The Create & Thrive Podcast

By Jess Van DenBusiness Entrepreneurship

The Create & Thrive Podcast episodes

July 21, 20226 Ways to Find and Refine your Etsy Keywords [291]
Today I’m going to share 6 ways you can find and refine keywords for your Etsy shop listings!
Getting the right keywords is a CRUCIAL part of achieving success in Etsy search – so it’s something you really need to understand.
Three tools I recommend:
💡 Sale Samurai (aff link): – get 20% off with the code: jessvanden (make sure it’s all in lowercase!)
💡E-rank
💡Marmalead
UPCOMING LIVE WORKSHOP: How to Discover your Ideal Keywords – Online Workshop for Makers & Etsy Sellers.
Get your FREE Etsy Resources
🌟Etsy Keyword Planner
🌟Etsy Quick-Start Guide
🌟Etsy SEO Cheat Sheet
You can listen to this podcast below, or on your fave podcast app – or you can watch it on YouTube!
Watch on YouTube…
Support the show
You can make a secure donation (of the amount of your choice) via the Paypal button below.

Each donation helps cover the cost of hosting, show-note writing, research, interviewing, recording, editing, etc. etc.
In short – it helps to cover the time and financial costs of putting together a free weekly show to help you grow your handmade business.
You can also:
Leave a review on the C&T FB page.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Join the Thriver Circle – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.
Listen Now
15 min
July 08, 2022Etsy Keywords 101: Fundamentals of Choosing The Right Ones (& FREE Download!)
What is a keyword? Where do they go in your Etsy listings? And how do you brainstorm keywords for your listings?
These are the questions I’m going to answer today in Etsy Keywords 101!
Getting the right keywords is a CRUCIAL part of achieving success in Etsy search – so it’s something you really need to understand.
UPCOMING LIVE WORKSHOP: How to Discover your Ideal Keywords – Online Workshop for Makers & Etsy Sellers.
Get your FREE Etsy Resources
🌟Etsy Keyword Planner
🌟Etsy Quick-Start Guide
🌟Etsy SEO Cheat Sheet
You can listen to this podcast below, or on your fave podcast app – or you can watch it on YouTube!
Watch on YouTube…
Support the show
You can make a secure donation (of the amount of your choice) via the Paypal button below.

Each donation helps cover the cost of hosting, show-note writing, research, interviewing, recording, editing, etc. etc.
In short – it helps to cover the time and financial costs of putting together a free weekly show to help you grow your handmade business.
You can also:
Leave a review on the C&T FB page.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Join the Thriver Circle – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.
Listen Now
14 min
June 23, 2022Graphic Design Fundamentals for Makers with Ron Miller [289]
Ron Miller spent 20 years as a graphic designer, and today he’s sharing the fundamentals of design with us.
I met Ron when he joined my Set Up Shop course earlier this year, and he had a lot of great wisdom to share.
As makers who DIY pretty much all aspects of our businesses, there are so many things we need to learn – and creating our branding is one of them.
Even if you use awesome and intuitive graphic design software like Canva (affiliate link) you still can make a mess of things if you don’t understand the basic rules of design.
So – that’s what we’re covering today!
UPDATE: Ron has actually done a post on his blog with some visuals that represent some of the concepts we talked about! You can see that here.
You can listen to this episode below, or on your fave podcasting app!
Listen Now
Support the show
You can make a secure donation (of the amount of your choice) via the Paypal button below.

