Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Funny Search Terms

So I decided to look at my Google Analytics again today for odd search terms that got people to either my Etsy site or my main Luster Metal Works Site.

The one that popped out as being significant and unusual was “Dirty Dancing Dress”. That on its own is not such a odd term to search, the strange thing about it was that the search brought a total of 8 visits to my Etsy shop! And better yet, the average time the viewers spent in my shop was almost 9 mins. So it makes me wonder…should I actually make an item and entitle it Dirty Dancing Dress? I did get married up at Mountain Lake in Pembroke, VA which was where the outside scenes from Dirty Dancing were filmed.

After I began to write this, I decided to take a moment and look for some photos to share of my wedding day at Mountain Lake. Here I am with my hubby on 8-8-98 in my own “Dirty Dancing Dress”. My mind is now cranking and I think I have a few ideas for some jewelry items inspired by my wedding day! I can’t wait to start sketching!

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Monday, December 21, 2009

Holiday Orders OUT!

line I have been a very busy little elf lately! That is both a good thing and a curse. I am thrilled to be having such success thru my personal website, Etsy, and 1000 Markets. I have filled about 100 orders between the 3 locations in the last 2 months. BUT, as a mom of 2 small kiddos, it is hard to balance it all sometimes, especially right now.

Lately I have been finding myself dreaming of all the order I need to get done and wake up feeling anxious about how long it has been taking me to get them out the door. Under normal circumstances I try my best to get all items made and shipped within about 4 days, lately it has been more like 8 days. The delay has been because of sick kids, lack of babysitter time available, and just the juggling of priorities. Sorry to all of my friends and family, I have not even begun to finish your presents yet…

It has made me realize that I need to figure out a better system in order to grow my business. One step I will be taking is to actually get a small inventory made up of some of my more popular items. I will also be increasing prices in January to allow me to “buy” more babysitting time. I hope to use that time to create more one of a kind statement pieces as well as develop a new line of jewelry to debut in the Spring.

I have so many ideas for my shop, and just not enough hours in the day to do it! I want to thank all of you who have been a part of Luster Metal Woks this year and helped me get to where I am now!

Yea! My 250th Order on Etsy!

It was about 2 months ago that I reported my 200 order on Etsy….and now I am happy to announce my 250th! This time it was one of my signature pieces…the Vertigo Necklace. It is a necklace that features 2 hammered silver circles and 2 hammered copper circles on a silver chain. I love how the mixed metals look together!

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I have been open for business on Etsy for almost 22 months and I am thrilled to see how well everything is developing. My personal website, Luster Metal Works, is also taking off! There has been a nice steady stream of visits and sales in that shop as well. It always amazes me how people find my items.

I hope that this trend keeps up because I love what I do, and I love that you like it!

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Funniest Search Term

Okay, so I am a bit addicted to Google Analytics….son in honor of that addiction (or maybe to feed it more) I will start posting some of the funniest keyword searches that people used that actually landed them onto my site for the week.

This week it was soo hard to choose just one since there was a plethora of really funny ones, so I will pick the top 3!

3. Wibbly Woo ….I had to look this up just for fun, and it actually turns out to be something. According to the UK version of Encyclo Online, The `Wibbly Woo` is a legendary creature said to live in peat bogs in the North Of England. The creature is said to resemble a cow with flexible (or `wibbly`) arms and legs. The creature was first described by Thomas H. Robertson in the early 1900s following a visit to Chesterfield, although others have since claimed to have had encounters with the beast as far away as Keighley.

2. I’m so crafty I make people…okay. Well technically I am a mom so therefore I am crafty and make people. But it sure made me giggle as far as a search term went!

1. Grr Argh….Why does this get top billing you ask? Simple It is really an odd choice as a search string, and most significantly, it was used 3 independent times to land people in my shop! When I did a google search for “Grr Argh” it landed me on several things related to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and random cartoon sketch in the ending credits.

Well There you have it!