Marketing!

Wow. That's all. Wow.

My friend Mary told me straight out: "Keith, you're a terrible businessman." She wasn't wrong, but I've been trying to improve. I have my little website, my Pinterest and Instagram business accounts, and a desire to not be smothered under hundreds of handmade books stacked in my house.

I'm getting hits on my website, but not in any volume, and so far no sales at joystreethouse.com. Luckily, I enjoy dicking around with my web pages. But I wonder about a lot of things:

• Do people not like my work?

• Is my work uncreative?

• Am I overpricing?

• Is my product photography sub-standard? (quite possibly!)

This is all typical Impostor Syndrome which many people would recognize. I didn't set out as a tiny business with the idea of making high profits - I just wanted people to use my books while I might make enough money to restock my supplies. Like many handmade sellers, I underestimated the amount of time marketing would consume, and how long I might have to wait for my first sale. I'd made a few sales on Etsy, but I really wanted to have my own website.

I've always made better sales while selling in person at art markets, but the ones I can afford are rare - booth fees and requirements for selling at the bigger markets make them difficult. I am a small business with a small volume of products. Everything I sell is made personally by me during time away from my 8-5 day job. If I show up to a sale with 50 items I would consider that a good day.

So far the whole enterprise has been a hobby, as I have spent much more getting set up than I have reaped in sales. But I would like to get more of my books into people's hands so they can be used and enjoyed.

One YouTuber I have watched with interest has been Deborah Engelmajer of Tizzit.co.

Her advice appears sound and she has an engaging video presence, so her advice is easy to absorb. Doubtless there are a hundred others giving advice on YT. On the other side I have found the Pinterest instructions difficult to follow, although their customer service is excellent. Answers to questions I should have found easily on their FAQ were not there, which led me to a lot of fumbling about.

So marketing for me has been rather a slog, but I continue to plow through miles of web pages and kilometers of advice, searching for the golden apple of success. Please forgive the mixed metaphors!

Onward! Excelsior!

Keith