I feel really stupid right now

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I just used an AI to generate a description. It's not perfect, but is a good start that can be edited. This might be a good way to break the writer's block when it comes to descriptions.

I told it: "Write a description for a handmade soap that is made from lard, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, and colloidal oats. It smells like chamomile and lavender. It is creamy white with thin, lavender colored swirls. It weighs 3.5 ounces."

It gave me: "This luxurious handmade soap is crafted from high quality ingredients including lard, olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil. To create a gentle, creamy formula, we added colloidal oats which give it a light, velvety texture. Infused with lavender and chamomile essential oils, this soap has a delicate scent that’s perfect for relaxation. Its creamy white base is swirled with lavender for an attractive finish, and it weighs in at 3.5 ounces. Enjoy a spa-like experience every time you use this soap!"
Wowsa. AI is going to be useful!
 
Wow! Which AI did you use?
I just used an AI to generate a description. It's not perfect, but is a good start that can be edited. This might be a good way to break the writer's block when it comes to descriptions.

I told it: "Write a description for a handmade soap that is made from lard, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, and colloidal oats. It smells like chamomile and lavender. It is creamy white with thin, lavender colored swirls. It weighs 3.5 ounces."

It gave me: "This luxurious handmade soap is crafted from high quality ingredients including lard, olive oil, coconut oil, and avocado oil. To create a gentle, creamy formula, we added colloidal oats which give it a light, velvety texture. Infused with lavender and chamomile essential oils, this soap has a delicate scent that’s perfect for relaxation. Its creamy white base is swirled with lavender for an attractive finish, and it weighs in at 3.5 ounces. Enjoy a spa-like experience every time you use this soap!"
 
Wow, thanks everyone. Much appreciated. Now I have some exploring to do.

Seriously, this is the description chatgpt gave to my best selling coconut cream bath bomb.

"Indulge in a blissful tropical escape with our Coconut Cream Bath Bomb, infused with nourishing buttermilk and safflower oil. With each fragrant fizz, you'll be immersed in a rich, creamy coconut scent that transports you to a sunny island paradise. Made with natural, skin-loving ingredients, this bath bomb releases a moisturizing blend of safflower oil and buttermilk that leaves your skin feeling silky smooth and radiant. Relax and unwind in a luxurious soak enriched with the sweet, soothing aroma of fresh coconut cream."

I've been trying to avoid AI because I think it's a very dangerous thing we are doing with AI but that's a **** good description. I wonder if I should be worried.
 
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Wow, thanks everyone. Much appreciated. Now I have some exploring to do.

Seriously, this is the description chatgpt gave to my best selling coconut cream bath bomb.

"Indulge in a blissful tropical escape with our Coconut Cream Bath Bomb, infused with nourishing buttermilk and safflower oil. With each fragrant fizz, you'll be immersed in a rich, creamy coconut scent that transports you to a sunny island paradise. Made with natural, skin-loving ingredients, this bath bomb releases a moisturizing blend of safflower oil and buttermilk that leaves your skin feeling silky smooth and radiant. Relax and unwind in a luxurious soak enriched with the sweet, soothing aroma of fresh coconut cream."

I've been trying to avoid AI because I think it's a very dangerous thing we are doing with AI but that's a **** good description. I wonder if I should be worried.
Only at the thought of *everyone's * descriptions sounding all the same, using the same florid prose.

As a tool to break your personal block, sure. As a replacement for your individuality, your authentic voice? I sincerely hope not.
 
@QuasiQuadrant
Well, aren't you so very special! But you seem to be failing in one aspect. You have a lot of unhappy former clients. See a pattern here?

I have chosen to not advertise my services to small businesses because I have had small business owners take advantage of my kindness in the past, and then refuse to pay the balance...

I have had to fire clients in the past, most recently just a couple of weeks ago. A friend with a local business who now will not even speak to me because...

Believe me, clients can be a nightmare.

I do know that the general public understands nothing about this field & the skills it takes to ensure clients see results & therefore do not respect the skills which people like me have cultivated over many years...

...the general public understand nothing about the technology involved & virtually nothing about how the internet itself & search engines actually work.

