The Definitive Guide To Preparing Your Etsy Shop For The Holidays

By this time of year, you should be working on your holiday inventory and readying your shop for the busy holiday selling season. If you're not, you've got some catching up to do. I usually am busy creating my holiday inventory in August, though I have to admit I have been just too busy this year with both professional and personal obligations, and I'm only now knee-deep in creating all the jewelry and artwork that I will be offering for holiday shoppers.

Even though I'm running a little bit behind with my own workload, I made a note last year to write a blog post for others, specifically for other Etsy Sellers, with some advice for to how to prepare your shop for the busy holiday season.

Historically, Black Friday weekend, and Black Friday specifically, are usually the most busy days for online sales on Etsy. I find that once October comes around, the weeks seem to go by faster and faster, with the holidays quickly approaching. Will you be ready for this holiday season?

Here are a few things that you can do to prepare your shop for the holiday rush. Mind you, this is only my personal advice. Each of you will have your own "traditions" so to speak, for what works best for you for getting your shop ready for the holidays.

1. Make sure your shop can accept Etsy gift cards: Sign up for Direct Checkout!

This is important. Only shops who have turned on Direct Checkout are able to accept Etsy gift cards. Not only do I have customers who purchase from my shop and pay with Etsy gift cards, but some folks also prefer to use their credit card directly with my shop through Direct Checkout instead of using PayPal. The fees for Direct Checkout service are relatively the same as they are for PayPal, so if you do not have Direct Checkout turned on in your shop, you are missing out on sales!

2. Review your shop policies:

Make sure all of the information in your shop is up to date. This includes information about your shop and information about you. This also includes your shop policies, such as your shipping, and exchange and return policies and any other relevant information. Your About page should be filled out, and include quality photos as well as some interesting information about you. Share some interesting things about yourself with your customers. This creates a connection. You're not just a storefront, you're an interesting person! Share this with your potential customers.

3. Individually review each of your current listings:

Review the old before adding the new. Go through each of your listings one by one and look for any incorrect or missing information. If you have a lot of listings, this could be a time-consuming task. Don't skip it. If you have many listings, break it down and do some each day until you finish.

How to:
Look at each item's photos. If any of your listings could benefit from a better quality photo, now is the time to replace poor photos with better ones. Basically, you want to make sure that your shop looks great and is in tiptop shape. So replace any poor photos with ones of a better quality. Also, use every photo slot. You are allowed to have five photos with each listing. Use EVERY slot! Every single one of your listings should have five photos. Think creatively. If you only have four photos of your item, include a fifth photo which contains a group shot of your work, or information about your shop. Or, Consider adding a photo of your pretty packaging. Just use all those slots! It is important to remember that a photo speaks a thousand words.

Other things you should be reviewing in each of your listings:
- Make sure your title is descriptive and includes only the most important keywords. Avoid fluff.
- Make sure all the shipping information is complete.  Be sure to post your shipping times and especially any holiday shipping cut off deadline.
- Make sure your descriptions are complete. This includes measurements, colors, and weights.
 - Review item tags. Remember to tag items with common price terms such as "under $50."
 - Review your prices. I find it helpful to have a wide range of prices. Of course, this hint is seller specific. If you are going to offer free gift wrapping or cards, include this info in your listing.

If you don't take care of your shop by  reviewing these things throughout the year, it could be a daunting task when you decide to do it close to the holidays. So keep your shop and all your listings looking good year-round.

4. Take inventory of your stock both physically and virtually:

Basically, make sure you physically have everything that you are selling and that everything matches up. This is important if you sell things in two places. For example, I'm a resident artist and have an art studio located outside of my home where I show and sell my work. Many of the things that I have for sale on Etsy are also on display in my studio. This means, when I sell something live in my studio, I must immediately take the listing down from my Etsy shop. If I forget to do this, you can bet that someone will visit my Etsy shop and purchase the item. It's Murphy's Law!

Once you are satisfied that all of your current listings look great and are complete, then it is time to list your new inventory!

