The Merriweather Council Podcast

In the past TEN years (oh my goodness, y'all), I've filled thousands of custom and personalized orders – and I've learned a ton! It's a whole different ball game to do that kind of work than it is to batch produce something and ship it once it's ordered, as I am sure you can imagine. That sort of work has a it’s own set of pros, cons, challenges and nuances, too. If you are considering offering custom work or personalization in your product line, I hope the insights I'm sharing from my experience will be valuable to you in making that decision and having some foresight to work with as you go. To get the full show notes and all the links mentioned in this episode, please visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/136 For a complete list of all episodes please visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast  

No matter what niche you are in, no matter what kind of product you sell... sales becoming sluggish or stalled sometimes is normal. ALL businesses have slow times. Just like all businesses have busy times! One of our goals here at Merriweather is to empower you to weather storms, deal with challenges and make progress even when things feel hard and I am hoping this episode does help you feel more informed and empowered. The first thing to do here: remind yourself, it's normal, and it happens.  Next, consider this a bit of a gift. We are all continually trying to find time for things, aren't we? I think most people are looking for some extra time on most days. Consider a slow spell, an opportunity to catch up on something that's been lingering, or a chance to explore something new that's been on your list. You might have tasks that have moved from one month's to-do list to the next several times already. Get those things done! Take the time and make it useful to you. Anticipate that things will not stay slow f

If you feel drained and overwhelmed by social - you are not alone, and there are plenty of reasons that might be the case. One of them is merely feeling clueless about what your audience wants to see from you. I know for a fact that this one question creates a ton of anxiety and lots of hurdles for handmade business owners who use social media with the hope of casting a wider net for their business and connecting with existing fans and customers. What kind of content should you create for your social media and email audiences? What do your followers want to see from you on social, in their inbox, or wherever else you show up for them? The great news is this question has a straightforward answer. Your followers and audience members want to see you showing up as a confident, independent, capable, creative business owner. Better news: there are LOTS of ways to do that. There are many ways for you to show up and exude confidence, independence, and creativity on behalf of your business. For full show notes and all

Your business needs more than an Etsy shop the same way it needs more than an Instagram account.  Every business owner who uses Etsy should also build their own branded domain eCommerce shop. Full stop. That is one of the VERY FEW must-do things that universally applies. I say things like that a lot, in a variety of ways. I believe it is my thesis statement on business. Having an Etsy shop as part of your business is a brilliant move. Having a branded domain shop as part of your business is an essential move.  For more details on the what and how of this episode, or to find all the links mentioned please visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/133 For a full list of all of our podcast episodes and other free resources, please visit merriweathercouncilblog.com

We know that Etsy can be a powerful tool in your business, but only if you feel okay enough to give it a try and use it. That is, of course, the first step to making it work for you! Many Etsy sellers, would-be Etsy sellers or Etsy curious folks have heard loads of stories about Etsy that have thrown them off and discouraged them from trying.  Many current Etsy sellers also have concerns. We are hoping to address some of the most common concerns Etsy sellers have here today so that you can make a better decision for yourself and more effectively tap into Etsy's unique power and leverage it for your business on and beyond Etsy. As a reminder: we here at Merriweather see Etsy as a tool that you can use in your business, and we always encourage sellers to use Etsy in conjunction with a branded domain site. This means we see you first and foremost as a business owner, not just an Etsy seller. Additionally, we want to empower business owners to make decisions that suit them best. If that means not using Etsy at a

Getting out of our comfort zone is a choice. We can choose whatever we want. Comfort or discomfort. Go out and get it or not.  There is no wrong choice! We just have to accept what comes with that choice. If you apply this to your business, you can see the connection. You can choose to stay in your comfort zone or NOT.  You can choose to push yourself and break down the barriers you put up for yourself. Or, you can choose not to. If you placed a hurdle and you're unwilling to break it down, that's okay! But you'll have to accept that you won't be able to reach what's beyond that.  You get to decide, but it comes with owning the outcome of making that choice.  You get to decide what your experience looks like. For links mentioned in this episode please find our full show notes at merriweathercouncilblog.com/131 To see a full list of our podcast episodes, visit merriweathercouncilblog/podcast Find us on social @merriweatherc

