The Merriweather Council Podcast

Why is it that sometimes even the very best marketing advice doesn’t generate results? If you have tried the best marketing advice you can find, and it just didn’t work for you, I’m going to explain why that probably is in this episode! As you likely know, marketing is all the ‘stuff’ that you do that generates interest or traffic to your shop. This could be videos, Instagram posts or stories, blog posts, challenges, ads… you get the idea. There are lots of things you can do to market your business. Some ideas you’ll hear or read are meh at best, others are genuinely brilliant. For full show notes visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/177 For a full list of all merripodcast episodes visit merripodcast.com

Today I am diving into the quandary of consistency in your handmade business. So elusive! What does “consistency” in business actually look like? What does it mean when we say we want more consistency? And why does it sometimes seem unattainable or frustrating to accomplish that at times? We are ALL always looking for consistency in business, usually, that means sales but it could mean other things like subscribers or followers, depending on what you are trying to accomplish. Is this achievable? I believe that is! BUT we have to work on what we REALLY mean when we say it. Like, truly define what we mean when we say we want consistency.   For full show notes, please visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/176 For a full list of all Merripodcast episodes, visit merripodcast.com

Does it ever feel like no one else struggles quite as much as you do to identify or define their ideal customer avatar? There’s a reason for that…  What if I told you that the key to finding your ideal customer avatar is your product seller profile? Let me explain. In the past 11 years, I’ve done plenty of my own ideal customer avatar build-outs and I’ve assisted many makes with theirs, too! There is a lot of experience from those 11 years or so that has influenced today’s episode. I’ve recently started to think about finally articulating my theory about how the way you become the seller of original products impacts the way you find your ideal customer. AND here we are, the time has come. Welcome to today’s episode where I will articulate that theory. This is my theory about how the way that you become a seller of original products impacts how you determine who your ideal customer is.  I think there are 3 ways you can become a seller of original products and I’m going to cover each one and provide insight into the ideal customer discovery for each.   For full show notes please visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/175 For a full list of all merripodcast episodes, please visit merripodcast.com

Pricing your handmade products sucks… That’s just the truth. It makes the impulse to do some of these things very real! It is true that pricing is hard, and it inevitably involves math which, for me, makes it even worse. There are lots of best practices for pricing your handmade products, I’ll point you in the direction of our top pricing resources in this post! For now though, let’s make sure you know what NOT to do. Before we get started, I want to remind you that underpricing is bad for everyone, not just you! Here are the 4 things you definitely do not want to do when pricing your handmade products for sale on Etsy, Shopify or anywhere else.   For full show notes please visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/174   For a full list of all episodes please visit merripodcast.com

The idea of launching handmade product lines usually brings up one of two emotions: YAY or UGH. (Both are entirely valid!) If you feel more UGH than yay, I get you. I, too, dislike using the launch model in my own business. The handmade product lines launch model I am referring to is one you are probably familiar with. It starts with teasing out a new product line for a few weeks before launching it live for sale at a certain time on a certain date. Usually, there is some fanfare in that build-up process and on the launch date! It might involve a mailing list, email blast, social media campaign or even the help of influencers. It tends to be a multi-faceted project and quite a bit of work concentrated on a single ‘event.’ Launching is a semi-popular approach particularly for product-based businesses and many handmade business owners enjoy it! (I’m not one of them but many sellers do love it.)   For full show notes visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/173. For a list of all Merripodcast episodes, visit merripodcast.com

Hitting a sales goal is a milestone, hitting a revenue goal is a milestone. Revenue is not purpose, and neither is a number of sales. You did NOT wake up this morning just to make progress on hitting a milestone. Ask yourself why you’re working toward that milestone. That’ll get you closer to knowing what your purpose really is. We work for a bigger purpose. For those moments of “HELL YES, this!” For that surge of excitement about being able to do something you REALLY wanted to do. For that giddy feeling you get from actually doing the things you could have only dreamed about doing when you were 18. For the pride that comes with knowing you can support your family. You do NOT work for “I have 4,500 sales on my Etsy shop.” But you CAN celebrate that, because maybe, if you are doing it right, it gets you closer to achieving your purpose. The other difference between purpose and milestones is that milestones come and go, they are fleeting moments – purpose maintains. Purpose is ongoing. Your business should be mostly enjoyable and should help you make these other ENJOYABLE things possible. The absolute first step is believing it’s possible to have a business that helps you get closer to your purpose + surrounding yourself with others who believe it too. Don’t skip it!   For full show notes and all the links mentioned in this episode visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/172.   For a complete list of all Merripodcast episodes, visit merripodcast.com.

