Think Twice Before you call it Quits (relationships, marriage, babies, jobs and calling quits on my website. Don't throw in the towel yet.

Think twice before you call it quits.  This would apply to almost anything.  A relationship, a job, an opportunity, a business, a website, a marriage and just about anything else that applies.

When it is a relationship or a marriage, you really have to think hard about all the options.  Think about all the things that are good and all the bad.  Which outweighs the other?  Is one worse and you just can't deal with it?

Perhaps make a list of all the positive things and then all the bad things that you can't stand.  Then examine them and decide which is worse.  Explore all the things that could happen if you decide to throw in the towel.  Think really hard.  Is the relationship for you?  Can you work out all the kinks?  Will you be satisfied and most of all will you be happy with the outcome?  Or is it the change that is going to make things better. 

Think really hard.  Can you really walk away from her or him?  Or aren't they the perfect fit?  Or perhaps is it something in the relationship that you want to change.  A fault.  A compromise.  A change in a situation.  A move.  A big step?  Moving in together.  Tying the knot.  Having a baby.  Having more than one.  Moving to a new house.  Change in a job.

Whatever it is, you both need to sit down and talk about it.  And as a relationship moves on to something more serious, naturally one or both of you are going to want to decide on making a move in the relationship.  Are you ready yet to begin your life under one roof?  Moving in together can be a big deal.  But usually it is something at least one or both of you would want.  Usually this is the girl hoping for it.  Or the girl hoping for marriage.  Lets face it, the girl wants to change her address.

Make sure you are both ready for either moving in together or getting hitched.  Either way, if it ends up being a really long time before it is talked about, one of the two of you is going to question the relationship and want more.  Or leave.

So that is relationships.  Then there is babies.  That is another huge step in life.  Make sure you are ready to play russian roulette, because once that egg is planted, there is no turning back.  And believe me, they will change your life whether you want it to or not.  But they are great.  I love my four.  But at this point in my life, I wouldn't want any more.  If I ever ended up pregnant by some fluke, I surely would love it to death anyway, but I have reached the age where I am done.  I was a breeder, but four is my limit.

Spend time together before you have kids.  Then your time is cut in half.

So that is babies.

The other things when you want to call it quits is your job.  Maybe you want a change.  Tired of your current place of work.  The hours aren't that great, the pay is bad or you aren't happy working where you are at.  Weigh out all the options.  Can you live on less money?  Can you find a different job?  Do you want to do what you really love?

So that's the job.

Now there is the website that you have created for your new business.  This is where I am at.  Well, there are things I would like in my relationship too, but this present thought today has been my website. 

My paper doll website has only been up and fully running for the last three months.  It's seen 2030 visitors, but no emails, comments or sales.  I've been kind of bummed out.  This morning, I was almost seriously thinking of calling Vistaprint and pulling the plug.  I called a few other places that I needed to get a hold of, found out I had a credit on one of my utilities so I don't have to pay it for a few months.  That was nice to hear.  Then I was almost ready to call and cancel the website.

Then I got online to my site, went in to edit the website for a minute and add a share button for twitter tweets.  I should go in and do that on every page.  As I was doing that and looking at my stuff and my account, I had a slight change of heart.  I called them up anyway.  I wanted some questions answered and was kind of ready to cancel if I felt like it.

Then, I thought of my old websites that I had created last year in the beginning of the year.  I only gave those two months at the most and I was told by lots of people that I gave up too soon.  And those sites were more expensive and I didn't realize I was locked into a contract for a year and I had to fork over more money to them for quitting early.  And I made nothing.  I was really bummed out by no sales.

So when I was on the phone, I thought back to that time.  And I talked with the girl about calling it quits too early.  I told her I really did want to stick it out for a year.  But I started to ask her some questions about advertising and all the info about google ranks and getting found.  I told her I really couldn't afford to pay for all kinds of advertising.  But we talked about free advertising and different ways of advertising.  Getting the word out.

Of course, all along I have been using my blogs, facebook (which is friends and family and your friends and family usually don't buy your stuff.  They would rather have it for nothing)., twitter, digg (which I have been told is a wasteland), stumbleupon, delicious, buzzfeed, linkedin, myspace, igoogle, blogher, and any other type of social bookmarking site.

I am considering getting my paperdolls on one of the blogs to have for sale on the blogs.  And Blogger is free. 

While I was on the phone with her today, she mentioned googling free advertising, which I started to do.  Then she mentioned googling paper doll groups and joining and doing some free advertising with people that are into the same thing.  I thought that was a very good idea and tried to join two places so far.

Then I started looking at free advertising.  I started with Yelt and discovered I was sent to a section where I was supposed to pay.  Not free.  Backed out of there.  Then I went to Manta.  I was able to get my website on there for free.  Of course they want you to pay if you want more exposure.  But I called to verify my listing and told them I couldn't afford to pay and could just do the free advertising. 

