← How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy
How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy
Ep 169 | How this Artist Built a Thriving Etsy Business Selling Her Original Artwork—with Melissa Mary Jenkins
00:56:59
Ever dreamed of selling your original artwork on Etsy but feel totally lost about where to start? Join us as successful landscape and still life painter Melissa Mary Jenkins spills her secrets on turning paintings into profit. Whether your past...
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- [00:01]
Lizzie Smiley
Hey, my name is Lizzie Smiley and I absolutely love helping people connect with their calling and all the tools they need to kick roadblocks and excuses right out the door so they can cultivate the life they dream about. If you want to launch, grow, pivot or scale your Etsy shop, or you've always wanted to develop the mindset and skills to run your own business, then I'm your girl. I've had that entrepreneurial spirit going strong since my very first lemonade stand and now I'm a work at home mama with multiple online companies and a full time Etsy shop. All while being present with my kids for the everyday chaos and most important milestones. On this podcast we'll talk about all things business, mindset, Etsy creativity, dazzling our customers, and so much more. There's plenty of room at this table for you, so scooch on in and let's go. I'm holding nothing back. Welcome to how to sell your stuff on Etsy. I'm so glad you're here. Hi my friends. Welcome back to the podcast this week. I've been looking forward to this episode for so long. You have been asking for it for years. Do you know what's so interesting? Artists are typically introverts and they don't want to show their face or be on camera. But we have connected with Melissa and she is going to help us crack the code of how artists, people who like to make their own original artwork, can sell on Etsy. She's been super successful with it. Before we get into that, I want you to know that if you're new to Etsy or you're struggling with Etsy, I have an SEO Live workshop coming up on Thursday, February 27th from 7 to 8:30pm Central Time. If you come to that, I'm going to teach you my entire SEO strategy. In the first 60 minutes, we're going to go over everything. You're going to know how to how to find good SEO, how to find product opportunities for your niche, how to write good SEO where it matters. On your listing, you're going to learn how the Etsy algorithm works so it's no longer a mystery to you. If you are not getting views on your listings, no one is seeing them. The problem is SEO and so we are going to fix that for you. The last part of that the third 30 minutes. The the last part of the 90 minutes, we are going to do Q and A and shop audits. So if you've been wanting some one on one feedback from me, you'd like me to take a look at your shop. You'd like to ask some specific questions. We are going to be doing that during that live so jump on it. The link is down in the in the show notes and you can join us for that live SEO Master or SEO Workshop. Also, for those of you who have been patiently waiting and is super excited about learning how to make coloring pages using AI art sources, you're going to want to join me for the AI color page workshop on March 27th. It's also a Thursday from 7 to 8:30pm It'll be a live class, it will be recorded and that is where I'm going to teach you how to figure out what coloring pages to make, how to actually prompt mid journey or and other AI to make them correctly, how to list them on Etsy to for sale. I am going to show you all of the secrets that I am currently testing trying playing with so that you can make coloring pages which are such a huge rage right now on on Etsy and everywhere on you could sell them on Amazon as well. It's completely insane. So let's get into our discussion today about how artists can use Etsy to sell their original artwork and we are interviewing the lovely Melissa who has a very successful Etsy shop selling her original art. Melissa lives in rural Ontario, Canada. She was a high school teacher until 17 years ago when she had her twin daughters. Melissa has been an etsy seller since 2010, launching her current art shop in 2013 with her original pieces as an artist and natural ink maker. Her landscape and still life paintings reflect the beauty beauty of the natural world surrounding her home studio and her love of all things vintage. 2024 was Melissa's most successful year as an etsy seller and January 2025 was her best month ever. Let's dig into it. Let's talk about it. Please help me welcome Melissa to the podcast. Hey Melissa, welcome to the podcast.
- [03:51]
Melissa Jenkins
Hi. This is so exciting.
- [03:53]
Lizzie Smiley
Well, I thank you for allowing me to cajole you into this.
- [03:57]
Melissa Jenkins
Oh no, it was so great and so many times I've listened to you and thought how would I answer that? I wonder if I was on the podcast what would. And then out of the blue, here we are. Yeah, it's great.
- [04:09]
Lizzie Smiley
Here we are. Well, I can't tell you how many people you're about to help because one of the main emails DMs like comments I get on YouTube or wherever is I am an artist, I make my own original artwork and I have it listed on Etsy. But it's not selling. And so what I want to talk to you about today and where I want to start, like, right off the bat is, in your opinion, what is the secret to selling original artwork on a marketplace like Etsy?
- [04:36]
Melissa Jenkins
Oh, well, I'm not sure that I have the secret, but I think the main thing is that you can't just put your beautiful artwork up and think that it'll sell. Like, there's so much that you've taught me through your podcast about all of the things behind the scenes. You know, obviously having beautiful photos that create a whole story and go along with your brand and having. Having, you know, your. All the information filled out on your Etsy page. We're looking about this SEO and all of the keywords. And like, there's so much more than just, you're an amazing artist, and I think it's all the marketing that I'm learning about that really help you to be seen on Etsy. And it doesn't mean that you're not. Your artwork isn't beautiful. It just means it hasn't seen yet. Right. And. And it can be a roller coaster of that too. Right. Because it's all about, well, no one's buying my art, then maybe I'm not. Maybe no one likes it. Maybe I'll never reach anybody with it. So, yeah, that's a whole nother topic.
- [05:40]
Lizzie Smiley
It is, it is. But it sounds like maybe you've gone through a bit of a transformation. So, like, you've been kind of listening to the podcast for 10 months. You came in as just this amazing landscape painter. What do you think were kind of the. The keys that. That you turned that change? Like, what have you learned or what changed that made. Because your shop is performing really well, Melissa.
- [05:57]
Melissa Jenkins
Oh, thank you so much. You know what? I've been through so many different stages and even just selling things, having different shops, but I think I, when I was researching for the show and going back over all the stats and the numbers, which to be honest, is difficult for me, but I wrote it down and I really tried to pinpoint what in the world happened. And I think I have this one print that for some reason just skyrocketed. And it started, if I can look here, it started around April of last year. And then I had an influencer post about my artwork in her stories on Instagram, and immediately my shop exploded. And it exploded for two days, I think, or one or two. Like, all the followers from this wonderful woman came and bought all of these different bits of art, and I wasn't really prepared because I had been doing markets for the last year and I find it really hard to have all of my artwork ready for the market. And then, you know, for me, taking like eight photos to get them up on Etsy or not eight, but however many I end up with and getting the videos and doing all that, like, was taking me a long time. So I wasn't able to have all my artwork up on the site when it all happened. But now that I look back, that was my best month was in April of 2024, until January of this year, just this last month. It was my biggest one. So it's just. It was so fascinating to look over the stats. Like, I. And I actually really enjoyed it. Not being a numbers person, I thought, wow, this is so exciting. And I was looking at conversion rates and those sorts of things. That's something I still want to work on. But anyway, I can't remember what your question was, but I get so excited about this. And I just love that your eyes aren't glazing over. You're like right in there with me, right?
