Peanut Butter Soap - Good enough to eat?

As usual I had packages sitting outside waiting for a pick-up this morning. It looked like it was going to rain so I peeked out to see if the mailman had taken them yet. One of them had fallen on the ground so I went out to pick it up. As I set it back on the pile, guess what I discovered? Two other packages with holes in them and a bar of my Peanut Butter Soap had a bite taken out of it!

Hubby thinks it was squirrels. After all, they do like nuts. However, those crows sitting on my neighbors truck were looking quite suspicious...

Whatever it was had ripped all the way through my flat rate envelope to get to the soap. The other package was ok, just a few holes poked in it but I guess it was strong enough to keep the critter out.

Luckily, I had more and quick repackaged it with a new bar before the mailman got here. I can't even imagine the convo I'd get about that one! "Umm, my soap arrived partially eaten". I would never have believed it!

Sale!

In an effort to reach my goal for the year, I'm having a 10% off sale in my shop! This sale will only last until I reach 400 sales, so hurry before it's over! Whoever gets me to 400 will also receive a FREE Soap-To-Go in addition to their 10% discount!

I'm Still Alive!

I can't believe it's been almost a whole month since I posted! The Christmas rush has been wonderful! Between that, a wholesale order, and craft show season, I've been crazy busy lately. I'm working on some new soaps too, so keep an eye on my shop for some exciting new items!


Speaking of exciting, I'm getting closer and closer to my goal of 400 sales! I'll have to have a big celebration sale when it happens:)


Check out this cute new packaging for my Caramel Macchiato Soaps:

I found these cups at the store the other day and couldn't resist.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Christmas is Coming!

Can you believe Christmas is next month already?! I finally got some of my Christmas soaps listed in my shop. Above are my Peppermint Candy Soaps.

I can't wait to see what everyone else on Etsy makes for Christmas. I need to start shopping for gifts and I have my eye on quite a few shops already!

Sneak Attack Was A Success!

The other day I posted about the Sneak Attack I was sponsoring on the 29th. Well, it turned out to be a HUGE success! My "victim" was herbanlifestyle. During her attack she received 28 sales! I'm really not surprised considering what great products she sells. Here's a peek at a few of them.


Deep Relaxation Massage/Bath Oil:



Soak On It Bath Salts:



Gift Set containing 6 of her items:


Congrats on all the sales, herban! And a big THANK YOU to everyone who participated!

Wanna help make someone's day? Here's a list of the upcoming Sneak Attacks: http://www.handmademovement.com/

Getting Ready for Winter

Some winter soaps that will be available in my shop shortly:


Frostbite (wintergreen):



Sugarplum:



Sinus Relief:

Everything's on SALE!

It's time to stock up on Christmas gifts! Everything in both my shops is 10% off for the CREST team sale! The sale is going from today until November 3rd.

Be sure to check out the other great CREST sales going on too! Just search for the tag "etsycrestsale".

New ornaments in my AngiesOthers shop:



New soap sampler in my Suds 'N' Such shop:


Happy shopping everyone!

Vote and Win!

Hop on over to the CYA Team blog and vote for your favorite Autumn item from a few of our shops. The winner will receive the winning item! Voting ends midnight October 26th and the winner will be announced on the 27th.

Not only do you get a chance to win a great item, but after you vote you'll receive 10% off any of the participating shops! Just ask the seller for your voter's discount.

Here's my entry...My autumn themed washcloths!

Cross Promoting - Get Some More Customers!

Need some more customers? Who doesn't? Today I'm going to share an idea that I've been working on lately to promote my store.

What is it? Cross promoting!

What is cross promoting? Cross promoting is when you collaborate with another seller to promote each others work. Here are a few tips to get you started.

1) Find someone who sells something that fits with your product so you can reach your target audience. Example: I'm working with a feminine product seller to help promote my PMS Relief soap.

2) Research the other seller. I have absolutely nothing against new shops but if you want the promotion to work, you need someone who is selling. If they're not making sales, your samples are just sitting in their house.

3) Contact the seller. Be polite. Explain the benefits of the cross promotion for both the other seller and yourself. Don't be pushy. If they don't want to work with you, don't be offended. Just find someone else.

4) Work out the details. Discuss with the other seller how many items you want to swap and when. Trade addresses.

5) Get to work on your samples/promo items. Make something that will stand out. Something that the customer can use is always best. People are more likely to buy if they can try out the product first. If your product isn't something that can be made into samples, try a promotional item like a lipgloss or pen with your logo on it. Preferably something that fits the theme of your shop and will remind them of you when they use it.

6) Be considerate of the other seller. Don't send big samples that are going to cause the other seller to lose profits to pay the extra shipping charges. Keep them small.

7) Hand the other sellers items out with your orders! This should be obvious. Please hold up to your end of the bargain.

8) Watch the sales roll in! Well, I hope anyway:)

I'm thinking for the future I might add a coupon to the samples with a special code so I know where my customers are coming from. This will help me track which promotions are working best.

If you give this a try let me know how it works for you!

Sneak Attack!

I'm sponsoring a Sneak Attack on Tuesday October 28th at 2:00pm!

If you don't already know what a "Sneak Attack" is here's some info:

We all get together and "attack" an unsuspecting Etsy shop at the same time and make a purchase (or several). The shop chosen has zero or only a few sales, so this is an awesome surprise!

Sneak Attacks are planned almost every weekday. Check out www.handmademovement.com for the schedule.

The shop isn't announced until it's time for the attack. That way the surprise isn't ruined. You will be given a hint as to what the shop sells though. The shops always have at least a few items under $10.

It's easy to participate! Just show up at the given time and make a purchase from that shop. Even if you can only afford one small item, sales add up quickly when everyone gets involved.

Check out the schedule and help make someone's day!