Dads! What are your Etsy Success tips? I want to feature them!

[Former_Member]

Looking for Etsy Dads!

I know you're out there, and I bet you sometimes feel lost in this sometimes-ladycentric Etsy world! So, I want to include a TON of tips, only from Etsy sellers who happen to be fathers, in Thursday's Etsy Success newsletter. Share your top tip with us here and you might be included. (I will, of course, link back to your shop!)

Thanks,
Danielle

P.S. Why Dads? Father's Day is coming up, silly! Better get that card in the mail :)

[teneastread]

I like to make trips to the post office an outing for me and our baby. I put him in the baby carrier and walk there with him. It's nice to have a chance to spend some time outdoors together, especially while I'm getting work done.

[Former_Member]

I love that, teneastread!

[Former_Member]

In a sense, I thin it is best for us Fellows to prove that we do not bite. Being a dad is a very special thing and being a dad with a creative side is something I wish was more often expressed. Etsy is a very quirky, interesting community and guys have just as much a chance to thrive here as anybody else. If you show your personality as much as you can through out your shop, you will make it clear that you have a personality, a life, a love for all things DIY, an understanding for the shoppers of Etsy and that ability that a lot of us men don't show often enough: the ability to open up and share. If you come off too shy, or strictly business-minded, I think you will turn a lot of shoppers away. On another note, I have seen more than enough proof that Etsy is a very open-minded place and that while it is, as Danielle put it, very ladycentric, expect that all sorts of things are fair game. Art featuring video game characters? SURE! Zombies? Heck yes! Monsters? In abundance. Robots, weird-o-'s and goons? Yes indeed. They all have a home at Etsy and can sell very well. If you have a fear that you might be trying to sell something too 'butch', don't think like that! Not only do tons of women buy this sort of stuff all the time, but tons of awesome Etsy ladies make weird and creepy stuff too. If you think that Etsy is not a good place for the scary, the goofy and the bizarre, you are sorely mistaken. Be bold! Have fun! Etsy is rad and full of guy and gal eyes that might love what you do.

[Former_Member]

Ugh, I shouldn't have written a novella! I will attempt to edit my thoughts down to something more quick-tip-style:

1. Share your thoughts and personality! Us guys need to open up and be more willing to showcase who we are and why we make what we sell on Etsy. Don't hide your fatherly (and possibly dorky) feelings!

2. Don't assume that you make something too manly for Etsy. You are selling yourself short and assuming that gals only like gal things and guys only like guy things. If you love what you create, no matter how weird, butch, scary, or nerdy it is; it probably belongs on Etsy.

Idea condensing is complete!

[Former_Member]

Matty, you are a gentleman and a scholar! Thank you, sir!

[TerraDeiFarm]

LOVE your points, Matty!

[Former_Member]

Thank you! It's fun to have a bit of a brain-splosion when it comes to all things Etsy. And thank you Danielle, you are a gentlelady and a scholar-lady!

[TeofanaART]

Matty, I Love your Art and your post !

[Former_Member]

Wow Teofana, thank you so much! Your Etsy shop is so new, yet is already feels so established. Very good job! I credit this Father's Day posting for giving me the chance to get acquainted with the lovely work you make.

[Former_Member]

PS TO TEOFANA: Your color pallet reminds me very much of the sulfur pools at Yellowstone. Are you familiar with them?

[Former_Member]

I work to get my products in front of buyers by putting images and keyword rich narratives wherever I can on the web. I provide link backs to my Etsy shop, business site, Pintrest and Facebook. Of course, it has to be quality and I avoid just pasting my brand on just any wall. I look for places I think a buyer may visit.. It's about getting those eyes on my creations...the eyes that want to buy. :) SEO backlinking strategy by a plain old Etsy father of four. Light on the old...and maybe the plain...I hope. lol

[Former_Member]

Promoting where your specific buyers are, instead of just any old place – great advice, Rodger! Thanks for sharing :)

[FabulousWire]

Give whatever you crafted a life! Then you don't need to say too much, it doesn't need too many words, your works themself will interact with the viewers, draw their attention and attract them to be customers.

[TheRightJack]

Making cribbage board coffee tables is a labor of love for me. As I said in my newly added "about" page, its something I wish for everyone, doing something that you love and sharing it with others.
I am blessed with three beautiful young adult daughters and recently, a granddaughter! Family is so special to me. I know I am lucky to have such great daughters...all 4th generation cribbage players too!
I work alongside my wife, Susan. The days are busy and enjoyable - what could be better?

[Former_Member]

I think it's important to be true to yourself and do what you want to do, stay happy and healthy and learn to adapt and make changes when needed. Invest in yourself and your company and learn, learn, learn.

[Former_Member]

I just loved reading all of you guys' perspectives!! You're all successful Etsy sellers so I really value what you all had to say. And your items are quite interesting as well! Thanks for sharing your ideas & tips. :)

[wickstromstudio]

I post new listings, as often as I can. I sell much better with a full shop!

I love what I do, and the fact that Etsy makes it possible for me to make a living at it-- so I try make the most of the opportunity by making a lot of new work, such that not every piece has to be "Etsy-perfect" right off the easel.

I offer pieces at a lot of different price points, from drawings, to small paintings, to large multi-canvas paintings. However, I keep my pricing consistent for works of the same size or medium.

