Yikes! My Etsy Shop is not ready….

Mr Yikes

FACT: There are fewer days to shop for holiday gifts this year.

Wait…fewer days…..How can this be?

 

Well, it turns out that Thanksgiving is extraordinarily late this year (11/28). Typically holiday shopping begins the following day on Black Friday, so there are only 26 days between then and Christmas. This is the shortest number of days between the two holidays since 2002!

 

Many Etsy shops have already considered this and are trying to respond accordingly with their holiday marketing and online presence.  It's going to be a very competitive shopping season, and I’m not ready… So now is the time to prepare for increased site traffic and shipping.

 

Seven steps to help get my Etsy shop on track:

1. Look Back: did you have any top sellers last holiday season or maybe something new that is selling now? Start planning ahead to make/create/prepare these items in particular.



One of my Top Selling items in my Etsy shop.

 

2. Take Inventory: of your stock, supplies, & time. Make lists of what you've got & what you need and go shopping now.

 

3. Clean Sweep: While taking inventory & planning which supplies need to be purchased...clean out your work bench and photo area for better efficiency. Store extra supplies and create a more streamlined creative space.  Cleaning the workbench always gets me inspired to work on new projects.

 

4. Fill Your Shop: Begin increasing your actual inventory now. You’ll have more to sell in the shortened shopping season.

 

5. Save the Date: Consider having an open house to show off (and sell) your designs to friends, family, neighbors, and whoever else shows up!

 

6. Post, Tweet, Pin…: Plan on making at least one social marketing broadcast each day. Get started now: write, revise, post, & get noticed.

 

7. Wrap, Label, and Send: Think now about packaging options for the holidays- in addition to your normal mailers, boxes, ribbon, etc. what do you needed for holiday wrapping?  I always put a pretty Christmas ribbon on my holiday jewelry boxes.

 

I need to get moving on these steps without delay, this is not the time to keep calm.

 The Madagascar movie tune "I like to Move It, Move It" keeps playing in my head.

I like to move it, move it...You got to move it, move it....

 

 

 

Three cheers for the Etsy feedback change…..

Have you noticed the new Etsy feedback system?

 

I have been remiss in keeping up with the Etsy system updates but I was pleased to see the modification to my shop this week. The change will help buyers and sellers get a better picture of a shop’s performance. The new 5-star rating system will be rolling out to all shops in the coming weeks. 

 

Here is an overview of the key changes:

1. The seller’s feedback will change from a percentage score (which included the seller’s purchases) to a 5-star rating system from buyers only.
2. The buyer’s profile name will be shown and they’ll be required to leave a comment when leaving a review.
3. There will no longer be feedback left for buyers. (never found this useful)
4. Reviews can be edited. Useful if there was a misunderstanding and the buyer wants to update the review.

 

Etsy believes that the 5-star review system is more shopper friendly. Many online shopping sites currently use this scoring format, so buyers may already be familiar with this system of rating their shopping experience and product quality.

 

I’m pleased the buyer’s feedback is being eliminated. I never found a lot of value in grading my buyers; they sent me payment and I sent them goodies…simple.

 

If you’d like to read the details of the feedback changes just visit this post on Etsy.

 

I’m very satisfied with the new rating system. I had a very bad experience with the old feedback system. As a buyer I was rated unfavorably because I asked a question about a product I had purchased.  The seller took offense to my question and rated me negatively.  This affected my overall score as a seller. (visit Bad Feedback post here for details). This can no longer happen with the new system.

 

Let me know your thoughts on the 5-star rating system.
Cheers!

 

Atlanta Artists and Crafters - New Meetup

Clipboards used for Jewelry Display

While chatting with some fellow Etsy sellers, we were discussing how much we all love creating our art, but we all need to focus some of our time on selling it. I found a new Meetup group in Atlanta called "Art Biz in the 'Burbs"; the sponsor will focus on creative ways to advertise and market our creations through digital, social, and traditional media. Additionally, we will discuss galleries, gift shops, shows, art walks, and exhibitions. Together, we hope to expand our visibility and increase our understanding of the ever-changing art market.

If you are in the Atlanta, GA area and would like to join the group, I've included the link to the Meetup site below.  The first meeting is on Monday March 18 in northeast Cobb. 

http://www.meetup.com/Art-Biz-in-the-Burbs/ 

9 Excuses Preventing You from Becoming a Successful Etsy Seller



Start Your Own Etsy Store - Image by Schugirl08



Be honest. How often do you interfere with yourself?

