Happy Birthday To Me

Today is my birthday. There will be a lot of candles on the cake. Too many to count and far too many to share! Every year I get my mother a gift on my birthday because I know I was a chore to raise! I do not celebrate my birthday too much beyond that other than taking a day off to not do too much. So, today I will try and not work too hard.

See you all next week!

Happy Halloween From Market My Shop

May your Halloween be a happy and fun event! If you are taking the kiddos out Trick-R-Treatin' be sure to be safe and check that candy!

Etsy Cyber Monday Sales

Of course you've heard of Black Friday but a newer, not as well known sales event is Cyber Monday. It is the Monday after Black Friday and it is primarily for online sales events. Many people on Etsy tend to combine the two for a full weekend of sales. This is generally what I do because I usually do not have the time to create two different events!

Any sales event you plan to have on Etsy this Holiday Season needs a plan. You need to have a bit of a schedule set up so that you can share the info with your social media outlets. Don't forget that with Etsy you also have a shop announcement that you can publicize your events through. That is a very underutilized tool on Etsy.

Feel free to share your Cyber Monday experiences and plans here through a comment or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Time For Black Friday On Etsy

It is time to start thinking about your Black Friday Sales events. The day after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest shopping days in the year! It is a good idea to jump on the band wagon. Whether you plan to offer free shipping, percentage discounts or dollar amount discounts you really need to get in gear now!

Leak your potential sale to your social media. Play the game like the huge retailers do. Start getting people ready for your sales now. Drop hints and give teasers. Make it a huge deal for all of your customers. You may even want to change your "Thank You" coupons to Black Friday Coupons.

I will be talking more on this in the weeks between now and the actual Black Friday Event. If you have suggestions or experiences please feel free to share with a comment or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Christmas Plans For Your Etsy Shop

Christmas is coming! Are you ready? I am certainly not! I am so busy I even missed Halloween for Etsy. I am trying to formulate a plan for the upcoming weeks. With the economy picking back up slowly many people will be buying online. Your marketing campaign is more important than ever this close to Christmas.

I am still trying to get a couple of articles written for you guys. I just seem to have been super busy falling in love and planning a marriage! I hope you'll forgive me. We set a date of January 10th so I am feeling the crunch of that on top of all the Christmas stuff!

In the coming weeks I am going to try and write as much as possible when I can and schedule the posts for you guys. I am open to any and all suggestions on what you have done in the past for your Holiday Marketing Plans. I even want to know the things that didn't work for you. Learning from your mistakes can help the whole gang!

Anyhow, post comments about your plan or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Exciting News From Me

Last night I asked my girlfriend if she would be my wife. She said yes! So, we are getting married! I am very excited. This week has been pretty amazing. I have yet to find the time to write the promised blog on bulk listing editing on Etsy but I am going to work on getting that ready on Sunday for publication on Monday.

Anyhow, I just wanted to give you guys the scoop on what has been going on and why I haven't written. May your weekend be a wonderful one. See you all next week.

-Eric from Market My Shop

Busy Is A Busy Does

As some of you know (and many probably don't) Making jewelry and working metal and writing articles on marketing is not my only life skill. I am also a master stone mason. So, from time to time I go work a job to help make ends meet. I started one of those jobs today. That means that my posts this week will be sporadic at best. I did start writing a short tutorial on how to append information to your Etsy descriptions and will have that finished and up by Friday- I hope! In the meantime please enjoy this picture of a baby hedgehog!

Share Your Etsy Shop With Everyone

It is once again time to share your Etsy Shop, Your Facebook Page, Your Twitter Account and/or your Pinterest Account! I love growing my social networks! Every time I get a new follower/subscriber/reader it makes me happy! It also increases my exposure as it will for you!

If you already are a part of any of the networks listed, try and pass on the love by favoriting an item, ReTweeting a post, Sharing a link on Facebook or Pinning an image on Pinterest! The point it the more you share the better it is for everyone involved! Here are my links:

Etsy:
Tangled Metal http://TangledMetal.etsy.com Chainmail and Steampunk Art and Jewelry
Perpetually Young: http://PerpetuallyYoung.etsy.com Paper Crafts
Craft Kraken Supplies http://CraftKrakenSupplies.etsy.com My Supplies and Findings Shop
Market My Shop http://MarketMyShop.etsy.com eBooks for Etsy users

Facebook:
Tangled Metal http://www.facebook.com/TangledMetal

Twitter:
Tangled Metal http://www.twitter.com/TangledMetal
Market My Shop http://www.twitter.com/MarketMyShop
Craft Kraken Supplies http://www.twitter.com/CraftKraken

Pinterest:
TangledMetal http://www.pinterest.com/TangledMetal

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I will see you all next week!

How Do You Edit Multiple Listing For Your Etsy Shop

Yesterday I wrote about starting to get ready for Christmas. One of the points to my post was that you might want to add a link to your existing listings to a postage upgrade listing. I received an email from a reader wondering how to modify their 80+ listings without having to do it one by one. That brings up such a great point. I currently have over 400 items in my main shop and dozens of items in my other shops. It can be a daunting task trying to update multiple listings. Fortunately there is a way to do it very easily.

I use Craftopolis for bulk editing. In fact I wrote an article on this very site here: http://marketmyshop.blogspot.com/2013/01/craftopolis-friend-for-etsy-users.html I do not go into a lot of details on the description edit tool they call "Edit Express" but it is the right tool for being able to edit the descriptions on all your items at one time.

Next week I will put together a small tutorial for you, detailing how to use their editing tool. In the meantime, please feel free to read the post and get a head start! The tools on this site are very helpful! I am always on the lookout for Etsy tools that make my life easier so if you use an app or a site that is helpful please feel free to share it here with a comment or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Christmas On Etsy

Yes, believe it or not it is time to start thinking about your Christmas sales campaign! It's time to start thinking about what items you are going to be featuring, what type of gift wrapping services you are going to offer and much more!

I generally offer to do free wrapping. For me, it is quick and easy and helps to add that little extra something that gives your customer a smile. You can purchase inexpensive wrapping paper from the dollar store so you won't be out much and it might just be that extra something that makes the sale happen!

