My Reply: "Etsy for introverts" - Is Etsy Only For Extroverted Artists?

I came across this discussion post in the Etsy forum recently and wanted to comment on it badly because it is a problem that plagues our people. So, without further ado, here is the post.

Via Etsy Business Topics forum (http://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/business-topics/discuss/8718029/)

More and more, Etsy focuses on being social to bring people into our shops. But what about people who aren't social? I sell my items online because I'm NOT a social person. I rarely leave my house if I don't have to. I don't enjoy conversations. I don't have the need many do for social interaction. So using social media, for me feels very forced. I feel like I am being held hostage to social media. I have a personal facebook page that I have my family and a few close friends on, and a business page that I HATE posting on. I have a Twitter, but I hate tweeting. To me if feels so fake. I have no interest in forming relationships with people, I just want people who like my items to buy them. I am a knitter, not a social butterfly. I feel though that people like me are going to fall through the cracks on Etsy. I know there are others like me, who have great skills and great products but no aptitude for appealing to people en masse. I guess lately I've been feeling like a square peg in the "circle".

First off I would like to say, this post is in NO WAY attacking or making fun of this person's comment. It is to comment on it and understand because I think many people on Etsy feel this way--which is why most of them seek online business instead of face-to-face businesses.

Okay, now that is out of the way, I want to say that introverts should work on improving their communication skills.  This is due to the fact that businesses will not succeed on a grand scale if no one  speaks of them. Why is this? Well, think about it. If you never heard of Staples or Macy's would you shop there? It may seem like a dumb question but think about it. If it doesn't exist you would not go to it and businesses thrive on income received. The thing is, those stores do exist and we know they do so we go there. This point was pushed further when I attended an online webinar a while ago that stated that the main reason businesses fail is because they lack the tools to market themselves to the right people. The webinar host said "how many people here feel like their business is a 'billboard in the desert?'" to which many people said yes--which brings me to my next point. 

There is no better tool than your hands and your mouth. You can't find your target market unless you speak to the market. Researchers and analysts do this all the time through surveys via email and mail and even through telephone interviews. From an Etsy standpoint, sellers ask for shop feedback and item feedback through the forums, as if trying to find the perfect person who would buy their product. The same thing is done with family members when we ask, "does this look okay on me?" or "should I buy this?" How else would we know unless someone told us? "I sell my items online because I'm NOT a social person." Just think about this for a moment. You are on the internet selling things but don't consider yourself to be social...and you made a post about not being social which you shared with the world! I even found it! You are being social! You just spoke to the world! Furthermore, "I don't enjoy conversations. I don't have the need many do for social interaction. So using social media, for me feels very forced. I feel like I am being held hostage to social media. I have a personal facebook page that I have my family and a few close friends on..." Wait a minute. Using social media feels "forced" yet you have a personal Facebook page. Hmm....It's a paradox.

This is my verdict. Since I practice a humanistic, Freudian, and evolutionary method of understanding human cognitions and behaviors, I have come to the conclusion that one's non-interaction may be due to the lack of understanding of how to use the tools to interact or the fear of being socially accepted. When this comes to running a business, one may not understand or feel a part of the business world because they either lack the tools to be successful in their business, have the tools and don't know how to use them properly, or feel that their lack of success is due to a flaw in their personality or character. 9 times out of 10, extreme introverts feel the latter. They know they don't know how to use the tools that they have and feel their lack of success is due to a flaw within themselves. This cognitive flaw in perception leads to another flaw in perception: one's innate ability to succeed as a person. It is no wonder why some introverts may therefore think negatively of their success within their own lives, Etsy, or the world--and therefore come to the conclusion that they do not fit in because they are an introvert--which they practice everyday in order to prove their point. I know I had to get deep all of a sudden but think about it. The person said that he/she had a personal Facebook but hated posting on the business Facebook page.  

[U]sing social media, for me feels very forced. I feel like I am being held hostage to social media. I have a personal facebook page that I have my family and a few close friends on, and a business page that I HATE posting on. I have a Twitter, but I hate tweeting. To me if feels so fake. I have no interest in forming relationships with people, I just want people who like my items to buy them. I am a knitter, not a social butterfly. I feel though that people like me are going to fall through the cracks on Etsy. I know there are others like me, who have great skills and great products but no aptitude for appealing to people en masse. I guess lately I've been feeling like a square peg in the "circle".