As you know by now, my team and I support and encourage a small handmade business structure that makes use of one marketplace and one autonomous off-Etsy website.  Specifically, we recommend Etsy as the marketplace and Shopify as the platform for building your independent domain shop. Whenever I speak about Shopify, inevitably, the question of other platforms comes up “What about Wix?”“What about Squarespace?”  Today I want to answer that fully and in a meaningful way. Not just so you what my answer is but so that you understand why that is my answer.   For full show notes and all the links mentioned in this episode visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/171   For a full list of all Merripodcast episodes please visit merripodcast.com

Today’s episode is not about disliking the social media algorithm or marketing platform algorithms. I know that many people have issues with algorithms, particularly Instagram’s algorithm, and trust me, I’ve done my fair share of complaining about it. However, this episode is about something much more sinister: the culture surrounding those algorithms and the widespread messaging that we must appeal to these algorithms or we are doomed. My issue is with the culture surrounding the algorithms – and the messaging that seems commonplace to appeal to the algorithm or don’t expect to get anywhere. This is not a positive or encouraging message. For too long, I let this message about the social media algorithm get to me. I allowed the idea that unless I work on the preferred schedule and create the preferred content in the preferred formats, I won’t be successful. And that is incorrect. My job is to share my message with YOU. If the algorithm wants to assist and make it more likely that you see my message, that’s great. Very helpful. But when I sit down to create things, I do it with YOU in mind, not the algorithm. I feel like we live in a world where the algorithm is the priority, not the human – that includes the human creating it and the human consuming it. Share your message. Share what you want to share. Share what you WANT TO CREATE. Just because your artwork or product doesn’t fit the Instagram aesthetic doesn’t mean it can’t connect to people there, and it certainly doesn’t mean you shouldn’t share it.   For full show notes and all the links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/170 For a full list of all Merripodcast episodes please visit merripodcast.com

FIRST STEPS WHEN SALES SLOW DOWN Remind yourself, it’s normal, and it happens. Next, consider this a bit of a gift. We are all continually trying to find time for things, aren’t we? I think most people are looking for some extra time on most days. Consider a slow spell, an opportunity to catch up on something that’s been lingering, or a chance to explore something new that’s been on your list. You might have tasks that have moved from one month’s to-do list to the next several times already. Get those things done! Take the time and make it useful to you. Anticipate that things will not stay slow forever and prepare for things to pick back up. QUESTIONS FOR SLOW OR SLUGGISH SALES I know that telling yourself it’s normal, and looking on the bright side won’t always make your worries about it go away. Likely, that will not be enough, which is why we have a list of questions you can ask yourself if sales are slow or stalled in your handmade business.  For full show notes for this episode visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/169 For a full list of all merripodcast episodes visit merripodcast.com

Of course, when we say Etsy SEO, that means Search Engine Optimization specific to Etsy’s native search engine. Etsy SEO is a common focal point for Etsy sellers, maybe even to a fault. Here are three things I want you to know about Etsy SEO off the top to get this started: 1. The factors that go into Etsy SEO and how it is calculated and achieved do not change as often or as dramatically as people seem to think it does.  2. SEO is not the be-all, end-all to Etsy success! This applies anywhere. SEO might get you found, but it is not the thing that makes sales. SEO is a marketing strategy, not a sales strategy! 3. You shouldn’t focus so much on SEO (on any platform) that you forget about other important areas of optimization. To get the full show notes for this episode visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/148 For a full list of all Merripodcast episodes visit merripodcast.com To find out how to make your Etsy shop work harder for you visit merritrainingcourse.com