who can set up mad mimi for my shopify store

there we go hi everybody welcome aboard,this is hanging out with mad mimi i am,becca from mad mimi hour here every,wednesday at four pm hanging out with,awesome people um today we're joined by,michelle gallagher it was super cool and,runs but a million different great,businesses and tools that can help you,as an etsy seller to promote your,business and and run your shop in better,ways on Michelle thank you so much for,joining us hi hey Becca thanks so much,for having me I'm excited to be here,little is gonna be really fun um I guess,let's just start off the shell with but,you tell us a little bit about um what,you do and sort of how you got to all,these princesses that you run sure well,my main business is my craft assistant,and basically I started that because I,found I was having a lot of success,using web sites like Etsy and I wanted,to kind of help other people have the,same success I know a lot of people work,nine-to-five jobs you know when they,come home and they're very creative they,like to craft spend time with their,families and they don't necessarily have,the time you know or really want to,learn about things like search engine,optimization or how to advertise on,social media and things like that so um,I started my craft assistant to help,those people out and just give them a,way to really help there etsy businesses,grow without having to spend too much,time on it and from there just talking,to different sellers and finding out,what their needs were we started,creating other websites and tools to,help them based on their needs just to,help them get their businesses going a,little bit faster awesome that's super,cool so folks who are watching by the,way if you have any questions at all for,Michelle or for me or questions about,Etsy and selling on etsy feel free to,just hit that Q&A button it should be up,at the top of your screen there might be,a little grid up there somewhere you,gotta click first but feel free to type,any questions in and we'll answer,whatever comes our way um so Michelle,I'm a little bit curious how you got,into crafting in the first place where,that all start before you got into,crafting and marketing I've been,crafting as long as I can,room or so my earliest memory of,crafting is probably about the second or,third grade and it's funny because I've,always been crafting as a business so my,mom was really involved in the School,PTA and I remember her coming home one,night and mentioning that they were,looking for vendors for the holiday,crafts fair so I asked her I said you,know mom can I create something for the,holiday fair for people to come and buy,and she said yeah I think that would be,fine so I went out and I bought um my,beads and thread and everything and I,mean a bunch of necklaces and they put,them in the holiday fair and she came,home with something like seventy dollars,you know something that was really a lot,for like a second grader really,impressive yeah and I was just like,super excited about it and I was like,wow you know I can make stuff and people,will want to buy it so from there you,know I just had all these different,craft businesses throughout school and,after school I remember in high school I,got really involved in sewing and I,would make my own clothes and I would so,you know patches a fabric on my jeans,and I would split like the hems of my,jeans and put fabric in it to make like,really wide flares are you do the exact,same thing not your baby doesn't know,people used to always ask me like oh,where can we get jeans like that you,know and I'd be like oh you know I did,it myself and they would say well can I,pay you to do it for me so I used to,help other people they doing that you,know to their jeans and then I after,that I started like getting into crochet,and you know I would sell my scarves and,small stores and at craft fairs and,everything and then eventually you know,Iraq back around to jewelry and I,started selling jewelry online but it's,just kind of been like this progression,for me of like all different crafts and,just oddly they've all turned into like,small business ventures that's also my,load that that is sort of like a natural,progression for you that like you start,off being good at something let me help,other people be good at it is that sort,of what what led you to cream use these,businesses when you uh need to serve,your practices and stuff when did you,realize that you were awesome at this,and then you wanted to help people do it,yourselves too yeah well after a while,when I learned about etsy I thought you,know it was a great platform because I,had wanted a website or way to sell my,jewelry online but I didn't know,anything about creating a website or you,know when I started to look into it I,saw all different things about chocolate,hearts you needed an integration and it,was just very overwhelming so when I,found etsy it was just kind of like a,light bulb went off and it was like oh,this is a website that has a built-in,customer base and it's very easy to use,and I can start listening things online,and I started to do that and try,different things and you know I started,to get found by actual stores and you,know I had some of my jewelry ins in a,big department store for a while and,that you know worked out really great,and they found me through social media,and then I started learning all about,search engine optimization and how to,you know get found in search engines and,that was going really well and then a,light bulb kind of went off and I was,like wow you know this can be really,difficult for a lot of people and I just,happen to you know learn about it along,the way this would be a really great,opportunity for me to show these things,to other people who you know don't,really understand the internet or just,don't have the time to learn absolutely,and that's I think it's a really,important thing about etsy and about,what you do is that it sort of makes,things a lot easier for somebody who's,just starting out this was worth like,where do I begin you know what I mean um,what do you think it is about etsy in,particular like there are tons of online,marketplaces