You may also want to think about posting mailing times. Most people forget that the mail slows down a bit around Christmas. So you might want to post cut off dates for your customers to get their items in time. With Etsy allowing mailing upgrades it is a good idea to have a link to your mail upgrades in each listing.

Of course there is a lot to think about between now and then. It is just time to start switching gears and getting ready. I am sure you're all going to have a Black Friday sale too! That is something that really needs to be in your planning stages right about now.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting articles specifically about getting you7r shop ready for the holidays so I would really appreciate any and all suggestions and questions. As always you can leave them here as a comment or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Love Your Etsy Shop

Sorry for disappearing for a few days. Very recently I found true love in my life. You know, the air sucked out of the room, weak in the knees, romantic love. The kind most of us only ever read about in books or see in those romcom movies. It is a very wonderful feeling that I have never felt in all my 40+ years on this planet. It makes the small menial tasks seem less menial. It makes cleaning the dishes less like a chore. It makes everything better.

Now, I have been thinking about this quite intently over the last few days. It occurred to me that your relationship with your Etsy shop should be the same. You should not feel like it is a chore to go in and constantly tweak your key words, or clean up your descriptions, or share your listings on social networks. It should be a joy.

If you approach your Etsy shop like it is just a job, well, then you are not ever going to fully be happy. Unless of course you are one of those people that LOVE your job! I think you can see what I mean though. Your Etsy shop is an extension of you. Whether it be a love of art or a love of vintage goods or a love of providing crafting supplies for others to make art, your Etsy shop should be all about love.

So, I would like to know what you love about your Etsy shop.

I'll start. The thing I love most is taking pictures for my Etsy shop. It is frustrating and sometimes I take 100 pictures and only one or two turn out the way I want them to. I end up going back to the camera and trying again until I can come up with five shots that are just right. I am constantly trying to better my pictures. In fact, I have been in the process of rephotographing just about everything in my shop. With 400+ items it could feel like a chore. Fortunately, for me, it doesn't. It is worth every moment I spend doing it because I love my shop.

Now, I would like to hear from you. What do you love about your Etsy shop. Leave a comment here and share the love! Or if you'd rather keep it quiet, send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Make A List And Check It Twice

Currently I run four Etsy shops, two blogs, a retail brick and mortar shop and I have several wholesale accounts. Some of you may be wondering how exactly I find time to do it all. The honest answer is I don't! Oh, I do manage to get most of it done each day, but I cannot find the time to do it all every day.

The only way I manage to get through as much as I do is with lists. I have lists all over the place. On the fridge, on the bathroom mirror, on my studio wall, in my iPhone, in my car. I literally have lists everywhere. I try and consolidate the lists each week. That way I am always sure of what needs to be done.

Each list item I write, I try and estimate the time it will take to complete. This helps me when it comes time to priorities what needs to be done. Some tasks I can get done in 10 minutes or less while others take several hours. For me, creating a routine requires my lists.

Do you make lists of things to do? If so, what tips do you have to offer? Leave them here as a comment or send me an email MarketMyShop@gmail.com

How Etsy Can Help You Quit Your Day Job

There are a lot of success stories out there about how Etsy allowed people to quit their day job. If you get right down to it, it isn't really quitting your day job, it is changing your day job to Etsy. It is a lot of hard work. The harder you work the better chance you'll eventually not have to work for the man- or the woman!

How do you go about making enough money to make Etsy your full time income? A good product is a start. Great pictures are good. Wonderful titles, yep. Tags and keywords that people look for, check. Clear concise descriptions that answer any customer's question, a must! You have all that? Kudos to you! Now what?

You have to let people know about your shop. Advertising is the key. Whether it be an ad in a magazine, a link from a website, a link in your signature, your shop address on a business card or word of mouth, the simple fact is, if you build it and no one knows about it no one will come.

You have to get the word out. That is what my little blog is all about. How to market your shop. How to get the word out. How to make people want to buy your products. I write a lot of articles for you. I am not sure if it is helping you or not. I am doing most of the trial and error so that you can avoid the the errors!

If you have a minute, please comment here one question that you would like answered about marketing your shop. Let me know what you want to know. That way I can continue to help you out in the best way that I can. If you'd rather not comment feel free to send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

I hope each and every one of you have a great weekend and many sales! Thanks for following me!

The Secret To Advertising Your Etsy Shop On A Small Budget

It's no secret that advertising can be very expensive and hard to track the results. Today I will talk about three low or no cost advertising techniques that will help you to advertise without going broke. Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook are all ways to advertise your shop with little or no money. We will start with Twitter.

Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that allows you to tweet 140 character or less messages. The beauty of Twitter is that, like other social networks, you have an audience. You can grow your audience. You audience can share what you post. Your 'ads' can go viral. I have a great eBook on how to set up your Twitter account and how to use it here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/163120645/twitter-guide-for-etsy-shop-owners The guide will walk you through each step of setting up and getting your first followers along with some information on Twitter etiquette. In the works is my eBook for advanced Twitter marketing topics. Twitter accounts are free, Yay!

Pinterest is another type of social network. This one is more about sharing photos and videos. It is unique and has taken the country by storm. I am in the process of writing an eBook on how to make it work for you. The basic idea is that you have several 'boards' where you 'pin' pictures and videos to share with the masses. It is a great way to share your art, supplies or vintage goods. Best of all it is 100% free!

Facebook Is one of the greatest ways to get information out there about your shop and products. You can use it free but gaining followers isn't always easy like with Twitter and Pinterest. Paid advertising to get people to like your page helps matters along. Fortunately you can target your ads with great precision. If you are going to spend any money on advertising I suggest doing it here. I have an eBook on how to advertise on Facebook here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/99617992/facebook-ad-guide-for-etsy-shop-owners

The thing that all of these social networks have in common is that once you get followers you have them for a while and can put an ad in front of them over and over again. Whereas, if you put an ad pointing people to your Etsy shop they may only go there once, seeing your shop and products only once. The secret to advertising your Etsy shop is to collect people that will see your ads multiple times. This gives you the most impact for the least amount of money and or effort.

