I have had items posted on Etsy for about a year and a half, unfortunately, I haven't made a single sale. Last week I decided to really focus on Etsy; which left me with the question, "where do I start?" As I looked through sites I noticed some people were extremely successful and some were in my boat, no success. I chose a few sites that were extremely successful and started a convo with them via Etsy. I asked for tips on how to improve my sales on Etsy. To my surprise, people were more than willing to share tips to improve sales. Among these tips there were three that many people repeated: pictures, key words and circles. Apparently, shoppers are often turned away from buying products if they are displayed with a black background. Who knew? Turns out people want to see more natural looking pictures and pictures from all angels. Which I could not accomplish with the static black background picture I have been using. Second, my key words. I'll admit I struggle to find key words that will bring people to my Etsy shop. My sudeo mentors advised me that I should be using all tags and more descriptive terms versus my broad generic ones. Finally, get your name out there. One of the best ways of doing so it to get added to circles. While it can be time consuming to add people to your circle, in most cases people will add you back, instantly increasing your visibility; and as well all know visibility=sales:)
While there is a lot to do to implement these changes I have started out slow, increasing my circles, went from 2 to 135 in a couple of days. In addition, I have increased my FB exposure by asking people that add me to their circle to "like" me on FaceBook. (Having other companies "like" you on FB works out well for both companies. While their new products appear on your page, your appear on theirs which can easily double your exposure!). This week I am going to tackle my second step, changing my pictures. I will let you know how it goes. :)
Hi Rebecca!
ReplyDeleteThis is Anne Marie from Trendsetter Gems at Etsy. So now I'm on facebook! This is kinda cool. So I read your post above and it looks like facebook does help with promoting your business. Would you say it's a good avenue for promoting our Etsy shops?
Thanks,
Anne Marie
Trendsetter Gems at Etsy
http://www.etsy.com/shop/TrendsetterGems
Absolutely. In your Etsy profile you can link your FaceBook account to Etsy, making it easy to share new items with more people. Not everyone has heard of Etsy. However most people have heard of FB. Thus, the chance of getting more views greatly increases. Furthermore, it is easier to suggest items to a friend ot friends on FB. Say someone sees something on your page they think a friend would like they can easily share it with them. As a result, you receive free marketing.
ReplyDeleteOh, and not to mention you can promote your business more on FB. You can host contest, promotions, etc. for free. (Before hosting a contest be sure to read FB's rules on contest).
i can't tell you how much your blog post speaks to me. i have an almost identical blogpost on meylah.com/belladivajewelry about these same issues. starting on etsy has been really hard, but i had no idea how much work the social marketing part would be. between FB, etsy, blogging and twitter, i feel like i have little time to make jewelry. i also struggle with the pictures and descriptions. the process of starting my business has been quite an eye opener. please continue to keep us in the loop of how it's going for you. maybe we can share and support each other, at least virtually.
ReplyDeleteIdabelle, thank you for your kind words. I am glad that my posting helps. I will definately continue to post. Are there any topics specifically that I could help you with?
ReplyDeleteSupporting each other is a great idea! I think more people should. Please feel free to contact me anytime. I will do my best to help. rebecca@homegrownaccents.com