Little Kitty Sculpture and Business is Picking up a Bit

 

https://dottiedracos.etsy.com/listing/4601789450/cat-sculpture-with-a-sweet-expression

I posted recently that my traffic and sales on Etsy had significantly slowed down.  I walked around with a sad demeanor for a quite a few days and then decided I would try to do something about it.

I've been doing a lot of research both on Etsy and on the web about things I can do since I can't make that  many more new pieces this late in the year.  Plus, it seems to me that if I have too many pieces, it will appear that my artwork isn't "precious," which considering the hours that go into most every piece is the truth to me, anyway.  

I've been redoing each and every one of my listings, just a few a day, and I've noticed that I'm getting more traffic on the ones I've tweaked -- but I'm generally getting more traffic, too, which is a good sign.  I don't know how much my listing changes are helping or if people are beginning to think about holiday gifts, but something has definitely changed.  Now, I know "correlation does not signify causation," but it looks kind of "causey" to me at this point, so I'm keeping it up.

I've also noticed that I needed more lower-priced pieces, too, even though I make barely above minimum wage on them, so I've begun doing a few smaller pieces.  The fees are around the same, but the postage rates have skyrocketed recently, so on a small piece, that really cuts into any profit I might be making on low-priced pieces.

I did discover something else while I was just floating around with not much to do (because I didn't know what kind of pieces might be selling in the future so didn't know what to make since I had nearly no feedback at all through views, visits, anything, just silence) -- well, I got lost in that sentence, so I'll start over:  I started liking a bit of the slowdown and began enjoying "life" a bit more.  I think I had been working too hard and not taking much time at all just for myself.  So with that in mind, I've been baking, working on my gardens more, walking my dog longer each day, cleaning my house!!!!, reading, even visiting with family members more (I really am a bit of a hermit), and life feels more pleasant.  So even if my business gets back to where it was, which was enough for me, a retired person, I think I'll keep a slower pace from now on.  

One more thing:    V O T E!!!!!!!    Please.