- [07:44]
Lizzie Smiley
So we are locked in here, baby.
- [07:46]
Melissa Jenkins
Because I. I've been listening to all these different shows and different opinions about different things, and. And all of a sudden it just started working, you know, so. But I think it's a combination of having photos that are consistent. I've really tried to take photos in the same place. I have one in my studio and I take it on a piece of fabric that's kind of draped. And then for my artwork that is like in situ, I think they call it photos. I have these beautiful long shelves in my. My dining room that are just filled with antiques. And so I just put the painting up there and take a photo, a couple photos there.
- [08:24]
Lizzie Smiley
So you just mean like a staged lifestyle photo, right? You just use a really formal art term, but you just mean like a staged lifestyle, like how it would look in real life. Irl, like.
- [08:33]
Melissa Jenkins
Exactly. And I don't often, and I just use that shelf all the time because for a long time I was worried about putting holes in my walls and different things like that. And so sometimes what I use, I use command hooks in my kitchen because I can stick them onto the tiles in my kitchen and pull it off easily and it won't damage the back of the painting. But yeah, so it. It's really fun taking all the photos. And now that I'm not doing as many markets I have time to do, I'm still. I'm still have paintings in boxes that I need to still get out. But each day I try and I try and do at least one listing a day. But if I don't get to it, that's okay, too. But once again, I'm rambling.
- [09:10]
Lizzie Smiley
No, not at all. You're, you're. You need to remember you're among friends who want to hear all of this. And I'm probably going to try to get you to talk about some of those stats, if you will. But you know where I think we should start? Here's where I want to, like, circle us back. What kind of artwork do you sell and why do you think it's currently in demand?
- [09:25]
Melissa Jenkins
Okay, well, I sell landscape paintings that look like they're vintage paintings. And I sell still life art paintings, like pears. I was actually looking over, I think I've painted over 40 pears in the last year. And I've sold all the originals. I didn't even realize it. Like, it was so cool to just get everything together for this because I'm like, wow, like I've, I've sold all of those. That's so amazing. Anyway, and then I have a pomegranate and the lemon print painting as well. And then I have a few kind of modern inky paintings in there and some textile art as well. But. And then I also have prints of all my landscape and still life paintings.
- [10:11]
Lizzie Smiley
Okay. So for the people who aren't in art, that. What's, what's amazing about what Melissa is doing is she's got a physical product that she's selling the original and shipping at a much higher ticket. And then she's selling digital prints of the same stuff. And that's just so cool.
- [10:25]
Melissa Jenkins
Well, and you know what? It's. And what's even more exciting for me anyway is that I. So I love thrifting. I love looking for vintage things. And so what I do is I find old frames, some of them from the 1930s. It's so exciting. I open them up and I see the handwriting from 1930. I have one in my, my dress right now, and it's from 1932, I think. And so I take those and I put my original artwork in them or I put my prints of my original paintings in them. And then I used to just frame them myself, but now I take them to a local framer. And at first they didn't want to because some of them are so thin that they're worried about breaking the frames. But I just say it's okay. So what they do is they put a new anti reflective art Glass in it. And then they seal up the back and make it look new on the back. And then I sell those. So I sell a. Originals in the frames, but I also sell the prints. So I take my original. This is what I. Sometimes you have to explain it because it's so normal for me, but it's not for everybody.
- [11:26]
Lizzie Smiley
Not for us.
- [11:27]
Melissa Jenkins
Yeah, no painting. And then I take it to the print shop, a local print shop, or it's a Photoshop. And they, they will take a digital scan of it and then they send me the file and then I put. I take photos of the prints in frames or I use mock ups to put the actual print. Digital print. I don't know how to say the file into the photo so it looks like a actual. Now I'm rambling about this, but it's. You take the file and you print it off. And then people can buy that. And so I, I sell a lot of prints of my artwork, but the, the prints are. It's. It's not just kind of a do it yourself kind of look. They're more luxurious. Like they're on a textured watercolor paper. And I feel like that elevates it a bit. It almost makes it look like it's an. So many people when I'm at markets are like, is this, is this something you painted or is this a print of something? So that's what I kind of like. It's like an elevated. An elevated look of the artwork. So. And I also. Miniatures, too.
- [12:30]
Lizzie Smiley
The miniatures are so for some reason those go crazy too. Miniatures.
- [12:35]
Melissa Jenkins
They're so fun. Like, they're. So Actually, I have one right here.
- [12:40]
Lizzie Smiley
She's. She actually got up to step away if you're. If you're listening.
- [12:46]
Melissa Jenkins
Like they're in there. Some of them have magnets on the back, some of them tiny. This is for Valentine's Day. But just tiny little things. And they're so fun. People love them. They love to talk about it. I've had parents buy them for their child's dollhouse. And that's a whole nother world to go down. The miniature world. But anyway.
- [13:03]
Lizzie Smiley
Oh yeah. I hadn't even thought about that. Okay.
- [13:05]
Melissa Jenkins
I paint them this big and then I can turn them into huge prints.
- [13:08]
Lizzie Smiley
And that. Because you're. And you know what? I didn't even realize, like, you're not trying to create that digital print yourself. You're having a. You're having a company do that piece for you because you get a much.
- [13:16]
Melissa Jenkins
Higher quality and they do a really nice job. And we have such a great relationship. I see them every day and like, they, they love it when I bring new work in and. Yeah. So it's really fun.
- [13:25]
Lizzie Smiley
Okay, so I want every artist to be able to express themselves the way that they want to. But I am going to speak to this because this is just my opinion, and I would love your input on this as well. Melissa, as someone now, I'm, I'm, I eat, sleep and breathe the trends right now. Like, that is my thing with my trendspotting report with my own digital product shop. Trends are everything. And what you described about the artwork that you're creating is it's a very vintage feel, which is so hot right now. The grand millennial design style are like the, basically the 30 somethings to, you know, I'm like an elder millennial. I'm like a mature millennial.
- [14:01]
Melissa Jenkins
Yes.
- [14:01]
Lizzie Smiley
And we love marrying together the traditional vintage feel with modern. A modern take. So even think about like modern farmhouse. You know, you've got these antiquey vintage elements. And then you're updating with something like a black metal, you know what. Or what, you know, cast iron. Not cast iron, like black iron or a black. What is the word I'm looking for? Industrial kind of industrial like elements. Right.
- [14:25]
Melissa Jenkins
And it's in, in my understanding is it called transitional decor. And when we did our audit together, you were, look, I had that as one of my keywords, but I've realized it's, it's not really a great keyword at this point, but it's. And this is what it will be. Combine. There you go. You. Combining the traditional elements of a vintage painting with more modern furniture. And I just love the blend of it. And that's, that's, that's my passion. And it's just so wonderful that it's. Right now it's something that's really popping on Etsy, so I'm not having to go, oh, I need to create this because it's a trend. I'm just, I'm creating it because. Because I love it. And it actually, it happens to be a trend right now that people are looking for.
