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Image by Cadence UK via Flickr
As an artisan who is trying to build a business over the long term, I am coming to realise the crucial importance of marketing. Now, marketing is different to advertising. Marketing is getting your name – and your brand – out there. It is building a certain feel in people’s minds about you and your work, and also getting yourself known.
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It occured to me that there are a number of wonderful – and free – ways to get your name out there if you sell on Etsy. If you don’t sell on Etsy, please read on – most of these tips apply to anyone!
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1. Comment in the Etsy Forum – and Other Forums Too
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There is a very active community on the Etsy forums. Get involved! Give your opinion, your advice, ask for help… Now, I know some people who say the Etsy forums can be a scary place, as people tend to be a bit blunt at times, but you just have to choose your interaction wisely. Just remember that you cannot delete anything you write – and that this is about getting yourself known in a positive way. Not only that, but anyone – including potential customers – can read whatever you write there, forever. So if you feel prompted to make a negative or snarky comment – perhaps wait a bit before hitting ‘post’!Â
That said, this can be a great way to get to know people and build relationships. Apply this to any other forums, too – make sure to have links to your shop in your signature, and get involved! I’m a member of the lovely Crafter…oo forum, and have gotten to know some great people through that.
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2. Make Treasuries – and then tell the people in them!
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Treasuries are a wonderful feature. Very importantly, the best treasuries get picked to feature on the front page of Etsy – and so get tons of views. Getting yourself in a Treasury is not something you can have a great deal of control over – you just need to make sure you have quality products that are well photographed. However, you can build a Treasury.
If you do, make sure to think of a good theme, and pick quality items to include. Then – make sure to contact and tell all the people who you included! This is both a courtesy and a good marketing move. Those people will be thrilled to be included – even more so if your Treasury makes Front Page. They will share it with their network, and you will make yourself known to a whole new lot of people. I have had people mention me on their blogs when my Treasury featuring them has made FP. So take the extra few minutes to let them know!
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3. Do Blog Features
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Feature other Etsy artisans on your blog – and volunteer for any other blogs that offer feature spots!Â
This doesn’t have to be hard to do. I run a few different types of regular features here on Epheriell Designs. Superb Sunday is where I simply feature five fab Etsy artisans, with a picture of their product and a link to their shop. I also do My Crafty Journey and Australian Made. The beauty of the latter is that the people featured write the post themselves – I just have to format and post it. Again, if you do a feature like my Superb Sunday – make sure to contact the people featured and let them know! They will come and have  a look, share it with their networks… and you have again gotten your name out there…
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4. Join Street Teams and Become an Active Member
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A ‘street team’ on Etsy is a group of people linked by location or circumstance. I am a member of two awesome street teams – BrisStyle and DUST (Down Under Street Team). I have made some awesome friends through these teams – and I have also made quite a few sales! It’s always nice when you buy handmade to buy from  a friend, and I know that I personally will search amongst my team members first before looking further afield if there’s something I’m looking to buy.
Through my BrisStyle team I have also gotten a spot at an Indie market that we are putting on here in Brisbane – so that will lead to another wonderful opportunity to get my name and brand out there! I cannot recommend this particular step enough.
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5. Comment on Blogs
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This is another great way to interact with others, and to get your name out there. I don’t know about you, but I read a ton of blogs! Now, not every post I read moves me to comment, but many do. Always leave a thoughtful comment – don’t just go around randomly leaving ‘nice post’ comments, as this can be seen as spammy. If you add something to the conversation, the blogger is likely to check you out – I know I do when people leave good comments here!
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6. Twitter
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I love twitter! Now, there seems to be a strange love/hate thing going on out there in the world about twitter. For me, it is an awesome way to connect with online friends – and to get my name, and my products, out there. I know I have had sales thanks to twitter, and I love interacting with other twits 🙂
I use my own name for my twitter account (jessvanden) and I aim to have a mix of personal and business tweets. Some people advocate having separate accounts – but I personally unfollow anyone who’s tweets are just about their business. I want to get to know them, to be entertained… so I try to do the same with my account. I also do things like offer special deals to my twitter followers.
If you twitter, remember to interact – reply, re-tweet… this is the core of building relationships and getting yourself known.
