(no subject)

[ellenmillion]

Whew!

I finished artist pay today. A record number of artists in record time.

Sadly, this is mostly because sales this first half of 2008 have STUNK. Most all of my sales have been print services (despite being 'closed,') and ACEO card blanks and the trials of tea. (And some soap, but not the galloping hordes we always hope for...)

So, a lot of zero sales notices, and I think only half a dozen artists even capped $10. Sad, pathetic, and makes me feel as rotten as they probably do. Why do I do this again? Pff. Would be nice to blame it on the economy (everyone is!), but it's at least partly my own overworked fault.

Now that I'm through with the queue and with artist pay, the calendars and advertising are next up on my list of things to do. And the anthology.

Lunch now, and maybe some quality time with my hammock...

Comments

Request

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Would you mind cross-posting this to cyberfund_creat ...? We encourage people to post progress reports for their cyberfunded creativity projects. I suspect everyone's sales/donations are down. (June's Poetry Fishbowl took a definite dip. I'm hoping the July one this coming Tuesday will do better.) Maybe it will help folks feel less frustrated if they know others are having the same problems.

[uminomamori.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[marrael.livejournal.com]

The economy. Many conventions people I talked to even back in 2005 were telling me about the trend about book and art sales headed downwards, and that was before the fuel prices shot up.

[kiri-moth.livejournal.com]

It's seriously the economy. I've had less sales on every front and I don't think you're affecting any of those. ;)

Don't blame yourself for your artists not doing so well! *hugs*

[hillfairy.livejournal.com]

lately sales have been slow on my site, but I haven't been working at promoting as much as I did in the past. I haven't been posting on eBay as much as I used to, but I guess a newborn is a good enough excuse. I really do think some of it is the economy. I'm finding myself budgeting everything these days and not spending on things I don't need.

[carmensylph.livejournal.com]

Oh Ellen, it's *totally* the economy. Every artist has been feeling it!! I think when people are worried so much about having enough gas just to get to work, they just don't have the money to buy enjoyable things like art as much.
Heheh, actually I think I've done better this quarter in your shop than I ever have done -- maybe because of new designs being up. I will have to be sure and put something about them in my next newsletter.
You are a very hard worker, don't beat yourself up about sales!!

Re: Request

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I will do so!

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I went back and looked at sales and trends that far - just out of curiosity! - and there's a reason I went back to that day job last year. After three years in a row of doubling sales, year four (2006) was only a 25% increase, year five totally stagnated, and year six looks to be a backslide. (Depending on how the last half of the year goes, anyway!)

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

A newborn sounds like a perfectly valid 'excuse' to me!!

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

I think that soap (and tea, actually), fall into that 'well, I DO need it' category, even if it's a bit of a splurge for the good stuff. Art is harder to justify. But, you know... I do have a number of products that can be classified as downright useful. Who doesn't need reusable totes for green grocery shopping? Or shirts? Maybe a shirt sale! Hmm.