We opened our etsy store 2 weeks ago. We have had several views on our items, but no sales yet. I know it does take a while for the sales to come. I totally understand that. I have been going to chats and forums on etsy. I twitter and blog. I also have a facebook page. SO, what does one have to do to get our name out there? It seems to me that most blogs, twitters, forums and chats I go to is mostly people trying to sell sell sell and are not buying. So, what's the point? How did you get your name out there? How did you start getting your sales?
Lets help each other out!!! :)
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ReplyDeleteIt takes time...
Joining groups helped also blogging and linking your blog to different things (ex Wordless Wednesday). Having a giveaway may help.
Best of luck with your shop!
ReplyDeletehttp://threewishesstudio.etsy.com
I actually didn't have an Etsy store at first, only a website for information and sold my paper party accessories locally to friends and family. Then through Twitter, a lady out in California with a baby boutique read one of my tweets, click on my website and wrote to me saying that I should open an Etsy shop. At the time I wasn't really ready and was just doing my thing for fun, but I took her advise, opened shop a week later, and have slowly been making sales. In my case, just dumb luck!
ReplyDeleteYes, it does take time. My sales come from building a strong presence online for the last several years. Etsy wasn't around when I first started...none of these social networks were. I would submit product for give-away and reviews. I also did a lot of link sharing, and word-of-mouth works tremendously for me. I do use Twitter, FB, and Ms now, they have brought in some biz, but like you said it is a lot of people wanting to sell. I believe in networking... I do a give-away for the women in my network. They offer a product to give-away and I offer it up on my blog. This brings attention to their biz. These are women that I purchase from. I am a big supporter in that way...buying from them. I also cross-promote with women indies.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by my blog today and leaving a comment. Yes, the finishing touches are important to me.
Hosting product reviews and giveaways on blogs do help to encourage sales. First, develop a relationship with a blogger, read their blogs, get to their know their style, send them one of your designs that fit their personality. When a blogger receives something they love, it shows in their review, which generates tons of traffic to your site during the giveaway period. Although the original investment may seem like a lot because you are just starting out, sending the review item to the blogger, sending one to the prize winner and offering a coupon code are cheaper than placing online ads and generate much more word of mouth and buzz. I'm rarely likely to press on an ad banner anywhere anymore, but if a blogger I respect is raving about something, I'm checking it out for sure. I'm visiting the site and if I like what I see taking those extra steps to fan that designer on facebook and follow on twitter. My first jewelry giveaway was quite a successful one for my sponsor, because it opened them up to an audience who didn't know they were there, they got a huge social media following and a ton of other bloggers trying to work with them, all because I took the chance and worked with them first. It's the best PR out there, and you are saving on the costs of a PR person. You won't know until you try it. But so far, my sponsors have come back to me again to pitch other products because they did the return on the investment. I have one sponsor who saw so many sales come my from readership that they are on their THIRD giveaway with us BACK TO BACK and that is almost un-heard of. Are you also attending local events, fairs, beaches/boardwalks etc?
ReplyDeleteForums didn't work for me too well. I got about 2 sales from the forums, but most of my sales came from google searches according to google annalytics.
ReplyDeleteI would say just keep on with you blog/twitter and maybe try relisting items every once in a while so they stay at the top of Etsy's search. Just give it time. :)
Looks like we're all having the same problem :)
ReplyDeleteWe all want to sell our goodies, but it's a matter of getting buyers.
Be positive, think positive, do positive!