- [15:08]
Lizzie Smiley
Yes. And I want to mention this too, because you brought this up before we started recording. No one should be using the word vintage on their listings unless they're selling something in the vintage category and it's literally, physically 20 years or older. Because you will not, you want to use the word retro or antique, other words that describe that it would be a vintage style without it being vintage, without having the word in there.
- [15:29]
Melissa Jenkins
You Know it's funny, every time I'm looking for keywords with Everbee, some of the top selling, most of the top selling prints have vintage prints as one of their keywords and I'm just like, I don't understand, you know. So I'm still kind of figuring that out but I've subsequently taken vintage out of all of my keywords.
- [15:45]
Lizzie Smiley
So here's, let me talk through it because someone's listening and being like, what's the problem? So first of all, I think in your title and or your description it's completely fine to have the word vintage. Like what Etsy really cares about too is the customer experience. So on your listing title, if it starts with the word like vintage, vintage landscape, you know, bucolic painting would be fine. It's not going to help you rank but it's going to help the customer who's shopping looking through the search, they're going to see the very beginning of your listing description. They're like, oh that's what I want. What it's not going to do whether if it's in your title or tags or description, it's not going to help you rank for the word vintage because what it's going to do is the. As soon as someone types the word vintage into the search bar on Etsy it clicks off the vintage filter rather than it being a keyword. Yes. So that's what's happening. And so I actually think it's great to have at the beginning of your title you just don't want to have, it's pointless to have it in your tags.
- [16:37]
Melissa Jenkins
Okay, perfect. Yeah. Because it is something like. But I was worried, I actually reached out to you the first time with a question was I was worried it's actually not vintage because I just painted it. Am I going to get in trouble from Etsy for having the word vintage when it's not at least 20 years old? That's what I was worried about. Am I going to get in trouble and have my shop shut down because I'm using the word vintage?
- [16:57]
Lizzie Smiley
That's a great question. So when you set, set your categories when the, you know, you're opening your, you're starting a listing and it says like basically what is this? And you've got to choose from the drop down. That's where you don't want the word vintage because it clicks off a filter. So you, what that would get you into trouble potentially is if you're trying to set it as a vintage type of a product. Like just like if you were selling something digital, but you clicked it as a physical product and that would be deceptive. But as far as using it in a title or a title, that would be fine. I mean technically a tag is fine. It's just not going to help you because you know, it looks, it looks like it, like everybody will show you that there's searches and there's, and there's results.
- [17:33]
Melissa Jenkins
Yeah.
- [17:33]
Lizzie Smiley
But the second you can, here's, here's, here's my test. This is the same thing. If you have like a, if you're using a typo keyword. If you go to a fresh browser and you go to Etsy.com and you go to the search bar and you type the phrase you want to search. If any of the words that, so like, then you hit enter. If any of the words you typed go away from the search bar, it's clicked off as a filter. And that's like the trick. You can see if, what you, if you typed it in and it stays the same when you hit enter in the search bar, then you're fine, you can use it and it'll work as a keyword. If you type it in the search bar and one goes away and then you look down and it's clicked as a filter or you look down and they've edited your typo to the correct spelling.
- [18:12]
Melissa Jenkins
Yeah.
- [18:12]
Lizzie Smiley
Then you know it's not going to help you rank.
- [18:15]
Melissa Jenkins
Okay.
- [18:15]
Lizzie Smiley
I never expected this to be an SEO conversation. Melissa. I am cracking up. How fun. Okay, so just to speak to other artists for a second on that. Yes. Melissa is, is creating something for a trend that is happening right now. There are going to be certain instances for artists where your style is not trending and, and therefore no one's going to be searching for it on Etsy. That doesn't mean you should change what you're doing. It means that you need to focus on social media instead of Etsy. It means you've got to bring the traffic to your product. Etsy's not going to bring it because Etsy is 100% a search bar.
- [18:48]
Melissa Jenkins
Yes.
- [18:49]
Lizzie Smiley
That's what it comes down to. And that is why it's working so well. And this is what I want artists to hear.
- [18:54]
Melissa Jenkins
Interesting. And then like talking about trends. I, you know, the coquette ribbon trend is still running strong on Etsy from everything that I've seen.
- [19:03]
Lizzie Smiley
So it's massive.
- [19:04]
Melissa Jenkins
So I thought I'll combine my love of little vintage miniature frames. So I put a little coquette bow into a heart, like kind of a baroque looking frame. For Valentine's Day. So I thought, okay, that's a way I can incorporate the trend. And that was fun to do. And I've. I've sold them on Etsy, but also I've been selling on Facebook Marketplace, which is so funny and so fun. Like, I've met so many connections through there of people looking for this artwork. So that's. That's been like a kind of a fun offshoot of this last few months.
- [19:36]
Lizzie Smiley
So I didn't even know that. I didn't even know you were doing that. Like, that's. That's hysterical. Also, like, on how clever. Just everyone be really careful if you do that. Meeting up locally with people. Like, meet in a public place.
- [19:47]
Melissa Jenkins
Yes.
- [19:47]
Lizzie Smiley
Please be super careful. Don't meet at night. Bring someone with you. Just be careful with this stuff in person. But. And. And here's the thing. Like, I actually got to the point with the sign shop where I would not do in person. Everything had to be shipped. You could live in my neighborhood, and if I don't know you, I'm shipping it to you.
- [20:03]
Melissa Jenkins
Yes, that's great.
- [20:05]
Lizzie Smiley
Oh, so feel free to have those boundaries. People will ask, oh, we're local. Could I just come get it? Like, I'm so sorry I'm not able to take visitors, like, at our. You know, at our.
- [20:14]
Melissa Jenkins
Well, and even people were willing to pay for shipping, which was. Which was great, too, because they're like, you know, people are hesitant on marketplaces. Like, would you be able to ship? I'm like, are you kidding me? I'm shipping every day for Etsy. So this is so easy. Here's the price. And.
- [20:27]
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah, so, yes. That way they don't have to carry it. Let's talk a little bit about your stats. Like, what do you. What did you want to share on that? About how the shop's been doing?
- [20:34]
Melissa Jenkins
Well, bear with me. Numbers are.
- [20:38]
Lizzie Smiley
I know you and me, Katie.
- [20:40]
Melissa Jenkins
I'm doing pretty well with them, but, yeah, I noticed that. So let's see. Do I have. Before? I don't have.
- [20:47]
Lizzie Smiley
No, that's okay. How do you like. So tell us about January. January 2025. What happened? And that's a good way to hone in.
- [20:53]
Melissa Jenkins
So I had my most visits to my shop ever, which was 9,421 visits. I don't know if that's big or small, but for me, it was for an artist.
- [21:02]
Lizzie Smiley
That's huge.
