Etsy Seller Workshop

Go Global: It’s as Easy asGuide to Online Selling and Marketing By Rickson

Overview: Internet as an International ToolGetting Online: Promotion:- What is Etsy? - Links to Facebook and Twitter- How to create a profile and Shop - Making Friends = free promotion- Photography for Online Use - Analyzing Shop Stats- Tagging (SEO) - Blogging- Pricing your work - Staying Connected- Getting Paid - Staying up to Date- Shipping

What is ?• Etsy is a global online marketplace for - All Things Handmade - Vintage Items - Supplies - Think of it as a huge market in one place and you are going to learn how to set up a tent (shop) within this marketplace. - All of it’s customers from all over the world already come to the marketplace to buy the type of item you are selling from the list above.

How is having an Etsy Shop Different from making my own Website? Etsy Helps you to Be More Visible Website VS Etsy An Etsy Shop is like having a ‘cabin’ on aInternet is a sea of websites, ‘big cruise line’. You’ll be easy to find, and having your own site is like you connect to others while you sail around being on a raft waiting to be the internet linking to other ‘big boats’ and found. even ‘rafts’.

Etsy Overview• Free to join• 20 cents per posting• Etsy takes small percentage of each sale (3.5%)• Well established trusted site• Target market• Help with building a shop• Advanced searching systems• Analytics system built in• Connects to Paypal• Connects to Facebook/Twitter• Connections to other artists•Etsy makes money when you make money, so they help you succeed

How Does Etsy Work?

Getting Started

First you Create an Account

Check the email you used to make your account

When you go to list an item Etsy will prompt you to enter credit card first.

SEO: Search Engine Optimization Basically, knowing where to put the words that define your shop, so searchengines can connect your buyers to you. ANYWHERE Etsy asks for words, will be used for SEO. I will mention more important places as we go with SEO. List an ItemSites are very user friendly, but you need to learn how to post smart. -Fill out honestly so buyers that want your item can find it -Category: The one that suits the work best -Type: Optional, only use if one really matches the item

Images Online = SmallMaster Shot: Should show what item is and make people want to ‘Click’Detail shots: Different anglesItem in action: Jewellery being worn, bowl with fruit in it, mop mopping etcPackaging shot: Show your beautiful packaging if you offer itAny extra detail images, I show how the pieces are made. Other ideas include: - You in your studio - A happy customer wearing your work - A image saying you were featured on the front page of Etsy

Titles (SEO) : Put ALL Important information.Description (Beginning is SEO) : Concept, size, weight, materials, how it’s made,stories help conceptualize the object for buyers/collectors.

Shop Sections SEO and Item Attributes: Narrowing the sale Shop Sections can help shoppers to navigate your shop. Eg: Rings, Necklaces, Bracelets, Earrings etc. Attributes used to help buyers find your item. ONLY use it item suitable for only ONE Recipient, Occasion or Style. Otherwise can be missed by buyers looking for it under a different attribute.

Tags: Words Buyers Use When Searching SEO Try to figure out what words your customers will use to search for the items they want…which should be the items you sell. - What is it? - What is it used for? - Materials - Techniques (eg. Handmade, carved, engraved etc) - Occasions (eg. Wedding, Bridal) - Colour - Style (eg. Modern)

Pricing Your Work for Online Sales Calculating Wholesale and Retail Prices Perceived Value: How much does something look like it is worth Market Ceiling: Does your item have a top price people are willing to pay? Market average: Is there an average price for products similar to yours? On Etsy once an item sells, it shows up in your sold section. The price will not be shown so you are free to raise and lower your prices as you wish.

Calculating ShippingPrice for Item: Choose currency- we’ll discuss pricing more later • Air mail to US for small packet is: $2.00 – 6.00 • Mailing item takes half hour ($12/hr = $6.00) • Envelopes, bags, business card = $1.00 per item • Profit: $1.00 Total: $14.00 Can charge less or offer free shipping to attract customers. Then add extra money you need to cover your expenses to the price of your item.

• This is how the posting will look to the public

When buyers click on your item they get all the juicy information you’ve entered and MORE! In order to optimize sale - Price and Add to CartTitle (SEO) - Other Items in Store - Fav the shopImages - See who favs - Shop owner details - Add Item to Favs - Tweet and Facebook - ViewsDescription (SEO) - Price and Add to Cart

• Shipping• Payment Methods• Contact Seller• Shop Polices• About the Item• Who It’s for, Occasion• Tags (SEO)• Materials

Tip for creating other listings-Don’t have to select and enter everything again, like shipping, shop category, etc.-Anything that will be the same, the work is done. Will have to change more details.-Vary your entries in SEO locations for similar items.

Your Etsy Shop Home Page SEO Areas

Creating your Home Page

Introduce Yourself to Buyers with a Great Home Page• Popular or interesting items ‘Featured’ at top• Personal avatar: Its me  Shows that I am a real person not a faceless corporation• Shop Announcement SEO The beginning of your shop announcement is visible, AND used in search engines so needs to be the most important information for your buyers. Has to answer their questions. SEO SEO SEO +

Put extra details you want shoppers to know about• Eg: Your Background, How long pieces will take to make, your techniques, donations you make, links to your blog etc.