Today or really any day, you know you have tasks you’d like to finish because they’d positively impact your Etsy business, and then there are the tasks you actually do. You trick yourself into thinking that keeping up with Pinterest, following others on Facebook, and reading the latest blog posts is “working on your Etsy shop”. You do know better, but some part of you believes that having an understanding of all things “Etsy” will better position you when the time is right. When that time comes, you’ll be the absolute front-runner of the handmade world, because you’re so well studied… But that day doesn’t come.

Something is holding you back from great success on Etsy, and you can’t quite put your finger on it. So instead of moving past it and taking action, you make an excuse. You justify your reasons for not moving forward.

 What follows are 9 of the most common excuses you might tell yourself.



Take a risk!



 

1.) You can’t afford to take a risk right now.

If not now, then when?

This excuse is fear of the unknown.

The reality is that you can’t afford not to take a risk right now.

Putting on the breaks doesn’t just inhibit your creativity…it prevents people from ever making a purchase from you. Just go for it, take the risk!

2.) You don’t know where to begin.

Just take it step-by-step.

Think about it, every great seller on Etsy probably thought “I don’t know where to begin.”

Before you know it you’ll be a pro and will hardly remember how nerve-wracking these first steps were.

I found this article a big help when I was starting my Shop: 

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/the-quick-start-guide-to-selling-on-etsy/



You don't have to be.



3.) You’re not that good or creative enough.

Don’t sell yourself short!

Not everyone needs to be über creative.

Yes, there are extremely talented artists on Etsy, but there are also regular folks with very successful shops selling craft supplies, and vintage items. Some of the top sellers in the jewelry category (my category), simply hang a pretty pendant from a single chain; not tremendously creative but exactly what their buyers were looking for.

4.) You don’t know what your passion is; you can’t think of a niche.

Understandable. Not everyone is there, yet.

However if you want to do something, but just can’t figure out what, go to the bookstore and see what section you gravitate towards. Spend some time browsing through the magazine racks; if there wasn’t a market, there wouldn’t be a magazine.

Do some soul searching to determine what you’ll forever be passionate about.



There's a buyer for everything!



5.) Nobody will buy.

If people will buy the “Pet Rock” they will buy what you’re selling.

You just have to figure out how to market yourself.

Good photos of your merchandise and detailed descriptions are a good start, but you also need to work at getting your items noticed. You’re probably already using facebook and pinterest; create your own promotions using the tools available to you.

I found this article on marketing interesting: 

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2010/how-to-effectively-use-social-media-to-market-your-business/

6.) You can’t be successful until you have _______.

Money, studio, tools, website, expensive camera, stock pile, or any other number of other factors.

Make every attempt to acquire the bare essentials quickly.

Plot out your steps and create milestones to acquire additional resources.

Missions and objectives do wonders for progress.

7.) It’s too hard keeping all the balls in the air.

Anything worth doing is hard.

When was the last time “easy” had a huge payoff for you?

“You are in the middle of your day today, and you’re caught up in the sandstorm of thoughts, feelings, to-dos, meetings, readings, and communications of this day.

Pause. Breathe. Let all of that fade.

Now focus on doing one thing, right now.”

~Leo Babauta

8.) You can’t commit right now.

Fair enough, we all have a lot on our plates.

But when can you commit?

Don’t use this excuse to push something aside, if you don’t want to invest the time.

If it’s genuinely interesting, look at your calendar and ask “when can I commit?” and put yourself on a productive path.

And if you don’t want to do it, be honest and admit you’re not interested. Close your shop.

People will always respect honesty over being strung along waiting for your new items.

9.) You don’t have time.

Seriously? You just had time to read my blog post. You have time.

In fact, you have all the time, resources, and knowledge required to be a great Etsy seller.

Being great, no, being excellent is a choice.

It’s a choice to never stop. It’s a choice to view yourself as limitless. It’s a choice to stop at nothing until everyone knows your name and shop.

Without a doubt, you’ll encounter many obstacles on your journey. That’s a given.

So what are you waiting for?

Go.

Be great.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Increase your impact as an Etsy seller…

Many times, when I go to another seller’s profile to decide if I want to follow their tweets, I find tweet after tweet saying, “Buy my (whatever)…”

Does that approach work for you? Dose it move you to purchase from that person? I believe Sellers need to recognize that hitting the potential buyer over the head with a sales pitch isn’t a good use of the limited time you have to connect with your reader. It’s time to come to terms with what social media can and can’t do for you.