Each donation helps cover the cost of hosting, show-note writing, research, interviewing, recording, editing, etc. etc.
In short – it helps to cover the time and financial costs of putting together a free weekly show to help you grow your handmade business.
You can also:
Leave a review on the C&T FB page.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Join the Thriver Circle – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.
Highlights from this episode:
Ron has a background as a graphic designer for 20 years at ad agencies, marketing departments etc. He then changed to education later in life and has been teaching technology, and the integration of technology into the classroom, for the past 20 years.
It was discussed how graphic design has become more accessible to everyday people through the use of programs like Canva, but this also means that designs are not always of the best quality.
“The technology has changed but the principles (of design) haven’t changed, you can just make much bigger mistakes, faster.” {Ron}
Common errors made when creating logos and branding are:
Mixing too many typefaces together.
Fonts don’t match the type of product that is being sold.
Choosing the wrong colours, for example the colours clash, or the font is lost in the background colour.
Choosing fonts that are illegible.
The goal of graphic design is to send a visually appealing message from the eyes to the brain of the consumer, and to do it quickly, clearly and effectively.
Some basic principles of graphic design and branding were discussed.
When starting a business, choosing a logo is intertwined with choosing a brand name. Therefore it is important to ensure that the name you choose is actually available to you before you start designing your brand.
Once you have a name, keep it short and don’t necessarily include what you sell. If you leave out certain things, it adds an element of mystery to the name, and also allows for growth of the business to make / sell different products in future.
Initialisms, acronyms and alliteration can all be used to create interesting brand names.
It was noted that grammar is not important when it comes to branding. For example, the Apple tagline ‘Think Different’ is grammatically incorrect, but this is what makes people stop and think about the name for longer than they may have otherwise.
Use of fonts and typefaces needs to be carefully considered throughout your business and this was discussed. Typeface is the look and feel, i.e. is it industrial, ornate etc. Within the typeface, you have the font such as bold, italic etc.
You need to be careful when mixing fonts, that you don’t use too many, and don’t use fonts that are too similar as this can look like a mistake. Make a clear contrast between the two, for example, a flowy font mixed with a more simple Arial-style font.
When designing your logo, you should consider what kind of format it is going to be used in. For example, is it for social media, for print, for banners, does it need to be large or small, and how will it scale for all these different uses?
One way around this is to design two or three logos for different applications, i.e. one in portrait, one in landscape etc.
Colour use was discussed, and Ron noted that a great program for designing logos is Adobe Illustrator or Canva as these are vector-based, scale well, and allow the use of multiple colours without changing the clarity of the image.
You should also avoid saving logo files as either a JPG or PNG, unless you are saving the file at the size that you want to use.
Another important consideration for naming your business is regional dialects and lingo. If you are naming for a world market, make sure that people from other regions will understand what you are selling. Also, think about measurements and listing with both metric and imperial measures.
Ron discussed spacing, and noted that logos should be checked particularly for spacing that is either too large or too small. You don’t want the logo to look gappy or cramped.
Ron’s handmade business was discussed. This is Trisha’s Wares Home Decor, a business started by his wife Trish, that began when she started doing craft activities and wanted to make a business from it. Ron then got involved and they now run the business together and want to build it up as a legacy for their three grandchildren.
They have an Etsy shop, Trisha’s Wares, and also a blog at trishaswares.com where Ron outlines tips and tricks they’ve learned along the way in the business, as well
53 min
June 21, 2022 Graphic Design Fundamentals for Makers with Ron Miller [289]
53 min
June 08, 2022Top Pinterest Tips for Etsy Sellers 2022 [288]
One post on Pinterest can drive traffic to your Etsy shop for years!
If you’re an Etsy seller who’s new to Pinterest, or not sure of best practice in 2022, today I’m going to share my top tips to help you market your Etsy shop on Pinterest!
Also!
If you find Pinterest overwhelming; you don’t know where to start; or you’ve fallen off the wagon (i.e. out of the habit of using Pinterest regularly) then join me for the #PinterestChallenge, starting next week!
What is the #PinterestChallenge?
Basically – it’s a chance to grow your Pinterest account (and therefore traffic to your website!) via a two-week-long challenge in a group setting.
The basic gist is that you will spend a minimum of 10 minutes every day working on your Pinterest account.
And – bonus! – I will also be sharing one Pinterest tip or hack with you each day inside the Thriver Circle forum on Facebook.
I’ve got lots of juicy Pinterest suggestions for you!
Click here to join the 2022 Pinterest Challenge!
You can listen to this podcast below, or on your fave podcast app – or you can watch it on YouTube!
Watch on YouTube…
Support the show
You can make a secure donation (of the amount of your choice) via the Paypal button below.

Each donation helps cover the cost of hosting, show-note writing, research, interviewing, recording, editing, etc. etc.
In short – it helps to cover the time and financial costs of putting together a free weekly show to help you grow your handmade business.
You can also:
Leave a review on the C&T FB page.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Join the Thriver Circle – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.
Listen Now
18 min
May 13, 2022How Etsy Search Works: all the things that affect your shop and product ranking [286]
A definitive explanation of EVERYTHING that affects your search ranking in Etsy search, in the hope that it will help you increase your traffic!
I’ll break down exactly what influences where your products rank in the Etsy search algorithm, including things like:
☑️ Your titles, tags, attributes and categories
☑️ Query matching and ranking
☑️ Listing Quality Score
☑️ Customer and Market Experience
☑️ Shipping
☑️ Frequency Capping
☑️ Location
And more…
There is a LOT that impacts your ranking on Etsy search.
Much of it you can have an impact on… but some of it, you don’t have any control at all, and it’s important to know what you can and can’t influence.
You can listen to this podcast below, or on your fave podcast app – or you can watch it on YouTube!
P.S. I’m giving you the chance to get 20% off the cost of my Wholesale Know-How course this May (2022). Here’s how.
Watch on YouTube…
Support the show
You can make a secure donation (of the amount of your choice) via the Paypal button below.

