You create.

It’s part of who you are.

You can’t not do it.

The process is thrilling. And when you’re working you feel complete. You tweak, you refine and when a project’s finished, you know. It just feels complete.

What about your business?

Is it complete? Is it what you imagined it would become when you first opened your shop?

Do you obsess over the business details the way you do the creative process?

Yeah, probably not.

Why?

Because those business-y things fall somewhere in between less-than-thrilling and put-you-in-a-coma boring. Plus, working on the business end of your creative business takes away from the making.

But what if?

What if you poured the same passion into telling people about your products as you do in creating them?

What then?

Could you turn your shop into the business of your dreams? Could you unlock the freedom that comes from running a truly successful business?

Yes!

Yes you can.

But you have to have a plan.

It’s not what you think.

If you are suddenly imagining desks piled high with reports filled with numbers and projections all explained with complicated marketing jargon – don’t. Push that out of your head. Banish it. Those are boring and they are worthless. That’s not the kind of plan you need.

What you need is passion.

A true marketing plan begins with passion (it’s starting to sound fun again, right?). Use the exact same drive that got you started. Only this time focus that energy on one simple goal – telling people why you do what you do.

It’s much more creative than analyzing your return on investment. It’s certainly more fun.

It’s also much more effective.

As an artist you are uniquely poised to tell your story.

You can tell your story however you want. Tell it through your art. Tell it through your words. Just being yourself and interacting with your customers can be enough to share your story.

And once people are tuned in to the story they will start to care. Once they care they will like you and then they will tell others about you. They will brag to their friends that they found their fabulous (insert name of your product) on Etsy, made by an amazing artist. They’ll go on and on about your work and your story.

And as they talk, your customers will transform into your sales force.

And you?

You get to spend more time creating.

It’s not easy to get there.

I’d be lying if I told you otherwise. And even if I did, you wouldn’t believe me because you’re smarter than that.

There is no magic bean.

Building a business requires hard work and dedication. In fact, there are seven steps to move from being found to having a customer sales force.

Now, I can’t take credit for discovering these seven steps. That goes to someone much smarter than me, John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing.

But my free e-course takes his steps — meant for technology start-ups and brick and mortar businesses — and applies them to the business of selling creative things online. It gives you the understanding you need to create your story and the actions you need to take to get there.

Maybe you’re selling on Etsy. Maybe you’re running your own site. Either way, the same principles apply.

But again, you can do it. It takes work. But it’s not complicated. The best solutions are always the simplest.

And the most important thing is that you have fun doing it.

Otherwise, why bother?

If you are ready to take real action towards marketing your shop in a real and meaningful way 7 Keys to Unlocking Etsy Success launches tomorrow. Lots of creative business owners have already signed up to get this free e-course delivered straight to their inbox.

Have you?

If not, there is still time…Just drop your name and email in the box below and join your fellow shop owners in taking control of shop traffic, sales and building a community with 7 Keys to Unlocking Etsy Success.