EP 225 | 2026 Social Media Strategy for Etsy Sellers -- with Julie Oxendine

Summary

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EP 225 | 2026 Social Media Strategy for Etsy Sellers

Podcast: How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy
Host: Lizzie Smiley
Guest: Julie Oxendine
Release Date: March 19, 2026

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Overview

In this insightful episode, Lizzie Smiley welcomes back crafting content creator and business coach Julie Oxendine to break down the most effective social media strategies for Etsy sellers in 2026. The duo covers the unique challenges Etsy entrepreneurs face when leveraging social platforms, prioritizing mental health and simplicity, and zeroing in on what actually moves the needle for product-based businesses. Drawing on Julie's experience building a multi-million-follower community and transitioning from a hands-on seller to thriving online educator, this episode gives listeners clear, actionable advice on maximizing social media without burning out.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Personal Updates, Community, and Support through Social Media

• Julie shares personal journey through family hardship in 2025, including her son’s Type 1 diabetes diagnosis, and the immense support received from her online community.

  • Notable quote:
    “That is just what is beautiful about the community that you build. That started as a business, but that community cares about my family...It was just a very beautiful thing.” – Julie (07:38)

• Social media as a multifaceted tool

  • Builds relationships, support networks, and customer loyalty.
  • Connects across generations and introduces new (and old) hobbies.
  • Importance of authenticity and shared experiences.

The Best Platforms for Etsy Sellers in 2026 — Julie’s Hierarchy

1. Pinterest: The Underrated Powerhouse

[13:39 – 23:47]

• Pinterest drives the most traffic to Etsy—far more than other platforms (approx. 65% of Julie’s sales originated from Pinterest).
• Why Pinterest stands out:
  • Acts as both a search engine and social network.
  • Actively encourages sending users off-platform (e.g. to Etsy listings). Unlike Instagram or Facebook, Pinterest rewards outbound links.
• Effective Pinterest strategy:
  • Don’t just auto-share Etsy listing thumbnails. Instead, design custom, vertically-oriented Pins (1000x1500 px) for each product via Canva to maximize visual appeal.
  • Regularly refresh and tweak Pins for ongoing reach (“Pinterest wants you to keep refreshing them” – Julie, 21:54).
  • Use both static and video Pins; video Pins appeal to younger users and supplement static content.
• Paid Pinterest Ads:
  • Offer substantial ROI (up to $4 return for $1 spent).
  • Run campaigns for at least 30 days to maximize results.
• Scheduling Tools:
  • Tailwind is decent, but Pinterest’s built-in scheduler (despite a 2-week limit) is sufficient for many.
• Use AI for Pin creation:
  • Let AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity) help with keyword-rich Pin titles and descriptions to save time and improve discoverability.
    • Notable quote:
      "You literally can create a pin in 15 minutes...don’t overthink it.” – Julie (23:39)

2. YouTube: A Relationship Builder & Traffic Hub

[24:02 – 32:37]

• Surprising #2 pick:
  YouTube is a key driver of sustained product and brand awareness for handmade sellers.
• Benefits for Etsy sellers:
  • YouTube is the world’s #2 search engine.
  • Videos serve as “evergreen content”—old uploads can send buyers to Etsy for years.
  • Builds authentic connections well beyond what static posts can produce.
  • Short-form vertical videos (YouTube Shorts) provide additional exposure (“If you don’t want to do a long video, you could be taking those short reels... and send them back to your YouTube page.” – Julie, 26:43).
• Demystifying YouTube for product sellers:
  • Showing your process doesn't reduce sales—instead, it builds trust and authority:
    “People want to buy from people that they, number one, relate to. And if you’re never putting any video content out there, it’s really hard for people to relate to you.” – Julie (27:14)
  • Small channels can earn significant revenue (Lizzie: “I have about 13,000 [subscribers] and YouTube alone probably made me between $30K–$40K last year.” – 29:23).
  • Use videos to promote digital products, kits, or drive viewers to your shop.

3. Facebook: Groups, Community, and Monetization

[32:44 – 41:24]

• Facebook business pages and groups still work, especially for fostering community and recurring sales.
• Groups are valuable for:
  • Building an engaged audience (especially public groups for discoverability).
  • Promoting digital products (tutorials, guides, etc.).
  • Testing new product ideas and techniques.
• Groups vs. Pages:
  • Groups foster discussion and peer connection; pages are more “broadcast” oriented. Use both.
  • Collaborate with other makers in groups; don’t make it “all about you.”
• Affiliate Marketing on Facebook:
  • Share affiliate links for supplies and tools in public groups and business pages (not private).
    • Tools like Mavely make affiliate linking accessible, regardless of audience size.
    • Be transparent about affiliate links for ethical best practice.
• Facebook Group Automation:
  • Use automation tools (like mini-chat) for engagement and link distribution, especially on business pages.

Instagram & TikTok: Approach with Caution

[41:58 – 49:21]

• Instagram can be a “soul suck” and is “the hardest platform in my opinion to build.” – Lizzie (42:22)
• Essential for brand awareness, but not necessarily the best ROI for product sellers.
• Avoid trying to do everything (all platforms) at once—focus on one or two platforms that align with your strengths and audience.

Real Talk: Faceless Accounts & Authenticity in 2026

[41:58 – 49:21]

• It’s possible but harder to build a faceless social account; connection is much easier when people can see you or hear your voice.
• Social media is about relationships and trust—not just aesthetics or curation.
  • Notable quote:
    “People are more willing to spend money with you when they can connect with you...That is the core with social media.” – Julie (45:55)
• Gradually introducing yourself is fine; start with your hands/projects, and when comfortable, share more of your personality.

The Role of AI in Crafting and Selling

[51:03 – 57:36]

• AI-generated images are flooding Pinterest and social channels, sometimes leading to unrealistic expectations for handmade products.
• Use AI ethically—for SEO or marketing, not for falsely advertising what’s actually possible by hand.
  • Notable quote:
    “Use AI with discernment...I’m not like black or white...I use it for this and I use it for that. But I’m not going to use it to pretend take pictures of your wreath.” – Julie (54:43)
• Embrace AI for efficiency (descriptions, keywording, finding new product methods), but keep authenticity at the forefront.

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Actionable Summary: Julie’s 2026 Social Media Strategy for Etsy Sellers

1. Pick one platform and do it well before adding others:

• Start with Pinterest for its high return and low effort-to-reward ratio.
• Use YouTube if you’re ready for video and want to build deep customer connection and passive traffic.
• Leverage Facebook groups and business pages when ready to nurture community, offer digital products, or expand your ecosystem.
• Keep Instagram/TikTok secondary unless you love creating content there.

2. Keep your process simple and sustainable:

• Avoid burnout by not doing everything at once.
• Use tools (like Canva and AI) to streamline tasks and don’t strive for perfection, just consistency.

3. Focus on authenticity and relationships:

• Don't be afraid to show your face—or at least your voice or process.
• Building connection and trust leads to more sales than perfect aesthetics.
• Share your story and struggles; your community will support you.

4. Make the most of monetization opportunities:

• Utilize affiliate links ethically in public spaces.
• Use social platforms to drive traffic not only to products but also to digital offers and kits.

