Some Etsy advice

A blog friend Miso is about to set up an Etsy shop and has asked me for any hints and tips – so here they are:

1) Try to take really good photos of the items you are selling as the standard on Etsy is very high. Try to use a plain background - lots of people use white, which can cause problems with photography. Perhaps try stone or wood. I used a wooden table which worked quite well. Have a look and see what others are using. Then try to keep the background the same in your photos. It builds up a kind of 'brand', so people get to know that they are looking in your shop.

2) Don't list all your items on one day. List 2 then wait a couple of days, list another 2 and so on. This ensures maximum exposure on the list of recently added items. (You'll see that new things keep getting added and you fall down the list so by spacing out the times of listing, it brings people to your shop, where they can browse on your other items.)

3) Join in the forums. Chatting away is where you will often make a contact - and even a sale. But remember the softly softly approach: Etsians are lovely kind folk but hate being spammed. You will also find bags of help in the forums; just go on there and ask. There will be lots of other Etsians who will willingly help you.

4) Join an Etsy Street Team. I recommend Earthpath Artisans (!) cos that's the one I belong to. By joining a team you mix with like-minded people (who want to buy your stuff!) and also get to be involved in promotions.

5) Make sure you have your shop on your blog - to bring in those customers.

6) I recommend that you try trading if you don't get sales immediately. Trading is where one Etsy seller swaps an item of similar value for one of yours. The value of this in the beginning means that you build up your reputation and get positive feedback. Also buying a few items will build up your positive feedback too.

7) Have a browse and click on lots of favourites – chances are they will favourite you back! And make sure you click the button that lets others see your favourites – this is how the Etsy network operates. You want people to find you, so no point being shy.

So there you have it. I hope this is helpful. Most of all have fun on Etsy – it really is the most pleasant, fun, creative and positive place to buy and sell hand-made items on the web!

(The pic above is a magical piece of rainbow moonstone, which found its way to its rightful owner some time ago.)