5. Take advantage of Draft:

Etsy has a handy option called Draft which allows you to list an item but keep it hidden, until you are ready to make the listing go live. This is great tool to use for listing a large amount of new stock slowly or for "stashing away" special listings that you may be saving for the holidays. To use Draft all you do is fill out the listing and later, when you are ready for to make the item go live, all you have to do is press a button. Easy!

6. My thoughts on using seasonal props in photos:

Some folks like to take new photos which include seasonal props in the background. This could be something like a sprig of holly or artificial snow. These listings look great for the winter holiday season, but once this season is over, they are redundant and should immediately be removed and replaced with standard images.

7. Take inventory of packaging and shipping supplies:

Once you're certain all of your listings are in tip top shape it's time to take inventory of your packaging supplies. Shipping Envelopes, boxes, Packing tape, bubble wrap, even paper and printer ink for printing out labels are all things that you should have in good supply. If not, now is the time to order and stock up on these things!
(PS, I personally find it helpful to also have lots of coffee and chocolate on hand to get through the busy selling season!)

8. Order or create promotional materials:

Order any promotional materials that you include inside a package. This can include business cards and or flyers that you should be wrapping up with each sale. 

*It's very important to always include a business card or a flyer with each sale. And since the holidays are our busiest time of year, it is imperative that you take advantage of this opportunity by always promoting your business to each new or returning customer. I always include at least two business cards with each sale. One for the customer to keep, and one for them to share. A flier with your social media info is also something you may want to share.  Some folks also include coupons or advertisements for future sales. Remember, what you customer takes out of the package you send to them will be directly in their hands and directly in front of their eyes. Use it! 

9. The "End of Sale" email note. If you don't have one, you need to write one:

I am always surprised by how many sellers do not bother to send an email to me after I purchase something from their shop. Really! I find it rude when someone does not even acknowledge  my purchase. You need to acknowledge every single customer, every single sale.

Here's what I do:
As soon as I see that I have made a sale, I immediately email the customer with a note that says thank you for your purchase, your package is on its way. And then I say THANK YOU.
I cannot express the importance of saying thank you! It is what makes the world go 'round!
At the end of the email, I also list my social media links.  Keep this note in a doc file on your computer so you can simply copy and paste it when you need it.
In a nutshell: If you are not acknowledging every single sale that you have then you should not be a seller!

The holidays are one of your best opportunities out of the entire year to make your shop shine. Do your best and the rewards will return back to you all throughout the year. 
Good luck!

Have anything to add?

What is your favorite tip for other Etsy sellers?


Pin this post!

This post has been updated with new, relevant information and was originally published on October 13, 2013

What do you think?

I hope you have a great week! 

Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs!

Learn how to solder and make unique jewelry!

article and images copyright ©Laura Beth Love 2013

Why Are My Etsy Sales Down?

Etsy is an online marketplace where you can open up a virtual shop and sell your handcrafted goods or vintage items. Lots of people have built full-time careers from their Etsy shops. At one time, Etsy even had a motto that said something like, “quit your day job.“

I don’t recommend that you quit your day job. But I do recommend Etsy as a fun and profitable way to sell your crafts, handcrafted items, or vintage and antique items.

If you visit the forums on Etsy you will sometimes find shop owners complaining that their sales are down, that they aren’t making as much money as they did last year, or the year before, or maybe they say that they aren’t making any sales at all.

This has been a common occurrence within the past couple of years since Etsy completely changed their algorithm which displays how item results from search navigation are shown to shoppers. It used to be structured in a way that when someone listed a new item on Etsy, that item would be at the top of the search in front of similar items because it was a newly listed item. And not only that, but when you listed a new item on Etsy it actually showed up on the front page of Etsy, even if for just a brief moment! I think that was a pretty fair way to do things. It makes sense, right?

Dormant shops that didn’t list new items over a period of time would kind of fall to the back over time, while more active shops that continually listed new inventory would be in the forefront. I think this format encouraged shops to keep producing and kept what was shown in the forefront fresh and new. I liked it this way and so did most everyone else, at least that seems to be the general consensus in the Etsy forums.