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7. Have a Facebook Page
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This is different to your personal Facebook identity. You can set up a FB page for a business – this way you can have an identity, people can become your ‘fan’ – and you won’t be spamming your other friends. I do add pictures of my work on my regular FB page, and I know I’ve had sales from that. But by having a page you can, again, build your brand – it can act like a mailing list, and you can use it to keep your fans updated on new designs, sales etc.
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All of this comes down to one little word – networking! Networking doesn’t have to be boring or scary – in fact, I find I spend a majority of my time online doing just that – and I love it!
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Lovely helpful post, Jess! Marketing often seems like a daunting task, but you’ve narrowed down some of the best options. 🙂
This is great Jess, thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience.
hey Jess – lovely and helpful post. You’ve made me reconsider joining BrisStyle – originally the joining fee put me off – but you’ve really put a spin on it.
See you around!
Ange.
These are great tips Jess.
Hey Jess, this was a very good read, very useful info, Thanks :0)
Great advice, handy to have in one place 🙂 Thanks! *off to follow you on Twitter*
Great advice to help people take the plunge and get started!
Nice post Jess!
Helpful post. I also find renewing items is great as well to get you noticed in the crowd. I also vary my tags and order of tagging as well.
Thank you for this, It’s so hard to know which avenue to focus on the most and this helps with the decisions. Oh and “nice post” !!
Thanks for the info Jess. It is very helpful indeed 🙂
Good Advice. I do try to do all of these but it is hard to keep up to it all . BTW…I like the Daily Mugshot on your blog – kind of reminds me of the old Michael Jackson film clip ‘Black and White” where they did that wacky morphing…LOL
Brilliant, I have added you on Facebook. I also don’t follow anyone who only does business tweets. Yawnnnn
That’s so helpful – thanks! There’s just so much to dooooo…. That mugshot thing is hypnotic!
Wow, thanks for all the comments guys, glad to be of help! And yeah, I think tagging is very important, and I use renewing a bit too, though I try to list new stuff in preference, as I want to save as much money as I can!
Very good tips and I have discovered people’s blogs and love to post comments, never thought of it as advertising just cannot help myself!
Lovin’ these tips too Miss Jess xox. Thank you so much.
xh
This is awesome. I’m still a newbie to this whole selling online thing. And I’m quickly realizing the importance of marketing. This blog is exactly what I need to help me get the ball rolling. Thanks!
Danielle, thank you!
Hello – came across this in the Etsy forums – thanks for the tips!! I’ve been doing alot of these things but haven’t had a lot of success yet in selling my photos. I’m just starting out though 🙂
Very useful information. I think I’ll start really becoming more active on the forums now.
Thanks Jess for your great ideas. Every time I learn how to do one more thing online it opens up the way for me to learn another. You inspire me to get busy and expand my market for my porcelain jewelry and buttons.
Alice, thank you! Your work is lovely – and unique – so keep at it 🙂
.-= Jess´s last blog ..10 Aussie Indie Designers using Embroidery =-.
Great advice. I guess one should bite the bullet and get on twitter… I’ve been on there looking a few times but was too intimiadated to stay long.
I’ve only just in the past week gotten the hang of Facebook (and why people like it), but how do you find the time for all that AND create products too?
If you had to guess, how much time/week do you spend on Facebook and Twitter?
.-= Cattie´s last blog ..Scottie Miss You Greeting Card =-.
Cattie, that’s a hard one. Whenever I’m on the computer I have twitter running in the background, so I check it regularly. Facebook I only spend maybe 20 minutes a day – if that? I usually just check it quickly a few times a day, or go over to add new products to my fan page.
I find using tweetdeck so twitter is open on my desktop – rather than the twitter website – much easier to manage. Good luck!
I am a frequant reader of your blog and would just like to say thanks! I am due to start my own blog an would like to know how to go about doing so. I hear a lot about WordPress is this a good site to use? Thank you.
Hi Jolynn!
Yep, I love WordPress. I use self-hosted WordPress form WordPress.org – you can also get a free blog from them at wordpress.com.
The free one is hosted by wordpress – whereas I pay for hosting and have my blog on my own domain.
If you’re just starting out, try wordpress.com or blogger.com for a free, easy to use blog.
Good luck, and feel free to e-mail or contact me if you have any further questions.
.-= Jess´s last blog ..10 Aussie Indie Designers using Embroidery =-.