Search results (tags) for: "marketing"

Seller How-To: Get Involved With Black Friday and Cyber Monday Promotions

2009-11-20T17:30:00-05:00

Black Friday through Cyber Monday is a recognized shopping weekend that has quickly gained a reputation as the best time of year to find promotional sales on gifts for the holidays. For businesses, it is recognized as one of the most profitable weekends of the year that officially kicks off the busy holiday rush. We want to get the word out about shopping on Etsy for unique handmade and vintage gifts — instead of waiting in lines at the mall! The buzz about special Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales is ramping up on Etsy, and we hope to connect sellers with otherwise stressed out holiday deal-hunters in a fun and "Etsy" way.

We've seen interest from many sellers looking to promote sales on Etsy throughout this holiday weekend. Etsy will be providing promotional opportunities for sellers who are already planning or wish to host promotions and sales Friday, November 27, 2009 through Monday, November 30, 2009. The opportunities outlined below are open to all sellers wishing to participate and are completely optional. Find out how to get involved!

Site-Wide Tags
Etsy will be hosting and promoting two site-wide tags that link to search results for holiday promotions. To make sure your items show up in these searches, please tag each of your designated items with one or both of the following tags, if they meet the criteria for your promotion. There is no limit for the number of items you may tag.

Free Shipping: Sellers offering any type of free shipping promotion should tag the items offered with the term "EtsyFreeShipping." Remember to set the shipping to zero on the tagged items during this date or spell out in your description how the free shipping may be obtained. (The shipping amount does not need to be changed until the dates mentioned above.) Be sure to begin tagging your items and including promotional details in your item listings now, as Etsy staff will be gathering items to feature far in advance. Etsy will not be actively promoting the shopping promotion until the aforementioned dates.
Etsy Holiday Sale: Sellers offering ANY type of promotion throughout these dates should tag relevant items with the term "EtsyHolidaySale." Make sure to spell out the details of your promotion clearly in your tagged listings' descriptions, your shop announcement, and titles (if you have room).

Social Networking

Do you have a Twitter account? Promote your sales on Twitter with the #EtsyFreeShipping and #EtsyHolidaySale hash tags. We'll be following these tags closely throughout the entire weekend, linking to the Etsy search terms, and we will encourage our Twitter followers to search Tweets containing these two hash tags.
Keep in mind that your banner is a great promotional tool for calling attention to your sale. Need a sale banner in a jiffy? Grab one from our Resource page or use Etsy's bannerator.
We'll be feeding items with the promotional tags into Kaboodle throughout the weekend. Submit your favorite items throughout the weekend to gain exposure for your shop.

Emails, Gift Guides, and Home Page Collections
Throughout the weekend we'll be highlighting items with promotional offers in Etsy Finds emails, Gift Guides, and home page collections. We'll be selecting items from nominations in this Forum thread as well as items tagged with "EtsyFreeShipping" and "EtsyHolidaySale." Be sure to start tagging your items and listing your details in the item listings now as Etsy staff will be gathering items to feature in advance. The emails, Gift Guides, and home page collections will include information instructing shoppers how to use the site-wide search tags.

Home Page Banners
Throughout the weekend Etsy will rotate banners with promotional messaging in order to direct shoppers specifically looking for sales this weekend to those areas of the site. The wording on these banners will be clear that this weekend's promotions are from a selection of sellers, not the entire selling membership on Etsy.

Thanks in advance for your participation!

View More Merchandising Posts | Gift Guides

Seller How-To: Plug in the My Etsy Facebook Application

2009-11-19T15:15:00-05:00

The new My Etsy Facebook app is here and ready to help you share your shop with a new audience! This app not only provides a great way to share your Etsy shop and Favorites with your Facebook friends, but also lets you include a feed from your own blog and will alert you and your friends when your item is featured on Etsy's home page or in a Gift Guide.

I'm here to share helpful links and tips for using this as a social networking and promotional tool for your business, without being too spammy. I'll be hosting a follow-up chat in the Virtual Labs on Wednesday December 2, 2-3 p.m. ET, where we'll add the app together (for those of you who need a little extra help), share ideas and best practices.

First thing's first, sign yourself up for Facebook (if you haven't already). Don't have a Facebook fan page? This simple how-to can get you started. Many sellers prefer to use a fan page, rather than their personal profile pages, for their businesses.

Now you can add the My Etsy app to your Facebook profile, fan page, or both. Go here to get the app. For technical questions and a handy FAQ, please visit our Help section.

Here's an example of what the My Etsy will look like on a seller's fan page:

You've added this app to your profile or your fan page... Now what?

