Google Docs and Etsy

[hydeandstitched]

I use Google Docs for a lot of my record keeping, and I was just wondering if any one else has some great uses for Google Docs ( or Microsoft Office / OpenOffice ). I realize there are other automated / paid options for a lot of what I do, but I really love having the control I do within my documents to manage and visualize my data however I'd like.

Here are some of the documents I have set up:

1. Generic Listing Titles and Descriptions - Most of my listings are very similar with just some tweaks to the title and description. I keep a running document of generic versions I use so that I can quickly access them.

2. Money Flow - I have a spreadsheet set up to document my monthly etsy fees, shipping fees, supply expenses and income. I also calculate my net income for the month and have conditional formatting set up to color the net green if I am doing well, or red if I am in the...uh...red. I also keep an aggregate tally of the yearly expenses / income / net.

3. Better Stats - I love Etsy's stats, but sometimes I want a finer granularity of information. To keep sane, I only keep track of things per month. I have a spreadsheet set up that keeps track of some of my favorite stats, some which Etsy does an OK job with, like favorites and views, and others that Etsy doesn't graph such as my top SEO'd queries each month, and my average value per sale. I know it seems repetitive to manually log this info, but now that I have it I can compare page views, item favorites and number of sales in a single chart. Or, my recent favorite as I have been focusing on SEO is to see my top queries in a stacked bar chart. This way I can easily see how different queries I've been focusing on are improving on a monthly basis.

4. Profit Margins - When I first set up my Etsy I created a spreadsheet to calculate my expense per journal. I still keep this spreadsheet around and can update it or refer to it as necessary. I was able to run a few different profit margins to see how much I would make at different price points, ultimately allowing me to pick a comfortable price for my items.

Does anyone else document their information as extensively as me? Does anyone do things I haven't though of? Am I just anal retentive? ;)

[Former_Member]

Wow, what a great list!

I fully admit to keeping versions of most of this in Excel, because like you, I just like *having control* of it. (Maybe I'm crazy, too :P)

I do also use Google Docs to manage my features on other shops for my blog, which is technically Etsy, but directly relates to it. I have a form set up that users can fill out to have their shop featured on my site, and then I can get that info in one spreadsheet. Also, I write all the featured blog drafts in Google Docs first so I have them saved in one location.

[hydeandstitched]

I forgot to mention the one reason I prefer Google Docs to Office is I am often hopping between computers / mobile devices and love having instant access to this info no matter where I am.

I like your idea of using the form. I have yet to try out forms but seems like you have a perfect application for them.

[Former_Member]

Good point--I have actually considered moving my spreadsheet from Office to Docs for just that reason. It's hard to remember to keep everything updated at the end of the day when I could have just done it right then at whatever computer I'm nearest to.

And I love forms; would highly recommend them for just about anything. At a previous job, we needed a cheap way to make our customers take a lot of surveys, and that's when I mastered the form. Very simple and intuitive to learn, and the data all stays neat and tidy for you.

I'm a huge google fan.

[BingArt]

I envy your organizational skills! Do you sell only on Etsy or do you also sell in local shops and on other sites?

I haven't been too good with spreadsheets, but I have everything organized pretty well on my comp. I have to say I'm with you on keeping track of stats... I keep track of everything on a monthly basis as I've found it makes the most sense and as views/favs/sales have begun to pick up, it helps simplify things.

My new favorite thing to do is to track my listing tags. I use Google Adwords to look at the Global Monthly Search for each and make sure I have relevant keywords as their relevance changes so often!

Happy sales!

[Former_Member]

I use Hootsuite to schedule out most of my promotional content. I use Google Docs to write and organize this stuff. What I normally do is write up about 20 tweets of related content (DIY projects, tutorials, other cool links) + some promotional stuff for my accounts.

Then I use Hootsuite to schedule this out on my Twitter and Facebook at the rate of about 4 links per day + 1 or 2 promotional tweets. That way, I am not trying to generate new content EVERY SINGLE DAY, and I know what I've already used before.

Saves time PLUS keeps you organized. I love Google Docs :D

[hydeandstitched]

That's a great idea with tracking your tags. I haven't had the chance to look into using AdWords (I occasionally waste some money on Etsy's search ads to double check my assumption on keywords) but it'd be useful to keep track of either.

I haven't sold locally yet, but am doing my first craft festival in November. I'll be incorporating the sales and expenses from that into my existing spreadsheet since it is all the same endeavor. That also reminds me, I used a spreadsheet to figure out how much paper I should cut up. I had purchased 15 pads of paper and get a certain number of the size journal I am cutting plus three small journals out of each pad. I used a spreadsheet to tweak the number of pads I should dedicate to each size in order to make sure I had enough paper cut for all the journals I want to make by November.

One other table I have set up that I forgot to list initially is my cover stock. I purchase my leather in large quantities to save on shipping, and spend a few days cutting it into covers. While this is essentially prospecting (and sometimes bites me when I see out of medium covers but not a single small of the same size), it allows me to speed up things. I keep track of all my styles, sizes and quantities. I used to keep track of sold quantities, but with the advent of Etsy's stock feature I no longer need that. The spreadsheet is incredibly helpful in figuring out what styles would be best to list next (which I have the most cut of).

[hydeandstitched]

Maggie - I've never used hoopsuite but that sounds like a great idea to use Google to organize all of your common tweets / updates in one place. Right now I just use all of the automated stuff Etsy offers when listing an item, but I need to start branching out with more activity in social networks and I'll definitely end up wanting to keep updates organized like you do.