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Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “Out of all the followers I have on Facebook, one person was negative. One.” — Julie, on community support (07:37)
• “Pinterest drove more traffic over to Etsy than any of my other social media platforms.” — Julie (14:17)
• “YouTube is like real estate. Once you put that video out there, it’s out there.” — Julie (29:49)
• “If you’re not automating on Facebook and Instagram, you’re losing money.” — Julie (36:10)
• “People are more willing to spend money with you when they can connect with you.” — Julie (45:55)
• “If you don’t know how AI works and use it to your benefit...good luck in growing your business.” — Julie (54:11)

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Noteworthy Segments and Timestamps

• [04:24 – 09:40] Julie’s personal story and how social media community supported her family.
• [13:39 – 23:47] Pinterest best practices for Etsy—why it’s #1 and how to use it for traffic.
• [24:02 – 32:37] YouTube as a sales and relationship tool; busting content fears.
• [32:44 – 41:24] Facebook groups, monetization, and automation tactics for sellers.
• [41:58 – 49:21] Faceless accounts vs. authenticity; Instagram realities in 2026.
• [51:03 – 57:36] AI in the handmade world: ethics & opportunities for Etsy entrepreneurs.

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Connect with Julie Oxendine

• Everywhere: Julie’s Wreath Boutique (website, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok)
• Membership: Julie’s Biz Boutique ($47/month, 4 live meetings, all trainings included)

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Final Takeaways

• Social media is a catalyst, not a requirement—find your pace and platform.
• Pinterest and YouTube, leveraged thoughtfully, can generate lasting, evergreen traffic and sales.
• Above all, build trust, show up authentically, and use technology to support—not replace—your creativity and connection.

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Transcript

[Lizzie Smiley]

Hey, my name is Lizzie Smiley and

[Lizzie Smiley (Podcast Host Outro)]

I absolutely love helping people connect with

[Lizzie Smiley]

their calling and all the tools they

[Lizzie Smiley (Podcast Host Outro)]

need to kick roadblocks and excuses right out the door so they can cultivate

[Lizzie Smiley]

the life they dream about.

[Lizzie Smiley (Podcast Host Outro)]

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.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast. It's been a minute since we've done one of these, but I have cajoled my good friend Julie into coming back on the show to talk about social media. Because if there's one big question I get from you guys a lot, it's what do I do with social media? Where do I focus? And what I worry about the most is you guys getting overwhelmed and burnt out. Because after working with like thousands of Etsy sellers, that's what I see happen is it's like kind of hard enough figuring out product positioning and getting started on Etsy and perfecting your product and getting through that messy middle of when you're still not quite good enough and you've got to push through. And then you're also trying to manage all of the social media. So when you are ready, when you are, when you are solid on Etsy and you know what you're doing, social media can add some massive fuel to the fire. And as you heard a few episodes ago, sometimes being able to push some traffic to your Etsy shop can actually stimulate the Etsy algorithm. So I know that there's instances when you guys want to dive into the social media. And Julie is the person I like to talk to about this because, like, there's lots of social media experts out there, but they're not all experts. And also selling on Etsy and selling a product like that, do you know what I mean? Like, a lot of times social media experts are teaching you, like, here are the great like reels to create or the carousels and their, their content is just as much for the person who's trying to be an influencer or who's trying to just do affiliate sales or who's trying to just sell from their own website. It's a whole different method than someone who is selling a product, whether it's digital, print on demand, vintage, handmade. Julie started with an Etsy shop selling handmade wreaths and she sold thousands of them. She was an extremely successful seller and moved into a digital space of teaching others how to do that. So she's the person I want us listening to because she's going to understand how much work it takes building the Etsy, especially in the handmade space and then she's going to help us wisely stack our social media skills on top of it. So super excited. We're going to have an amazing talk with you guys here and then we're going to have continual conversation over in scaling society for some private training. I'm really, really excited to be kind of doing that again this month. But let me tell you about Judy Julie. She's been on the podcast multiple times before. This is the second time in a week I've called her Judy and I don't know why. Something is like happening subconsciously. I needed to unpack that. But let me tell you about my good friend Julie. Julie Oxendine is a crafting content creator and business coach who's built a community over 2.3 million followers across her platforms. That's why we want to listen to her. She teaches creative projects that feel doable even if you're convinced and you're not that crafty. And she helps creative business owners grow with social media and online marketing. Julie went from stay at home mom to running a thriving business from home. And she's passionate about helping other creatives do the same. She's partnered with brands like Hobby Lobby, Amazon, SureBonder and Cricket. And she loves showing you how to create with confidence and build income from what you already love doing. Okay. Also the brand like relationship she's built, that's another reason we need to listen to Julie. So we're gonna dig into it today. We're gonna talk all about social media tips for Etsy sellers specifically give you some strategy. I'm so pumped about this conversation. Let's welcome Julie to the podcast. Julie, hey, welcome back to the podcast my friend. It's been too long. Like we talk off of here but we. Where have you been? How you doing?

[Julie Oxendine]

I know we're doing good.

[Lizzie Smiley]

We.

[Julie Oxendine]

It.

[Lizzie Smiley]

20.

[Julie Oxendine]

You know what? I think it was probably over a year ago, but 2025 was a rough year for our family, as you know.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yes.

[Julie Oxendine]

If our viewers are just kind of catching on and your listeners, I should say, almost a year ago, my son, who's 11 at the time, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. And, boy, did it change our world. And so it's been a really interesting year. It's been a hard year. I'm. I was so happy that 2026 came and 2025 left, and I'm just. I'm really excited about what's going to be happening this year, and I just love that I get to be with you here today. I love doing this with you. You're one of my favorites, you know that?

[Lizzie Smiley]

So that feeling is. Is very mutual. I will tell you what, too. I don't know a single person who's like, you know what? 2025 was a great year. Like, you, out of all my friends, won the cake. I worried about you. I shouldn't. I should say, I prayed for you more than anyone else because I couldn't imagine what my mental health would have been like trying to carry all the things. And then what happened with. With your sweet boy.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I'll tell you what, though. I'm feeling very different about 2026. It feels like something has shifted. Thank you, God. Because we were all about to drown if it didn't. And not to say things are perfect for any of us, but I kind

[Julie Oxendine]

of feel the same way. I feel like a lot of people went through kind of a change, and we're kind of coming out on the other end of that. And I think that for me, with Crosby's disease and illness, you know, it. It just. It took us for a loop. Of course, he was in intensive care. He was in dka, which is very scary. And honestly, you don't know as a parent how dangerous that is. My child could have died. He was close to dying if we had not gotten him the medical attention that he needed. And we were in Florida, of all things, getting ready to go on a cruise. And. And the Lord, really, if we had gotten on that cruise and not known that Crosby was diabetic, he probably would have died on the cruise. And.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Oh, my gosh.

