To keep'em busie!

I exited from Facebook, temporarily of course sometime in 2012. Nevertheless, i returned to Facebook after almost a million years, I came back only for one reason that I started to make handmades and my friends Smitha and Divya had kicked off the page - Ladies Fingers. As exciting as i got back to FB, i was scared as hell. It was the first time, i displayed my handmades and i am talking about only earrings... I had made many over the period i was idle from FB. My sisters were the biggest buyers then, I hardly had any to show my friends: P

When i was back, it was strange that everyone was appreciating what I am doing. I sometimes think if i am really good enough to post a handmade or not! When in doubt, choose not! That’s how i have been going all the way. All this time, I had both Smitha and Divya supporting me with designs and ideas and what not... to buy a new brain :P but as i picked up to making sales. I mean i was getting some decent orders :) especially at work!

Suddenly, Divya was busie and Smitha was getting busier and I was the only person keeping up the page... I used to post every day, go through the insights. I never did realize! It felt so quick and gushing that I almost forgot I am doing it alone which feels fancy but its hell of a work! Trust me! Not to scare you, it is interesting but it’s difficult to understand the crowd... What you have to post to keep the page running... It’s a run for life! :P

Now, Smitha is back to the page she posts a lot of Terracotta :) Here is a link to her Terracotta dedicated page - Arpann

Here are a few things i listed over my experience in the past one and half year in handmades and handling with FB. To keep your audience busie,

1. Family - You need to let people/friends/family know what you are doing and if you are depending on family, you need to have people to support you. Like in my case, my family asks for my designs and they pass it on to their friends and so people get to know.
2. Friends - This is purely advertisement again, your friends may be hesitant to buy at first because they are sure what you are up to but make them a few pieces and the fire catches on :)
3. Create an FB page - FB is the primary site for me as it’s easier to connect to people and i think one could trust the insights. Do not panic if you are not getting any orders but with time, you will forget the struggle :) Don't forget to keep the page visible to searches and also keep the parameters correct to the page.
4. A post a day - To keep the FB page running and to let people know what you are doing, you could either post your handmades or post a few tips from other pages or sites. Either way, you will keep them reading your page which is the ultimatum.
5. Giveaways - I am not sure how much this will help but you should experience the amount of people who react to a giveaway than to any other post. Well, it’s fun :)
6. Games - You could, if you think it’s possible. Keep the fun up!
7. Alternatives - I use blogger, Google plus, FB, Touch talent, Pinterest to advertise. I think i may have had a few hits. The idea is to let everyone know about your handmades. For example i use FB to post my images and in this blog, i have linked back to FB by listing all the items and models i make/made. Touch talent is a recent discovery where i get to know reactions from people of the handmades which helps, a lot! :) Keep interlinking the platforms so at least one of them give you a hit!
8. Expand - Think out of the box but don’t stress yourself i think if you are creative, thinking outside the box is something which will come to you :)
9. Keep the calm - Don’t worrie if you are not making sales as you expected. Remember this is the beginning and the best is yet to come. Perseverance is the key. Keep making as many models as possible and if you have many in stocked, make a clearance sale.
10. Enjoy - The time you make your handmades, be happie. Don’t distract yourself, keep a timeline to constructively design and think so you are not thinking what to do when you actually want to make handmades

That’s about all i could think, if there is anything you want to share, do reply back and yes, don’t worrie about who is not reading/liking... Think of those who did :)

Have fun & good luck!

Srividhya Lalitha