I need your help! I have Craftboom blog block…

28
Comments

Sorry I have not been posting on this blog. I have been sooo busy with my shop and what not, but the main reason for my absence is I am short on ideas of what post about. Urghh! I’ve racked my brain (cell) and even the hamster on the wheel is having a break. If Craftboom! was a ‘ramble about your personal goings on’ kind of blog, I wouldn’t mind so much, but this is more an infoblog so I feel like I am kind of letting the side down and this won’t do.

So seeming as this blog is more for you lovely readers I’m asking you what you would like to see in it. I would love it if you could please comment on this post and tell me what I can try to help you with. Perhaps you’d like:

to know more about marketing,
to know more about how I run my shop,
to know more about other people’s craft shops
more interviews
you may have specific craft business issues you’d like looked at
to know my favourite Krispy Kreme Donut flavour
to have more guest posts
more anecdotal stuff
to know more about blogging
more tecchie stuff

So please suggest away; the more the merrier. I’ll read each one of your suggestions carefully. You’d be doing me a big favour which I hope to repay by writing the kind of posts that you want to read

In my head there’s nothing much going on except for this hamster (and even he’s fast asleep!)

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Comments

1. On July 20th, 2008 at 8:53 pm, Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach said:

I’d love to hear about guerilla marketing ideas that can be applied to the crafts industry. Saving money while making money is always a Good Thing to me!

Happy Sunday, Barbara

2. On July 20th, 2008 at 9:04 pm, Blakeney said:

Hello, just found your column today and I love it! I’ve read tips here that I’ve seen nowhere else. And yes, please, I do have a suggestion for a topic.

Basically it’s about organization. I’m trying to gear up to take my crafting seriously and make a business out of it. Problem is I feel pulled in a hundred different directions at once. I used to feel bad because I couldn’t “settle” to one craft – my online research has happily informed me there are others like me who are “mixed media artists” – so I guess that’s ok.

But everything else is a mess – just barely getting my craft stuff organized – I have data relating to crafts stored in all different places in my computer files (and in my Internet favorites files), try as I might to keep things sorted. I am always losing craft supply receipts, and I think it would take me a full day (at least!) to enter all the figures into a spreadsheet at this point.

And lastly, as you mentioned in one of your articles, I do love to surf the web for craft info – but it does eat up a huge amount of time. I think I would like to open an etsy shop – but there is so much to read about starting one (ex. advice in The Storque and on the forums), I am concerned I’ll never know when to stop.

I’m sorry to ramble, but the fact is not only am I unorganized – I’m not even sure where to start organizing! I realize it’s my own fault and want to learn better habits, so I can make my business a reality. Please, is there hope for crafters like me?

3. On July 20th, 2008 at 9:58 pm, Elly said:

How about some tips for networking for those who mainly work from home?

Ellys last blog post..Zzzz….

4. On July 20th, 2008 at 10:18 pm, Lisa Lam said:

@ Blakeney:

Yes or course there is help! and I think we are all a bit like this just before we bite the bullet and go for it. I’ll definitely consider time management and organization post. Thanks for your suggestion.

5. On July 20th, 2008 at 10:20 pm, Lisa Lam said:

@ Elly:

Very dood idea. I’ll definitely consider a post on networking for homeworkers.

6. On July 21st, 2008 at 12:44 am, Kate said:

Marketing, working from home, I love interviews. Thamks for this blog – I have foung such great info here!

Kates last blog post..Dyeing Sock Yarn

7. On July 21st, 2008 at 1:22 am, --Deb said:

How about something for those of us who do crafts as recreation? I know that’s not the POINT of your blog, but since to make business from a craft, it helps to have amateurs also … (grin)

–Debs last blog post..Linguist vs Grammarianâ€“The Fallout

8. On July 21st, 2008 at 2:18 am, Hoppo Bumpo said:

I’d like to read more about how other people have got started in the craft business and what their tips for success are.

Oh, and I’d be very happy to hear more about the Krispy Kremes!!

Hoppo Bumpos last blog post..This is … what makes me happy

9. On July 21st, 2008 at 2:53 am, Feli said:

I have been approached by a lovely store who is thinking about buying my craft wholesale. Now I do not know where to even begin on Wholesaling as I mainly sell on my etsy store or in craft markets.

Any tips on Wholesaling would be appreciated.

Thank you. :*)

Felis last blog post..On Paper…

10. On July 21st, 2008 at 5:03 am, Jacquie said:

Oh can I be a guest blogger? I’ve cofounded an organization helping artists and crafters. http://www.madeontheleft.com/index.html I’ve got a million ideas for posts.

