Tips of the Day!

[DapperCatDesigns]

Hey guys!

I don't know about you but I am constantly learning new things in all the different forums and through teams. It's a lot of information, and sometimes very contradictory! Each day I am going to add a tip that I have learned to help us all out :o). Feel free to give it a shot, or share your opinion!

Did you learn something today?! Feel free to share what you learned!! The more information we can gather, the better!!

[MollyMacCollection]

I was told that the more you do on Etsy (favorite shops, products, follow people, add merchandise, join teams) the more people can see your stuff...so that is what I am trying to do. This comes from a friend who has been on about a year and has sold close to 50 items!!

[DapperCatDesigns]

Molly,

I would agree with you on that!! Etsy is all about networking, it seems to me... The bigger your reach, the more opportunity for others to see your things!! I've noticed the more I participate in the forums, the more views I get, and so on... And remember, when someone favorites your items, their followers also see that :o). I think the hard part is keeping the faith... All the hard work you put in today may not lead to sales until down the road, but hopefully it will be worth the wait... And in the mean time, we are all here to support each other!!

[DapperCatDesigns]

I found this as a response to someone in the forums.... While it was written about search ads, perhaps it holds true for searching in general with the tags and relevancy

"When you start a search campaign, the auto-generated search terms are pulled straight from an item's tags (or the most common tags if you list a bunch of items), so they key is to use very specific tags in your listings. Using vague tags ("art", "silver ring", "vintage hat") will get your ad buried with thousands of others, but descriptive ones will keep them in a smaller pool and more likely to reach customers searching for what you're selling. Good luck!"

[MollyMacCollection]

That is true. I found it tricky when I did my tags to come up with the right ones. I actually almost forgot to tag them mollymac and had to go back through and add that. I may tweak the tags as I get better at this. I like how they show you on your stats page what tags were used to view your product. That is helpful!!

The other thing I did recently was to "pin" all my products on Pinterest. That was cool. I have always wanted them on there but the only site I had them on before was my business page on fb and you can't pin from there. So hopefully that will generate some interest as well.

[DapperCatDesigns]

I have a terrible time with tags :o). I have no idea what to put!! I've started to change the tags on one or two similar items to see if they get more views than some of the others to "test the waters", instead of changing everything at once and then not knowing what worked and what didn't....

If you have a Pinterest site, share it in the "social media" section so we can all repin your pins and help :o)

[Former_Member]

I've read and noticed that multi word tags can help a lot. Instead of "wool" use "warm wool hat", instead of "blanket" use "baby blanket bike". I searched for my things and noticed quite a few shops who's items ALWAYS were visible in the first page or so. I looked at their tags and it was clear I was doing mine wrong!

Imagine exactly what you would type into the search field if you were looking for your item. Almost intuitively we know that looking for "hat" on google will turn up a gillion things. But "big purple hat with a feather" will guide you to what you actually want. I suppose you need to trust that people want what you have. :)

Also, don't be afraid to tag with very similar things - red wool hat, wool red hat, warm red hat, etc. All of those will make your item more relevent if a searcher types any one of them into the search field. I re-tagged one of my items using this method and found myself in the #1 position!

Now...off to change some diapers.

[DapperCatDesigns]

Wow!! Ok! Thanks!! I'm going to have to brainstorm and try to come up with some phrases! Is it bad that I'm kinda glad things are slow right now so we can all work to perfect things?! That way when the "rush" hits we will be ready!!

[Former_Member]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/153116998/this-is-a-necklace-made-of-light-teal

[Former_Member]

I am reading all these..and it all sounds so wonderful. I spent the morning retaking photos of my jewelry and reposting them. At least now they dont look so dull and boring. I wasnt sure about "tags" either so I left that blank..grrr..now I will have to go back and add them in. But that wont happen tonight. Tomorrow is another day. I cant believe the traffic my shop has had in just the 2 days that I joined these teams. I'm only on 18 of them for now....there are soooooooo many...but it has helped..though I havent had a sale yet...at least there is comfort in knowing that people are looking....and eventually it will lead to the "first" sale......Thanks gang and have a good night.....

