Showing posts with label selling. Show all posts

After almost a year running my shop, Pictures of Lily, I finally decided to open another. This one is for my jewelry creations. I've always enjoyed making my own jewelry, and kind of put that hobby aside to make room for all my paper crafts. Until now. Because Etsy is jam packed with jewelry sellers already, I'm not sure how it will all go. But, I thought I'd give it whirl. Check out my shop, The Glass Onion. I've just only listed a few items, today. But plan on adding more each day. Here is what I've listed so far:




Wish me luck. ♥

Boss man, Rob, (Rokali) announced in a Storque article that Etsy received 27 million dollars in funding from 2 of their existing investors and from a new investor, Jim Breyer. Mr. Breyer will hold a place on the board of directors. Rob explains how this money is needed to allow Etsy to keep up with it's increasing growth, and also exactly how some of the funds will be used, in the article.

2 days following this news, Rob had another announcement that generated a lot of buzz, mostly happy buzzing, regarding a separation of handmade goods from supplies and vintage. The plan is to exclude supplies and vintage from the default search, with the ability to opt them into a search, from the drop down menu. Read more about this change here, and the discussions from the community here.

I am happy for these changes, personally. It's great to see Etsy making this distinction, allowing handmade items to be brought to the front, rather than buried amongst the supplies and vintage items for sale. I am all for both of these non-handmade items having a place on Etsy. I am just glad to see some solution for separating them from the handmade goods that people expect to see from a place that boasts, "You're place to buy and sell things Handmade."

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was having a new logo made by the fabulous bennyandroo. She did a fabulous job, as I knew she would. I had like 8 options to choose from, which was great, but difficult. She has a knack for understanding people's style and I was very happy with the outcome. Here it is:


So far, it has become my new avatar and I added it to my business cards. I haven't change my banner yet, because I think they still work together. I may incorporate it into my banner, eventually. For now, I'm just so glad to have a new logo, one that is easier to include on all my business forms. I am sooooo glad to be gone of the lily flower that was my avatar for so long. It just didn't go with my shop.

From the Storque: "Yesterday, the 2 millionth item on Etsy sold. This is cause for celebration over here at the Etsy Labs. But what we're really happy about is the trend: it took two years to sell the first million. After that high water mark, it only took four months to sell the next million items. Who knows what the future holds?"

It's amazing to me that the first million took 2 years while the 2nd only took 4 months. Go Etsy. Whenever these milestones are announced, I can't help but think how cool it would be to recognize the seller who sold that 2 millionth item. A little prize or something for being the lucky one would be pretty nice. Plus I'd like to congratulate them, and I'm sure they'd want to know. Anyhow, goooooooo Etsy.

One of the first purchases I made on Etsy was my shop banner. It's the one on the top of this blog. I feel so lucky to have found Briana of bennyandroo, who created it. It was a premade banner she had listed in her shop, but I swear it was meant just for me. I've had it since, May, and I still absolutely love it whenever I look at it., which is so rare for me. The only problem I have had with it, is trying to use it as a logo. Because of it's shape, (bannerish) I have a hard time trying create a square logo or avatar from it, without cutting off most of it. I made due, as this was a minor issue, especially since I was so happy with it. However, I knew that one of these days I was going to commission Briana to create a custom logo for me, one that I can use to brand my shop completely. I wanted to have something that would work as my banner, my avatar, and for all of my business forms, easily. Her fees were quite reasonable, worth every penny. Now that my PayPal account had a few extra bucks in it, I am able to have her create one for me. So, I've contacted her, paid her, and she is working, this week, on my brand new logo! I can't tell you how excited I am to see what she comes up with. I'm a little sad to give up my current banner, but I just know whatever she creates will be just as fabulous, if not more. So, stay tuned for the "brand" new branding of my shop.

I highly recommend Briana of bennyandroo if you are in need of any graphic design work.

Not so far, at least as my Etsy shop is concerned. So often I heard about the holiday rush for Etsy shops. Sellers who have had their shops for a year, talked about how much business picks up when holiday shopping begins. I read lot's of tips about how to prepare for this busy time. Those of us who weren't around to witness it, were eagerly waiting the much talked about sales. Well I gotta say, it's been quite the opposite for me, so far. It is only November 9th, so I'm still hoping. But, so far, the past month or so have been the worst ever, since opening my shop. There have been a huge increase in new shops opening up, which explains the slow sales. When so many new shops are opening, while not so many new shoppers are visiting, it sure does change things in Etsy land. I hope that despite the growth in sellers, as Christmas gets nearer, that sales pick up a bit.


