Social Media Graphic Sizes

Every Social Media site that allows you to customize your profile, etc has a different size requirement. I was planning to write a post on all of the different sizes then I found a blog that already had it and I decided why reinvent the wheel!

INFOGRAPHIC: The Ultimate Complete Final Social Media Sizing Cheat Sheet has all the information on graphic sizes for many of the most popular Social Media sites. Have a look and bookmark it for future reference.

New Digital Downloads From Etsy

Etsy has just made sellers of digital files a breeze! When you create a new listing you now get to choose between a tangible product or a digital file. You are allowed up to 5 digital files for each listing. This is great for those selling graphics or eBooks. Just be sure your item does not break the Terms of Service or any Copyright or Intellectual Property laws.

I only have a couple of eBooks in my Etsy shop: Market My Shop Etsy Store Those files are PDFs. I know that image files can also be uploaded. I am not sure if there are any file type limitations so you'll need to look into that if you are using any odd file types.

Of course, those who sell digital files are probably already sick of uploading all their files now but it will certainly save a tone of time in the future.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments by leaving them here or sending me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Etsy Coupon Code Changes

Etsy finally got their coupon system changed to make things much better than before! Now you can list cash off coupons in addition to the free shipping and percent discount. Another new GREAT feature is the ability to automatically send a customer a coupon when they buy an item from you. It is called a Thank You Coupon.

The other wonderful addition to the changes is making a minimum purchase amount to be able to use the coupon code. This helps you to use the cash amount coupon without having to worry if your customer will use a $10 off coupon on a $10 item.

Have a great weekend! Let me know if you have any questions or comments by leaving them here or sending me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Scheduling Your Social Network Posts

Yesterday I touched on determining the best times to post to social networks. Today I would like to mention that scheduling posts can free up a lot of time for you to do other things. As I write this post it is actually Sunday morning. I am working on a weeks worth of posting because I have the free time to write today but may not during the week. Blogger is easy with the "Schedule" link in the right hand side bar. Other social networks are not quite as easy.

Facebook now allows you to schedule your posts, which is really great! When you write a status update or upload a picture/video there is a small button in the post field that looks like a little clock. Clicking that will allow you to set when your post will actually be posted.

Twitter, unfortunately, does not have this option. You can use a third party program to schedule your posts. Tweetdeck, HootSuite and other programs have the ability to schedule posts for you. There are also web based programs like SocialOomph that have similar services. The services usually have a pro or paid version as well as a free version.

Doing a quick Google search on scheduling posts on social networks will give you specifics for individual sites.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments by leaving a comment here or sending me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

When To Post On Social Networks

We all know that Social Networks are the best form of free advertising. Why? It is the 'Word of Mouth' of the new millennium. I have written several articles about how to use social networks efficiently. The one thing that I have not touched much on is what time of the day is the optimal time to post to get the most views, shares and comments.

There are actually 2 times a day that are optimal for most posts. The first time is 10 a.m. through noon. The second best time is between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. That is, of course, your local time. So, if you have a business that is supported by people mostly in your time zone those are the best times to post.

Now, if you rely on buyers outside of your time zone you need to expand your time to cover those times in all time zones. That may mean reposting the same content many times during the day and/or evening. Of course you probably want to change the content up enough that people do not feel that they are being spammed into oblivion. Perhaps sharing different products will suffice.

Here is a breakdown of the top 3 Social networks with optimal time to post:
Twitter: 1 p.m.
Facebook: 5 p.m.
Pinterest: 11 p.m.

Be sure to optimize for your time zones. Of course this is just a suggestion of times to post. Using common sense can be the best idea. Knowing that Mom's are home alone after dropping the kids off at school between 8:30 and 9:00 or that Single People often check their social networks over morning coffee, during lunch break, when they get home and right before going to bed. This is where my previous article about knowing your customer can help you fine tune your post timing. Tomorrow I will write about scheduling posts so that you don't have to be right at your computer during all of your optimal posting times.

Got a question or comment? Leave them here or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Pricing Handmade Correction

In my article Pricing Handmade Items For Etsy written earlier today I priced my eBook at $4.75. That is actually the regular price. The sale price is actually $3.50 for a short time. Here is a link to the eBook on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/listing/129945259/pricing-handmade-guide-for-etsy-shop

Sorry for any confusion!

Pricing Handmade Items For Etsy

So, you have worked really hard to make an item and you are ready to put it up on Etsy. When it comes time to put a price on it you suddenly go blank! This is a common problem for many Etsy Sellers. In fact it is a problem for many crafters in general. How do you put a value on something that you made from scratch?

There are as many pricing formulas as there are breeds of dogs. Okay, I made that up, but there are a lot of different pricing formulas. I want to share my favorite and what seems to be the most accurate one. First add up all the cost of the finished product.

Material Cost + Labor + Overhead = Cost of finished product
Cost of finished product X 2 = Wholesale Price
Wholesale Price X 2 = Retail Price

Material Cost is just that, the cost of all materials.
Labor is the amount of time you spent creating the item.
Overhead is the cost percentage of rent/mortgage, electric, use of machinery, etc. that was used in the creation of the item.

Generally to figure wholesale you would double the Cost of the finished product. To figure retail you would double the Wholesale price of the item.

Now there are a lot of variables in this. I go into a lot more detail in my eBook on Pricing Hand Made Items For Etsy which is currently on sale for just $3.50. There I talk about how yo figure your material cost, labor and overhead. I also talk about how to lower your retail without sacrificing your time and energy.

I would like to hear your experiences in pricing your handmade items. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com

Winter Is Done - Time To Get Busy!

Sorry for the temporary interruption of blogging. I have been very busy lately and this blog has suffered a bit. The good news is that I am back! A lot of exciting articles are in the works along with some eBooks and the like. The winter is finally over and it is time for some spring cleaning!

In the days to come I'll be writing about some new features on Etsy including Coupon Code changes and newly added digital downloads. I will also try and write about a couple of other ideas to help put more people in front of your shop. Tomorrow I will continue talking a bit about How to Price Your Handmade Items.

I am glad to be back! Hopefully I can make time to write from now on. That is it for today. Feel free to send me your questions and comments. You can leave them here on the post or send me an email to MarketMyShop@gmail.com