[Julie Oxendine]

Oh, thankful that we listened. And we went to the doctor and. Or we went to the emergency room, and they took good care of our son. I mean, the people down there in Orlando took such good care of him and got us back to the point. That they were like, go on your cruise. And we went on the cruise and it was hard because we were trying to learn all the carbs and everything. We did just fine. I think it was more. It was more difficult on us than it was Crosby, because Crosby was having fun. And how do you tell your son, listen, we're not going to go on this two week cruise that you've been just dreaming about and wanting to go on. We're going to just go home. We're going to let diabetes win, and we're just going to go home. We decided to keep going. And what's interesting, when I shared that with my social media media following, because we did it kind of like it was a traumatic weekend when this all kind of happened. It started on a Monday, and then the following Sunday we were on a cruise. But in. And in that time, he got diagnosed in the intensive care unit. They got him back to normal levels and everything. And then we went on a cruise. And then when I shared it, out of all the followers I have on Facebook, one person was negative. 1. Oh, wow.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And so you should have gone home.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah. They were like, oh, you shouldn't have done this. But. But that is just what is beautiful about the community that you build. That started as a business, but that community cares about my family and they want the best for my family. And it was just a very beautiful thing because I've. I've been really surprised too, with how many people who. How many of my followers are either type 1 diabetics themselves or are their type 1 mamas or type 1 grandmas that have children with it who have reached out to me. And so it's just, I feel like that there's going to be some sort of, you know, connection for us. I feel like I have this platform that I built for my business, but it's also a platform that I can use to help kids with type one and to help mom and dads with type with children who have diabetes, because it was never something I was truly, it's just an emotional journey that you never understood until you have to be on that journey. So. But 2026 is a new year, and I. It's a new year in 2025. Even though we were doing all this and going into 2026, I was much stronger because I can't do it all myself. And I've learned that it's so important to put the right people in the right places to help me in this journey. So I'm very thankful for that.

[Lizzie Smiley]

You know what, though? Even just that story, which I don't even know we were planning on talking about, was such a testament to the layers of building a social media following. And I think a lot of times maybe we even focus on the negative, do you know what I mean? Of the burden that it can be. But do you know, I think in a world where a lot of us feel really isolated, and I'm not saying social media replaces human relationships that are, you know, tactile. It doesn't. But I will tell you what, I feel like it can lend a lot of support. I think that there, that's one of the benefits is you, you attract. This podcast has attracted the most wonderful people in my life. I would have never known is that they become friends.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah, no, I, I agree. I feel like social media and yes, don't get me wrong, social media has its downs. It's always going to have the downside of things, but it also will bring people together that never would have been brought together. Whether that's a product that you have for sale, that could be something that, number one, could change somebody's life because maybe it has health benefits to it or maybe it's. We were just talking about therapy and crafting and how I see this trend of crafting goes multi generational and all these people are into crafts and that helps them find, find something to help them with their nervous system. Let's just be honest.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah.

[Julie Oxendine]

And social media helps because people are discovering things they never knew existed before. And it's just really a neat thing. You know, whether it's something that my mom did when I was a kid, they're doing it again. And you know, whether it be embroidery or it be knitting or sewing or anything, I'm just like, I love to see it. I love to see all the generations even come together and do it as well. And I think social media kind of brings that in too. I love seeing older people learn from younger people on social media and vice versa. It's just beautiful.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Have you seen those memes about how your grandma hobby is going to like extend your life by xdf.

[Julie Oxendine]

Exactly. But it's the truth. You've got you. I have my own little therapy crafting table over here in my studio and I haven't really shared about it on social media because it's been my place to go at night and just kind of lose myself in creativity that I don't normally do. And whether that be a different, you know, thing for somebody else, there's something very therapeutic about that. And I just there it Just calms you down. It just, the stress leaves your body. You're not worried about all the different things in the day that we have to worry about. And I think that there's some really good things that come with that and I feel like we need to explore that more as a society. So I just, I just love it all. I love and, and don't get me wrong, social media can be too much at times, but it also be a great tool as well if used correctly.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Well, this, gosh, you've, you and it wasn't existential at all, but you've delighted me in how you've teed this whole thing up because you know, we're playing a lot with AI tools right now. It's not going anywhere. I, we all are only anticipating it taking over our lives more and more. But I think what that's going to mean is that that space that you're talking about, the crafting space, the people getting in touch with the more tactile, the, the people who are, they can do so much for themselves with the, with the, with the AI, but the visions that we can cast for them in terms of like their projects, their crafting. I think that handmade products are going to go through the roof. I think that crafting is going to only get bigger because A we're going to need even more nervous system regulation and B, it's going to be the contrast to the, to the AI, I think, See, I think when you can create experiences for people because I think the over stimulation of the AI taking over and even as people are even moving out of jobs and maybe a universal pay system, I think that we, I don't think we'll be super poor, but I think we'll be super bored.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

As a species. And so people who get really good at creating experiences for others, especially affordable ones, especially in crafting, we are set up to just to really thrive in a time when we could have otherwise been very different. So I would love to like, let's take this, let's take this Etsy angle. What platforms are you seeing Etsy sellers tend to have the best success on? I get this question a lot, Julie and I get really worried about people trying to do all of them and burning themselves out. It's a concern to me. So tell us if someone's really wanted to go that route. Where, where do you want them focusing?

[Julie Oxendine]

Okay. So this has been my mantra for years. Okay. When I started selling my business is called Julie's Wreath Boutique. So obviously it was wreaths that I was making, but I started out selling wreaths just to kind of help with the groceries, help with the bills, just kind of give us a little bit of extra income. Because I was a stay at home mom and I had two older kids and then two littles and you know, putting them in daycare and going and getting a regular job wasn't an option. It didn't make any sense to go work for $2 an hour after you pay for daycare. Right. So being able to stay at home with my kids and do something creative was what I needed. So one of the things that I learned early on was that Pinterest drove more traffic over to Etsy than any my, any of the other social media platforms. And I know that people are going to say, well, Pinterest isn't a social media platform. I disagree. Is it a search engine? Yes. Okay, that's, that's a given. But where you can go, you can make a site for yourself, you can save all the different posts that you love, you can make posts and send them out into the Pinterest world. People can comment, people can go visit the sites that you want them to visit. Right? And that when they can comment and they can send me messages and they can communicate with me, that's a form of social media. Now Pinterest is good because when you think of all the different platforms, you think of Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram. How many of those platforms say here's a link and go to another platform? None of them, none of them want you to go anywhere else. Pinterest encourages you to do that. Pinterest says make a product. Okay, so you made a wreath and you make a pen. Now what I am going to tell you is something, stop making a listing on Etsy and sending that, let's. That Etsy listing over to Pinterest. Let's. You've got to be a little bit more creative here. You've got to play the game. It's all about aesthetics. And that is not. That's kind of like one of those things, like they put no effort into this. Right.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Can I clarify that with you? Are you talking about where like you go to Pinterest and you click where you can add a, add a pin, but you just, you put in the link to your Etsy listing and then it automatically generates like basically your first thumbnail photo as the pin and so it's too small and it's just not. Is that what you're talking about? So you want us to create our own pin, go into Canva create a pin.

[Julie Oxendine]

I think it's. The dimensions are a thousand by 1500. So that is. That's going to be like this. It's more of a rectangle.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yep.

[Julie Oxendine]

Almost. It's almost similar to the new Instagram size, but it's a little bit. I think it's a little bit longer, but that is what Pinterest prefers, that size. Okay. So when you go into Etsy, and I'm not saying not to do it, I mean, you can still do that, but go make a pin in addition to it. Don't just sit there on Etsy and say, okay, I shared it to Pinterest. I'm good. No, you need to go into Canva, make a pen, change the background, change the font, get people to either want to go purchase your product or maybe go find more information about your product or. Or maybe it's a digital file and you can encourage them and make this. I'll show you how. So one of the things that you need to do is when you make a fresh pin on Pinterest, it's going to be seen by the algorithm. Okay. This is fresh content. This isn't them just recycling old content over and over. Okay. They used to do that a few years ago, and they've really kind of put the squash on that. And so basically, when I was selling re years ago, and it's still the same way, I would say about 65% of my sales on Etsy came from Pinterest alone. And it's one of those things.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Wow.

