i agree, soldering smaller items could be a task. the only thing i can think of at this point, is to use thin solder, thin wire, and be sure there isn't much air movement at the time you try to solder.....and hopefully the room temp isn't too cold either.
usually it takes a bit longer to melt solder on the tip of the iron, as compared to the sides, but i now understand the side is too big, and too wide to do a neat job on your specific application.
i can't place the problem...i can only wonder why yours doesn't seem to get hot enough to do this job. either the room is too cool, or the iron isn't powerful enough, or something. this solder should melt easily with the tip of the iron. i can only assume at this point...maybe your solder isn't thin enough?
one thing for sure, you'll want to be patient til we can figure out what isn't working for you......... you don't want to melt the solder and drip it in place,.....that'll only cause problems.
i'm going to say good luck for now....but, i will continue to try to figure out why this isn't working for you.
is it possible the tip isn't screwed in securely? a bad connection could result in a cooler iron... too bad we don't know the actual temp of the iron......when i soldered on my job, we used expensive soldering irons that had a temp selector, which went from the low 700's to around 800 degrees....... we usually set it to 750...i think..... anyways, i am suspecting there is some reason your iron isn't getting hot enough for you.... i soldered a lot in my time, and it seriously bugs me that i can't get you up and running.......lol