Why My Black Friday Sale Starts Early.

No, I do not want any of you to feel compelled to shop on Thanksgiving Day -- trust me, I will be selfishly enjoying all that time with my family, barely noticing if my phone goes cha-ching. 

But, the Black Friday through Cyber Monday sale in my shop does begin on Thanksgiving day -- and I am partially upset with myself about it.   But there are a few reasons:

1) I set it up to kick off automatically.
     Knowing I wanted the day to not think about my shop -- and spend possibly bringing my tree out of the garage to decorate with the kids before the hubs goes back to work on Friday for a 24 hour shift -- I planned early and was actually kind of off by a day (the date) on my etsy on sale account.

2) I don't think things through all the time
     Knowing customers want their gifts mailed out quickly -- and knowing there is downtime between the preparation of side-dishes, I too will wander onto Etsy to see what is available.  But -- like I said earlier, I had the date wrong to start and when I figured it all out, I didn't go change it.

3) Thanksgiving isn't everywhere
     A lot of countries don't celebrate like we do for thanksgiving.  I personally adore the holiday -- but I know not everyone celebrates.  So for that reason I was also okay with my mess-up on dates as noted above. 

4) I am really okay when I make mistakes like I did above
     So, it starts on Thanksgiving.  No one is working, but you can shop (like I said, I may also online between the making of side dishes.)  But, since this is really just an error on dates on my part -- I don't want to pay again to change it -- so it's there if anyone wants it, and it's there on Friday through Monday also.

What I am really saying is -- I want everyone to enjoy the holiday that celebrates it.  And, I can see if someone is upset (as many are with retailers that start the black Friday shenanigans on Thursday) about it -- but, I didn't mean for it to be that way.  It's just kind of a big "oops" on my part.

Out of the loop...again

I have been absent -- from many things related to my Etsy shop.  I haven't been paying as much attention on the forums, I haven't been adding new items like I should be.  I haven't been renewing items because -- well it's pretty busy work around here these days.

I know I should have prepared better for the holidays -- I know I should have focused more on the shop.  But, these days, I am of the mind that I have enough items.  I struggled enough for the keywords and views and really, what I like is my customers.

I love when someone asks me if I can find something for them -- something special.  I love when someone says "This is for my mom," or "this is for my best friend," and tells me what is special about them choosing my shop to order from.  I've been working a lot one-on-one with customers and find it difficult to concern myself with SEO and exposure and other things I concern myself with generally.

But -- more than that, I've been busy, busy, busy.  I've been in a Veterans writing class for a long time now -- well over a year.  I enjoy it immensely and am a little miffed that because of the holidays -- I don't get to go as often. 

That's me being selfish right there.

I am preparing for the holidays and everything is still up in the air.  I don't know if I am cooking here -- or if we are going to family's homes.  It's just not cemented.  And that, is stressful.

I've been diligently completing my thesis -- finally, after a year off from my MA program, it was tough to get back into academic writing.  Really, really tough considering I am also in the creative writing type groups for Veterans.  The writing in the Vet classes is pretty cathartic -- so I find myself going there instead of my shop, or my thesis -- so I am always frustrated with running out of time.

I recently lengthened my processing time to 1-3 days, so that I can have that little breather if I need to write.  But, I still try to get items out within about a day.  It's just a personal breather for me to know is there.  And, more often than not, if for some reason (like we recently had a power outage that left all the kids at home and me unable to get to the post office) I can't get your item off until the 3rd day -- I will probably upgrade your shipping without you knowing to Priority.

But, back to the creative writing -- it's done nothing more than make me wish I had not gone to all these communications programs.  I know that sounds horrible -- but it's no longer my first love.  I now wish I could sit in a room and read and write -- and get paid for it, lol.

I often hear "do what you love" and I agree -- but I wonder, what if what we "love" changes often?  Is it okay to move between things like that?

I can't remember where I found this -- but I think it was on Slate.com

Shop Unique for the Holidays

It's not all about me for this one -- as much as I would like it to be sometimes.

I am going to ask you to shop unique for the holidays -- even if it's not with me.  There are so many wonderful shops out there, on Etsy and off that deserve a bit of a look.

I am linking to a facebook post here so that you can find  a list of shops doing amazing things -- with the new ways of working on Etsy sometimes the most wonderful creative and ingenious designs are lost in the shuffle.  With this list -- it's easier to find them through the noise.

Post by Maggie's Jewelry.

Weekend Giveaway!

Normally, we would be giving away a piece of jewelry -- but we are trying something a little different this time.  We've joined forces with a few other bloggers to create this giveaway for either a $50 paypal cash amount or a Amazon gift card. 

For THREE Days ONLY we are offering this Flash Giveaway!
One lucky reader will receive $50 USD Paypal Cash or Amazon Gift Card!!

This giveaway is for THREE Days Only! Enter Now!

We are making it easy peasy to enter! Just use the form below.

Remember, this giveaway ends at 11:59 pm on Nov. 9, 2014! Tell your friends so they can enter, too!
Good Luck!

Entry-Form

Disclosure: This giveaway is organized by Giveaway Booster.com. The participating bloggers were not compensated for this post. We are not associated with any of the companies named above. No purchase is necessary to enter. Void where prohibited by law. The odds of winning are based on the number of entries received. Must be 18+ to enter. Confirmed Winner(s) (by Random.org) will be contacted by email. Winner(s) have 24 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.  My blog is not responsible for product shipment/delivery. This event is in no way administered, sponsored, or endorsed by, or associated with, Facebook and/or Twitter, Google, Pinterest. This disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements. Entrants must only enter with either one email address, IP address and/or Facebook account, anyone found violating these rules will be disqualified. It is at the sole discretion of the admin of the giveaway if the winner has met the rules or not.
If you have any questions about this giveaway please email Tina at branchpropromotions@gmail.com.