(Necklace by one of my favorite Etsy shops: Tiger and Hare)

First of all, does your communication emphasize relationship building? I believe you'll become more successful with your Etsy sales if you concentrate on building a relationship with your followers/friends, circles, etc. Here are some ways to do that…

1. Don’t be a salesman. Refrain from peddling your wares to those you communicate with on the social media sites. (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Blogs, etc…)

2. Focus on communication. Don’t talk to others. Instead, talk with others. Twitter is not all about you. It’s about communicating with others. If you are sending random messages out into the world saying, “I made a necklace. Buy my necklace,” people will see your avatar and ignore it.

3. Understand that buying is not impulsive anymore. On average most people must hear about your work several times before they decide to take a look or make the purchase. They may hear about it through your blog, through the occasional reference to it on Twitter, through a facebook post, etc. Instead of sending potential customers running by hitting them with the hard sell, just make sure you have good exposure for your work by participating in a variety of activities on-line, such as forums, blog parties, giveaways, or submitting your work to publications.

4. Don’t be frantic about marketing. Rather, spend your time building relationships with those who read your blog or those who follow you on Twitter or Facebook. Let them get to know more about you through your blog posts or tweets. Once they know you, they’ll start pulling for you in your Etsy endeavors, and will help to bring other readers to your blog and shop.

5. Spend some time on others. Blog or tweet about the accomplishments of others, talking to and commenting about others is a good way to build good relationships on line. Be generous on line and you will build good and lasting relationships.

By putting emphasis on helping others and reducing the effort of hawking your wares, you just might build the relationships you need for repeat purchases from your shop.

If you have some good indirect sales tactics, leave a comment for others to try.

Winter Sale Event...

As part of my “fresh start” effort this year, I am cleaning out the clutter and releasing some of the baggage that has been weighing me down. I mean this figuratively and literally. I get this yearning to lighten the load about every 5 years.



Examples of items currently On Sale in my shop.



So, to jump-start my effort I’m reorganizing my jewelry studio and offering 15% off the price of everything in my Etsy shop. That’s right…everything. I need to make space for my new materials and direction I want to take with my Etsy shop. I love making lampwork beads; I’m just ready to try something new this year.

I hope you can take advantage of the sale….Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day are just around the corner. Sale ends at 5:00 PM EST Tuesday January 31st.

Quick Tip: Linking to Your Etsy Shop

YourShopName.etsy.com

This is most likely how you’ve been typing your etsy shop address. Simple to remember, easy to tell someone, uncomplicated to put on your business card… It looks great without the “http://” and gives your brand uniqueness. But: it’s not giving you everything it could be!

That etsy address has always been handy but it’s always resolved to another URL, the URL your shop is actually located at. Up until a few months ago, your actual URL involved a random user id number. Well, that has changed!

etsy.com/shop/YourShopName

Now your etsy URL looks like this (above). That’s the URL your shop actually resides at, no resolving or redirecting. Whenever you’re linking to your shop on your blog, twitter, facebook, or anywhere that search engines may scan, use this URL.

If you’re telling people your shop URL in “real life” or using it in printed marketing materials – even in email marketing! – feel free to use the easier to remember URL (top).

Typing in and linking to your correct shop URL is a quick & easy way to improve your shop’s SEO and page rank. Hope this helps!

Author Credit: Tara Gentile - http://www.taragentile.com/about-2/

Social Marketing: Facebook, Twitter, or Blog?

Are you still pondering whether or not social media matters for your Etsy business? According to a recent social media survey (by BlogHer, the women’s blog network) roughly 68% of the 79 million adult women in the United States who use the Internet participate in social media at the very least weekly.

Interesting Finding #1: Tweet Less....Women use social networks like Facebook more than anything else, with blogs their second choice. Forums and discussion boards come next, with Twitter bringing up the rear (remember this if you’re tempted to think Twitter is THE be all and end all of your Etsy marketing).

Women’s weekly internet participation by activity:

Social Networks (Facebook, My Space, etc.): 75%

All Blog Activity (Read and Write): 55%
Forums or Message Boards: 40%

Status Updating (Twitter): 16%

If you were looking solely at raw numbers above, you’d conclude the most important place to market your Etsy products is Facebook, right? Well … not necessarily.

Interesting Finding #2: Blogs Have the Most Influence on Purchasing…

It’s not just about how much time is spent in an activity; it’s what is accomplished in that activity. Do updating friends and family with the latest baby picture or recipe play into their purchasing habits? Probably not.

