Monday, March 7, 2011

Helpful Hints & Tips for Etsy Sellers! Part One


Part One

I love to help people, I seriously do. But keep this in mind....we ALL have to do our OWN work for our OWN shop.
I enjoy helping newbies who write to me and ask me for advice. I'm rather new to Etsy, too, but I don't mind helping where I can.

One of the suggestions I make is to go to the forums and READ. Do some research on topics that have been discussed. You'll learn so much.

But I do get people who tell me they have no time to read and they don't want to go to a forum. They simply don't want to go and they totally dismiss this advice.
I didn't really have time to go read, either, but I'm serious about my online business. I want it to be a success. And it's up to ME to learn all I can so I can improve my shop and improve my sales. There's no better place than the forums to learn what you need to know.

I blocked out a few minutes a day to read and learn. I ALWAYS came away with things I didn't know. And it DID help me.
As much as I enjoy helping people, I can't be the one to go to the forums, spend hours of my life that I can't get back reading everything I can, then spend even more hours typing it all out for people who don't want to go read for themselves.
I have to do the work and effort for MY shop, everyone has to do it for THEIR shop, too.
It's not fair for me to do all the work and then make it easier for everyone else. No one is doing it for me, I'm not going to do it all for them.

My time is just as valuable as anyone else. I have other things to do, too. But in order to be successful, you HAVE to do what it takes to get there, and if that includes reading at a place that's like the Bible of Etsy sellers, then by all means, DO IT. Make the time to DO IT.

Those forums are filled with seasoned sellers who are eager to share what they know and help people. But we all have to take that first step and that's to 'show up'.
:-)

A lot of people have never sold online before. It's overwhelming. They had no idea it would be so much work and effort. And some people actually thought it would be easier to work at home than to work outside the home.
Trust me, we're not all sitting around sipping herbal teas, are we?
:-)
It takes a tremendous amount of self discipline, determination, research, and promotion in order to be successful as an online seller. It's non-stop. And we are always improving.

Again, I don't mind helping where I can. But there are boundaries. I'm at least pointing the way to where everyone can learn all they need to learn. That's more than what someone did for me.
I just don't want someone to tell me that they don't want to do the 'forum thing', then ask me 75 questions that could easily be better answered at the forums.
I'm just sayin', I'm happy to help, but we all have to also be willing to help ourselves, as well.
:-)

Reading the forums on eBay helped me over there, and I knew that reading the forums on Etsy would be just as helpful, and it HAS been. It's one of the first things I did for myself when I signed up on Etsy. I already knew it was the best place to learn.

I usually go and browse the forums during meals. You might have other times you can go.
Spend five minutes a day.
That's all you need....look at the topics, read the ones that interest you, and come away with something you didn't know.

It also keeps you informed of all the upcoming changes on Etsy. That's more important than you think.
If you can't buy out the time to learn what you need to know, then you won't have time to be successful on Etsy. There are no short cuts.

Etsy takes a lot of work. I wish it didn't, but it does. It's just the way it is. 

Do not Spam other members
If someone 'hearts' your shop, please don't Spam them with discount codes, free shipping offers, sales, or links to your website and Facebook. I get this all the time and I really don't appreciate it. No one does.
No one enjoys getting dozens and dozens of emails a day like that. I don't have the money to go spend in all the shops who offer me discounts just because I 'hearted' their shop. And like I said, I get DOZENS of these sort of emails every day. Can you imagine me trying to buy something from everyone every day?

Trust me, I don't have that kind of money.
Plus, I'm a seller, too. I'm not here to just spend money. I'm here to SELL, just like you.

Please read the Etsy Do's and Don'ts.


These sentences are included in the section of Convos:


"You must not use Conversations to send unsolicited advertising or promotions, requests for donations or "spam."

If someone hearts your shop/item to mark it as a Favorite, that is not an invitation to send a Conversation to that person."


Again, I LOVE hearing from the Etsy members. The communication is wonderful. But I honestly don't want to deal with the unsolicited notices of discounts and coupon codes and being directed to websites.

The reason I'm saying this is because there are many members on Etsy who will turn you into Etsy and you can get into trouble.
I have never turned in anyone.
When I get Spammed like that, I delete the emails, or sometimes I will inform them of the policies regarding Spamming members. But others will turn you in.

Plus, a lot of people won't buy from someone who Spams them, and I've heard lots of people on Etsy say that they even remove the 'heart' they gave the shop that Spammed them, AND they turn them in.

So, I'm just giving you a 'heads up' so you won't get into trouble in the future.


Read the forums
Reading the forums will give you tons of information and knowledge that you'd never know if you didn't read it. Plus, if you choose to comment or ask questions, you'll get seen. Let me repeat that...you'll be seen!
People will see your avatar, click on it, and check out what you have in your shop. It's free advertising.


Here's another forum (below) that's made up of Etsy sellers, and it's even better. Yes, you have to join, but it's free. Just do it. You don't have to comment at these places. But keep in mind, even if all you do is make a simple comment, or compliment someone else, etc....it gets you seen!

There's a Critique section where you can ask people to critique your shop and give advice. It's wonderful.

Sign up for Etsy Newsletters
And, another huge tip I can give you is this...go to this link here and sign up for some of Etsy's newsletters and mailing. They help a LOT.
 
The ones I get are as follows:

Etsy Finds
Etsy News
Etsy Success
  

You can join any or all that appeal to you.
The Etsy Success newsletter that I mentioned has amazing tips and hints for success with your shop. It's wonderful. And a lot of their information is gleaned from right there in the forums.


I can't stress enough about the importance of reading the forums when you can spare a few minutes. I learned all I needed to know on eBay by reading the forums and I was very successful on eBay.

Here are some helpful links
Want to know if anyone is talking about your shop in blogs and newsletters and Facebook? Go here for Social Mention.

Want to see how many hearts or item hearts your shop has? ...plus lots more information about your shop at a glance? Go here for Craft Cult.

Want to find out if you are featured in a Treasury on Etsy? Go here and at the search bar near the top of the page type in your shop name and if you are in any treasuries they'll all show up.

Want to find out if any of your shop's items have been on the Etsy Front Page? Go here for Statsy.
You can type in your email address and they'll let you know when you're on the Front Page of Etsy!

More helpful website links
One day while at the Etsy forums I found a bunch of helpful links. Just browse them and see which ones you can use. Some of them have already been mentioned.
It would be a good idea to bookmark them or copy and paste them somewhere for easy reference:



http://Cr8tivity.com
I have more tips and hints and I'll include them on another blog post soon.

 Copyright © March 7, 2011 Catt Alexander

No portion of my Etsy Helpful Hints and Tips are to be copied in part or in it's entirety without my permission. These installments are the result of my own hard work, research, opinion, and experience.
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1 comment:

  1. SolandiaMarch 17, 2011 at 7:04 AM

    Great thanks for all this precious info, resumed in here. All we need now is ...proceed networking. Thanks for all your labor. I'm still on the start appreciating it!
    Best regards!

    ReplyDelete

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