Did you read about my Year of Marketing the other day? I declared that 2013 would be the year I get my head around how to successfully market myself and my business online!
February's focus is Etsy.
Are you on Etsy? I've had an Etsy store for almost four years now but most of that time it has not been particularly active. In fact, it was empty for probably more than two of those years!
One of my big decisions for Red Parka in 2013 was to close down my Big Cartel Store and my Madeit Store to just focus on Etsy. I couldn't decide for months which of these three stores was the best option for me and hence I had all three running. This meant my time on each was compromised and I never knew which site to direct people to when doing promotions.
Last year, most of my sales were through Big Cartel because this is where my website linked to. And it's even true that I got more sales through Madeit than I did Etsy. So why would I choose Etsy, the lowest performing store, over the others?
Simply because it's got the most potential. Etsy is HUGE. Which can make it daunting but also makes it incredibly exciting. As soon as I changed the link on my website to direct to Etsy instead of Big Cartel I got a bunch of Etsy sales. Which proves to me one thing - it doesn't really matter where my store is, as long as I have good products that people want and can find, they will buy them.
Being found is the key here - anyone can put products up on the internet for sale. It's finding the people who want to buy them that's the challenge. And this is exactly why I picked Etsy.
And then I got to dreaming..... Imagine if I focused all my energy on one shop? And imagine if instead of having that one shop just ticking along in the background I actually got super serious and utilised everything Etsy has to offer? It could mean a big increase in sales and this is my mission for February!
Here is the outline of my Etsy plan, but I will be adding to it and changing it as I learn new things throughout the month. Also, my numbers are just base numbers to work from. I may do more if the mood takes me!
Basically, the plan has three aspects. The first is setting up my shop better - taking better product shots, filling out descriptions, fixing my about page and all that. Second is regular listing, promoting and then hopefully selling my own work. The third is expanding my network of friends, colleagues and fans within the Etsy family - basically working out how to best use Etsy as a social media platform to not only sell more work but to meet more people, discover more talented artists, get tips and advice and have fun!
Part 1 - Shop
- Design a new header
- Rewrite my shop welcome message
- Do up my About page
- Experiment with product shots to make them more appealing and professional
- Learn to write better product descriptions
- Make a button for custom listings
- Rewrite my policy sections to be more informative
- Change my avatar to be personal instead of a logo
Part 2 - Sell
- Read something new on the Etsy blog every day to keep expanding my knowledge and learn new tips to implement
- Read other articles/blog written by or for Etsy sellers as well.
- List 3 new items every day, at different times of the day
- Renew any items that sell in addition to the 3 new listings
- Promote 1 item each day on Facebook
- Promote 2 items each day on Twitter
- Write a blog post about my Etsy shop about halfway through the month once it's looking good!
- Work out how to offer Etsy giftcards
Part 3 - Socialise
- Get involved in an Etsy Team or two
- Create 2 treasury lists every week
- Find 5 new shops I like everyday and favourite them and add them to my circle
- Heart 10 additional items each day from shops I favourite or are in my circle already
- Follow 10 new Etsy sellers on Twitter every day
My Etsy Health Check!
Take another look at the screenshot above (or check out my store!) - this is how my shop currently looks.
Current Stats
Total Sales - 19
Admirers - 89
Circles - 68
Over the last 30 days
Views - 893 (276 shop views and 617 listing views)
Favourites - 47 (13 shop favourites and 34 listing favourites)
Orders - 3
Revenue - USD$25.50
And this is what the Etsy Shoptimizer tool had to say....
Eek! That may well be the first F I've ever gotten in my life! Gotta turn that one around!
If you have any tips or advice for me, I'd love to hear about them in the comments! And if you're joining in, leave a link to your Etsy shop in the comments so we can all check each other out!
Much love and Etsy success to you all! Jen x
February's focus is Etsy.
Are you on Etsy? I've had an Etsy store for almost four years now but most of that time it has not been particularly active. In fact, it was empty for probably more than two of those years!
One of my big decisions for Red Parka in 2013 was to close down my Big Cartel Store and my Madeit Store to just focus on Etsy. I couldn't decide for months which of these three stores was the best option for me and hence I had all three running. This meant my time on each was compromised and I never knew which site to direct people to when doing promotions.
Last year, most of my sales were through Big Cartel because this is where my website linked to. And it's even true that I got more sales through Madeit than I did Etsy. So why would I choose Etsy, the lowest performing store, over the others?
Simply because it's got the most potential. Etsy is HUGE. Which can make it daunting but also makes it incredibly exciting. As soon as I changed the link on my website to direct to Etsy instead of Big Cartel I got a bunch of Etsy sales. Which proves to me one thing - it doesn't really matter where my store is, as long as I have good products that people want and can find, they will buy them.
