March at Sarah Reimer Designs: How I almost got famous this month. ;)

March was a slow month here for sales, but I did manage to get some pretty mighty exposure on this big world wide web!  I've also been reading the book, Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, which has really allowed me to look at my work in a new way.  To me, it's not about the number of sales I get, but more that I am doing what I love and inviting creativity into my life.  I realize that I cannot control the amount of sales I get, but I can control what I put into my shop.  I had three major accomplishments this month that in return, did not make me any richer financially, but rather enriched my life creatively.

If you are following me on Instagram, you may already know that I love to use that platform as a way to share what I am a up to and share sneak peeks of what I am currently working on.  I am a visual person, therefore Instagram to me is my favourite place to market my latest products.  I have found that I have been able to build a community of followers that aren't just family and friends (that is more my Facebook followers), and have found a whole array of makers and creators that are also sharing their work on Instagram.  I began using Instagram for Sarah Reimer Designs in November, and since then, have been able to connect to other creatives by the use of common hashtags, following other makers, and even being featured on "Trendy Handmade Things" (@trendyhandmadethings) back in February.

I've had others reach out to me this way also, which has at times connected me to some very inspirational people, and new opportunities have also come to me through Instagram.  This past month I've had two great opportunities open up to me this way.  I'd like to share a little bit more about those opportunities (and whether or not it was worth it to me):

1) Footnotes and Finds

Footnotes and Finds is a blog run by two sisters who live in Vancouver and blog about travel, fashion, food, and more.  They stumbled across one of my photos on Instagram and must have really loved it, because they commented on my photo saying they'd love to feature my shop on their blog and to email them for more details.  What a great feeling it is to have someone come to ME about this!  I emailed them the next day and found out they were doing a "Handmade Finds" series on their blog and would love to feature an item (of my choice) from my shop along with a few items from other shops they have found that month.  They did charge a fee of $10.00 however, and $5.00 extra to be on their Instagram.  I haven't yet ever paid for advertising or marketing, so I did do a little thinking before jumping on this.  I ended up going for it (along with the Instagram feature), because a) they sought ME out, so I was thinking my products must certainly appeal to their target market, and b) In order to grow my business, I realize I may have to start trying out some added marketing techniques and $15.00 didn't seem too scary of a price for me.  So, I sent off some of my information, and voila! There were my UK Travel Postcards on their blog.  Was it worth it?  It was definitely exhilarating for me to see my items featured as a "handmade find", so I'd say in that sense, it was worth it.  However, I didn't notice much change in my shop traffic and I actually didn't have any sales come out of it.  So in that sense, it wasn't really worth it.  I do realize that things like this might not bring instant results, so I guess it's hard to tell exactly how much this would have helped my shop grow.

Read the blog post here:

http://www.footnotesandfinds.com/2016/03/handmade-finds-march.html?m=1

2) Interview with Lindsay (from LindsayLand Blog)

Okay, so this was so fun.  Lindsay started following me on Instagram after I did a little "tag a friend for a free calendar!" Promotion through my Instagram.  She began actively commenting and liking many of my posts, and a few weeks later, messaged me with a little proposal.  She said she absolutely loved my shop and style, and especially loved the Goal Setting Calendar that I created in February.  She asked if I could let her try it out for free, she would love to write a blog post about my shop and story.  After a few emails back and forth, we realized we actually had a lot in common and formed a special little friendship through our emails (she is also Canadian, living in Brazil with her husband and two kids, and we later found out we even have a mutual friend!  She is also a talented photographer, musician and an overall a great person to get to know).  She instigated an interview with me and her post turned out beautifully.  Was this worth it?  Absolutely.  I can't say I increased in sales because of it (just like the last feature), but this connection meant a lot to me sales or no sales!  She continues to encourage me through her kind comments and I enjoy following her creative journey as well.  She is currently working on a children's music album which I think is so awesome.  Here is the link to our interview:

https://lindsaymuller.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/interview-with-sarah-reimer-designs/

3) Blog re-design for Camp Kahquah

Okay, so this last one has less to do with Instagram, and more to do with friends wanting to help friends out :). Zack and I have some good friends at home named Graeme and Cait who are working as camp directors this summer at Camp Kahquah in Muskoka, Ontario.  They have been following along our travels and have commented before on how they love reading updates on our blog and seeing my designs.  They expressed to me how their camp blog was in some serious need of a re-design and came to me to see if I'd be interested in helping them out with that.  I checked it out, and saw exactly what they meant and felt completely comfortable (and honoured) to be the one in charge of this blog rescue.  I wish I had taken a screen shot of what it looked like before, to show the improvements, but I went ahead and made some changes.  I am happy with how it turned out, and I am really happy to help out Graeme and Cait with promoting Camp Kahquah.  Camp Kahquah is a Christian summer camp which seems much like the camp that I grew up attending in the Muskokas (Camp Crossroads).  Camps like these are close to my heart because it was at Camp Crossroads that I decided to become a Christian and where I met my husband, Zack.  Again, though this didn't offer anything in terms of finances, it was totally worth it to me to be able to use my gifts and connections to help others.  It also means a lot to me that Graeme and Cait came to me for help in this area.  We have recently been chatting about getting some new thank you cards for their camp, and those thank you cards being done by yours truly, Sarah Reimer Designs.  

The blog link is: https://campkahquahblog.wordpress.com

It is experiences like these that confirm to me that I am doing what I am meant to be doing.  At times I've wondered how I can possibly better the lives of others through this endeavour- and I am now figuring this out.  I am seeing how I can use these gifts to pour out to others and it completely inspires me to keep pushing myself further and to continue pursuing Sarah Reimer Designs.  I am learning the importance of pursuing your dreams and though the results may not be making me rich financially, they are most definitely making me rich in so many other ways.  So let me leave you with this:  pursue the things you love.  Because if you really love something enough, that love will pour over to others and you may just end up helping others in ways you thought were not possible.