Then, I discovered another place.  Intuit.  I thought, "Oh great, now I am back to my other old website service."  I really liked their website builder though.  It was my favorite site out of the three places I created a website with.  I had one with GoDaddy.com  but never really got that one started.  I had one with web.com but I didn't like their website builder as well.

So, today as I started to sign up for Intuit, I read very carefully the plan.  You can have a free website with them for up to a year and then they charge you $4.99 a month.  Which that isn't that bad.  Especially if by then I'm getting some orders.  Which I really hope.  So today, I have signed up for the free plan for a year.  What you get is a domain, 3 pages and I'm forgetting the other part.  Maybe the memory space?

Which for what I want it for, 3 pages is fine.  So I have published the first page today.  It hasn't been registered yet, but I imagine by tomorrow it will be.  I basically got my first page, with business, address, all the important information.  A big introduction which also refers them to my writing sites and my blogs.  Might as well advertise for them too.  Then at the bottom of the first page I had added a few of the paper doll pictures with some details.  I think my second page will have lots of other pictures and then my third page will be an order form with all the details for them to order.  I haven't decided if I'm going to add paypal buttons.  I don't want to suddenly have two websites where I am paying. 

But what it will be basically for is to direct them to the full blown website.  Where they can order paper dolls.

So, I'm not calling it quits on my website yet.  I should give it a good year.  If I was to quit now, I would always be wondering, "What if I had given it a year?  Maybe I would be getting sales."

Paper dolls aren't a neccessity.  It is a specialty.  But people are buying them.  I go to look at the OPDAG paperdoll magazine and I see all these popular new paper doll artists that seem to be making money at what they do.  And I wonder to myself, "How are they doing it?"  I probably should ask the editor to have an article from one of them about the secrets to success and having a successful paper doll website.  That would be really helpful to read.

I once was told by another artist that I had something really unique that could take off and become a business.  I have always remembered that, and now I think, "REALLY?  How do I attempt to do that?  With luck?" 

And another person said it takes a lot of advertising.


Well anyway the new advertising website is going to be:  http://www.jennyjopaperdoll.com/  That's the domain name.  But I'm not sure if it will work until I get it registered.

jenniferjofaypaperdolls.net  My paper doll website.

I would really appreciate it if anyone would leave a comment with some possible suggestions.  I will take anything.  I feel like I'm just grasping at straws right now.

Which seems to be the same with the writing sites and earning money writing online.  That's more fun than anything.  And it's kind of fun to see a little bit of money trickle in.  I've actually had enough to buy a dunkin donuts pound of coffee and then some.  And with the writing sites we are getting practice and connecting with a community of writers.  Which is always a good thing.

And selling on ebay is great.  But I would love it even more if my paper doll website could just take flight.  I don't want to throw in the towel just yet.  What if someday I got found?  That would be great.  And if not, I have the paperdolls anyway to pass down to my kids.  But I would love to see it become something else.
Money in my pocket.

So anyway, any suggestions would be helpful.  Maybe there are some things I haven't thought of.

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted January 31, 2012

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/ 

Wouldn't you rather be an Internet Junkie than a Junkie

Have you ever had anyone call you an Internet Junkie?  I have.  A few months ago, my sister called me an Internet Junkie.  At first it seemed hurtful and it stung a little bit.  I didn't enjoy being called a junkie.

The reason my sister called me this is because I seemed to be immersing myself into the Internet and I knew a lot more about the Internet than she did.  She holds down a regular job and has three kids.  Her husband is a carpenter.  They do use the Internet and their kids like to hop on, yet they aren't on the Internet all the time.  They probably only hop on for a little bit and it isn't all the time.  And they don't rely on the Internet for their jobs.  They are some of the lucky people to be able to hold down a local job that isn't connected with the Internet.

Yet, they do like all the gadgets that us Internet Junkies love.  They like the Iphones, tablets and other hi tech gadgets that controls everyones modern day lives.

Yet, for the past year, I have been one of the people who have been online searching out all kinds of things and opportunities.  I am one of the millions of people who are delving into the online internet and are searching for ways to earn money online.  It can be done.

So after a little bit, I learned to accept my new title, Internet Junkie.  I am proud of it.  It just means I am more knowledgeable of what the Internet has to offer people.  My sister and her family, brother and my father know nothing about earning money online.  They know nothing about writing online, blogging and starting a small business online.  Things I know about and they do not.  Of course, my father comes from the day and age where there were no computers.  He didn't grow up in the techno world. 

But I would much rather be an Internet Junkie than a Junkie.  I would never want to be a Junkie on crack and all kinds of terrible stuff. 

And I find writing online to earn some money to be really rewarding, especially when things start to pick up and I'm doing better on all the writing sites.  While we are new we have to go on a trial phase of learning the ropes and gaining our audience.  It all takes time. 

But the writing and earning online is a whole new ballpark that is here to stay and people need to accept that many of their loved ones are resorting to the Internet to make their money.  Many of us can no longer do it locally anymore.

