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Tuesday, March 17, 2015

How Etsy Sellers can use Evernote to be more Productive



As an Etsy seller, whether you have found great success and are operating full-time, or if you are like me and do it on the side (but still with your whole heart!), you probably have a lot to do.  Between listing items, filling orders, social media, research and development, and of course the fun part, creating, there is a lot to keep up with when running your own business!

I bet you've tried a day planner of some kind.  I've never been a fan of a paper day planner.  It's just something else that I have to keep track of and carry around.  And nowadays, there's an app for just about everything, so why not a day planner?

Or so you'd think.  I tried oodles of apps, both paid and free, but nothing stuck.  I was organizing with daily to-do sticky notes.  Pretty inefficient, and heaven help me if I lost a sticky!

So when a friend referred me to Evernote, I figured I'd give it a try.

Now, I'll be honest.  I didn't really commit at first.  I'd had so much failure with other apps that I just didn't have the patience to give it the chance it deserved.  When I casually mentioned that to the friend who referred me, he said, "well, you will get out of it what you put into it."

Now isn't that the motto of every successful Etsy seller?

So I jumped in and decided to give it the real college try.  And I was richly rewarded.  This app has tons of applications for an organized entrepreneur, or even just a busy mom (aren't most of us both?) With solutions to separate home and office organization, set reminders, share notes, and even clip articles to read later, you really will get out of it what you put in.  The uses are endless, but here are just a few functions the multi-platform app has to offer an Etsy seller.

1. Multiple Platforms

You can open and sync Evernote from your computer, phone, and tablet.  This is great when you're on the run, and need to check your to-do list.  But since  you can access and edit notes from your computer, it also has the flexibility of entering large amounts of information quickly.

2. Separate by Notebook

Just as you would with a pen and paper, you can separate notes by "notebook."  For example, I have a "Home" notebook where I keep things like grocery lists and personal to-do lists.  I have a notebook for Research and Design where I can jot down ideas for my latest product, and clip articles on the research I've done on an ingredient (more on that later.)  I have multiple project notebooks for my day job in which I create meeting minutes and task lists, and share those notes with co-workers.  I plan to add a notebook in the near future for Social Media so that I can organize when and where to share posts.  You can format a note with bullets, numbers, or even check boxes to check of your to-do items as they get done.

3. Search

Ever lose a list?  You feel like you'll never be able to recreate it and capture everything you've lost.  Not with Evernote.  You can run a keyword search to find old lists and notes, so you never lose anything again!

4. Reminders

I haven't fully utilized this feature yet, but I need to!  Relying on my phone alarm clock and those Outlook calendar reminders that never seem to sync is not working for me.  Evernote has the capability of quickly setting reminders to keep you on track throughout the day, so you don't get easily sidetracked and spend 4 hours researching the latest trends on Pinterest...or maybe a recipe for dinner next week...or that pretty DIY side table...

5. Go Paperless

Want to add a picture to a note?  Maybe someone handed you a receipt or a business card you know you will lose.  Just take a quick picture of it without ever having to leave the app!  You can also drag and drop files right into the app on your computer.  Read the how-to on Evernote's blog.

6. Share Notes

Need to send the hubs the grocery list?  Who am I kidding, I don't know a married man who grocery shops.  But maybe you have business partners that you would like to share things from, from an idea you had on a product, to a to-do list, to an article you want them to read.  Just hit the share button, easy as pie!

7. Clip Articles

For all of you Pinterest addicts, this might free up your time!  I don't know about you, but when I get on Pinterest to look at something I've pinned, I always get sidetracked.  Streamline your productivity by clipping it instead of pinning it.  Just hit the share button on your phone when you find an article or blog you want to save for later, and clip it to Evernote.  Now, when you go to read it later, you won't get distracted!

8. Link Notes to other Notes

I use this capability for my task lists.  After I've done the research for a new product, maybe I have an item on my to do list to make a test batch.  I wouldn't want to cut and paste an entire recipe into my to-do list, but I can create a note link to go from my to-do list right to the recipe!  Talk about efficient.

9. Evernote Email

Evernote assigns you a unique email address when you sign up.  Now you can email an invoice, a wholesale order, or a receipt right to Evernote!  Having everything in one place has so many benefits for staying productive throughout your creative day.

10. 60MB of Storage

I have not even come close to exceeding my 60 MB of storage space yet, but if and when I do, I can upgrade to the paid Premium version of Evernote for only $4.99/month or $44.99/year.  So this app has the capability of growing with your creative business.  

There are so many things a creative business owner has to do that don't involve creating.  It's daunting and sometimes demoralizing, so anything that I can do to minimize the time I spend on non-creative operations for my business is worth doing to me.  I hope that you get as much out of this app for your creative business as I do.

What tools do you use to organize your day?

***This is not a sponsored post!  I honestly love Evernote and just wanted to share it with you.  You will get a free month of Evernote Premium if you use the links in this post, which gives me some sort of points that I have no use for since I use the free version.  But I wanted you to have the benefit of the free month of Premium if you have the need for it!