The My Etsy app will only automatically post to your Facebook News Feed when one of your items is featured on Etsy's home page or in our Gift Guides. If you want to let your Facebook friends know about a new item you've listed, you can go to your My Etsy app and share an item (see image above) or use Facebook Connect. You may be asking yourself, "Should I do this every time I list? Is this too spammy?" It depends on how often you list, of course, but as a general rule, be mindful of annoying your Facebook friends! When you do post about a new listing, try sharing an inside peek into why you created the item, which Facebook friend inspired this new piece or a detail about your creative process. That will be more interesting for your Facebook friends than simply saying, "New item for sale! Go buy it!"

Did you know that a business that blogs has 55% more visitors? (via Hubspot) If you blog, your My Etsy app allows you to share links to your blog posts. This is a great way to use Facebook to connect your presence in the blogosphere with your Etsy shop. You'll notice that only the title of your blog posts shows up on your My Etsy app, so make sure you use strong titles to get that Facebook fan clickin'! More reading: Etsy's Guide to Blogging.
Under your avatar, there are links to your shop profile and policies. That means you'll probably get more traffic to those pages, so make sure you've spent time updating those areas of your Etsy shop. Here's a great article on crafting your profile and another on developing shop policies that work for you.
Your Etsy shop banner has prime real estate on the My Etsy app — so make good use of it! Launching a new product line or having a sale? Use your banner to promote these announcements.
Don't just talk about yourself — share the love! Make sure to add lots of Favorites so that your Facebook friends can get hooked on your Etsy friends. We're in this together, sellers!

Now don't get overwhelmed. We've heard from beta-testers that the process of adding the app is pretty easy. For technical questions and a handy FAQ, please see our Help section. Have fun and join us in the Virtual Labs on Wednesday, December 2, 2-3 p.m. ET!

More Social Networking How-To's for Sellers

About Us: Neelam Hasni a.k.a. Neelam12

2009-10-30T13:30:00-05:00

Neelam, a.k.a. Neelam12, is our web analytics guru. Neelam dives into the numbers and helps us make sense of what is happening with site traffic and activity on Etsy.com. She works on the Marketing Team and is a relatively new hire at Etsy, having starting in the spring of 2009. Let's welcome her to the fold!

Fun Facts:

She's a Jersey girl. She recently decided to move to New York City, and it was cute how shocked she was by Manhattan rental prices and the lack of space you get for your money.
Neelam is the third youngest of four sisters, and one of her sisters is her roommate.
SarahSays wants to be her BFF. They had met each other a number of times randomly before Neelam started working at Etsy. It is their destiny.
Mike B says both of her parents are renowned archaeologists.
She once seriously considered being a secret service agent after watching Rene Russo in the movie In the Line of Fire.
She loves watching I Love Lucy reruns.
Nizzi claims that she definitely had some Britney songs in her music selection for Etsy's 4th birthday party.
Anda has two words: "frat girl."
Michelle thought it was awesome that Neelam shouted the seller's name "VulvaLoveLovely" loudly enough for everyone to hear in an all-company meeting the other day.
Danielle loves how Neelam says something really important or crazy but in the most "yeah whatever" kind of way.
Adam stressed how much she loves shopping, and Christina notes that she admitted to fantasizing about having a sugar daddy to escort her on shopping binges. Anda added that Neelam, Ian, and Matt all stalk gilt.com obsessively. Christina then gets her to do a fashion show for the Marketing Team.
Adam has observed how she'll cut a piece of pizza in half, pretend like she's only going to eat that half, and then eat the whole thing. Mike B is also suspicious of her coy eating habits: "She's been bringing in healthy lunches since we moved to this office. Like a plastic container with two slices of turkey and a cucumber..." Then she'll be the first to rip into the package of Double Stuf Oreos.
Bernadette recalls the time Neelam said to her, surprised, "I didn't know Sweeney was an Irish name!" Mike B made it The Quote of the Week.
She had a funny realization moment when she figured out that "decor8" is pronounced "decorate" and not "decor...eight."
Nizzi adds that Neelam lives near Magnolia Bakery and has been known to bring cupcakes in on request.
Ian from Etsy Hacks did a little research and according to Wikipedia, "Neelam" means "sapphire."
Nizzi is always trying to get Neelam to speak Gujrati with her so they can have their own secret Etsy language that nobody else at the office would understand, but she's too polite for that.
Christina says Neelam has a major crush on Anderson Cooper... and the guy from Mad Men.
Adam says she loves pop culture and celebrity trash. But, she was trying to tell him something about Jon Stewart and couldn't remember his name. She was grasping for it, "You know, he's a comedian, he has his own show...?"
Whether or not she's a "fancy dresser" is under debate. Vanessa recalls Anda being surprised when Neelam wore jeans one day, because she seems like she's dressier than that. But Nizzi says that for some reason, we're not good enough for her to wear high heels to work, but she puts them on when she goes to meet her former Bloomingdales colleagues.
Her hardest day at work was when she was working in Macy's one summer in college and had to work all day in the gift wrap department without any training on wrapping gifts.