Each donation helps cover the cost of hosting, show-note writing, research, interviewing, recording, editing, etc. etc.
In short – it helps to cover the time and financial costs of putting together a free weekly show to help you grow your handmade business.
You can also:
Leave a review on the C&T FB page.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Join the Thriver Circle – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.
Listen Now
23 min
April 27, 2022How Cassandra Pons Grew her Handmade Fashion Label [285]
Cassandra Pons knew she wanted to design and make clothes from when she was a teenager upcycling vintage clothes.
After studying fashion design, she started her business – Lazy Girl Lingerie – in 2016.
After years of dedicated work building her brand, she was able to go full-time in 2021!
Her focus is on diversity and inclusive sizing, and – being a handmade business – she also often makes pieces to fit the measurements of her customers.
Cass was a long-time member of the Thriver Circle – my membership community for makers – and I’ve invited her on the show today because I’ve been watching her business go from strength to strength over the last few years, and wanted her to share what she’s learnt with you all today!
You can listen to this episode below, or on your fave podcasting app!
Listen Now
Support the show
You can make a secure donation (of the amount of your choice) via the Paypal button below.

Each donation helps cover the cost of hosting, show-note writing, research, interviewing, recording, editing, etc. etc.
In short – it helps to cover the time and financial costs of putting together a free weekly show to help you grow your handmade business.
You can also:
Leave a review on the C&T FB page.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Join the Thriver Circle – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.
Highlights from this episode:
Cass spoke of how she started out having always been creative since a small girl, and moving into fashion design as a teenager and upcycling vintage clothes. Cass was encouraged by her art teacher to apply for a grant from Youth Arts QLD which she won, and used the funds to buy a sewing machine and a camera. This launched her into the local creative scene in Townsville and allowed her to meet local designers and intern with them.
Cass later moved to the Gold Coast and completed an Advanced Diploma in Applied Fashion Design and Technology which taught Cass about subjects including garment construction, IT, and business, and led to an internship.
Most people would have experienced frustration at not fitting into standard size clothes, and this became the whole concept of Cass’s business – making items to people’s measurements, and being passionate about diversity and inclusive sizing. Representing diversity in her marketing is also important as this allows people to see themselves in the product.
Lazy Girl Lingerie started very naturally in 2016, when Cass started an Instagram page to show what she was making and working on, before starting an Etsy shop, and eventually building a website and Shopify.
Cass has been full time in the business since July 2021, having transitioned slowly from working for someone else full time, then part time and then casual hours to keep an income alongside starting her own business.
Cass sells in Australia and internationally, with many customers in the US but more from Australia since Covid. She currently uses Etsy, Shopify, and Pinterest.
Cass also uses drop shipping websites. These are larger lingerie boutiques that sell all different brands, and this is a really good way to have your income dispersed in different ways.
Jess queried the use of drop shipping. Cass confirmed that this is common in the fashion industry, and also the company actually approached her. This is the beauty of Etsy in that people and companies become aware of you and your products.
Marketing was discussed.
“Instagram is a tool that I have always used and I guess my mindset is, instead of trying to sell to people, I’m just showing what I’m doing and building a community.” {Cass}
Although starting out with standard sizing, Cass found that many customers sent her their measurements anyway as they were from overseas or they have a particular issue and so many items are made to measure.
Photo shoots were discussed, as this can be a big outlay. Cass explained that studying at the Australian Institute of Creative Design meant that there were photographers around to work with and collaborate, perhaps initially on a voluntary basis before moving to paid work.
Reaching out to fellow makers and being friendly can allow you to make connections, and learn from and support each other.
“The biggest journey for me has been, change is the only constant, but just developing that confidence in myself and not having as much self doubt.” {Cass}
It is important to have a good support team around you, however you also need to develop your self confidence.
57 min
April 14, 2022My Thoughts on the Etsy Strike & Petition of 2022 [284]
This week, many Etsy sellers are boycotting to protest the transaction fee increase that began on the 11th of April (and a few other things, too).
In this episode, I go through the demands of the petition that kicked off the boycott, and share my thoughts on each demand in the petition.
You can listen to this podcast below, or on your fave podcast app – or you can watch it on YouTube!
Watch on YouTube…
Support the show
You can make a secure donation (of the amount of your choice) via the Paypal button below.

