Few Small Wallets and new Etsy Search Algorithm

Black Cat Wallet!

I've been having a lot of fun making a few bi-fold wallets! I tried out different fabrics, from quilting cotton to linen and denim.

It feels good to finally sewing wallets and stuff after so many months making face masks. I'm still making a few for family and friends and also offer face masks in my Etsy Shop. The Trio Spacious Face Masks is quite popular and it feels good to get nice feedback from buyers! Thank you !!

Besides that, last month I was busy with getting my tax ID done. Lucky me, my dear hubby is a CA so he's been a great help. I am totally blank when it comes to tax! Finally, all those are done and there's a couple of things I need to do regarding my small business. After getting my GSTIN done, I feel like I'm doing a real business. It's scary at the same time! I need to learn more and get all my papers organized! Wish me luck!

Back to the wallet, I'm working on the pattern right now. It's progressing quite slow, I am about 70% done with the editing, I just need to edit a couple of photos and add them in the pattern! There will be a zipper version and a flap version. I'm so excited to share the pattern. It's super easy! Once I'm done with a few custom orders, I'll be able to sit and finish the pattern.  Hopefully, I can release it within this month. 

 Small Bifold Wallet

The above photo is a few of the flap versions that I made and they are available in the SHOP now. And here's the zipper version:

ETSY NEW SEARCH POLICY

By the way, last week in the Etsy Q3 report, they said they are going to implement Personalized search. WHich means Etsy is doing what Google and others are doing. What does this mean? This mean:

1. Etsy is showing potential buyers search results based on their search history. 

2. Every buyer will see a different result even if they search using the same keywords.

3. Etsy is showing more local shops. But if you sold one item to a buyer from a particular city, state, or country, your products might be shown in the search result of that particular city, state, or country. This happened to me several times last month, where I sold a few items to people in the same state in the USA within a week. 

If you want more in-depth analysis you can tune in to Kara Buntin Youtube Channel. She's the best! I learned a lot from her video series and her class! 

Now, what can we do as an Etsy Seller in India?

1. Do not change your keywords right now. Instead, observe your Etsy stats more and start working on your social media marketing. I shared about Basic Pinterest Marketing with Etsy India Sellers at our Monthly community meet last month. 

2. Optimize your listing, especially those which don't get enough views or visit. Etsy search trend changes every week or so. Optimizing old listing or almost expired listing, do help in boosting in search placement. 

3. If you're using Etsy ads, make sure to optimize the listing before put them in Ads!

I hope these little tips help! Competition is tough everywhere, but if you learn how to do it properly and hold on to your dreams, you will make it!

Thank you for stopping by today!

Have a nice day!

Elvira

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Weekends Lockdown and Shop Updates

New Fabrics

I've been pretty busy last week sending out pending parcels and stuff. Lockdown is relaxed and some businesses and offices are allowed to operate with few guidelines. I guess they follow the world's trend because we cannot shut down the economy much longer. We have to learn to live with it, inculcate new habits, learn to be more disciplined and considerate. I'm happy to announce that for international shipping now we are delivering via DHL. I was busy with the paperwork for opening an account with DHL and finally able to send my pending orders last week. 

As for domestic shipping, in my previous post I wrote about Shiprocket which is good, but contacting their agent is really really frustrating. I wanted to downgrade my plan since last month but no callback or email from them even after I sent numerous emails and DM on Twitter, except some automated email and DM reply on Twitter. I could not use my balance to send my orders because my request for the downgrade is pending. I wonder if this Nupur, Divya, and Arushi is only an avatar to send us promotional emails:( A few days ago I finally signed up with Delhivery because I have to send out orders. This is a really disappointing service from Shiprocket. 

Handmade Face Mask

On the sewing front, yes I am still making masks. The 3D fitted mask is very popular and since I introduced the Trio 3D Face Mask, now my family and friends are asking for one. Both are very comfortable to wear especially during the summer months.

Here is the preview of my messy sewing room. Well, it's less messy actually because I just cleared the cutting area. Running a small business on your own from home is not easy but it keeps me happy. And with lockdown, sewing becomes my sanity. A much-needed distraction. Even cleaning messy table or folding fabrics after cutting fabric orders is therapeutic.

The boys are still having online classes and even piano classes are online. He's preparing for grade exams this few weeks. The student has to play three exam pieces, record it, and submit it online. We've been practicing to record the videos according to the guidelines given by Trinity College. 

Here's our new fave potion to boost our immunity. It's called golden milk. It's easy to make. Simply mix 1 tsp of turmeric powder, 1 tsp ginger powder, and 1 tsp of honey in a cup of milk. Have it warm before bed. Namrata told me about this potion and we've been having it for the last 2 weeks. If you're using fresh ginger and turmeric, you may want to boil them together with the milk. I read this article that turmeric can eliminate certain viruses. When we were small, our mother used to give us a mix of turmeric and honey whenever we have a fever and I even gave my sons when they were small. It always worked wonders. 

That's all this week's stories! I hope you keep your self creatively busy during this lockdown. Don't dwell on what we can't do, but explore what we can do.

Take care & stay safe!

- Elvira -

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Small Business and Lockdown

The pandemic and lockdown have brought uncertainty for everyone. And for us, small business owners or we proudly said mompreneur, we have to take the business to the back seat. For those who sell digital products, they won't be much impacted because there's no product to be shipped.

While sewing and other behind the scene works are going on, we're worried about how and when we can ship them. During the strict lockdown for 2 months, I had to shut down my fabric and handmade shop, both in Etsy and Website. I actively following every bit of news about government guidelines regarding e-commerce shipping. By the way, strict lockdown means a movement of non-essential items is restricted. And since most people are gone to their village or hometown, no couriers are in operation until last week! 

Now we're on the 5th phase of lockdown and thankfully, postal and courier services for all have resumed. I put out a notification in my Etsy and Website that Shipping will resume after 31st May. According to the India Post replied to my tweet, we can ship to 103 countries, including the USA and UK, but when we went to the PO, the officer said the service to both the USA and UK is not available. As I am writing this, I'm still waiting for their response to my queries regarding this confusion. 

In the meantime, I got several calls from DHL e-commerce rep saying that Etsy India has tied up with them and I can send my packages through DHL. I was so excited and I called up the Bluedart (DHL rep locally) but I was going in a circle. Few rounds of call and WhatsApp messages didn't bring any good news ( as yet). Going to their website, there's no clarity about the tariff rate, etc. I mean, why would you offer such service and not updating the website? I feel that courier services should have a rate calculator for every service they offer regardless of whether they are individual or company. 

On a positive note (hopefully), I got a newsletter email from Shiprocket, which I recently used for delivering our domestic orders, that they tied up with several e-commerce courier services to deliver internationally, including DHL e-commerce, FedEx, dan Aramex. Well, this is certainly very good news to us, Etsy Sellers in India. So today, I upgraded my account and will complete any necessary paperwork (or e-paperwork).  I am trying to get hold of their customer service but it looks like everybody is busy :P. 

Anyway, I managed to understand how to schedule shipping from the computer. I understand that this e-commerce international service is very new, but I am sure the courier service company understood, even though we - small business owners - are small fish in the pond, but we're great in numbers. If anything  IMHO, the small e-commerce business will be able to jump-start the economic slump due to the pandemic. I hope they will simplify the paperwork and make international shipping as easy as India Post. Let's hope and pray this will work. 

So that's a little bit behind the scene of small business. If you're happened to place orders with one of our Shops, please bear with us. We're trying to get things sorted out. Your continued support and trust at this time really mean a lot to us! 

Now I better get back to my sewing table and finish a few orders. Thank you so much for dropping by and reading my blog. 

Until next time,

Take care & stay safe!!

Elvira