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!