[Julie Oxendine]

Because once you pin that pin, it keeps going through the cycle and different people keep finding it and they are sharing it to their boards. And so it keeps, like, getting populated without you having to make a post three times a day on Facebook. Does that make sense? Yeah. And it's also a great place to do that because Pinterest says it's okay if you send somebody off of our platform. It's okay. And Facebook doesn't like that. If you put a Pinterest, if you go to Etsy and you also have the opportunity to take that Etsy listing and put it onto Facebook, it ain't going anywhere. Nobody's right.

[Lizzie Smiley]

They're not pushing it out.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah, you sent it to die. Because Facebook doesn't want to send them off to another platform. They want you to keep them on Facebook. So what are groups, though?

[Lizzie Smiley]

Are groups still really good on Facebook? Sorry, I totally just.

[Julie Oxendine]

Well, yeah, they are. I just don't feel like people know enough about groups. Does that make sense? I feel like, it's not.

[Lizzie Smiley]

It's more strategies necessary or people. Oh, wow.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah, it's not. I used to have. Or I probably still have a group, but honestly, I don't see much traction on it. I think if you wanted to do a group, I would focus on Facebook and do a group over there, because that's where everybody kind of convenes as far as groups. But you can collaborate with other makers on the platforms. And also, you need to be sharing. Don't just share all of your stuff. Share other people's stuff as well. You know, that's really important to be kind of collaborative on Pinterest, and that'll help with the traction on your pins. I also want to add that Pinterest ads will give you a return on your investment far higher. For every $1, I think it's $1 you spend on Pinterest, you can get a $4 ROI. So you need to have that Pinterest ad longer than maybe you would do, like a Facebook ad. I wouldn't. I wouldn't do an ad for less than 30 days. So, you know, you might spend more, but you might see the reward for that over on Etsy. And so you got to kind of just take that all into consideration.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay. So. So Pinterest is. And I also love that because. Because there isn't as much of the engagement factor. I feel like you can see schedule stuff. Is the scheduler good to use for re.

[Julie Oxendine]

Okay, we use. Currently we use Tailwind. I've been using Tailwind for the last, I want to say, six or seven years. We are going to be changing to a different platform here kind of with all. All of our systems with Julie's Wreath Boutique. So I don't know if I'm going to keep doing that. I don't feel like Tailwind has been as beneficial as it had been a few years ago.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Well, before Pinterest had its own scheduler. I mean, I don't like that you can only do two weeks out, but.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah, but. But if. But if that's all you're doing, you can do that. So it's not like. I feel like a few years ago you kind of had to do the tailwind thing, and because there wasn't a good scheduler, but now you can schedule things out. You can even schedule. I call them reels, but they're a Pinterest video pen. But yeah, I mean, anything that you put on Facebook, I would still put on Pinterest as well.

[Lizzie Smiley]

What kind of do videos do really well on Pinterest are they recommended or.

[Julie Oxendine]

I feel videos did better a few years ago, but I still think that they're worth the time to do them. I don't feel like people save the video pens as much, but also generationally, I feel like the younger generation is watching those pens on Pinterest because Mom and dad don't let them on TikTok or don't let them on Instagram. So there's something to kind of remember there too. But it's always. It's always a good thing to have. Like, if I make a pen for a tutorial that I did on YouTube, right? So it'll. It'll show the actual project that we're making. Okay.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So.

[Julie Oxendine]

So we do a static pen, and then we always add the video pen with it as well. We don't. We don't do one or the other. We always do both. So I'm covering my bases. So now if I. Let's say it's a Valentine's Day, okay. And we're going to be putting out our pins probably in December for Valentine's Day. We're already prepping that to go. You're going to keep doing it the next year, too. You're going to just maybe change the background, change the font, change the title. Going to still use that same destination link for static pen and the video pen, but I'm going to re upload it again. So I'm not going to keep.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Huh.

[Julie Oxendine]

I'm not going to do one and done with Pinterest, but I am going to maybe freshen it up. And that's what Pinterest really wants. They want you to take the pins that you have and keep refreshing them instead of just using the same graphic over and over. Maybe it's a different angle, maybe it's a different subject line, you know, or title, I should say. But just kind of keep, you know, changing it. And that's where AI is super helpful, you know, chat, GPT. And you and I have talked about Claude, and there's perplexity and there's Gemini. There's so many things out there. And what I would really stress is use those to your advantage. Tell your AI. Okay, this is what my pen is about. I made a. Let's see. What did we. What did we just make? I made a magnolia wreath, and I use poly burlap, and I use acorns, and I used a wire wreath form. And I kind of go through all the different things I tell AI, okay. And you're gonna say, bring me some SEO or Keyword rich words that need to be relevant for that pen. And you probably have a whole. I know you and I are both so into the AI thing. You probably have your own little prompts and everything, too. But when you use AI and it gets to know what you do and how you do it, it's going to understand when you say, okay, we did such and such, it's already going to know what it's kind of like about, because you've told it a million times. Because based on your product. But again, you don't have to rethink the wheel and take an hour to create a pen. You literally can create a pen in 15 minutes from the creation of your video pen on Canva or whatever site that you use. I love Canva. To the descriptions and the titles. I don't overthink it. I just go with it. And boom, we're done.

[Lizzie Smiley]

So, okay. Pinterest is great. I love that for you guys because it's not going to be as much of a time suck as some of the others. But before we started recording, Julie, you were saying. So some of, like, the next one really shocked me. The number one, the one you said was number two for. For social media.

[Julie Oxendine]

Number two is YouTube.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I literally can't believe that. And I bet there's Jaws on the floor, like, they never would expect it. But I need you to demystify this because right now that they're thinking of a YouTuber, they're thinking of, like, you know, very different than a crafter, than someone who's selling a handmade product on Etsy. I think interestingly, for YouTube, it could get. You could do that for print on demand and for video as well, but cast this vision for, like, what does that mean? YouTube does really well for an Etsy shop.

[Julie Oxendine]

Okay, so one of the things, we have been on YouTube since 2017. We have over 450,000 subscribers over there. Over. We're pushing 33 million views. And honestly, I kind of feel like people kind of. They kind of think, well, if I show them what I'm making and how I make it, they won't want to buy from me.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Oh, yeah.

[Julie Oxendine]

I feel like that people get stuck in that way too much, and I totally do. People just want to follow you because it's you that they make the connection with. Okay, so for instance, last night, I'm doing an Amazon Live. I go live on Amazon. Do you even. Did you even know that?

[Lizzie Smiley]

No.

[Julie Oxendine]

It's like the only platform I really go live and I teach how to craft and Everything. And I'll get a ton of you. I have 20,000 followers over on Amazon, and. And these are people. And what's nice about Amazon life is Amazon will literally text them for me, and I'll have a thousand people watching me within minutes. And so one of these people, Antonia, she found me last night and she's like, I am so mesmerized by what. What you're doing. And they just. They want to know more and where can I find you? And. And all this stuff. And my point is, people love to watch the process. They love to see how your brain thinks and how you make something. But a lot of times they want to buy it because you made it, right? Or they want something that Julie made. I mean, I still get emails every day. Can you make me a read for Valentine's Day? No, I can't.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Or do I want to?