Business There is a post on my blog from several years ago that gets so much traffic. It's honestly a little silly. By the way, this is also a shout out to the power of Pinterest.  90% of the traffic that post gets comes from Pinterest, and Pinterest is sending a lot of traffic to this post every single day for years. So, thank you, Pinterest. That post is titled four things I wish I had done in my first year of handmade business. The things in that post are still 100% relevant, and I still wish I had done them.  Even though this makes me feel old, I should mention that I started selling handmade products in 2010… When I started my handmade business, Instagram wasn't even a thing, so I COULDN'T have done a couple of things sooner, even if I wanted to. That being said, there are some things I should have done sooner or that I would do asap now if I were starting fresh. Tune in to hear about 4 more things I wish I had done during my first year in handmade business. For the links mentioned in this episode, visit

2020 threw us a lot of curveballs. Like, a LOT of curveballs. Ups and downs were happening faster than I think most of us prefer. Everyone's experience this year was different. But today, I want to chat about what it means if this was a good year for your business. If your business did well in 2020: own it. If your business did well this year, it's not 'just because of covid." There was a lot of uncertainty and misery for small business in 2020, no doubt. But there were also a lot of opportunities for businesses that were already established online, especially.  It might be true that people are online more than normal for a variety of reasons. It is ALSO true that If your business is doing well right now, it's not just because of COVID or because people are online more often. The success your business saw is not a random coincidence. For more information on the resources mentioned in this episode or to view the show notes, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/129 To see our full podcast lineup, visit: merriweath

Everyone wants to make sales, but no one wants to sell.  That's the short and sweet summary of what I have observed. It has also been told to me many times: "I hate selling; I feel salesy." Before moving forward, I want to preface this by explaining when I say "selling" in this episode, I am usually referring to the act of selling, the advertising/ marketing/ show-up-and-sell selling. The action the human person takes to make a sale. Not' selling' like, "my items are/aren't selling well." To be clear! EVERYONE wants to 'increase sales,' and almost everyone feels super intimidated by marketing or showing up in any sales capacity. No one likes that act of "selling" or having to be "salesy." Connect with me on instagram @merriweatherc For links and resources mentioned in this episode please visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/128 To see our full podcast lineup, visit: merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast

Welcome back to season 7 of the Merriweather Council Podcast!  We are so excited to be back for another season of realistic and concise advice for makers in business!  Everything we do here at Merriweather Council supports makers in turning their crafty tendencies into profits. For full show notes and links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/127   For more free handmade business advice, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast

Welcome back to season 6 of The Merriweather Council Podcast. ► If you are listening to today’s episode, screenshot and tag us on IG @merriweatherc! I truly hope you enjoyed this season of The Merriweather Council Podcast. It is such an honor for me and my team to be a small part of your business. We appreciate you tuning in! Today i am leaving you with a bit of advice for the summer months - whether it is actually summer where you live or not, the next three months are critical if you want to be positioned and ready for the holiday season! For full show notes and links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/127   For more free handmade business advice, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast   To learn about our handmade business community visit the jointhecouncilnow.com

Welcome back to season 6 of The Merriweather Council Podcast. ► If you are listening to today’s episode, screenshot and tag us on IG @merriweatherc! There are two brackets of sellers to be aware of when it comes to offsite ads. Sellers who haven't generated more than $10,000 in revenue in the past twelve months, and sellers who have. Those who have not can opt-out of these ads (not participate). Those who have cannot turn the ads off in their shop (must participate). HOWEVER, we will discuss how sellers above this threshold can 'opt-out' in this episode too. For full show notes and links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/126   For more free handmade business advice, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast   Disclaimer:   *This content is published by The Merriweather Council. The Merriweather Council is not affiliated with Etsy Inc. Etsy is a trademark of Etsy Inc. We write about Etsy, from our own experiences, not for Etsy.   To learn about our handmade business community visit t

Welcome back to season 6 of The Merriweather Council Podcast. ► If you are listening to today’s episode, screenshot and tag us on IG @merriweatherc! On this episode I interview our Etsy Training Course student and current Council Member, Deobora from The Timeless Crane all about her maker story. I find it to be very inspiring and is such a testament to the wonderful opportunities makers can receive when they take the chance on themselves! I hope this inspires you. For full show notes and links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/125   For more free handmade business advice, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast   To learn about our handmade business community visit the jointhecouncilnow.com

