Author Archives: Siobhan

What Small Businesses Can Learn from Etsy Failures

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My darling husband, stumbler that he is, always shows me the wierd and wonderful things he finds online. He is a true bargain hunter of the Googlesphere and it never ceases to amaze me what people are doing to survive and thrive.

Enter Etsy.com, a favourite of mine and many people like me; so fantastic because antique, homemade and underground fashions thrive here. I will admit that much of the inspiration for my wedding came from Etsy and no small part of things bought there either. Etsy can be a fantastic place to launch a fashion line or a small business without the huge outlay that traditional start-ups face such as e-commerce websites or a physical store.

There is a dark side to Etsy, though, as with all brilliant online tools. Here is a look at some big mistakes that small businesses make with a focus on Etsy shops. Disclaimer: because I am not here to be a jerk, shop names and details will be blurred out but may be shown on linked websites.

Me-too-ism:

This is one that not all marketers will agree with but here is my position. There is a distinct difference between;

Seeing a trend and tailoring  a product or service to meet that trend (marketing)

and, simply bulk-painting your marketing materials to meet that trend (???)

Game of Thrones (Book turned HBO series)

I love Game of Thrones and I cannot wait to see series 2.I have seen so many examples of awesome Game of Thrones merchandise made by fans or those who can see a growing trend that they cater for. These shops do not necessarily cater only to Game of Thrones merchandise. Many are good at what they do in their marketplace. They do, however, realise that there is profit to be made when a book (or TV show, movie, game, meme or pop culture icon) becomes popular.

The other strategy, which is the painting over all you sell with the latest trend, is not a desirable strategy. It may get you a few sales but it also damages your brand, making it seem like a knock-off, cheap and more than a little ridiculous. Here are a few examples;

For those who are not avid fans, there are very few things that intersect the “Game of Thrones” and “Twilight” universes. This is not one of them.

Yes, there are dire wolves in Game of Thrones, but no, I do not believe for a second that this was truly “inspired” by them.

Again, I’m not sure how steampunk and Game of Thrones intersect… Not to mention that there was no mention of a Winterfell Emerald that I recall.

Why It Doesn’t Work:

Beyond cheapening your brand, there are other reasons why this strategy should generally not be used. Firstly, it doesn’t lend itself to long-term growth or sales. By aligning yourself with fads, it lends itself to end when the fad does. Positioning yourself as someone who can develop products that can cater to those fads is subtly but crucially different. The obvious cramming of key words into titles and copy is also an insult to your customers’ intelligence. Yes, they have probably read the books or watched the show and they obviously love it. They will not appreciate those without a love or knowledge of the subject marketing to them. Which leads us to the next lesson;

Don’t Treat Your Customers Like Imbeciles:

This obvious and insulting statement is mentioned mainly for specialised markets such as Etsy. People who look up terms such as “steampunk”, “retro”, “bohemian” and “geek” know what they want. This equally applies to other specialised markets offline. They will know what they want and why they are using search terms. These customers need to develop a relationship with your brand and what it provides. Stuffing keywords into a heading (read: blog, website or press release) will not endear you to the people you are trying to reach. This is much of what parody-meet-critique site Regretsy.com brings. The old trick of adding certain bells and whistles to products to make them seem something they are not is not going to work with today’s savvy customers. Or, for variety, you could always sell Ghost Cats… thanks again to the researchers at Regretsy.com

What To Do Instead:

The over-stuffing of keywords into promotional material may simply mask a frustration of how to reach an uneducated or new market. There is a way to use these specialised terms to reach these markets without insulting your potential customers. Using terms that are popular to differentiate your product or service is one strategy.

Copy could read: “[product] is inspired by [owner]‘s love of steampunk that is practical and inspired by other geekery”. This uses key buzz words while creating interest in a potentially new or very niche product.

Avoid over-used words:

There is an inside joke in Public Relations that says if you want someone to throw out your press release, say that you’re really really really excited. CEO’s and sole-traders alike often translate their excitement about something in their business as newsworthy. I hate to tell you, but it’s probably not. The topic, however, may be. There are many over-used words that are clichéd (that’s one), awful (and another) and boring (and that makes three).

An article by Etsy Failure Bible, Regretsy.com, the word unique is completely over-used and, assumedly, not quite accurately. There are only so many identical “unique” things. Yes, I have read so many business and marketing plans with “The U word” included. The funny thing is, for many business owners, it isn’t what they want to communicate.