Too bad Neelam didn't rerun this Halloween costume at last night's office party!

Obvioulsy, Neelam developed her poise and professionalism at a very young age.

Etsy has had quite a growth spurt, and we have the awkward pictures to prove it. We've been posting a series of About Us pieces to help you get to know the Etsy admin. You've seen the admin badge, and maybe you're a bit curious about the person behind it! For more on Etsy's mission and about the company, please see our About page. (The link is in the little blue footer of every Etsy page.)

Some of Neelam's favorites below...

Handmade Code: Sellit.com

2009-10-23T15:00:00-05:00

As part of our Handmade Code series, we're bringing you news and how-to's about the innovations emerging from the Etsy Developer Community. Located at developer.etsy.com, the Etsy Developer Community serves as a hub for third-party software developers who are making neat and helpful programs for Etsy shoppers and sellers. In this edition, Katie (pictured below at a toga party!) tells us all about their application available at Sellit.com.

What's the basic idea of the application? What need does it fill?
We created Sellit to provide sellers with an easier way to display and discuss their handmade, vintage, or supplies in places they’re already hanging out and having conversations like Facebook, blogs and even Twitter. Also, we thought it was important to not reinvent the ecommerce wheel by asking you to upload more product images or designs in yet another shop. Sellit works with what you already have.

Sellit is already helping thousands of other online merchants gain the extra visibility and buzz, and now we have made the application available to Etsy sellers. The basic premise behind Sellit was to complement or add to what you’re already doing to create awareness for your shop‘s items.

Where do we go to find it? What's the URL, etc?
To get started, just visit www.Sellit.com and be ready with your personal Etsy shop address (http://www.username.etsy.com). You simply copy and paste that into the open text box at the top of the page and click Get Started. You can just plug in your existing Etsy shop and let us handle the setup for you.

After you register, you’re ready to go. It’s exactly the same as your original Etsy shop but now ready for additional activities like sharing to Facebook, easily tying product links to Twitter posts, blogs, advertising, etc.

How do you use it?
So let’s talk about this “Share” thing. In the bottom left corner of each Sellit Mini-Shop there is a Share button. If you click this, you’ll see all the places you can instantly share or discuss your shop’s products. Our motto: Why have one shop location when you can have hundreds? And we’re not kidding! Friends, supporters or customers who love your products can easily add your Etsy Mini-Shop to their social network pages or blogs too.

There are three ways to begin using your account to loop in friends, customers or like-minded folks:
1. Click-n-Post: As long as you are logged into your Facebook or MySpace account, Sellit will post your Mini-Shop directly into your profile where all your friends can see it, and yes, you get to choose what section or page you would like it to appear on. You can also copy and paste or grab the html code to embed it onto your blog or personal website.

2. Shout It! (When logged in): Using today’s most popular micro-blogging sites like Twitter and Plurk and places you can update your status like Facebook and Friendfeed, Sellit allows you to type a short sentence at the top of your admin screen where is says “What’s new with your shop?” After typing your sentence, you then click Shout It to update your selected destination with relevant posts about your products. We even include a short url linking to your items as not to take up the precious limited characters in Twitter, etc. Your buyers and customers can also "Shout” about your products from any Mini-Shop location wherever it’s been shared. You can even bookmark your new Etsy Mini-Shop to sites like Del.icio.us, Diigo and Reddit to help with SEO. Sellit allows you to administer all your social media outlets from one location. It’s all about simplicity and saving you time. For more info on this, check the Shout FAQ.

3. Copy & Paste: Just in case you want to point people to your Mini-Shop or link to it in a blog post or email blast, we make it easy for you to find.

So that’s the skinny on sharing. If you would like more info, check out the Selling Online 101 FAQ.

Are there any costs or further opportunities/ways to get involved?
For those of you wanting maybe a little more, Sellit now has some additional features for you to check out:

AdPAK: Imagine being able to turn your Etsy Mini-Shop into an instant advertisement without all of the normal advertising headaches. With no advertisement design needed, the Sellit AdPAK advertises your products or items on the best sites possible so you don’t have to lift a finger. Check out the AdPAK FAQ.