Welcome back to season 6 of The Merriweather Council Podcast. ► If you are listening to today’s episode, screenshot and tag us on IG @merriweatherc! I was so excited when Chereen from @smeenybeanieknits asked to interview me on her IGTV series! Today’s episode is THAT interview! So fun to have someone else interview me. For full show notes and links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/124   For more free handmade business advice, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast   To learn about our handmade business community visit the jointhecouncilnow.com

Welcome back to season 6 of The Merriweather Council Podcast. ► If you are listening to today’s episode, screenshot and tag us on IG @merriweatherc! If you feel intimidated by the size of your audience and how that is going to impact your successor etsy - this one is for you! If you've been putting off opening shop on Etsy until you have a big audience, don't! I'll explain why. Many would be Etsy sellers, and quite a few already-sellers - feel that they cannot be successful on Etsy because they don't have a large following. There are lots of ways this manifests. It might sound like, "I don't have many instagram followers" or "I don't have a mailing list." Basically it boils down to a general malaise of “I don't have an audience to sell to yet so I’m waiting for that before I open my shop" and / or “I don't have an audience to sell to so i cannot be successful on Etsy." Thankfully though, those thoughts are actually completely incorrect! You do NOT need a big, organic audience in order to have success on Etsy!

Welcome back to season 6 of The Merriweather Council Podcast. ► If you are listening to today’s episode, screenshot and tag us on IG @merriweatherc! This entire episode is a tough love alert! Friends, we need to come together and normalize these realities of handmade business. Once we do, we will all be much happier and probably more successful! For full show notes and links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/122   For more free handmade business advice, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast   To learn about our handmade business community visit the jointhecouncilnow.com

Welcome back to season 6 of The Merriweather Council Podcast. ► If you are listening to today’s episode, screenshot and tag us on IG @merriweatherc! Will we ever stop talking about email marketing? It’s unlikely. We are doing it again today with our friend Prerna from Content Bistro. Prerna is a conversion copywriter and she is sharing her 3 Es of Email Marketing with us today - and they are GOOD. Tun in to hear what you want to keep in mind when emailing your list for the best results for you AND for them. For full show notes and links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/121   For more free handmade business advice, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast To learn about our handmade business community visit the jointhecouncilnow.com

Welcome back to season 6 of The Merriweather Council Podcast. ► If you are listening to today’s episode, screenshot and tag us on IG @merriweatherc! This episode is all about Facebook ads featuring Mia from That Marketing Girl Mia! If you are considering running Facebook ads, this episode will be super insightful. Mia created a freebie checklist for Merri listeners that you can find in the show notes on the blog! For full show notes and links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/120   For more free handmade business advice, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast   To learn about our handmade business community visit the jointhecouncilnow.com

Welcome back to season 6 of The Merriweather Council Podcast. ► If you are listening to today’s episode, screenshot and tag us on IG @merriweatherc! Really excited for you to hear from Jake from Kenyarn today on the show! We had a great chat about so many things including separating your work space from your home space, establishing a studio, using instagram to find community, showing up as your authentic self online and how he is managing his full time non-craft career alongside his business dying fiber! I truly hope you find this inspiring. For full show notes and links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/119   For more free handmade business advice, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast     To learn about our handmade business community visit the jointhecouncilnow.com

Welcome back to season 6 of The Merriweather Council Podcast. ► If you are listening to today’s episode, screenshot and tag us on IG @merriweatherc! Etsy sellers often feel that Etsy isn’t being supportive enough - most usually we hear this in the form of Etsy features or behaviors specifically in regards to running sales and discounts. If you are an Etsy seller who feels that Etsy is just constantly asking your to discount yourself BECAUSE they don’t care and don’t see the value in your work, I hope that today’s episode helps you reframe that a bit! For full show notes and links mentioned in this episode, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/118   For more free handmade business advice, visit merriweathercouncilblog.com/podcast   Disclaimer:   *This content is published by The Merriweather Council. The Merriweather Council is not affiliated with Etsy Inc. Etsy is a trademark of Etsy Inc. We write about Etsy, from our own experiences, not for Etsy.   To learn about our handmade business community visit the joint