Shop Talk Friday with Purple Lemon Designs

Guest Blogger:
Kelly Rinehart of PurpleLemonDesigns.etsy.com

Originally posted to her blog in July 2009

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Well, I am glad you decided to join me for my 3rd installment of “Marketing My Etsy Shop”. We have already covered using Twitter and Facebook as marketing tools in Part 1, and using business cards, an elevator speech and your shop’s packaging in Part 2. Today, we are going to talk about my experiences with Etsy Teams, an email newsletter, as well as blogging. Let’s chat, shall we?

Etsy Teams

I am on three Etsy teams, Team Etsy Mississippi, The Etsy Twitter Team, and The Etsy Wedding Team. I have “met” so many wonderful people through these teams. I have also learned a ton from many of the members.

So, how did I start with Etsy Teams?

Well I first started with my home state’s team. I had no idea what teams were, but I wanted to find out. There had been lots of talk on the forums about teams, so I needed to know more.

A state team is a natural fit for any seller in the USA (I think). I know my state’s membership is open to any one living in MS with a shop on Etsy. I really enjoyed the team camaraderie, and once people got to know me through our Yahoo group, I made sales to many of the members.

While having a great Mississippi team experience, I joined Twitter. Soon after, I stumbled upon the Etsy Twitter Team. I joined up and it is a great team to be a part of. It is probably the most active team I am on because we are all on Twitter so much. We promote one shop each week, we have a very active Google group, and my teammates are experts at getting Etsy Treasuries (which we also tweet about)! I had never been in a Treasury before joining a team (thanks Michelle!), and I am still not sure how all that works, but being a part of great Treasuries has been such an honor since joining a team.

A few months ago, I started selling some of my wedding items. Since I had such good experiences with teams, I applied to be accepted as a member of The Etsy Wedding Team. This team has been a great experience just like the other two. I really like the focused nature of the team. We all design wedding items, so we have lots in common. This team has become very active in the last few weeks, so I am excited to see where it takes us!

A few tips about joining teams:

• Just as anything else in life, you get out of it what you put into it.
• Don’t be shy!
• Just do it.

E-Newsletters

I have put together e-newsletters for my places of employment, but it never dawned on me to put one together for Purple Lemon Designs… until a few months ago. I have only put a few out, but I know that people are clicking through (thanks to Google Analytics). I use Mail Chimp to put my email blasts together. It is really easy to use, and it is free if you send to 100 or less people at a time (up to 6 times a month). You can also customize your blast to look like your blog or your Etsy shop. I know that there are other great services available such as Constant Contact and iContact. I can’t speak about these services, because I haven’t had the pleasure of using them.

This is just another way to contact your customers. Be careful who you send your blast to… you don’t want to violate spam legislation. I only send to people who opt in to my newsletter through a link on my blog, my website’s contact form and my Etsy Shop Announcement. Some people send to people that have purchased from them, but I don’t feel comfortable doing that unless they opt in. The great thing about Mail Chimp or other services like it, they will manage your email list for you. I have a page that is generated by Mail Chimp that subscribers use to sign up. It links directly to my blog. Cool, right?

Blog

Obviously since you are reading this, you know that I blog. Many of you probably blog, too. A few tips that I can give about blogging are:

• Create an editorial schedule – Readers like to know what you are going to be posting on a regular basis. I have a few different series that I feature on my blog (such as Terrific Tuesdays and Lemony Fresh Etsy Sellers), so my readers know what is coming up.

• Post on a regular basis – I know that I get tired of keeping a blog that never updates in my daily reads. I don’t necessary mean that you have to post everyday; that is up to you. I am saying that your readers will be more likely to come back to see you if you maybe post once a week or more. Maybe even post on the same day each week. I know that Word Press blogs have this nifty feature where you can schedule your posts. This has really helped me post on a regular basis. I usually write blog posts in spurts, mostly on the weekend. So if I can space out when my posts are published, that is really helpful with my schedule.

• Read other people’s blogs and comment – This will help make connections with other people across the internet. Always link your blog to your comments. Lots of people like to follow the trails of comment links… You may even gain more readers this way.

