Reflect on 2012 to Create an Awesome 2013!

[AudMod]

Happy New Year!

Before 2013 picks up speed, take a moment to reflect on this past year in your shop. What triumphs and challenges did you face? Using the tips in the following post, take stock of where you struggled and succeeded. Arm yourself with the lessons you learned as you begin what could be your best year yet!

Check out the article: http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2013/reflect-on-2012-t/

And share the lessons you’ve learned here.

Cheers!

Audrey

[Former_Member]

Great article! Thanks!

[TerraRhapsody]

I learned a lot of things! Great blog as well- so helpful. I had a great year last year, so I hope to improve this year even further! I have a set of rather high goals!
My tips and learning experiences:
- Always keep creating. One design you create may make an incredible difference, as one of mine got very popular and got me a lot of
- Keep changing tags, titles and descriptions for the time of year and remove irrelevant tags (e.g. valentines tags in june might not help as much as summer tags)
- Share wherever else you can- check out deviantART, stumbleupon, twitter, facebook, pinterest wanelo, blogs, friends, modelling items in person when you go shopping (they can make great talking points!)
- Add backlinks in your listings to other items in your shop- I found I had some interesting stats with doing this, I got more views from people moving around my shop than the search traffic at one point. More links to something is helpful for people searching through your shop manually as well as SEO.
- Keep stocking up on things in your shop that you will always use- for example stock up on bubble envelopes for sending your things. If you don't use them all now, they'll eventually be used and it's cheaper to buy in bulk!
- Increase prices of best sellers you're finding difficult to replace quickly to try and slow down sales until you can add more to your shop. It's better to make a bit more with each sale than run out of items altogether much sooner!
- Ask friends and family their opinions on how to improve your shop and always celebrate your success with those close to you. My fiancé is an incredible support to me, and he's really happy and proud of me whenever I get a sale :)

[TheDorothyDays]

Thanks for the article.

I have learnt to much in 2012 about how to run my shop. I worked out how to successfully use social media for my shop which was a big achievement and worked out good solutions for the challenge of packaging some of my heavier and fragile vintage items which has made a huge difference.

Happy new year to you all, I hope 2013 is a successful year for all your shops!

[Former_Member]

I've come a long, long way from January 2012, with one item in my shop with terrible photos. Some of the things I've learned-

Photos are very, very important. I haven't perfected mine at all, but I've learned a lot about editing pictures and know what I want to strive for.

It took me a while to figure this out, despite being told this over and over again, but the more items=more chances of being found, which can equal more sales.

Having a variety of items is nice, because it will bring a larger variety of buyers into the shop.

Kitty is right; backlinks are very helpful! My views have increased since I put them in!

I've still got a long way to go, but I've learned a lot this year and I'm looking forward to learning more in 2013!

[SamOsborneStore]

What a year 2012 was! After my first year in 2011, views, orders and revenue all increased at least 5 fold and Christmas was crazy! I learnt heaps in the process but the biggest ones were:

Stock - the more you have the more you'll be found and the more people will stick in your shop and buy multiple items (see the back links tips from Kitty) but don't expect to sell every single item - some are there just to lure people in :)

Photos - these must be awesome. Think like the big boys and show your work off to the highest possible standard. Include props but don't make them cluttered, your product is the star.

Promote - this isn't an 'if you upload it they will buy it' deal - no one knows that your shop exists unless you tell them loudly and often. The more creative and engaging about this you can be the better; twitter, facebook, blogging are all great!

Tags, Titles and Keywords - time invested learning how to use these will pay off big time, shake them up often and with the seasons and think like a customer.

I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for me and everyone on Etsy

I've got big plans :)

Sx

[Former_Member]

I've marked this to read later, I'm sure it's definatley worth a lot to look at :D

[ShopMissElla]

I still feel like I'm still only just beginning even after over a year or two now but I would say my biggest thing has been to learn more about SEO, getting titles, descriptions, tags all matching.

As Ewe and Kitty say backlinks. I also got a few sales from France after translating my shop so I need to translate more items and do some in German too.