[Julie Oxendine]

And I'm past that season, right? Because I have been able to scale my business in such a way that I don't have to work 40, 50, 60 hours a week making the same product, but yet I'm making more money now than I was then when I was making a product. So my point is, people love relationships and they love being able to find somebody. I mean, when people watch YouTube, they. I've had so many sweet little ladies say, I love it when you come on every Sunday night. It's my favorite TV show.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And.

[Julie Oxendine]

And to them, TV show guys, that's exactly what it is. And you don't need a million followers on YouTube to get that connection. Yes. Is it work? Absolutely. But if you don't want to do a long video, you could be taking those short reels, you could be making shorts out of them, and then you could send them back to your YouTube page and you have links underneath your bio there that they can go find your Etsy shop. Right? Or you explain, hey, we were just talking about this. So I made this little notebook, okay? And I'm going to be teaching my viewers how to make a little notebook like this. So what could I do? Lizzie and I were talking about this beforehand. Could I sell kits? So YouTube gives you a free platform to show somebody. This is how you make it. Now buy my kit on Etsy. It's. It's so easy. So I totally see that happening. People want to buy from people that they, number one, relate to. And if you're never putting any video content out there, it's really hard for people to relate to you. Right? So me and you relate together because we can see each other we can talk to each other. We have our Marco Polos that we can send back and forth to each other. It's like a little video walkie talkie. But people want to relate to you. And that's where social media comes into play.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And.

[Julie Oxendine]

And that's a lot of people will not go onto Facebook, but they'll go onto YouTube. They won't go to TikTok, but they'll go to YouTube. They feel like it's a safer platform because they're choosing what they watch, they're choosing who they follow, and they're not seeing all the junk in between. They're not seeing the political post from Uncle Harold, you know what I mean? And the. And the other stuff that's going on in the world that they're like, I'm so sick and tired of this, I just want to make some. And you know, when our washer and dryer goes out or my husband was fixing something in our hot water heater, he goes to YouTube instantly. He doesn't go to Facebook. He doesn't go to Pinterest. What man goes to Pinterest? I don't know. Maybe some do. He doesn't go to Instagram, he goes to YouTube. So YouTube is not only like one of the number one search engines, it's like number two after Google, I believe. But it is a place where you can develop that relationship and people trust you. And if they trust you, they're going to buy from you. And so they're going to say, oh, I can go to Etsy because I trust Etsy. Etsy. It's a great. It's a great way to get out in front of people. And I really want to tell you this is that I see in my own experience that people who have smaller channels on YouTube, I feel like they get better traction than I do. They just do.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I have about 13,000 and I'm still making at least like 600amonth from YouTube from the views. And it sends me a ton of traffic. Like it. YouTube alone probably made me somewhere between 30 and 40k last year on just

[Julie Oxendine]

sending me on 13,000 subscribers.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And that, that was more recent. Like, I had some things kind of take off in the last month or two. So, I mean, that was when I had like eight or 9,000.

[Julie Oxendine]

Right. And you have to realize that YouTube is like real estate. Once you put that video out there, it's out there.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yep.

[Julie Oxendine]

So people might say, oh, that was five years ago, but they're still watching it and they're going down to your links in your description box and they're going to go purchase that that item, right? But absolutely. YouTube is a great way to go.

[Lizzie Smiley]

You guys know I am constantly testing strategies and frameworks on Etsy so I can tell you what's actually working and what's just noise. And one thing I have noticed over the years is this. Most Etsy sellers aren't stuck because they're lazy or they're not doing anything. They're stuck because they're second guessing everything. What to work on, what matters right now, whether they're even on the right path. I hear this all the time and that feels exhausting. So after years of teaching Etsy sellers through courses and workshops, the trendspotting membership coaching and this podcast, I built something that brings everything together in one place. It's called Scaling Society. Scaling Society is my all inclusive Etsy membership for sellers who want clarity and a clear plan without hopping between programs or wondering what to focus on next. Inside, you get my Etsy seller roadmap so you know exactly what to work on and when with direction on what resources will help you master it. You also get every single one of my courses and my workshops. You get access to trendspotting and the weekly trend reports my template drop, which means a weekly template that you can resell in your own shop. SEO training, a bunch of done for you resources like prompts, SEO and branding templates. You get a coaching group with real support and that's where the magic happens. You also get access to two live coaching calls with me every single month. You'll also get automatic access to all of the new trainings and resources I have planned for this year, including special guests. It's designed to meet you right where you're at, whether you're brand new or you're ready to scale and help you build intentionally instead of guessing your way forward. And honestly, the biggest feedback I hear from members isn't just about sales. It's relief. They finally know what to focus on. So if Etsy feels harder than it should, if you're putting in effort but you want more clarity and direction, or if you're ready to treat your shop like a real business and have actual support behind you from people who know what they're doing, you can learn more about Scaling Society at the link in the show notes. There's monthly and annual options and you can cancel anytime. So just pick what's right for you. I'd love to support you inside. I'm still so excited about that. Okay, so we're going to drill down on YouTube. In the. In my Scaling Society membership, it's going to be like the private member podcast. We're going to talk super strategy, because I think it sounds incredible, and I think the potential. I just had never thought of that. I think the potential is huge. I should have thought of that because that's literally what you did with Reeds.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

We're going to go into, like, the nitty gritty over there. What was the number three platform that was that you think is really good?

[Julie Oxendine]