Thanks for stopping by today (or reading your email) I hope this info will help you out. Please feel free to leave a question or comment here or email me at MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Etsy Dashboard And What It Means For You

Some of you probably have noticed the Etsy Dashboard. If not, just look under the 'Your Shop' tab across the top of your Etsy account page. Basically it gives you a rundown and comparison of your shop stats, order history and shop activity. It will, more than likely, replace 'Shop Stats' in the near future.

It is a great way to compare your Views, Favorites and Orders. You have the option of your date range, though currently it only goes from yesterday to the last 30 days. This will eventually change to give you more date ranges.

If you haven't already seen this section, I urge you to go and check it out.

Share Your Etsy Shop!

It is one of those busy days that I just cannot find time to sit down long enough to write a proper article. So, I though we could do a "Share Your Etsy Shop" day today. Just put a link to your shop in the comments. Then go to everyone's shop and favorite the shop and an item or two. If you already favorited the shop just favorite a couple of items.

Sharing is the best way to help each other out and it only takes a few minutes. Here are my shops:

Steampunk and Chainmaille by Tangled Metal http://TangledMetal.etsy.com
Etsy Marketing eBooks by Market My Shop: http://MarketMyShop.etsy.com
Paper Craft and Art by Perpetually Young http://PerpetuallyYoung.etsy.com

Later this year I will be starting a vintage shop and a supply shop. So, keep your eyes out here for the announcement.

See you back here tomorrow.

Etsy Lifts Ban On Shipping Upgrades

It's official! Etsy has lifted its ban on Shipping Upgrade Listings. Read about it in the Etsy Forum Post. So, what does this mean? Etsy has decided that it is okay to offer more than one shipping option. They plan to put some serious energy into making shipping options available in your listings. Until then, they have given the go ahead to make a listing for shipping upgrades.

Previously it was against the TOS to add an item that was contingent on purchasing another item. Because a shipping upgrade was deemed to not be a tangible item it was not allowed. After much discussion and interaction on the Etsy Admin forums they have finally changed their views.

Earlier in the year they actually tried a few different options and tested it with a select few accounts. Apparently the options provided were not all that effective so they abandoned them. Hopefully now that they are revisiting the options something will change soon. I would not expect any changes before the holidays. So, in the meantime, add those shipping upgrade listings.

When doing so I would make sure to include some information. The biggest thing that you need to have in your listing is that the upgrade is for your shop only! Also, it is probably a good idea to make sure that if you have different shipping prices that you have upgrades for each one. I suggest after creating the link you add it to all of the listings that it would work for.

These changes come just in time for the upcoming holiday season. So, get it done and get it done now, before it gets busy! That is it for today. See you all tomorrow. If you have comments please leave them here or email me MarketMyShop@gmail.com

7 Tips And Tricks For Better Etsy Sales

This week we have talked some about shipping and keeping track of changes you make and a little bit about Twitter. Today I wanted to give you a few tips and tricks that are easy and easy to see results from. Feel free to add to the list with a comment.

1. Rearrange Your Shop! Don't leave it to list your most recent items. Rearrange it to put your best face forward. If you make sever sales of stock items or renew a lot of items rearrange your shop again! Keep it pretty!

2. Quality Trumps Quantity! This goes with many things. Twitter followers, Facebook Fans, Pinterest followers and beyond. One good active follower will do more good than 10K people who do nothing!

3. Encourage Action! Saying things like "at time of purchase" can be "when you purchase" or "buy now" or other proactive words. Don't be timid! But don't be rude.

4. Coupons Are Gold! There are now several types of coupons you can offer with all kinds of stipulations. Offer coupons often and reap the rewards!

5. Keep In Contact! Ask your buyers if you can add them to your mailing list. Keep all those email addresses handy for seasonal promotions!

6. Encourage Social Networks! Get those people on your social networks so you can talk to them often. If you send them to your Etsy shop they will visit once if you send them to your Facebook page you'll have them for a long time!

7. If It Ain't Broken Don't Fix It! If you are doing something that is working well, make a note and keep it up! Don't change anything without having a record of what it was before. That way you can always revert!

That is all for the week. I hope you all have a prosperous and pleasant weekend. Feel free to leave a comment. Don't forget I am on many social networks: MarketMyShop On Twitter and MarketMyShop on Facebook and MarketMyShop on Etsy See you all next week!

Twitter Marketing For Etsy Users

As promised I have created the first of two Twitter eBooks. Book one is Twitter Marketing For Etsy Users and it runs through the basics of setting up your Twitter account and getting it ready for public view. The second eBook Advanced Twitter Marketing For Etsy Users will be ready next week and will go into detail on how to gain followers quickly and free!

If you are new to Twitter or never have used Twitter I recommend you purchase this $5 eBook from my Etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/listing/163120645 and put it to good use! It is an instant download so it is ready to go as soon as you purchase it!

Twitter is one of the three social networks that I use personally and do very well with. The other two are Facebook and Pinterest. I do have a great eBook on starting a Facebook ad campaigne here:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/99617992 I am working on an eBook to help you out with using Pinterest for marketing your Etsy shop. It should be done in a week or two.

I hope your week is going well. Come back tomorrow for a few tips and a recap of the week. In the meantime if you have questions please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Keep Track Of What You Do On Etsy

From time to time I make changed to things in my etsy listings. Most of the time I choose small blocks of listings to experiment with. This is all well and good IF I remember to make notes on what I am doing, and why I am doing it. Otherwise I am just changing things randomly. Learning to make all changes scientifically helps to figure out the result more accurately.

If you make the choice to change your tags or your title or your descriptions, make note of what you already have. Pick a small number of listings to make an experiment with. I suggest never changing more than 10% to 20% of your overall listings. This will leave you with a control group. It also gives you something to compare your findings to.

Be sure to set a time for your experiment as well. I suggest no less than 15 days and no more than 30 days. Long term experiments can be beneficial but the short term ones are easier to deal with. Keep track of your findings. You may find that your tags or title or descriptions performed better before you changed them. However, without  remembering your originals you may be stuck with what you have!

Believe me, I am speaking from experience. I have no idea what I was doing 12 months ago that got me 25% more sales than the same time period today. I really wish that I could remember. But rest assured, next year at this time I will have accurate records of what I did, what did and didn't work.