What Happens when an Item Sells? Two Things: Notification of Sale from Etsy Notification of Payment received from PaypalMust receive BOTH to complete sale and ship the item. DO NOT ship without checkingyour Paypal account first. E-cheques take time to clear. Beware of Scams!

Getting Paid and Paying Online

Paypal Account• NEVER ship an item before receiving payment• Paypal – Secure and trusted – A secure island both you and the buyer connect with -No bank info exchanged – www.paypal.com• Money Order• Cheque (by mail)• Email Money Transfer

Shipping• Package item safely to avoid damage• Package item in attractive way inside protective packaging, art is often purchased as a gift• Include business card, details about work, promotional material• Charge customers for shipping, remember you have to cover – Envelopes – Insurance (optional) – Time to get to and from post office – Express shipping provides tracking number • This is seen as a very good product feature

Creating Your Online Image:Name/Title: Clear, memorable, consistent, should tell people what you sellPrice: Reasonable, profit, reflect quality of workImages: Crisp, clear, bright, angled, cropped, clean, reflect your styleKeywords/Descriptions: SEO Clear, Succinct, StylePromotion: Creating links, making friends and more

Do’s and Don’ts of Photography and Product listings

• Great Image!• Sense of humour• Makes you want to see more • Item is seen on the body• Different angles of item being worn• Good lighting• It’s got attitude• Conveys the seller’s personality!

Making your pictures as good as they can be!Take good pictures first! Editing can only do so much.- 6 megapixel camera at least, mine is 4, it gets the job done, but barely.- Set camera to take the largest photos it can, then make them smaller later- Leave a lot of space around the item, can crop later, but can’t add backgroundLighting: - Diffuse your light source, whether it is natural, or from a lamp - Use white paper, or tracing paper to put over your light source - Natural is best: (dusk and dawn)Backgrounds: Create an environment for your work - White or solid Colours can bring out qualities and mood of your designs - Patterns can enhance the work, but usually distract, or are too busy - Give your work space, you can always crop later Generally can have more fun with ‘Etsy’ style photos, I suggest taking different photos for gallery, scholarship, and application use.Angles - Different angles, (back, side, front, hanging, flat etc.) - Jewellery should always be shown off and on the body, if it is meant to be worn - Give people the chance to imagine owning your work

Homemade Light Box• Diffuses Light• Creates background• Can be used for all your items to create continuity in your Shop

CD VS Online Applications • I suggest having two versions of picturesOnline: Emailed or uploaded Cd/Mail: Burned or printedImages: JPEG Images: JPEG 72 dpi or 300 dpi, RAW and TIFF under 300KB -for print (Lark books) 4 x 4 in works well 300 dpiResume: Word Format 1000 – 2000 KB Logo at top 8 x 8 inArtist Statement: Word Format Resume: JPEG or Word Taper to application type Artist Stat: Word Format Taper to application type

Create an Environment for your Work Note the size of images online: SMALL! Upclose detail shots are very suitable for online use. Etsy Size: 300dpi 300KB Make photo 3in x 3 in High contrast attracts the eye

Why is this picture so Unapealing?• Background is very busy• Colours are dark and drab• Cropped very close to the gold frame• Symmetrical set up

Choosing Keywords/Tags for SEO• When searching for an item the search engine only looks at certain places on your site (SEO), one important place is the Tags attached to an item.• When posting items, writing blogs, uploading images, TAGGING with keywords is always an option, and you should always take advantage of it if you want people to find your work.• If you sell leopard print, pjama pants in hand sewn Russian Silk made in the Sahara Dessert, the person who searches for just that item will only find it if you TAG all, or some of those words TO your item!• Tags can include: what it is, material, use, size, texture category, colour, weight, edition, age, artist, features, shipping, for sale etc.

Brainstorm Tags Choose words people are most likely to use to describe your item Rocking Horse, Silver, Handmade, Children, Necklace, Charm, Girl, JewelleryPendantGiftChristmas Words thatToy describe theHorse image, butStory book wouldn’t makeFantasy great tags:NurseryHorsies Black and WhiteAccessory SaddleJewelry TailFun ManeChildhood memories ToyAntique look RockingEquestrianOne of a KindChainCarved

2 word Tagging (SEO)– Be SpecificOne broad word like ‘Jewellery’ will be used too often, andmost likely you will be at the bottom, instead combine words to reach your specific customers with your specific item. Rocking Horse Jewellery Sterling Silver Children Accessory Girl Charm Story book Gift Christmas Pendant Toy Horse Fantasy Jewelry