We are all 'special' in our very own ways 😂

My only 'unhappy clients' are those who have repeatedly crossed boundaries & who I have fired. I get to do that, not the other way around, because I make the decisions for my business. My clients do NOT make decisions for my business. I do not make the mistake of running myself ragged trying to keep everyone & their family goat happy, especially when it becomes evident that they're unreasonable & demanding. Their happiness, as well as their personal psychological issues, are not my responsibility. I have dealt with enough of that over 30 years that I have learned when it's smarter to cut my ties with my clients, rather than allowing them to take advantage of me. THAT is a healthy decision, based on what is healthy for me.

My others long-term clients have gained greatly from my services, and have chosen to continue paying me for very long periods of time because they see the results I produce.

And yes, it is true, that the general public understand little to nothing about this field. That's not my doing. People can choose to learn, as I once did, and am doing all the time. Anyone who wishes to learn can type their questions into a search engine. I did exactly this by searching 'search engine optimizing for Etsy' and found many, many articles. That's a good place to start. Or go to a site seeking dirt cheap, sub-par services & get what you pay for.

Free choice :)
 
I wish I could do shoppify or wix. They are both expensive. I don't know how anyone can afford those prices. I've tried setting up my own wordpress website. I got so frustrated. You need so many different plugins and most of the good ones are a monthly fee making it at least as expensive and more of a pain than just having shoppify or wix.

Although that's a pita, it's not really that part that's the problem. It's the SEO, the descriptions, setting up the taxes, etc. The "design" is easy. It's the other stuff that's not.
You would be walking straight into yet another problem with Wix, or any other 'website builder'.

I just now checked Wix's code - the same code which a search engine would 'see' when doing their crawls. It is a search engine optimization nightmare, which means you'd be dead in the water paying for something which doesn't serve you or your business to its advantage. Even if you paid someone to so-called 'search engine optimize' the pages of your site, this would be a complete waste of money. Wix is also very buggy. Problems out the ying-yang. And Wix's 'free' option leaves you in a position of not actually having any rights to your website.

For somebody just beginning, your best bet is to buy an HTML website template from somewhere like Envato Market or similar - and choose carefully, nothing too complicated - and learn how to use it. You then have complete control of your website, as well as your content, and have the freedom to search engine optimize as you learn. You can sometimes hire template sellers via Envato (eg. the same seller which you are purchasing your template from) to upload your template to your website host. They might even be willing to customize it for you. It depends on the seller. Don't expect dirt cheap Fiverr prices. You already know what you get with a platform such as Fiverr.

You would also need to find a reputable website hosting solution. That can be very inexpensive for a small business. I recommend people avoid companies such as GoDaddy etc. Find an independent, small business=type website hosting company - European-based companies are my personal preference for many reasons - which has been around for a long time - at least 10 years - and contact them. Ask questions.

I made my first website in the mid-90s when I began soap making because I saw what was out there - lots of ugly animated GIFs LOL - and I was not willing to trust my online presence to anyone else. So I learned, step by step, and I ended up with a very nice website within under a year's time. That is exactly where I started out with IT work. I had zero IT background at the time, and neither did anyone else as far as this specific field goes because it was all so new, but I did learn fast nonetheless. There were no templates at the time, so I had to learn to code a website from scratch. And I've continued learning over the past 30 years because this is a field which is constantly changing. Just as soap making is a continual, on-going learning process which never ends, so is IT work.

You would have it much easier than I did at that time being able to start with a template as a base, which would assist you in learning the basics, IF you're willing to take it seriously. Yes, it takes time, but it is time well-spent.

Yow. That took a lot of time to type out, all to lambaste someone on a tight budget for trying to get her business going.. who's already had a bad experience. Kicking someone when they're down isn't a great way to sell yourself. Maybe rethink how you meant to come across?

LOL I'm not selling myself, as I said. But I do know what I am good at, and there is no shame in that. I also know what I am not so good at, but do my best to learn what is applicable & beneficial to my own life.

Reinforcing someone's feeling of victimhood does nothing to help them. It prevents people from finding the solution which works for them.
 
