Mar 28, 2017 |
Hey Rebels! Today we chat with Jessica Swift, the women behind pattern camp and the reason Kelly is so obsessed with patterns. We chat with Jessica all about inspiration..finding it, keeping it, and what to do when you don’t have any!
Jessica Swift, a full-time artist, is on a quest to inspire and teach creative people everywhere to pursue their wild + colorful dreams… and never give up. Her magically uplifting, colorful artwork is licensed widely for iPhone cases, fabric, stationery, rugs, and more. Her art and products are designed to serve as tokens of happiness — reminders that you need (and deserve) to feel GOOD in your life. Her book, The Crafter’s Guide to Patterns, was published in April 2015. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, toddler, and two cats, and you can find her colorfully creating at JessicaSwift.com and teaching at PatternCamp.com.
What to do when stuck:
– Start making something, anything to get your mind into creation mode
-Just start doodling
-Look at old drawings/work/website
-Put on some good music
-Do something else that is not related to what you need to do
Quote Love From Jessica Swift
Morning is my time for inspiration.
The creative Muse comes and visits us when we least expect it.
You have to cause inspiration to want to come to you.
Pattern Camp, Jessica’s weekend class for creatives who want to make seamless digital patterns is coming this April!! Go to Pattern Camp to find out more!
Jessica’s new membership site for creatives is now open! Campfire is a private membership community for creative souls. It’s for anyone who wants to take their pattern and/or art-making skills to the next level, get inspired, have real, honest conversations + get real answers to questions, and who want to connect with like-minded creative people from around the world and be part of a supportive and encouraging group of fellow creatives.Go to the Campfire/Pattern Camp website and click on the fire to learn more and join us!
Links from the show:
Blog-Go Fug Yourself
Big Magic By Elizabeth Gilbert
The Candle Creative
Where to find Jessica:
Website | Etsy Shop | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | Courses | Pattern Camp
You can see all of Jessica’s Daily Animal Project in Instagram using the hashtag: #DailyAnimalArt
Follow us on instagram (@creativebizrebellion) and use hashtag #creativebizrebellion for a shop shout out!!!
If you have a second please jump over to iTunes and leave us a review!
Click on the link and then click on “view in iTunes” to leave us a review. We give you all the virtual fist bumps. Thank you!
JOIN THE REBELLION! Signup for our newsletter and get our fave list of Instagram hashtags FREE!
YOU CAN FIND KELLY ONLINE AT:
www.helloworldpaperco.com
www.kellyparkersmith.com
www.helloworldstamps.etsy.com
YOU CAN FIND CAROLINE ONLINE AT:
www.carolinecreates.com
www.carolineannhull.com
www.carolinecreates.etsy.com
SHOW YOUR REBEL SPIRIT WITH SOME AWESOME GEAR FROM THE CREATIVE BIZ REBELLION SHOP: www.creativebizrebellion.com/shop
*This post does contain some affiliate links*
Mar 23, 2017 |
Oh blogging. I mean, like we need one more thing to add to our to do list. But it’s SO important! Having a blog on your website is not only great to create to engage customers, but blog posts are perfect for SEO (another dreaded word!).
With everything going on in our businesses including filling orders, there never seems to be time to blog or create content. But blogging doesn’t have to be scary or time consuming.
Here are some quick steps to getting started with your blog:
1. Create a plan and jot down ideas. I love to start with pen and paper and blogging is no exception. Write down ideas and themes. Start keeping a running list of things you might want to talk about on your blog. Remember to think about your customer and what they would want to read. Also, try to think of new ways to get people excited about your product.
2. Schedule! Start creating a schedule and stick to it! How often are you going to blog? What days? Once a week is a great amount to aspire to. If that seems too much, maybe try every other week. Create a spreadsheet or calendar and plan out blog posts for the next few months. We of course plan ours in Trello. You can always move things around later, but at least they are scheduled and on the calendar.
3. Plan your steps! Do you need to take a picture or create a graphic? Incorporate these into your timeline so you can always stay on top of things. Take it a step forward and schedule all the steps that occur after you hit publish (see below).
4. Repurpose your content. Writing blog posts creates tons of content that can be used in other places to reach your fans and customers. Use your content in your newsletter, social media posts and on Pinterest. Link back to your blog and start driving traffic to your website!
Writing blog posts for your product based business should be a priority for your marketing strategy. The best way to get started is to come up with some blog post ideas and I’ve done that for you!
Cheers!
Mar 21, 2017 |
Hey Rebels! In this episode, Caroline and Kelly talk what do about when sales are slow. For product based biz this is just one more hurdle we have to get over. Caroline and Kelly give great tips to help you when this does happen. Every biz has a slow season, learn when your slow season is! Think of it like homework-things to do when business is slow. Downtime is sitting down, doing something, and always moving your business forward!
Preparing For the Slow Time:
-Find of theme for each month-Kelly plans this out in Trello!
