I want to share my experiences with selling handmade items on Etsy. In no way am I a professional- just learning. I hope what I have learned will help you and maybe you can teach me too!
Finding an item to sell:
It is best to find a category to sell from. I don't think it works well to sell handmade purses and coffee sleeves in the same shop. Instead, separate them into two shops. Unless of course you want to sell Antiques or Supplies- anything goes then.
Find something you enjoy making because you will hopefully be making a lot of it!
Creating your shop:
Photography is SO important. A customer is not going to take your shop seriously if your pictures are grainy and your banner is dinky looking. Create a few banner/avatar options and choose the best one. I have been through 4 since March and I feel like mine are pretty strong now. Also, when you start photographing your items, plan on spending quite a bit of time. You aren't there with the buyer, and pictures are the biggest selling point. Click here to read a great blog on photography tips.
Here are some great examples of product photos, banners, and avatars:
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| http://www.etsy.com/listing/55753284/heart?ref=tre-4c92874c93758eefe800ea25-5 |
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| http://www.etsy.com/listing/50807226/patchouli-handmade-soap-vegan-cold?ref=tre-4c93a80577f66d919a7279ca-10 |
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| http://www.etsy.com/listing/56292672/vintage-pottery-collection?ref=tre-4c93a80577f66d919a7279ca-12 |
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| http://www.etsy.com/shop/kamlampcompany |
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| http://www.etsy.com/shop/PonderandStitch?ref=seller_info |
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| http://www.etsy.com/shop/EccentricOcean |
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| http://www.etsy.com/shop/krugsecologic |
Your shop is created, you have a great product, and your banner rocks. Now what?
Marketing Tips:
This area is one where I am still feeling out. I have tried purchasing showcase spots, facebook updates, and chatting away on forums, blogs, and treasuries. One of these strategies is not going to get you sales- you need all of them, and probably more.
On Sunday, I joined a daily listing club on etsy's forums. Since then, I have had four sales this week. Now, I have to take into account that I did a showcase last week, I have updated facebook a lot this week, and I have spent around 3-4 hours a day on forums. It's not a get rich quick scheme. It takes hard work, pushing yourself to constantly improve your strategies and shop.
Every morning, I wake up at 6 am and have a cup of coffee. I hop on the computer and chat a little while on forums. Then, I create a new listing and share it with the club. Around 8 am I get ready for work and leave 30 minutes later. When I get home at 5:30 I get dinner on the stove and head back downstairs to hop on the forums again. I work on any boards that have been sold, and package the complete ones for shipping. I also run errands and purchase supplies for my shop 2-3 times a week. After I'm done working on the sold items for the night, I create a treasury- which is a great way to advertise! Around 10:30 pm, I crawl into bed and prepare to do it all again.
So no, it's not easy. But is it worth it? Oh yea! Just ask Pink Perch who has had 1100 sales in the last year.
For more detailed tips and information, check out the etsy blog and community. They are such a wealth of information!
Hey, thanks for putting my avatar up there! I just wanted to add that blogging is a great way to attract people, too. In your promotion tools on Etsy, there's something called "Etsy mini" that you can use to advertise your shop in your sidebar. Craftcult has an etsy widget too (I use theirs).
ReplyDeleteMy strategy is to post 5-7 times a week and make sure that there is always at least one post about me on my main page (roughly one post a week). It's not hard to maintain a blog (everyone always seems to think they don't have time). Just talk about whatever you've learned that day, a new item you have, a treasury you just made, something on the forums that caught your attention... only takes me about 10-15 minutes a day, sometimes 30 minutes on certain subjects.
Thanks Lauren! Such great help!
ReplyDeleteThanks for including my lotion picture :-) You're so kind. Great article!
ReplyDeleteWow, thank you so much for showing my banner here! I always get scared it's not the best, so I'm glad you liked it! :D
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for including my picture of my heart! I really appreciate it. I have worked hard over the last year to get better at photography. I am glad you like it!
ReplyDeleteKathryn