Hey all! I’ve been hearing via my Twitter followers that a lot of Etsy shop owners are taking the LONG LONG way to advertise their stuff. I thought I’d just take a minute to suggest some very useful tools I use.
1) Twitter
Twitter is fantastic. It’s done wonders for my Etsy shop and website. There is, however, a learning curve involved. It will take some practice, dedication, and time, but in the end, it will really help. Of course the first step of Twitter is to gain followers. The best way I can recommend doing this is to follow as many people as possible very quickly. Most people on Twitter will follow back their followers. Search “etsy” in the Twitter search bar, and find other Etsy shops. I recommend following Etsy shops, Artfire shops, independent crafters, craft bloggers…anything crafty. Trust me, the crafter community is great and very helpful. Your feed will be FULL of stuff, but you’ll learn who is more like you and who supports you the most. I’ve made some great friends on Twitter, who continually RT my stuff and support my shop, and I love doing the same for them. Don’t be afraid to build friendships and really network.
You’ll also have to learn the lingo:
- Hashtags: Hashtags are very simple. I think that they’re so simple that people try to make it hard. Anytime you put the hash symbol (#) in front of a word, Twitter hyperlinks it and “activates” it. Then, anyone looking for Etsy or handmade items will be able to search those terms and find your tweets. Here’s a link to a great explanation of hashtags: http://tiny.cc/lqycb
- Retweets (RTs): When someone retweets you, they simply send your tweet to their followers. Retweeting is very useful. If someone with thousands of followers retweets (RTs) your tweet, that’s potentially thousands of people looking at your stuff. It’s important to also RT your followers. Scratch someone else’s back, and they’re likely to scratch yours.
- Direct Messages (DMs): Direct messages are private messages between you and another Twitter user. Others cannot see these messages. You can set a way to automatically DM people after they follow you to thank them for following you or to send them to your shop. *I talk more about this below on number 7.
- Mentions: Mentions are when someone directly calls you out on Twitter. To mention someone, just put the at (@) symbol before their Twitter name. When someone does this to you, you’ll get notification in the “Connections” tab of Twitter. If you mention someone, you’re messaging them PUBLICLY. If you posted a link to an Etsy item, someone might mention you like this: “@soandso Cute item!! :)” You can then reply to them and say “thanks!” Like with the RTs, I recommend doing this. It will build your network and help you gain a great reputation.
There is a basic format for tweeting. Usually a tweet for one of your items or your website would look like this:
“Just listed! Pink Pillow for $20! [item link] #handmade #etsy”
Keep it short and sweet. Describe your item, maybe mention the price, give the link (Twitter automatically shortens it), and add your related hashtags. (#handmade and #etsy are the most common.) Try not to ever put multiple links in one tweet…most people just click one link. Also, don’t clutter your tweet with a lot of hashtags. Some people do that, and it can backfire because people can’t see the purpose of your tweet. You just see a bunch of hashtags and maybe a link. People may not want to bother.
Tweet Bots -There are several bots on Twitter. Bots retweet (RT) tweets with certain hashtags. For instance, @EtsyBoeBot will RT any tweet with the hashtag “#boebot” in it. These bots are my favorite: @madebyhandbot @handmadebot @etsybot @etsyboebot.
Make sure you get the Twitter app on your phone. All smart phones (Android, iphone, Blackberry) have apps for Twitter.
Twitter may seem overwhelming at first, but I promise it is worth it. Once you get the hang of it, you will see a huge increase in traffic (and hopefully sales!)
2) Facebook
A Facebook Fan Page can be a great tool. For one thing, unlike Twitter, you’re not limited to 140 characters. I think you get a few hundred. Facebook allows you to have pictures of your products, too. Be aware that there is a function in both Facebook and Twitter to allow the 2 networks to intertwine. You can have your tweets post on your fan page, and you can have your Facebook posts show up on Twitter. You can do both in the settings sections of those sites.
Like Twitter, be sure to “like” other Etsy shops’ fan pages as well. Your Facebook fan page will be separate from your personal account, so don’t worry about that. You will have administrative privileges from your personal FB account, but no one can access your personal wall–unless you befriend a fan.
Make sure to get the Facebook app for your phone, also, which is available on Android, iphone, Blackberry.
3) Seesmic
Seesmic is available as a Google Chrome app, a web site, or a desktop tool. I use it as a Google Chrome app and and web site. I’ve used Hootsuite and Tweetdeck, but Seesmic is my favorite. It allows you to have several columns showing everything you need from various accounts. See the tweets/posts you’ve sent, your mentions, retweets of your stuff by others, direct messages, and your Facebook newsfeed. I have 3 Twitter accounts, 2 Facebook pages, and a personal Facebook account; I use Seesmic for all of it. Google “Seesmic” and go to “Seesmic Web” to start off. Once you sign up with a free account, you can start connecting your various social accounts. Just play around with it, until you have your information the way you like it. You can have desktop notifications activated so that you can see immediately when someone RTs you or mentions you, while you work on the internet. I can’t stress enough how much time and energy this saves me. It makes it much easier to tweet multiple tweets multiple times a day, because you can simply highlight and copy your previous tweet and send it to all of your accounts.