Being found is the key here - anyone can put products up on the internet for sale. It's finding the people who want to buy them that's the challenge. And this is exactly why I picked Etsy.
And then I got to dreaming..... Imagine if I focused all my energy on one shop? And imagine if instead of having that one shop just ticking along in the background I actually got super serious and utilised everything Etsy has to offer? It could mean a big increase in sales and this is my mission for February!
 |
| My Etsy Store as it looks today |
Here is the outline of my Etsy plan, but I will be adding to it and changing it as I learn new things throughout the month. Also, my numbers are just base numbers to work from. I may do more if the mood takes me!
Basically, the plan has three aspects. The first is setting up my shop better - taking better product shots, filling out descriptions, fixing my about page and all that. Second is regular listing, promoting and then hopefully selling my own work. The third is expanding my network of friends, colleagues and fans within the Etsy family - basically working out how to best use Etsy as a social media platform to not only sell more work but to meet more people, discover more talented artists, get tips and advice and have fun!
Part 1 - Shop
- Design a new header
- Rewrite my shop welcome message
- Do up my About page
- Experiment with product shots to make them more appealing and professional
- Learn to write better product descriptions
- Make a button for custom listings
- Rewrite my policy sections to be more informative
- Change my avatar to be personal instead of a logo
Part 2 - Sell
- Read something new on the Etsy blog every day to keep expanding my knowledge and learn new tips to implement
- Read other articles/blog written by or for Etsy sellers as well.
- List 3 new items every day, at different times of the day
- Renew any items that sell in addition to the 3 new listings
- Promote 1 item each day on Facebook
- Promote 2 items each day on Twitter
- Write a blog post about my Etsy shop about halfway through the month once it's looking good!
- Work out how to offer Etsy giftcards
Part 3 - Socialise
- Get involved in an Etsy Team or two
- Create 2 treasury lists every week
- Find 5 new shops I like everyday and favourite them and add them to my circle
- Heart 10 additional items each day from shops I favourite or are in my circle already
- Follow 10 new Etsy sellers on Twitter every day
My Etsy Health Check!
Take another look at the screenshot above (or check out my store!) - this is how my shop currently looks.
Current Stats
Total Sales - 19
Admirers - 89
Circles - 68
Over the last 30 days
Views - 893 (276 shop views and 617 listing views)
Favourites - 47 (13 shop favourites and 34 listing favourites)
Orders - 3
Revenue - USD$25.50
And this is what the Etsy Shoptimizer tool had to say....
Eek! That may well be the first F I've ever gotten in my life! Gotta turn that one around!
If you have any tips or advice for me, I'd love to hear about them in the comments! And if you're joining in, leave a link to your Etsy shop in the comments so we can all check each other out!
Much love and Etsy success to you all! Jen x
your posts have been right on with what i am needing info on, thanks so much for sharing! i started my etsy shop blindly and in a hurry last fall, and now that the xmas rush is over i have some time to start using the extra help that it has available. i just found out what 'teams' are, and signed up for a local one that i didn't even know existed! that was really cool to find so many etsy shops from people in my area!
ReplyDeletei used the report card tool that you linked to, and i got two C's and an A, there's definetly some work to be done. If you don't mind, i'm going to follow along with your journey this year, i could really use some direction :)
my link : www.indigobeancreations.etsy.com
Thanks for sharing and I'm thrilled to have you follow along on the journey! Lets hope we both see some growth in our businesses as a result! x
DeleteI think this is such a great post! I need to have you do a guest post in my blog!!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post!!! God I love your blog. We did the report card, actually scored really well. Almost all A's which made us feel great. We should talk about you guest posting on our site as well, a way to promote the shop once you are ready? Email me when you want and let's make something happen. Us red covered people should stick together haha x Tamara
ReplyDeleteHi Jen,
ReplyDeleteI stumbled across your blog while doing research for a book I'm writing about Etsy, and this post really got my attention, namely the Shoptimizer app features. I had never heard of that app until now, so I appreciate that little tip. Thanks, I'll be checking in to see how things progress with your shop because it's a passion subject for me.
Hi Dave,
DeleteJust had a look around your blog -it's great! I am definitely going to keep an eye on what you're up to! Also just downloaded your free ebook so wil be very interested to read!
Glad you found me!
We can't say yet that focusing on Etsy and putting off the other two stores is the best decision for your business. But I can say that Etsy has the greatest potential. It is incredibly huge nowadays. Plus, when you're dividing your time and attention to several things, you get this crammed feeling. Am I right? Maybe this can help you slow down and do only what's necessary. Good luck with your plan. Always put your heart into it. This might be a strategy, but a community founded genuinely gives more security. ;)
ReplyDelete