[DapperCatDesigns]

Diana, the new pictures look great!! I always love jewelry in natural settings.... I used to do the merchandising for a local jewelry store by me and I would raid Home Depot and lowes for their slate tiles and natural stones for the displays! Keep working hard and I know your first sales will come :o)

[Former_Member]

Diana- I found that using pieces of scrapbook paper can also be pretty if you want to use solid blocks of color. I had a hard time finding ways to photograph earrings so I hang them from a chain that is draped over a kitchen hand towel rack I bought at Ross. I place a piece of scrapbook paper in the background and viola!

Here's and example

https://www.etsy.com/listing/157321669/leaf-garnet-dangle-earrings-nature?

[DapperCatDesigns]

Jamie - that's a really great idea! I hope you don't mind if I steal it too :o)

[DapperCatDesigns]

Anyone else learn anything new today? I had my first adventure with a custom order.... I discovered you can make the listing right from the convo request for the order :o). And to add to that, I read in the forums that its helpful to have a special "reserved" listing sign instead of using a picture. Has anyone else had any experience with custom listings yet?

[Former_Member]

I just started selling couple of months ago and still not sure how to promote my items. I have had only one sell and thanking it might not be meant for to have an Etsy shop. I only listed a couple of items to see how it would work. I hope that I can learn from everyone on this team

[DapperCatDesigns]

Thought this might be helpful for all of us so we know how to handle ourselves in these situations :o)

[DapperCatDesigns]

Shannon,

Don't get down on yourself yet!! The "word on the street" is that it takes a few months for the first sale, and a few more for the second! Also, you have to remember that the more items you have in your shop, the more customers will be able to find you :o). Keep creating and listing! You'll get there!!

[DapperCatDesigns]

Hi Guys! Here's a little helpful hint from Etsy about shipping.

http://www.etsy.com/help/article/3156?ref=help_search_result

When I opened up my shop, I had a lot of people start telling me how important international shipping was... In fact, many people said that almost half their sales are international!

Hopefully this will be helpful to you guys...I only just found out that Etsy offers shipping, and it's significantly easier than standing in line at the post office!

[DapperCatDesigns]

Info about the new Etsy Listing Page!

http://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/discussions/discuss/12728355/

[PerfectVintageFlea]

ugghh I wish this option was available for Canadian shipping! So far dealing with shipping/requests for shipping has been the biggest hassle. I want to say I ship everywhere, but I have leave the amount at zero and say email me for a quote. My last order paid for the item with no shipping and I had to email them a paypal invoice after the fact . It would be nice if etsy had a real time shipping option so customers could just put in their address and get a price right away.

[DapperCatDesigns]

Today's Tip of the Day!!

As I was trolling through the forums today looking for interesting advice to help us all out, I kept hearing about the importance of communication and networking. A majority of the people you are going to run into in Etsy Teams and Forums are sellers offering advice or asking questions. I don't know about you all, but I started on Etsy as a buyer and I still prefer to purchase items from Etsy because I know I am getting unique and interesting things!! Not to mention all the sellers you come into contact with may have already established a giant customer base just waiting to see what their favorite shop owner "hearts" next! (Your favorites show up on the boards of people who are following you).

So, go forth and make connections!! Every time I comment in a forum, my number of views jumps. Every person you talk to is one more person who may potentially look and like your items! Sure, there's no guarantee that looks mean sales, but if no one looks, I can guarantee there will be no sales :o) The more we all TALK to each other, the better the opportunity we have to make a statement!!

[Former_Member]

I took some photos yesterday and thought I would sahre my technique with you guys! I hope it helps! Here is link to the blog post.

http://www.luckieclover.com/?p=261

[Former_Member]

Jamie - great blog post! Thanks for the advise - and your new jewelry that you had shown looks great! I take most of my photos outside in natural light or in a space that has lots of natural light coming in - but had not thought of using something to diffuse the light. I tend to have a lot of shadows in my photos so that might help.
Thanks!

[DapperCatDesigns]

Jamie, that looks great!! I never would have thought of using a lamp shade, but it worked perfectly! Thank you so much for sharing :o)

[PerfectVintageFlea]

Awesome Jamie! There's actually another thread on here that is related to exactly that right now. You should post the link over there too!

https://www.etsy.com/teams/18395/newbie-cheer-squad/discuss/12730167/page/2