Seesmic also has apps for your mobile phone. I have a Seesmic app on my Android phone, and it works seamlessly between my accounts instead of changing apps. I used to have a Seesmic app on my iphone, also.
4) Etsycouponcode.com
Etsycouponcode.com brings me quite a bit of traffic. You can use it for Etsy and Artfire shops. I’ve found a way to use this site to my greatest advantage by re-submitting coupons daily. Once you submit a coupon, it shows up on the front page for at least a few hours. I just keep deleting and re-entering codes every day to keep my shop on the front page. It’s up to you what type of coupon you want to submit: % discount or free shipping. Make sure you add your coupon code on Etsy first, though!!!
5) Pinterest
If you haven’t discovered Pinterest, yet, well….get ready. LOL It’s incredibly addicting and super useful. I pin everything in my Etsy shop. Once a few people repin my pin, the next person repins and so on and so forth. I average about 20 views a day from ONE pin, so imagine what you could get with each item in your shop!
Keep in mind, though, that you have to be invited to join Pinterest. If you need an invite, comment on this blog post with your email, and I’ll send you an invite. :) It’s great for advertising AND tips. Pinterest is just a really great site.
6) Paper.li
Paper.li allows you to create your own online newspaper for free! It uses your Twitter followers, hashtags, or lists to compile “top news stories” of the day. Paper.li promotes whatever you want it to, but in the end, it still brings attention to you and your shop. I think it’s a fun tool and a great way to show your followers what your interests are and to share great tips, blogs, and links.
7) SocialOomph
SocialOomph is free; you just have to sign up for an account. With SocialOomph you can set up automatic direct messages in Twitter. When someone follows you, they will get a direct message from you thanking them for following you and maybe attaching a link to your shop or site.
8) Facebook Ads
Alright, this isn’t free, but it does work. Facebook Ads is easy to use and effective. My account has a budget of $1.00 a day, and it still brings visitors to my Etsy shop DAILY. Look it up and research it a bit to see how you’d like to set up your ads.
9) Etsy Ads
Etsy Ads is not like Facebook Ads. Etsy Ads places your item in a row on top of the search results, which does work, but only if that person was specifically searching for certain things. Facebook Ads shows up on certain people’s pages, so you have more reach. Again, you can set your budget really low, so it’s pretty affordable. I would recommend Facebook Ads over Etsy Ads, though.
10) A few extra tips
- A professional logo. I don’t just recommend this as a graphic designer; it really is important to properly brand your business no matter how small it is. You want people to take you seriously, and while it might seem cute and cheap and easy to use a clip art image as your logo, it’s not very appealing. 2D is actually more eye-catching than 3D. Having a flat graphic will bring more attention. Having pictures of your products is great for a photo album, but not for a logo. If you want others to take your business seriously, you also need to take it seriously, and the first step is branding.
- Picture quality. It’s mentioned on Etsy quite a bit that the quality of your product picture is the KEY to selling more. You don’t need to be a professional photographer to take a decent picture. Use natural lighting, neutral backgrounds, and flattering angles. Sometimes props help, but be cautious. You want your product to be obvious, so if there are 3 other things in the picture, you may lose that.
- Know your audience. If you want to talk politics, religion, serious issues, really anything other than your business, get a personal account. Business is business, and it needs to stay that way. No one needs to hear about how much you hate the president (even if they agree.) Remember, you’re a small business; you don’t get the luxury of a PR representative. You are your own everything. Check yourself.
- Packaging. It should go without saying, but please be careful when you ship things. I’ve purchased things on Etsy that have literally just been stuck in a manila envelope–no wrapping, no padding, no care. Take the time to secure your item. Also, little touches can really bring back customers. Cute thank you cards or little “freebies” are really great. Always add the invoice and a business card!!!
- Pricing. It’s always smart to do a little market research before you price something. If everyone else is selling their cotton totes for $5.00, maybe you shouldn’t make yours $20.00. Just because it costs more, does not mean it’s WORTH more–buyers know better. I don’t know how many times I’ve searched through Etsy and wanted something and never bought it because someone wanted $200 for a scarf that I found for $20 in another shop. Check your ego at the door. At the same time, though, underpricing can hurt you. Really research and make the best judgment about how much time you put into creating your products.
Good luck and happy sales!!!!