Facebook. Okay.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And this is where we should talk about Facebook groups for sure. Right. I'm so. I'm so curious about this.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah. When I started on Facebook, it was probably about maybe a year and a half after I started my Facebook page, I started a Facebook group with some friends of mine who are also wreath makers. And that group grew really, really fast. One of the things that I did at that time when. When I started that group was I started putting out my first digital products. And back then, I've been doing this for 10 years. Cannot believe it's been that long. But about eight and a half years ago, I started coming up. Previous to this, I had been coming up with some techniques that nobody was doing in the wreath world. Petal folds. I did a Christmas tree tutorial that is now copyrighted and all this stuff. So basically what I did is I came up with techniques, and I'd be in these Facebook groups and people would be like, you've got to tell us how you did that. I just like, nope, I don't have to tell you how I did this. Because I felt like I had so many people wanting to know how to do something that I feel like it was the Lord for me personally telling me, no, you do not have to tell them how you did that. You don't have to give everything away. Right. Because enough people wanted to know how to do it. So I made a video. I had a dear friend said, julie, you need to make a video and sell it. And eight, have your son, like, make a video and sell it. She said, yes, it was the best decision I ever made because that's when I broke the wall or the ceiling, so to speak of my hands could physically only make so many reads a year and ship them out and do all that. That was exhausting. There was a ceiling on the amount of money I could make with that unless I brought somebody in and then had to pay them. When I added that digital product, I went from here to here instantly, because the. The people that bought the first one, every time I Put out another one. They were an instant buy. It was an instant add to cart. And so back then, Facebook groups were really popular as well, and they're still popular. And Facebook is really pushing the whole community because what does Facebook want? They want you to stay on their platform. So they really stress the community probably a little bit more so a few years ago, but they're. I feel like they're doing another resurgen of it. So that's where I would like really put all of my time and stuff in as I'd be posting and oh, you want to see how to make it buy this tutorial. And that's where, I mean, I made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling these tutorials. So it's just a really good way. It also kind of develops a community outside of your Facebook business page of where people like, if they love to do what you do, you can kind of share tips and tricks. I also have, you know, you can even turn that into a paid group. Like both me and you have. I have Julie's Biz Boutique and I teach people. We do a lot of social media training over there, but I teach creatives like me, how I started and where you can get to. Right. And it's just a great way to do it. I would do a Facebook business page plus a Facebook group and I would keep that Facebook group. I would keep it public. You are going to come up against a lot of spammers, so you're going to need to, you're going to need to tighten up those settings for the admin side of things. Unless you're getting a paid group, then you need. That needs to be private, of course. But that way if you want to share links to whatever it is that you are selling, great. Leave the links in the comments, don't put them in the post. But also, yeah, you don't want to put the links. I mean, sometimes I get lazy and I put them in the post. But yeah, you want to, you want to train people, go to the comments. Wow. But you also need to be using automation and that's a whole nother subject. If you are not automating on Facebook and Instagram, you're losing money. It's a way to get engagement, but it's also a way to get behind the Facebook algorithm and send them a link to wherever it is that you are selling or you want to take them to. If you if it. For me, most cases it's, I want you to go watch this YouTube video. Right. So it's just a way to get that into their inbox. Now, they don't have that for groups yet. I foresee that that might become a reality eventually, but it's just really a wonderful tool. The other thing I wanted to kind of bring up here is that you can also, in a public group, you can also share affiliate links. Okay. And I feel like people kind of lose sight of, okay, I sell my products, I sell a digital product, but what about getting something back for all the supplies that you use and people you have that information? You go to Walmart for this, you go to Michael's for this, you go to Hobby Lobby for this. You know, wherever it is that you're purchasing from, you need to make a commission off of that because you are. If you're not taking. Using affiliate links, you. You are giving Walmart free money, you're giving Michael's free money, you're giving Target or whatever free money. And it's just another way to kind of cash in on your hard work. I mean, I don't want to, for instance. Okay, I'll just kind of leave it at this. Walmart slash their commissions from December. Going into January, they had their commissions around 17% for their highest settings because they wanted, you know, whenever I share a shirt on from Walmart, I, I make money from it. Right. And then they said, okay, starting December 28th after the holidays, we're slashing those commissions down to point 089.

[Lizzie Smiley]

No.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah, that's what they did. And so they basically took the month of January off. But yet I'm still getting the email saying, hey, share this, share this. No, I'm not going to share it. You want to know why? Because you're not getting on my platform for free. You need to share that Commission. So on February 1st, they gave us back our commissions. And people do that. They'll kind of go up and down.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Really? That's so slimy.

[Julie Oxendine]

If you're not.

[Lizzie Smiley]

It's just not a good look.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah. If you're not familiar with an app called Mavely, that is an app everybody should be getting because you do not need a huge following to get those affiliate links from Walmart, Home Depot, Target, Ulta.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Is it like a. Like to know, but it's a different brand.

[Julie Oxendine]

Okay. Think of it as a like to know, but easier.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay.

[Julie Oxendine]

M, A, V, E, L, Y. And I think it's dot app. But I have, I have the actual app on my phone and I love it because I can keep track. I can make. You can make links really easy and you can keep track. It's like a little game in my mind. I can see what I'm making off of that glue gun or a shirt that I got from Walmart. And people, again, it's all about relationships. So, yes, we need to send people to Etsy. Right. But you're developing this relationship with social media. Why not make money on the things that you use daily? Right. I mean it, that's the way that marketing works. You know, you get people to their platform, they need to give you a little kickback because you sent them there.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah. And people are going to ask you anyway. A lot of times now you do

[Julie Oxendine]

need to disclose it's your affiliate link. You know, you don't, you don't want to be slimy and be like, oh, this is not my affiliate link. When, when everybody knows it is. But that's where Facebook public groups, you need it to be public to share those links in those groups. Does that make sense?

[Lizzie Smiley]

No.

[Julie Oxendine]

So if your group is private, I'm, I guess more so Amazon than maybe Walmart. Amazon's a real stickler for this. If your group is private and you share a, an affiliate link in that group, you can lose your Amazon affiliates because public space. So Amazon and a lot of these companies, if you're going to use an affiliate link, we need it in a public space space so everybody can see it. So you don't want to be sending your friend my Amazon link. Go buy something. You know, that sort of thing. You, that's kind of like slimy when you, when you know somebody's going to make a purchase and you send it over the phone, you text message it. Right. So it needs to be in a public forum, like a public group or on your Facebook business page. Does that make sense?

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah.

[Julie Oxendine]

If it was a private group. It's not available for everybody. You're only saying it's available for certain number of people and they want it to be above board.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Oh, interesting. So I, my mind could go so many different, like, directions with that. I mean, I don't have like an ethical debate, but I'm just like, you're like taking money away from Amazon. It's not like I'm taking money away from my friend. They'd probably rather I get a cut from Amazon. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's just kind of, it's kind of weird. But then when I think about it, I have, I'm an Amazon affiliate and anytime I'm an Amazon and I'm going to send a friend a thing, I always say, not the, not the right.

[Julie Oxendine]

You can't.

[Lizzie Smiley]

The affiliate link, it's. It feels weird to me to do that. So I don't know. It's just. It's just strange.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay. Can I ask a different question?

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

What do you think about faceless accounts? Like, people who are like, thinking, okay, maybe one of these would be good. Now Pinterest just naturally kind of does that, but YouTube or Facebook or if they were going to go look at Instagram also, I would love for you to talk them out of Instagram. Maybe. I don't know. I know that people go look up. The first place I look up a brand is on Instagram. So I get that for brand awareness. I just think it can be a soul suck. And it's the hardest platform, in my opinion, to build.

[Julie Oxendine]

I totally agree with you.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I think a lot of people. And let me just. I don't even know if there's no, like, wrong way to do all of this, guys. Like, I always want you to never feel trapped in my personal opinion. Here's what I see. I work with thousands of Etsy sellers and there are certain things that burn them out. Social media is often one of them. So all I'm asking is get to like 500 sales first, start building an email list, and then start building your own brand if you want to. I just think that if you try to do all of it at once, you're going to quit before. Right before you hit it, because you've burnt yourself out. But I know a lot of, A lot of people in this space, a lot of creatives sometimes feel like. I know I ultimately need to scale to social media. That's the place I'm at. That's the step I'm at. But I really don't want to show my face. I'm not trying to become part of, like the melee that is social media, which I really understand. Talk to us about that. Julie. Is it feasible to. To go faceless? What could that look like? Or would you totally suggest against it? I don't know. What do you think?