Remember the part about the "billboard in the desert" comment earlier? There you have it. "I guess lately I've been feeling like a square peg in the "circle"." What a whirlpool. It's a circular argument--I am this way because I am not fake which is why I may not succeed because I am this way. Business is not supposed to be like that! Trust me! For a moment I want you to think about the imagery of both a billboard in the desert and a square peg in a circle. Isn't a billboard square-ish and the globe round? It's the same concept!

If that person knew how to communicate to anyone to get them to buy from them and praise their work, this post wouldn't have been typed because odds are they would be successful. I bet they would still call themselves an introvert though (because they're stubborn). The truth is, an "Etsy for introverts" just wouldn't be successful. Everyone would be too afraid to talk and communicate. No one would reply to your posts...and well, it'd be flat out boring. You probably wouldn't even sign up...and if you did, you wouldn't be active.

Perhaps your introversion is the key to your success. What a lot of introverts don't know is that your introversion can be used as an identifier for your customers. Think about gothic and emo clothing and identity. And to be honest, that is the best thing about business--you can target people like you! So, if you only have a facebook with a friends and family, target them! Do you have products that you want others like you to wear? Find them! And that's the purpose of Twitter and Facebook. People have to stop thinking in such a self-centered way--"I'm going to put my product out there and people are going to buy it." That's insane! Not even the post author does that! You mean to tell me, you buy anything you see? Hm. So, people need to start targeting people. Asking yourself why would someone want to buy my work? In other words, what problem are you solving when you create your product? Yes, you have to solve some type of problem. That's actually why you started selling! No matter what though, you will have to start opening your mouth but take your time. Don't overwhelm yourself with social media. That's why it feels "fake"--because you haven't yet reached the point where you feel comfortable doing that. It's like all of a sudden jumping off a plane. You'd be scared to death and mad at the people making you do it. Over time, however, it will feel like your knitting hands--you'll need it to create great work. Your vision will only go as far as you allow it. So if you want to just knit in silence with no human interaction then go for it. Just don't fear you'll "fall through the cracks on Etsy" because you are creating that end. You said that yourself. You just want to be a "knitter". That's it. So, that is all you will be. I always say, thoughts are things.

If you want to do more then start communicating! Target people like you! You all have something in common that can bring you all together. Introversion and extroversion are neither good nor bad. However, extreme introversion and extroversion are terrible. One needs the other to stay in balance and really, I think the author of this post was just afraid to take the lunge into speaking and wanted an easy way out--hence the title "Etsy for introverts".

Introversion is a combination of personality and reinforced (or learned) behavior. I believe that at the source of introversion is a fear of communicating. That is why some people feel the need to explain away their introversion (using the circular reasoning I referred to before). Over time, without the right tools to instill confidence in themselves, some introverts won't ever overcome this fear. This is why it is imperative that introverts communicate with others more and more so that the fear of communicating will be overcome. Those who are introverts and don't speak have people who sponsor them and speak for them. If you don't have this luxury, then you must speak for yourself and your product. You know, it is possible to be an introvert and not appear to be one. Looks can be deceiving. Practicing communication skills helps us remain confident in ourselves, our abilities, and our businesses. All social networking sites are supposed to do is help you with that--even Etsy. Don't let social media be the end-all for your success but the tools that you master in order to succeed. You've mastered knitting but you wouldn't tell someone who couldn't knit that knitting is not for them because they don't fit the stereotypical knitter's profile. You'd instead tell them that it is something they must learn and practice. If they don't know how, read about it, ask about it, and above all, remain confident that they can succeed in it. Otherwise, it will all be too much and they will "fall through the cracks" of knitting. The knitting forums do not make them. Knitting does not make them. It is their ability to defy the stereotype, make a difference, and be unique that does. After all, it is the spirit of the knitter that makes the beautiful hat, not the knitter's tools. 

By the way, I forgot to tell you, I'm an introvert too. :)

Written with love,
Naimah

Edit: A very important point was made in the forum and I think it is worth adding: "An introvert can work on being more outgoing and assertive without giving up his or her identity as an introvert."