LOL I'm not selling myself, as I said. But I do know what I am good at, and there is no shame in that. I also know what I am not so good at, but do my best to learn what is applicable & beneficial to my own life.

Reinforcing someone's feeling of victimhood does nothing to help them. It prevents people from finding the solution which works for them.
No, it's just rude.
 
Sometimes I think people forget that what is easy (or fun) for them is a nightmare for others. Not everyone has the right make-up, if you will, to develop and maintain their own website. Yes, we can all learn stuff if we put enough time into it. But for some people, that learning will be fast, or fun, or both... whereas others will be miserable for every millisecond of time they are forced to spend on it.

I am pretty techy and can figure stuff out... but I HATE website development. If I had nothing else to do, I could dig into it and become proficient. But I would still hate it. Also, I have a huge list of other things I need to do, and under that, another huge list of things I like to do and want to do. Website development doesn't make either of those lists. I don't mind small maintenance stuff (new pics, new content), but the development makes me cray-cray.

FWIW, I have been very fortunate to have nice sites built for me through Fiverr, and hosted on GoDaddy. They have performed well. Two colleagues have Wix sites that also do very well. We all agree that letting someone else do that work for us was THE best decision that instantly made our lives so much happier.

Sorry, @MelissaG if that's not of any practical help. Just know that I can definitely sympathize with the need to outsource this stuff, and I wish you the best in finding a good solution for your situation.
 
Sometimes I think people forget that what is easy (or fun) for them is a nightmare for others. Not everyone has the right make-up, if you will, to develop and maintain their own website. Yes, we can all learn stuff if we put enough time into it. But for some people, that learning will be fast, or fun, or both... whereas others will be miserable for every millisecond of time they are forced to spend on it.
None of it was easy for me, and it wasn't a whole lot of fun at that time either. Especially since I was a broke 20-something year old mother with 2 small kids going to the food bank & beginning to make soap & dealing with debilitating depression which nearly killed me. Nonetheless, it was important to me, so I stuck with it. The end result - the website I had never imagined I was capable of coding myself - and the resulting very large wholesale order I gained within 6 months of my website going live, simply due to me sticking with it, ended up being worth every minute of it. I also found out that I was incredibly good at something technical, when that was the first year I had ever sat down at a computer & started exploring the new internet. That lesson I learned turned a lightbulb on, and eventually turned into a professional career I never would have imagined myself in at that time. That 'hardship' was one of the greatest gifts I ever received, amongst many.

I can empathize - been there done that - but I will not pity someone. Pity is disabling & demoralizing, even if it feels satisfying in the moment to be receiving it. If someone is determined because they truly wish to continue doing what they are doing because they love it, they are not going to let anything stop them. That I have had to learn myself over many years & many mistakes of my own.

I am pretty techy and can figure stuff out... but I HATE website development. If I had nothing else to do, I could dig into it and become proficient. But I would still hate it. Also, I have a huge list of other things I need to do, and under that, another huge list of things I like to do and want to do. Website development doesn't make either of those lists. I don't mind small maintenance stuff (new pics, new content), but the development makes me cray-cray.

I think the majority of us are busy, as I am myself. Stupidly busy. Continuing with my regular job and also restarting my soap making / body care / herbal products business, on top of all the responsibilities I have otherwise due to where I choose to live, is not easy. Nonetheless, all of these things are important to me, especially after leaving an abusive husband of 16 years 3 years ago & having to start my life over from scratch. And no, I am not 'selling' my so-called 'hardship', which yet again has been a gift I didn't even realize at the time. My point is, people are capable of FAR more than they imagine themselves to be, even in dire circumstances. That in itself is a learning experience, which I know personally.

FWIW, I have been very fortunate to have nice sites built for me through Fiverr, and hosted on GoDaddy. They have performed well. Two colleagues have Wix sites that also do very well. We all agree that letting someone else do that work for us was THE best decision that instantly made our lives so much happier.

Sorry, @MelissaG if that's not of any practical help. Just know that I can definitely sympathize with the need to outsource this stuff, and I wish you the best in finding a good solution for your situation.