Anyway, a few years ago someone at Etsy had a big idea and decided to change the algorithm and lots of peoples’ sales have dropped because of it. It’s been a huge point of contention throughout the Etsy forums.

And when you are reading topics in the Etsy forum, It’s like reading the same post over and over again: Why are my sales down? I’m not getting any sales. Why isn’t anyone buying anything from my shop? Can you take a look at my shop and tell me what’s wrong with it? What am I doing wrong? How do I get sales? How do I get people to visit my shop? These are all common questions that you will find in the Etsy forums.

The answer to some of these questions is surely due to the changed algorithm, but first and foremost there are many other things to look at in someone’s Etsy shop to determine why they are not getting sales.

Now personally, I sell jewelry, so I naturally gravitate towards jewelry related types of posts in the Q & A forum. If I see a post where someone asks other sellers to take a look at their shop, I will sometimes take a peek and if I have any good advice to give, I will give it.

On Etsy… And I’m speaking specifically about jewelry sellers on Etsy right now… On Etsy there are so many different types of jewelry sellers, each making different types of jewelry in all different styles, so you can just imagine all the different possibilities and variables from shop to shop. That means there are a huge amount of things that can be impacting any particular shops sales at any time. Lets go over a few of them.

Starting off, the first thing you want to look at are the very basics. At a glance, does the shop look good? Does it have a common theme, does it have a vibe?

Now here’s a big one: does it have inventory? I can’t believe the number of times where someone has said, “Please take a look at my shop because I don’t know why am not getting any sales.“ and then when I go to their shop they only have a few items listed for sale! Wait, what!? You need to have a decent amount of inventory to make your shop look robust and credible. Starting with maybe 25 pieces of inventory is a reasonable goal for a new shop, and probably the minimum amount of inventory that I would open a shop with.

Next, are all the blanks filled in? Is there a shop description? Photo of the owner? A pretty/stylish/unique cover photo of something that at least vibes with what they are selling? Do they have their shop policies posted? Things that answer buyers questions such as what are their shipping and return policies? It doesn’t matter whether you accept returns or not, but it does matter that you have it clearly posted somewhere in your shop. Fill in those blanks! Lots of info folks, lots of info! 

Etsy’s format for setting up your shop and adding your shop information is basically “fill in the blank.” Etsy makes it relatively easy for sellers to include all of their pertinent information in their shops. All you have to do is choose an option or type in a sentence or two. They really do make it easy for you. So there’s no reason not to have all of those things filled in.

Another thing that is very important is that you have amazing photos. Not just good photos, amazing photos. They should be bright and clear and sharp and show your item from different angles. Take a look at your photos and replace any that aren't good enough. Also, be sure to use all of those photo slots that Etsy gives you per listing. Use lots of photos! 

So we’ve made sure your shop has all the information a buyer needs to know about you, your shop policies, and your items, and you have your shop adequately stocked with inventory, so what do we look at next?

Once your shop itself looks good and is complete, the next thing I look at is your items. Do you have quality items? Are they unique? What about them sets them apart from all the other shops and makes them special? I think this is where a lot of people mess up. They either include sub-par craftsmanship in their stores, or they are selling unoriginal items that are copies of other people’s work.

To have an Etsy shop that sells like crazy, your craftsmanship has to be as near perfect as it can be. You need to be your own worst critic and have super high standards for your own work. Trust me on this one.

You need to be your own worst critic and have super high standards for your own work.

If a customer visits your shop and sees messy work they will probably leave and never come back. If you have items that you’ve made that don’t quite meet up to your own standards, then don’t put them in your shop. Remember, you will be known for what you sell in your shop. The way your shop looks and what you sell in it is your calling card for your entire business, is how you are advertising and representing yourself! You wouldn’t want to buy someone else’s seconds or imperfect items, so why should they buy yours?