Yes, it is a lot of work. If it were easy, everyone would be getting rich on Etsy. This is a job for many of us and a hobby for many others. Either way, you want to figure out what is best for you! That is all for today. Have a wonderful mid week. I will be back tomorrow. In the meantime, feel free to comment and or email me any questions or comments: MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Need Help With Your Etsy Shop?

As some of you know, I offer my services as a consultant from time to time. My pricing is very reasonable. I do not have the consulting listed in my Etsy shop because I like to have some one on one time BEFORE I do the actual consulting. I like to talk about what is expected and what I have to offer. Generally I work by the hour so I like to talk about what you get for your hours of work. If you are interested please feel free to send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

I share a lot of information in this blog. I try and make it easy to find information with the label list on the right side of the page. Clicking on the words in the label list will bring up all the articles I have written about the subjects. Under the label list you can also search for keywords not listed. If you cannot find what you are looking for be sure to let me know and I will do my best to help!

Speaking of help... If there is something you'd like to know about Etsy, Google, Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest all you have to do is ask! If I do not know the answer I will do my best to find the info for you! That will always be free! Just leave a comment or send me an email and I will see what I can do.

That is all for today. I hope you are all doing better this week. My sales have picked up but only very slightly. Tomorrow I plan to write an article on keeping track of what you do so you can refer to it when things seem to change. I am also open for suggestions on future articles. Until tomorrow, happy sales!

Etsy Makes Shipping A Lot Less Complicated

Most of you probably already know about Etsy's shipping. I use it all the time. It saves you money! I bet a lot of you didn't realize that Etsy has some great shipping information for you, right at your finger tips!

On the left side of your user screen toward the bottom, tucked away, there is a section called Resources. Etsy adds things here without making any announcements so it is always good to check what's new. Honestly I am not sure how long this bit has been there. It is full of useful information. The kind of information you get frustrated with when you go to the USPS site!

 I suggest you have a look at all this shipping information and see what you didn't know! It is always a good idea to check what has been added by Etsy each day you log in. Important information can and is over looked because we are not paying attention.

I am working on the next eBook and it will be ready this week. This one is going to be about using Twitter to its fullest potential. Remember, all of the information I offer here is 100% free. My VERY inexpensive eBooks are the only way I make any money from this site. (Unless someone clicks on one of the ads, then I get like $.01!) So, if you would like to help support me and my free information please do not hesitate to buy one of my eBooks: https://www.etsy.com/shop/MarketMyShop

Let me know if you have any questions or comments! MarketMyShop@gmail.com

10 Tips For Better Etsy Sales

We are always looking for easy things we can do to increase sales in our online marketplace. Whether it is an Etsy sop or Artfire or Woogiewoo, there are some things that can be done to help draw positive attention to your shop. Here are 10 tips and tricks to help:

1. Business Cards- Even if you don't do show or have a brick and mortar business cards are very important. Put one in every order- even on repeat buyers. Carry them with you- you never know when you might be in a conversation and want to direct someone to your shop. a business card is a reference point and much easier than trying to get someone to remember your web address.

2. Signature File- I cannot stress this enough. Have a signature on your email, your forums and anywhere else that allows your signature. If you have a Facebook page this is the most important link! Once you have them on Facebook you get to advertise to them multiple times! If you just have a link to your Etsy shop you may only get one view.

3. Be ProActive- Whether you are on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or forums, be helpful and active. Answer questions. Post useful information. Don't just post ads. Strike up conversations. People like to see that there is a human behind your shop.

4. Customer Service- The customer is always right even when they are wrong. Arguing with a customer is petty and 99% of the time completely useless. If a customer wants to return an item let them. Make the customer happy at all costs. never make the customer feel like they are not important.

5. Keep in Touch- I collect email addresses by asking to sign my customers for a news letter. Once a quarter I send out a special deal just for my previous customers. It might be free shipping, a free item with purchase or discount code. It keeps repeat customers buying.

6. Offer Specials- I try and offer specials every week. I post them on Facebook and tweet them. Flash sales, holiday discounts and special offers can turn someone who might be interested into a paying customer.

7. Never Look Desperate- Even if your electricity is about to be turned off, NEVER let your customer know you are having problems! Nothing turns people off more than the sob story of how you have to make $xxx to keep your lights on.

8. Answer Fast- Answer every question a.s.a.p. Letting someone wait days for an answer will almost kill a sale every time. The faster you answer the more important your customer will feel.

9. Be Clear- If you are not sure what your customer is asking, get them to explain further. Nothing is worse than sending out a custom order only to find out it wasn't what the customer was asking for.

10. Advertise- Your advertising cost is tax deductible. Even if you can only afford $10 a month that is better than nothing. You must decide where best to spend your advertising dollars. I suggest Facebook. That has always worked for me.

There you have it. Please feel free to add to this list in the form of a comment. Or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com See you all next week!

How Is Your Etsy Shop Doing?

With all the recent changes Etsy has made I would like to know how your shop is doing? Have you noticed an increase or decrease in views and sales? It seems that every time Etsy makes a change in the way they do things I experience a decrease in sales at the start then an increase over all after a couple of weeks. I really would like to know what your experience is.

So, today, please leave me a comment on how you're doing compared to say last year at this time. Let me know as many details as possible as to why you think you are doing better/worse. If you don't want to leave a comment send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

New Product Page Design On Etsy

Etsy has a new look. Well, actually it has been this way for a awhile now. Though there was nothing wrong with the previous look, I think this new look is a little better. The image position is better, the call to action is better, the details of the listing are better, the description is in a better location, the images for other items in the shop is better and my favorite is the what they did with tags.

I like the placement of the pictures much better. Although I am having issues with the zoom button. Before you clicked on the images and it made them bigger. Now you click on the image and it goes to the next image. I am sure many long time users are having the same issue. Still, it look cleaner and even has a bit of the Ebay feel to it. I am sure that was intentional.

The call to action is very prominent on the page. "Add to Cart" is a bright green bar that begs you, entices you, compels you to add the item to your cart. That is a good call on Etsy's part. Having the "Ask a Question" button right there is also a good thing.