for things is there,anything specific to etsy that you think,is really special or really works for,what you do well I'd say has the largest,built-in customer base so it's the most,well-known and the most people use it so,I've used other online selling platforms,for crafts before but by far i found,etsy brings in the most customers so,that's the one i like to teach people,how to use because they're just going to,see more return for the time that they,invest in the site really um so now,let's go a little bit about handmade,newsletter which is um well why don't,you tell us about him a newsletter and,sort of what it does for Etsy sellers,and how you help them through this sure,so,one of the things that people ask me all,the time is about marketing and they,they ask me you know how can i market my,shop is there anything I can do besides,social media you know to let people know,that I'm out there and I know that for,myself I've had a ton of success with,sending out newsletters for my craft,assistant and I really wanted to help,bring that to you know Etsy sellers but,the etsy terms of use don't allow you to,contact past customers unless they,specifically opted into a newsletter to,receive communications from you the same,for people who you know favorite your,items you're not supposed to contact,them directly so we worked with that see,to find out what would be within their,terms of use and we came up with,handmade newsletter which is basically,once an etsy seller signs up we give,them their very own subscription page it,pulls in their etsy shop branding so it,kind of looks like an extension of our,etsy shop and it's a personalized link,with their shop name in it and they can,send people there we recommend that they,put it in their listings and their shop,announcement anywhere they can your,people to see it and then once customers,click into it they can you know sign up,for your etsy shop newsletter awesome it,sounds like it makes it tons easier for,subscribers to even know that they can,sign up in the first place which is I,think a very important step sort of,putting a sign up link right in front of,them is a great way it's a really good,exposure going yeah and we've also found,to that if the etsy seller offers like a,coupon code or something like that you,know they can say if you're if you'd,like a ten percent off coupon when,you're shopping today you know sign up,for our newsletter and that really gets,people excited and they sign up for the,newsletter they get the coupon code and,then you know you have captured that,email address for future marketing,totally how did you I'm curious as to,what made you realize the email,marketing and getting email addresses,was so important to your business how,did you sort discover that and start,harnessing it well I I listened to tons,of podcasts and you know I read business,books and everything and everybody was,saying you know newsletters are really,the way to go newsletter,the best form of marketing everybody on,your newsletter list has essentially,told you that they're interested in your,items or your product and you know then,you're marketing to them and you kind of,remind them that you exist and you tell,them what unique products are and I,really wanted to do it for myself and i,want to say was about two and a half,years into my craft assistant before i,decided to go ahead and put a newsletter,subscription box on my website and i,have to say that's the one regret that i,have running my business is that i,didn't do it sooner because it literally,completely turn things around anytime i,send out a newsletter about a promotion,i have going on or a new service or,sometimes I just like to send out you,know information about what's going on,with etsy to keep people informed no,matter what it is i always get people,replying and saying hey I saw your,newsletter and it got me thinking you,know maybe you can help me with this or,you know I'm having a difficult time,this is something you can help me with,so no matter what it is whenever I send,out a newsletter it always promised a,discussion with new people and and leads,to more sales down the line so I thought,you know if this really works for me I,bet it would really work for Etsy,sellers also absolutely and it sounds,like you do the newsletter is sort of,their white right the right way you know,you you talk about what what you're,doing and you know giving people,information about what they can get out,of you but you're also sharing relevant,but useful information about etsy itself,so it's not just shameless,self-promotion it's also really giving,your reader is something valuable to to,learn and pay attention to that a plus,thanks and that's well that's what we,tell Etsy sellers to you know if you,have say a jewelry shop you don't want,to just send out promotions about the,jewelry that you have in your store you,might want to send out something that's,interesting to the people who subscribe,so you know if there's a new color for,this season that's really interesting,you might want to tell them about the,new color or you know good ways to clean,their jewelry or fun ways to store their,jewelry and jewelry boxes or whatever it,is just to keep them interested you also,kind of make yourself like an expert in,the area by,showing you know that you know these,things and then they'll be excited to,open up your promotions every time you,send them absolutely and that really is,super important you know it's it's,getting people to open the mail in the,first place which will have them read it,find value in it and then click through,to your shop or to the relevant,information so it really is building,that kind of trust in that kind of,reputation of providing really awesome,stuff to read I can really go a long way,yes definitely are there any people that,you've worked with particularly who you,think are short of glowing examples of,success story and maybe somebody who's,etsy shop didn't really do much until,they started using hit maybes letter and,then boom it all went glorious or is,there and I think hand me newsletter is,about five weeks old so we have blown up,yet but um we have had a ton of success,with people