- [21:03]
Melissa Jenkins
Yeah. And so. And I had 60 orders, and I actually had my best day last Friday or Saturday, and I sold. I sold big Original framed pieces of art. And I was just, I couldn't believe it. Like, I was just, yes, like, finally, you know, like, yes, you know, and it's such an up and down kind of roller coaster. You don't have sales one day you're like, oh, nobody likes my work. Oh, I'm. Maybe I shouldn't be doing this, you know? And then the next day you hear that cha ching. And so for me, I'm learning to just roll with it and use those days where I'm not packaging and look forward to the fact that I can paint on those dates. You know, instead of saying, no one bought anything, you can say, oh, I can generate more paintings. And it's, you know, so back to the numbers. Sorry. No, that's great. But I did notice was, let's see, the. The thing that I noticed after looking through each month was that maybe I should connect more with some influencers because that the, the, the one day that, that, that the influencer posted my art, like, was my best day out of ever until then. And then my shop just consistently went. Got better each month. And I don't know whether that's because of all of the things that happened on that. Those in April or whether. And whether things just got noticed more, whether I started using keyword better keyword. Like, I'm not sure what happened. But anyway, it's amazing to see.
- [22:31]
Lizzie Smiley
Are you brand new to Etsy, about to get started, or struggling a bit to find your groove? What I'm about to say is just for you, okay? I can completely relate to where you're at because I think I can help you achieve success faster. When I first started my Etsy shop, it was not one of those success stories that we hear on, you know, on the big YouTube channels, even on this podcast where I just had crazy success and it took off right away. All right, I all but failed for my first six months, just like a lot of new sellers. And so it's very relatable. And the issue for me was I didn't understand demand for one, I didn't understand SEO. I was way too broad in my search terms, and I didn't know how to position my product so that customers just couldn't help but click add to cart. And so once I learned those things, I went from making about $25 a month in sales to $6,000 a month and up. And in the holidays, I would even have $13,000 months, like at my shop's peak. And the thing about me, if you've been here for A minute. You already know this. I'm a terrible gatekeeper, okay? When I figure something out, when I craft of code, when I get excited, I cannot help but tell everybody who wants to listen. It's like either my, my best asset or my toxic trait. I can't decide. But I put everything that you need to know to fill that beginner knowledge gap into a low ticket. Just under three hours beginner course that I have called Six Figure Secrets to getting started on Etsy. In it, I'm teaching you how to find what's in demand for your niche, how to find and use trends, how to start your shop. If you're worried about that part. SEO strategy to find the micro niches where the opportunity is, how to understand the Etsy algorithm and a ton more. The whole thing is bite sized videos. Not long form, just small bite sized videos. Zero fluff and to the point. You could get the course today, go through the less than three hours over the next couple days, launch your shop this weekend and have sales coming in as soon as Sunday. So let's get you the few missing pieces of the Etsy success puzzle. Those little tweaks you need to make so you can start making the sales that you deserve. Because I have never been more convinced that there is room at table on Etsy for everyone. And the opportunity is so ripe right now. I am in the numbers in the data every day and my mind just keeps expanding on the possibilities. Okay, so as a special treat, use the code save50 to save $50 on the six figure secrets course today. That's $50 off with a coupon. Save 50. And by all means DM me or shoot me an email when those sales start popping. Because I want to celebrate with you. You're reminding me. You're reminding me of how. Oh, this is the wrong tab. I'm trying to look up the an episode number because Gloria, who specializes in pr, she came on and taught us how to basically do exactly that. How to. But even with the media, how to get featured, like for example, you might, you know what you might do is I can't do two things at a time. Stop. Elizabeth. What you might do is see if you can get on some, some lists for Mother's Day gifts. Do you know what I mean? Like right now, even Easter, oh my gosh, with some of your stuff. Easter right now you could reach out to some publications who are putting together lists for like gifts for Mother's Day and you could be like a grand millennial painting.
- [25:39]
Melissa Jenkins
Oh, you know what I mean? Listen, to that episode because after I listened to it, I reached out to a friend who's in a national newspaper here in Canada, and I was like, like, hey, are you creating a. I did do that. I did it. But then she's not doing that anymore, so. But I did. I did actually reach out then. But thank you for reminding me because I think that's a great idea to get on the. In the media for different gifts for. For what would it be Easter next? I guess Easter.
- [26:04]
Lizzie Smiley
But I would even do, like, for you Mother's Day, like, Like the way if my husband came home with one of your pieces of art for me for Mother's Day, I would like. He would win that. He would win Mother's Day. He would win. Everyone listening. It's episode 153, how to get your Etsy products featured in the media. And I actually think, I mean, like, social media is great too. Working with influencers, even micro influencers can be great. You're going to want to listen to Alison J. Prince if you're interested in that. But Gloria is so good at helping us get in the. And what's nice about the media. A bigger reach. B, there's sort of no. Like, when you're working with an influencer, like, a lot of times they want to get paid or they want free stuff and not that that's. That's bad. Like, they deserve something for helping you. The media publication, though, just wants the clicks. Like there's nothing more they really want from you. Do you know what I mean? So there's like pros and cons there to think through. I used to work with influencers with my signs and honestly, it was a headache. I wish at that point I'd known Gloria and I could have just gone. The PR route would have been well. And actually I did get some things, some signs featured in Huffington Post and oh, wow, a buzzfeed.
- [27:10]
Melissa Jenkins
It.
- [27:10]
Lizzie Smiley
It turned out I had an IP violation on them, so it wasn't a good thing for me at that point in time. But I got a ton of orders.
- [27:16]
Melissa Jenkins
Yeah.
- [27:17]
Lizzie Smiley
So make sure you clear your IP before you want to get featured on anything. For someone like you, Melissa, that wouldn't be as much of a. Of a risk, but.
- [27:24]
Melissa Jenkins
Oh, that's cool. Yeah. Yeah, I need to write that down.
- [27:28]
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah, it'll catapult sales. So that's super fun. Okay. So January, I'm so excited. And also for our, like, January was always huge for signs as well. Everyone thinks Q4 for Christmas. And that's true. There's a whole different angle. But everyone's like taking down their decorations from the holidays and wanting to freshen and spruce up their space in January, February. And it is a ripe time for people with wall art.
- [27:52]
Melissa Jenkins
And I need to remember that next year to have a ton more listening listings in January. Yes.
- [27:59]
Lizzie Smiley
Yes. Like, get it done in October.
- [28:01]
Melissa Jenkins
Yeah. And you know what? My sec. My next biggest month before that was November. It was huge. But then in Canada, we had a Canada post strike at the end of November. So that was just. And I'm still actually still recovering from that.
- [28:16]
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah.
- [28:17]
Melissa Jenkins
And because there was so many backups. But yeah, interesting. Which I didn't realize was that November was my biggest month before. You know, my biggest months were April and then November in January. So, you know, I guess another, I guess piece of advice to myself and everyone else is that the times when your shop isn't getting as many orders, instead of thinking, oh, no one, you know, go through the.
- [28:45]
Lizzie Smiley
The spiral imposter syndrome.
