Good lord, I have been doing my pay pal buttons all wrong I think. I have been trying to get my paper dolls for sale all set up on this blog and my other blogs.
Earlier last year, I learned how to build websites. For eight years while I was married to my ex, I was hoping he would teach me how to upload digital pictures to the computer and teach me how to build a website for my paper dolls. He is a computer programmer yet, it never happened. There never seemed like a time where he could show me how.
And then almost three years go, we got separated. At the time of separation, I had two new digital cameras and wanted to learn how to use them. And then one day, I had filled a memory card and didn't know how to upload pictures yet, so the cameras got cast aside for about a year or more. I didn't know how to upload and erase the pics. And I was computer illiterate and couldn't seem to use my new computer at the time.
I had a profile on Match.com but no picture, so didn't get anybody calling. And I couldn't seem to figure out some of my software. And I couldn't figure out how to get the discs to come out. It was a weird computer. I ended up giving it to my youngest daughter.
Well at the beginning of last year, I was missing a computer and had finished typing up my first mystery novel, Black Roses on the family computer. Yet, was craving a new computer. In January, I broke down and bought a new laptop.
I suddenly fell in love with it. Liked the easy turn on button and the features. And one day, I took the memory card out of the digital cameras and stuck it in a memory card reader that I purchased. At the time, I didn't know you could easily stick them into the laptop and upload.
I discovered how easy and simple it was and I figured out how to erase the pictures after. So I fell in love with my digital cameras and will never go back to 35mm cameras. So once I uploaded, I learned how to get a picture of me on my dating profiles. That is a whole other post, the whole online dating scene. I met someone from it anyway and have been dating for a while.
And once I learned how to upload, I wanted to learn how to create websites for the paper dolls. In Jan and Feb I signed up with Intuit, Web.com and GoDaddy.com. I didn't like Web.com site builder. Cancelled out of that and I think I had to pay extra fees for cancelling early. Cancelled out of GoDaddy.com and stuck with Intuit until March. I liked Intuit's site builder the best, but still got no action. No paper doll sales.
Maybe I didn't give it long enough, people said. But anyway, I ended up forking over lots of money to these sites and fees for cancelling early. And no sales. So for a while, I had no paper doll website.
Then in September and October I decided to fork over a smaller amount of money to Vistaprint for a cheaper website. $14.95 a month to start and then of course I wanted the full optimization and blog so $30 a month. End of October the website was complete and I waited patiently for some sales to happen.
Over this last month, I got a comment from a girl who makes doll clothing who was also having a hard time getting sales. She told me I should sell my paper dolls on my blog. I had never thought about that before. I was getting 1250 visitors to my Vistaprint Website but no sales and by the end of this month, I had forked over $150 to Vistaprint with no paper doll sales in return.
As I looked to the future, I really wanted to give that website a year to see what happened, but at the same time, I didn't want to fork over another $300 to $450 with still no paper doll sales. So, I called up Vistaprint a few days ago and cancelled my website there.
If anyone would like to view that website and my blog there, you can up until the end of this month. jenniferjofaypaperdolls.net I liked the background I had picked out but oh well. Better to have my hard earned money in my pocket instead of Vistaprint's. They can get my money at Christmas time when I order my Christmas cards with them. They do have cheap prices for pictures on their products. I had ordered a tote bag with a picture I took of my daughter sleeping. It was really cute.
So in this last week, I have been transferring my stuff over to my blogs. A few weeks ago, I wasn't sure how to get the paypal buttons onto this site. Then I remembered getting the buttons from Paypal, when I first started doing my Intuit website. So I figured it was the same deal.
So I started going into Paypal and created my buttons and copied the code. And at first I wasn't sure how to put the code in next to my paper doll set. When I first tried, I pasted the code underneath and just saw all the jumble of code and not a paypal button, so I figured I wasn't doing it right. Then I figured out how to paste it into the gadgets on the layout page.
So for the past two to three days, I have been pasting all these gadgets on the side of the page. I looked at it on the page and it doesn't quite look right. Well, finally about a half an hour ago, I think I figured out how to get it next to my paper doll pictures of the set. I tried it under my Little Sparky set. I went into the html and it spit out the codes for the whole page. I scrolled down to Little Sparky and went underneath and pasted the code for the add to cart button.
And also in the beginning, I was doing a buy it now button and realized I should do Add to Cart instead. So I had to backtrack and begin again. Which, now I will also have to begin again. But when I viewed the picture again after I pasted in the code, I was pleased to see the pay pal button underneath the set.
So, moan and groan, I will have to go back and re do forty seven of the others that I had done. I was thinking of leaving the buttons on the layout page, but probably should take them out, as you can't see the paper doll right next to them and it doesn't look right. I did this to my five other active blogs. I wanted to get my paper dolls for sale on all my blogs to see if that would help.
Which means I have a lot of work cut out for me. But it will be worth it in the end, to have a working paper doll website for paper dolls for sale. I'm thinking that I will join Tumblr too and get this going on some other sites too. I probably could figure out how to do it on Wordpress too. It will just take some time to get it all in place. And I might have to go back and do some minor tweaking.
When the Pay pal button showed up there were a few other sections too where I am wondering if I can change something and type in the name of the Paper doll instead. But right now I don't dare to tweak anything without knowing.
The only other thing I'm not sure of yet is working with the shipping options. The pay pal button asked me to put in one shipping amount. So I put the basic amount for one item. But I want to have the options for people to save a little on the shipping if they order more than one item. So right now, I am wondering if they can have an option to ask me for an invoice, where I can change the amount of the shipping accordingly to what I have set up on my order form.
I figured out how to get the button for them to view cart. That was neat, and it looks like through Pay pal, I can send someone an invoice. Some of this is all new and Greek to me, but I am slowly learning.
Jennifer Jo Fay Copyrighted February 15, 2012
I am liking the idea of selling my Paper Dolls on the blogs. It's a good feeling to know that it is free to sell our stuff on our blogs and not give someone else our hard earned money. I think last year, I easily forked over $300 or $700 to these other more expensive websites and got nothing in return.
And I will also not do another book self publishing with Authorhouse. They got alot of my money too and the royalties haven't gotten to $30. Greatly disappointed about that venture, but like that I got my book in print.
I'm thinking of CreateSpace for the next novels and just the amount to get it in print and copies for my kids. Should be much cheaper.
And the thought of having products for sale on our blogs is that we can have the blog for years and years and not have to fork over money to other people. It just might take longer to get more people to the blogs. And a lot of free advertising.
I do have a small website with Intuit now just to increase traffic. Right now for one domain and three pages it is free for a year and then the price goes to 4.99 a month which would be pretty good if it will increase traffic.
If I think about it, maybe I could sell just a few of my favorite paper dolls there.
If anyone likes paperdolls or knows someone who likes paper dolls, check out my paperdoll post on each of my blogs where my paper dolls are for sale:
http://jennyjofaypaperdolls.blogspot.com/
http://jenniferpaperdolls.blogspot.com/ The Official Paper Doll Blog
http://mommiedearest101.blogspot.com/
http://yourstrulycraftygal.blogspot.com/
http://prolificpoetrychick.blogspot.com/
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