Having the details right there next to the image is a good thing too. Showing that it is a handmade item, vintage good or supply right there at the top helps to clear up any confusion. Listing the materials here brings up a really good point. I notice that most people have not used capital letters in their list of materials. You may want to change that. To get a better look you should match what Etsy does. They pretty much capitalize each letter of each word (except the little words, a, an, the, etc.) and that gives it a good clean look. Also letting everyone know where it ships to is a good call.

Though the description is in a good location, I think they should have made it so that it was on the same page so that people didn't have to scroll down to read about the item. This is a VERY important reminder that your images are the most important part of your listing! Yes, titles and tags are important to get a customer to your page, your image is what is going to sell them!

What Etsy did with tags is brilliant. They changed it to "Related to this Item." Now we all just need to figure out what kind of tags other people are using for our type of items and make sure that when someone clicks one from another page you will show up. I suggest finding your competition and see what tags they use. Pick 5 of their tags that you do not have and add them to your list. It couldn't hurt and I bet it helps!

That is all I have to say about that for now. Remember, if you are thinking of opening an Etsy shop, please use my link http://etsy.me/14F6klT and we will both get 40 free listings! Also, I have a couple of eBooks that could be very useful to you. Visit my Etsy shop here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/marketmyshop And lastly, if you want to ask me a question please email me here: MarketMyShop@gmail.com

How To Get 40 FREE Listings On Etsy!

Etsy has come up with a great idea, a rewards program! Well, It is sort of a rewards program. You get someone to open a shop through a link you provide and you both get 40 free listings. So, maybe an incentive program is a better way of looking at it.

When you are logged into your Etsy account you'll notice on the left hand side there are several clickable options. If you look down a few items you'll see "Earn Free Listings" right after "Listing Manager." Clicking on it brings you to the image above. There you can Tweet it or post it to your Facebook page along with a few other options to share your link.

This is a great way to help you convince your friends or family to finally open up a shop on Etsy. Now, if any of you readers do not already have an Etsy shop, you can use my link to set up your shop: http://etsy.me/17UMv50 and we will both get 40 free listings. How cool is that?

Now some of you might not think that 40 free listings is a lot, but when you have tons of listings that are expiring every day, every little bit helps. So, don't think of it as just a free $8 in listings, think of it as 40 renewals or 40 new products. And If you manage to get four people to sign up through your link then you can think of it as 40 free listings for the entire year!

Alright, That is all for today. Go send some tweets and post on your Facebook page and send some emails. Go and get some FREE listings! Come back tomorrow and see what I have to say about the new design of the product pages on Etsy. I will give my opinions and share some ways to help you have your best face forward.

In the meantime, please feel free to send any questions you may have: MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Monday Share Your Etsy Shop and Social Media Day!

Over the last few months I have had some life changing events. Things have finally started to get to a point of normalcy. So, I am back. Back to blogging. Back to helping all of you find answers to the question of how to make money on Etsy. As far as changes go, Etsy has had its fair share of them while I was gone from the blogosphere. We will be discussing those changes in detail in the weeks to come.

I have decided that Monday's are going to be the "Share Your Information" day. Today I would like all readers to share all of their shop links and social media links. It would also be great for you all to go to everyone's sites and friend, fan, follow and share! If you happen to see something that catches your eye in someones shop do not hesitate to favorite it, tweet it, pin it or FaceBook it! Every thing we do to help out our neighbor can and will be rewarded!

I will get things started. Currently I have three Etsy shops. And they all need a little love especially my newest one! I have plans of starting a fourth Etsy shop at the beginning of the year. But I will talk about that later. Here are my links:
Tangled Metal is my shop for my art and jewelry. Mostly is it Renaissance through Victorian Steampunk:
Tangled Metal on Etsy: http://TangledMetal.etsy.com
Tangled Metal on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TangledMetal
Tangled metal on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TangledMetal
Tangled Metal on Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/TangledMetal

Market My Shop is my shop where I put inexpensive guides for the things we discuss here on the blog:
Market My Shop on Etsy: http://MarketMyShop.etsy.com
Market My Shop on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/MarketMyShop
Market My Shop on FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/MarketMyShop

Perpetually Young is where I put my art and more crafty items on Etsy. This is the newest addition to my product lines. If you skip all of the above please at least go follow and favorite this shop. It needs a boost!
Perpetually Young on Etsy: http://PerpetuallyYoung.etsy.com

Alright, that is all for today. I hope all of you will comment here with your shops. If I am not already a friend, fan or otherwise connected I will be so after you post your links. And if I am already connected I will go in and tweet and pin and favorite some of your items. Lets build the best social networks that we can.

I will be back tomorrow! We will discuss some of the new features on Etsy and how you can use them to your advantage. As always if you have a question please feel free to send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com May your Monday be a prosperous day!

I will be returning soon!

Hey everyone! Looks like I am going to start making time to blog again. I hope some of you are still around! It probably won't be this week because of my show on Thursday but next week I will start trying to blog every day again! Hope you'll join me!

Summertime Sales Or Lack There Of

Hey gang. Not sure how much time I will have for regular postings but I will do my best to post as often as possible. As some of you may know I have been going through some personal issues as well as business issues. My partner moved away. It was not planned, at least on my end. So, I had to change the name of my brick and mortar shop. That meant paying for a lot of things all over again. Shop signs, new sales and use permit, new bank account, inspections and the like. That coupled with all the things that moved from my personal space has put me in a financial bind.

Sales were quite slow in June as expected but the first part of July has yet to show any improvement. Etsy is very slow for me as well. I normally receive 500 to 750 views a day. That number has dropped to 150ish for the last few weeks. Etsy has been working on some new shop views and my shop has been one of those test pages. I am not sure if that has anything to do with it or if everyone is just on vacation.

Anyhow, I would really like to hear how sales are for you for June and the beginning of July. Leave me a comment or email me at MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Difficult Decisions

Recently I have had some life changing events. Not going into details I will say that my brick and mortar has changed names. In addition to the name change I am soon going to be the only one making items for the shop. This creates a bit of an issue for me when it comes to time management.

Over the last couple of years I have juggled several projects including multiple online shops, wholesale accounts, shows and a brick and mortar shop. I will not say it has been easy because, well, it hasn't. It takes a lot of energy to do everythings that needs to be done. I am now to the point where something has to give. I have to realistically look at what I can and cannot make time for.

