Retro Wallets and New Etsy Advertising

Hello,

I've been busy trying to make sense of the Etsy new advertising this past few weeks. Reading forum posts, FB groups and also YouTube videos. Well, the new Etsy Advertising did hurt small shops! Some big ads spenders are affected too and they even lower their ads budget so low! 

We're filling up the research /feedback forms and hopefully they will bring back the old Etsy ads where we can set our CPC and can control where our money are being spent. In the mean time, I had to switch off Ads in my Fabric Shop and Handmade Shop due to the low ROAS in the last 2 months! Willingly or not, we have to increase the price to cover the cost of Advertisements, Etsy Fees and Paypal Fees. Well, we live and learn, right? Let's hope for the best

In the meantime, I enabled Worldwide Shipping in my Webstore. I'm glad I decided to start the Westore (though it was a bit neglected in between), but now it's all stock up and I'm trying to pay more attention to it. There is a currency converter on the top right of the page as your browse my Webstore. I think the Webstore will be a Win Win solution for buyers and sellers! 

Well, building a small business as a solopreneur is not easy but it is soul satisfying :D. If you just started don't be discouraged! Keep going and like they say in Kdrama, if it's not a happy ending, it's not the end as yet! 

Now let's check out what's new in the shop! 

1. Wonderland Fabric Bifold Wallet. I really really love working on this one. The Wonderland Fabric from Rifle Paper Co is really beautiful. I ordered a few more and got them a few days ago. Yay! 

Women's Wallet | Etsy | Webstore

Wonderland Bifold Wallet

2. Paris Mini Passport Wallet 

One of the popular print for passport holder in my shop is Paris theme. I mean, who wouldn't love la tour Eiffel? For the card slot I used salmon pink fabric with the same theme but in cotton. (the exterior is Japan Linen) and using a wine color polkadots for the rest. If you're a music lover and love Paris, this will be a great gift for yourself. Or check out more Paris theme Passport Holder in the shop. 

Mini Passport Wallet

3. Everyone's fave Mickey Mouse Zipper Pouch with metal double zipper. I got quite a few of Disney licensed fabrics this time from Japan and I think it's high time I start using them. If you want in different Disney print, you can check out my Instagram Page which I created only for fabric options. I mean, it's too much of work if I have to show each client what fabrics I have, right? 

Disney Double Zip Pouch | Etsy | Webstore

Polkadot yellow inside! Love it!

Thank you so much for your support all through this years! I will put the link under this post for resources, in case you decided to sew the wallets yourself ;)

Happy Sewing

- Elvira -

Resources :

Bifold Wallet Pattern

Mini Passport Wallet Pattern

Double Zipper Pouch Pattern

Linking up to:
Handmade Monday
Handmade Tuesday 

Small Handmade Gifts

Hello October!

In the past few weeks we have so much of rain which make the weather very pleasant! I took this Slow Motion video yesterday just for fun! 

The last two weeks I was busy with custom orders, Alhamdulillah. Also busy working on my Etsy Shops. Etsy is changing it's advertising policy and now the Etsy Promoted Ads and Google Ads are merged. This makes many sellers very disappointed, because suddenly our visits and views dropped drastically since August. Even my stores! With the new system, we don't have any control over the CPC and our daily budget is quickly spent! For bigger shops maybe they are not much affected but for smaller shops like mine, this changing really affect us. 

I'm still working on my Etsy shops to adjust with the new changes! and it takes up a LOT of time!! Meanwhile, here's a few things I finished.

I finished this Pink Floral Double Zip Pouch last week. I decided to go with grey polkadots as an accent fabric. Well, if nothing works, go for polkadots! :D 

Nowadays I love using metal zipper, since I learned how to sew with metal zipper without breaking your needle! It looks good also. I ordered more yardage for metal zips and still waiting. I hope I will get it after the Durga Puja Holiday.

I also made these cute pocket tissue holders. They make a great gift, right? I am using my Indian fabric scraps and simply love how they turned out. These tissue holders are available in my Etsy Shop as well as on my Webshop! 