- [28:47]
Melissa Jenkins
Right. Yes. Create more art. Because those times when it's busy, you'll have more things available. And even if I can't get all the photos up and get, at least they're here and I can get to them, you know, and so because, you know, the days that you're packaging, it's. You don't have time to paint. So it's just, I just, I really need to look at my schedule and figure out, you know, what brings me the most joy along with being efficient with packaging and those sorts of things. So.
- [29:17]
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah. And being able to batch that. And I'll tell all of you right now, for signs and for wall art for artists, May through August are incredibly slow. Like, you will feel like such an imposter. You will feel like, well, I guess this doesn't work anymore. And you just need to know that it is. That that is not necessarily true. Like, could. Could a phase or a trend have passed? Yes. But unless you specifically design things for summer and you'd have to do some really intentional research and start designing in like I would say March, April immediately for what people would want to buy in the summer. And, and honestly, you could even do. You could even spend a lot of time on that and still people just aren't spending money on decorations as much. You know, they are focused on saving for their. Any vacations they want to take, activities they're going to do with their family. Like, they're focused on other things.
- [30:03]
Melissa Jenkins
So good to remember. So good to remember.
- [30:07]
Lizzie Smiley
I think it's important because we. Otherwise we start to attack ourselves. We start to really, like, doubt ourselves, you know, and it still happens to me sometimes I'll go through like a week slow in, in one of my shops and be like, oh, my gosh, have I lost it? Like, I'm supposed to be leading all these people and, you know, and it's just, it's just the nature of business.
- [30:25]
Melissa Jenkins
I have that niche. But we can talk about it later. It was, it was, it was to do with lavender fields. And that was.
- [30:32]
Lizzie Smiley
Talk about it.
- [30:33]
Melissa Jenkins
And so what happened? The. I, I think it was the influencer perhaps posted about my lavender fields painting. So I just started painting a lavender field from a local business and then she's now selling them at her, at her lavender farm now. But that was something that throughout the summer people were buying. And there's something nostalgic about the idea of like being in the south of France with lavender that, like, you know, it's another, like, fun little niche that, okay, I'll try and paint lavender fields. And I love it. And so now I'm thinking of marketing to different lavender fields all around us and doing specific paintings for those fields. So anyway, that was just another small. A little girl.
- [31:14]
Lizzie Smiley
I love it. No, but let's brainstorm. Let's brainstorm together. What else would be like, would be like summer. I'm thinking maybe like anything waterside, like by the, by the water, by the lake, by the ocean. Could be really big. I don't mean, I'm just spitballing here. I'm thinking like vineyards, you know.
- [31:30]
Melissa Jenkins
Oh, I haven't even thought of vineyards. Yes.
- [31:32]
Lizzie Smiley
Do you know what I mean? Like spring, summer, vineyards. People are thinking about being outside. I know, anything kind of. I think bucolic would be year round, but, you know, whereas in the fall and the winter, it's almost more of a. You sort of attracted to more of like a hazy.
- [31:46]
Melissa Jenkins
Yes. Like gentle, moody and autumnal kind of. Yes.
- [31:52]
Lizzie Smiley
So it's spring, summer, Right. What about spring summer? It's going to shift, right. We want, we don't want the heavy hazy, we want the bright clear.
- [31:59]
Melissa Jenkins
Yes. And that's one of the things that I sold on the weekend was a bigger piece that I called the Promise of Spring. So, yeah, like, you know, I need to like, sit down and write down throughout the year what we can be working on. Because part of the audit that you did with me, we were talking about wildflowers in vintage art is really big. So I'm like to start getting into that now, or I probably should have started a month ago and getting there because there's something like for Mother's Day and Easter, like people just love light colored spring floral paintings. So thank you. So exciting.
- [32:33]
Lizzie Smiley
The ideas are endless. It's so fun. And then I would also say to any artist, like any, anywhere you could bring in. And again, I hate telling an artist what to make, but on Etsy in particular, anything you can do. Personalization, customization. I'm not saying you have to have full pieces of art that are. What is that word? Where people. Oh. Commissioned. But if you have a way to make it personal. Do you know what I mean? Like let's say you paint. Let's say you love to paint ballerinas and ballet slippers. Well, what if you just added one more thing to that and you let people put their daughter's name or their son's name.
- [33:06]
Melissa Jenkins
Oh yes.
- [33:07]
Lizzie Smiley
Over the ballet. Like, what if you just did that in a beautiful calligraphy? Something over it, like you could still have it be your art. And you could do that just digital too. You could sell it as a Canva template potentially. Do you know, do it both ways. Offer the original. And then there was so much that was happening. Was it you and I. I think it may have been a different artist. We were talking about how like for whatever reason, sardine paintings are flying off the shelf. I don't know why they are.
- [33:28]
Melissa Jenkins
They're. It's, it's like the, it's like my friend and I call it the fish wife trend. And I just, I actually love the, the style in clothing and it's, and it's been on my mind. I, I need to do like the three. The fish. And you know, we were in Portugal two summers ago and you're always going by the little, the, the little canned shops. And it's such a beautiful aesthetic.
- [33:51]
Lizzie Smiley
You're right.
- [33:51]
Melissa Jenkins
And it's on my list to do.
- [33:53]
Lizzie Smiley
Those are. I mean there are a couple shops making thousands and thousands a month just on painting. And I mean you think about it, they probably have like as they should, they, they batch work like the rest of us. So they've got their canvases and they're like, they're going. And they're doing the can on each one and then they're going and they're doing this fish, this fish, this fish.
- [34:09]
Melissa Jenkins
And they all look this.
- [34:10]
Lizzie Smiley
But they're selling original pieces of art, but they've just got a flow of doing the same thing. Yeah, girl, that plus a digital, A digital print.
- [34:18]
Melissa Jenkins
There you go. Thank you. Those. I've got my things to do now. It's exciting.
- [34:22]
Lizzie Smiley
But what if. What if someone could have. And I don't. I don't know if this would work, but I'm trying to get our brains working differently. What if. If each sardine had a grandchild's name painted on it.
- [34:30]
Melissa Jenkins
Yes.
- [34:31]
Lizzie Smiley
Or their kids. I don't know.
- [34:33]
Melissa Jenkins
Or. Right. For the cottage and the kids. Everyone at the cottage. Like, yeah, that's great.
- [34:39]
Lizzie Smiley
What could you do? Like, you know, off of the ballerina concept? What could you do that could still be original art in the way that you like to make it, but that brings in a custom, personalized, personalized feature? Because then sometimes even if you're off trend, that'll sell because of the personalization.
- [34:52]
Melissa Jenkins
But it also helps the artist who's struggling with am. I will have. Want to have my free expression to paint, but also need to sell something. So you create. You paint the. The fish that you want to the way you want to, and then the customization of the names, that. That doesn't really take you away from your artistic freedom because you've already been able to do the fish, paint the fish the way that you want to. So it's a nice way of combining the marketing because it's a trend, along with your personal expression of how you want to be the fish. Right.
