Share Your Shop

I wanted to give you all the opportunity to share your shop today. So, in the comments put the URL of your shop or Facebook fan page. This gives you the opportunity to share your shop with someone who might not have actually seen it through other means. Give a one sentence description of the goods you have available.

I'll start with mine:

Tangled Metal has Steampunk and chainmail jewelry, accessories, fashion and home decor.
http://tangledmetal.etsy.com
http://tangledmetal.artfire.com
http://www.facebook.com/tangledmetal

Creating Treasuries and Collections

A Front Page Treasury on Etsy

Creating Treasuries on Etsy or collections on ArtFire can be fun. Not only can they be fun but they can help you and all the featured artists to gain more exposure. And if your treasury or a treasury you're in makes it to the front page, well, it can mean a lot of views and potential business.

There are trends on the Etsy front page treasuries that you may want to consider when creating your treasuries. First off and most important are good photos. Photos must not be blurry or out of focus. Solid backgrounds help. Tagging the treasuries is also very important. You want to think about tagging the treasuries in the same way you tag your items. Relevant tags make it easier to be found. Titles are not as important but you do want to try and give it a catchy name.

A Front Page Collection On ArtFire

ArtFire is a different animal in a lot of ways. Creating a collection is similar to a treasury on Etsy but you get the option to have your collection considered for the front page. Artfire is much smaller than Etsy but it is growing and maybe one day will be as big as Etsy. The ArtFire collections also have a rating system where users can rate if they like the collection or not. The same thing about photos applies here, as do the tags. 

One thing I like to do when I create treasuries is write to all of the featured artists letting them know that they have been featured. ArtFire has an option to send everyone a message. Sometimes a treasury does not make it to the feed and the featured artists may never know that they were featured. Here is a sample note:

"Hi there. I am writing to let you know that I have featured one of your items in my latest treasury: "Title of Treasury Here" <Link to treasury>

There is no need to reply but please feel free to share with your Twitter followers, Facebook fans, Blog readers, etc. Be sure to "Favorite" the treasury so that everyone in your circle will see.

Thank You,

Blah from Blah"

The treasuries that I create receive anywhere from 50 to 300 views without being on the front page. Many times the people that I feature return the favor and feature me in one of their treasuries or collections. Remember by helping your fellow artist out it helps you out in the long run. If you have any questions let me know.