At the moment, this project, Market My Shop, makes very little income. And when I say very little I mean almost no income whatsoever. Every now and then I sell one of my eBooks in my Etsy shop, but it is pretty rare. My only other source of income from this blog is the tiny amount of money I make from Google Ad Words. That equates to about $30 a year, meaning every 3 years or so Google pays me.

I am considering letting this blog and the Etsy shop go. I hate to break it down to income but I just cannot afford to keep doing all of the free things that I have been doing. I am already putting in 12 to 18 hours each and every day just to maintain all of the other things I am doing.

I am open to suggestions. So, if you have a great idea that will help me gain time to continue a pretty much free project or a possible way to monetize it so that it can pay for itself I am totally willing to listen. I welcome your comments and emails. And just for the record, no firm decision has been made on anything yet.

Too Busy For Writing

I am going through a lot of changes at the moment in my life. I am so busy right now I do not have time to sit down and write. So, I am going to have to take the rest of this week to get caught up on all the other things in my life. Hopefully I will be back on schedule next week. Please stand by...

TGIF

Just a quick note to say have a great weekend. I will resume the articles on photography next week.

Taking Great Pictures For Etsy Listings

Chainmail Hacky Sack from Tangled Metal

We've been discussing taking photos for Etsy. The photo, of course being the foundation on which your entire listing is built around. Looking at the above photo note that the Chainmail Hacky Sack is 100% in focus and the shoe is slightly out of focus. This is a somewhat artsy photo without being over the top or the background being distracting. This item has been in 37 Treasury Lists.

It was taken with a Canon Rebel DSLR camera. It was set to defocus the background. It was taken in a light box with lights that emulate outdoor lighting. Notice how the background is as white as the page. This almost gives the illusion of floating. This technique has been a tried and true staple of jewelry photography for many years.

If you had no idea what a Hacky Sack was you'd at least get a clue that it had something to do with a shoe or foot. The Converse shoe should give the idea that it is a trendy or hip thing and the colorfulness of the shoe shoes that it is not your ordinary past time.

As you can see, a lot of thought has gone into taking this one single photo. Now, I could have used a photo of several people playing Hacky Sack, but the focus would be on the people and the actual Hacky Sack would have been lost. Though, it would be a good idea to have a picture of people playing in your listing. Personally I would put that picture last in the listing.

The point is, your main photo should tell a story, evoke a feeling, give understanding of the product and be clear- at least have a clear focal point. It should convey what the item is, what it is for and still have a bit of an artsy nature to it. My photo may not be perfect and I am sure plenty of people could critique it to death, but for me and my listing it seems to do the job.

Creating Great Etsy Listings - Part 1 - The Perfect Photos

Lightbulb Airship By Tangled Metal

Creating the perfect listing for Etsy is the biggest challenge you can face for your shop. For me it starts with the perfect set of photos. Well, it actually starts when I create the item but that isn't what we are going to talk about today. Today we are talking about photography.

Chances are you are not a professional photographer. (If you are that is great!) The first image is always the hardest. You want to have an image that will represent your item and be somewhat artsy, especially if you want people to put it into a treasury. Just remember to try not to get too artsy. Your item should always be the focus of the pictures. If the customer has to guess what the product is by the image than you have done something wrong.

The four subsequent images should try and get the item from each direction and be clear and concise so that any question the customer has is answered. Remember, your customer cannot touch the item so they do not know how it feels. Of course some questions have to be answered in the description, but we'll get to that later in this series.

I personally like white backgrounds. Some people have good results with dark backgrounds. (Not me. I just cannot seem to make them work) Using props is acceptable, too, as long as they do not distract from the item. For small items a light box is about as necessary are it gets. You can pick one up on eBay or build your own from a cardboard box. I will work on a tutorial for you on how to build one soon.

Lighting is also very important. Remember that hard surfaces need soft light and soft surfaces need hard light. I will get more into this soon as well. Nothing is worse than a dark blurry photo with a lot of distracting props. Maybe that is why I am so fond of plain white backgrounds.

That is all for now. Sorry I wasn't around yesterday, I was getting over being really sick. I am much better now and back on schedule.

How To Make Money On Etsy

Etsy is a great way to make money. You have the ability to create a shop with very little overhead, very few fees and a built in audience. However, it is just like a real job. You have to work for your money. The harder you work the better chance you have making money.

To make a decent amount of money on Etsy you need a product that people want. You have to get the people that want your product in front of your product. You have to entice them with eye catching titles, great photos and descriptions that will answer all of their questions and you have to have your product at a price that they are willing to pay.

Starting next week I will be dissecting an Etsy listing into all of its parts and explaining how to have the best chance of selling possible. I'll share how I create a listing and you may be surprised by the order of what gets filled out first, second, third and last. For me it isn't necessarily starting at the top of the page and working my way down.

I hope that all of you have a great long weekend. Please note that since it is Memorial Day Weekend I will not be blogging on Monday. For those of you not in the US I hope that you will also have a great weekend even if you have to go to your day job on Monday. Until next week!

Etsy Trends And Beyond

There is always something trending on Etsy you may just not know how to know what. Fortunately, Etsy has a page that shows what the current trends are: Trending on Etsy There you will see some of what is popular at the moment on Etsy. Now that is not to say that it will be trending long term.

Magazines are also a good way to see what is popular and trending. Internet magazines are usually more up to date than print. Look around the net and see what magazines or ezines are published for your craft. Next time you go out shopping look around to what people are wearing and accessorizing.

I'll be the first one to admit that it is difficult to keep up with trends. However that is the one thing that will help you to increase your views and sales. If nothing else try and keep up with reoccurring trends such as holiday fashions, birthstone colors and anniversary gifts by year.

What advice do you have for following trends? Leave a comment or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Pricing Your Etsy Items

Yesterday I posted a simple tweet:

"Sales slow? Try this: Pick 5 items in your etsy shop, raise the prices by 20% or more, renew them and then Tweet and Facebook the items."

I got so many replies that I thought I would better explain myself. One reader said she had started a 50% off sale to generate some income but it wasn't working. She wanted to know why she should raise her prices.