- [35:23]
Lizzie Smiley
A million percent. A million percent.
- [35:25]
Melissa Jenkins
You get another company to do the actual calligraphy for you. If that's not something you do, you know, like, can that. Yeah.
- [35:32]
Lizzie Smiley
Or just offered on the prints. And it's a canva. It's a Canva font. Do you know what I mean? Like, just do it. That, like.
- [35:37]
Melissa Jenkins
Yeah.
- [35:38]
Lizzie Smiley
Doesn't need to take any brain space. Like, tell me about when you first launched your shop, Melissa. Did you make sales right away?
- [35:44]
Melissa Jenkins
Oh, no. So I. I think I looked back. My first shop was in 2010, and my. I had twins in 2008. Twin girls. And my first shop was to do with breastfeeding, twin covers. Because it was hard to find something big enough so that I could feed them at the same time in public. And then I went into toddler aprons and then crayon wraps. And I remember my first stiching. Like, I remember how amazing it was. It was a crayon wrap, I think. Think. Yeah. So that was. I didn't get a lot of. A lot of business that way. I was doing some markets and things, and then I moved into another shop, which was kind of combining some textile art for nurseries and. And different things and the adult aprons and then. And then I moved into this shop, I think, in 2013, of just painting.
- [36:36]
Lizzie Smiley
Okay, 2000. Okay.
- [36:37]
Melissa Jenkins
And it's been. I remember one time, probably in the first year or two, where Etsy. I don't know if they still do it, but they posted one of my paintings on the Etsy. It might have been an Etsy Finds thing.
- [36:48]
Lizzie Smiley
Yep.
- [36:48]
Melissa Jenkins
And I had seven orders in a day. And it was like, incredible. And then it went back to nothing, really. And then for many years, I was really sick for a while. I had Lyme disease. I really struggled, and I couldn't do much other than I could do some art. So I did sell, but not consistently and many, many times. I'm sure my husband would tell you, I'm like, I'm done. I can't do this anymore. And then I just. Just never gave up. And then when. And I went into. So I started with acrylics, and then I started working with all natural inks, and I went from. To be completely sustainable. So I would make my own inks from avocados, walnuts, from invasive plants on the farm we lived on. And then during the pandemic, I sold a crazy. Which I hadn't realized I had. I was looking back on over to my stats, a crazy amount of do it yourself embroidery hoop kits with natural. And also I sold ink kits with about five or six different colors of paint that I created from. From natural plants. So I did that. And now actually I kind of have a bit of PTSD with that. I'm like, I stopped selling that because I just did so many during the pandemic that. And then I started doing workshops outdoors, taking people around the farm, and then we would make the paint outside together. And then in 2023, I got back into acrylics, but I really wanted to do it in a sustainable way. So I found this paint called natural acrylic, Natural earth acrylic paints. And so my promise to myself was that I would use up all the acrylic paint I had in the house and then buy these paints. So that's something that kind of it. It's not, you know, I'm not shouting it from the rooftops on Etsy, but I do put it in the sustainable. Like I do try and mention in the. In the listings that that needs to.
- [38:35]
Lizzie Smiley
Be a graphic on every single listing.
- [38:37]
Melissa Jenkins
Well, there you go. And I just like, no one's gonna.
- [38:40]
Lizzie Smiley
Read the description, but they'll go through the pictures and that will. Right there. That will sell some for you.
- [38:45]
Melissa Jenkins
And it's a reflection because I Live in. And so I started doing. I. One day I just sat down with the paints and was like, I want to work with acrylics again. And I created these three little paintings, and I have it on my Instagram, the whole story. I just wrote it again, I think, last. Last week, about how these three paintings, they were just so serendipitous. And I just was like, this is what I want to do. I live in the country. I'm surrounded by forests and farm fields and a pond. And I just want to paint this every day. And I want to do it in a way that is sustainable. Yeah. So that's. And I. You. I have a seat. Like my method. I don't think anybody else in the world is doing this. So I paint the acrylic paints, let it dry, which doesn't take long. And then I take walnut ink that I've created from walnut plants around the forest here, and I put a coat of it over my painting, let it seep in, and then wipe it off. And it makes it look like it's an old. Like, it gives it a, like, kind of an old world look to it. And so I love combining the acrylics with the handcrafted walnut ink. And that's. I don't think anybody else in the world is doing that. I just tried it one day and I thought. Because I really wanted to incorporate the natural inks, and so that's what I do. So it makes it look. Look old, if you could. There's the word crackalure, but I don't know how to say it properly.
- [39:59]
Lizzie Smiley
I've never even heard of it. I can't help you.
- [40:02]
Melissa Jenkins
It's like, you know, when paintings look old and they're starting to crack a little bit. Oil paintings. So I just kind of. It doesn't look like that, but it kind of gives it an old world aesthetic. And so, yeah, so that's. And. And it's. I started to do markets about two years ago, and it was just like. Like, I was just so amazed that people were just resonating with it. And it was so exciting and. And it was just so wonderful because when you're at home alone, painting all day, you don't really get a lot of feedback necessarily. And especially if you're not getting a lot of sales, it can be just. It's. You know, so it was so lovely to do markets. And then I just kind of got burnt out from them, and I couldn't do both my Etsy shop and the market markets. So I just decided Last June was supposed to be my last market, but then Canada Post went on strike and I was like, it's just getting really complicated. And Canadians were dying because they knew that they couldn't get the mail. So anyway, I did a few markets this winter and they were like, it's just so lovely to get feedback from people. So I do like the idea of markets. I just also love the idea of selling on Etsy because it's much less physical labor of getting all my. Because I don't just set up a table. I've got like shelves and everything. Yes. It's all over the place. And it's like so much physical labor to make it look the way I do that sometimes it's like, oh, I just want to be at home in my pajamas painting, making a note of something.
- [41:31]
Lizzie Smiley
I've got to tell you when we hang out. Okay. Because I have an idea for you. We have to talk. We have to talk. Okay, so tell me. Golly, I could talk to you for the next four hours. What? Tell. What do you think has been your biggest aha? Like, that went from, okay, my art's not selling to some of these, you know, some of these listings that are just popping off.
- [41:56]
Melissa Jenkins
Yes.
- [41:57]
Lizzie Smiley
Biggest aha.
- [41:58]
Melissa Jenkins
I don't know if it's an aha, but it's a. It's. It's a. I don't know what sound I could make. It's like, oh, that's a good feeling. Is the fact that when the influencer posted about my art and within seconds my shop just went and you could hear everything going off. It was like, oh, people like my art. I just haven't got it in front of the right people. And I think that that was. And so. And I think that led to. And then when my other prints started popping as well, and it was around the same time, my biggest aha was if I can learn how to make Etsy work work, then I can make that. I can make this a sustainable business, you know, and sustainable. That was a pun, I suppose. But, you know, I can make work, right? And yeah, so I think that was my biggest aha is that I can learn how to do this.
