Monthly Recap; January 2023
We are finishing the first month of the year with success. I do have to say that even though the sales weren't that great in December they sure picked up this month. More and more evergreen designs are being sold and I believe this has a lot to do with me finally finding my art style and sticking to it.
In December I didn't post much because I was busy working on other projects but it all played off in the end.
Coming into the new year I didn't set any grand goals. I did go through my yearly goal-setting process and decided to focus on only one POD site (the one that makes profit the most) and occasionally check on the others. The No. 1 site is of course Zazzle, mostly because the designs can be customized by the customers and they are not just finished designs.
The second is Amazon KDP, I sold quite a few notebooks, planners, and journals in December.
The last two are Redbubble and my PayHip store. I finally made some sales on Redbubble in December after being there for two years ( I know that is a long time with no profit). I almost gave up on the store and thought of closing it down but I got a surprise on Christmas and made some sales. So, I think I'll keep it open for now. The last is my digital store with PayHip, which hasn't made any sales yet. To be honest I didn't really promote it that much. Hence the results are understandable.
So far January has been busy and productive. I did a lot of Pinterest marketing and I'm slowly growing my Instagram account, I've reached 100 followers there and it keeps growing each day. The fact that I post every day also helps with the algorithm and because the content is consistent I get engagement. The first to engage are the bots (which I hate and block) but after them come the actual viewers and followers. The stats are also growing because I'm more active on the platform itself with engaging with other people's content.
I've been keeping a planner and a schedule for my tasks so I don't forget my purpose. Some days I finish all the tasks but on some days I reschedule them for another time.
Being busy and being productive are two very different things and yet we often find ourselves caught in between. You can be busy the whole day in doing tasks but when you look at them from another perspective they weren't getting you anywhere and you've just wasted an entire day. This is why having a planner and a schedule is important especially when you're working for yourself. You also need to be careful hot to over plan and fill up all your day with work tasks. This is the first step to burnout. Keeping a balance is a must.
So, for February I really don't have any specific plans or goals. I'll just continue doing what I've been doing this whole time. Do more evergreen designs and not so much chasing trends that really don't get me anywhere.
I will set this four things, not so much as goals but more as aspirations for February:
Get 200 followers on Instagram.
Post consistently on my Blog with helpful and engaging content.
Be more active in the art community and not hide in the corner.
Treat the YouTube thing more seriously.
To end this month on a grand note and celebrate the new year. To all my readers I wish you success in 2023 and may we grow toghether. Here is also a little token of my appritiation for you.
