Hi, we've had friends visiting! :) It's been so fun; we had lots of beach time, swimming, playing cricket on the beach, going for long walks, racing our sunglasses as they sailed along the sand in strong wind, picnics, and even a trip to the circus! Have I mentioned how fun it was?
Now my office/studio room has morphed back to it's old self after doubling as a guest room. I'm catching up, and thinking about what's next...
For a while now my Etsy store has been a dark cave of inactivity. There's just nothing happening there, and it's so disheartening watching my items expire, my cupboards are filling with unwanted stuff. So I'm asking your advice:
Do you have an Etsy store? What have you learnt? How do you make it work? What do people like buying? Are you an Etsy shopper? What do you look for? How do you find the items you buy? Do you have a budget when you set out to shop?
I've tried listing one item a day or week to try and keep further up in the listings, but eventually I run out of things to list, and sink further and further down the lists. I'm about to have some new prints made to freshen things up a bit, and am also thinking of cards maybe???
I don't know... What advice would you give me?
If you were me, what would you do?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
11 comments:
I am in the same pickle as you unfortunately. It's difficult to get known on Etsy, and even listing an item a day seems not enough, and of course, items to upload run out too.
I find that going into the chatrooms on Etsy from time to time really helps with getting my work out there a little more. Not sure if you've ever tried it, but it's really neat how it works to advertise as well as connect with other artists.
Good luck!
will be interesting to read the comments as I hope to open an Etsy store one day...just need to find the time to make some stuff! but i have heard you need to work it to make sales...keep up with the etsy forums, participate and promote on your blog and on flickr...there are loads of Etsy groups there...
Elia's post on how to run a succesful Etsy store had some great info
http://greenbeanbaby.typepad.com/main/2008/01/how-to-run-a-su.html#comments
Not sure if I'm the best person to be giving advice, as I haven't had my Etsy shop for very long, and only average about 1 sale every two weeks (which is actually perfect for me, but probably not ideal if I was trying to make a living out of the business :P). However I just thought I'd mention Etsy Street Teams. I actually joined the Etsy Dust street team, and the people there are great, and although I'm not the most active member, I've been included in a couple of treasuries now, and also made a sale to another member who liked the stuff in my shop. Also, from Etsy Dust, the Brisbane people have created a spin-off group and we now meet up in person, help each other start doing local markets, share resources, info on suppliers etc. And it's just really nice to meet like-minded people. So yeah, if you haven't looked into this side of things maybe it might be something to explore. Good luck with it. You do great work!
Thanks Guys! :)
Laura, I'll check out the forums, thanks.
Anastasia, Thanks for the article link. I read it and it was really helpful. Then I went and read lots of the articles on Etsy, so I'll make a list of the suggestions I like and start making my way through them.
Bec, Thanks so much... I have actually mot so long ago asked someone who has the "dust" logo on their blog what it's all about, how you join, and what it entails, but at that stage they didn't really know. So... I found the team on Etsy with the email address of the "leader". But what does it mean to join? What do you do when you're a Dust member? You mentioned you're not the most active member, but what do active members do? Hope I'm not being too nosey, or daft asking all this, But I'm keen to know. Thanks for the great suggestion by the way :)
Well, I'm also not the perfect person to offer advice as I haven't opened my Etsy store yet. I am an Etsy buyer though and admit to finding myself lost in that huge market.
The stores I usually end up visiting are people whos work I see on either blogs or Flickr.
There is also a very good podcast about marketing your etsy store at;
http://www.craftypod.com/?p=397
Good luck!
Thanks Melanie :) I'll go take a listen.
Laura, heee, I'm a little embarrassed, because I only just realised that the chat rooms are totally different to the forums. I went to have a poke about, but got scared. I feel like I'm snooping on someone's conversation. I'll wait till I'm in a perky mood one day and then go introduce myself.
Hey, those forums/chat rooms freak me out too. I'm already on the computer way too much as it is. Seriously thinking about getting a web nanny like you had suggested.
Anyway, I found this link about email lists. Thought you might find it interesting.
http://always-amy.blogspot.com/2008/04/why-you-should-start-emailing-list.html
I don't have an Etsy shop, but I do buy stuff quite regularly. I mainly find the Etsy shops via visiting peoples blogs, those who leave comments for me, and ones that I find via links from other peoples blogs. Good luck with it, your work is really cute!
Thanks Regina, I'll take a look.
Thanks Leni & Rose :)
flossy, in my 'other' life, ie; before Crohn's, I ran a business that helped people market their sites and products to the world.
So...if I may give a little advice (read, stand on my soap box and go on for hours) and you can feel free to totally ignore it if you want.
Treat your etsy store as a real store. Your shop is just virtual rather than brick and mortar. You need to get the word out. Advertise on sites and blogs, or exchange links with other sites and blogs that have similar themes as you do. In other words, it won't do you any good to advertise on a chicken fancier's site because you are not selling chickens.
There is no reason why you can't take out print ads, drop off business cards, etc.
You might want to consider setting up a store front, meaning a website that features your art and directing people to your etsy.
Part of selling your art includes selling yourself.
Above all, have patience, keep your goals in mind, and stay flexible.
Post a Comment