-Have a dump list for big projects
-The financial ups and downs-save money for slower times
-Take a class or learn a new skill
-Dive into a blog article or email you have not had the chance to read
-Reorganize the office/business
Maintenance:
-Revamp photos, update product listings, tags….All the Things
-Update your accounting
-Think/design new products
Read A Book To Help Your Biz: Kelly & Caroline’s Fav. Business Books:
–Big Magic By Elizabeth Gilbert
–Art Inc By Lisa Congdon
–Show Your Work By Austin Kleon
–Make it Happen By Lara Casey
–Grace, Not Perfection By Emily Ley
Start Teaching What You Know:
– Teach online course
– Teach a workshop
– Great Source for extra revenue
– Take courses on Creative Bug, Creative Live, Skill Share
– Kelly’s Etsy Action Plan course coming April 2017!
Quote Love from Caroline & Kelly
We are always moving forward -Caroline
We all have something that we can teach others -Caroline
I am always thinking about Christmas -Kelly
June can be your new January -Kelly
Follow us on instagram @creativebizrebellion and use hashtag #creativebizrebellion for a shop shout out!!!
If you have a second please jump over to iTunes and leave us a review!
Click on the link and then click on “view in iTunes” to leave us a review. We give you all the virtual fist bumps. Thank you!
JOIN THE REBELLION! Signup for our newsletter and get our fave list of Instagram hashtags FREE!
YOU CAN FIND KELLY ONLINE AT:
www.helloworldpaperco.com
www.kellyparkersmith.com
www.helloworldstamps.etsy.com
YOU CAN FIND CAROLINE ONLINE AT:
www.carolinecreates.com
www.carolinecreates.etsy.com
Mar 14, 2017 |
Hey Rebels! In this episode Caroline and Kelly talk all about dealing with negative feedback and internet trolls. For product based biz these can cause lots of anxiety and tears. Caroline and Kelly give great tips to help you get through these tough times and focus on the good. It is impossible to make everyone happy. Dealing with negativity is all about swallowing your pride and doing what you have to do. Chin up Rebels! Don’t let the negativity bring you down!
Tips for Dealing with Negative Feedback:
-Take a small break and come back and continue your work
-Do not respond for 24 hours-it may not be as bad later
-Swallow your pride sometimes and just give a refund
-During the holidays you may need to bend your shop rules to diffuse any issues.
– Go back read through all your good reviews
Instagram Trolls:
-slide on the comment, click on the exclamation mark, report as spam or delete/block them!
Blog: Dealing with People’s Opinions
-You must have a spam filter
-Do not let comments post automatically to the blog (have them approved first) or do not have any at all
Product Reviews-Etsy:
-Breathe-reach out to the client and offer solutions to fix the issue
-Be very factual when replying to reviews on Etsy-give all the facts
-Have policies in place for when something happens
-Keep convo’s in Etsy incase the customer opens a case and then you have proof and documentation
Quote Love from Caroline & Kelly
Breathe & Focus on the good -Caroline
How you approach the negativity will affect how it goes down -Caroline
Sometimes you have to swallow your pride and give a refund -Kelly
Don’t be afraid to block people -Kelly
Keep it short, sweet, to the point & Factual -Kelly
Follow us on instagram (@creativebizrebellion) and use hashtag #creativebizrebellion for a shop shout out!!!
If you have a second please jump over to iTunes and leave us a review! Click on the link and then click on “view in iTunes” to leave us a review. We give you all the virtual fist bumps. Thank you!
JOIN THE REBELLION! Signup for our newsletter and get our fave list of Instagram hashtags FREE!
YOU CAN FIND KELLY ONLINE AT:
www.helloworldpaperco.com
www.kellyparkersmith.com
www.helloworldstamps.etsy.com
YOU CAN FIND CAROLINE ONLINE AT:
www.carolinecreates.com
www.carolineannhull.com
www.carolinecreates.etsy.com
Mar 9, 2017 |
Repeat customers are gold. They love your products and they keep coming back! What shop owner wouldn’t want that??? Getting repeat buyers is all about top-notch customer service, a great product, and being friendly. Below I share my top 5 tips to help you not only get repeat customers, but keep them!
1. Offer a Thank You Coupon. It could be as small as 5%, 10% off or free shipping on their next order, but giving them an incentive to come back is always a good idea!
2. Be friendly! I know this sounds simple, but be friendly in your interactions with people before, during, and especially after their purchase. Be personable, approachable, and kind and people will remember how you treated them. This quote by Maya Angelou says it all,
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
3. Offer a repeat buyer program. You can do something like, buy 5 cards, get one free or place 5 orders and receive 50% off your next order. This is a great way to get customers to come back since the purchase doesn’t have to be made all at one time. My big tip for this is to create a spreadsheet and keep track of your customer’s purchases for them – my customers love when I email them that they reached an incentive!
4. Market your items as gifts. You have to put into your customer’s minds that your items would make great gifts. They may not put that together on their own. For example, if a mom is looking for teething necklaces for her baby she may not be in the mindset of purchasing a gift, but if in the description you mention that your necklaces make great baby shower gifts she may remember that her friend’s shower is coming up and purchase that for her now or later. BAM! You just created a repeat customers.
5. Offer gift cards/certificates. This doesn’t seem like it would create repeat buyers, but you would be surprised. When customers purchase from you they may think that your items would make great gifts, but may not want to pick out the style, color, or size for someone else. This is where having gift cards available can really help!
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Talk Soon!
xoxo,
