Screaming into the void

Over the last several years since I re-launched the magazine, I have found social media to be a struggle. Do you ever feel this way? I also noticed that so many artisan business owners seem to share this similar view.

Algorithms seem to be some kind of magic alchemy I can never quite master. Am I supposed to use the hashtags on Instagram- yes, no, maybe so? Wait, what percent of my followers are even shown my content? Is Tik-Tok banned this week? Oh look, Instagram just changed their whole grid layout without even a hint to its users. Oh yes, Threads- that lovely place where you can have wonderful conversations, or just disappear. Depends on how the algorithm feels that day. Sheesh. If I don’t laugh, I will definitely cry.

Social media has changed so much. Most of us can agree it is not for the better. While there are some bright spots it’s becoming harder and hard to build an audience. Most platforms continue to encourage scrolling versus engaging.

Then something magical happened

For me, the magic started out pretty painfully. The old WordPress/Brevo/Thrivecart/PDF Plug-in extravaganza I was using to host Handmade Seller magazine finally broke. I ripped it out and replaced it wholesale in 6 days of a sushi and pizza filled haze with Mr HMS by my side. The move to beehiiv happened quickly. It was either the stupidest thing I had done or perhaps the most brilliant and brave. While the jury is still out on that, I am leaning towards the latter.

Like many small businesses, I was struggling in different places. I don’t want to pretend that everything is perfect. It is a small business-how could it be? I don’t want you to feel alone in your business. For many small businesses, things are held together with duct tape, baling wire and prayer. But we are also spunky, resilient, and have a tremendous amount of grit. The previous infrastructure I was using was so fragmented that I could not really see how social media was or was not driving traffic, and more importantly, sign ups to my newsletter.

When I switched platforms, I began exploring a concept for the magazine for the first time. I began using UTM’s to track where my subscribers are coming from and to look at traffic from social media.

What’s a UTM?

Out of curiosity, I did a poll among Handmade Seller Readers. When I asked if businesses were using UTM’s to track marketing performance, readers had three responses to choose from- yes, no, or What’s a UTM? What’s a UTM won by a landslide with 77% of the vote. In other words, many of you were in the same place I was.

UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module. It was created by a company that was later purchased by Google.

Initially reading this, it may very well sound like gibberish and technical mumbo gumbo. Or like me, you may assume this is for paid advertising only since that is often where you see it referenced. It’s not- it is simply a tracking mechanism for traffic.

There are free tools that you use to create these UTM’s, so that you can ensure they are properly formatted. The one I use is called UTM builder, and you can find a link to that here.

My Eureka Moment

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