Help everyone :)

[#1]

Hey guys and gals!

I've noticed alot of new shops joining the team...this is awesome!
With that said, most of them have not yet had a sale.

Let's help everyone! The more shops that participate, the more helpful this thread will be.

Post one thing that has helped your shop's sales/views.

Thanks in advance!

[SkinnyPigDesigns]

I do a lot of research online about promoting my online store and people always say that social media is important. I resisted it for the first year and a half that my store was open because I felt like it was too time consuming and I should be spending that precious time actually making items instead. I guess I was wrong because now that I've finally jumped into promoting my shop on different social media platforms, I've been getting way more views than ever before! :)

[Hairfetti]

Hi *waves*

New to the team :)

One thing a good friend of mine on another team told me was:

1. If you have a mediocre photo, don't post as it won't do you any favors (I used to get so excited and then put up a photo that had a greyed out background or wasn't eye-catching)

2. Spend the 20 cent relisting fee to renew a wonderful item with a good photo early. It will keep those items at the top of relevancy in the listings

and

3. I have recently tried to barter an exchange with tweeters since my 3 kids keep me very busy and a twitter account really helps, but I just can't swing it now.

I offered to write a listing description and tags in exchange for a fellow etsy team member to tweet out my shop ot a special item. (I already knew her, so this helped. I wouldn't approach someone I didn't know)

[Former_Member]

Aloha team!! One of the things that i find helpful is having a good number of items in your shop!!! Great clear pictures,and a good title for your listing:)

[Former_Member]

Treasuries
I started doing them and saw an instant boost in views.

[Former_Member]

I had my shop now for over a year.
I started a Twitter account, posted more pictures on Facebook, and also put more items up in my Etsy store.

I think the twitter account helps the most!
I also made a treasury for other shops to get noticed as well.

[Former_Member]

How does a Twitter account help your ETSY account? How do you go about building followers? I've never done it so I'm curious.

[Former_Member]

Aloha! Promoting on instagram has help bring views, new customers, and sales!!
Mahalo for letting me share, and to all my team mates for sharing their valuable information!!

[Former_Member]

Wow! Thanks for all of the great ideas. I have been getting frustrated - not sure what I am doing wrong. It seems that I need to list more items, make treasuries, and be more active to make sales.

I am currently making only 2-3 sales a week - and I know the people who but my items love them, they send pictures and send emails, and the price point is good. So thank you so much for the feedback!

[Former_Member]

Posting on team discussions... Some threads ask you to post an item from your shop and "heart" everyone else's posts which helps you get a lot of views when people click on your item to heart it, they might see something else they like in your shop. I've also found that pinning your items on pinterest helps, if you have lot of followers on there. Ask your friends to pin your items on pinterest as well. https://www.etsy.com/listing/186173425/japanese-fan-vintage-painted?ref=listing-22

[Hairfetti]

Kate, 2-3 sales a week is pretty good comparatively!


Question cabout your "following experiences"
I have seen several times a recommendation to find people who like products of sellers similar to what we sell and follow them
While I can see why this might be cool, I did have a good friend who loves to shop start etsy and email me at one point "why is this seller "following " me? They came out of nowhere! Creepy"
any opinions on this procedure. Does it result in views/sales in your experience?

[Former_Member]

Sellers are also buyers. They may want to take one of your items and modify it to make a new product. Or they may want to see how the competition is doing. If you set the world on fire with a given product, then they may decide to make one of their own. Truthfully, there is no such thing as bad publicity.

[Former_Member]

I may be too new at this to be of much help, but participating on teams and treasuries have really increased my views and sales are climbing slowly. Also Pinterest seems to be driving traffic in (now that I know what to do with it!) Next learning curve: Twitter!

[Former_Member]

Hello there! I'm one of the new members to this team - just applied a few seconds ago :)

I do a lot of promotion outside of Etsy (Instagram and Twitter are my favorite, but also do Pinterest and Facebook). I also do local craft fairs to get my name out there, "nonchalantly" leave my shop up at the Apple store (lol), and leave my business cards with my restaurant bill :)

[Former_Member]

Hi there, I'm Rob, and by the looks of it, I am in the minority here. :-) All good, though. I started my tiny shop not too long ago so at the moment I am experimenting. I am old school marketing and trying to get a handle on the new marketing, social media marketing. I personally started off with a free website just to get the branding going. I then got free accounts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Flickr, WordPress Blog, etc. If it's free, I will give it a shot since there is nothing to lose and everything to gain.

