$5 Treasure

I hope the Holidays treated you all kindly.

For Christmas I decided to buy myself something.  I came across this fanpage on Facebook offering $5 jewelry.  At first I was skeptical because it was only $5, but I decided what could it hurt.

I got my jewelry and was shocked.  This was beautiful jewelry.  It was shiny, sturdy and not cheaply made like I feared.

I showed off the pieces I got and like me everyone was surprised at the quality for the price.  So, I decided why not, it might be fun to get into the world of Paparazzi Jewelry.  So I decided to sign up as a Consultant.

Take a look around my new shop at AffordableJewelryBoutique.  Everything is $5 plus shipping.  You won't be sorry.

You can also sign up to be a Consultant and make 45% commission off everything you sale.  You can read all about that here - Join My Team

Here are just a few goodies I have for sale now!

Try It Before You Buy It

If you are like me and hesitant to try new things, then I have the perfect solution.  I always promote at the end of my features that I'm giving away $25 in Organic Cosmetics and Skin Care.  Let me tell you how you can do that.
If you have ever hosted a Tupperware or Mary Kay party you know the work that goes into being the hostess.  My version is super easy and takes very little effort on your part.
Set up a day for your party and Facebook or email all your friends.  Your party is for 12 hrs so your shoppers can participate at their convenience.  Since its Christmas in July they get to enjoy 15% off.  If you get over $125 in sales you get an extra $10 in goodies.  However, you do need to have at least $25 in sales.  But, the nice thing is that my products are very affordable.  Most of my items are under $10 so when you take the 15% off your guests are getting a sweet deal.
An extra perk for you as the hostess I will also do a feature on your shop or promote your blog.  Whatever works for you.
Let me show a few items you can make yours with your party:

Rose and Jasmine Bath Soak

Shimmering Smokey Chimney Eye Shadow

Bahama Beach Perfume

Firecracker Red

Sweet Potato Blush

As you can see there is a great variety.  You can have a nice package of all natural skin safe cosmetics heading your way.  Just email me at visualeyescosmetics@yahoo.com to set up your date.

Giveaway with a Twist

I love entering Giveaways even though I don't win.  So, I decided to make this a Giveaway with a Twist. This is a win - win situation.

 Host an internet party.  You get free goodies guaranteed.  There is little to no work on your part.  No cleaning or providing snacks.  As the hostess all you do is set up a date and invite people to my website on your day. Your party will be an all day event so people can shop at their leisure.  If the majority of people you know are on your Facebook, then your "hostess" job just got easier.  I send you what needs to be said and you simply create an event on Facebook and copy & paste.  You then send it to your friends and family and you're done.  Simple as that!

Get $25 worth of cosmetics or skin care of your choice for just inviting people and having a $25 minimum order.  Thats 5 people buying 1 item.  If you should have a big party that's over $125 I'll throw in another $10.  Contact me at visualeyescosmetics@yahoo.com to set up your date and let the fun begin!!

For those of you haven't seen my site the prices are very affordable.  You don't have to feel bad asking someone to make a purchase on your behalf when the majority of prices are below $10.  Here are just a few items that can be purchased.

Spring Fun Collection $8.50

Season of Green $5.00

Romantic Blush $8.00

Sweet Lemon Perfume $9.50

Garden Peach Foundation $8.00

Fire Cracker $5.00

Promoting Struggles and Success

We all know that promotion is key to getting your site and products in front of potential buyers.  That in itself is hard work.  There are so many different ways you can promote but finding what works is the hard part.  I know when I started my Etsy shop I thought, "Once I get that first sale the rest will be so easy".  Well, as great as the first sale is we want more and its alot of hard work.  Of course friends and family can be a great help but you want people that are freely interested in and want to buy your products.

Here are some things that I have tried or am in the process of trying:
Facebook and Twitter - I use them to promote my new items, you can let people know what is coming soon, specials just for your followers and just to say "hi" so you can stay connected with your followers.  I tried advertising on Facebook, but it was a total flop for me.
Blog - now I'm no expert on this since I'm just starting out, but I love doing posts like this that allow interaction with my readers.  I have advertised on several blogs and have gotten quite a bit of traffic from them.  I love the blog advertisements that do features on your shop or specific items, you get something special and not just a button on the side of the blog.  Lots of blogs do traffic giveaways also.  Which is a great way to get traffic from people who have never seen your shop.
Pinterest - this is a great, free way to promote.  Don't go crazy and just promote yourself.  Find things that you find useful or beautiful and then throw in some of your items.  I have 1 board that is for my creations and the rest are beautiful items I find on Etsy or Pinterest.  If your on Etsy find a team that pins for one another.
Linkiden - this is brand new to me.  I'm not sure yet how it works and I would love your input if you use it.
Etsy Search Ads - I bought a $5 ad and got 1 sale for $5.  So, I didn't lose any money but it sure would have been nice to make money from it.  Has anyone else tried a search ad?

I'm also trying Craigslist and local classifieds.  Nothing to report there yet, as I just posted them today.

Vista Print has many free business promotional tools.  I got a $75 Google Adwords coupon from Vista Print that I was very happy to find. I also found on Vista Print that you can design postcards, fill out your target market and have them mail them out to potential customers for a reasonable price.  This is something I would like to try out.  Have any of you done anything similar?

I read several months ago that it is imperative that you have your own website if you sell on Etsy or Artfire.  The main reason for this:  If you buy outside advertising you are buying for everyone selling on your site.  Its too easy for someone who finds your ad to leave your shop to go see what others may be offering.  If you have your own site your not helping others profit off of your paid advertisement.  Sure, they can move onto other sites but at least they only see you when they click on your advertisement.  So, I thought I would give it a try.  I went with an indiemade site.  It was super easy to set up and it automatically submits your site to Google and Bing.

I would love your feedback!!  Do you have something that worked for you that you'd like to share?  Have you had great success by just word of mouth and business cards or shows?  Would love to know!