2 word Tagging (SEO)– Be SpecificOne broad word like ‘Jewellery’ will be used too often, andmost likely you will be at the bottom, instead combine words to reach your specific customers with your specific item. Rocking Horse Jewellery Sterling Silver Children Accessory Girl Charm Story book Christmas Gift Pendant Toy Horse Fantasy Jewelry

2 word Tagging (SEO)– Be SpecificOne broad word like ‘Jewellery’ will be used too often, andmost likely you will be at the bottom, instead combine words to reach your specific customers with your specific item. Rocking Horse Jewellery Sterling Silver Children Accessory Girl Charm Story book Christmas Gift Pendant Toy Horse Jewelry Fantasy Jewelry

2 word Tagging (SEO)– Be SpecificOne broad word like ‘Jewellery’ will be used too often, andmost likely you will be at the bottom, instead combine words to reach your specific customers with your specific item. Rocking Horse Jewellery Sterling Silver Chidren Jewelry Story book Charm Christmas Gift Fantasy Pendant Toy Horse Jewelry Girl Accessory Also do alternate spellings in one tag: Eg. Jewellery Jewelry www.Etsy.com

Tagging TipsCustomers can help you to tag your work:Ive been looking for just the right treasureTo wear that connects me to the bold andbeautiful spirit of my beloved gran whosefamily emigrated to the US from CountyCork (Ireland, Celtic). Your wonderfulCladdagh creation is absolutely perfect!Thank you for sharing your amazing talent,and for providing me with such a lovely linkto the ‘loyalty, love and friendship that so One week after tagging my cat withsignified my gran. Please know it will be ‘Art Nouveau’ it was featured in anworn with love. Many blessings to you! Toni Art Nouveau Treasury

PromotionReach the right people by having your items show up in many places for FREE! How? Create Links, and use SEO Keywords Share New work on: Facebook, Facebook Fan Page, Twitter, MySpace, Blog, Crafthaus, Etsy Teams, YouTube (make videos)

http://www.etsy.com/blog/news/2011/socialize-your-shop-connect-to-facebook-and-twitter/

Blogs feature their favourite items for free. I’ve been in over 40 blogs andHUNDREDS of treasuries thanks to good products, SEO and great pictures

Make Friends Online-Heart, favourite, link people who are similar level, abilities, style and personality to you.-Find your group, your niche, your people: Learn from them and share your knowledge: where their people and places are, how they manage their online presence.-Engage with others comment on people’s work, they will return the favour-Create a Blog (blogger or wordpress) to promoteyourself, your production methods, your ethos,your education, Interests, research-Apply to anything that interests you.-Join an Etsy Team-Stay in touch with clients-Maintain, Keep contacts and websites updated

Promoting your site with Coupon Codes

Analyzing your Site Stats

Keyword AnalysisSee which words are working, and make changes toyour shop slowly, then you can see which changes areworking and which are not.

Google Analytics• How many visits, how are they finding you, bounce rate• Where are people from (countries) – US, Canada, UK, Australia Story about shipping

Be SAFE! DO NOT:• Post your address or phone number• Describe your living area well enough that someone could figure out exactly where you live• Post other people’s personal information without their consent• Send banking information over the internet• Be cautious, not paranoid. When in doubt ask someone else you can trust. Once it’s online it’s very hard to erase since hundreds of people could view it in a minute.

Continue Your Etsy EducationSubscribe to Etsy Success Newsletter Go to the Home Page, Click on Sign UpSelect Etsy Success, and any others you find interesting

Activity!• Take 2 minutes to write down all of the aspects of your products and business – Type – Structure – Colour – Texture – How you made it – Why you made it – Wearability – Use – Why it’s so wonderful Now you have possible Keywords for your Etsy SEO Sections: Shop Title Shop Sections Item Titles Item Descriptions Tags for Etsy Listings

Do it Your Way! No matter what, the internet is still just a tool tohelp you connect with buyers, artists and fans. The most important aspect of selling and exhibiting online is YOUR WORK, be creative and do it the way you want!

Questions and discussions• Has anyone posted their work online? – What kinds of responses did you receive• Facebook page? – Facebook fan page?• Anyone have a blog?• Ever bought something online?• Ever sold something online?

Resources• Questions? Use Etsy’s Blog and HELP• Etsy Seller Handbook for Rules, Do’s and Don’t’s, and advice• Join an Etsy Team and ask members questions• Subscribe to Etsy’s Success weekly newsletter!• Online Labs: http://www.etsy.com/community/online-labs Newbie online labs: Monday 2pm EDT, Thursday 5pm EDT Non Etsy Resourses• News and Calls for Entry: Toronto Craft Alert• Guilds and Councils: MAG, OCC, Brampton Arts Council• Artist profiles and Stores: Klimt02, Crafthaus, Deviant Art, Etsy• Connecting devices: Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Stumbleupon, linkedin• Email ME! I am always available to help: RicksonJewellery@yahoo.ca• Be creative

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Etsy Seller Workshop

by Rickson Jewellery on Nov 20, 2011

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Etsy Seller Workshop — Presentation Transcript