• All posts are better with pictures, especially if you are writing a tutorial.

• Make sure to add your Etsy Mini to your sidebar.

• Make it fun!

I hope you have enjoyed my posts about Marketing my Etsy shop. Let me know if you have questions by posting in the comments below.

Toodles!

Shop Talk Friday: Marketing with Purple Lemon Designs

Guest Blogger: Kelly Rinehart of PurpleLemonDesigns.etsy.com

In the last "Etsy Journey" post on my personal blog, I touched on the social media aspect of marketing my Etsy shop. Today, I am going to touch on other ways I market my shop.

Business Cards

I actually have two business cards that I had printed. One is a part of my packaging that also doubles as a business card. The good thing about this one is that it has a bounce back coupon on it. I also have a standard business card that is just a biz card with my info on it. I actually carry both in my purse. When I get a great dental cleaning or I get a great cashier when I go to the store, I say thanks and hand them the business card with a coupon on it. I give them a quick spiel about what I sell and then I am on my way. Does it work? Who knows…it certainly can’t hurt. Other things I use my business cards for are shop mail outs, (I will talk more about that in a minute), I put them up on bulletin boards, and I sometimes even leave them on the table when I go to dinner.

I also give my regular business cards to EVERYONE I talk to about my business. If you meet people and make that personal connection, they are much more likely to purchase from you. They feel like they are buying from someone they know and can trust. This leads me into my next segment, Talkin’ It Up.

Talkin’ It Up

Some of you are really lucky and talking to people is easy for you. But there are others of you out there saying to yourself, "I am soooo shy! I can’t talk to people about my business! That just isn’t my thing!"

Well, sister (or brother), you have got to get over that. I did. I am the world’s biggest introvert. I am much more comfortable in front of my computer, but I know I can’t sell things to my computer (trust me I have tried – he is just not that into rubber stamps). I have forced myself to talk to people. Let me let you in on a little secret, it is not as hard as you think. It also gets easier the more you do it. People really don’t bite (as much as I thought that they might.)

A little tip when starting up a conversation with someone you don’t know: people love to talk about themselves. Start a conversation with them asking what they do, where they grew up, about their kids, or anything else that relates to them. Make sure that you listen and genuinely care about what they are saying – don’t just wait until they stop talking to run through what you do. Ask questions about what they are saying. Then, once you have gotten a good conversation going with them, I bet that they will ask about you and what you do. Then, don’t dominate the conversation, but quickly tell them about your business using a great elevator speech.

I could go through the ins and outs of developing an elevator speech, but it is much better said by Barbara Lopez for the Design*Sponge biz ladies series. This is an excellent post about developing a speech for those conversations when you get asked, "So what do you do?" You can read the full article here.

My Packaging

I take full advantage of my packaging to advertise my shop to my customers. Your best customers are going to be return customers, so you MUST market to then when they are a captive audience - like when they are opening their purchase from you and they are all giddy from excitement!

Once again, I am going to state this is how I market my shop; I am not an expert; this is what works for me. That being said, I will tell you about my Etsy packaging. This seems to be a very taboo subject around Etsy, but I'm not shy and secretive with my packaging. I use my business stamps to their full advantage:

Remember that dual business card I referred to above? Here it is in action:

I also include a handwritten note on customized stationery for my business.

Then I put all those elements together and voila! - a beautiful Purple Lemon-rific package for a customer to open and enjoy. Hopefully, it will be memorable for them so when they need another stamp or some stationery they will come back to visit.

Hope you enjoyed a little more info about how I market my shop!

Kelly Rinehart
PurpleLemonDesigns.etsy.com

Shop Talk Friday: Breaking the Wallflower Mold

What to Do When Nothing Works


So you’ve done it all. All the “must do” things that are recommended for developing a booming Etsy (or online) store. Twitter account. Facebook page. Project Wonderful ads. Your photos shine, your descriptions are really fabulous, and your customer service would make President Obama feel right at home.

But… you still have no sales.