Sellit PRO: Everyone can use Sellit Basic for free, but if you desire even more visibility and marketing for your shop, Sellit Pro is for you. You’ll have access to automated Twitter and Facebook marketing, advertising and statistics and at least 3000 additional placements of your Sellit products. Check out the Sellit Pro FAQ.

Premium Shout: Just like Sellit Basic, everyone gets to use the manual Shout for free, but with Premium Shout everything is automated and you have access to advanced options for posting sales, new products or upcoming events.

What should one do if there's a bug or a problem? Who should one contact?
In case you have any additional questions, concerns or just need a little help, we are here for you 24/7 (by way of UserVoice) to get you the answers you need. Plus we really like talking to our users. Just look on the very left hand side of any Sellit page for the Feedback button. You can also follow us on Twitter, subscribe to our blog (we feature Etsy sellers!) and become a fan of our Facebook page.

What's one surprising/fun/amazing story you've heard about someone using your app? Or what is your favorite part about the app?
We love hearing from sellers who use it. Here's what a couple of them had to say:

“LOVE your Sellit network! I've been able to quickly post to Twitter, Facebook and my blog using your product AND I love how you guys promote all over the place! Less time promoting and more time sewing and selling — I'm all for that!! It's so easy to use! Love the layout! I'm just there!”
- Charlotte Blackwell, Bizzie*Lizzie*Creations

"Sellit is easy to set up and use. Within minutes I had a free personalized Mini-Shop that seamlessly integrated with my shop. Sellit easily supports the admin side of my business; from my workbench I can simply send one shout (message) across multiple networks. Less time on the computer gives me more time to work on my craft."
- Marcella Austenfeld, Good To Go Jewelry

Anything else you'd like to add?
On average, 40% of the people who interact with your Etsy Mini-Shop should convert to additional sales leads. In the Related Items below, find some Etsy shops who are already using Sellit.

Have you used Sellit? Post in the comments below!

Etsy Finds: One in a Million

2009-10-22T11:37:00-05:00

On Tuesday, October 20, 2009, Etsy's Twitter account reached its one millionth follower — a milestone to be celebrated! To thank everyone who's joined us in using the popular micro-blogging service (and to toast the millions of reasons to shop on Etsy), we asked our Twitter friends to help us pick items for a special Gift Guide by Tweeting links to their Etsy favorites using the hashtag #MyEtsy. The result is a vibrant and eclectic collection of undiscovered treasures, chosen by the Etsy community.

Of course, it's great fun to collect everyone's favorites in a curated guide on Etsy, but we decided it would be more fun to buy our followers a gift or two. We randomly chose Tweets from the many #myetsy nominations and spontaneously bought them as gifts for those coveting them.

Today's Etsy Finds show off our Twitter followers' favorites, as well as items from a few enthusiastic @Etsy followers that we recognize as familiar faces among our daily updates. Here's to another million! Thanks for all the love!

Gifts Purchased for Etsy Followers

Mini Winky Blinky

By kateendle, $55.

Search results (tags) for: "marketing"

Seller How-To: Get Involved With Black Friday and Cyber Monday Promotions

Seller How-To: Plug in the My Etsy Facebook Application

About Us: Neelam Hasni a.k.a. Neelam12

Handmade Code: Sellit.com

Etsy Finds: One in a Million

Gifts Purchased for Etsy Followers

Passionate @Etsy Followers

Items Tweeted #MyEtsy

Quit Your Day Job: laralewis

Etsy in the Press: All About Alliteration

Talking Marketing: Onward and Upward Into Fall

Party Planners: Garden Swap with Food & Wine Magazine

Ingredients

Directions

Special Subscription Deal for Etsy Friends:

About Us: Mike Becak a.k.a. mikeynice

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Back to School

Fall Fashion Preview

Autumn Weddings

Rustic Reinvention

Vintage as Decor

Halloween Preview

Shades of Peridot

Finding Your Niche with DiffractionFiber

Talking Marketing: Planting the Seed

Seller How-To: Top 10 Graphic Designs to Give Your Shop the Edge

How-Tuesday: Mee Goreng Recipe from L.A.'s Farmers Market

About Us: Matt a.k.a. matt

A Cook in Residence: Kitty Greenwald at Montalvo

Ya Gotta Yart

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The Art of Collecting

Guest Curator: Erin Wylie of Time Out New York

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Etsy Shopper Survey: Getting to Know You

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Etsy Day Takes Over The World

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Passover: The Jewish Fest for Artists