It would be great if you could do Japanese too although that could be muddly with my limited knowledge! I am always being told I could have a good market there and it is one of my favourite places but I find it a hard one to break into!

I got a fabulous digital SLR for Christmas (lucky me!) so I plan to really improve my pictures this year.

Most of all this team has been immensely helpful!! So I have cut down the millions of teams I was in but not participating in so I can focus on the ones that I really enjoy being a part of.

[TreeCraftDiary]

I learnt a lot about selling online. Improved on titles and tags do help a lot to get found in search.

Adding more and more inventories.

Good photography is a must! Make people want to buy your item by just looking at the picture.

Etsy has become my platform of portfolio to showcase my creation to the world.

I wish I will get better sales in 2013. Now I am ready to roar!

[MelsCreativeWishes]

Great article.
This was my first year selling on Etsy and Iearntt a lot.
I learnt about the importance of good titles, tags and seos.
Photos of my items went from okay to way better and I made my shop much more cohesivev looking.
Stock... The more I have the more I sell. Also the more choices, colors to choose from and variety the better.
Most important for me was offering the very best customer service, being from Australia posting same or next day for international sales, communicating with the customer and offering custom designs.
I believe 2013 Will be à great yer for me on Etsy

[GulfCoastTshirts]

Great article.
2012 was an amazing year for us in many ways. I expect 2013 and beyond to be just as amazing, if not more so.

If You Work Really Hard and You’re Kind,
Amazing Things will Happen.
~ Conan O'Brien

I've always known this....just now really reaping the rewards from it : )

[Former_Member]

Last year, I learned a bit more about SEO, and although I am not claiming to be an expert at it, I now feel more comfortable tagging and titling my items, and finding ways to more exposure through better SEO.

I also learned that blog advertising on medium sized blogs does not work for me and my shop. This year, I will have to work on my budget to allow for advertising on one of the major blogs.

I have also learned not to worry too much about my Etsy shop. Apparently, my time to quit my day job is nowhere in sight, so I have increased hours at my day job in order to earn enough for covering basic expenses, and whatever sells on Etsy is just a bonus. It was hard to accept the second consecutive year of declining sales (2010 was my best year on Etsy), but the lack of sales forced me to streamline my supply ordering, tweak the type and variety of items I was offering, and generally find more ways to pinch pennies in my business. All is well when setbacks teach us new lessons. :-)

I will be moving both my residence and studio to a different state in 2013, so I am looking forward to new beginnings. The current hometown was not a very good market for the type of product I offer, and I am hoping that would change once I settle in my new home state.

[diarysketches]

wow I learnt so much about everything...how to step up my shop to be more than just a hobby...thanks ETSY SUCCESS TEAM <3

[WithLoveFromLucille]

2012 was my first year on Etsy. With help from people in the forums, I learned all my shop basics, as well as, extremely valuable business knowledge.
I didn't have high expectations because I kept reading that 'it takes a while to make a sale' or 'you're lucky to make 50 sales your first year'.

From learning how to primp photos to titles & tags to promoting outside of Etsy and making a living doing this...
I worked my a$$ off!!!!
I surpassed 250 sales in 2012. For my personal goals, that was exhilarating.
As for 2013, I plan to keep educating myself and push harder. I believe it will be an AMAZING year full of creativity and endless possibilities.

[Former_Member]

2012 was a better year then 2011, and I am hoping 2013 will be even better! But alot of planning, and keeping records will be challenging.

2013 Product
- Look into ways to improve the product and make a better product
- Look into products that are slow selling, or not selling and remove
- Expand product range
- Consider pricing points, and research other similar businesses
- Look at profit margins

2013 Marketing
- Build a marketing strategy
- No real success with Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or Etsy search ads. Remove these and consider new avenues
- Consider new selling avenues for more exposure

2013 Operations & Finance
- Get better at record keeping, and have a log book for all expenses purchased to run the business
- Record keeping for Sales
- Time management for Making items, Photographing and Editing photos

[Former_Member]

I learned so much in 2012! I started my shop in late 2011, so I made tons of sales in 2012 compared to the year prior.

I learned how to use social media as a way to get more traffic to my shop.

