Hello Friends!
I welcomed a strong start today with an early morning house clean/reorganise
– necessary after three days of neglect. Feeling as if last week I began to
successfully flesh out a routine that gave me direction & motivation, I had
woken up early to get stuck into things. Regrettably, my good mood began to
sour once I sat down for today’s #MondayMerger, which never quite got off the
ground.
As you can see, I just couldn’t settle into the drawing session. Ideas leapt around chaotically which led to numerous false starts, and I felt I was pushing mergers that felt … uninspiring. I managed to wind myself into a tight ball of tension as I watched the time tick by with very little emerging on the page. Thankfully, I managed to catch myself before I squandered too much energy, reminding myself that it’s simply a warmup, and to let it go. It’s not intended as an activity to generate content. (Something I need to remind myself of as I begin to delve into the world of TikTok, though more on that later!)
Why the stress?
Considering that I’ve just had lunch and am feeling jollier for it, I shall illuminate you to why I tensed up so easily earlier. Truth be told, I’m slightly dreading my upcoming birthday party. Not because I’ll be turning 30, I welcome a new era with open arms! Rather, I’m worried about my lack of motivation to get started on preparing for it. With less than two weeks to go I have one piece of scrawled food ideas + half a playlist to show for my efforts!! This is quite a contrast from the girl who used to LOVE planning every detail.
Despite the knowledge that time is slipping away, the truth is that I’d prefer to be working on my business. I fear falling another two weeks behind when I feel I’m on a productivity roll. However, even if I wish otherwise, it appears I can’t ignore this looming event any longer. So, I’ve re-jigged the upcoming week to hone in on my priorities, and to try get excited for the event.
Tik Tok – I didn’t see that coming
As you may have seen, I started a Tik Tok last week … despite previously dismissing the idea. Yet again, I find myself eating my words. :P Since beginning to interact with the app, I’ve had a LOT of thoughts about the platform in general, but I’ll get into that another time as this post is already hefty.
However, I will mention that I have been pleasantly surprised by the interaction my posts have seen! Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s not about numbers, and that views/likes won’t guarantee sales … BUT I’ve been sharing my work, in various forms, for years!! With very little engagement! It’s time-consuming and, at times, disheartening. And YET, on TikTok, my first three videos, across 4 days, have amounted to 11 followers, (not just friends & family), and 175 likes! Sure, not HUGE numbers but compared to the ‘action’, or rather, lack of, I get on other platforms, it’s a huge leap in engagement. There’s no denying that it gave me a little boost to keep going.
Recommendations:
Last week I listened to Elise Hu’s ‘Flawless‘. I devoured this audiobook, finding it incredibly fascinating and the perfect accompaniment to getting stuff done! Highly recommend if you’re interested in the beauty industry or South Korea in general.
I also discovered the YouTube channel ‘SamDoesArt’ – humorous and informative! A solid find! :)
If there is anything you’ve discovered, and loved, of late, share it below!
Marketing – A Wrap Up
And finally, out of interest, (mainly my own), I’ve decided to add a stat tables to these weekly emails, for those who find tracking growth fascinating. This is not to show off, (if anything it might make others feel better about their own numbers ;p), but rather to capture the journey of a teeny tiny business as it, hopefully, grows.
Week 12th – 18th June 2023
| Platform | Content Posted | Growth | Previous Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blog Posts | 1 | 0 | Followers = 3 |
| Etsy Listing | 2 | Sales = 2 | Sales = 0 |
| 3= 2 stories + 1 post | 0 | Followers = 86 | |
| 0 | NA | NA | |
| Tik Tok | 3 | Followers= 11 | Followers = 0 |
| YouTube | 0 | NA | NA |
Talk soon!
Fiona x