Etsy.com is an online venue for selling handmade goods. They also permit the listing of vintage items and commercial crafting supplies. I've been on the site since the end of 2005. While I am nowhere near the rankings of the top sellers, I feel I have done fairly well during my time on Etsy. Here are some tips (in no particular order of importance):
1. Carry unique, quality, and practical products. People want something trendy, yet with a unique spin. They prefer items that are practical for them in their daily lives. If quality is compromised, they won't be coming back!
2. Be open to taking custom orders. But don't take on any orders you cannot complete in a timely, efficient, and effective manner! Think of products you currently make that would be possible to customize to a customer's requests and start there.
3. Take awesome photos. This is a whole intel in and of itself. If you don't present your products well, people aren't even going to look, never mind buy. I have so many items that I haven't been able to capture good photos of, and therefore have not listed them.
4. Promote, market, and advertise your shop. You need to do this on and off of Etsy, on-line, and off-line. I have a list of starting points I've been compiling and updating for awhile here:
http://jessprkle.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-promote-your-website.html
5. Integrate yourself into the Etsy community. Get involved with forum discussions, comment on treasuries, join a chat room every now and again, heart your favorite items and shops, and join Etsy groups on the social networking sites you're on (i.e. myspace, facebook, flickr, etc.)
and I'm going to add a 5a here:
5a. Join social networking sites! Join places like flickr, myspace, facebook, tribe, etc. Then use them to network with others, advertise sales, promote new items... the possibilities are endless!
6. List your items strategically. This means listing and/or relisting items frequently to gain more exposure through all the nifty flash apps Etsy offers as well as staying at the top of your category (okay, with jewelry you'll get buried in a second... sorry.). Be sure to space out your listings; don't list 10 items at once just because you can!
7. Participate as a buyer, too! This is so important! Buying from others also brings exposure to your shop. It helps you build up feedback, too.
8. Include a hand-written thank you to your customers. I write this on the back of a coupon for customers to use on their next purchase. I also include a baggie of samples and promos from other Etsy shops. Customers *love* them!
9. Search the forums for sellers accepting business cards. Sellers often participate in craft shows or send out goodies with their packages like I do. We're always looking for business cards, coupons, samples, and promos to help other stores get exposure. I have had a lot of success with sending my cards and samples to other sellers. Plus, it's fun to think of all the places your cards are ending up!
10. Join a street team. There are tons of street teams out there. This is a way to collaborate with other sellers to promote a group of shops. You can discover them here: http://team.etsy.com/
I've got tons more, but I don't want to inundate you! I'll work on a sequel sometime later! For now, start with these ten and see what happens!
