How do you spend your time promoting?

[Former_Member]

I hear over and over again that sellers spend massive amounts of time promoting their shop, but I really don't understand how they are spending this time.

I tweet things about my shop (which automatically creates a facebook post). Whenever I add a new item I tweet, post it to wanelo, and pin it. All of this takes just a few minutes a week. However, I also don't get very many views from promotion.

What am I not understanding about promotion? How should I be doing this better?

[Former_Member]

I'm not a promotion expert by any means. Every now and then I post to twitter. I haven't posted to Wanelo in a while. I need to do that.

But I find the best promotion is listing new items, working on pictures and SEO.

[MellowMoonSupply]

Listing new items, treasuries, favorite others, circles.............

[ConcertinaPress]

I think you have to strategize "promoting" because it can become a massive time suck - that being said, these are the things I do on a daily basis:

-Post a photo of an item on Facebook once a day, with a link to my shop (or schedule a post (http://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/business-topics/discuss/11274820/)

-Spend about ten minutes visiting other people's Facebook pages and interacting with them (like wedding photographers, florists, wedding planners)

-spend about 10 minutes a day in the forums :)

then on weekly/monthly basis I do these things:

- write blog posts and schedule them to appear 2-3 times a week

- write an online newsletter

- tweak listing titles, tags or photos as needed

- add new listings, or re-photograph items

- make treasuries


That's about it! If you read the thread I started about scheduling Facebook updates it gives some tips about WHAT to post.

[Former_Member]

I mostly post my items in teams. I also use facebook, listia, and ernya. And when I can remember, pinterest and deviantart. I tend to avoid pinterest tho because then I end up getting sucked into it and not doing what I'm supposed to. It's just so addictive ._.

[philosophiacreations]

I post items in teams, and that does take up a lot of my time.

I do post new listings to twitter and wanelo as well, and that never takes too long.

[Former_Member]

Does posting to promotional teams generate sales? I'm not sure I understand the point of them. Is it just sellers promoting their items top each other?

I don't think I could ever be a serious treasury maker. I would rather spend that time crocheting.

I am also trying to start using Instagram to do some promoting.

[WithLoveFromLucille]

Felicia - I spend a lot of time promoting items on different sites. I usually do about an hour every few days because it's so time consuming.

Plus when I have new items to list I have to make "the rounds" again.

Here's an awesome thread of a ton of places to promote for free:
http://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/business-topics/discuss/9040387/page/189#

about half of my sales/views come outside of Etsy, so I'm doing something right.

[ForgedMettleJewelry]

What I've been doing in the past CLEARLY hasn't been working, so at the moment I'm trying a couple new things, like wanelo and craftori. But then I've got to figure out a few other places to drum up business...