actually signing up for,newsletters which I'm really excited,about so I think maybe around holiday,time when we are sending out newsletters,a lot I think that's when it's really,going to make an impact I think our top,shop right now is getting four to five,subscription today tomorrow nice,exciting so if you think of that you,know times you know 365 days in a year,you know they're going to have a lot of,newsletter subscribers when they're your,date comes around so that would that's,really exciting um and in terms of both,hand a newsletter and the crap assistant,that you do it what do you think some of,your I don't want me to give way to my,every secrets but what do you think are,some really key piece of advice that,you've given folks over the years that,that really seemed to work the best or,are good things to keep in mind for,people who are just starting out an Etsy,I think one of the most important things,that is often overlooked is to get set,up for search engines you know make sure,your shop is search engine friendly you,want to do that as soon as you can you,know I recommend people do that as soon,as they set up their shops but if they,haven't it's not too late to do it,search engine optimization it can take,six to eight months to fully take effect,in search engines for you know the,Google spiders to go through and pick up,all of the information that you put so,it's better to do it sooner,rather than later and you know once,you're fully optimized the results,really are amazing and it really helps,you target relevant people and get the,people that you want to your shop to,your shop so even though it can be,difficult you know don't stress about it,just take it one step at a time and just,make small changes and you know you're,really going to see a lot of the results,from that awesome yeah I know it can be,definitely pretty daunting I mean me,myself I remember trying to learn about,SEO and trying to research it on my own,and just getting kind of like confused,and lost and it takes a lot to sort of,go back and really get into it was there,anything that you used in particular,that to sort of learn about SEO and and,get yourself on that track or was it,just sort of trial and error um it was,just a lot of research about what works,what doesn't work I know Betsy has a lot,of great resources you know if you go to,the etsy forums or a bunch of SEO teams,and there's tons and tons of great,information there you can just read and,learn and you know make small changes to,your shop over time awesome we do have a,not exactly a question but um a comment,I'm just reminding you to talk about,your craft tools website want to tell,uphold about that too go for it thank,you so my craft tools is a site that we,came up with a lot of people will ask us,to do shop petite soeur to look into,their shop and more I've like in more,detail and what we found is that a lot,of the information that we really wanted,wasn't available to sellers until for,example a lot of people said to us well,I want to put more of my best-selling,item out there but I don't really know,what my best-selling item is know if,you've sold hundreds of items in your,shop it's kind of hard to remember well,how many of this item did I sell how,many of that item so um we developed a,bunch of tools like that where you can,go you can pull the top ten selling,items in your shop the top 20 selling,items in your shop just look at all of,your statistics in detail and all of,that information is free to pull and,then we also have a,another model that is our premium tools,that you have to buy credits for and,that gives you more functionality so,something like our bulk edit tool that,you can go in and actually doesn't have,a way for you to edit multiple listings,at once so for example if you want to,put your hand me newsletter link into,your listings and you have 300 listings,you need actually go through 300 items,so we have a bulk edit tool so I think,it's just two or three clicks and you,can put your aim a newsletter link into,all three hundred listings that is yeah,better don't know no thank you um can,you tell us about sort of how you build,these tools I think you you and your,husband work together is that correct,yeah my husband Justin he's our web,developer so yeah so I work on customer,service and I work mostly with my craft,assistant helping people but then as,needs come up and people express,frustrations about different things on,etsy I go to him and I say hey this is,the problem is there any way that you,can help us fix it and then he'll try,and build a website or a tool or,something you know that we can then turn,around and tell people look I know this,is a major frustration for you but look,we have this tool you know here go use,and I think this will help you out,amazing that's also very good do that,today clue that it kind of stressful,order that just worked beautifully the,way you two guys sort those things out,together it mostly works beautifully it,can be stressful sometimes but I think,that it really helps that there's a,division of duties and that you know I I,mostly talk to the customers and work,with them and then he's kind of behind,the scenes and we both have different,things that were really good at so I,think that really helps that's their,goal girl Hannah I'm a big fan of good,teams um so it would have made,newsletter um you guys sort of integrate,with with me me as well right you can,have folks add their subscribers to,their mad Mimi audience list is that,right yeah are our integration,manmini came out last week and basically,what you can do will one of the features,of hanley newsletter is when you sign up,for an account one of the things you can,do is you can specify some of the,different kinds of items in your shop so,again going back to jewelry if you sell,jewelry you can say on your subscription,page you know what items do you like in,our shop to like or rings do you like,your necklaces you like or bracelets and,the customer will check off the items,are interested in and then submit you,know the their email to you and you get,all that information behind the scenes,and now if we're having the integration,you can create