- [42:53]
Lizzie Smiley
Hey. Hey, guys. Today's episode is sponsored by Profit Tree, which is a new and incredible tool that will massively help your Etsy shop grow. My friend and fellow Etsy coach, Hannah Gardner. She's been on the podcast and you may know her from her massive, incredible YouTube channel, Ecom Hannah. Highly recommend. She's a seven figure seller who's obsessed with Data tracking. This is like her superpower. I love it. Profit Tree is a service that's going to seamlessly integrate with your Etsy Shop to give you automated real time profit tracking for your store. So for the first time ever, you can now obtain meaningful, actionable insights on core metrics of your Etsy shop. No more Excel sheets, Vlookups. I don't even know what that is or exporting reports. Y'all have been asking for this and Hannah, her team have over delivered. This is like one of those new tools that I'm so stinking excited about. With Profit Tree you can spend less time playing catch up and more time growing your shop. So the integration will allow you to easily import and track your business expenses and product costs. Which means that you can maximize sales of each item in your collection by seeing the true profit breakdowns in the blink of an eye. Forget about hours of manual work to only get outdated data. No kidding. Not to mention if you're like me and you don't even try because the numbers make your eyes bleed. So embarrassing, but it's true. But Profitree is going to do the work for you so you can get clear insights of all of your unique product variations, which is so helpful. Additional features to Profit Tree include real time calculations, low stock alerts, one click print on demand integrations, trend spot your product. That's helpful. Track duplicated products so you can see which one's doing better and why. Add custom expenses, optimize listings profitability and identify listing issues like missing skus and cogs. Right now when you sign up, you can start with a seven day free trial and make sure to use code Tree10T R E E10 to save 10% on your membership. And as someone who knows how important the tracking piece is, you guys. But I don't feel like it's a strength of mine in that area. I am so super excited about this service because it's going to take the piece off of my plate that I'm not good at, but still give me the benefit of having that work done. Super stoked. So check it out. Start gathering the best possible data for your shop, for your listings and it's going to help you grow and scale your business. So thank you so much Hannah and Profit Tree, you guys are lifesavers. Okay, so here's what I want to say to artists listening because this is, this is really, really important. Etsy is a marketplace, which means it is driven by people going, it's like Google, it's a search engine marketplace. They go to the search bar and they type in what they're looking for. If, if the words that they're typing aren't on your listing, they're never going to see your stuff. So you might be one of the most talented artists on the planet. And because like Melissa just said, the right people aren't seeing it, you're not getting sales. So there's a few things you need to consider. Your stuff might be incredible. I think I said this to you in the shop audit. Your artwork might be incredible. And if someone walked by it in a gallery or in a market they were not thinking about, you know, your, what was the example? I used your, your, you have the most gorgeous hand carved, you know, measuring spoons and people walk by in the market and they're like, oh my gosh, that's gorgeous. I wasn't thinking about measuring spoons literally three seconds ago, but now I have to have them because they walk by and they see them. So we get confused with the market concept. People need to see your stuff. But, but if they are not going to go to the search bar because they're not thinking about hand carved measuring spoons, you're never going to be seen. So Etsy, you, you a, you have to do the research to see if, if there is demand for what your art is on Etsy right now. There is a ton of demand for vintage, inspired, bucolic landscape art. You know, especially when she's throwing in vintage, she's throwing in coquette, she's throwing in trends. I'm not telling any artist they have to do that. I'm just saying if you, if you are not creating something that has demand on Etsy, then it will not sell on Etsy and that, that's okay. That just means you need to go to markets, you need to go to gal, you need to be in galleries, you need to do social media so that you could, you know, your reels or your TikToks can go viral and show lots of people what you make. But if you're struggling on Etsy, it's not because you're a bad artist, it's because it's a search engine marketplace.
- [47:16]
Melissa Jenkins
Definitely.
- [47:17]
Lizzie Smiley
And like the best way to learn more about that, you could go to YouTube and look up, you know, Etsy SEO. You could grab my six figure secrets course and learn all about it. I'll peel back for you and show you exactly how the algorithm works. Works. I occasionally now am doing shop audits, which is exactly how Melissa and I really connected this time. Did you think that was worth it. Melissa having a shop. They're not open right now, but was it worth it?
- [47:35]
Melissa Jenkins
Oh, it's so amazing. It was just perfect for what I needed because I, I felt like I've gained a lot of knowledge. Not a lot, but I guess, I guess we'll say a lot of knowledge about Etsy from different places. But I knew that I could trust number one. I knew that you're who you are. Like, I could be vulnerable with you and we would laugh and we would like, have so much fun just doing. I knew I felt comfortable enough doing that. I think that was big for me. And the second part. Oh, why the. Why? It was, it was so good. It was so good to hear you say, this is great. Like, I don't hear anybody saying that because nobody. I don't talk to anybody else about Etsy, really, because I don't think. I know. I met one person this December and I was like, it was an Etsy owner. And so that was incredible to hear your feedback to say, like, you're doing things that are working. And I thought that was like, so the encouragement was so good. And then the third part, like the se. What you showed me in I can't remember how many minutes it was, but like I could rewind it. I could go back and I could rewind, I could stop it, I could pause it to go, okay, this is how everbee works. Because I've had. Ever be. But I don't really. I. The numbers part of it kind of threw me off. And so you gave me the tips on like the three different levels of numbers of keyword and like, it was incredible.
- [48:51]
Lizzie Smiley
It changed SEO strategy. I gave her a specific SEO strategy which would be really technical to try.
- [48:56]
Melissa Jenkins
To describe verbally, but so, yeah, I mean, it was, it was, it really fired me up. And now when I'm trying to, to choose keywords, like, I just feel like I have so much knowledge. Well, not. I'm. I'm on the brink of having so much knowledge that. Yeah, so it was, it was.
- [49:12]
Lizzie Smiley
It's just a marriage of that technical. How do you find the demand? Where do you find the opportunities and the keywords matched with like something that is in demand on Etsy. So what happened, guys, is I stopped doing the one on one zoom coaching calls because I just don't have the time, unfortunately. But I didn't want to abandon you all. So I'm occasionally, occasionally, not all the time, going to open up shop audits. Like, I did random. I only opened them on Instagram. So Why I'm telling you, this is why Melissa's here. One of the many reasons I fill up so fast, it's. My head spins. And so what you're going to want to do is either follow me on Instagram at how to sell your stuff and keep an eye on my stories and I will announce there when it opens, or if you get on my email list, you will know. I'm not going to be like. Because what happens is I open it up and within 24 hours, I've got like a hundred of them to do. Either get on the email list, if you don't mind getting emails, or follow me on Instagram and I'll let you know. But that's what's happening there, because I don't want to just totally abandon you in the. In the needing one on one help. And then the other thing is, if you're newer to Etsy or you're struggling. I'm doing an SEO workshop on February 27th. It's a Thursday from 7 to 8:30pm, right. Central Time. Yes. And I'm going to do shop audits at the end of that, so you can come. It's going to be 90 minutes. For the first 60 minutes SEO class, I'm going to show you the strategy I taught Melissa. And then the last 30 minutes, I'm going to answer questions and do shop audits for as much as I can. So that's the way to get me right now with just the time. I didn't mean that. To become like, here's what I'm trying to. Here's what I'm doing right now.