I consider all the sites I mentioned above as drivers to feed my website and my Etsy store. With 9 products, I didn't have any expectations especially with my lighthouse collection (not Etsy price point products) but right now I am building a brand by being seen. The more impression I can garner, the better it'll get. Twitter is great for driving people to your store. You got to work it and connect. Unfortunately, I have noticed two drawbacks with Twitter: 1: the mute option is bad. People can mute you and you won't know it even though you still follow them. 2: The auto posting services like Socialoomph take away the ability to interact and establish relationships. Pretty much, Twitter is becoming a giant infomercial with a spattering of social, person to person, relationship building. But, Twitter can drive lots of traffic.

Bottom line, try all resources that are free. Etsy is not expensive so it is a good deal even with the fees and commission. From what I have learned thus far, I would agree that putting products in the store would increase sales potential especially for items selling under $50. There are exceptions. Also, the more products the more tags or variety of tags which helps in people finding you

I personally will be setting up blocks of 25 products. 5 bucks for 4 months. Every month I will try to add an additional 25. By the end of the 4th month I would have cycled 100 products. Keep track of what sells and what captures the attention. If you can't recoup the $20 by the end of one cycle (4 months) I would imagine it is time to find other ways to market your product. Don't be discouraged. Everything sells. There are buyers out there that want what you have to sell. You just have to find them or vice-versa. Just remember the Pet Rock. If you can sell a rock, you can sell anything.

By the way, follow me on Twitter and I will return the favor. It is also about building a network, the bigger it is the more you'll catch.

Best of luck and happy selling.

[Former_Member]

Cindy is right! The more items you have listed, the more attention you will get. Also, try to get featured on someone's blog page. It really helps drive traffic to you. I have been featured on two different equestrian blogs and now also have some of my designs for sale on one of their websites.

[Oceanwoodcreation]

I've noticed that pictures turn out WAY better when done outside on an overcast day. Huge difference.

[Former_Member]

I just joined this group. I've only had one sale. I This thread is very helpful. Thanks for all the suggestions.

[RiffWoodPicks]

Read the book and put into action the suggestions of Derrick Sutton in How to Sell Your Craft Online. This one book turned my Etsy shop PROFITABLE.

New Schooner / Windjammer design natural cedar drink coaster set of 4.
I have added 8 new designs as coasters, new for 2015
Lighthouses are next in line on the coasters.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/217301043/wooden-guitar-pick-drink-coasters

[SerenityShells]

I find that advertising via ETSY has helped a great deal with sales :) I have advertised on Facebook, but that did not seem to translate into sales, only nice comments. Wishing everyone a prosperous new year!

[Former_Member]

It has been awhile since I visited and so glad I did. I learn an extra sweet tip every time. thanks so much
https://www.etsy.com/listing/194031049/islamorada-4-collection-8-x-large-clam?ref=shop_home_active_1...

just testing

[Former_Member]

Hello and thank you for letting me be a part of the team. :) I wanted to thank everyone for being so positive and really very encouraging here! I've sold on other sites and never felt this sort of kindness and I've certainly never seen other sellers trying to help other sellers. It's such a refreshing change!

I've learned a lot reading these awesome suggestions and have also listened to some of my friends who are successful on Etsy. It seems that I've come to the right place to sell my goodies. This is the kind of healthy environment that I have been looking for. With that, I've got work to do! :)

Much love, kindness, and gratefulness!
Yours,
Lady Pirate Shells

[TheSandbar]

Please keep this thread open for questions, answers, and helpful tips for one another. Promoting your shop and listings is welcomed and encouraged on other threads within the team :) Thank you for you understanding

[Former_Member]

Thank You for the invitation Jess! So enjoyable to connect with others who share the love of ocean bliss!

Inviting you to visit and follow my shop. I have new items to post and now that winter has broke can get on with some new projects!

Warm Wishes to you all!

[OMearasCottageCharm]

I find re-listing very effective in my shop. I re-list the more popular items with one not so popular and generally see more views for both as well as an increase in favorites of other items.

[Former_Member]

Hi there and thank you all for having me in your group!

I've found this discussion helpful. I just removed a few items from my shop because I felt they were a distraction. I now know I need to add more -many more items to get some sales.

Paula, what exactly is re-listing?