The survey found that women who read and post to blogs are the most actively engaged. They spend the most time online. Over 80% also participate in social networks like Facebook, and over one third of bloggers also participate in Twitter. But more to the point, those who blog are more likely to be tech savvy, on the leading edge of trends, and invest time searching for new products online. Those who participate in social networking sites like Facebook are motivated to spend time there more as a matter of staying in touch with family and friends.

The way I interpret this: you get the maximum reach in sheer numbers from social networks like Facebook, but you achieve the most influence from blogs.

Interesting Finding #3: Women Look to Blogs for Information…

The research showed that women are more likely to go to social networks like Facebook for beauty, entertainment, and dating advice. But for the majority of other categories, including product reviews and product gift ideas, they look to blogs.

Depending on the nature of your Etsy business, focus on Facebook or MySpace may be worth it — if, for instance, you are in the entertainment business. But for most things, such as if you are selling craft supplies or selling home décor items, blogs could give the best return on time invested.



Twitter Following... Part Four...

My Final Step - Twitter Efficiency

My day can be very busy at times, so I am always looking for ways to simplify my Etsy promotion using Twitter. Twitterfeed is a site that allows you to set up automatic tweets whenever you post a new blog post, list a new Etsy item etc. Twitterfeed does a lot of the work for me! Just a couple of things to keep in mind using automated tools like this:

• - Think about the settings you use. TwitterFeed allows you to set the frequency and the number of automatic tweets to be sent out. For example, if you list 10 etsy items at once, do you really want to send out 10 shop link tweets in a row? 
• - Don’t just auto post, ‘live’ chat is good as well as using this service.
• - You can set a tweet prefix in twitterfeed. I used to have ‘Just listed’ for my new etsy listings, but when I thought about it more carefully, I realized that many of my Twitter followers would not be familiar with Etsy and might not know what that meant! I have now changed it to ‘My latest design”.

Additional Tips:
You can easily manage your twitter accounts and facebook etc all from one place by using HootSuite. This is another way I find targeted followers- you can add a column that will show tweets from people containing keywords that you've set.

Happy Tweeting!

 



Twitter Following...Part Two...

My Second Step- Clever Following

As well as building up a good number of followers, it really is critical to make sure you seek out the right kind of audience for your products. If all of your followers are fellow sellers, it’s unlikely that your twitter activity is going to translate into sales very often (unless you’re a supply seller etc), or it might mean that you have to put in a huge amount of effort to get any results because your approach is not the best possible.

This part requires thinking outside the box a bit and working out your target market. Once you have some ideas about who your target market is, there are two main strategies I’d recommend for finding people to follow (in the hope that they will follow you back).

Following Followers- find people based on the publications, companies etc that they follow. For example, if you sell jewelry, you could find a fashion magazine on twitter and follow their followers- perfect target market just waiting for you! You can do this easily by using the ‘geeky follow’ feature on tweepi (or directly on twitter).

Search Using Keywords- you can use the advanced search function on twitter to find appropriate people to follow by using keywords they might tweet about, keywords in their profile, and based on location. So you could search for people in your city, people tweeting about a craft show or market that might mean they’re interested in handmade etc etc. Maybe try people who tweet about shopping and see if you can grab some shopaholics ;)

(Note- it can be good to have some fellow sellers to chat to on twitter to help you get the conversation moving and help you with retweets etc, I just wouldn’t recommend seeking out other etsians as your only strategy)

Click HERE to Follow me on Twitter.

Working on my twitter following...

Did you know that Twitter can be an incredible promotional tool for your etsy shop when used correctly?  It takes a while to get established in twitter land but it can potentially become a huge source of traffic and allow you to reach a targeted audience. It’s a powerful tool not available to such an extent with other forms of advertising and promotion.

My First Step- Build Up Twitter Following
The first challenge most people face with twitter is not knowing how to build up their follower base.

A basic strategy you can use to build up your follower numbers is : Follow, Reciprocate and Flush (defined below). I use Tweepi.com to manage most of this easily all from the one place (it will save you a lot of time! I love Tweepi!).

Follow- If you search for and follow a lot of other people on twitter, many will follow you back, thus growing your follower number.

Reciprocate- Some people will find you on their own and follow you- keep your followers by following them back.

Flush- To really build your follower numbers, you can follow as many people as you are able to (up to your limit) then wait for a period before ‘flushing’ (unfollowing) the users who did not follow you back. This allows you to then repeat the process and start finding more people to follow.