When people are searching for handmade items they expect to spend more for them. Yes, perhaps, they can order something similar from China for a fraction of the cost. People today are trying to get away from spending their money of cheap mass produced items. So, they are searching for handmade items.

Every time I raise prices on items in my shop I experience a bump in sales. That means I was probably underpricing myself to begin with! Anytime you have a sale of over 25% - 30% without a reason, such as a holiday or celebration, people see that as desperate and are not likely to take you up on the sale.

I wrote an eBook about How To Price Your Handmade Items that really spells out the how and why of pricing. It is only $3.50 but is a wealth of knowledge. In the eBook I go into detail on how your pricing is regarded by your customers. You should also look at you competition and see how similar items are priced. When I say competitive, I mean people who are selling the same type of items you have. And I mean selling, not just listing the same type of items. Your competition is the one who is outselling you with the same product type.

I hope that clears things up a bit. Let me know what you think. Leave a comment or send me an email: MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Is Your Etsy Shop Year Round?

Is your Etsy shop performing the same all year round? Or do you have your ups and downs? To be able to quit your day job and make Etsy your main income it is important to be able to make enough each and every month to pay the bills.

For me that means paying the rent at home, the electric at home, the home phone, the water, food and being able to put back enough money for emergencies. That total for me is about $1800 a month. That is my bare minimum just to stay ahead of the bills. Currently my Etsy shop is making about 1/2 of that. Fortunately my wholesale accounts make up the other half and my Brick and Mortar shop pays for itself and then some.

I currently do not have insurance, which will add another $200 to $300 a month to what I need to make. So, now I am up to $2100 a month just to not worry about bills and health. That is $25,000+ a year that I need to make just to survive. That means my Etsy shop needs to average about $70 a day all year long.

There is my target. There is my goal. Now, some months are better than others and some months are worse. So, I try to make the best of holidays where I sell more to help balance the "almost summer break" slow period of my shop.

I would like to hear how you are doing on a daily basis. When are your peak months, when are the worst months for you. Let's try and figure out how to maximize both!

Don't Give Up Your Day Job Just Yet

As I work hard trying to finish up my latest wholesale order it occurred to me that having your own business does not always mean you are better off than the 9 to 5 jobs. Sure you set your own hours but most of the time it ends up being 70 to 80 hours a week. So, why be self employed?

I am sure several of you do not rely on your craft to pay your bills. I on the other hand do. This is my life. Yes, I get by and the bills are paid but it isn't easy. There are days when I end up working 18 to 20 hours and some weeks there are several of those days.

This week I will be writing about some of the things you should plan for if you decide to take your hobby to the business world. I would like to know how many of you are actually full time with your craft. I don't mean as a second income I mean as your main income. Leave a comment or send me an email to let me know. Perhaps together we can all grow our business or hobby a bit more by sharing our experiences.

As always feel free to leave a comment or question here or in email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com And by the way, there are several questions recently asked. I am working on articles to answer those questions so don't think I have forgotten about you!

What To Do When you Have A Rough Day

We all have our days that it would be nice just to stay in bed rather than deal with anything. The problem is the world tends to keep on going without you. One simple quote says it all:

"If you leave your art for a day, it'll leave you for three." -Unknown

I had one of those set backs recently. I won't go into details but it is one of those life changing events that make you take stock of your past, present and future. In a way I guess I am lucky, I have a huge order that needs to be finished and sent out so I haven't got the time to worry with the situation much.

That is what we all have to do. When we have a set back we have to carry on. So, how do you carry on? Well, it is different for everyone. Here are a few suggestions that might help a little:

1. Try not to change your routines. Depending on the situation some things may have to change but not everything does. Keep as much of your regular routine as possible.

2. Think of things in a positive light. You may be sad or angry or devastated. Just remember that there is always a silver lining. When one door closes another one opens.

3. You don't want to make it worse. Dwelling on the past can certainly take its toll on the present and future. Try and move on to positive thinking.

4. Never let them see you sweat, or cry, or throw things. Keep it professional. Make it business as usual. There is no reason for your customers to see that you are having a bad time. If you simply cannot deal, put your shop into vacation mode and take a couple days to regroup.

I am sure there are plenty other things I can say about it but I think you will probably get the point here. Keep on keeping on. I am going to do my best to do just that. Though I may have to take a day here and there to regroup., but for now it is business as usual.

Selling Internationally On Etsy

I know most of you are based here in the US so this will apply to most of you. Ever since the major rate increase for USPS shipping I have lost about 1/3 of my sales. I did not lose any of my US sales but it would seem my international sales have screeched to a stand still.

When the rate increase happened items that would normally cost around $4 to ship became $8. I have yet to come up with a great solution to remedy this. I may end up raising my prices slightly and lowering my shipping. This seems to be the only option. I am not sure what it is but when people see $8 shipping they move on.

So, I have a few questions today and I would like a lot of answers either as comments or as emails. Has your Etsy income dropped since the postal rate increase? Have you done anything to make it better? If So, what? And for those of you readers that are not in the US: How has the rate increase hurt your business? Did your postal rates increase? Did it affect your business? Have you come up with a plan to make it better? If so, what?

On another note, I am almost done with my Twitter eBook and wanted to know what type of eBook you would be interested in seeing in my Etsy shop? Let me know by leaving a comment or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

13 Tips And tricks To Increase Your Etsy Sales

From time to time we forget the obvious ways to spread the word about our shops. Here are a few Tips and Tricks to help you increase your sales on Etsy. Please feel free to add your Tips or Tricks to the comment section.

1. Make sure you have a link to your shop and all social media in the signature of your email. You'll be surprised at how many people will click on the link. Even friends and family will click and share your links.

2. Put a link to your shop or social media in your signature on message boards and forums. Be sure that you are active on the forum or message board and that you have permission to post links in your signature. (Join forums and boards that relate to your craft and be active)

3. QR codes are a great way to promote your shop offline. I wrote an article about How To Create QR Codes. Check it out, create your code then use it. I suggest using it to link over to your Facebook Page so that you keep that person. If you just link to your shop it may not be a lasting customer.

4. Offer rewards to all your customers. Whether it be a coupon code (my Coupon Code Article) or a free gift, when someone receives something special they will remember you.