audiences based on what,the customers likes are so you can go to,the backend of your subscription page,and say okay I have 10 people who are,really interested in rings I'm going to,make them into one audience you can make,them into the audience and hanmi,newsletter and that automatically goes,to your mammy me account which is great,because now if you have a newsletter,just about rings you're not going to,want to send it to the people who want,to hear about your necklaces units go,directly there and you know pull up the,people who said that they wanted to hear,more about your rings and market to them,that is such a beautiful feature or two,and you know it's it's nice as a,newsletter in the first place but being,able to segment your audience based on,what specifically they tell you they're,interested in is so great because it,really helps you sort of cut through any,excess stuff it helps you cut through,wasting any time with stuff that I,interested in it really helps you get to,the core of what what people want from,you and it helps you to provide them,what they want needs so it's really the,best way to your email marketing in the,first place is to really make sure that,you're giving people what they're asking,for and that's such a good way to,provide value to those who are already,use letters it really is beautiful ones,and seamless so that's such a cool,integration I'm so glad you guys did,that um awesome cool do you have any um,favorite maybe like tools or web apps,that you like to use besides you know,your own obviously which are awesome are,there any sort of things that make your,day just go by so much easier when,you're managing all these different,tools yeah it's funny because,we were talking about this before the,show you mentioned two and those were,the two that came to my for me google,calendar has been essential for me,basically what I'll do is I'll have a,project and I like to break it up into,multiple tasks and Google Calendar,allows me to you know identify what all,my tasks are and put them in certain,days and then you know at the very end I,can create an event which is the due,date for the task so it's a great way,for me to say ok well here's what I have,to do today this is what my day looks,like and I'd go through and get through,all of my tasks and I know if I get,through all of my tasks for that day,then I'm pretty much set up for the next,day and if I don't then I have to move,you know all the tasks that I have to do,down the line I think this is really,good for Etsy sellers as well because i,really encourage them all to meet goals,for themselves whether it's you know,having a certain amount of items listed,in your shop or having a certain amount,of sales per day or you know organizing,your social media better and then if you,have that big goal you can then break it,down into smaller tasks of ways to get,that goal achieved and then google,calendar will kind of help you plan that,you know and keep you on track which is,great and then the other tool which we,talked about HootSuite yeah I love that,too look it's essential if you do social,media media marketing because you can,you can organize your facebook twitter,and google+ all at the same time and you,know income everything also yeah and you,can write one thing and schedule it,across all of the platforms and you know,i'll schedule my social media out for a,week at a time and then I don't have to,worry about it again which is really,cool yeah it really is it's like super,important um and I love it but it's so,much because I chocolate um do you think,I'm just wondering sort of when people,are starting out with etsy shops do you,think they usually start out more as,sellers like they just know they have,stuff they want to share with the world,and they go to etsy to sell it or do you,think they start with websites first and,then get kind of,down and like CRM tools and stuff and,then moved to Etsy or do you think that,I'd see is sort of like where one goes,to sort of make that happen in the first,place um you know I would say probably,most people go to etsy first but I have,worked with people who do have websites,and also have etsy I think that the,people who I don't want to say that the,people who also have websites are more,likely to run you know their shops is a,business but I know that some people do,start there and then realize that,there's a lot of potential in etsy but i,think what etsy does is it gives the,people who don't have the ability to,create a website or just you know it's,kind of overwhelming for them it kind of,gives them a first step into it and then,along the line if they can go website is,something that they want to do then they,go from there so I I'd say it's probably,about fifty fifty it just really depends,on the person and you know what,experience they have coming into it,totally totally is there any sort of i,mean it all is definitely very,individual is there any sort of overall,approach to starring a tea shop that you,think tends to work better or is there,really just whatever works for each,individual person and their own products,do you think is more important i think i,think it really varies on the person and,the product like I talked to a lot of,people who come to me and they know,exactly what they want to do they say,hey I have a low low that i really need,turned into a shop banner and i have,professional photos taken and I know who,my target market is and I have all this,information and how can you help me with,this and it's like okay great we have a,direction and we're going and this is,what we're doing and then there's other,people who email me and they say hey I,crochet or you know I like to sew a lot,is there an opportunity for me and Etsy,and you know then we have will go,through step by step and I'll say well,can you send me photos of your items you,know how do you feel about listing them,online how many items do you think we,can get listed to begin with and you,know sometimes we'll we'll start from,scratch and will help them build a logo,and some branding and all of that so,it's really where you're coming from,what you're comfortable with you know,what you already have made or what