Additional Info & Tips:
You can keep an eye on changes in your follower number by using a twitter stats site such as TwitterCounter (although I’m not sure if it’s always accurate).

 

Click Here to Follow Me on Twitter

The “Top Four”

Today's "Top Four" in my Etsy Shop

Did you know that the first four photos in your Etsy shop carry a lot of weight in the linked world of Etsy? Like many other Etsians, I love to shop by searching through other members' list of Favorite Sellers. Have you noticed the four photos that show up next to the avatar on these Favorites lists? They are the first four items (the last four you listed) in your shop — NOT necessarily your "Featured Listings."

Make sure these four most recently listed items are representative of the variety of items available in your shop, or you may be missing out on your target audience...if you sell necklaces, bracelets, and earrings, don’t let four earrings sit in the “top four.” Mix it up, so it is clear you offer more than one style of items. Take care to notice this each and every time you renew or add a new item listing. The "top four" serve as a mini snapshot of your shop.

Negative Feedback….YIKES!

Have you ever gotten negative feedback in your Etsy shop? Do you think it had an impact on your sales? Two months ago, I received negative feedback on four items from a seller. I paid quickly for my items using paypal, did not ask for a refund, and I left the seller positive feedback on each item. I could not understand why they gave me negative feedback.

After many emails I determined the seller was upset that I had sent a message asking about the finish on one of the items I had purchased. I did not give him negative feedback or ask for a refund, I was just asking a question. For two months he refused to change the negative feedback, the seller said I was “a trouble maker”. Contacting the Etsy support team was not successful; they could not help me because the seller did not leave a comment, he just selected negative for each item. In my opinion this is a bad Etsy policy. Maybe the feedback system needs an overhaul.

After some research on Chinese traditions and more emails to the seller about bad Karma and losing face, he finally changed the unfavorable feedback to positive this week (two months later).

 

Today, I had my first sale since the negative feedback was changed. I do feel that potential customers may have been lost during the time that my score was not 100% positive. During the two months that I was negotiating with the upset seller, I did not have one purchase.

Please give me your thoughts on the effects of negative feedback. Would you purchase from a seller that has less than 100% positive feedback?

Thanks for your comments in advance…..

Analyzing My Etsy Online Jewelry Sales

To make some sense of my Etsy sales, I did a sales analysis of my shop...

First:  I made a simple chart listing prices $25 apart, and made tick marks to indicate the prices of all my sold items. In 5 minutes or so, I had my answer: I offer jewelry in a price range from $10 - $125, my sales are very much concentrated in the $10 - $50 range.

(items I've sold in this range)

But what category of jewelry is selling best in my shop?  How should I concentrate my efforts to make the best use of my time and materials?

Second: I made another chart listing the types of jewelry I sell: necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other.  Again, I made a tick mark for each piece sold, and in less than 5 minutes I learned that my online jewelry sales are concentrated very much in necklaces and ‘other’ (bookmarks, pull chains, and key chains).  I found this really interesting, because at shows, earrings are usually my best sellers.

(Earrings I've sold in my shop)

Was I selling jewelry in proportion to the amount of items listed in each category?Do I sell more neckwear and ‘other’ because I’ve listed more of these items?

Third:  So, back I went to the chart for an answer. I listed the number of bracelets, necklaces, etc, in my shop, and compared them to the number of sold items in each category. I did a quick % calculation on each: # of items sold divided by the # of items listed.

It turned out that I got a surprising answer; I’m not selling in proportion to what I’m offering. I sold a much higher percentage of necklaces and ‘other’ items. Earring sales are very low compared to the number of earrings I have listed.

Using What I Learned from My Jewelry Sales Analysis.

Based on my findings, I need to be designing more necklaces and ‘other’ items in the $10-$65 range. Hopefully I will be providing what my customers are interested in purchasing online. I hope to see my sales numbers improve as a result.

Make a couple of sales charts and see what you can learn. What changes in your Etsy shop will you make based on what you find?

Stand Out in a Crowd...

How many business cards have you received in the last year and how many do you still remember? I’m learning that business cards should look professional but still have flair to them. That means not having too much going on as far as graphics while still being attractive. My business card is an extension of my work and I want to be able to market myself the right way. Here are some tips I’ve learned while researching business cards:

• Only choose the best paper for your business cards. Thicker heavier paper is better as it looks more expensive and professional.

• Use colorful printing; prices have dropped, it does not cost much more than standard two color cards.

• Use a tagline that will quickly let the person know what your product/skill is.