If you feel like the girl who went all out for the prom, only to have her date come down with the flu, you aren’t alone. In a recession, there are often more wallflowers than dancers at the retail ball. The good news is that there are some things you can do to set yourself apart and attract good customers.

1. Aim for the Limelight: Offer a discount to your first customer. Or a free gift. Retail stores do this when they open new stores because they know that people can be leery of shopping in a brand new store, and they want the store opening to be a big splash. You can join forces with another new store or one that hasn’t had any sales, and throw a “WallFlowers” party, offering giveaways, discounts, or anything else you think would be a creative draw to customers- the sky is the limit.
   
   
2. Go Offline as well as Online: Sometimes the greatest defense is an offense. Make contacts with consignment stores, flea markets, art fairs, etc to show your work offline as well. Some types of work do best when they can be seen/felt/tried on by the customer, at least at first. So don’t be afraid to make your online presence only one part of your overall business plan. There is a jewelry designer I know who got her start marketing her work in office complexes at lunchtime. Don’t be afraid to look outside the box.
   
   
3. Take a Long Hard Look at the Seasonality of Your Work: Some types of handmade items tend to be seasonal by their very nature, such as Christmas ornaments. Others may be seasonal more by customer association, such as knitted shawls or scarves. It isn’t that they can’t buy now for later use, it is more that they don’t. There is more than one way to tackle this concern. One way is to create products that are more likely to sell right now, such as knitted cozies, tote bags, lacy summer-weight shawls or all-natural face scrubbies. Another way is to expand your product line to include items which correspond with your main work, but are more likely to be bought at any time of year. A basic example of this is pairing knitted creations with yarn/supplies for knitters and crocheters, or offering organic soaps and bath supplies along with your face scrubbies.
   
   
4. What’s Your Zing Factor? Are your products interesting? Do they say “unique and different” or do they look like many other products out there? Zing factor is a hard one to assess on your own, and it can hurt to get an answer to this question. But it bears asking. In the art world, work is called “derivative” if it resembles the work of other, more well-known artists, rather than reflecting the unique mark of the artist who painted the canvas. Does your work reflect you? Are you trying to follow a certain style or type of work without putting YOUR stamp on it? Customers are quick to sense “standard issue” and move on, so this is an important question. Zero in on what makes your work special.
   
   
5. Don’t Go It Alone: Team up with a friend or colleague’s store and collaborate on a project that both of you can sell. (Got a friend who makes bath products? You supply her with face scrubbies, she makes you organic soaps, both of you win by having products in two stores.) This can work very well on both a large scale, and a very small scale. A person who sells beaded jewelry can team up with someone who works mainly in metal, for a way to expand the product lines of both stores into other areas, offering customers a wider range of choices and prices, and increasing the exposure of both stores. If you decide to go this route, have all the details written out, as well as a firm beginning and end date for the cross promotions. Making sure things meet everyone’s expectations on a business level is crucial to having a good joint collaboration.
   
   
6. Give It Time: There are no quick fixes or substitutes for the exposure that time and familiarity brings you. Promotional efforts, sales, and all the other ways that you generate traffic for your store build upon each other over time. Some categories are crowded with competitors, such as jewelry or vintage items, and it can take longer to pull away from the pack. Don’t get discouraged during the downtime, use it instead to refine your products, get creative with your promotions, and spread your name.
   
   
7. Look for Publicity: The direct approach is best here. If you have a friend or read a blog that you love, see if they would be interested in profiling you. Offer to swap interviews, put their blog badge on your blog, or tweet about them. Don’t be pushy, but there is nothing wrong with asking. All they can say is NO, but very often they say YES, and you won’t know unless you ask.

These are just a few ideas that you can try, and the world is full of even more ideas, some of which may well be just the right combination. Beware of buying into quick fixes and instant results, as selling is much like dieting- different combinations work for different groups of potential customers, and the miracle with one group is merely a waste of time with the others. In the end, experimentation, knowing what worked (or didn’t) with your particular customers, and creativity are your best assets in crafting a successful online business.

