chaotic and out of control at the moment. She appreciates beautiful design and shops in higher-end stores for the quality and style.

Okay, now for Step 2: Determine his/her major struggle

Next, I want you to address this very, VERY important question:

What problem or challenge does my dream customer struggle with on a regular basis?

This is a HUGE part of your dream customer equation and one of those marketing “secrets” that can make a big difference in your ability to sell your product.

Everyone has struggles. Yes, even your imaginary dream customer. And right now I need you to identify those struggles.

The easiest way I’ve found to identify these is to ask “what keeps my dream customer up at night?”

Now, I’m not asking you to go deep into world hunger or solving poverty or politics or anything like that. Obviously you dream customer might care about one or more of those things. But right now, I want you to think about something more tangible and close to home.

Something like “rushing to get dressed in the morning” or “feeling like they never have time to themselves” ABSOLUTELY counts as struggle.

Now, a quick tip here: You'll find the most success with this if you can tie this struggle or challenge loosely to your NICHE (the specific category that your product(s) fit into). So, for example, if you are selling baby products, your customer's struggle should relate to motherhood, and not to something completely unrelated. :)

Now if you’re thinking “my dream customer doesn’t struggle with anything!” I want to tell you gently, that yes, everyone struggles with something. Even imaginary people. Think of fiction novels you’ve read— there’s no good story if there isn’t a struggle. And if you’re thinking your person doesn’t have any struggles, you just need to dig a bit deeper.

If you’ve already got a fan base, this is as simple as talking with your people. Taking a look at past posts you’ve created and the ones that got the most engagement. Asking your customers what they think about xyz or what they find hard about this or that. Market research is SUPER easy when you’ve already got an audience built up— you can just ask them!

But if you’re like “no, of course I don’t have an audience, Morgan. That’s what I’m trying to figure out and why I’m listening to this podcast!” and I hear you.

And if that’s you, this is what I recommend doing: FInding someone who DOES have an audience and using them for your market research. Now, this won’t be as effective as reaching out to your OWN audience— so don’t use this as a cop-out excuse for just TALKING TO YOUR DANG AUDIENCE, but it’s a decent alternative if you don’t have an audience already.

So yep, I’m basically telling you to stalk the competition. Now this isn’t something I recommend you do frequently because spending too much time looking at the competition causes a lot of wasted time and discouragement as you compare yourself to them. But this is one of those rare occasions that it’s totally appropriate.

So if you have some competition that shares a customer base your dream customer would be a part of, or maybe a Facebook group that has members that would match that dream customer profile, take a look at comments and what they’re saying. What kind of content is being created? What are they responding to? What kind of comments are they making? Use this information to get an idea of what they talk about, what they struggle with, the language they’re using.

And then use that research to nail down what YOUR dream customer is struggling with.

Example:

My dream customer is struggling with adjusting to this new “normal” that is motherhood. She’s scrambling to get back some semblance of her “before” life, because right now everything just feels rushed and chaotic.

Next up: Step 3: Position your product(s) as the solution to their struggle

Okay, we’re bringing it all home— woot woot! Now I want you to take a look at what you’re selling, and then take a look at this dream customer and what they’re struggling with….

And BRING IT ALL TOGETHER.

Ask yourself: How does the product I'm selling solve my dream customer's problem?

All we’re looking for here is a quick-win. We need to make sure that your product matches up with your dream customer. Again, not solving world hunger or bringing world peace (although kudos to you if your product does that!). We’re just looking for relief or a quick “win” for your customer.

Something easier said than done, right? So let me share some examples:

My flagship product is baby headbands, which can be quickly popped onto baby's head to complete an outfit - voila! So my product can help my dream customer feel "put together" again by making her mornings as easy as possible, and giving her a quick 5-second "win" with getting baby ready— taking the edge off the “chaos” that life feels like to her right now.

Or if you sell statement necklaces. Maybe your dream customer is a busy working woman who is struggling to express her personality while looking professional. Your necklaces are the solution because they give that quirky POP that she’s looking for to express herself, but still maintain that professional wardrobe her career demands.

Or maybe you sell seasonal throw pillows. And your dream customer is someone that loves a cohesively decorated home but doesn’t have the time or energy to make it happen. So maybe the solution your product provides is that you’ve already grouped the pillows together in sets so it’s as easy as purchasing a set and presto! Decorated house.

The key here is to look BEYOND the product as only a product. You need to understand WHY your dream customer should care. How can your product “transform” his or her life? What unique value and solution does YOUR product provide?

Okay, and then once you’ve figured that out, it’s time to turn that into an attraction statement. This is a statement that’s going to a) help you understand how all these different parts of this exercise work together, and b) be something you print out and hang up near your workspace so you remember it at all times.

To write an attraction statement, you’re going to want to tie everything together and format it in the following way:

I want to help [my dream customer] who is struggling with [this particular problem] and wants to [experience this solution that my product can provide].

The result? A statement that shows you exactly WHO you’re selling to, WHAT they’re struggling with, and how you’re going to position YOUR product to offer them a solution.

Instant stand-out-of-the-crowd material.

Okay, and for me, this looks like::

I want to help new stay-at-home mommas who are struggling with feeling frazzled and chaotic and want to feel more "put together" in their morning routines without wasting time they DON'T have.

___

Okay, now before we wrap up, I want to address a question I KNOW is going to get asked-- and you may already be asking it out-loud as you’re listening to this episode:

What do you do if you sell a bunch of different types of product that attract a bunch of different types of people?

For example, maybe you’re a Print on Demand shop selling t-shirts and totes and mousepads and pillows and clocks. A VERY random assortment of items.

To answer this without going on for another hour, I’m going to refer you to another podcast episode I have—and I’ll link to it in the show notes— that walks you through picking a FLAGSHIP product line that brings FOCUS to your shop. It’s one of the best-kept secrets to setting your shop up for success on Etsy and it’s going to bring you TONS of clarity on what you sell and how to create that focus when you feel like your shop is all over the place. So definitely check out that episode— I’ll link to it in the show notes over at morgannield.com/blog/episode4 if you want a direct link to that particular episode.

Alrighty, that about wraps it up! Your homework for this episode? Take action!

I’ve got a super easy to fill in worksheet waiting for you that will walk you through EVERYTHING we talked about today and make it SUPER simple to get it done. So set aside an hour or two this week and commit to nailing down your dream customer + attraction statement. And then bask in the awesomeness that is having that item crossed off your to-do list FOR GOOD because it’s going to feel amazing!

So get to work + I’ll see you next week!

Show notes:

Mastermind Your Marketing

Dream customer worksheet (ref Amy porterfield)

Flagship customer podcast episode (eps. 3?)

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Hey! Morgan Nield here and welcome to the first ever episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast. Recording this episode actually feels a bit surreal because I have been dreaming and planning and scheming for SO STINKIN LONG that I didn’t think this day would ever come. It’s one of those things where you think “Oh, I’ll just start a podcast!” and then you realize JUST how much WORK it’s going to take to make happen and here we are, more than 6 months later and just getting our first episodes out there. It’s definitely been a long time coming, so I couldn’t be more excited about it all!

So today’s episode is going to be a bit unique-- I wanted to share my vision for the Simplify Your Sales podcast, but I also wanted to share a bit about me-- in case you’re just being introduced to me for the first time and you’re wondering who the heck this fast-talking girl is. Trust me-- I hear you on that!

(Who I am:)

So I’m Morgan Nield and I’m a 31 year old stay at home momma with 2 kiddos from a teeny-tiny town in rural Utah. One where the cattle outnumber the humans and you get stopped in the middle of the road because you have to wait for a herd of sheep to cross the road.

Rather than share my life history-- while fascinating-- I thought it could be fun to share 5 random facts about me instead:

- I’m short. Like 5’ 1”. We have 9 ft ceilings in our house and I basically stand on a chair almost everyday when I cook dinner to reach things. My husband is 6’ 2”. My 6 year old daughter is already over 4 feet tall. Basically, I’m a midget in a house full of giants.
- I’m a period piece junkie. If it takes place at a different period of time than the one we live in and they’re wearing gorgeous costumes, I’m in! My favorite author is Jane Austen and I’ve seen nearly every variation of every movie based on the novels. My favorite book is Emma-- which is actually where I got the name of my Etsy shop from.
- I have a cupboard full of sprinkles. Yes, I am serious. There is a cupboard in my house-- mind you, I have to stand on a stool to reach it-- but a cupboard, nonetheless, that is dedicated to sprinkles. Holiday, birthday, every color you can imagine. Big, small, metallic, shaped. EVERYTHING.