Be original. This is what will make you stand out from everyone else and will get you the most sales by far. I’d say that most customers shop around and they know what’s out there. When you’re buying from the comfort of your own home on your own leisure time, you have time to look around, browse, mark items as favorites or add them to your wish list, etc. Etsy is not like walking into Macy’s, finding a dress, loving it, and then buying it. If Macy’s was like Etsy, you would walk in, see 10 to 20 dresses that are similar, with some clearly made better than others, and with some clearly more unique than others. Which would you choose? That’s what Etsy is like. You have to be the best. You have to have excellent craftsmanship but even more importantly, you have to have your own unique style.

Another thing that I would look for in a shop is that there is some variety. Customers want to have different things to choose from, so give them different options by offering items in different colors and styles. Everything should still tie together so that your shop looks cohesive, but don’t make everything exactly the same. Similar, but different. Get it?

The next thing that’s important for your shop is customer service. I can tell you I get tons of emails asking for custom work which I often don’t have time for, but if someone asks a specific question about an item that is in my shop, I will make their email a priority and answer them immediately. So be sure to check your messages every day or two and keep up with your customer service.

The final, and probably biggest thing that impacts sales on Etsy, especially in the jewelry categories, is the sheer number of people who are making jewelry and selling jewelry on Etsy. The market is just flooded with sellers. And I don’t even consider this “competition” within the jewelry categories. It’s just too many people, too many shops. It’s getting too hard to get found amid the masses of sellers.

I noticed a few people making videos on YouTube that claim to offer tips and secrets for how to increase Etsy sales and offer advice about how to navigate the search algorithm, etc., but after watching handful of them, I found that they all fell short of offering any real, solid information and I suspect these videos were made for the sole purpose of just having a video to put up on YouTube!

The speaker in one YouTube video actually pulled a “stat” saying that Etsy had released revenue numbers from 2017 which said that Etsy’s revenue was higher than ever... but remember, that’s Etsy’s revenue! That’s the money that Etsy is bringing in from all of the fees that they are collecting from sellers listing items and selling items. That’s a big difference from the income that a shop earns.

All the hype one year ago was Etsy’s last venture, Etsy Studio, which was supposed to be a marketplace for sellers to sell supplies, hoping to rival the big box craft supply stores Michaels, AC Moore, and Hobby Lobby. Etsy Studio flopped. And in all reality, I could’ve told you that was going to happen.

As much as people love the convenience of shopping for unique handcrafted items from the comfort of their own home, people also love the experience of going out in person to a craft store to purchase supplies for their next project. It’s fun. And though it may be convenient to purchase certain supplies online—basic things such as adhesives, or wire—people still want to go out and see what’s out there in person and be inspired by what else is on the shelves, even if it’s something that they didn’t go there looking for. It's the whole experience of going there in person—that's what makes those big box craft supply stores all that $44 billion revenue. How many times have you been with family or a friend and said "let's go to the craft store!" —not for any one particular item, but just for the fun experience of it. Etsy, you just can't stuff that into a website, no matter how hard you try. Some experiences just have to be, well, experienced! In real life!

You can’t do that with an online supply shop. You can try to do that. You can choose images of certain items and put them across the front of your website hoping to entice a shopper into being inspired by what you’re showing them, but that’s not creativity. It’s not giving people enough freedom to discover their own creativity. 

A website that sells supplies for crafts may show you a few photos of things that are current trends, such as the currently popular cacti trend. By doing this, the website is telling the shopper, “Here, look at this cacti. This is what’s popular now. You should make cacti crafts too!” That very well might inspire some people to make cacti crafts. 

But where do those trends begin? They begin with a clean, blank slate. They begin with someone physically walking into an art store or a craft store and seeing colors, and textures, and in their own minds, combining those things to create something completely new. That is the inspiration that walking into a craft supply store affords. Just as creative inspiration that comes from walking into and experiencing the outdoors and nature, or love, or any other real, tactile experience that might inspire something creative. The greatest creative ideas aren't born from looking at computer screens, I guarantee you that. They are born from the human experience of interaction. 

The greatest creative ideas aren't born from looking at computer screens, I guarantee you that. They are born from the human experience of interaction. 