What To Do Instead:

When you are writing any sort of public document (promotional material, business documents, letters), don’t (I mean please don’t) crack out the thesaurus. Stephen King has said
“Any word you have to hunt for in a thesaurus is the wrong word. There are no exceptions to this rule.” I don’t know if I fully agree with this (inspiration, for example could be a reason) but it is not a bad rule to stick to. (On a side note, he also said that “The road to hell is paved with adverbs” but I digress). If you find yourself using those words you see in every promotion really think about what you want to say.

This is by no means an exhaustive lesson, but it should help you on your way. For more laughs, make sure you have a look at Regretsy; well worth the time.

New Year, New Projects: Making the Most of Opportunities

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Since writing my original post on “Defining the Scope“, I have been given an incredible amount of opportunities to expand my business in directions I had, honestly, not considered. Taking my own advice (which we all know is the hardest advice to take sometimes!), I know I only have so many hours a week I can dedicate to my business, my marriage, my studies and my passions; I am speaking of my priorities. This being said, every time a new possibility pops up (sometimes with no warning), it challenges the scope I have previously established. Now, for the $64,000 Question:

Do you forge on with your established scope?
OR
Do you take these opportunities?

This post will explore the elements that make up a good choice and how to make the most out of these planned or unplanned opportunities.There are some rules to follow when examining your opportunities, so we will examine these first.

Rule #1 – Don’t “Decide”

“Wait a second, Siobhan!”, you might be thinking, “Isn’t this whole artical about deciding?”. Well, here is something to let your mind mull over in whatever thinking time you have; the word “decide”, like “regicide”, “infantcide” and “suicide” means “To kill off”. By making a decision in your head, you have already killed off any options that are not a part of your decided on plan of action. Like its cousins, referred to above, this is not a palatable course of action to take. Many people will look at a problem and within around 30 seconds have decided what is possible, probable and likely and what isn’t, usually without even realising. I challenge you to conciously NOT decide. There is a time and a place to make choices and the stages of infancy of an idea is not it. Many people in creative fields (such as art, music or even those who love mind-mapping) will tell you that “no idea is a bad idea at the start” so try keeping in that place for as long as you are able. More ideas, solutions and options will be yours to play with the longer you stay in this “choice limbo”.

Rule #2 – Get To Know The Whole Situation

Often opportunities come to us and they seem like pennies from heaven. Sometimes opportunities come to us and they look like they could ruin us. I have certainly made this mistake before and on one occasion it left me in a right pickle involving lawyers and using time, money and “Spoons” that I didn’t have. It really pays to examine this from all angles; and I mean ALL angles. Many people around you will have opinions of what you do and, since very few apart from astronauts work in a vacuum, it helps to ask the opinion of those you trust. If you don’t have a mentor, friend or family member you think will understand, try one of your professional contacts (but make sure you keep confidentiality as it is requested). You will be surprised just what comes out about a similar situation or opportunity – these people can be a rich source. Blogs, forums and online communities can also help you suss things out. In the world we live in there are just so many avenues full of information to sink your teeth into. Another great tool to use is Edward De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats. This tool is used at the highest levels of Corporate Culture and those who understand how to unlock its potential are often in high demand for a lot of money but it can be used quite effectively by the average Jo(e).

Rule #3 – Think Big AND Small

I have found it quite rare for someone to naturally have big picture thinking and small detail thinking. This is not to say that people don’t have skills in both areas, often they just prefer one over the other. Identifying which one you prefer can be as simple as examining your first response. I am a big-picture thinker naturally and my first reaction to most opportunities is “Can I take this to the “n”th degree?” or I start my mind branching out in a web of cause and effect to take me into a possible five year plan. It’s just the way I am wired. Alternatively, you might start to see the infinite small steps, the details and the nitty-gritty. Neither is a wrong approach but it has to be noted, however, that you have to examine both. For big picture thinkers remember that “the devil is in the details” and for detail people, there is a larger context that it comes in. This is, again, where having someone opposite to bounce your ideas off can really come in handy. Mind-mapping and creative thinking strategies can help for those who love detail whereas big-picture thinkers can use lists, budgets or SWOT analyses to gain a details perspective.

Using the above “Rules” will allow you gain an incredible insight into how you work as a human being, as an entrepreneur and in the other roles you play in life (as a spouse, a parent, an employee or a philanthropist). The more you use these tools such as mind-mapping, the six thinking hats, the SWOT analysis, the more you will gain proficiency in using them.

Remember that thinking in a way you are not used to is the same as building a muscle. It can be painful, annoying and make you question why you started in the first place but when you can mind-map with the best of them or make a choice feeling free and sure of yourself, it will all be worth while.

Want some help with building your creative thinking muscle? Contact Us to organise a training session with you and your staff today.