Tips for New Sellers on Etsy

Analiese says:

I have seen a lot of posts about newbies with no sales, etc… So I tought maybe I could offer a little advice. I am by no means an expert, but I thought I would try to help a little by listing some things that I have either heard in the past or do on my own. 1. Promote yourself as much as possible – friends, family, co-workers, whoever. Get business cards made up – and hand them out to whomever you can. I have also heard about people slipping their business cards in with their bills – who knows – it may work. Great place for low cost business cards and other promotional items: www.vistaprint.com 2. Add a new item every day or every other day. The way the listings come up to a buyer is new listings first, unless they choose to browse a different way. So, in order to make your shop visible – you can add something every day – I have heard that a peak time to list is around 7:00 pm – but I think anytime is good. 3.Take good pictures – clear and crisp. Try to invest in a digital camera – if you can. Take several shots and pick the best – take advantage of the 5 slots in your listings – or I have seen other sellers use those for other products. Close ups are great. This software is amazing and easy and works great and it is FREE – it is called Photofiltre – you can download it at www.photofiltre.com. Actually I just checked it out and they have upgraded it to Shareware – free for 30 days –http://photofiltre.free.fr/frames_en.htm - If you try this link – I think it is free. 4. Customer Service is KEY – keep in touch with your customers once they make a purchase – let them know you rec’d their order – let them know when it has shipped and leave feedback as soon as possible. Packaging is also important – make it look professional. I use a printed invoice and some nice Thank you stickers – or you can slip in a business card with a little note – make it look nice. 5. Start a blog or another website – I still do not have a blog – but I am looking into it. I do have another website that does not do that much business – but it is my own URL and I list special events there, and other things – an About me page, etc.. 6. Start a newsletter – I have done this for several months – and I guarantee that it has generated sales. There are several websites that allow you to create and send a newsletter for free – Bravenet is one of them – I use one that has a very low fee called MyNewsletterbuilder. You will of course have to get a mailing list started –I do this on my other website – since ETSY does not have that capability. I actually went through my e-mail address book and added friends and family – on top of those on my other website – I have over 60 recipients. 7. DO YOUR RESEARCH – see what is hot right now – I listed a previous post on Spring Color forecasts – You can go to Pantone.com and see what colors are hot for the spring or fall. See what is in style – see what sells – what the stars are wearing or buying. Look at pricing – there is so much on the internet – I can spend hours sometimes just doing research. 8. Stay calm, focused and upbeat – Don’t sweat it – you will get sales on ETSY – it is huge right now and growing – there are always people looking. Keep on track – stick to your guns and don’t give up. I hope this helps in some way – I like to offer help when I can – I think that is the teacher in me. I have been home for a couple days with my little one who is sick – poor guy – so I thought I would use my time constructively :) If anyone has any specific questions – please feel free to convo me and I will help as much as I can.          http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5035509