My first 30 Days- What I have learned that can help you.

[Former_Member]

I opened my shop on March 30th and so far have had 24 sales. I started by joining a few teams and really networking.
I also used the ETSYONSALE application to run a grand opening sale to draw business in. I only held the sale for one week, but it did bring in sales for me which I hope will be repeat customers. I didn't know that if you use a referral code you get 10 free credits. If you want to try it, my code for referrals is below.
http://www.etsyonsale.com/sellers?referralCode=ZW2KFOAF2S
A sale uses 5 credits, so the 10 free credits will give you two sales for free.
The other advice I got that was really helpful is that the titles of your products have to be exactly what you would type to find the item. As much as you may want to make up a cute title to set your item apart from the rest, it won't show up in searches that way.
Also, pictures are so important. Try to use all five spots and make sure they are high white around the edges. This gives you the opportunity to show up in treasuries and makes your photos more appealing to the buyer.
Lastly, use all 13 of the SEO tags. Use phrases like "handmade knitted hat" rather than single words, as this helps your stuff show up better in searches, too.
Hope this is helpful!
Best to you all!
Nicole

[Former_Member]

Congrats on such a successful shop and thanks for sharing what you learned with us!

[Former_Member]

Thanks for sharing, I am still waiting for my first sale!

www.facebook.com/katiekeltnerphotography

[Former_Member]

Katie-
I looked at your shop and your products are great, but may be hard to find in the vast world of ETSY. Be patient, once your shop gets out there, you will be find. Find some teams that work hard at promoting each other. Getting those faves is important to getting your stuff to show up in searches.
Nicole

[Former_Member]

Some really nice tips Nicole.

Katie - I completely understand your frustration. I recently posted an article "How to reach 225 Favorites and 1800 views on Etsy shop with just 25 products in 90 days?" on my blog (http://www.pritrendz.com/blog)

You may find some tips and suggestions which you can also try.
Let me know if you need any help or details about the information in my article. Good Luck.

[Former_Member]

PriTrendz your blog link does not work. Could you check it again thanks!

[Former_Member]

Is this you PriTrendz? http://pritrendz.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/my-first-blog-article-on-my-shop-on-etsy/

[Former_Member]

The link does not work with the tips.

[Former_Member]

Wow! Amazing!
Thanks for sharing.

[Former_Member]

Thank you for posting this advice!

[BlueHandsBoutique]

thanks for the ideas. I have been open since Sept. and there is alot to learn.

[BeadedDesygns]

Thanks so much for the advice. I may try etsyonsale.com soon.

[InconnuLAB]

Really I am new on Etsy and in the designers’/makers’ world, but I have started to enjoy it.
I would like to share with you a story about my first giveaway game:
When I uploaded my fb page I organised a giveaway game to get likes. The prize was one of my origami bag. Of course, I got likes also from my friends and family, who didn’t liked my page because they wanted to win my bag, but because they love me. So during the drawing I could only hope to draw somebody who could really appreciate it. :) (I was wondering things like this: “ I wish my father hadn’t won it!!! :) ) Fortunately he hadn’t.
The winner was a nice Japanese girl, whom I met this summer. She was really happy to win. Today she got my bag via post and she posted it immediately on her page. So I can be sure that she liked it.
Conclusion: I don’t like clichés like “the money doesn’t make you happy” etc… (also because it is not true :). But I think, the first step is really to make happy the others with your product, and this is what I live through now. It gives me strength courage to take over my project to became a recognised maker who can also make profit.
I hope you all have a nice day