Painting goals for 2016

I have a confession to make. I am a terrible sales person. One of my first jobs was as a photographer at JC Penney. I was okay (not great) at taking the photos. I was decidedly awful at selling them. Also, just a word to you parents out there. Please be nice to your photographer.  **Side note: two of my sisters also worked at the portrait studio and one of them is extremely talented and runs her own photography business. Find her work here!**  Many a parent made me cry with their harsh words when I was a teenage photographer. I decided that I would not go into a profession where I had to sell anything.

Ha. Hahahaha! My job after that was working as a waitress at Olive Garden. Of course, managers want you to sell more (more appetizers, more alcohol, more higher priced items). I did better with job here since it involved talking to people (no trouble there), but I was the least pushy person when it came to selling anything.

Throughout those Olive Garden years I was in school for teaching. Where I didn't have to sell anything.

So you can see how shocking it was to find myself owning a teeny tiny business. Where I sell things. I strive to let my products sell themselves. I hope you never find me a pushy salesperson. I doubt you will, since I tend to despise those people. (No offense to those of you who are "good" salespeople, it's just not my thing.)

However, one thing that I realized is that my signs can't sell themselves if you don't know they exist. Which brings us to the point of this post. 

Facebook has been key to the building of my business. However, this past year they made some changes, that, from a business aspect I get. They need to make money to run their business, so instead of allowing free advertising which is what they had done in the past, they now would like you to "boost" posts to get people who already like your page to see your posts. So if you have noticed that you see less and less of pages that you "like" this should not be surprising. But there's some good news! You can make some adjustments to change this.
1. You can "like" and comment on the pictures I post. This tells the Facebook algorithm that you want to continue seeing my page.
2. You can go to my Facebook page
Make sure you "Like" my page. Then under like, click "Get Notifications". Also from this screen you can select "See First" instead of "Default". This SHOULD allow you to see all my posts. (see photo for help)

I know not everyone is on Instagram, but this has quickly become a favorite for me. The feed is a lot cleaner than Facebook and you follow who you want to follow and you see the things they post. I just joined Instagram a few months into 2015 and it's been a slow-growth for me, but I really like it and see a lot of potential for MamaHessPainting here. Following me on Instagram is really simple.  <<------- a="" click="" there="">


And of course, there's my Etsy Shop.

Lots of ways to stay connected with Mama Hess Painting this year.  

Some goals for 2016:
1. Do 3 to 4 shows. (Last year I did two)
2. Build the wedding/vow renewal/love section of my Esty shop. I have SO many ideas for this section.
3. Take better photos of my signs
4. Stay joyful

Number four may seem silly, but when I'm really really really busy, painting can feel like a job. It's good for me to keep in mind that so often my signs bring joy on people's happiest days of their lives (weddings, babies, new homes, etc.) and bring comfort on their hardest days and provide inspiration on the days between.

Looking forward to a beautiful 2016 with you all! Thanks for coming along and enjoying the beautiful ride with me.


xoxo,
Mama Hess