Nov. 5: Online Lab - Crash Course in Holiday Marketing

[#1]

On Wednesday November 5th at 3pm (EST) we'll be hosting a live crash course in Holiday Marketing in the Online Labs. Ask your questions here about holiday marketing and we'll take the time to answer as many as possible during our 30 minute session.

For those of you who have been around for more than one holiday season, please don't hesitate to share your seasoned advice with the rest of us, it could be featured on November 5th in the Online Labs - http://etsy.me/labs

[StymiepieStudios]

Morning..My StymiepieStudios shop does well during the Holiday season, but my RockandRollHart shop does not. I promote the same way for both..Instagram, Facebook,Twitter and here on Etsy. What can I do to help my poor little second shop?

[Former_Member]

Hi there everybody,

This is Classy Cook Aprons 4th Christmas on Etsy. Each one has been better than the last. Some of the things we learned are:
♥ Order plenty of all your mailing and wrapping supplies early (bags, labels, ink-toner, tissue, ribbon, etc.)
♥ Make more of your higher priced items (they will sell as Gifts).
♥ Consider offering FREE Shipping for Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday--and Advertise it Early.
♥ Include Thank You cards with a 10% - 15% Off coupon Code on your Customers next purchase (for repeat business).

Wishing Everybody a Prosperous and Very Merry Christmas !!
Bev
»(¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯)«
Classy Cook Aprons

[Former_Member]

This will be my first holiday season on Etsy, I am looking forward to gaining some insight!

[Former_Member]

I'm super excited for this tutorial and very much appreciate all of the great tips and ideas in the comments! So much to learn as a new seller on Etsy but I am loving the challenge and great community!

[OldBleu]

Had a great first season last year, but always looking to improve... looking forward to 3:00 today! Thanks, Etsy... for always helping us to move forward!

[Former_Member]

It sounds interesting but I don't know how to access this forum..

[Keikeaux]

Hello! I would appreciate tips and advice for getting Local exposure. Thank you!

[showdiva]

My summers are normally quiet, I finally got my business consistent and something happened, in August my sale dropped completely, please let me know if anyone else is having this issue. Usually October thru December I do not stop, not now. Has something changed on Etsy that I am unaware of?

[QuailCreekCreations]

I'd like to ask question about tags.....

For the Holiday shoppers, should we change our item tags?
Should we add special wording for Christmas gift, etc?

Also should we rework our Titles and add holiday buzz words?
How about our shop announcement section?

Thanks!!!

[Former_Member]

I have recently reopened my shop but am feeling frustrated as to how to be found on the giant site. Would love to learn some new ideas on how to do this. Thanks!

[Former_Member]

Hello! My question is sorta related to Holiday sales. I am VERY new to selling and I sell art. Not a common under the tree gift item. Never the less, here is my question: I would love to advertise on relevant blogs. How do I go about this? I have sent request to some nice blogs I saw with ads but received no responses. Suggestions for nice decor/ design and etsy oriented blogs would be really appreciated.
Thank you!

[MaiaMingDesigns]

Ceramics are heavy, fragile, and expensive to ship. I've been checking out other Etsy ceramicists and some of them practically give away the shipping! How do they do this? I imagine they must work it into the price structure so they don't lose money. I sometimes subsidize the shipping a little, but I don't want to inflate my product prices just to have comparatively cheap shipping! Any advice??

[QuailCreekCreations]

Tips for Black Friday please!!!

Should our tags, titles, and announcement reflect Black Friday sales as well?

Thanks!!

[Former_Member]

Excited! Can't wait!

[Former_Member]

Since opening up our shop in 2012, sales have been growing, but as of late, very intermittent. What are the best strategies for marketing at this time? We are currently working on backlinking and are definitely at a challenging phase. Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

www.sustainablygrateful.etsy.com

[Former_Member]

I'm in and eager!

[Former_Member]

Is it normal to slow down in October? How does that impact November?

[Former_Member]

Hi all,
I have a new etsy shop so this is my 'first Christmas' too. I do art but wonder wether Christmas prints are worth it?
Thank you

[Former_Member]

Newbie to Etsy! Hoping to get some good advice for the Christmas season!

[Former_Member]

Hi all, this will be my first christmas season. I just joined last week.

2 questions:

1. I want to know when does the shopping season start. Nov 15? When should be store be ready?

2. And I currently just have 2 listings. Do you think it's best to add them little by little or wait until all my items are ready to open the store?

Thanks. I'm looking forward to following the discussion.

[MaleahTorney]

Loved it you guys, thank you! One question:

Can I add a link to Instagram at the top of my shop where Twitter and Facebook currently are? I don't see that option but would love to have it.

[PaperLaceLove]

I have to stay @ a conference I am attending, but would love to have access to this info, as it is my first season. Any chance there will be a replay? Or are these presentations stored somewhere for later viewing?

[CozyDawg]

Just put up my holiday banner that I made while listening in. Thanks for the idea!

[Former_Member]

Okay...Am I missing something! Is there a audio I'm supposed to be listening too? All I see are people asking questions and no one responding! HELP! ;-)

[Former_Member]

This was great. Thank you so much for this.

One idea that I would like to share. I wish that Etsy would add Advent as a holiday category. It really is a separate season from Christmas. I'm sure that others who make things for Advent would appreciate it too. Thanks for considering.