I also learned that great, clear, bright photos are a must!

More items in stock always equals more sales!

I also learned that I need to be firmer when it comes to custom orders, last year I was so happy to get any custom order, let alone 3-4 at a time, but I realized my need to please opened me up to being taken advantage of by a select few. I now know a clear policy statement is a must! haha

Hopefully 2013 will be even more amazing! Bring it on :)

[Former_Member]

As the years fly by, I'm finding that my record keeping is getting better and better. When I look back to when I first started this business in at the turn of the millenium to where I am now its like night and day!


2012 brought many changes and much success. Yes there are always trials and tribulations along the way but overall it was quite successful.

The toughest part about this business is being at least 2 steps ahead of the market so that what I'm offering for sale is what the customer is looking for. That's always a challenge!

[OriginalAnimalMagnet]

2012 was a great your for our shop! I have actually been a seller for a number of years (maybe 3? 5?) and one of my other shops did fairly well... but nothing compared to this year. We had over 850 sales since opening in February!!!

Here are a few tidbits I have learned:

1. Renew, renew, and renew some more

2. As mentioned before - your tags & titles are VERY important

3. Try to come up with your a creative idea the you LOVE, because if you love it than you can probably guarantee many others will as well.

4.Doing everything you can to please your customer.. think of how you would feel if you were in their shoes :)

5. Photos should be well done (though don't judge me as it is soooo time consuming to get awesome photos when you have a lot of items..lol)

6.Adding little extras to your packaging or homemade items so people are pleasantly surprised when it arrives.

7. Working out your shipping costs, packaging, supplies so you are buying EVERYTHING in bulk discount and as low as possible.

Items I need to work on still:

1. Pricing custom orders competively, but high enough for all the time they take.

2. Trying to give amazing service (in which I take pride), but not spend every evening after I get home (from my full time job) replying to convos.

Hopefully this helps a bit :)

Thanks,
Chantelle

[Former_Member]

I have learned so much from this team in the past few months, I am forever grateful for your wisdom. I learned about tags and titles, just heard about back links? not sure how to do that, but I look forward to a successful year.. Since the reopening of my shop in September of 2012 and going it on my own,( my son use to be a partner), sales have improved mainly due to my undivided attention to my shop, all the support I have received, along with the invaluable knowledge of the teams. Thank you all and I wish everyone a great 2013 here on Etsy.

[BeljaysFelt]

The main thing I have learnt in 2012...

You only get out of what you put into it!

So in the last few months I have put in more time, listed more items, spent more time promoting, engaging more with customers and teams all of which resulted in more sales.

So this year... more energy into finding new and better ways to do all of these things.

[BiomedDesign]

Year 2012 is the best of far. I learned a few things and amazed that even without much advertizing for my etsy products, I got a lot of sales. I would like to learn how to promote my shop.
I learned that good photos help convince customers that I have what they wanted.
I learned that lowering the price is not the way to tell my user that my products are good quality.
I learned that put all the time and effort into crafting the best product is the key to success.
Thanks

[Former_Member]

I learned to put a little bit of my profits back into my shop. Every time I made a sale, I set aside a small chunk of money for advertising.

[Former_Member]

This past year was wonderful! Such excitement. My biggest mistakes were not having enough stock on hand due to a large holiday craft bazaar and two bigger than normal wholesale orders. I made sure everyone else had stock but my Etsy shop suffered. I'll start earlier this year and won't accept wholesale oders after December 1st.
Learn as we go along. Happy Sales.
Best,
Jess

[TheSapphireTheory]

The Etsy article was super helpful, will be taking a few hours tonight to recap on 2012 & see what i can change/focus on for 2013..thank again!

[SewMeHawaii]

This is my first year in business and it was a very steep learning curve for me, but I have gained an immense amount of info. For me, customer service will always be my number one priority so having a direct payment, Etsy shipping labels and insurance have been really important. I can get my items out quickly not having to spend time at the P.O. I have learned of the importance of tags, descriptions and photography. I'm slowly learning about links, SEO's and blogs. It's been such a fun journey. It has been a very good year and I look forward to 2013.