5. Ask if you can add your customer to your newsletter mailing. When can you ask? I send out a convo when I ship items. I ask if it is okay to add them to my newsletter. It is hit and miss but I do gain about 50% of all customers that I ask. I also set up a sign up sheet when I am at shows.

6. Don't be afraid to advertise. Coke and Pepsi didn't get where they are today by sitting around waiting for sales. Weigh the pros and cons. If you cannot afford paid advertising there are tons of free options out there. Even if you can only set aside $25 a month for advertising you'll be shocked how much of a return you can get. I suggest Facebook advertising because once they become a "Liker" of your page you can put ads in front of them multiple time rather than a one time deal. (I have an eBook on how to use Facebook Ads for Etsy here)

7. Make sure people can find your products. Make sure you have plenty of solid usable key word and key word phrases. Ask your friends or your mom how they would search for your product. This will help you figure out your key words. Etsy calls these Tags.

8. Make sure your description is descriptive. You can have some fun stories or statements but be sure your descriptions accurately describe your product. Try to go through all your senses. Does the item have a certain feel to it? how does it make you feel emotionally to wear or use it? Does smell or hearing play a roll? Your customer cannot touch your product before they buy, try and make it so they do not feel they have to.

9. Titles are super important. Bland titles generally do not do as well as cute and fun titles. Just make sure your title makes sense. If someone reads it on Google is it going to make them want to click through? If you Tweet from Etsy does the title make sense?

10. Photos are everything. One good photo is far better than five bad fussy dark ones. Try to take pictures from as many angles as you can so the customer can see what it looks like from every angle  Remember they cannot touch it so you have to make them feel like they have. (I have several Photography Articles here)

11. Selling on Etsy is a job. The more you put into your job the better it will be. Take time to read everything you can including the Etsy Sellers Handbook. Etsy produces it for a reason- it works. Read the Etsy Blog too. Tons of great info is in there all the time.

12. Schedule your time and stick to it. If you have not posted something on the Etsy forums, rewrote a Title or Description, Taken a better photo, listed a new item or renewed something today you have not been doing your job. You need to try and do something every single day.

13. Never Give Up - Never Surrender! If what you are doing isn't working, try something else. If that doesn't work, try something different again! The beauty of Etsy is you can fine tune things and test them multiple time. Once you find something that works, keep doing it until it doesn't work anymore. Things change you have to constantly keep up with new trends and the like.

That is it for today. I hope these tips help you. Please feel free to share this with anyone you know on Etsy and get their feedback. As always if you have questions please send them my way and I will try my best to answer them. MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Gaining More Followers On Social Networks

Many of the questions I have received lately is how to get good quality fans/followers on your social networks. I am working on a few articles on just how to accomplish this. In the meantime I thought it might be a good day to share your links with the readers and maybe get a few followers. So, in the comments post your Etsy Shop Link, your Facebook Page Link, your Twitter page, etc and then go through and join everyone's who have posted. It will be a small bump to your social network.

I'll start:

Etsy: http://TangledMetal.etsy.com and http://MarketMyShop.etsy.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TangledMetal and http://www.facebook.com/MarketMyShop
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/TangledMetal and http://www.twitter.com/MarketMyShop
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/TangledMetal

Go forth and follow/like/heart and share with your friends. I will do the same with each link you all post.

7 Time Saving Tips For Etsy Sellers

Making time for all the things that need to be done can be a daunting task. For Etsy shop owners it is an even more daunting task. I decided to come up with a few tips to make time management easier.

1. Create draft listings. It can be really productive if you are on a roll listing items. However, what if that really productive time is 2:30am on a Wednesday? To get the most exposure for your listings, save them as a draft and list them during peek hours.

2. Schedule your posts when you can. I wrote an article about it here: Scheduling Your Social Networking Posts By scheduling your posts you can free up some time. You can also post during times when you would not normally do so.

3. Cross connect your posts. With linking Twitter to Facebook or Pinterest to Twitter you can accomplish more with less work. No more jumping back and forth to post the same info on each site.

4. Make a schedule. Yep, I say it all the time but it is still the best way to get into a routine. Budget your time. Use a stopwatch or the alarm on your phone to make sure you do not go over budget on your time.

5. Schedule a break. One of the biggest problems most people have is not allowing themselves a break. Productivity will suffer no matter what you are doing if you don't give your body and mind a break. I suggest 15 minutes every two hours minimum. Give yourself a longer break if you are doing something physically or mentally strenuous.

6. Consolidate Post Office Trips. If running to the post office is taking a lot of time schedule a daily pickup from your mail carrier or make plans to go to the post office every other day. Order your postal supplies online to save trips.

7. Work Smarter Not Harder. For me it is easier to set up and make 25 of one type of item than to make one of 25 different items. Sometimes I feel like a manufacturer rather than an artist but that is okay. Lay out all of your materials. Get several things ready to solder all at once. Get several patterns ready to cut at one time. Sew multiple items in one siting. Try and do like tasks at the same time.

I realize all of these tips will not apply to all of you. Take what you can and feel free to add to the list. Let me know if you have any questions or leave a comment here or email me at MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Making Time For Social Networks

Several of you have asked about how to make time for posting to social networks. I have written a couple of articles on Time Management and Making Lists to help with time management. The articles can be quite helpful to get a plan started. However, as one reader writes "Sometimes I get caught up in social networks and don't have enough time to make new items for my Etsy shop."

It is very easy to get distracted. Though I have nothing much scientific to back it up, every creative person I know tends to get distracted easily. There was this one time I was watching this squirrel. The very best thing to do is to write out a schedule and keep to it. 20 Minutes on Twitter, 15 minutes on Facebook, 30 minutes on Pinterest, etc.

Fortunately many of the social networks you can schedule your posts and also cross post automatically. I will be creating a few articles on how to do just that in the near future. The main thing to remember for now is if you can keep to a schedule you will be more efficient in the long run.

That is all for today. I just used my 30 minute allotted blog time and I must move on to the next thing on my list. Keep the questions and comments coming. Leave them here on the blog or email me at MarketMyShop@gmail.com and don't forget I have a couple of helpful eBooks for purchase in my Market My Shop Etsy Shop.