• Put a picture on your business card. Studies have shown that people are more likely to hold on to a Business card with a photo on it. It could be your picture, a picture of your product, or a combination of both. Picture cards get attention!

• Do not use a premade business card design called templates. The more people who use these templates, the more your card starts to look like everybody else’s. You want to have a business card that stands out, not one that gets lost in the crowd.

I’ve learned that if I want to use good business etiquette and good marketing then I need to start handing out more of my business cards. This will help me to conduct my business in a much more professional and efficient manner. There is nothing easier or more profitable than using business cards in my marketing strategy.

Hot or Not?

I’m learning that just because I think my product is great doesn’t mean others will. Some of my favorite jewelry designs which I assumed would sell ‘instantly’ didn’t sell at all. I found it very helpful to look up Etsy shops selling similar products and see how they are selling. It was a good exercise in price and product comparison. Taking a look at what we have in common and what is different or unique to each shop. I have sold quite a few items, but it is taking some time for people to “find me”. I’m starting a new marketing approach by: 

•  Handing out business cards
• Making fliers and posting them wherever I can
• Networking on Facebook and Twitter
• Listing or relisting at least one product each day
• Giving my jewelry as gifts and donations, with my business card
• Posting more often about my store/designs on this blog

Etsy is a great place for selling your handmade products and it is a wonderful way to make money from home doing something you enjoy.

I’d love to quit my day job….

…But it’s not time yet.  My day job allows me to purchase quality supplies and fund my internet connectivity which is essential for my success. I could have taken out a small business loan, but with no loan payments to be made, I’m able to perfect my designs, my packaging and my business identity at my own pace.  Today the income from my day job (Project Manager for a Fortune 100 company) allows me to take money earned and put it back into the business by buying supplies in bulk, upgrading packaging and participating in shows. Sales on Etsy have helped us through the lean times when my husband was out of work and allowed us to go camping when a break was needed. In this troubled economy, I am thankful daily for the chance Etsy has given me to grow my small business. And yes, someday, maybe I will be able to quit my day job. But for now, keeping my day job while Lori’s Glassworks grows is the right choice for me.

Make Me International....

I had my first International sale in my Etsy shop this week! Fabulous!

Making your shop friendly for international buyers opens the door to a lot of new business.   The US dollar is not very strong right now and our global neighbors can get quite a good deal on purchasing American goods. 

Several things you can do are:

• Offer international shipping. This seems silly, but I've seen many forum posts from frustrated international customers who WOULD have bought from a store, but sadly, the seller did not offer international shipping.
• Accurately calculate shipping costs. Shipping is not as expensive as you might think, and doing your research will really help prevent you from scaring off international customers with exorbitant shipping rates.  The same bracelet I shipped in the US for $2.98 shipped to the United Kingdom for $6.68.  Really not that much more.
• Use metric measurements. Be sure that you give measurements in centimeters as well as inches, as most the rest of the world uses the metric system of measurement.
• Offer discounted shipping to international customers. I've often seen many shops do 'free shipping' sales, but only to domestic customers. This can be very frustrating to international customers who may feel as though they are being treated as second class citizens.

Using some of these tips, as well as having a well structured shop with great pictures, clear descriptions and good products, will certainly help you succeed on internationally on Etsy.

 

I feel like a Rock Star…

Yesterday one of my necklaces was featured on the Front Page of Etsy. This is a big deal in Etsy Land!

First, I was featured in a lovely Treasury list by Nancy of Newnanc Design. The Treasury is an ever-changing, member-curated shopping gallery of handpicked items. Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme or just whatever they like. The Treasury is not intended for self-promotion, but instead to acknowledge and share the many cool things for sale on Etsy. I was honored to be picked by Nancy for her list featured below….

Second, I noticed that there was an unusually high amount of traffic in my Etsy Shop. Visitor numbers were off the charts! I also had numerous emails (“convos”) about one necklace in particular. That’s when I realized that something BIG had happened that morning. At 7:00am on March 20th , my “Natures Treasures” was on the front page (current FP) of the Etsy website. Wahoo! I was an Etsy rock star for a few hours.

Finally, after the dust had settled later in the day, I reviewed the numbers. Over 500 buyers had viewed my FP necklace. Nineteen of those gave my shop a heart as one of their favorites. Twelve new hearts were given to other items in my shop and one buyer has requested a custom necklace similar to the FP necklace. WOW! Getting on the front page has really boosted my motivation and renewed my sense of pride in my work.

THANKS NANCY!