[Julie Oxendine]

Well, that's such a hard one. I. I know, but I understand the point of wanting to be faceless because I was faceless for a very. For probably three years. People. People didn't know what I look like. They'd see my hands, but they didn't know what I looked like. They didn't. You know, my profile picture was always a wreath and my banner page on Facebook was always wreaths. And I didn't, at the beginning, didn't really feel like it was necessary to brand my content with me. I kind of did that a little bit later than I probably should have. I think that we see so many negative things happen on social media as well that it makes us a little scared. And I think that sometimes you kind of have to get out of your own way. Most people are not going to be mean to you. I think it's. I think it's our own insecurities. I feel like if you show up in an authentic way. Here's what I don't like when I see social media and I know you spot it as well and everybody else spots it, is when somebody gets on like TikTok or Instagram, because Instagram is very. Everything needs to be aesthetic, right? And I feel like they get on there and they're acting like every other influencer on the page or on that platform and it gets annoying. Like, we're talking with their hands and we're like doing this and you know. Yeah, we're doing. You know. And I'm just like, did your mama raise you to be that way? Really?

[Lizzie Smiley]

That's your personality?

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah. Is that really who you are? Because it looks like you're just trying to copy everybody in this esthetic. And I am thinking of a creator that I have seen and she comes in my for you feed on Instagram and TikTok and she is the most inauthentic person I've ever seen. She's trying so hard to be somebody else and people roast her in the comments because of it. So here's what I need to tell you. The first time I went on Facebook Live and I did a Facebook Live, I had never done one. I was ready to throw up before I started it. I just decided, okay, everybody's doing it. I need to do it. I just. I just knew I needed to do it. And I went and I went from having about 8,000 followers to about 18,000 followers in about two days time span. Because I went live and people Julie's lives and they were just sharing it all over social media. It was awful. It wasn't even the right aspect. Right. And I was live and 1700 people were watching me and people were sharing this and sharing this. Just teaching you how to make a fabric wreath. It was not a big deal. Then I started doing it more and I got more relaxed. Had I. Was I showing my face? No. Was I showing my body? No. But it got me more relaxed. And you know what? People weren't as mean as I thought they were going to be. Then I started Showing my face. And people would be like, oh, a face with the hands. You're so pretty and I'm not, or you're so this or you're so that. And people are able to make a relationship. That is the core with social media. The fundamentals of a good social media platform is building a site that people want to come back to. Oh, I want to see what Julie posted today. What funny meme did she post today? What is she going to share. Share with us in a reel or TikTok on how to make whatever it is, or in my case, how's her son doing? She has another reel about her son. Right. And people are more willing to spend money with you when they can connect with you. Yeah. And I'm not. And I'm not saying that to put it out there like you need to show your face so people will buy your crap. Not. Right. I'm saying when people trust you and you're a genuine human being and you're not acting like 5 million other wannabe influencers out there. Right. They love you because the way that you talk or the way that you put something together, or the way that they. That you might remind them of their grandmother or their sister or their mom that passed away, or the. Or the memories that they connect with. So I really feel like, yeah, you can do a faceless account. I think it's 10 times harder than doing one with your face. Now, the. The bigger my brand has grown, I really. I have to put my face on stuff. My face is on my Pinterest pens. My face is on my YouTube. My face is on social media content because everybody likes to copy the way I make a YouTube thumbnail or the way I do an Instagram post. And that's okay. What, what do they say? Imitation is the highest form of flattery. So, yeah, that's okay. If I can inspire you, that makes my day. But when I put my face on it, their face doesn't look like me. And what I see, especially with people in my group, is they're starting to put their face on their stuff. And again, it's that connection. It's kind of hard to connect with a faceless profile and just static posts and where people don't hear you talk or speak. I mean, like I said, show your hands, make something. Show your process. If you don't want to show your face, that's okay. But, but, but give your voice. Your voice is who you are. Your craft is who you are. And adding your face into it, I think you'd Be surprised how it's not as bad as you think it is.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I, I just want to tell people, like, if it's really not for you, it doesn't have to be. I mean, you don't. They're exactly.

[Julie Oxendine]

You don't have to do it. People build empires without doing that. And it's just, you know, it's all probably depending on the niche you pick. It's all depending on what you have to offer. I mean, if you have an amazing digital product that everybody wants, then great. But I think those are fewer and far between than if you put yourself out there and people want to make that connection.

[Lizzie Smiley]

It's the scaling piece. It's like, here's the thing. There's going to be. There's like levels of entrepreneurship that you need to grow through. There's nothing that says that yours. You get to pick where you stop. Do you know what I mean? But a lot of us, if you're like me, I can't even envision where the top is right now. Do you know what I mean? Like, I'm going to keep growing and changing and evolving and, and stacking skill and all of that. So I think, you know, you start with the Etsy, you start keep it simple with the Pinterest, and then maybe you start with some faceless content, especially if you can do maker kind of things. Like, you know, I remember it was a few years ago now, but I'm sure it's still a huge thing. There was that Mrs. Dutchie on TikTok and she made Tumblrs.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yes, people.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And she would make it in front of you. Like you got to watch her make and she'd ask you questions about it and like she'd be on there for hours. And she made so much money because people only wanted a Mrs. Dutchie. Whatever. I don't know if that was her name, Tumblr, because they got to. That was crazy. And, and this lady, this, this was not a Polish.

[Julie Oxendine]

I know who I know about. No, but what the connection that she made was that personal connection. She made a connection, wanted to see, to feel seen and heard and valued. Is she wanted her customer to be happy. You know, right there. I mean, how many times do you see reels where. Oh, so and so just made an order. Let's fill their order. And they'll, they'll share their comments.

[Lizzie Smiley]

They're so cute.

[Julie Oxendine]

I know. So it's like, I mean, Facebook is coming up with AI profiles just to be your friends on Facebook. It's unreal. People are Friends with AI because marrying it, Julie.

[Lizzie Smiley]

I mean, this is.

[Julie Oxendine]

I know, it's crazy. I mean, AI has its place in its usefulness, and there's some scary stuff about it, too. I also want to. Okay, I know I'm getting off the topic here. It's driving me nuts with the amount of crafting. And I'm talking about the crafting world, the crafting pictures that bloggers are coming up with, and Pinterest pins that are totally A.I. now, not everybody is knowing that it's A.I. but I can spot it 10 miles away. And they're posting it on social media as if. Make this wreath. I'm sorry, Susie. I can't make that wreath that perfect because there's no mesh that. That even exists that perfect. There's no ribbon that has absolutely no crease in it. And everything is placed in such a perfect way. And they're selling their blogs over on Pinterest and social media, and then they pop into my group with somebody saying, how do I make this wreath? I'm like, you don't make this wreath. I can give you the tools and a tutorial on how to make my. That wreath. But my wreath will never look as good as that wreath because it's AI is AI. And it's just like, okay, that's just false advertising in my book. And it gets me frustrated because you've got all these. The different generations play a role in here, but they think, oh, how can I do that? You can't do that. You can't make something so perfect like AI makes it. Right. So that is like another soapbox that I have that. It just kind of really frustrating with me. But yet use AI in an ethical way. Don't, like, take a product and make it up with AI and then sell them a version that they can never make from that. Does that make sense? Like an account? Yeah. So I feel like there's dangers with that as well, but I know I just got off on a little.

[Lizzie Smiley]

No, but I'm actually glad you said that because this is one of the reasons I entered the AI conversation. I am actually usually very averse to. I'm like a slow adopter of technology, typically, so this was an area I had to force myself to grow. But I knew this was going to get so unethical and so gross that I was just like, I'm going to. And I will tell you what, the only time I get hate on social media is when I talk about AI. Yeah. They're like, I thought you were a crafter. You were O.G. i'm like, yes. And because I'm that and because I am trusted for that, I want to be part of this conversation because it's here whether we like it or not. And it's going to eat us alive if we don't stay on top of it. So we have to stay informed. We. You can't ignore hard conversations because you want them to go away.