There is nothing wrong with delegating, but with delegating also comes disappointments, frustrations & yes, rip-offs, AND being willing to let go of control of your project, which should be expected. When things go sideways like they did in her case, people need to be prepared to deal with that as well, which requires a whole new set of skills. If someone has educated themselves at least somewhat, they will be far better prepared, and will be able to avoid many pitfalls. The information is out there & readily available, even information regarding search engine optimizing for Etsy, for anyone who is willing to make the effort. It's not difficult. Read the many free articles people have kindly made available, put those things into play, then repeat for each product listing. The person then knows what to look for if they hire someone next time around, what questions to ask, rather than just looking at star ratings before hiring someone. Far easier than search engine optimizing the code, text, images, blog posts etc of a website.

Regarding Wix & GoDaddy, along with many other companies, would still never recommend them to any client, family member or friend for countless reasons. First & foremost is having a website visible in first page search engine results within your industry & among your competitors on a consistent, ongoing, long-term basis. if a website is done properly, if the details are properly taken care of within the website's code - there is *so much* to this related to search engine optimization - and if a person learns how to leverage social media platforms to their advantage, that is guaranteed to happen.
 
Sometimes I think people forget that what is easy (or fun) for them is a nightmare for others. Not everyone has the right make-up, if you will, to develop and maintain their own website. Yes, we can all learn stuff if we put enough time into it. But for some people, that learning will be fast, or fun, or both... whereas others will be miserable for every millisecond of time they are forced to spend on it.

I am pretty techy and can figure stuff out... but I HATE website development. If I had nothing else to do, I could dig into it and become proficient. But I would still hate it. Also, I have a huge list of other things I need to do, and under that, another huge list of things I like to do and want to do. Website development doesn't make either of those lists. I don't mind small maintenance stuff (new pics, new content), but the development makes me cray-cray.

FWIW, I have been very fortunate to have nice sites built for me through Fiverr, and hosted on GoDaddy. They have performed well. Two colleagues have Wix sites that also do very well. We all agree that letting someone else do that work for us was THE best decision that instantly made our lives so much happier.

Sorry, @MelissaG if that's not of any practical help. Just know that I can definitely sympathize with the need to outsource this stuff, and I wish you the best in finding a good solution for your situation.
Actually I could do it. If I really wanted to. But it makes me feel like pulling my hair out. I HATE it. It's like getting me to clean the bathroom. I can easily. Do I want to? No. I'd rather hire someone to come in every once in a while to clean my house than do it myself because it grates on my nerves. Same with yard work.

This website stuff though... the descriptions and the SEO... I draw a complete blank. It's like my mind just goes "duhhh" when I try to figure it out. Some people are good at some things, some people aren't.

Little short story. When I was in junior high I was doing fantastic in math and chemistry. Like A's and B's all the way. Then I had summer off. I went to high school and it was like every single bit of knowledge I learned the previous years had fled my brain. The only reason I graduated high school was because I cheated with my boyfriends help (He was sitting next to m) with all the math, chemistry and physics stuff. To this day, I still don't know why it all fled my brain in the space of a few months. I even stayed after school to get help from the teachers and it did nothing. I remember my grade 11 math teacher saying that he knew I was trying but he didn't know how to help since it just seemed like I couldn't wrap my head around the subject.

It's the same with descriptions and seo. The design part is easy. The words? That's something different. I can easily chat informally like this but that's not very professional.
 
Actually I could do it. If I really wanted to. But it makes me feel like pulling my hair out. I HATE it. It's like getting me to clean the bathroom. I can easily. Do I want to? No. I'd rather hire someone to come in every once in a while to clean my house than do it myself because it grates on my nerves. Same with yard work.

This website stuff though... the descriptions and the SEO... I draw a complete blank. It's like my mind just goes "duhhh" when I try to figure it out. Some people are good at some things, some people aren't.

