I just made my first sale in my own, personal website! Not Etsy, not Ebay, just Rivkasmom.com. :-D I feel like such a grownup, like when the training wheels come off of your bike for the first time, and you're flying down the street with nothing to hold you up except your own skill.
I've heard people over and over say "don't put all your eggs in one basket" when it comes to online marketing, and it's so very true. Ebay sales are in a major nosedive, Etsy's servers were down for maintenance for several days, and I still had a place for people to find my work.
If you are serious about your work, you really need to get your own domain. If you're just starting out, buy your domain anyway and have it point to your Etsy, Mintd, Trunkt, Dawanda, or other selling venue. It will help you in Google rankings and be a great place holder for when you're ready to expand. It's only about $10 a year (if you're in the US) and it will also keep someone else from using your business name.
In the world of commerce, this is a crucial rule: It's not who thought of it first, it's who REGISTERED it first. This goes for trademarks, copyrights, domain names, and just about everything else.
Next up, I'll go into more detail about my website and webhost, as it really deserves it's own post. For now, I'll just say that you should go look at www.Volusion.com, because they rock my socks.
~Grace
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