Daily Chat January 31, 2015

[naturepoet]

Welcome to new members, welcome back to returning teammates! If this is your first time here - this is a place to ask questions, share your most embarrassing secrets, or just chat about the slow and boring bits of your day…we want to hear from you!!

Be sure to check out the discussion board. There are games to be played and threads to explore. The more you promote your fellow team mates, the more you get promoted, so be sure to participate on a daily basis. Check out our blog and our Facebook page, as well as the other links provided below.

IMPORTANT LINKS:
* Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/301427606658253/
* Etsy Calculator: salecalc.com/etsy
* Etsyology: www.etsyology.net/
♥ Online Photo Programs: fotoflexer.com/ or www.picmonkey.com/
treasurypin.com./ and editor.pho.to/
arwmedia.net/tools/pixlr_express.php
* Etsy Craft Tools: www.mycrafttools.com/
* Etsy Gadget: www.estygadget.com
* Craftopolis -Edit multiple listings: www.craftopolis.com/#com=ee
* Etsy Banner Maker: bannerfans.com/banner_maker.php?bnew=1&pses=1a256d05
* Craftcount - craftcount.com/teritory.php
* Google+ tutorials blog.kissmetrics.com/personal-google-plus-account/ and moz.com/blog/tips-to-use-google-for-s
* Chrome Treasury Box: brittanysbest.com/treasurybox-chrome-extension/
* Google+ information plus.google.com/communities/112658132414010568954
* Etsy team page: www.etsy.com/pages/aaasupport
* Check your keyword relevancy in search: www.tools4etsy.com/Wall-e/Relevancy/Keyword
* 50 Reasons you're not getting Etsy Sales: www.handmadeology.com/50-reasons-youre-not-getting-etsy-sales/
* Betsi Lite: www.blugrin.com/ (make sure you click on Lite at the bottom of the screen, as that is the free edition!)

Please don't forget to post in the AAA Support Team thread in the promo forum :)) www.etsy.com/uk/teams/21915/promos/discuss/15267796/

Hi everyone. It has been cold and windy here with a nice amount of snow. Probably about 4 inches in all, which isn't that bad for this region. I'm hoping we don't get hit Monday morning, like they're predicting. I want to attend an out of town auction on Monday night. We missed last month's because of inclement weather.

Today, I want to give everyone a head's up about a FB Etsy group. It is a great way to promote. If you have a FB account, search for Etsy and you will find it. Here is a link just to be sure. I get a lot of traffic from here.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/77021223506/10152709605483507/?notif_t=group_comment_reply

Today, let's talk about how to promote our shops to draw traffic and sales. How and where do you promote your shop? This should be an interesting discussion and we can all help each other get traffic, have our shops seen and hopefully get a few more sales.

QUOTE of the DAY

"The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others."
Albert Schweitzer

[Inked2perfection]

Hi all,
I have a FB page and an Instagram account to try and drum up more traffic. FB is where most of my views come from (besides Etsy). I have not tried Twitter yet, but I know some of you all have been tweeting items!

Hope you all have a nice weekend. ☺️

[naturepoet]

Amber, I have never had much luck with Twitter. I haven't tried Instagram, but may give it a try.

[TheSewingTortoise]

Hello again :)
I have a Facebook page and a twitter account. It's quite weird, but I often use and post on Facebook, but get little interaction and few new likes. Strangely, with twitter, there's much more interaction and gain new followers, seemingly without having to try. Worth a try and it's easier to set up.
You can also set up your Facebook page so it posts on twitter at the same time, which is helpful.
Instagram seems hugely popular at the moment, so also thinking I should try that :)

Ann

[Former_Member]

Good morning, team.

Mary, great quote. Hope you guys don't get too much snow on Monday.

I have a Facebook page and (I think) a Pinterest page. I haven't really frequently used them very much. I think I'll have to redo both of of them, probably before I start my line of towels. I have the Twitter account with Adele, but don't use it for anything other that the tweet-eye.

I'm taking my fifth photo today, the one of Pam standing and holding a tote over her shoulder. She's going to dress in a white top and black skirt or leggings. The tote she'll be holding will be red. That should be a nice color combination. Then I'll continue to swap out the old photos with the new ones. After that, it'll be more enbroidering.

Have a great day, everyone!

[ItsSewYouDear]

Good morning team!

Mary, love the quote. Weather here is beautiful although a bit chilly for my taste. Sun is shining though and I think a bike ride is in order.

I don't do a lot of promoting but I am every where lol. I have a system where I promote every new item on all my accounts and it had served me well. I have a FB page, perhaps my least effective promotional tool, I post photos about three times a week, sometimes more, if I am making a lot of new stuff.

I also have a Pinterest account, which I enjoy for personal browsing more so my business, but I do get occasional views from there.

Twitter has been a very effective promotion tool for me. Although all of my followers are other sellers who are trying to promote their own items, it works for sales in an indirect way. Every time I tweet an item and it gets retweeted so many times by my followers. It's not unusual to have 150+ views for an item I tweeted in 15 minutes. While my personal opinion is that these are not genuine views, Etsy counts them as views nonetheless so they do help with my items relevancy and I do notice tweeted items come up in search results more after the tweeting.

I am also on Instagram, I like it OK although given that there are no links, it's hard to know if views or sales come from it.

My best promotional tool though is Wanelo, I get multiple daily views and a few sales a month that I can positively link to Wanelo. It's the promotion tool I use the least too mind you, as I only use it once per item when I list it and that's it. I do believe it's where my target market hangs out lol.

Better get my day moving, so much to do. Happy Saturday all1

[Former_Member]

Hey all!

So sorry for my recent absence but things have been hectic here with my hubby's workers comp stuff going on. Haven't had much time for my little wrap bracelet business. :-(

I'm hoping to get geared up again as we can FINALLY see a light at the end of the tunnel! So I will be participating again and looking forward to networking more. I've sure missed this group!

Thanks all and hope everyone has a great Super Bowl weekend!

Shelly ~ Red Cactus Design

[ZingRetroFinds]

Hi All,

I have a page on FB, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Google. I do post my new stuff regularly. I try to include entertaining posts in between. The vast majority of my views comes from Etsy or Direct Traffic.

My newest redesign:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/220709106/gold-tassel-jewelry-black-rhinestone?ref=shop_home_active_5

Have a great weekend.

[Former_Member]

Hi, everyone.
Looks like we are getting another warm day tomorrow, and gradual cool down after that.

So, I sold an item, and the customer wants to pay with a bank transfer.

I just changed in my policies to accept money orders, but I had just written in the policies, and didn't know it had set it up to accept *Other* as I had put in *contact to use a USPS money order.*
But I see today it automatically set it up so a customer could I guess hit *other* to purchase. I'd rather it didn't do that, as I want to vet people. I'll see what happens. The reason I'm questioning it is that the person didn't include any information in their convo except to ask about a bank transfer, with a note about faulty billing address in paypal. Why not fix the faulty address, I'm wondering, and why not include their address, which I ask for in my *note to buyer?* Also, I've nothing in the policies saying I accept bank transfers.
I thought if I put *contact to purchase with money order* it wouldn't enable the purchase automatically. I was incorrect, obviously, that mentioning a money order didn't automatically change things.

[naturepoet]

Alanna, the picture of Pam in black and white with the red tote will really pop. Love those colors together. Stunning contrast.

[naturepoet]

Shelly, sometimes life gets in the way. I do hope your husband's comp is straightened out soon. Glad to see you back.

[naturepoet]

Candi, FB never gave me many hits until I joined the Etsy group. Now I'm soaring.

Dona, I hope you belong to the Etsy group on FB.

better, I have had only one money order in my entire 5 years on Etsy. it worked out fine in the long run, but I had to wait for the MO and then wait 10 days while it cleared. Made shipping a very long process. I have never accepted a bank transfer and I, personally, wouldn't do this. I would never give that information out online.

[ItsSewYouDear]

Better, was this an international sale? Bank transfers are very common in Europe. One thing is that if you do it, you would be charged currency conversion fees, which can add up quite a bit depending on the amount.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for the thoughts, Candi and Mary. I really don't feel comfortable giving out the banking info. I am thinking this person may be in Europe, as I've heard it's more common there to do transfers.
I've nothing saying I do bank transfers, so it's a bit aggravating that they'd buy, then ask. If I don't hear back today, I'll probably just cancel the sale.
Also, it doesn't take much time to correct a billing or address thing in paypal, so I'm feeling uneasy about it.

Hope all is well for teamies.

[RedRiverValley]

Hi everyone!

I missed yesterday as I was not feeling well at all, but am feeling much better today. Another relaxing day today and I should be a 100% tomorrow for the big game! Anyone have any big plans? We are having a few friends over if the -weather doesn't get too bad. We are supposed to get inches of snow late tonight and then the winds are supposed to pick up so that might hinder our plans.

I have Google+ and Instagram. I just started my Instagram account but have had a lot of success with it. I get a lot more likes and comments on Instagram than I ever did on FB. Google+ is slowly gaining momentum. I found this article on Google+ and it has some really good tips about how to use social media. I've been trying to put some of them into practice.

http://www.websearchsocial.com/social-media-marketing-myths-that-are-costing-you-money/

Better, I don't blame you for being uncomfortable. I wouldn't be willing to share my banking info either!

[COLDHAMCUDDLIES]

Better - there's one thing I've learned - and not only on Etsy. If in doubt, don't! If they're serious, they'll come back to enquire why they've not heard from you - and then you can negotiate another payment method. Meanwhile, check the PayPal address thingy, because they had mine wrong but fortunately I picked it up before too much damage was done.

Finished the second batch of Puppet bodies, and have cut out an extra thee pair of hands, because there was enough felt left over for them. Buyer is happy for me to do so, and because he's been such a good customer - and there are still two more Puppets to go - I'm not mentioning any extra charge. Am due to go for a "Helpers Lunch" being organised by the clergy at St. Barnabas Cathedral, where the family goes to Mass each week, but there's about an hour and a half between our service ending and the feast commencing. Clare (daughter) suggested I bring along something to keep me occupied, so I'll work on the extra hands then. They don't take up too much space in a handbag.

That will mean that the Mohair Bear and the bodies/hands can all be packed up and sent on Tuesday when I'm next near a post office. Then I've got a date with two Brown Hairy Bears!! Clare found a new haberdashery/craft shop that has opened in our town, and mentioned my Cuddlies. We have a date to see whether or not some of them can be offered for sale - the proprietor was particularly interested in my Teddy Bears, as she collects them herself. Clare is coming with me to see I negotiate a fair deal all round!!! The move northwards would seem to be paying off nicely.

Hope everyone is having a good week-end. Snow this morning has disappeared but we're forecast more overnight, and bitter winds and temps until at least mid-week. Well it is February tomorrow, and to be expected. Where did January go, by the way?

[naturepoet]

Better, I would not give out banking information online. There are thousands of scammers out there.

Sara, I hope you feel better soon. Thanks for leaving the link. I'm going to check it out. I need all the help I can get. The Etsy group on FB is terrific and so is the Foxes Den Etsy group. I didn't have any traffic from FB until I joined those two groups.

Isobel, we had snow here on Thursday, but it didn't accumulate too much. We are to have a bad storm over Sunday and Monday. Figures, I wanted to go out of town to an auction Monday night. Lots of good old vintage treasures at this one. Doubt we will make it.