Little short story. When I was in junior high I was doing fantastic in math and chemistry. Like A's and B's all the way. Then I had summer off. I went to high school and it was like every single bit of knowledge I learned the previous years had fled my brain. The only reason I graduated high school was because I cheated with my boyfriends help (He was sitting next to m) with all the math, chemistry and physics stuff. To this day, I still don't know why it all fled my brain in the space of a few months. I even stayed after school to get help from the teachers and it did nothing. I remember my grade 11 math teacher saying that he knew I was trying but he didn't know how to help since it just seemed like I couldn't wrap my head around the subject.

It's the same with descriptions and seo. The design part is easy. The words? That's something different. I can easily chat informally like this but that's not very professional.
That is too funny... I am the exact opposite. The writing descriptions? Love it, flows easily. Design stuff? I can easily identify what I like once it is created, but trying to create it myself is like trying to fly: a painful waste of time with an ugly mess at the end.

Good things can come out of forcing yourself to do things you don't like. But bad things can also come from that, too. We all have to decide where to draw that line for ourselves. What works for someone else could, for you, be fantastic, disastrous, or anything in between.

And for the record, contrary to previous remarks made above, I don't pity you. I consider pity to be arrogant and condescending, often with the intent to cause someone to feel shame or to stay stuck. But I do absolutely empathize with you, very concretely because I've been right there. Maybe others here don't agree, but I find empathy to be empowering and encouraging. For me, it normalizes my experience so I don't feel like I'm the only idiot who's ever made THAT mistake. With the emotions of shame or embarrassment removed, then I can think clearly again to go forward.

We all respond to different types of motivation. Yes, sometimes we need a kick in the pants to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, or a smack on the head to wake up to reality. But I find most people in most situations respond well to and are able to move forward with empathy. Please know that you have mine, and that I appreciate your honest sharing of what happened, as well as your determination to figure out the best way for you to move forward. You got this!
 
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Unlike rudeness about pity, that isn't it at all. It's just that some people have skill and talent with some things and some people don't. We aren't good at everything. No one does everything by themselves. There is not a single person that is the center of the universe even when we think we are like certain politicians who shall remain nameless.

But what do you do when you aren't talented in an area? Or you just loath doing the work? You find someone else who can and/or does. It's just not always successful.

I've been a staff manager. That was a nightmare and a half. You can go through a dozen people or more before you find one worth keeping. It's just life. I just felt stupid for falling for it when my instinct was saying no but it isn't the first time I've made a mistake like that and probably won't be the last. I came to a place where I thought others would understand. If they can't, then they don't need to reply like a couple others here who seem to have very little to contribute other than insults or degradation.

We support each other because no one goes through life alone.
 
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That is too funny... I am the exact opposite. The writing descriptions? Love it, flows easily. Design stuff? I can easily identify what I like once it is created, but trying to create it myself is like trying to fly: a painful waste of time with an ugly mess at the end.

Good things can come out of forcing yourself to do things you don't like. But bad things can also come from that, too. We all have to decide where to draw that line for ourselves. What works for someone else could, for you, be fantastic, disastrous, or anything in between.

And for the record, contrary to previous remarks made above, I don't pity you. I consider pity to be arrogant and condescending, often with the intent to cause someone to feel shame or to stay stuck. But I do absolutely empathize with you, very concretely because I've been right there. Maybe others here don't agree, but I find empathy to be empowering and encouraging. For me, it normalizes my experience so I don't feel like I'm the only idiot who's ever made THAT mistake. With the emotions of shame or embarrassment removed, then I can think clearly again to go forward.

We all respond to different types of motivation. Yes, sometimes we need a kick in the pants to stop feeling sorry for ourselves, or a smack on the head to wake up to reality. But I find most people in most situations respond well to and are able to move forward with empathy. Please know that you have mine, and that I appreciate your honest sharing of what happened, as well as your determination to figure out the best way for you to move forward. You got this!
lol, wish I was you. I see so many designs in my head I want to do. Translating them to actual reality tends to be more difficult.

Compassion and empathy are needed in this world. Too many people are lacking that. It makes you human to care about others.

I was upset at first but felt better after talking to some here until I was attacked for asking for pity and effectively being lazy. I'm trying very hard to hold my tongue about some of the things that have been said to me and trying to be kind anyway. Life is hard enough without us tearing each other down. We are all in the same business and should be supporting each other.
 
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