I'm taking this time of unemployement to put alot of effort into my Etsy shop, which I now realize I should have been working more on for the past year. I'm updating my shop, relisting items and introducing new pieces to build up momentum for this holiday season. So I'm setting a goal of reaching 100 sales in my Etsy shop by January 1. I'm currently at 57 sales. There are 75 days left in the year. I think I can do it, here's why:
1) RELIST. I've set a goal of relisting at least 5 times a day. Relisting on Etsy puts your product at the top of product searches. As new items gets listed, your listing gets pushed back in the search results. The more you list, the more your shop will turn up in the first few pages, where shoppers are looking. I've read in the forums that the best time to list is in the evenings. So I'll space out my listings over the course of the day but concentrate most of them in the evening. Each listing costs $0.20 so this costs about a dollar a day, or $75 to get me through the rest of the year.
2) ADVERTISE. I think of relisting as a form of advertising. A $75 advertising budget for two and a half months sounds pretty good to me. I'll supplement this by taking advantage of free advertising outlets, such as ad exchanges with you guys, my fellow bloggers, and mentions on blogs and participation in blog giveaway sites.
3) FRESHEN UP. Keep the store fresh with new items. Try to think seasonally. You've already seen some of the new items I'm adding to the store. I'll continue to come up with new cards and new color combos of gift wrap. I'll also add more thank you cards, since people will be looking for those after the holidays and those are items that can stay in my shop year round.
4) PARTICIPATE. Participate in holiday-themed craft shows.
5) MAILING. Put together two mailing lists: one for friends and family and one for shop customers. I haven't been very good at letting my biggest fans- friends and family- know what I'm up to with my online store. This year will be the first time I will be sending out a shop email. I'll also send an email to previous customers in my shop. People who have purchased from me and may be more inclined to purchase again.
Are any of you setting goals for the holiday season? What steps are you taking to reach them?
Hey! Thanks for all the Etsy tips. I suck at keeping my Etsy shop updated, in fact, it´s completely neglected, i will try following your advice. Thank you!
Posted by: chicadecanela | October 17, 2008 at 12:19 PM
Hey I just did a post about this (and actually mentioned you) but I'm at the beginning of the goals list. Ie trying to figure out what they are. I've let my etsy shop take a major back burner, but have been planning on bringing it back. This is a good list to supplement my own. Thanks!
Posted by: gaia | October 17, 2008 at 12:28 PM
yes, definitely use any of these tips you think will help and then let me know how it goes! i'll be posting occasional updates of my progress.
gaia: thanks for the nice blog mention!
Posted by: rifferaff | October 17, 2008 at 12:51 PM
I think relisting for the cost is wise--but for jewelry category, where saturation means batch updates can put you at page 4-5 regardless. As the site grows, it's started to become very clear to me that off-Etsy advertising is really crucial (for jewelry.)
My goal is to add more fabric goods to my shop and have the number of items closer to 50/50 in relation to jewelry. I definitely think that makes a huge difference in terms of views and sales.
Posted by: ambika | October 17, 2008 at 01:00 PM
I'm taking all the steps you are except that I'm shying away from craft shows. They take too much energy and I'm not sure if they're really worth it. I've started to relist twice a day, I was surprised at your goal to relist 5 times. Hmm, maybe I'll try it.
Posted by: Laura Bucci | October 19, 2008 at 12:56 PM
hello!
laura (above) sent me your way after reading a very similar post in my blog about things to better market your site. you have some very good tangible and realistic goals and i'll will take some cues from your suggestions =)
Posted by: kristina | October 19, 2008 at 10:33 PM
Wow...thanks so much for sharing. It's so good to hear about other indie artists in the same boat. I too have been struggling with how to deal with this holiday season. I definitely have been trying to list more, that's for sure. I assumed listing early morning was best so I'll now try listing in the evening. Thanks! I offered my closest friends and family a promotional deal to get them to help get my name out. Sending out flyers to my recently updated customer list, etc.
Posted by: Angela Williams | October 21, 2008 at 12:42 AM
Great idea! I'm afriad if i made a set of goals I'd never reach them all, but it's certainly worth a shot. As far as advertising goes - I gave you a shoutout this afternoon on my blog, because you've been quite inspiring! Hope you reach all of your goals!
Posted by: Jenny Kellerhals | October 21, 2008 at 01:04 PM
Relisting is my "other" part time job:) I relist in the morning, early afternoon, 5ish, than again just before I sign off to make the most of west coast potential sales.
I also bought a few handy spreadsheets from a seller on Etsy and download my sales info monthly and it calculates all sorts of nifty data. http://inkspotworkshopblog.blogspot.com/2008/08/nerd-alert.html
For example, most of my sales happen on Mondays and the fewest have been on Saturdays. Wouldn't you think most people shop online on the weekends?
Keep up the great work, I LOVE your wrapping papers.
Posted by: InkSpot Workshop | October 21, 2008 at 10:02 PM
Yeah, setting it up was easy. Keeping the momentum is SO hard. I need to shape up too! I just noticed ALL my listing has expired! ;-) Crazy how fast life passes by!
Posted by: iHanna | October 30, 2008 at 09:54 PM
Yeah, setting it up was easy. Keeping the momentum is SO hard. I need to shape up too! I just noticed ALL my listing has expired! ;-) Crazy how fast life passes by!
Posted by: iHanna | October 30, 2008 at 09:57 PM