I always respond to customers and correspondence promptly, and try to be professional and personable at all times. I always send a thank you note with orders, and with most orders, I include a free drawing as an extra "thank you". Buyers really appreciate the gesture, and their appreciation shows in my feedback, which gives future buyers extra confidence. I even provide a link to my feedback in my shop announcement. I'm glad to have feedback I can be proud of.

When I realized that my shop was going in two different directions, I opened up a separate shop for works from imagination that are really different from the work that I do from life and observation.

I also encouraged my very talented older daughter by starting a shop for her artwork on Etsy. Through setting it up, I'm teaching her how to do it step-by-step on her own, but I gave her a running start. She's 19 now, and I'm looking forward to being able to give that kind of support to her 9-month old sister. There's nothing I love more than being a dad.

[Former_Member]

wow Matty has some lovely paintings!

[dellcovespices]

Trust your children -- and especially your daughters -- to tell you the truth. They can be your biggest cheerleaders, your toughest critics and, in our case, the people who offer some of the best inspiration.

My two daughters have vastly different opinions about what makes food tasty. One adores the spices of the South. The other prefers fine chocolates and organic fruits.

Cooking for them has helped me create some of our more popular products, and share the passion for food that my wife and I have with our family.

--David

[Former_Member]

Father of two and partner of Scentcosmetics with by beautiful wife...

First posting:

SEO's are a crucial way of getting profiled. Photos are critical and if you want people to admire a shop getting a consistent feel is asthetically easier to look at.

As a family we also felt it crucial to involve the children as best they can. Eli now experiments at soap making (more soap sniffing) and he likes to model our children's soap ranges for some of our background photos. It gives the buyer a feel for who they are and just who they are investing in when they buy from us.

Of late we have also been able to explore and utilise free advertising and marketing space on facebook, google and Big/Yahoo. I'm sure its a one of thing but altogether it totalled £200 and it was brilliant at giving us a good initial platform to work off. Highly recommended.

One other tip: Whatever people tell you about being self-employed. The pros, cons, pitfalls and mountain-top experiences, when applied to yourself are ten-fold anything you hear. It seems we only really understand for ourselves what it feels like when you experience it for yourself.... The long hours, the lack of money, cash-flow, ability to choose to work or not to, etc.

Above all - its critical to remember that whilst we are all in it together in making it work it requires of us to be together in order to keep it together and maintain our focus and drive. Family time is never to be sacrificed!

Got to run...the baby is waking!!!

Love some of the shops here - will return to look at a few more later.

Happy Father's day to the men out there!

[Former_Member]

I think once you become a father it changes how you look at the world, I know it changed me. Once you have that little life in your hands you know it is not all about you any longer, it is about them. I can also tell you I would not be the father I am today without the loving patience of both my Mother and my Wife. Lets not forget my father, he was a businessman to the end and I can tell you all how important it was to know how very much he loved me. Many times I think how would Dad handle this or that, then I set out to do it and it normally works out. Now I am not saying I did it all the right way, but as a father of 6 children, 5 girls and 1 boy, all productive professionals. If anything I have learned over the years in raising them that would relate to how we run our shop it would be to deliver what you promise.

Deliver what you promise is 1 of 2 rules, the other is “just be nice”, if someone upsets you, just be nice. When anything happens if you can control your response to just being nice it will help calm what ever the problem may be.

So I guess if I had to boil it down it would be.

Rule 1: deliver what you promise.
Rule 2: Just be nice.

These rules have worked for years here in our home and now have spread to all 6 of our kid’s homes that hold our 10 grandchildren and 1 great-grand-child (well 8 because 2 are married and have their own homes). I think any business must follow these 2 rules if they ever want to successful. I know I can come off as an all business type, but as my kids know I am just a big guy with a soft center. They tease me about the “kitty condo” I built for a stray cat and her 4 babies last winter that included a heating pad to keep them warm. I just had to do something for them it was cold and I could not sleep worrying about them babies. But really does anyone want a cute, kitten?

[Former_Member]

Chuck... I hear you!

[Former_Member]

Chuck,
I love this: "Deliver what you promise is 1 of 2 rules, the other is “just be nice”, if someone upsets you, just be nice. When anything happens if you can control your response to just being nice it will help calm what ever the problem may be."

It's something I'm attempting to practice every day, the "just be nice" bit.

Happy Father's Day!
Sara

[Former_Member]

Thank you Sara,

My second oldest daughter is Sarah, she call me at least 3 times a week just so say hi Dad. She is a Assistant Vice President of a large banking chain and drives a lot from branch to branch so she can call from her car, I love it.

I wish I could say I practice just be kind, but like so many, sometimes I do and sometimes I fail. But I really do work on it as well.

Just an after thought for the younger dads out there. Do you have a treasure box? Now I do not sell treasure boxes and I have a few of them. when one gets full I start another Most are about the size of a cigar box. These are the boxes I hide away those little things my children have given me over the years. Things they long forgot about, but to me they are a treasure. You will not regret starting one for yourself. My children did not even know about these boxes until my granddaughter lost her baby, his photo when in my box. My daughter walk in my office in time to see me stashing it in the box and placing it on the shelf. She said she always knew about the boxes but never knew what was in them. It is something my father did and I am glad I did this as well. Funny thing is none of this stuff is worth a dime, but to me it is all priceless!

Sorry I ran on, just thought someone Dad there might like to start one.