And this is why, in my opinion, that when business men or women make these decisions instead of artists and craftspeople with business knowledge, those decisions fail. Art and creativity aren't about money.

OK, now that I’ve gotten totally off track… LOL. Yes, I could cut this blog post into two or maybe even three separate posts but I’m not going to. I’m going to put this all up just the way it is for you to take in and digest and maybe you’ll have an opinion or thought or idea about it and leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the whole spiel, or on any part of it that you would like to comment on or discuss.

I’ll wrap things up by saying this, competition is stiff, the market is overcrowded, but you can still do it. You can still have sales and be successful. Follow the suggestions that I wrote above, work hard, and above all be creative and unique, and you will find success.

Pin this post! 

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Please leave me a comment below! 

Have a great week!

 Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs

Article copyright ©Laura Beth Love for Dishfunctional Designs™ 2018

all rights reserved

How To Get Started On Etsy

How to get started on Etsy

Etsy is an online marketplace where you can open up a virtual shop and sell your handcrafted goods or vintage items. Lots of people have built full-time careers from their Etsy shops. At one time, Etsy even had a motto that said something like, “Quit your day job.“

I don’t recommend that you quit your day job. But I do recommend Etsy as a fun and profitable way to sell your crafts, handcrafted items, or vintage and antique items. With a little bit of know how and a little bit of time and patience getting to know the inns and outs of how it works, you can have your Etsy shop up and running and be selling on Etsy in no time at all. You can make money on Etsy! Here are my best tips for how to get started on Etsy.

1. First and foremost, get to know the Etsy website. Do your research by spending a lot of time on the site checking out different shops and sellers, and reading Etsy’s policies. You will need a credit card/bank account to open your Etsy shop account and a PayPal account. Know what the fees are that Etsy charges you to list an item, as well as how much it costs when you sell an item, the percentage that Etsy takes from the sale, etc. These are known as Etsy fees and you need to pay them monthly. So before you open your shop, read up and become familiar with the rules and fees.

2. Spend some time reading posts on the Etsy forums. This is a great way to have your questions answered without even having to ask them yourself since surely someone else has already asked it! Scroll to the bottom of any page on Etsy for a link to the forums. There you will find different categories that cover all kinds of topics about selling (and buying) on Etsy. There is also a search feature that comes in handy. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Just ask.

3. Once you’ve read all the basic information that you can find on the Etsy website, now it is time to create your shop. Choose your shop name. My advice is to keep it simple. Pick something that is easy for people to remember. Pick a name that will stick in someone’s mind. Once you choose your name you are stuck with it, so choose carefully!

4. Next you will need to fill in a lot of blanks within your shop such as your shop introduction, policies for shipping and returns, etc. Each of these things you are going to fill-in are important, so take your time and do a good job filling them out. Make sure that your shoppers have all the basic info they need when reading through your shop information and policies. This will help cut down on emails from customers, and it saves everyone time. Be complete, be concise, be friendly, and have a good attitude.

5. If this is your first time selling on Etsy or having your own online shop, you will have lots of little details that you will need to iron out. These are things such as shipping costs, how much you will charge for upgrades such as priority shipping upgrades, and custom things such as gift wrapping. It’s a lot to cover, so keeping a checklist in a notebook is helpful. At first it might be a little bit overwhelming because there was a lot of information to learn and a lot of things to fill out, but once that is done it’s done. Then all you have to do is list your items for sale! Once your item sells, you contact your customer, collect payment, wrap and ship your item, say thank you, and then onto your next item!

Getting ready to list your items

6. Take the best photos you possibly can. I cannot stress how important photos are. You need to show your items in the best light possible, so photos should be nice and sharp and in focus and well lit. Avoid busy backgrounds and too many props. Use basic photo editing software to edit your photos. You don’t have to be an expert at this, but spending a little time learning how to make your photos look the best that you can will pay off greatly. Remember, you want everything to look professional. This takes time, so spend that time working on those photos! You do not need fancy camera or any kind of photography set up. Do not use special effect filters. Your goal is to represent your item exactly as it is in real life. I take all of my jewelry photos with my iPhone on a windowsill! Remember, practice makes perfect. Also, Etsy gives you lots of slots for photos, use as many of them as you can. Don’t just put up one or two photos, show your item from all angles, and try to use each and every one of the photo slots! In my opinion, photos are what sell your item, so if you want to make money on Etsy, have great photos. 