Each donation helps cover the cost of hosting, show-note writing, research, interviewing, recording, editing, etc. etc.
In short – it helps to cover the time and financial costs of putting together a free weekly show to help you grow your handmade business.
You can also:
Leave a review on the C&T FB page.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Join the Thriver Circle – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.
Listen Now
23 min
March 23, 2022Growing your Handmade Business with Instagram: Yulia Anderson of Matryoshka Doll Shop [283]
For anyone curious about how to successfully grow a handmade business with Instagram, don’t miss this episode!
My guest today is Yulia Anderson, who is a modern embroidery artist who turned her creative passion into a 6 figure online business and built a 169k IG following in less than 3 years.
She’s also a long-time listener of the Create & Thrive Podcast, and I’m so excited to have her on the show.
I love hearing from listeners who have taken what they’ve learnt from the C&T pod and elsewhere to grow a successful handmade biz!
(P.S. If that’s YOU, don’t hesitate to reach out to me and let me know, I’m always looking for new guests for the show!)
You can listen to this episode below, or on your fave podcasting app!
Listen Now
Support the show
You can make a secure donation (of the amount of your choice) via the Paypal button below.

Each donation helps cover the cost of hosting, show-note writing, research, interviewing, recording, editing, etc. etc.
In short – it helps to cover the time and financial costs of putting together a free weekly show to help you grow your handmade business.
You can also:
Leave a review on the C&T FB page.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Join the Thriver Circle – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.
Highlights from this episode:
Yulia started her business having always been very crafty and creative, making jewellery, cards, crochet, and embroidery, and she loved doing craft markets. Yulia noticed that embroidery had become a very popular hobby but this wasn’t viable for craft shows due to the small size of the product and the time consuming nature of it, so she started an Etsy shop in 2019.
Jess spoke of the very normal progression for handmade businesses, and the time it takes to build before becoming successful.
“You can’t climb a ladder by starting at the top, you’ve got to take all those steps one by one… I did get discouraged but I also was very motivated because I could see what people can do, and I knew if they can, so can I.” {Yulia}
Jess discussed the changes that Yulia made to her business to make it more successful. Firstly, Yulia realised she was underpricing her product due to still being in the mentality of her work being a hobby. Secondly, she removed products that were time consuming and replaced them with simpler projects that were desirable to customers.
Yulia also researched ways to be more efficient, improve her time management skills, and be more organised in her workspace.
The biggest change to Yulia’s business was the inclusion of a passive income stream in the form of digital patterns and embroidery kits.
The timing of this change coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic which amplified Yulia’s sales and the growth of the business.
Instagram was discussed as Yulia has 169,000 followers on this platform. Yulia noted that this has come about by posting consistently (daily), rather than sporadically.
Yulia spoke about writing her daily Instagram posts, and ensuring that they fit with one of the four types of posts: Informative, educational, inspiring or entertaining.
Jess spoke of Yulia’s photography being what sets her apart from other Etsy shops. This is a self taught skill for Yulia that she has developed over the years, and she also contributes this to the good editing software, Lightroom, that she uses.
The importance of the colour and branding of Yulia’s Etsy shop was discussed, and this is something else that has developed over time but that makes a big difference to sales.
The business name, Matryoshka Doll Shop, was spoken about. Yulia is originally from Russia and chose this name to reflect this part of herself.
T
1 hr 3 min
March 10, 2022How to Deal with Unhappy Online Customers in your Handmade Business [282]
You’re not alone, and it happens to everyone!
No matter how awesome you are, and how hard you try, eventually, one of your customers will have a complaint.
Maybe it’s your fault… and maybe it’s not.
No matter what, you have to deal with it, and ideally, turn that customer from an unhappy one into a satisfied one (though, this isn’t always possible).
Today, I’m going to share some strategies for dealing with unhappy customers – specifically for those of you who sell handmade online, though these steps will apply to anyone who sells online, too.
You can listen to this podcast below, or on your fave podcast app – or you can watch it on YouTube!
Support the show
You can make a secure donation (of the amount of your choice) via the Paypal button below.

Each donation helps cover the cost of hosting, show-note writing, research, interviewing, recording, editing, etc. etc.
In short – it helps to cover the time and financial costs of putting together a free weekly show to help you grow your handmade business.
You can also:
Leave a review on the C&T FB page.
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Join the Thriver Circle – without the members of the Circle, this podcast would not be possible.
Listen on the Podcast
Watch on YouTube…
23 min

About The Create & Thrive Podcast

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Learn how to turn your creative hobby into a thriving business with Jess Van Den

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