Step Outside - Breaking Your Stride

It is said that Albert Einstein spoke of insanity as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." While quotes from genius people may cause an eyeroll from overuse, there’s a reason why we listen to these brainiacs.

Albert Einstein by Frances Marin

I must say this quote really hit home when I read it last week. I had been checking my Etsy shop, looking at stats, hoping for new sales, waiting for something magical to happen when I had an epiphany. I hadn’t added new items to my shop for weeks, I haven’t improved my photos, I often only have one image for my listings (as opposed to the recommended five) and the list goes on!

Lately, I have been gaining more income from art fairs, trade shows and a public art project. It has been great to have various streams of income, but I do want Etsy to work better for me and the key is to stop doing the same thing again and again.

This quote can be applied to not only the technical aspect, but also the artistic perspective. I believe as artists and creators, we should never stop evolving and discovering new territory. When you look at great artists of the past, such as Picasso, or artists of the present, such as Wilhelm Sasnal, their subject matter and styles move around in ways only enabled by their willingness to be bold and try new things.

I had been looking at my shop as if I had been working really innovatively on it. Although I had been working hard, I had not been working better by improving what is already existing or creating new listings. Sometimes we have to step back from ourselves to see what’s not working and what we can change. I know that I have work I have created in the last year that I could be adding and I need to shoot better photos.

You can easily apply Einstein's quote to the items you create and the operation of your Etsy shop. Are you listing and relisting the same things again and again? Are your keywords the same? Titles? Photos? You get the picture. Try crafting in a new color, try drawing subject matter you would never normally draw, try adding a new decorative trim to that bag...

What can YOU do differently?

Original Drawing (sixtythree) by Cari Monster

If you're an Etsy seller in the San Francisco Bay Area, contact Our Team Captain about joining SFEtsy!