Jacquies last blog post..Pay It Forward

11. On July 21st, 2008 at 5:32 am, Jennie said:

I’m interested in how you run your shop. How you set it up & everything, the whole history about it.

Jennies last blog post..Polka Dot Wrap skirt

12. On July 21st, 2008 at 8:04 am, mÃ©ri said:

I’m not sure if I understood all your suggestions, but “more tecchie stuff” sounds well or
to know more about blogging.

mÃ©ris last blog post..Sacos redondos 18 e 19 / Round Bags 18 and 19

13. On July 21st, 2008 at 9:50 am, Janine said:

Hello Lisa, I have learned a lot from your 2 blogs, but I would like to know more about dealing with bricks and mortar shops. How do you decide trade prices on wholesale orders, etc. Thank You!

14. On July 21st, 2008 at 9:56 pm, Ann Widner said:

I’d like to read more about motivation and goal setting for crafters. I think that inspiring personal stories and antecdotes from people who have crafting businesses would be great to read about, too. I always like to learn how people got started in their businesses and what keeps them going, especially people that have to overcome a lot of obstacles. I really like your blog ~~ just keep writing ~ you’re doing a great job!

15. On July 21st, 2008 at 10:03 pm, Ali said:

Lisa, I think you have a lot of great stuff you could say on customer service dos and don’ts. How did you figure out what works best for your shop. Anything you tried which didn’t?

16. On July 22nd, 2008 at 6:48 am, Pipany said:

Hi Lisa. Basically, wholesale stuff would be good (before I get out of my depth here!), marketing as said before, production tips to take it from tiny business to the next stage – how? More interviews (Poppy Treffry would be good), but what you do is brilliant – keep going please! xx

Pipanys last blog post..A week of good things

17. On July 22nd, 2008 at 11:25 am, Melanie said:

Well, any of those would be great, except maybe the Krispy Kreme one. If you write about that, then I’ll start craving donuts and then I’ll start wondering what’s so great about Krispy Kreme (never had one), and there’s only one shop in all of Japan, and well that’s in Tokyo, so then I’ll start wanting to go to Tokyo…. so you can see my problem with that post

But, what I would really love to know, is, working from home, how do you organise your day/week? I’m always in awe of how much you achieve and I’d love to know how you stay focused and get things done. Oh, and maybe, how do you manage to balance other parts of your life. I’m working on all that myself at the moment and would love to hear how others do it.

Melanies last blog post..Going Our Separate Ways

18. On July 22nd, 2008 at 12:45 pm, Julia said:

Thanks for everything you’ve written so far on this blog. It’s made me think about things in different ways. That’s a good thing. I’d love more marketing suggestions – which method works best for you? Are magazine adverts helpful? How do you get your blog noticed – that’s even before anyone decides whether they want to read it or not.

Julias last blog post..Hello..

19. On July 22nd, 2008 at 9:50 pm, julo said:

I’d like anything on the first 4 and last 3 bullets. More info about craft blogs and store, and interviews would be an interesting read. And anything about blogging in general would be cool too!

julos last blog post..Suck It HOA

20. On July 23rd, 2008 at 2:19 am, Diana said:

Hey Lisa,
I would like to see stories/interviews from other crafters on their story and their lessons learned. Marketing on a shoestring. Tech stuff that is useful for indies.

21. On July 23rd, 2008 at 5:57 pm, Lisa Lam said:

This is so great!

It’s going help me lots in planning more posts. I really appreciate your feedback Please keep your suggestions a comin’

22. On July 24th, 2008 at 8:14 am, Christina said:

Hi,

I’d like to hear more about your working together with factories for custom designs, about marketing and about how to manage getting into bigger business like trade shows.
So far your blog has been so inspiring to me and motivates me to have another try to get my online-shop buzzing.

23. On July 24th, 2008 at 11:57 pm, Blakeney said:

Thanks Lisa, for your kind words…been meaning to get back online but it’s been a busy few days! Looking over my ramblings, I see that my weakest areas seem to be:

*Focus
*Follow-through
*Organization
*Motivation, and sometimes
*Administration (maintaining records, etc.)

I would love to see more posts on these. Thank you again for your encouragement and for all the great information your posts offer!

24. On July 25th, 2008 at 7:26 pm, Amy said:

I am so glad I found this! I would like to read about other craft business. I also enjoy interviews and how to market ones business (e-commerce).

Thanks for the information!

25. On July 27th, 2008 at 6:12 pm, karen said:

Thank you Lisa for writing both your blog sites. I try to read them every day. I agree with a lot of the above comments!!
* I want to know more about getting started with a blog
* focus on getting started with a craft business
* I love reading stories and advice about how other crafters started
* I need help with organization and motivation too

Please keep writing your great blog posts – I look forward to them.