Kristen
Etsy Twitter Team Co-Leader
Firebirdhouse.etsy.com

Shop Talk Friday: Ready, Set, Market!

A recent Shop Talk Friday reviewed Project Wonderful, but there are other ways to promote your shop and work to the public online.

Online Advertising Options

Google’s AdWords is an advertising program where you create ads that appear when people search Google, and you can set spending limits, such as a daily budget of five dollars and a maximum cost of ten cents for each click on your ad. Google provides keyword traffic/cost estimates, keyword guidelines for choosing effective keywords, and you only pay per click, and not per display.

The companion to this program, Google AdSense, is for websites which would like to display advertisements, and it can also be a good option for entrepreneurs who would like to also generate revenue.

Yahoo Search Marketing is a program that is very similar to Google’s, allowing you to set your limits, pay per click only, etc. To give you an idea, 2.3 BILLION searches occur on Yahoo every month. Yahoo also provides support, ad testing, keyword guidelines, and more.

Magpie - Here you pay per view, but this is also set up on a similar keyword model. You can target fairly specifically here, and click-through rates tend to be much higher than with traditional banner ads.

Non-Traditional Sources for Promotion

Flickr - Don’t sell off of this photo site, use it to show. Show off new work, work-in-progress, or sold items to give people a feel for your product line. This is a great, easy way to build a network of interested people. Tweet about your postings.

My Etsy Book – This is super easy and can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. Like a virtual portfolio or mini, only far more detailed, this is a great widget and you can customize it. You don’t have to use their templates, and can upload pictures, or use plain background colors, as well as move and remove elements.

Forums - Most forums have a promotional thread where you can promote your work, website, shop, or latest coupon or sale. A good one to try is the Crafting and Business Help Community, which is a new forum, but already full of great information and resources. ETT has our own private board there as well.

Handmade Pledge - This is one way to access a huge number of handmade and Etsy lovers, many of whom have provided a link/URL or email address. Use this list for networking and for connecting with others who love what you love.

RSS Feeds - This is a GREAT way to provide customers who are interested with your new products/blog posts/website and shop updates, and more. First, find your feed - usually you will find a small button at the top of your webpage on your tool bar that looks like a small, square orange box. If you click on that, it will take you to a link that looks like this one from my shop:

http://www.etsy.com/rss_shop.php?user_id=6174558

Copy the link, then go to www.widgetbox.com (use the basic, free package) and create a widget that will allow people to sign up to receive your RSS feeds when you update your shop. It’s easy, you don’t have to worry about being labeled as spam, and people can choose to be updated.

Additional Stores - places like Artfire, 1000 Markets, Ebay, and personal websites all provide additional promotional opportunities to promote yourself and your work, for a minimal cost.

The one important thing to remember when using any of these opportunities, or any that you find through your own research is to have specific goals in mind that are achievable and targeted to what you want to accomplish. Sometimes that will be generating traffic for a sale or special promotion, sometimes it will be increasing awareness of your shop, and other times it will be to introduce a new product.

Resources:

Handmade Marketing is an excellent and extensive source of great, usable resources, ideas, and links.

Programmable Web is an excellent resource for widgets, etc, with links and details.

Homework for this week: Spend some time on handmademarketing.org investigating opportunities, or if you don’t think you are ready for that, sit down with paper and a pen and come up with three objectives (goals) for your shop. Make sure they are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and have a Timeframe) so that you can determine when and how to meet them, and then begin looking into ways to make those happen.

Next Week’s Shop Talk Friday will be covering wholesaling, so stay tuned!

~ Kristen

Shop Talk Friday: Marketing

We are bombarded with marketing information in modern life. From the car zipping along the open road with the top down in a Ford commercial to the Goodwill drop off boxes in your office parking lot, our brains absorb and filter hundreds if not thousands of pieces of information every day.

And we forget the majority of it.

The fact that we forget most of what we see or hear explains why the amount of it continues to increase, as companies strive to be the one car ad or ring commercial you remember when you decide to make a purchase.

