Goals for 2020: A Year of Focus & Growth

Happy 2020! A new year means a fresh start in the business. I had a lot of thoughts on 2019 and shared the review here. But now it’s time to take all of that information and move forward to planning and goals for 2020.

So time for the fun part, here are the plans & goals I have for 2020 and what I want to focus on for the next 12 months. I’m sure things will change over the year but this is a good starting point.

Goals for 2020, the Nuts & Bolts of the Business

Website

Since Proof & Parchment’s main focus is currently the Etsy shop I need my website to reflect that. Especially the homepage. I want to refocus parts of my website and have the bulk of my website reflect that Proof & Parchment is a shop. While at the same time use the blog for everything else I want to share. Like business tips, productivity hacks, and behind the scene look at my design process. I also want to continue to grow my users and improve on 2019’s numbers.

Email

With my email strategy I want to continue to grow my lists. However I want to be more intentional with my emails and use it for other parts of my business more effectively. Especially with Patreon and Etsy. I would also like to track the value of my emails better. There are a few strategies I’m looking at for 2020 to better my emails like adding in some surveys and maybe segmenting based on my audience’s needs.

Social Media

Honestly I don’t have a lot of big goals or thoughts in this area, which I’m sure could change over the year. I might just be a little overwhelmed with how much social media is constantly changing and is hard to keep up with. Plus I have never had much of an impact on my business from social media. The only caveat would be Pinterest which is really not that much of a social media and more of a visual search engine. I plan to focus most of my energy on continuing to grow my Pinterest traffic and optimizing my pins. As far as the rest, basically Instagram and Facebook, I will just use them as I feel like it.

Etsy

Since Etsy is currently the bulk of Proof & Parchment I will definitely be continuing to spend a lot of my time here. As far as 2020 in my Etsy shop these are some of my goals:

Continue to grow my shop’s product offerings
Have consistent sales year round
Increase direct traffic to my Etsy shop

There are a few more ideas I’m throwing around. I am not 100% sure which direction I will be heading but this what I’m considering:

A 2nd Etsy shop focused on party printables – invitations, cards, etc
A 2nd Etsy shop focused on the wedding industry and more calligraphy related items
Adding a shop element to my personal website and either have new products or add items from my Etsy shop

Designs & Products

Besides having goals for the overall Etsy shop and new ideas, I also have specific plans for the launches throughout 2020. I want to be more focused on when I design new products and when they are released. The goal is to get ahead this year instead of always feeling like I’m trying to catch up. Especially when it comes to the big holidays. To succeed in this I will be creating a launch schedule and work backwards from the dates.

The big plan is to have 4 main launches and create extra designs for each launch that I can still release at a trickle in between the big launches. The time frame for the launches will be early spring, late spring/summer, late summer, late fall.

Patreon

Patreon is a still a work in progress for Proof & Parchment. I have been constantly adding content every month for the patrons. However I still need to find a way to grow my patrons. For 2020 I will be working on a better marketing strategy and continue to adjust what is offered based on what is working.

Big Dreams

I don’t always share these type of ideas because it can be a little scary. But I figured I’d throw this out into the universe and see what happens. Also I will be putting in the time and effort to help make these a reality this year.

Goals for 2020: Calligraphy Customers

Some of my favorite jobs have been getting to do custom hand lettered and calligraphy items for customers. Since this brings me the most joy and satisfaction in my work I want to increase this aspect. In order to make this a reality or at least get closer to it I have a few ideas on what I will be doing this year.

Work on my calligraphy skills with weekly practice
Add additional calligraphy styles to my repertoire
Revisit Calligraphy Business Bootcamp course
Add new calligraphy listings to my shop
Add spot calligraphy or envelope calligraphy services to my website