Blue or Yellow

Small Floral Tissue Holder

I also made these cute  Tissue holder  and Mini Zipper Tissue Pouch

That's all for today. I still have a few orders to finish this week and also huge homework of working on my Etsy SEO. With Etsy changing, I think it's time for me to revise my prices on Etsy too. However you can also check out my WEBSHOP too. I ship internationally from my webshop too! 

I will list few links below in case you need.

Thank you for stopping by,

Have a nice day!

~ Elvira ~

Resources :

Double Zip Pattern

Tissue Zipper Pouch Pattern

Pocket Tissue Holder Tutorial

Etsy Ads /SEO Tutorial

The SEO learning continues....

After giving a really good thought about my Etsy, it's time I do some streamlining. I start to pull out stuff which do not sell well in the past. Instead of keep paying fees which does not lead to sales, I want to focus on stuff which sell. 

Black and White Musical Theme Travel Wallet

Please note, that I am not an expert here, so I just write down what works for me. To each his own. 

I started keeping  a small note book and researching what keywords that related to my product. Yes, that is very important. And from what I read, you must NOT use single world keyword such as #quilted #table #runner ...that's a definite NO NO

So, be clever with your keywords. Especially for etsy. Many websites I read said you should sort of scatter those keywords in your Product description. This is a difficult part for me, I wish I paid more attention during the English class. Ha!! Writing a catchy line is NOT EASY :( 

So, now I am still struggling with this keywords things..try to get the hang of it. And also trying to learn more about twitter! Oh yes, I know many of mompreuners out there feels like me. I used to use twitter to vent ! You know things that you cannot say or share on Facebook LOL.... Well, if you are selling online, apparently you have to be savvy enough to use twitter. I heard your sigh saying when is the time to use it. Well, there are a couple of apps that you can schedule your bulk tweets, or you can do it manually for free, like me :D . 

Your can READ THIS if you want to know more about how to tweet. It's pretty straight forward for us, mompreneurs, who wants to be twitter savvy. 

So, this week, I am all learning about how to tweet properly and I have a little time to start adding stuff to my shop. 

Now, you can order a multi purpose pouch matching your passport wallet. 

Matching Vanity Pouch 

Many of us, esp mommies with kids, need at least two pouches. One you need for your personal stuff and one for your kids, emergency medicine, gadgets cables, etc. 

Blue Paisley Wallet & Pouch Set

I will be adding more to the shop! Stay Tuned.

Until then,

Keep Learning

Learning about Etsy SEO

After the latest Etsy updates, seller outside USA like me really feel the effect of the new changes. I have been reading Etsy Teams post, blogs, and sign up for SEO tips newsletter. And well...it seems I have to really keep up with what's happening in the WORLD!

If you make good stuff, take  good photos, and many of you friends on social media admiring your work then you start selling online on a popular marketplace and realized after few weeks that NO ONE buying your stuff, you start losing your trust on yourself, right?? 

Pink Ballet Dancer Women's Wallet

Well, DON'T GIVE UP!! All you need to do is STUDY more...just like you little baby start learning ABC...even me after so many years I realized there is so many things that I need to improve and learn. There are so many blogs and youtube videos telling you how to do your SEO right. 

Cherry Blossom Family Passport Holder

Start from research your keywords. I use Google Trends and Etsy Rank. I keep a small notebook and noted down everything that related to my product. 

I've been studying for the past few weeks and slowly start editing and changing my shops. One thing I learned it's beneficial to hang out in Etsy Forum and Teams. Many member shares their tips and tricks and sometimes you will find a good link about how to do SEO. That's how I get to Renae's Blog.  

Rose Pink Couple Passport Wallet 

So, apparently, only making good products and taking awesome pictures do not guarantee your success. You need business plan and marketing strategy for that. 

Yellow Green Fat Quarter Bundle

So, now start searching and doing a little research for your business. 

Green Blue Fat Quarter Bundle

Work a little harder and All the best!!

Happy Learning