1. Keep A High Inventory - Some say that there is a "magic number" of items to have in your shop before you start to really make sales. Most agree that it is somewhere between 50 and 150. This comes from the old saying "You can't sell what you don't have." Keeping your inventory up will help with sales. Giving the customer many choices seems to really help.
2. Organize Your Shop - Have you ever been in a store where nothing really seemed to go together? It was just a mess. You can't find what you are looking for in a messy shop. There are two ways to organize your shop and I suggest using both. First use your shop sections. On Etsy you have 10 sections and on ArtFire you have considerably more. Group like items together in the shop sections. A note about sections is that they have some SEO power with them. So try to use good keywords in your sections such as "Beaded Bracelets" or "Silver Earrings" so that the search engines will pick the sections up. Using just "Bracelets" or Earrings" works okay just for your shop but it does not help outside of that.
3. Never Undersell Yourself - People expect to pay more for handmade items. Having items that are very inexpensive in your shop will make your customer wonder if you are importing the items for resell. Now, some people go over the top and price things very very high. Unless you have made a name for yourself pricing a small painting at $5000 is probably going to cause someone to chuckle and move on. Try to stay within the competitive market with your prices but never try to undercut prices just to make a sale.
4. Add To Your Circle - Circles are a great way to gain more attention. Adding people who make things you like can help a lot. Many of the people that you add to your circle will add you back. When you create a new item it shows on the "New items from your favorite shops" of everyone who has added you to their circle. When you make a treasury or favorite a shop or item it gets published to your circle feed. When someone favorites you it gets posted to their feed. It is a way to become viral on Etsy.
5. Participate In Teams - Join teams that are within your type of shop medium. There are tons of teams. Joining a team isn't enough. You need to be active on the teams. Participate in discussions. Ask questions. Answer questions. Participate in team challenges. It is fun and will draw attention to you.
6. Spread The Word - Tell the world about your shop. Use social media to spread the word about your new items, shows or whatever you are trying to promote. Write a press release for your local newspaper. If you are going to be in a show ask the show to feature you in their advertising, provide them with a good write up and nice photos. Make it easy for them and they can hardly refuse.
7. Pay Attention To Your Stats - Check what keywords people are finding you with. See what time of day you get the most visits. That is a good way to know when yo release a new item. Don't just check your Etsy stats, check Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, Google Blogger Stats and any others that give you hard facts about how you are doing.
8. If It Isn't Working Change It - If over a period of say 2 weeks or more no one has clicked on your items using the keywords you have optimized your item for it may be time to change your tactics. You might need to reevaluate your title and tags and try to figure out why you are not getting the traffic you want. You may need to optimize for a smaller niche.
9. Help Someone New - If you know a little, you know a lot. Helping someone to not make the same mistakes you made is not only a nice thing to do, it will make a friend. Helping someone out will show that you are a person who isn't just in it for the money. You never know when you might need a friend to give you an honest critique.
10. Ask Questions - Don't assume that you know it all. I have been working with the web pages since the internet was just a wee baby. I do NOT know it all. Things change in the blink of the eye. What worked great yesterday won't work today. If you find yourself in a position where you don't know what is wrong, ask a question. If you think you know the answer but are not sure, ask a question. The only dumb question is the one that goes unasked. Asking a question does not make you look bad, it makes you look intelligent!
I hope these tips will help you out. I am always looking for more great tips to add to my weekly top 10 so please feel free to share, I will give you credit. This blog is 100% free to you and I am always happy to answer questions so feel free to ask.
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