For smaller entrepreneurs, jumping into the pool of ads, commercials, shows, fairs, and more can seem like diving headfirst into the deep end without knowing how to swim.

So in this article, I am going to keep it simple, list things for you to consider, and some places to go for additional information.

Marketing Basics

In the long run, marketing is simply getting your product in front of people who would like to buy it. Here are some tips, and ways to do it online for free, as well as some things to think about as you plan your strategy.

1. TARGET - Who are you selling to, and what would they want you to say about your product? You’re working with the law of averages here because you can’t know what every one of your potential customers wants to hear. In general, try to aim your message at a target audience. Everything people see that references your store can be considered a message up to a point. That includes your store banner, pictures, descriptions, titles, your blog, and tweets, because all of that and more give people information about you and your work. The main thing is to be consistent as much as you can, and to give some thought to what you are saying about your store and your work. You may have more than one thing to say, so some trial and error may happen before you hit the right note with your customers. Contrary to what the gurus want you to believe, marketing is rarely an exact science.
2. HOW- This is a major consideration for every company, large or small. I am narrowing it this week to Etsy. For Etsy sellers, Etsy does a lot of the groundwork, and they bring in large numbers of potential buyers. Your consideration here is really more how to reach the buyers they bring in and to make your items and store stand out in the crowd. Good ways to do this include:

• Excellent Tagging – Use synonyms, search word helpers like Yahoo and Google, and when in doubt, try searching on the tags you would like to use and see what products pop up. Only one word is allowed per tag box (i.e. “silver”) except for phrases (i.e. “sterling silver”, “cornflower blue”).

• Descriptive Titles - Include potential search words but are also user friendly - those 26 word titles you see sellers sometimes use are not really user friendly.

• SEO Friendly Descriptions – SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization”. It means using words in your product description that people might use when searching on the Internet. If you describe a bracelet without mentioning the word “bracelet” in the first paragraph, you have missed an SEO opportunity. So an accurate and detailed description is important.

• Good Customer Service - Prompt communication, clear expectations, thanking them for their business, treating people with consideration, unique product packaging. Stand out from the crowd with your “above and beyond” good customer service.

• Coupons and Offers for Repeat Customers – Whether you offer a percentage off, free shipping, or some other benefit, offering incentives for repeat business is a good idea. You can offer them only for customers who spend a certain amount, or use a sliding scale where someone who spends $200 will get a larger percent off on their next purchase than someone who spends $20. Add a sense of urgency by including an expiration date.

• Referral Cards - This is one way to bring in new customers. Offer existing customers a percentage off for every new customer they bring in who purchases. Include a code for both existing customers and new customers to use so you can track it. Limits on these should be clear, and don’t offer more than you are comfortable with.

• Treasuries and Etsy Team Activities – These are simple, give you the power of group promotion, and increase your visibility and reach. Participating in Trunk Shows, Scavenger Hunts, Blog Promotions, etc. puts you and your work in front of more potential customers than you could do on your own, making your efforts more effective. And it’s free.

• Etsy Minis and Trade – Minis can be made either of your store, or of your favorites in other stores. One easy and simple way to use minis is to trade minis with a friend or teammate to reach readers of each other’s blogs. You can also profile a friend or teammate one day a week, once a month, or however often you want to do it, and have them profile you. There are also blogs that look for artisans to profile and these can also be helpful. Do a little research to find them.

Your homework for this week is to think of two new ways to promote your work that you haven’t tried, using this list as well as your own ideas. Some resources for additional information:

The Creative Entrepreneur: A DIY Visual Guidebook for Making Business Ideas Real by Lisa Sonora Beam. I have this and am finding it WELL worth the time it takes to do it. {Editor's note: I have this book as well and have found it to be a valuable resource for creative people trying to wrap their heads around business ideas.}

Making a Living In Crafts: Everything You Need to Know to Build Your Business by Donald Clark

Next week, I will be covering a whole host of online sites and promotional opportunities, free and not free, for you to consider as well, and will be writing a separate article on wholesaling considerations. So there is a lot more information to come!

~ Kristen
FirebirdHouse.etsy.com