7. Write a great description for your item. Etsy makes it pretty easy to list an item for sale because it has kind of a fill in the blank format. It might look like a lot, or it might look confusing at first but that’s just because you’re new to it. Take it step-by-step and fill everything out. Be descriptive. Describe every single thing you can about your item. The materials used, the colors, anything that you think is important, describe!

8. Include exact measurements. This is very important. Use a ruler, measuring tape, whatever you need to measure your item, measure it and put the exact measurements in your description. This information should be clearly stated in every single one of your listings.

9. Name your store categories. You are allowed to make different categories within your Etsy shop and name them. For example, if you make jewelry, you may have categories titled: “necklaces“, “rings,“ “bracelets,“ etc. some people have categories such as “sale,“ “limited edition,“ etc. Be creative.

10. Get your packaging in order. Figure out how you are going to ship your items, what you’re going to wrap them with, and become familiar with postage rates and the costs to ship your item by reading up on shipping rates. Figure out how to use a shipping calculator, such as the one found (in the US) at usps.gov. Know about shipping insurance, delivery confirmation, and international shipping. Have an exchange or return policy clearly stated in your shop. There plenty of companies online that sell shipping supplies such as packing tape and bulk mailers. You can get great prices when you buy in quantity. Some companies will allow you to buy just one or two samples to try out different products before buying in bulk. It never hurts to ask.

11. Don’t expect to learn it all overnight. Getting started on Etsy takes some time and research. Learning the ins and outs of how to sell on Etsy is an ongoing learning process. All you have to do is take the first steps and you are on your way to being an Etsy seller!

Any questions about selling on Etsy? Just leave a comment below!

Pin this post!

I hope you enjoyed this post.

Please leave me a comment below! 

Have a great week!

 Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs

Article and images copyright ©Laura Beth Love for Dishfunctional Designs™ 2018

all rights reserved

How To Protect Your Online Store From Freebie Solicitors

The other day I received an interesting email through my Etsy shop. It was from an individual soliciting me for free jewelry. In exchange for the jewelry, she said, she would wear it, take a photo of herself wearing it, and then put the photo on her blog. In exchange for doing this "review" she would then get to keep my jewelry. As soon as I saw the words "send me jewelry" my danger meter started to go off because these types of situations seldom end well. But, before I declined, I figured I would give her the benefit of the doubt and first take a moment to check out her blog to see if there was any value in this proposed exchange. I had never heard of this person or her blog. At the bottom of her email was a link to her blog, as well as her email address.

Getting back to that danger meter for a moment... first and foremost, I knew that soliciting someone through Etsy is considered spam and is against Etsy's policies. That was red flag number one. She could have contacted me though my website or blog, but instead she chose the Etsy route. Right away that gave me the impression that there was a high possibility that she was "shopping" Etsy sellers for products that she fancied. 

Red flag number two was her long email. It was clearly of the copy and paste variety and did not seem to be personalized to me or about the specific items that I create and sell. That made me think that she was most likely sending this same exact email to numerous other Etsy sellers. Instead, a simple one sentence email sent to me through my website or blog to the tune of, "Check out my blog and let me know if you would like to exchange product for advertising." would have saved us both so much time. But that's just it - she didn't have anything of quality to exchange with me. How do I know this? I checked out her blog stat numbers and they were nonexistent. 

How did I find out this information? I ran a domain report on her blog. A domain report is obtained through a traffic insight website which is a webpage that compiles the basic information about any URL on the internet. This report will give you a rough estimate of the US and global ranking of any website or blog. (The #1 ranked website in the world is the one with the most internet traffic - right now that's Google, by the way, followed closely by YouTube.) Though this ranking number is a rough estimate, it still provides you with some critical information. 