- [50:37]
Melissa Jenkins
Well, it was just serendipitous because you were you. I just reached out and it just seemed to. And now here I am on your podcast. So it was just really amazing. I've never done.
- [50:48]
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah, hold on, Melissa, you didn't even see it on Instagram, right? Didn't you just email me and you're like, hey, could you do a show?
- [50:53]
Melissa Jenkins
I just emailed you because I was probably listening to one of your podcasts and thought, you know what? Like, I just really, really need to figure out why in the world my one listing is going crazy and I can't figure it out.
- [51:05]
Lizzie Smiley
Oh, so you can duplicate it. By some miracle, I had just announced them on Stories. And you got in.
- [51:11]
Melissa Jenkins
Yeah.
- [51:12]
Lizzie Smiley
Oh, gosh, I love that.
- [51:14]
Melissa Jenkins
See, I'm like, oh, this is so great. I'm just learning so much. It's just.
- [51:18]
Lizzie Smiley
It was meant to be. I love you so much.
- [51:22]
Melissa Jenkins
Years ago, I forgot to Mention in one of my shops. I did sell signs as well.
- [51:27]
Lizzie Smiley
I don't know if I should say, like, buy a pot, my condolences, or.
- [51:32]
Melissa Jenkins
I think I was selling them more in person. But it's funny, I've been looking through old photos and different things and, oh, yep, there was one of my pallet board signs, so.
- [51:41]
Lizzie Smiley
You know what? There's a lot of magic about you. First of all, your heart and your indomitable spirit are just striking, unbelievably striking. You bring a light and a magic and a creativity to the world that I've never seen before. You're so giving. And the other thing about you, and I said it already in the indomitable spirit, you just didn't give up, Melissa. You were so stubborn, you wouldn't give up. Yeah, and I want that. I want people to hear that. Like, they hear this whole thing and people want it to happen fast, you know, do your art for you, and then we'll find a way to share it with the world. You know what I mean? Etsy may or may not be the right choice, depending on if there's demand. I just don't want people questioning themselves. I don't want them questioning the way that they express their creativity in the world because it's not working yet on Etsy, you know.
- [52:34]
Melissa Jenkins
No, that's so true. And you know the wonderful thing? Because I know for, probably for, for some artists, it's. They don't want to feel like they're selling out, but I don't feel like selling. I feel like I'm doing, I'm painting what I love, and then I get to figure out how to show it to people. Like, and it's. It's almost like a puzzle that I'm like, trying to figure out. And it's. And it's another way of expressing myself, you know, another way of, like, creating. Writing my listings is another way of, like, creating the keywords, you know, there's so much creativity involved in every aspect of it, like taking the photos and then creating, you know, the, the videos for it. And it's. It's just really exciting.
- [53:15]
Lizzie Smiley
I'm not going to tell anyone what their definition of selling out should be, but I'll tell you that for me, the only way you can sell out is by not putting your art out in the world.
- [53:24]
Melissa Jenkins
Oh, that's a great way.
- [53:26]
Lizzie Smiley
And you know what? You have every right to keep it for yourself if you want to, but really, the true selling out, the true, like, like I'm. It is. Is not even being willing to. To try.
- [53:37]
Melissa Jenkins
Yeah, that's great. And, you know, another thing that I love about you is your spirit comes through your podcast. Like, your spirit comes through that you're friendly and that you're. You. You want to help people. And I'm some. I'm so similar. Like, if I learn something, I want to help everybody. And. And I think that that's really what drew me to you, was that, okay, I can do this. Like, it's not just all about numbers. Like, that just kind of throws me off, you know, It's. It's about marketing. It's about all these things that I wish I would have taken in school and I can just learn it myself, you know, so. Oh, I just sold something. Yay.
- [54:17]
Lizzie Smiley
Okay, that's perfect, because I totally kept you past.
- [54:20]
Melissa Jenkins
Past the time I Things. So cool.
- [54:22]
Lizzie Smiley
That's the best. Okay, my love. Where are the best places for people to find you and connect?
- [54:28]
Melissa Jenkins
Well, I do spend a lot of time on Instagram and I. I have actually drawn away from. I'm on Stories a lot, but I just. To be honest, I don't have enough time to create everything I want on Instagram because I'm doing all this Etsy work, so. But Instagram, I love to connect on there. So even though I may not be posting, I'm on Stories and I'm just created a newer website and that's. I don't know if you put that in the show notes or if I say it out loud. I'm not sure.
- [55:00]
Lizzie Smiley
Yeah, no, both. Tell us your Instagram handle and your website and I'll link.
- [55:04]
Melissa Jenkins
My Instagram is Melissa Mary Jenkins art, and my website is melissamaryjenkinsart.com and is.
- [55:11]
Lizzie Smiley
It melissamaryjenkinsart dot com or. Because you gave me melissamaryjenkins.com Shoot.
- [55:16]
Melissa Jenkins
It should be Melissa Mary Jenkins. I don't know.
- [55:20]
Lizzie Smiley
I'll put the correct one. We'll test it.
- [55:22]
Melissa Jenkins
Better. Help me make a website. I don't know if I put the wrong thing down. Anyway, I'll link it. That's kind of mortifying. No, it's. I. Yeah, so that's. Oh, I did. I'm looking.
- [55:34]
Lizzie Smiley
That's. Okay. Well, you know what, guys? We will link the correct one, but follow her on Instagram. She's got more followers than me. Melissamaryjenkinsart.com on Instagram. Instagram art.
- [55:43]
Melissa Jenkins
Anyway, so, so sorry about that. I'll look that up.
- [55:45]
Lizzie Smiley
No worries. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being willing to share. This is some a story I've wanted to tell for a long time and to really help the original artist and cast that vision. So I appreciate you so much.
- [55:57]
Melissa Jenkins
Well, thank you so much. This has been so soul enhancing if that's not too word crafty. But it's been really lovely. Thank you.
- [56:05]
Lizzie Smiley
Now the biggest hug Guys, thanks for hanging out with us. I hope you're feeling inspired. I hope you've had some things click. I hope that you will be as indomitable as Melissa. And until next week, go make something awesome. I love you guys. And that's a wrap on this episode of how to Sell your Stuff on Etsy. Thanks so much for hanging out with me today. If you're looking for more resources, head on over to howtosellyourstuff.com where you'll find podcast show notes, all the links from today's episode, the blog courses, coaching, and more. If this episode was helpful to you, awesome. The greatest compliment I can receive from you is a rate, review and subscribe on this podcast. Not only will it allow us to connect again on a future episode, it lets me know I'm providing you with value and helps other people find this content more easily. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your support. Have a great day and see you next time.