The First Craft Show of the summer...

With the economy the way it is, I was surprised that my first craft show of the year was a success. By success, I mean, the sales exceeded my costs (booth rent, gas, etc) and made enough to take the family to a steak dinner and get groceries! I'm hopeful that the rest of the summer will be as good.

I don't know if its just my site, but sales have really dipped the last couple months. I did expect this, as it happens every year, but this year has been especially bad. I'm hoping that it will pick up online...because frankly, I don't care to do craft shows. Although it allows me to make contacts and meet new customers, it is time consuming and most of the time, boring. This show wasn't too bad as far as being slow.

I had my husband with me for this show. After we were all set up we sat back and watch the real craft show people set up their displays. Mind you we do 1 or 2 shows a year, these folks live to show..seriously. If you have ever seen the movie Best In Show, the spoof about dog shows, it was kind of like that. Mind you, the only display I have was 2 folding tables with tablecloths, these people have tables, cabinets, shelves, walls, racks..... They all know each other, get snappy if someone is 1/2 inch over the booth line, talk smack about the "other" show people and if there is a competitor there....they will case your booth then go back to theirs and adjust prices. It is really hilarious.

So, I am desperately hoping that business will pick up so that I can enjoy a little bit of the summer. Otherwise, I guess I'll be joining the craft show version of the traveling circus. Please let business boom!

We have beer soap!

I have completed and add 3 new beer soaps to our soap line! Check them out.

Mahogany Spice Guinness Beer Soap - $3.75 : Handmade Soap, Natural Soap, Handmade Soap & Bath Products.

Mahogany Spice Guinness Beer Soap - $3.75 : Handmade Soap, Natural Soap, Handmade Soap & Bath Products.

Soapy Sue's Soap Shoppe has a new look!

I have been spending my last week giving my website www.soapysue.com a much needed facelift. All my work seem to be paying off. I love the new look of the web store. It is softer and more feminine that the old shop which I think will certainly appeal to more customers.

Over the course of the last week, I have learned many new and exciting things. I have learned...to create transparent pictures!!! I have been trying to do that for years and I actually did it on accident. So now I'm in the throws of cropping and and trying to making all of my product pictures look amazing. This is no small job. I have about 60 pictures left to do.

Oh well, no pain, no gain right? Check out the new site!

Internet Ads

I hate the big search engines.  It takes forever to get a decent rank on the natural searches.  So what does that mean for someone like me?  MONEY, and lots of it.  I have been relying on the coupons I have found or have been sent for ads like google's adwords, overture, yahoo and the like.  This pay per click ads will quickly kill a small soap business.  The average pay per click bid for a first or second page ads is more than $0.85 each.  So if you don't set your total daily budget you could spend more than $25 a day for your ads.

I have been running ads for Soapy Sue's Soap Shoppe for over 2 months now.  Although at present they do now really cost me anything.  Now to put it in perspective, I have had a total of $250 in free ads with adwords, I set my daily budget to $5.00 a day to make it stretch.  I use all the click in a couple hours or less and maybe, usually not, I will get a sale.  At that rate, if I paid for the ads, I would actually be in the hole!  The average handmade soap sale is generally between $30-$50, materials and packaging is approx $10-$20, and the sales through the ads for me have been average 1 every 3-4 days maybe.

So now I am searching for ways to optimize my handmade soap business website and link, link, link to directories and the like.  I have also been exploring other advertising options.  The road to a good natural search result for your site is time.  Time, time, time.  Being impatient by nature it is seriously killing me!  Anyone have suggestions?

What about my day job?

I am forever on the run it seems.  I work outside the home 30+ hours a week, have a super hyper 4 year old and run my soap business.  I sometime wish that I could just put everything down and just chill with me, myself and I.  The three of us would probably have a good time for a while.  Unfortunately I am the type of person that would feel guilty after an hour or two and off I'd be catering to family, work or business. 

My solution has been to join the gym.  I know you are probably thinking, "What?  Didn't she just say she wanted to chill?", I know, I know.  However, the gym has given me some me time and has allowed me to focus.  I feel as though I am back on track with my plans for my soaping business.  Hopefully within the next year I can cut out the day job and only have the business to focus on.  Ahh.... that would be the life!

Lilac Shea Butter Soap