Sites Like Etsy, But Free

www.driftwoodmall.com

In an attempt to look for sites like Etsy, but free, I had an inspiration. I love Etsy, and I still continue to sell successfully on the site, but like many people, I was looking to find alternatives. When you have handmade goods and interesting supplies to sell, there's no harm in listing them in more than one place, especially when they are selling on a regular basis.

I couldn't find any sites like Etsy that were free and suited my needs. I tried Bonanza and never had any luck. I do make handcrafted items, but I also like to sell natural supplies, like driftwood, shells and various cool and interesting things from the woods. So many other people are more creative than I am, and I like to provide supplies to those people and see what is created with them. I've had success in the past selling items like this, and I've often had people approach me to find out how they could become sellers of similar items.

This is how Driftwood Mall was born. The site is an online marketplace, very much like Etsy. It offers FREE listings, which is great since you never really know whether something is going to sell, until you list it and people come flocking. If you are a seller of handmade items, natural supplies, creative art or recyclable materials, you are invited to apply for a shop.

How Driftwood Mall is Like Etsy:

• online marketplace for buying and selling handmade goods
• seller payment goes to straight through Paypal upon confirmation of sale
• users can favorite items and share via Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and more
• offers a blog (small at the moment) with related tips for buyers and sellers

How Driftwood Mall is NOT Like Etsy (but better...shhhh):

• no listing fees!
• seller payment is sent to Paypal immediately, and commission comes out of that payment. This means no monthly bills and no waiting for payment to be deposited based on certain conditions
• no added site shipping fees. This means that customers know exactly what they will be paying without being surprised by added shipping costs upon checkout.
• no vintage items that aren't handmade. I love vintage, but these items get in the way of the true spirit of creativity. 
• more specific categories that open up brand new markets and inspiration. Some of these include recyclable materials, natural supplies and half-finished projects.
• available sister blog where you can request one of your products for a feature post
• a small site at the moment (but we're open to changing that fast!) Smaller means customer service right now is fast and personal. If you have questions, we've got fast answers.
• viral contests available. Donate an item and watch traffic flood to your shop as people share your items on Facebook and Twitter to gain entries in the contest. (Email shop (at) driftwoodmall (dot) com to inquire now about donating an item for the contest...or contact us from the site.)
• sellers are encouraged to share links to their Etsy shops, as well as their personal websites. We believe in abundance. There's enough to go around and everyone deserves a piece.

How Driftwood Mall is NOT Like Etsy (and maybe not so good ways):
we are a growing site that launched in May of 2012. Started by one person in a living room, this was an enormous project that spawned entirely from drive and passion. We don't have as many cool bells and whistles in place yet, but if you join and help us spread the word, all that is listed in this section may fall right into place.

• Etsy just added cool functionality to accept credit card payments without using Paypal. Currently, Paypal is the only payment option available at Driftwood Mall
• No forum (yet!)
• Not as well known yet, but you can help fix that as well.

The Law of Attraction

Most of you may have already heard of the law of attraction. If not, you have to go get the movie, The Secret. Or...follow my other blog. :)

Whether you know a little bit, a lot or even nothing about the Law of Attraction, it's working in your life. Just like the law of gravity....which is definitely working in my life!! The law of attraction, simply put, means 'like attracts like'. Good thoughts bring good things. If you're thinking crappy thoughts, especially about how you perceive your current reality, you're probably drawing in much of the same.

In order to properly use the law of attraction, to bring all the goodies your way, you kind of have to fake it til you make it. Put your head in the clouds, sing, dance and shout for joy. Then you'll begin to change your reality.

Think all this sounds crazy???

Maybe it is, a little. But, it works! It works wonders, like magic! Like miracles every day. And this is not some crazy mumbo jumbo new-age crap. Just because you haven't heard about it already, doesn't make it untrue.


The reason I post about this here, is because you can use the law of attraction in your life to create or bring about anything. Anything in your heart's desire.

This includes opportunities (the right ones!), money, relationships, more time, etc. You can't just snap your fingers and have it work, though. It takes some practice and some rearrangement of your brain. There's a science here, and I'm actually talking about scientific proof, like stuff your kids or grandkids will one day read about in their textbooks at school.

So, if you'd like to know more about how you can use the law of attraction in your life, I encourage you to begin by checking out some of the articles on my other blog: Beginner Holistic Healing. There's a contest you can enter as well. (Big banner at the top of the page.) This will get you 3 months free in our law of attraction community where you can begin learning from the top experts about how to use certain tools to enhance your experience.

If you've ever wanted your life to be great, the time is NOW! We can do it. Please comment or email with questions. This is the most exciting thing ever! Go check out the blog!

Learn How Contests Can Drive Traffic, Plus Win a Free PC Game!

Contests provide much more than just a prize at the end of the sweepstakes. Using contests as a viral marketing tool for your business can bring awareness to your brand, attention to your products and can create a frenzy of customers who are willingly spreading the word about your website, products, services or online niche.

All you have to do is come up with an idea for a contest prize. This prize doesn't need to be worth hundreds of dollars, though the more value your contest prize has, the more interest you will create for your customers! You can give away anything really; a promotional item such as a hat, a free subscription to your member site, a free copy of your ebook, some artwork, or a product bought at a discount from one of your affiliate sites.
It doesn't matter what you're giving away, people will flock to your website or store to have the opportunity to get something for free. Because free stuff doesn't come around every day! There's usually a catch. So when your visitors and customers understand that they can win your prize just for stopping by your site and following the short list of rules, they'll tell all their friends and you're suddenly getting massive traffic to your site.

A new software has just been released that makes this concept of viral marketing with contests an absolute breeze. Contest Burner is an amazing plugin that can be used on your website or Wordpress blog to help drive traffic using social media. Once you install the plugin, which is effortless, you can set up your contest and enter in the prizes. Contest Burner attaches itself to your Twitter and Facebook accounts and awards prizes when other people spread the word about your contest, using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other avenues.

If you know anything about Internet marketing and social media, you'll understand that this is huge! You can see it in action right on my blog where I'm running a contest to win a free, full-version PC game. It's very simple to earn points in the contest. All you have to do is tweet on Twitter, share on Facebook, comment on the blog, etc. Each of these tasks will earn you points, while at the same time, spreading the word about the blog and website brand. It's a win-win situation for any blogger, Internet marketing, website owner and all the customers they wish to introduce their products and services to.

The creator of this software really knew what he was doing. I'm amazed at the ease of functionality and how quickly the word spreads.

Feel free to come by, enter my contest for a free PC game, check out how Contest Burner operates and make the decision to change the way you do business by using viral marketing contests!

Our First Contest on Success Achievements

SuccessAchievements.com is having its first contest!

Success Achievements is a social networking site that offers information and exchange on ways to make money online. You can post articles, participate in the forum and find loads of information on ways to turn your passion into profit. As you meet your online business goals, you get cool achievements for your efforts. This way, not only will you be learning how to make money online, but you'll be getting badges and points to show off to your friends on your personal profile.

The first contest aims to give someone with a Squidoo account a long-term and prominent link to his or her Squidoo profile. This can result in many page views, hits and certainly referral bonuses! If you Squidoo, this is a don't miss opportunity!

To see the contest rules, register and click the link for Contests in the User Menu at the top right. Alternatively, you can follow this link.