Which will also be a reason, I will soon start to have my paper dolls for sale on my blogs.  I'm willing to try new things and see what happens.  The Internet is a great place that holds lots of opportunities.  We just have to be careful about the scary part of the Internet and not get sucked in. 

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted January 25, 2012

http://notecook.com/desserts/fruits/sweet-potatoes-for-babies/

http://socyberty.com/philanthropy/red-cross-wants-your-blood/

http://quazen.com/shopping/home-and-garden/gardening-is-just-around-the-corner/

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/ 

Don't You hate when a good opportunity ends up being a dead end?

Don't you hate it when all your good opportunities end up being dead ends?  As individuals, creative artists and writers and many other great talents, we all have so many opportunities that end up being a dead end.  Nothing comes from it.

No matter how hard we try, our hopes that something will come from it ends up being another prospect down the drain of life.

Life always gives us hard knocks that sometimes can drag us down.  And we end up sticking to a dead end job, or something else, when we wish something else good would happen.

Haven't you ever had opportunities knocking on your door?  And you are anxiously waiting to take on a new job or a new freelance job, and then it falls through the cracks and you never got the chance to do the job?

I've had several opportunities that slipped through my fingers.  Once when my children were growing up, a neighborhood mother was writing a children's book and mentioned us collaborating.  It was just a thought that got mentioned but then never again got brought up.  Our lives got busy.

Then, when my kids were younger, we used to get the neighbors children to babysit.  One of the neighbors kids had an older brother that was writing a children's book and he wanted me to illustrate it.  He called me up and we started talking about it and I was like, "Yes.  I'd love to try my hand at it for you or something like that.  They had seen my paper dolls and he seriously wanted me to do it.

That phone conversation sparked me to write my first novel.  I think it was the thought of him writing his book that inspired me to write mine.

I'm not sure if he ever published it, but he never got back to me about doing the book and never brought a copy over for me to do the illustrations.  At the time, I asked his sisters a few times and they said they had to get after him about it.  And then, after a few times of asking, I just dropped it and figured it wasn't going to happen.

I did illustrate a children's book for a girl in Maine once.  She wanted a Twas Turner book done on her grandfather.  I think the theme was some how around the idea of the night before Christmas or something like that.  It came out cute.  Her grandfather had passed away and the book was going to be a Christmas Present for her family.  It was quite challenging as I had never done something like that before.  And I was still a young artist.

But how true is it that when opportunity knocks, it ends up not working out.

I can't begin to tell you how many things I tried as an artist and I failed at a lot of it.  I tried to make my own greeting card catalog of my photo cards and blindly sent them out to gift shops in Vermont, Maine and other states.  I ended up getting one Queen of Hats shops in Maine ordering about eight to ten of them and that was it.  But that one order was exciting.

I tried to do the same thing with a few flyer's on my paper dolls.  No luck.

I've advertised in the OPDAG paper doll trade magazine, with mostly no luck.  I did get one or two mail orders for a few sets of my paper dolls.  Once again, got lucky once or twice.

I sold a few of my greeting cards with Ebay once, but then tried my paper dolls with no luck.  Same with Etsy for the paper dolls.  No luck.

Paper doll websites earlier this year.  No luck.  I've got a new cheaper paper doll website.  Still no luck, but am going to stick it out for a year or two years at the most.  Sometimes it takes a while for that.  And I've heard that heavy advertising plays a part.  So if I can't afford heavy advertising (paid), maybe I'm out of luck.  And paper dolls are a specialty.  Not a necessity.

I've tried my hand at craft shows, and usually have just barely made back my fee to do the show.  Many people would rather just go to those things to look and not buy.  Or they would rather buy something else and spend money on the food and drinks.  It just depends on who is there and what they are looking for.

I did try to list one of my paper doll sets on ebay recently, but no luck. 

It really dampens people's attempts when all these opportunities end up falling through.  Or a clever thought to make some money ends up being the wrong thing and it didn't work out.

Same with galleries.  Many galleries are looking for a certain type of artist to represent and many artists get turned down and have to keep searching for a means to an end.

And some of these places that you think you can sell your photos at, end up not working out.  Like Backprint and Zazzle.  Nothing happened with either one.  But I have since learned that you have to do your own heavy advertising at both places.  And at Zazzle, if you only want 10% your items are cheaper.  But most of us at least want 50%, and then that makes the price of the item go up and nobody will want to spend a lot for it.

Go figure.

I'm waiting for my opportunity to knock.  Hopefully the online writing to earn will reap some results with time and patience.  And I am going to patiently wait for my paper doll website to get going.  But even with that, I won't be able to wait forever.  I wouldn't be able to go on for years and years on end and have nothing happen.  There's got to be a point when one has to stop and then try knocking on another door.

So also remember the old saying, When one door closes, another one opens.  We have to be optimistic that something good will come our way.  And we can't always wait around for it to happen.  We have to do something about it.

Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted January 18, 2012

A picture of a cannoli cake from the brides wedding last summer.  It looked delicious.  She loved her pictures.

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/