[Julie Oxendine]

Absolutely.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And so I love it. And I love talking about because, like, that was something I didn't even realize was happening. Do you know what I mean? Because I'm so knee deep in the. In the digital space right now. And we're always talking about if you're using AI to create, well, you know, ephemera for scrapbookers or PNGs or stickers or whatever it is, there is an ethical and an unethical way to do it. And I like to talk. So I'm actually thrilled you brought that up because it's just exposing another layer I didn't know about.

[Julie Oxendine]

And too, AI is a great tool. If you don't. If you sit back and say, I am not having anything to do with AI, good luck in growing your business.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Right. Yeah.

[Julie Oxendine]

Unfortunately, this is growing in such a rapid pace that if you don't know how AI works and use it to your benefit, I mean, make. Make tasks easier than they need to be. Right, Right. Our kids grow up in such a different world with AI versus when we were kids and all we have is encyclopedias and going to the library and getting the little note cards. I don't know if you're as old as me, but.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah, no, I mean, like, the Game Boy was as techie as we got.

[Julie Oxendine]

But I just think it's really. It's like, use it with discernment. You know, anything we do, we needed to use discernment. But I'm not going to be all against it. I'm not. I'm not like black or white. I'm like, okay, I use it for this and I use it for that. But yeah, I'm not going to use it to pretend take pictures of your wreath. I just made this on YouTube. Here's the picture. And that's not what I made. My hands did not make that product. Now can I take ideas and say, I can make that. Will it look as perfect? No, but I can tell you how to make something like that. So, like, for instance, I was on AI the other day and I me and you were talking about a digital product that I'm trying to come up with and to bring together. And AI is great. Kind of like telling you the tools, okay, this is how you do it on Canva. These are the apps that'll be really helpful. This is what you need to do. Those are the kind of things that I'm doing. And one of those things was have you ever done. One of the ideas was have you ever printed on tissue paper, you know, the tissue paper we put in gifts?

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yes, you.

[Julie Oxendine]

One of the things I've done the last couple years is mod podge napkins onto like surfaces. And it's just a really cool tool. But when you use like the white tissue paper and you put you. You print something on it, you can print it on your printer. And so it brought a whole new idea I had never heard of. And honestly, I'm not seeing it on social media. I'm like, oh, that's another idea for me to show people how to craft, how to create. Over in Canva, maybe the design you wish you could have. Instead of trying to hunt all the home goods in your area for a certain napkin so then you could have it, you can make your own and then have the design on a little dish or a little sign or a little ornament, you know, instead of spending a bunch of money. And this is a way to do it over on Etsy too, is okay, people want these ornaments with a Chanezerie theme. I love chinozerie. Did I say that right? I don't know.

[Lizzie Smiley]

It's pretty, pretty close.

[Julie Oxendine]

So I kept seeing all these different online vendors who were selling them, and I'm like, I don't want to pay 12 bucks for one ornament. So I figured it out and I use these napkins, but now I can print whatever I want to print and it will make the, the process a little bit faster. But yeah, there's, there's so many things that you can use AI to help you get to your end goal, which is whether it's a digital product or how to, how to achieve the look you want and where it tells you how to make that happen digitally or crafting wise or maybe different mediums as in paint and textiles that you didn't know of before, and it may help you find those on the Internet. So it's a great tool.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, we are gonna go continue this conversation behind the scenes over in Scaling Society. We're gonna dig into YouTube strategy because that is a whole new one. Before we do that, tell us how the. The gosh, how much your membership, Julie. Because some of them really could dig into more of this social media and would really benefit from being in there with you.

[Julie Oxendine]

I love what we have built in Julie's Biz Boutique. We've been around since 20, I want to say 20, 22. Yeah, it'll be four years here in about a month. But basically I wanted to bring a different, a different approach to all these online business coaches. Right. And they're telling you how to do all the different things business wise. And yes, we go through that, we go through emails, we go through, you know, automations like mini chat and different things like that. We cover those things. But one of the reasons that all my members are in this group is Julie has built over on my platforms. I have over 2.3 million followers. So they want to know how did you build those platforms? How did you, you know, make it so that your income is the main income in your family? How do we do that? And what I like to do, like for instance tomorrow our training is what's trending in social media. So every few months we go and I go through each platform and I say, okay, if you're not doing this right now, you need to start doing this and if you're doing this right now, you need to stop doing this. And so we go through each platform, we go through Etsy, we go through all of the different things. Now if you need help with that, so you stick with Lizzie.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Yeah.

[Julie Oxendine]

If you need help with social media, if you want to know how you know Julie, how did you get brand deals, you know, sponsorships, how do you do the affiliate link things, how do you do all the social media posting, how do you do all that? Those are all things that I've done personally myself. Do I have a team now? Absolutely. But I still know how to do it and I teach you how to do it. So we do four monthly meetings and a membership is 47amonth. You also get access to all of the last four years trainings. Now we've, we've, we've redone some of those trainings because, you know, you gotta redo the Facebook and the Pinterest and the YouTube to kind of go with the current times. But yeah, that's what we do. We have a great community on Facebook and I just love to see my people succeed. I've got one lady who started with no YouTube platform, the social media, I think she had a little bit, but she just passed a hundred thousand followers on Facebook. She's over 40,000 subscribers on YouTube and she started it all just a couple years ago. Started in Julie's Biz Boutique. So I just, I'm so proud of her. Her name is Holly Hobbies, if you want to check YouTube. But yeah, that's what we do. And I would love to have anybody who loves you, I think they'll love me, let's be honest.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Oh, I think so. Yeah. And we just have very different. A very different expertise. You know what I mean? Like, I am going to show you how to get the baseline going on Etsy. I'm going to show you how to scale that Etsy shop, all of that. But when it. I don't have any content in right now about social media. That's not something I talk about. I asked you. I'm in Julie's Biz Boutique for that reason. So I think when people are at that point of scaling and need to learn, I want them to go to you. For sure. They're going to learn it ethically, they're going to learn it very detailed, very click by click. You're keeping it really simple and understandable. It doesn't feel over people's heads. I really like that.

[Julie Oxendine]

Yeah.

[Lizzie Smiley]

And then where you're everywhere. Where would you like to. Where should people connect with you or follow you?

[Julie Oxendine]

Okay. Julie's Wreath Boutique. That's the name everywhere. Julie's Wreath Boutique.com Julie's Wreath Boutique. Teak. On Facebook, on TikTok, on YouTube, on Instagram, on Pinterest. It's the same name and it doesn't change, so I'm easy to find to be sure.

[Lizzie Smiley]

Okay, thank you so much, Julie. This was amazing. I'm excited. We get to keep chatting and everybody for listening and I hope you're excited. I think this was like, actually we totally didn't even go through the things I talked about, but we. This was so meaty and helpful and I think a good. A good groundwork. Okay, so we'll see a couple. See a lot of you guys over in scaling society to continue the conversation. For everyone else, thank you so much for hanging out with with us today. I hope you feel like you're walking away with really good, tangible ideas and advice. And until next week, go make something awesome. We love you guys.

[Julie Oxendine]

Bye.

[Lizzie Smiley (Podcast Host Outro)]

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 blank 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.