My husband’s weakness is shoes. Mine is sprinkles. You can NEVER have enough sprinkles.

- I worked as an events manager for a publishing company before diving into Etsy. I brushed shoulders with the likes of Tom Brokaw, Jane Seymour, Michael York, Kylie Minogue, David Archuleta-- who is ADORABLE, btw-- all sorts. It was amazing and incredible and EXHAUSTING. Sometimes I miss it, but most of the time I’m just happy I get to stay in my pajamas on the weekends if I want to instead of running a million miles per hour coordinating huge events.
- I’m a Disney fanatic and my favorite Disney princess is Merida. While she is a bit of a spoiled brat in the beginning of the movie, she also has the philosophy that you can change your fate-- and then she actually does something about it. And I resonate 100% with that. YOU are the one in charge of your fate.

So there you have it-- 5 random facts about me that have nothing to do with anything other than giving you a better picture of who I am and the random quirks that come with me.

My Etsy experience:

But even though I have an enviable cupboard of sprinkles, that in NO way qualifies me to teach you about marketing your Etsy shop. I understand that! So a little about my history on Etsy--

I began my Etsy Shop, LittleHighbury, back in late 2013 as a way to cope with the intense post-partum depression + anxiety I was feeling after my daughter, Juliet, was born. I needed something that was more than just another repetitive task in motherhood for me. Motherhood was EXTREMELY difficult on me and no part of me eased into it gracefully. I admire women who make this look so natural and effortless-- you are incredible! Without a doubt, though, for me- this period of time was one of the most difficult and emotionally challenging experiences of my life.

So when people ask me HOW and WHY THE HECK I started an Etsy shop with a screaming newborn in tow, I literally saw no other option-- and as dramatic as it sounds, I genuinely attribute my real-life survival to my Etsy shop. It kept me sane until my post-partum depression started subsiding at about 18 months.

Now, this wasn’t my first Etsy shop-- I had opened one back in 2011 originally and it had sputtered along as a big old flop before I shut it down. This is, however, the first Etsy shop I opened...and went into with an actual marketing plan. In a nutshell sequence of events, I opened my shop in November, it went from $0 - $1,200 in the first month and grew to multiple five figure months over the next 2 years, earning over $600,000 in revenue. It has been a crazy and a wild ride and one that I am eternally grateful to be a part of.

What I do:

Now, I want to make this clear: I don’t consider the product I sold-- baby headbands of all things-- to be particularly groundbreaking or unique (it’s a very saturated market!). And I certainly don’t attribute my success to an “incredible” product.

There were PLENTY of other shops on Etsy that had MUCH better products than I did in my niche-- I’ll be the first to admit it. My products were basically average.

But the difference between me and the shops that had INCREDIBLE product but maybe only 1/10 of the sales I had?

It all comes back to strategic marketing.

And that’s what this podcast is going to be all about.

I want to debunk the myth that selling online is hard.

Here’s the truth: Selling online the way you HAVE been trying to is hard.

Selling online-- with the right strategies and automated systems in place-- is EASY.

Even if you’re an introvert.

Even if you’re tech-challenged.

Even if you come from 0 marketing background.

My hopes for this podcast are to show you just how easy and natural it CAN feel to sell online. You don’t need to feel sleazy or sales-y to move your product and make money. You don’t need to spam the crap out of Instagram or sell cheaper than everyone else on Etsy to make sales. Trust me on this!

With the RIGHT foundation + strategies in place, you can sell your product EFFORTLESSLY-- and in a way that feels good and right for you and doesn’t undercut your profit.

Whether you have quit-your-day-job revenue goals or just want a bit of financial “wiggle room” at the end of the month, you’re going to learn proven strategies and tactics that are going to leave you feeling EMPOWERED that yes, YOU can do this.

And with that, that’s a wrap for the Simplify Your Sales pilot episode! Thanks for tuning in and getting to know me + this podcast a bit better-- I can’t wait to have you join along for the ride-- see ya in the next episode!

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Morgan Nield