Here are some of my newest gift tags:

I haven't learned all the ins and outs of it all out yet, but so far, ning seems to be pretty cool. I joined the "we love etsy" group as another way to promote my shop. There are quite a few fellow etsiens there. They have a bunch a fun tools to add to your page. Here's a slide show from the photos I uploaded so far:


Find more photos like this on We Love Etsy

It took all of 1 minute to create. Im sure flickr has something similar as do other places as well. Wherever it comes from, it sure is a nice little way to showcase your work.

Want to know what the secret to selling your items on Etsy is? Go outside. Or, shopping, or take a nap, or write a letter, or cook, or anything else except check on your Etsy shop. It sounds crazy, but if you try and stay away from your computer and stop checking your shop so often throughout the day, you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's like what they say, "a watched pot never boils". And it's so true. It seems like every time I am away from my computer, (for me it's usually not by choice, but because I have other life issues to deal with) I come back to find a sale or two. Try it, you may be pleasantly surprised. It's a bit spooky.

My first, of hopefully many, artist interviews is with the wonderful Kathryn of Smashing. Her jewelry is just as lovely as she is. I love the colors she uses in her pieces and the milky glass beads she chooses. She is a prime example of the great artist that the Etsy community is made up of. Take a look at some of her great work, then read below to learn more about why smashing is so darn smashing.






1. Share a little about yourself and what you create.

i am a ex-art major/ex-banker/stay-at-home-mom/full time babysitter/puppy wrangler.

i love to make jewelry with glass and stone and silver. i don't really like to string beads. i don't think each bead gets enough attention that way, so, i wire them up on silver. plus, i hate when a string breaks and your beads scatter all over :)
i want to create things that are beautiful now and that are sturdy enough for your kids to inherit.

2. What are your favorite materials?

i really really really love opaque glass, any and every color and of course milky white. anything that reminds me of after dinner mints :)
the best part of jewelry making is going bead shopping. i'm lucky to have a great store nearby where the buyer loves the same sort of beads i do. my brain just glows when i get to look at all the different colors and shapes, racing through possibilities. that's the best :)


3. How did you discover Etsy?

when etsy first started, i heard about it on npr. i remember going to the site and shopping by color for hours. the worst thing is that i forgot about it! then about a year ago, i was looking for cool baby announcements and rediscovered etsy through a google search. yay!

4. What is your favorite thing about Etsy?

etsy is like having a million friends that are all really talented and that make amazing things. without etsy, i wouldn't own some of the coolest things i own.
and people are usually really supportive of each other, even when they are your competition.

5. What are the most important things you have learned about selling?

i'm still pretty new, so, mostly i know what i like to buy :) these things make it easier for me to buy from a shop:

good photography of items. if a customer can't pick it up and check it out in real life, photos are the only way to experience them.
it takes a lot of practice (for me anyway :) and every time i do a "photo shoot" with my jewelry, i learn a little bit more.

quick and friendly communication with your buyer. don't give anyone time or a reason to change their mind about buying something :)

6. If money and resources were not an issue, what would you be doing?

i would try to house and feed everyone that wants to be housed or fed. then i would buy everything in my favorites. then i would build a super sweet modern house on a giant plot of land. then open a free art school for all ages. oh and get another dog maybe :)

7. Share something most people don’t know about you.

i am an extroverted recluse :)

thank you Kathryn!

Successful sellers on etsy know the importance of a good picture when it comes to selling your work. I'm still an etsy rookie, but the first thing I discovered since opening my shop, was if my photos weren't good, then I was wasting my time. When customers are browsing the infinite abyss of items to buy, it's the great photos that are going to make them stop and look, and maybe even buy. It's the only thing a buyer has to judge since they can't hold the item in their hands and see it up close. The quality of photos you'll find on etsy range from professional looking to "I think I'll let my 3 year old take my photos for me". I have found the best places to see examples of great photos are on etsy's front page and in the Treasury. Anyone with a camera can learn some simple techniques that make a difference between a photo that will get viewed by buyers and one that will just get passed by. A quick stop by the etsy forums or the etsy wiki can give you all the information you need. At the very least, sellers should edit the photos they take before adding them to their listings. You don't need to own photoshop to do this either. I've found a great online image editor that requires no download, that is simple to use. Try snipshot here.

Let me show you how just editing your photos make a huge difference. Yesterday I listed some magnets. Here is how the photo I took looked before I edited it at snipshot:

While the shot is clear and even in focus, the colors are off, and there is too much empty space around the magnets. Just a few adjustments at snipshot, a little cropping, and here is what I end up with: