Creating a Brand That Lasts

What's in a name?  Those of you who know the Zadoodle brand, as humble and small as it is, most likely associate it with vintage: vintage store, vintage blog, vintage sheetmusic.  I like that it also conveys the quirky side of my personality.  But maintaining an online vintage store is a huge endeavor, and I'm considering a reinvention of my Zadoodle persona, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on branding. 

Confessions of a Twitter Junkie

When I first signed up with Twitter (find me here)I didn't consider the repercussions of what I was doing.  At first it seemed like a popularity contest: how many followers could I collect?  So I started to follow people in hopes that, in true Twitter-karma fashion, I would receive followers and perhaps drive traffic to my Etsy store.

Indeed, I sowed... and I reaped.  Slowly my followers grew, and I grew... excited.  50 followers.  Hey, that's neat.  100 followers.  Ooh, I'm in triple digits.  298 followers.  Come on baby, need to get 2 more for an even 300.  400 followers.  Right on!

Then all of a sudden my offline life superseded my online life, so I neglected to participate in a few #FF (for you non-tweeters, this is Follow Friday, the day of the week when you mention your friends and spread goodwill around Twitter, with the general expectation that harvest principles, aka karma, will come back to you in the form of more followers).

So anyway, after a week or two of non-activity, I discover I have 478 followers.  Hey, cool! I think.  Not too shabby, especially considering I've been schizo lately that I haven't really been able to nurture my online friendships in light of my offline life.  I decide to DM my new followers (this, again for the uninitiated, means to send a Direct Message) with a "thanks for following" message.

In the middle of my process of thanking my new followers, I suddenly notice that I am at 477 followers.

477 followers.  That's one less than 478.

That means *gasp* I have lost one.

Panic begins to set in.  Where could that follower have gone?  Where did I put him (or her)?  How could this have happened????

I begin to look at the list, as if somehow I would be able to tell which username out of nearly 500 was suddenly missing.  What did I do?  How did I offend?  How can I get them back???

This is, of course, a ludicrous train of thought.  I remind myself that I have un-followed people in the past, realizing that we don't share the same goals or interests.  For instance, in my naivete I have discovered that "Retro" does not always mean 1950s kitsch.  Sometimes a search for #retro conjures up foul-mouthed rap artists, and more often than I would have expected.

So my advice to all of you Tweeters, including myself... stop tweaking!  If someone stops following you, consider it a blessing that your network consists of discerning people who are not following you only to inflate their own numbers, but because they actually share common interests with you.

Tweet you later!

Learn to Juggle in Ten Easy Steps

I never learned to juggle oranges.  Somehow it earned a low ranking on the List of Things To Do in Life.  Oh, I entertained the thought from time to time, but never long enough to actually venture a trip to the fruit bowl.

What I did not realize early in life is that juggling would become one of the greatest skills I could possess.  Who woulda thunk that the same girl who listened to "Like a Virgin" and "Thriller" on vinyl would one day be a wife, mom, pet owner, writer, director, online seller (and therefore a) facebooker, twitterer, blogger, amateur photographer, marketing executive, sales associate, postal employee, CEO, CFO, office manager, butcher, baker, candlestick maker.

I made those last 3 up. But I probably forgot some, so I'm sure it comes out in the wash.

So how do you learn to juggle in Ten Easy Steps?
1. Live in any developed part of the world in the present day.
2. Sign up for Facebook.
3. Get married.
4. Have a child.
5. Have another child.
6. Start a home-based business so you can be home with the kids.
7. Build your business while attempting to raise your children.
8. Promote your business on every website imaginable.
9. Begin to succeed at your business.
10. Blog about your business.

K.I.S.S.

keep it simple... susie.

Whenever I embark on a new endeavor (my husband has affectionately referred to them as "projects") I tend to go overboard.  I found some old sheet music at a garage sale and sold them... so I went on eBay and bought 700 to sell.  duh.  I still have at least 670 left.

The problem my little online shop developed was that it became lopsided.  If I listed all of my sheet music, no one can see anything else I have to offer.  So I had the brilliant thought to open a second Etsy shop.  I hardly have time to market the first, let alone open, maintain and market TWO SHOPS!

I have actually become inspired by the plethora of sheet music and records I have, so I am abandoning my 4 day-old music shop on Etsy and moving my 7 humble items into Zadoodle.  The good thing about my name, zadoodle, is that it could mean anything so I am open to many options.  Many of my sheet music I will use for decoupage and framing projects, selling many pieces for scrapbooking projects, and selling others individually as I have been doing.  I just have to incorporate the items into my art so I can start to make a dent in the pile...s.

Back to work.

So back down to one shop.  Hallelujah.

It's All About Who You Know (Rather, Who Knows You...)

I was doing so well.  I was Twittering (or is it tweeting?). I was blogging.  I set up a Facebook fan page.  I linked my online shop to twitter and FB.  Now I check in the Forums at Etsy and find a list of TWENTY-FOUR networking sites to connect to in order to build my "online presence." It's a great list, find it here.

Now, before I start looking at the cup as half-empty, I must remember that I have been working my new business less than a week, so one day at a time, right?  So if I set myself up on one new site every day, within a month I should be done with the list.  Or maybe I'll give myself more time. Or maybe I won't.

This is my thought process.  Aren't you glad you're not a fly on the wall of my skull?  Who wants to listen to THAT all day?

There is so much to remember to have a successful online business.  You have to build your product.  You have to build your clientele, and you have to build an offramp on the information superhighway leading potential buyers to your door!

My brain hurts.