you,know where you're looking,to go awesome that is sort of what works,with with newsletters to I mean for me,as a mad meeting person what I found is,that people who are just sort of,sticking true to what works for them and,sort of doing what is truest of,themselves always gets the most results,you know and if it's plumbing they're,comfortable with and when they're happy,with it tends to contends a show and it,makes it pretty clear so that's awesome,yeah and I've learned not to assume,anything you know everybody is so,different you just really want to hear,what a person's vision is and I like to,have people that a lot too well what is,your vision for your shot because you,know you can't assume that everybody,wants to sell a ton of items and put,their DNA job and do this full time some,people are just happy you know selling,the items that they've already made and,you know just have a small business and,that's fine too absolutely yeah yeah i,think it's it's not fair to assume,everybody wants to you know get stinking,rich and famous often you know some,people just like want to want to take it,pretty easy and just do what they're,happy with and I think that's not a bad,thing at all yes actually hates me,awesome I look like we do have another,comment just letting us know that if,anybody needs SEO just that is really,good um to get our friends website and,are they very happy so good job maybe,next time we can have you and Justin,together and we can all talk this means,very popular um thank you for the kind,words that Justin awesome so um do we,have any more questions from our viewers,today anybody have anything about I'd,see they want to ask or about the mad,media integration or anything like that,will be happy to answer um in the,meantime michelle actually wrote a blog,post for us at the mad meaning blog and,that will be up pretty much momentarily,i think later today it should be up so i,will send the link to that in our,follow-up email for our the whoa hang,outs and i'll also put it in the,description of this video once it goes,up on youtube so if anybody came in late,or wants to watch us again just check,out the Magnum eat email youtube channel,and you'll be able to see it all there,and,shall I will link to all of your many,awesome services until hey do you have,any more tools like sort of up your,sleeve that you're planning or is it for,now I think this is it for now we're,really concentrating on hammy newsletter,and i think that the next thing that we,want to do is talk to our users and find,out what functionality they think is,missing from the site and start building,more tools and building more things for,them on their awesome cool let's see,actually do have another question um,would it be possible for etsy to have,like a pop-up page to gather emails,that's a very good question i'm curious,about that as well I feel like it's,probably a no but yeah they don't have,anything in the works right now to do,anything like that I'd love to talk to,them and see if we can integrate am a,newsletter a little bit better to see if,we can make it even easier for people to,get people to sign up into etsy but,right now it's not anything that they're,planning totally yeah and that makes I,mean it makes sense i think that she has,a very sort of specific look and feel,they're going for and even if you can,personalize your own store a little bit,they want to keep us sort of rigid,outlook on things which i think makes,sense that it's fair but it's awesome,that you guys are able to talk to that,and sort of work on these things,together and sort of dance ideas back,and forth um very very valuable awesome,cool so Michelle do you have any sort of,parting words of wisdom for the people,who are looking at starting etsy shop or,who you know are curious about it in the,first place um if you haven't been to,etsy then definitely go look around at,different shops you like and you know,see kind of what look and feel you'd,want to go for if you're thinking of,starting a shock then really start to,think about you know what you would want,to sell if you have enough items to put,in a shop typically you'd want you know,maybe 10 items to start that's all you,really need to start and you can always,grow from there and one of the things,that I'm a real big believer in is don't,wait for perfection you know if you want,to do something if you want to start an,etsy shop then start it and modify it,along the way and you'll get there,eventually if you want to wait and you,know get your,a little perfect or your branding,perfect and we're waiting for the right,time it might never happen so you know,start now get it up and running and you,can always perfect it along the way that,is very good advice and also i will drop,in for more advice make sure to use,handmade newsletter so that you can,gather your ETSU sign ups and some in,newsletters and also I just wanted to,mention to we have a free trial going on,on the site right now so if you do think,it's something that you'd be interested,in and you want to give it a try you can,do it absolutely free there's no,obligation just go log in and we'll give,you a week free to try the site I'm,really confident that you'll love it but,I want to make sure you are so yeah just,go ahead and try it and there's a,Contact Us link right there on the site,if you have any questions at all just,contact us and we'll get back to you,awesome Michelle thank you so much that,is very generous i'm sure people are,going to love trying it out and once,they try it out they're gonna love it,it's such a great simple and easy and so,effective way to gather it signups it,really is a plus so awesome thank you,much Michelle um alright guys I think,that's about it for today if anybody has,any more questions feel free to comment,in the event page or shoot us an email,we're get in touch with Michelle via our,website which will be in the video,description once this is over all right,so I guess that's about it thank you for,joining us everybody Michelle thank you,so much awesome thanks for having me it,was so much fun alright have a great day,everyone thanks again hi

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