Other useful information found on a domain report are the URL's web traffic stats, the number of other sites linking in and out of that particular site, how many visitors that site has per day, as well as an idea of the site's bounce rate (the percentage of visitors who visit and then leave, rather than stay on the site) as well as other useful information. Basically, by looking at a domain report you can find out whether a particular blog or website is active or static, popular or not popular. For example, for my own blog, a few of the sites linking in to me are Home Depot and Huffington Post. Those are quality sites with tons of traffic. Now, everyone's blog rankings go up and down and experienced bloggers know that this is directly related to a number of things, some of which are: the frequency of publishing blog posts, the quality of the published blog posts, and also the promotion of your blog across social media, aka the visibility of your blog. Statistic numbers for blogs and website rankings and traffic fluctuate up and down. That's to be expected. 

I copied and pasted her blog URL into a few different traffic insight websites  (alexa.com and semrush.com are two, and there are plenty of others out there as well), clicked search and checked out the results. I noticed right away that there was very little information available about her blog (which told me that it was either very new, not promoted, or had no traffic or followers). There was only one ranking: global, which was around 8,000,000. Eight million. There was no US ranking, meaning the blog had so little popularity that it didn't even register on the charts in the United States. I pulled my own blog status up in another window just as a comparison. My own global ranking read 461,037. Wow, what a difference. Now why would I want to be promoted by someone whose own blog stats were a mere drop in the bucket compared to my own? Think I was being scammed? I sure do. 

But just in case the numbers I had pulled up were not a true reflection of her content, I also visited her blog to see what it was all about. Perhaps it was brand new but still amazing. Unfortunately, it wasn't. There were a few blog posts that dated back a year or two that consisted of photos of herself, pet, and child, but there were no written articles or quality information. It was bland and contained no useful information whatsoever. There was no block or list of followers on her sidebar, nor were there links to Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest accounts - all of which are good indications of social media presence. 

To successfully promote someone else you need to have these things:

• Quality content that is fresh and well-written
• A very strong organic social following
• A visually appealing blog

Don't get me wrong, there are great bloggers out there who can successfully promote your shop and your items, but to be completely honest, they really are few and far between. They need to have quality content that is fresh and well-written. Look for great articles that are both interesting and informative and that have reader comments. They need to have a very strong organic social following - by organic I mean followers that are not purchased (and I'll be writing a future blog post about this too, so be sure to check back!) Lastly, their blog should look good. It should be clean and well-organized and free from too much clutter. But most importantly, it needs to be on the charts.  

Final word?  No matter whether you sell your goods on Etsy, through another online venue, or through your own website, be alert to scammers and those who are out to take advantage of you. A little bit of research can save you a lot of headaches and wasted time and can prevent you from being taken advantage of. Have you ever received a shady, soliciting email like the one I did? I'd love to hear your experience, so please share your comments below!

Share this with a friend & Pin this post!

What do you think?

Enjoy the rest of your week! 

Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs!

 Learn how to solder and make unique jewelry!

I've Been Featured on Etsy! ...and What's New In My Shop

I was thrilled to get an email from Etsy Thursday night letting me know that my jewelry was featured on Etsy's front page! Yay! The thrill was doubled when within minutes a kind soul messaged me on Facebook to let me know that Etsy also featured another one of my necklaces on their Instagram (screenshot below). Thanks Etsy! 

Thursday night Etsy featured me on their Instagram account. Thanks Etsy! The post has nearly 10,000 likes! (check out my own Instagram here)

Last week I delivered about 20 new pieces of jewelry to my friends at Connexions Gallery in Easton, PA. If you're around town be sure to stop in and check them out, and tell them I sent you! 

In other things, here's a peek at just a few of the brand new pieces of jewelry made from broken antique china that I just listed in my Etsy shop. Click any photo to visit my shop!

Thanks for visiting!

Which is your favorite?

Enjoy the rest of your week! 

Love, Laura

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs!

   

Learn how to solder and make unique jewelry!

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns