Search results (tags) for: "sellers"

Quit Your Day Job: cicadastudio

2009-12-07T16:39:00-05:00

Michelle of cicadastudio was determined to quit her day job of 15 years as a design director and opened her Etsy shop with the intent of doing so. Michelle is a believer that being kind to one's self and keeping a positive "can-do" attitude have been her own secret recipe for success. While she doesn't miss the daily aspects of her day job, she now faces the challenge of juggling motherhood while being the CEO of her own business. She attributes the incredible opportunities she's experienced as a direct result of opening up her shop on Etsy.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?

I can't remember a time where I didn't make things. It seems that being creative and having a constant flow of hands-on projects is my whole reason for being. There's been more than one instance in my life where someone has said "you should sell these," referring to one thing or another that I'd taken up as a hobby or creative outlet. Finally, in 2004, I decided to take that more seriously and began the "master plan" to work for myself. I formed Cicada Studio to combat the dullness and stress of my day job's demands and I went with the project du jour, which was greeting cards.

Tell us about your previous working situation.
I was a design director for a private label company, which primarily entailed the conceptualizing, merchandising and producing of surface patterns and plaids for men's and boys' boxers and pajama programs. The job itself wasn't bad — as far as garment industry jobs go — but it was dry.

I had been there for nearly 15 years and I was literally burnt out. There were the stressors of daycare and kids' transport before a harried commute and hours spent away from home. As design director, I was the liaison between sales, designers, buyers and production, so I wore a lot of hats. In addition to the demands to make thousands of surface designs each year, there was the frustration of compromising my aesthetic judgment, conceptualizing new ways to do the same old thing, wowing everyone with blandness, and meeting crazy tight deadlines. I was thankful for the experience, and it's helped me immensely in my newest career, but I was really ready to move on.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
I had dreams of quitting my day job before I started selling on Etsy! Seriously, it was the reason I opened my shop. I was determined to make something of my own and I thank Etsy almost daily for giving me the opportunity to do this. I'm not sure where I'd be right now without this venue. Etsy made it possible for me to achieve my goals and opened up doors to incredible opportunities.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time?
I had recently remarried and had, for months and months, discussed my occupational unhappiness with my husband. He knew it was important for me to leave the job — even if it was for another, except there really weren't any available to me. Each time I neared the end of my rope and I thought I'd just quit on the spot and deal with the repercussions later, something made me reevaluate the situation: I was making a great salary, we were renovating the house, I became pregnant and needed the benefits, my husband was laid off...life stuff. It just kept me at my desk longer than I'd hoped.

It was during these times that I really began to hone my Etsy shop and the products I was selling. I created a niche in original textile designs and self-produced fabrics and was building both momentum and focus. As that began to solidly take shape, my dreams of quitting became a lot clearer and more accessible. Opportunities began to arise as I opened myself up to future possibilities. I began licensing designs for quilt collections for Henry Glass, taking on graphic design projects and sewing custom items — whatever I could get — and all of these things combined allowed me to make my bold move.

When my husband secured a job with great benefits, he encouraged me to quit because he believed in my abilities and determination. To offset the lost cash flow, we decided to live off my savings for a time, which I'm thankful I had. It was the best investment I could have made as it afforded me the opportunity to spend my time developing my business goals, sourcing, producing and marketing — basically building my businesses. It has not been easy, but it's been rewarding.

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?

My blog and blog social life have been the most instrumental part in getting myself out there, seen and heard. I can directly attribute success through the promotion of my blog.
To boost traffic, I will often hold giveaways on my blog. Hands down, my most successful giveaways revolve around fabric. The sewing and crafting community is very vast, and yet simultaneously very tight. Once the word is out that there's free fabric afoot, people will magically appear.
I also love Flickr and post images to appropriate groups. When I first joined Etsy I was very active in the Forums and still have many close contacts from those days.
Being featured, either by circumstance or by submitting products to bigger (and relevant) design and sewing blogs, has also been very rewarding.

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
I haven't had any luck with paid advertising on blogs, nor have I seen any boosts in sales based on any magazine press I've received (but it sure is nice to get that!). Facebook doesn't seem to be working for me either, but I really don't dedicate myself to that venue, so it's probably my own doing.

Walk us through your typical workday.

I try to get up before the boys (one is 8, the other is 2) to take care of emails, manage the shop, read blogs and do some Twitter chit chat and organize the day. This is what I hope to achieve. If I actually get one of these things done in that time, I count myself lucky. The mornings are a frenzied routine of getting my act together and the boys out of the house to school, day care, etc.
When I get back home around 9:15, the day is now mine. I strap myself in and attack my to do list. Like any other job, there are days when I'm not so motivated. I try to set a schedule for myself, but I have realized that I am not one for routine. This is the way I roll, but it certainly can be counter-productive. Mostly, I act on impulse — everything is done when the mood strikes: shipping, designing, sewing, emailing, ordering, marketing, etc. I have from 9:30-2:45 to get as much done as possible. When there's a deadline, I make it, but I'm definitely not one to be done with a comfortable time buffer — I always seem to be working up to the last minute.
It's important to note here that I am not only the shop owner of Cicada Studio. Earlier this year I partnered up with a former colleague to create another business, Cloud9 Fabrics, which is an organic printed cotton company that wholesales directly to shops. We've been extremely successful. (Psst! there are a number of Etsy fabric shops that sell our product!) Between these two distinct jobs, there is never a dull moment. These days, my primary focus in the Etsy shop is my 2010 tea towel calendar production. I'm so excited about the response to this seemingly simple item. It is not, however, simple for me to make...and it's a big time consumer. I need a lot of self-propelled motivation to put on my mass-production hat, and there are days I want to toss it in the corner.
Eventually, I have to collect the kids, do housework, and try to find time to relax. This last part is the thing that suffers most. Since my job is now a short walk down the hallway, I am never NOT at work, and it invades my life at all times of the day. My desk is in the office, but the work itself is spread all over the place: the ironing board is like a console table in my living room, the kitchen table doubles as my sewing room, my bedroom is the photography studio. My family is very patient, but I have to admit, I am more than frustrated by all this and it's a real motivator for expanding my business further so I can successfully find an off-site situation. I like having goals like this because they keep me determined.

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
There's nothing I miss about being ejected from bed, doused with water and then pushed out the door to frantically catch a train bound for NYC. I worked in the Herald Square area and it's pretty chaotic and intense. I probably had the easiest of commutes — off the train and a short walk to work — but that 5 minute walk was the most tiring aspect of the job. I also don't miss having to answer to someone and having to bend my aesthetics to fit someone else's idea of what looks good or what something should look like. Trying to read someone's mind and guess what they will want (and most times, that someone had no creative background) was mentally exhausting. That part of my job left me very dry and frustrated. It's nice that I only have myself to answer to now, even though I'm probably a tougher boss on myself than I ever had in my career....at least my wild notions make sense to me!

I miss the steady paycheck. If I'm really honest, I miss getting away from the house. And I really miss the time I spent on the train (though I really did loathe the commute). That time alone was mine to think, dream, plan, sleep, sit, rest, and zone out. I don't get that anymore. I go from mom, to business, to mom, to business in a day, and there's no pause between. It's very tiring.

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
Doing every single little thing myself. I'm a pretty self-sufficient person, but man, what I wouldn't do for some helping hands now and again. I get so entrenched with the minutia though, even when a family member will extend an offer to help, it's hard for me to change gears and let go. It's all very time-consuming and I'm very detail driven: two things that translate to lots of audible sighs during the day.

My blogging life has been a real boost for my mental health. I became part of an amazing and supportive community that acted as a reciprocal sounding board, which I felt was key, as I had gone from working with many to working by myself. The solitude took some getting used to. I had to learn to have confidence in my own work as a stand-alone thing. Honing my own personal style was something I struggled with earlier on, but through feedback and interaction, and sales of course, I began to feel more at ease with what I was doing.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?
"Focus, lady!" I am still telling myself that every day. It's not easy... ideas come from all sides, the energy is up, the creative side of me is sparked and I want to do it all. Only I can't and in order to have a cohesive shop and brand, it's really important — for both the business and myself — to keep it tight.

Advice to others: Be open to change and opportunity. Of course, I'll add "focus" to the list, but the real key is flexibility. I found that was necessary to not only quit my day job, but also settle into my own niche. When things aren't going exactly as you think they should, don't be afraid to change your perspective. Focus on what you really want, not necessarily the exact thing that gets you there. The more open you are to possibilities, the more options you'll find you have. I will also add "Be true to your nature and your ideals" — that kind of consistency shows in everything you do.

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?
Next year is going to be a bit of a departure for me.

I am in the process of streamlining Cicada Studio.
I have decided to stop selling my fabrics in fat quarter measures and only focus on the sale of full yards.
I'm in the process of liquidating my on-hand fabric inventory this month.
Going forward, I will offer more handmade items as home and personal accessories as well as doing customized products, using what I have left.
I have ideas for more fabric designs, but I'm currently rethinking my base cloths and printing methods, so a lot of what will go on for the early part of next year is research and development. That's not very exciting, but it's necessary. I'd rather spend time on developing a good plan for the brand at this time vs. keeping a stocked shop. As a one-person show I have to balance my time and energy — and for now, the right thing for me to do is step back, let things glide for a time while I chart my next plan of action.
I do plan to have a 3rd annual tea towel calendar for 2011, for sure. I also have another little fabric based idea that seems quite doable and unique, but I haven't had the chance to do my homework yet.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
I've been really blessed with all sorts of wonderful opportunities and people in my life, but I also feel like I deliberately put myself in their paths, too. I believe nothing is just luck. It all takes energy. It's really important to keep a positive "can do" attitude. It isn't always easy and there are some days when I have my doubts and insecurities, but when those things start eating at me, I reach out to my friends and family and listen to their supportive words; I take a look at all I've accomplished and pat myself on the back. Being kind to myself is essential. Plus, it makes it easier for me to push myself harder when I feel how emotionally and energetically rewarding it can be.

Thanks to Michelle for sharing her story. You can see some of Michelle's beautiful work in the Related Items. Check out previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.

From Etsy's Merchandising Desk: January Beginnings

2009-12-07T15:23:00-05:00

It's that time again, and those of us behind the scenes at Etsy would like to share our merchandising plans for January. As we continue to plan Etsy’s calendar for the year ahead with thematic merchandising, we will be incorporating many of the concepts you shared in response to December's report and continue to welcome your input. It is our goal to create a healthy balance between promotions for traditional holidays, seasonal changes, and lifestyle trends.

Rounding Out December

Keep abreast of the December seasonal themes, holidays, dates to remember, and trends we are looking to highlight in December's Merchandising Desk edition.
Promotional opportunities for sellers in December:
- Nominate your favorite birthstones for our December Turquoise Guide in this Forum thread.
- Post your last promotions of the year in this Forum thread for a chance to have your promotion highlighted in a December 11, 2009 through December 13, 2009 Etsy Finds email.
- Offer expedited shipping options guaranteed for the holidays? Tell us in this Forum thread for your chance to be highlighted in a December 18, 2009 Etsy Finds email.
- Suggest and nominate items for Etsy's Holiday Gift Guides in this Forum thread.

Stay Engaged in January
January marks a fresh start and with it, optimism for the possibilities in the new year ahead. Our critical merchandising focus this month will center around handmade resolutions and love in the air. Below you will find the extended list of topics we'll be looking to highlight throughout the month of January. We're looking for your creative interpretation and spin on each of the upcoming seasonal themes.

Calendars and Thank You Notes: 2010 calendars and thank you notes begin the new year and express gratitude to those who remembered you this holiday season.
New Beginnings: Handmade resolutions, learning a new skill or hobby (for example, learning a new instrument, recipes, crafting, journaling, etc.), self-reflection and appreciation, active-wear, spa, bath and beauty, organization (home, studio, office, etc.).
Nesting: Focusing on the home, organization and fresh decor. We'll be scouting for home accents that evoke a cozy dwelling (candles, baskets, furniture, tabletop, quilts, blankets, pillows, storage solutions, rugs, windows, lighting, bedding, and bath). Rich materials and fabrics remain at the forefront of style.
Winter Fashion: Emerging designs and classic takes on warm layers, coats, knit, woven and crochet accessories, boots, sturdy bags, and jewelry.
Intro to Valentines: Valentine's Day is quickly approaching; look for highlights in early January with a stronger focus mid-month on all things amorous, conventional and not-so-conventional. We'll be highlighting the following topics and themes: cards, jewelry, relationships, engagements, romance, gifts for her, him, the little ones, and for friends. Also look for the funny Valentine, naughty side, the anti-Valentine, DIY solutions for parties, decor, and edible delights.
The International Vacation: Global adventures, features on warmer weather destinations, taking a holiday, romantic getaways, beach gear, and highlights of spring/summer fashion in the Southern Hemisphere.
Winter Weddings: Attire, decor, invitations, favors, and gift ideas.
January trends: Vintage decor, organizational solutions, knits, rustic and natural motifs. Geometric patterns, floral and foliage motifs, nostalgic and modern design, and personalization across many categories. In fashion, statement jewelry to dress up a simple wardrobe, carryall bags, and oxford style shoes and boots remain at the top of the trends. Color trend forecasts for January include vibrant and pastel shades of champagne, gold, ivory, silver, white, pink and red, hues of plum and lavender, and tones of natural to dark, rich browns.
Shop Makeover Series: In the vein of our handmade resolutions highlights, we'll be expanding the Shop Makeover Series to help sellers interested in revamping their shops with a fresh face and new tips and tricks for success.
Garnet is January's birthstone, and January's astrological signs are Capricorn and Aquarius (December 22 - January 20: Capricorn and January 21 - February 19: Aquarius).
Promotional Opportunities for Sellers:
- In preparation for our Garnet Gift Guide, we will be looking for community suggestions and nominations for what items you'd like to see in the guide. Suggest your favorite garnet-related items in this nomination thread.
- Suggest and nominate items for Etsy's Gift Guides in this Forum thread.
- Stay tuned to the Selling section of The Storque for additional promotional opportunities through January.

If you'd like to stay engaged and involved with the approaching merchandising themes, interpret them in your own artistic voice. This can be translated in your listings, photos, shop announcement, descriptions, tags, titles, sales promotions and more. We're excited to see your creative interpretations!

If you make items that would fit well with the themes outlined, try stocking up and listing them in advance to take advantage of potential shipping deadlines and on site features. Do you already have items in your shop that meld well? That's great! Now it's time to revisit those items to make sure your tags, titles, and descriptions reflect keywords shoppers might be looking for this time of year. This is also a great opportunity to revamp your item photography with a new look, if you think they need some work. Check out some great how-to's for item photography to get started.

If your items fall under the main thematic categories we'll be highlighting this month, it might be a great time to consider purchasing a spot in a Category Showcase. For those of you who enjoy making Treasuries, we'll be looking to highlight lists that interpret December and January's themes in a creative and cohesive way, as well as the many innovative and beautiful collections that we normally feature.

Upcoming Dates to Remember

January is known as National Blood Donor Month, National Hobby Month, and Hot Tea Month.
January 1: New Year's Day
January 2: Berchtoldstag (Switzerland)
January 6: Epiphany, Three Kings Day
January 12: Holy Thursday (Argentina)
January 15: Martin Luther King's birthday (to be observed on January 18)
January 19: Edgar Allan Poe's birthday
January 24-26: Lunar New Years
January 25: Foundation Day (Brazil)
January 26: Australia Day

Do you have a date to remember that you don't see on the list? Let us know in the comments section below. We are currently working towards incorporating a more detailed calendar of international holidays into Etsy's thematic merchandising plans, so we're eager to hear which dates you would like to see included.

We’d like to hear from you!
We appreciate your support and look forward to your feedback and suggestions in the comments section below.

View More Merchandising Posts | Gift Guides

The Etsy Seller Handbook: All Our How-To's About Selling

2009-12-03T15:45:00-05:00

Sellers!

Below you'll find a handy index of all the useful how-to's about selling on Etsy. We're calling it the Seller Handbook, and we first posted it on The Storque in September of 2007. We add every new how-to's for sellers to this index and bumping up the post when we do. In this way it's a living document.

You can also search the Storque tags for "Seller Handbook" for a chronological list of all our published how-to's related to Selling.

Your Shop 101: How-To's for Getting Started on Etsy
Start with this one: Etsy Success for Beginner Sellers!
Please also see the Setting Up Shop Help Guide, Selling Dos and Don'ts, Selling FAQs, Listing an Item Help Guide, Etsy Guide to SEO.

[image by Artsy]

Photography How-To's

[image by CarolinaCottage]

Etsy International How-To's (plus How-To's translated into foreign languages)

[image by T woHiddenHeads]

Alchemy and Custom/Reserved Listing How-To's

[image by moxiethrift]

Shipping How-To's

[image by missplum]

Advertising How-To's
Please also see the Showcase Help Guide.

[image by Earmark]

Business and Pricing How-To's

[image by NewDuds]

Promoting & Marketing How-To's

[image by DancingMooney]

Craft Show & Events How-To's

[image by photohale]

Gallery Go-getter Series

[image by MiNDJACKET]

Social Networking, Blogging, Podcasting & Video-making How-To's

[image by growbots]

Handmade Code (Third Party Applications from the Etsy Developer Community)

"Etsy Addict" iPhone Application
Craft Cult (a site that let's you track your hearts and where you've been featured, plus more)
ColorMatch from 26OliveStreet (a tool that suggests items that fit along your color palette)
EtsyHacks (a suite of tools for sellers — "Copy Listing" is particularly handy)
Morecloth (an application that lets you browse fabric on Etsy by color)
Sellit.com (a service that helps you spread the word about your shop)
Soopsee (an easy-to-use website building service that enables you to feed in your Etsy shop, blog, etc.)
Tag Finder Tool from Craftweasel.com (one of this developer's many applications the Tag Finder gives sellers insights into what tags might be appropriate for their items)

[image by houseofharriet]

Legal Info for Artists

[image by jessgonacha]

Tagging How-To's

[image by Anda]

Team Tips Handbook

See all the how-to's relating to Teams, groups of sellers who self-organize by location or craft.

[image by iheartmoustaches]

All about Etsy & Site Features

We have to close comments here because the page is taking too long to load! So if you have additional tips, please post in this Forum thread.

If you'd like to write a how-to for the Seller Handbook, pitch to the Storque editors.

Seller How-To: Banner Tips

2009-12-01T12:20:00-05:00

There are many techniques and free resources out there to help you create your Etsy Shop banner. I've gathered a few of my favorite tutorials and links to help you get started. Before you go off exploring these, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites banners — think of these as ideas to spark your own experiments. Make your banner work for your shop!

1. Give viewers a good idea of what they'll find in your shop.

2. Crop a photo to the correct banner size (760 x 100 pixels) and you are good to go!

3. Make sure your banner ties in with the colors and branding of your item listings.

4. Use your banner to punch up your promotions.

5. Use your banner to share more about you as an artist — give a little insight into your process.

6. Don't stress! You can update your banner whenever you want. Keep in mind that your banner is only seen on the front page of your Etsy shop, and if you use the My Etsy Facebook application, people will see your banner there as well. I suggest making sure your avatar is a current representation of your shop. After all, your avatar is seen on every single page of your Etsy shop, and in other areas of Etsy (the Forums, Pounce, etc.) You can use the tips and techniques below to help you create a great avatar, too!

Video Tutorial:

DIY Shop Banner by (the unofficial) Etsy Business Blog

Blog Tutorials:

Boston Handmade presents: How to Make an Etsy Banner

PowerPoint Banner Designs from strumpfkunst

Forum Posts:

How to make a banner without a fancy program

Tutorial: How to Make an Etsy Banner Using Picnik

Cool Resources:

Etsy's Bannerator — Enter your text on one of our pre-made designs

Pre-made Announcement Etsy Banners on our Resources page

Free Etsy Banner Holiday Templates from Etsy member catherinetterings

Free Photo Editors:

Picasa - Free photo editing software from Google

Picnik - Online photo editing service

Aviary - Web-based photo editing with lots of fun tools

Gimp - Free image editor, alternative to Photoshop

Don't forget about all the designers on Etsy that can customize a banner for your shop. Try searching "Etsy shop banner" to browse the banner designs currently available.

Have a helpful link of your own to share? Please post it in the comments below!

More seller how-to's about banners can be found here.
Etsy Banner help can be found in Etsy's Help Guide.

Quit Your Day Job: lulubugjewelry

2009-11-30T16:00:00-05:00

Sue of lulubugjewelry began her Etsy shop as a way to help support her newfound passion for jewelry making using Precious Metal Clay (PMC) jewelry supplies; she never imagined it would be a means to quit her day job. Her previous jobs lent her skills not only in jewelry design and manufacturing, but also the business know-how to eventually run her own business. While she couldn't be happier being her own boss, Sue had to cut expenses, such as her love of motorcycle racing, to make her dream a reality. Her tip for others considering taking the plunge is to be prepared for less free time and to make sure you love what you do — as you will most likely be working much harder than you ever did for a regular paycheck.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
I’ve always loved making stuff. I went to art school but didn’t discover metalworking until after I graduated. I loved it so much that I got a job at a small manufacturer of cast gold, silver and bronze jewelry. I’ve worked at several small jewelry companies since then, doing all aspects of manufacturing and most recently design. Working in manufacturing was a great way to build my skills, but grinding, filing and buffing someone else’s jewelry for eight hours a day left me with little desire to do my own work.

Tell us about your previous working situation.
My most recent job was as the designer for a small fabricated jewelry manufacturer. I was the entire art department — I designed and drew plans (in Spanish) for all the jewelry, set up photo shoots (experience that is coming in very handy now), designed and produced all the print materials (including a large 4-color catalog with over 800 photos every year) and designed, built and maintained the company website. Phew — I’m tired just writing all that. It should have been a dream job, but for a variety of reasons was pretty much the exact opposite. Despite the misery, anger and despair, I did learn a lot in the seven years I was there that is very helpful to me now.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
No, not at all! I’ve always liked having a regular paycheck and never thought about being self-employed. I started doing my own work again after discovering Precious Metal Clay (PMC) about two years ago, and saw Etsy as a way to hopefully help pay for my PMC habit. As my Etsy sales grew and the dissatisfaction with my job increased, I figured that after seventeen years in the jewelry industry, maybe it was time to see if I could do it on my own.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time?
I did all the basic business setup (business license, bank account, resale number, etc.) before I opened my shop. The first thing I did when I decided to start working towards leaving my job was to take a hard look at my finances. I haven’t balanced my checkbook since Reagan was in office (seriously) so paying attention to money doesn’t come naturally to me. I knew that if I was ever going to work up the courage to quit, I needed to have a nice cushion in the bank to fall back on, so I looked at ways of cutting my expenses. I’m fortunate in that I had a huge expense I was able to cut — my unusual hobby, motorcycle racing. I raced motorcycles for seven years, and though it’s great fun it’s also ridiculously expensive and takes up a large amount of time. I knew that it had to go (at least for now) so I didn’t race at all this year. I researched health insurance costs and made sure I could get it, and started buying my materials in bulk. Those of us who work with precious metal have the added challenge of following the various metal markets, which have been quite volatile for the last couple of years. In the end I just couldn’t take my job anymore, so for my sanity I quit about three months earlier than I had planned. It felt great to leave on my own terms, and was the right thing to do. I haven’t been in a blood-curdling rage since then!

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?

I pay more attention to my product design and development than marketing, because all the promoting in the world isn’t going to work if your product falls short. I started off with a variety of different styles, and let my sales determine which concepts and styles to develop further and which to leave behind. If there’s a design that I really believe in but is not selling I try modifying it in some way, perhaps the size or shape, and see if that helps. It often does.
I find craftcult.com to be a great tool for seeing which products are getting a lot of attention but are not selling and may be in need of a bit of tweaking.
Introducing new designs regularly is a great way to keep your audience interested and encourages repeat customers. Repeat customers are the ultimate compliment, in my opinion.
I do have a blog (which I need to pay more attention to), and I recently set up a Facebook fan page. I’m always surprised when I look at my Google Analytics and see how much traffic comes from my blog, so it’s a worthwhile thing to have.
My best marketing tip is to read this excellent blog post from Etsy seller eyeful, these are great marketing tips!

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
I have to say that I do not like Twitter. I come back to it every so often and give it another try, but I just don’t care for it. I know some people have great success with tweeting, but for me it’s just one more thing to take me away from creating that has dubious results. And I prefer reading and writing in complete sentences, with correct spelling, punctuation and capitalization. I guess I’m just old fashioned that way.

Walk us through your typical workday.
It’s long, not least bit glamorous, and involves lots of coffee.

I get up a bit before 7 and join my boyfriend Kelly at our favorite local coffee house until 8. I don’t especially like getting up, but I enjoy this morning ritual that we’ve been doing for years and it’s good for me to get up and get my day started.
I return home and do all my shipping and any other business stuff that has to get done before doing anything else. I have to make chains and do a bit finishing work to just about everything before it ships, so if there’s a lot going out this can take awhile. I relist anything that has sold, answer Convos and do some renewing too. A varying amount of time is wasted on the Internet during this period, and more coffee is consumed.
I go to the mailbox (or the post office if shipping internationally) in the afternoon and run errands while I’m out. This is when it’s nice to have gotten dressed and presentable first thing in the morning.
If I’ve been up late the night before (which is usually the case) a short power nap is in order about now, and then more coffee, and perhaps a little more internet time wasting, depending on the work load.
I might do photography, new listings, work on custom designs, or do finishing work for the rest of the afternoon. I check my Convos throughout the day and try to respond as quickly as I can.
At some point in the early evening some exercise and dinner will likely happen.
I’m a night person and like to do the bulk of my creative work at night. I tend get going around 8 p.m., and will usually work at my bench until midnight or 1 a.m. I like doing design work at this time too. If I’ve had a lot of sales during the day, I print invoices and shipping labels to get a start on the next day’s shipping work.

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
I enjoy the fact that my talents and hard work are fully benefiting me and that I’m responsible for my own success or failure. I like the fact that I no longer have to do something I disagree with just because the boss said so. I love not having to go to long, pointless meetings anymore. I can’t say that I miss one single thing about the job I left, other than a few of the people there.

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
Pretty much all the business stuff! I went to art school and not business school for a good reason, but having worked at small companies my whole life I’ve actually picked up quite a bit of small business knowledge. I don’t have the temperament needed for accounting (see earlier checkbook comment) so I figured out early on that it would be very worthwhile to pay someone else to do this for me. I also have someone else do my taxes. My time management is not quite as good as it was when I had a job, so I keep a small whiteboard on my bench and keep a running list of what needs to get done when. Finding balance between work and personal time is much harder now too. When this was not my only source of income it was much easier to take time off.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?
To be prepared for even less free time. There’s an old joke about how you only have to work half days when you’re self-employed, and you even get to choose which 12 hours you work. This is very true! I would advise being sure that you really love what you do, because you will be doing a lot of it, and you will most likely be working much harder than you did for your regular paycheck.

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?
I hope to do some higher-end, one-of-a-kind pieces and finally start doing some wholesale. I hope to keep my customers happy and returning to my shop and to keep creating whatever ideas pop into my head.

Thanks to Sue for sharing her story. If you have questions for Sue come by the VIrtual Labs on Wednesday, December 2 at 3 p.m. ET. You can see some of Sue's beautiful work in the Related Items. Check out previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.

Tech Update: Google Product Search Syndication

2009-11-25T15:05:00-05:00

UPDATE 12/1/09: The initial rollout of Google Product Search Syndication to Etsy sellers with active individual Google Merchant Center accounts has been completed. A gradual rollout of this feature to the remainder of the Etsy seller community will now begin. Questions and comments welcome in this discussion thread.

Sellers,

We're excited to announce that Etsy is partnering with Google as a participant in the Google Product Search Marketplace Partner Program.

Etsy's Google Product Search Syndication feature will allow Etsy sellers to have their items automatically submitted frequently and with all relevant attributes to Google Product Search. You can find Google Product Search via the "Shopping" link at the top of most Google search pages.

As a Google Product Search Marketplace Partner, participating Etsy sellers' items will appear in Google Product Search with the associated Etsy shop name and shop feedback visible and searchable.

This feature is being rolled out gradually to the Etsy seller community. Beta testing has been underway and we are now gradually activating this feature for Etsy sellers who currently use their shop feed to submit items to Google Product Search. No action is required from sellers. A gradual rollout to the remainder of the Etsy seller community will follow.

Participating sellers will see a link called Syndication under the Promote section inside Your Etsy when signed in. This Syndication page lists the partner websites Etsy is working with to help you maximize your shop's exposure. More partner websites will be added in the future.

Google Product Search Syndication will be enabled by default for participating sellers. Sellers can opt out of this service at any time.

We'd like to thank all the beta testers for their ongoing valuable feedback.

Please visit Etsy's Help site to learn more details about using Google Product Search Syndication.

Other Tips for Your Etsy Shop in the Seller Handbook

Seller How-To: Shipping

2009-11-25T10:15:00-05:00

On Etsy, shipping and fulfillment are handled by sellers individually. This leaves a lot of flexibility for a seller's shipping options — which means it also presents a lot of decisions! This post will give you an outline of the most important shipping issues to consider as well as some tips and links to more in-depth information. We've included relevant links for US, Canada, UK, and Australia, thanks to help from these sellers: PeculiarForest, estasketch, terrain, Dancingcircle, memake, magicjelly, fenrislorsrai, lamarquisedesanges and katsai. Soon, we hope to translate this post into other languages, including German and French.

General Shipping Information

Shipping as Customer Service
With the general population increasingly shopping online, buyers are looking for more in the way of customer service, expediency, and convenience. Sellers should come up with a plan for what types of shipping they offer, whether they offer express services, insurance, etc. Most of all, providing clear, friendly information will prevent any miscommunication — which can really put a damper on customer service. Along with the shipping costs outlined in the listing, many sellers put additional shipping details on their Shop Policies page, and link to that at the bottom of each listing.

Further Reading: Creating Policies That Work, Policy Overview in the Help section

Felt Watches by BraveMoonman

Calculating Rates

Depending on the shipping service you use, you may need to calculate weights. For example, US First Class Mail uses weights, while Priority Mail rates may depend on the type of box or envelope you send the item in.

So whip out your measuring tape, kitchen or shipping scale, or take note of the weight of your packages when you take them to the post office. Now that you know the weights and dimensions of the packages you offer, you can use your country's postal service shipping calculator to determine the domestic and international rates for the countries you want to ship to. You may decide to factor in the price of your shipping materials into your shipping cost.

Holiday Deadlines

The holiday rush can be a frantic time! Plan ahead with shipping deadlines. You may want to refer to these in your Shop Announcement as a courtesy to your holiday shoppers.

Etsy Shipping Profiles

Etsy Shipping Profiles are a way to save a specific set of shipping information, which you can then quickly apply to any item listing during the listing or editing process. Shipping Profiles work well if you have similar items that ship for the same costs. Determine your shipping costs for an item of a specific size, weight and shipping method, then create a Shipping Profile you can quickly add to your new listings for such items.

Further Reading: Find out how to set up your shipping profiles in our Help section here.
The difference between Regions Shipping and Country Specific Shipping.

Combined Shipping

Combined Shipping allows you to specify a special shipping cost in the event that a buyer checks out with multiple items from your shop at the same time.

Further Reading: Find out how to apply this option to your shipping settings in our Help section here.

Expedited Shipping

You may want to consider offering expedited shipping options. If you end up using these services a lot, you may even be eligible to a discount through your chosen carrier. Chances are, you'll get a customer who needs an item by a certain date, so do your research ahead of time.

I started off this post with a section on customer service, and I think it applies here. If you plan to offer express shipping, figure out how to make it as easy as possible for your buyer. Let them know up front how much additional services cost. Perhaps include some helpful text in your listings and Shop Announcement. Here's an example: "I also offer expedited shipping for an additional cost of $x.xx. If you would like this service, please write a note in the Message to Seller when you check out. I will send you an updated invoice from PayPal for the additional service."

Dancingcircle pointed out in this post that it's "easy to set up your own account through USPS, UPS or FedEx by visiting their websites. Make sure you clearly understand each carrier’s shipping time frames, if they include delivery confirmation, and where you will need to drop off packages or how to schedule a pick up. Don’t forget to check out their claims or lost package policies."

You can compare expedited services offered by the USPS here.
Terrain notes that Canada Post offers a variety of expedited shipping services, and "each parcel delivery type indicates whether or not it includes a) delivery confirmation, b) insurance up to $100, and c) supplemental insurance." Click here to check these out.
Sending Urgent Mail through UK Royal Post
estasketch details the shipping options for Australians, "Auspost offers express post for domestic, or express post and express courier services for international. Express post has quite reasonable rates and good shipping times considering how far away we are from everything! Express courier offers a few more services and faster, but also more expensive."
Express post for domestic
Info on express post international
Info on express courier international

Insurance

Insurance is to protect you, the seller. As noted earlier, shipping is an aspect of customer service, and in the event there is a shipping problem, you may face an unhappy customer and negative feedback on Etsy. Third-party services like PayPal offer protection policies for sellers if certain criteria are met in the event of a delivery dispute (more information on this here). Additionally, there may be local laws in your area that would place responsibility on the seller for a shipping problem. Consider purchasing insurance on big-ticket items, or adding a small amount to each item cost so that in the rare cases where packages get lost, you have a fund that can cover you (or include the price of insurance in your shipping price and let the buyer know you have done so in the item description).

You can find out the cost of insuring your package from your postal service. Some expedited services have certain insurance packages built in, so look into that before buying additional insurance.

USPS Insurance
Canada Post Insurance
Check the UK Royal Mail shipping services' details individually
Australian Insurance (Extra Cover)

Certificate of Mailing

If the buyer happens to claim they have not received their package, this proof of shipping is the key to clearing your name, should the buyer report this to PayPal. Ask for this service in person at the post office. Further, we encourage our sellers to keep detailed and accurate records of shipping, as our Support Team may ask you to provide proof of shipping in a non-delivery case on Etsy.

A Certificate of Mailing from USPS only cost $1.15 (at the time of this blog post).
Canada Post has a DCC, Delivery Confirmation Certificate. Terrain notes that "delivery confirmation is a part of Canada Post's electronic tracking system. PayPal will accept a Canada Post Tracking Number that shows delivery as proof of delivery. To get a refund from the post office for a lost or damaged item, you would present the receipt you obtained when you sent it, which also shows the tracking number. Proof of shipping for Small Packet, which doesn't include DCC, would be your receipt plus the copy of the customs form."
UK Royal Mail's Track and Trace. PeculiarForest points out, "If you have a tracked item (Special Delivery 9am, Special Delivery Next Day, Recorded Signed For, Airsure, International Recorded Signed For) you must take the item to your local Post Office to have it accepted. The Post Office will also provide a signature for your Certificate of Posting document.
Australian seller estasketch says, "To get any proof of mailing you'd need to use an express or registered services. Registered post prepaid satchels seem to be the most affordable way of do this for international packages currently. Delivery confirmation is available but only on parcels over a certain size, and only with insurance. Proof of mailing also comes included with all express post services. Registered post information for domestic mail here."

Further Reading: Proof of Shipping with SCAN by ThePaintedTiger

Tolkien Travel Case by Beesnetta

International Shipping

As of November 2009, 30% of transactions on Etsy are cross-border or involve both a non-US buyer and non-US seller. Part of the excitement of being on Etsy is shopping and selling across borders. Offering international shipping opens up your shop to the world. That said, sellers need to be comfortable with the ins and outs of shipping internationally if they are going to offer this service to their customers. It is easy to learn, and once you do, you will open up your shop to many more customers!

If you are selling to a lot of international buyers you might want to check out Endicia.com. This service allows you to print shipping labels online that integrate customs forms as well. Shipping internationally is much easier when you use Endicia.com. You enter all your customs information in an online form, and this information is printed out along with proper postage.

Further Reading: "How to use Shipping Profiles on Etsy" on Cute, Cuddly, and Cannibalistic, a blog by Etsy seller, fenrislorsrai.

Customs Forms

If you are shipping to another country, you'll need to include the proper customs documentation. Do not mark it a "gift" if you're mailing an item you've sold to a customer. Check with your country's postal service to find out exactly what forms you'll need to attach to your package. In general, filling out these forms thoroughly with information should actually prevent your package from getting held up in Customs.

Shipping internationally will go smoothly most of the time. Every so often a package can get stuck in customs. Make sure your customers are aware that you can't be responsible for these delays. It's nearly impossible to track a package once it leaves your country.

The buyer is responsible for any additional fees that may be charged at customs. You should add this to your Shop Policies page.

In the U.S. you'll need a green CN 22 customs form which you can pick up at the post office or order for free from USPS.com.
In Canada, refer to this link on the Canada Post website. Terrain adds, "For U.S. and International Xpresspost and Expedited parcel services, fill out the 'Customs Declaration' section of the shipping label. For U.S. Small Packet/Light Packet, CN22 Customs Label (white for SP, green for LP)."
PeculiarForest notes that for UK sellers, "Customs forms will need to be filled out at the post office if parcels are being sent outside of the European Union." Memake notes that you may also download a PDF form from the Royal Mail website here.
Australians need the green forms available from your post office for free.

Further Reading: Seller Tip from Katsai

Know What You Can Ship

Some items are prohibited or restricted to individual countries. Did you know you can't send platinum, gold, and silver or precious stones via USPS Express Mail International Australia? Magicjelly underscored that it is "absolutely imperative that non-Australian sellers know about customs restrictions on items being mailed into Australia. Here's a helpful page about what you can't mail to Australia. Also, some Australian buyers may not be aware of what they shouldn't buy from overseas sellers... Australia doesn't have a lot of the plant diseases and pests you have [in other parts of the world], so the Quarantine Dept is very vigilant."

USPS's Country Conditions
Search restrictions by country on the Canadian Post here and here.
UK Restricted and Prohibited Goods
Prohibited goods list on the Australian Post website

Pricing and Sales Considerations

If it costs you little to nothing to ship an additional item to a customer, think about offering free shipping for additional items. This can be an incentive for the customer to look through your shop and see if there is anything else she wants. You may even mention that you offer free shipping on additional items in your listing to entice her.

Free Shipping: Some sellers use free shipping as a promotion. If you plan to do so, first consider your profits and realize that for lower-priced items, this may not be cost effective. If you decide to do free shipping, you may consider using "free shipping" as a tag or otherwise call attention to it in your Shop Announcement and listing description. Really, free shipping is only effective as a promotion if the buyer is aware of it before she decides to make the purchase! You may also consider just using free shipping as an occasional promotion for your shop, or as a special benefit that you give to great or repeat customers, or for orders over a certain dollar amount.
Balancing Shipping Cost with Item Price: It can be challenging to try to find a good shipping cost for heavy yet relatively inexpensive items such as baked goods. If your shipping cost is very high or even higher relative to your item price, you might consider the following ideas: Add a bit to your item price to balance the shipping cost, research and find the least expensive method possible, encourage multiple sales in one order if you are using a flat-rate service that will not cost additional money to ship.

Packaging

Packaging presentation and managing your mailing station is a whole other topic, my friends! But here are a few tips:

Purchase and print some shipping services through PayPal.
SmartStamp in the UK offers printing postage self-services.
Terrain posted a how-to about shipping with Canada Post.

We have many more tips for you, so check out these links:

More Shipping Articles | Packaging Your Items

A great, big thank you goes out to these sellers for their help: PeculiarForest for the UK links, terrain for Canadian links, and as well as Dancingcircle, magicjelly and estasketch for the Australian links, memake, fenrislorsrai, and katsai for their contributions.

Lots to think about, we know! But once you've got your shipping practices and policies down, I'm sure you'll feel a weight lifted. Have a tip for shipping from your country? Let us know in the comments below.

Five Money Questions to Ask Before Quitting Your Day Job

2009-11-24T14:00:00-05:00

This guest post is by Amanda Steinberg, founder of DailyWorth.com. DailyWorth is a daily email about money for women — delivering practical tips, empowering ideas and the occasional kick in the pants.

I quit my full-time job four years ago to be a full-time entrepreneur. I earn my living running websites like this personal finance website for women called DailyWorth.com. Here are five things I wish someone had told me before I made the financial leap.

1. How much do you need to make, really? REALLY. Life without a stable paycheck has far more expenses than someone working 9-to-5 might realize. You'll need a lot of cash. As a business owner, I'm constantly lusting after marketing dollars I don't have. Consider additional expenses that you'll incur once you go out on your own.

Expenses You May Not Have Planned For

In addition to all of the line items in your existing plans and budgets, consider these expenses as well:

Personal Expenses	Business Expenses
Health Insurance	Legal Fees
Retirement Account (Roth IRA, anyone?)	Product Development Fees
Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments	Advertising
Increased Accounting Expenses	Constant Website Enhancements

Not sure what this all adds up to? Ask someone who knows. Life is expensive. Be conservative when you estimate.

Photo by valedesign

2. Reality check: How much revenue can my company really generate?
Evaluate your market and know what your competitors are earning on average. Better yet, be conservative. Don't collect blog posts featuring glossy success stories and think that everyone experiences the same level of success.

3. Can I cultivate multiple, dependable income streams to support me as I build my business? Now that you have a better idea of what your life and new business will cost in the first year, add 50% to what you think you need to earn. That's your earning target. Why? Because even though you might think you'll earn $4,000 in January, life happens, contracts are canceled, checks don't arrive and WHAM!, the money's gone. Stuff happens, so you'll need to earn more than you think you need to hit your earning targets. Don't think you can earn that much? Good, we're glad you're asking yourself this question now, rather than staring at a credit card statement that's $20,000 in the red.

Figure out where this money will come from.

Take a part-time job or stable freelance contracts. If you freelance, assume you'll only be able to bill clients for up to 20 hours of work per week. It's harder than you think to bill for more than 20 hours as a freelancer. When Nathan Shackles decided to found his own business two years ago, he first started by taking on 10-20 hours per week of extra work, in addition to his day job. “I saved every dime of the money I made from the contract work to provide capital for my business,” he says. One month ago, he launched his new product, ApplicantStack, a web-based applicant tracking and recruitment software for human resources and staffing agencies. While Nathan was able to work full days and extra hours on top of that, that kind of schedule isn’t for everyone.
Identify your most bankable skill. How can you make money most easily? Making money while you're growing your business doesn't need to be glamorous or fulfilling. It just needs to be lucrative. Period.
Line up part-time work before you leave your job. Line it up weeks or months in advance of your transition.
Try to turn your full-time job into a part-time job. Don't burn bridges! You can approach your current employer about reducing your hours or transitioning into a contract position. Given the recession, your boss may be open to ideas that save the company money while giving you the time and flexibility to set up your own business.

4. How much can I save in advance? If you’re leaving a full-time job, start saving aggressively six months before you announce your departure. Commit to making regular, automated deposits. Laura Rangel and Lisa Steen Proctor, co-founders of Karito Kids a multicultural doll company that teaches kids about giving back, started their company with $10,000 each from their savings accounts. Both agree that putting money aside now to help fund your future business is the best way forward.

5. Who do I know that's already done it? A mentor can point you to networking opportunities, troubleshoot financial pitfalls and show you where you're drinking your own Kool-Aid a little too aggressively.

Bottom Line
Don't be delusional. Don't risk your financial well-being thinking you're The Next Big Thing (though I hope that you are). Building a lucrative new business takes time and a lot of cash. By the same token, embracing entrepreneurship doesn’t mean that you have to bleed red ink all over the place. Pursue your dream. Just plan for it with your eyes wide open.

Learn more about smart spending and savvy saving by signing up for DailyWorth.

Quit Your Day Job: Damselle

2009-11-23T16:00:00-05:00

Melanie, the jewelry designer and business maven behind Damselle, was able to start her jewelry business and become her own boss after working as a store manager for The Discovery Channel. Melanie admits her sales took a little longer to take off than she originally imagined and walks us through the steps she took once she realized promoting her shop was just as important as having a great product. She stands by the fact that happy customers are her best viral marketing strategy, as well as marketing her personal story as a brand. Stay tuned as Melanie candidly discusses the personal and social sacrifices she's had to make in order to make Damselle a reality.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
I have always made things with my hands. From a young age I went to art schools, most recently the School of the Museum of Fine Art in Boston. I also came from a very creative family, the sort of family in which trips to the fabric store and the book store last hours and can be deadly to your bank account. We made alligators out of old carpet padding. We watercolored the cat. We took the clothing out of our dresser drawers and stored books in them instead. We lived a pretty out-of-the-box handmade life and were pretty fearless about it.

The story of how I started making jewelry and how it became a business is, like a lot of things that have happened in my life, a meandering and unexpected path. I was doing volunteer work helping to care for tigers that had been purchased on the black market and then abandoned by their owners. It was a very special time in my life and I really felt close to those animals, but raising funds to keep them fed while we waited for them to go to their new animal sanctuary homes was difficult. We decided to hold a charity auction, and I needed something to contribute, so I tried my hand at making jewelry.

Tell us about your previous working situation.
It has always been my goal to find a way to live a more creative life and do things on my own terms, but after school I got caught up in the daily grind with the pressure of paying my bills and lost focus. I was working for The Discovery Channel Store as a store manager. I had been there for four years and was recently promoted; it was a lot of work, and a lot of hours, but I felt like things were really coming together.

However, within a few months everything came tumbling down and I was streamlined out of a job. During that summer as I was closing down my Discovery Channel Store and asking myself a lot of questions about what I wanted for myself in the future, a few important things happened. I spent some quality time with my old college friends in Boston, the movers and the shakers, with whom I'd dreamed about my future. I started thinking hard about what really mattered to me. After years of working overtime for someone else, I realized that I needed to take more risks in my life to do what I love.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
I have always wanted to quit my "day job," even before I had one. I wasn't sure exactly how I was going to do it, and for a long while I thought I was going to open a tea business, but the high overhead and the idea of being stuck in one place all the time weren't ideal. I had hopes that my Etsy experiment would pan out in an exciting way, but to be honest, I was a bit of a slow learner when I first opened shop. It took me over a month to get my first sale, and almost a second month to get another. I opened Damselle in October, but didn't realize I would need to put real effort into it to become successful until February. I began to understand that promoting Damselle and getting myself out there was just as important as having a great product. Slowly, my business began to grow. Now I think that running a tea business would have been crazy, and my little online jewelry shop is the perfect solution to being a business owner in this economy.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time?
Honestly, I am not necessarily the best role model when it comes to preparing to quit your day job. I did speak to an accountant about tax issues, and I did take a part-time job while I eased into running a successful business. However, I don't have any children and if things get rocky I can just take up a part-time job for a while. Most of my preparation involved learning to sleep through the night without a steady paycheck and building confidence in my abilities.

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?
I've had more business generated from free, word-of-mouth promotion by my customers than I could ever pay for. I've also been fortunate to have blog posts written about my work on several popular wedding sites by happy customers. This has brought me so much business, and I've had lots of referrals from friends and family of my customers. I don't think there is any secret recipe for marketing success. We all have to figure out what works best for our own business style and target customer base. Take calculated risks and try new things. Always look for new places to expose people to your product. Be fresh and consistent.

One thing that I have found to be very successful in my own marketing is to think of myself, in a way, as a brand. I am often selling myself as much as I am selling my jewelry. Because of that, I try to let my personality shine through in my correspondence with customers. One great idea I had was to make little printable artist bios, which I use to personally thank my customers and to introduce myself. One goes in each package I ship out. These are also great because, if the item is a gift, the recipient gets to discover more about my story and hopefully connect with me and my jewelry, as I am selling a handmade product. I think it's wonderful that Etsy customers care so much about the special uniqueness of the handmade items they buy, and the people behind the craftsmanship.

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
I have learned that, while I love the exposure of being blogged about, unless a blog has a track record of generating a lot of traffic to my target customer base, it isn't a good investment for me to send items for blog reviews. I can usually get more traffic for my money by simply buying advertising, and I think being blogged about by my happy customers is a lot more effective.

Walk us through your typical workday.

I get up every morning around 7:30 a.m. and make tea and breakfast for myself. Then I sit in front of my computer and check my emails while I have breakfast and try to wake up. I make a list of what I need to do for the day on a week-long sheet.
Then I work out (more often than not) and pack my orders, if I haven't done so already.
Then I shower, but usually still wear jammy pants or sweatpants if I'm staying in all day.
I spend the middle part of my day making and photographing jewelry, in between tea and cat snuggling breaks, while the light is good.
If I need to run to the post office or do any other errands, I also like to do this while most people are still at work.
I also periodically check my emails, relist, and update my social networking sites, to which I am addicted. (In my defense, I do get a good amount of traffic in my shop from those sites.)
In the evening, depending on how busy I am, I usually do a mix of promoting, answering emails, researching supplies, and having free time. If I have a lot to get done, however, I can work into the night.

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
My favorite thing about not having a day job is not having my values dictated to me by someone else. I love having direct personal accountability for my successes (and failures). I am living my life on my terms, and I have never been so free. It's great to be able to take the time I need with my family and friends. If that time happens to be at 2 p.m. on a Wednesday, it's not a problem for me to walk away from my work and come back to it later in the evening. I love being able to be creative, and I love hearing the stories from my customers about how my jewelry goes on to be part of their lives.

I do miss having a steady paycheck. Let's face it, becoming self-employed is not for the faint of heart. You need to really love what you do, because there are many sacrifices. I have had to cut a lot of things from my budget to make it work, like buying new clothes and eating out. Right now, I have a roommate.

I also miss the human interaction. It's harder to meet people when you work from home, and I have to be careful or I can become a hermit. Social skills: Use them or lose them! I recently joined my local Street Team, Handmade Dayton, and I'm so excited to get to know all of them.

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
I think the most difficult part of running my business is dealing with change: learning to sleep through the night when you don't know what's coming, being able to push yourself out of your comfort zone to see what you are capable of, learning to recognize and act on changes when they do happen. How am I going to adapt my business strategy to be relevant in the current situation? I have already seen my business go through a major evolution from the novice designs I made for the auction, to a brief stint traveling at crafts shows, making the decision to focus on Etsy as my primary venue, developing the bridal line, handling wedding season and the holidays in different ways. I know Damselle will continue to evolve and I hope that I can keep up.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?
Wow, there is so much advice I would have given myself. I wish I had had the courage to quit my day job sooner. I wish I had understood that I would only get as much as I put into my Etsy shop. I wish I had ignored the woman at the craft show who told me my jewelry was too gaudy for brides. However, hindsight is 20/20, and I think I've done okay.

My advice for other people quitting their day job would be to make sure your passion for what you are doing can carry you through the rough spots. Keep diligent and detailed accounting, even if it isn't your thing...you need to know where you stand financially. Don't be afraid to keep learning and trying new things. Celebrate your victories, no matter how small. And use a kitchen timer to keep yourself on task (especially in the Forums).

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?
My goals for my shop are to continue to grow my business into a stable and successful career for myself in which I am able to live my life deliberately and with integrity, and to spread the word to the world about the benefits of supporting artists and craftsmen by buying handmade. When you buy handmade, you are directly supporting real people who have put a lot of attention and skill into their product, as well as making a choice that is less harmful for our environment and helping to grow our local economies.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
As I'm writing this interview, I've been going through the blog posts I wrote as I went through the process of starting my business, and coincidentally, today is the two year anniversary of quitting my day job. I am not afraid to admit that the road is not what I expected it to be. It is both harder and more amazing than I anticipated. My life has never been richer and I have never felt more excitement and anticipation for the future.

Thanks to Melanie for sharing her story. If you have questions for Melanie come by the Virtual Labs on Wednesday November 25th at 3 p.m. ET. You can see some of Melanie's beautiful work in the Related Items. Check out previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.

Holiday Tips for Sellers: Notes on Cyber Monday From DiffractionFiber

2009-11-23T14:30:00-05:00

Beth of DiffractionFiber held a very informative workshop in our Virtual Labs last week on promoting your Cyber Monday sales. Did you miss it? Hopefully these notes will help!

What is Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday is the Monday after Thanksgiving. Traditionally (or at least how the media markets it), Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, is the time for big brick and mortar retailers to offer their huge deals on their wares. And Cyber Monday is the time for Internet retailers to do the same. What I suggest is to offer your deals and discounts the entire weekend, so from Friday through Monday.

What kind of deal should I offer?
Well that’s entirely up to you. People are out shopping in force, but they are also out for a good deal. Obviously, don’t offer more than you can afford. But your prices should have enough wiggle room and mark-up so that you can — on occasion — offer a discount. You can offer a percentage discount, Buy One Get One deals, or free shipping. Regardless of what you offer, make sure that your deals are clearly explained in your announcement and in the beginning of your descriptions. After all, a discount doesn’t mean much to a potential shopper if they don’t know what the price was originally.

How should I provide discounts in my Etsy shop?
This leads me to my next point, mark down ALL your designated listings before the sale starts. I do this on Thanksgiving night when I’m recovering from my turkey coma. That way customers can buy and pay and they aren’t waiting for revised invoices or refunds or anything. It makes their lives easier, it makes your life easier. Tip: Editing your listings and changing the price does not cost you any additional listing fees, and it bumps you up in Shop Local results (provided you have entered your geographical location).

What do I do leading up to the sale?
Plan your marketing strategy! Here are some ideas:

Remember to tag your items with the sale tags Etsy is promoting this weekend! Read this Etsy blog post: Seller How-To: Get Involved With Black Friday and Cyber Monday Promotion to find out more.
If you have a mailing list, send out an email blast on the morning of Black Friday announcing the sale.
Purchase ad space on your favorite blogs. Either directly or through companies like Project Wonderful.
Use social media like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace to get the word out.
Stock up on your most popular items so they can get mailed as soon as possible. That includes packaging and shipping supplies as well. That way you are ready to go!
Look over your listings and be critical of your photos. If you have anything that might need some revision, now is the time to do it. It’s helpful to have a friend look over your shop with a critical eye. After all, you are so close to your listings; what seems obvious to you might be confusing for a potential shopper.
If you don’t already sell internationally, do it now! It's easy, and you open your shop to so many more potential sales overseas. Probably a third of my customers are international. Just pick up some customs forms or order online from USPS or your country's postal website. These customs forms are simple to fill out and can still be used if you're scheduling a pick up. Make sure your international shipping profiles are all set up — it is about making it as easy as possible for your customer. To calculate prices just go to USPS.com and plug in the weight with a few far flung locales.

What do I do over the sale weekend?
Check Etsy often. Make sure everything stays in stock, consider upping the stock numbers prior to Thanksgiving weekend. I know it goes against common Etsy wisdom, but I consider it smart to up your numbers so that if a blog links to a listing, your listing stays as active and doesn’t show up as sold. Be sure to answer any Convos as soon as possible. You don’t want to keep customers wondering and waiting.

How quickly do I need to ship out my orders from the sale?
With, hopefully, an onslaught of purchases coming in, you need to consider how quickly you’ll be able to ship out new orders. Set a realistic expectation for being able to ship out orders. Customers would much rather know up front that they are going to be waiting five days for their orders to ship than to be left wondering. You can post the days you plan on shipping in your Shop Announcement.

What else can I do to wow my buyers?
Will you be offering gift wrapping? Gift tags? Shipping direct to the recipient? Figure all this out now and put it in your policy page. If you are able, I suggest offering all of these at no charge. They are little perks that few people will take you up on but will make you seem more generous and friendly. Nothing is worse than when you look like you are being cheap and trying to squeeze a buck from someone. Just buy some non-denominational holiday wrapping paper like snowflakes, and then whatever is left over I’m sure you can use for your own holiday wrapping.

How do you turn all these new customers into devotees?
First thing is of course exceeding their expectations, making them happy and providing a great product. You can consider including a coupon that is good in the slow months of January/February/March. You can ask if you can include them on your mailing list. Side note: NEVER automatically enroll people in your mailings, ALWAYS ask first.

Make sure you are including a business card in all your packages going out. If it's an item that is conducive to a branded tag or label, make sure to attach it. That way both the buyer and the recipient have your name in front of them for future purchases.

Try PrintRunner.com for hang tags, you can get 250 for $12, full color, fabulous quality. There are lots and lots of options out there for business cards. Moo.com sells small fun cards for something a little different.

What should I expect?
If you are brand new to Etsy with no followers, don’t expect to be blown over with sales. You have to have a following to get that sort of barrage. Think of it as a percentage increase. Just like selling on Etsy any time of year, the more you put in as far as marketing and publicity, the more you get out of it.

More Tips in Etsy's Seller Handbook

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

Holiday Kids & Toys Showcase: On Sale Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 12 p.m. ET

2009-11-18T10:30:00-05:00

Have your little ones finished composing their wishlists for the North Pole? Discover gifts that will set their wee minds alight with creativity. The Holiday Kids & Toys Showcase will be a wonderland of imaginative play.

Info for Sellers
Get your items ready! Think fun things for kids to do, play with or wear. In order to keep the Showcase on point thematically, items in the Showcase can only be from the following Categories: Bath & Beauty (e.g., top-level tag being "bath & beauty"), Books and Zines, Children, Clothing, Crochet, Knitting, Paper Goods, Toys, Vintage and Woodworking.

The Holidays: Kids & Toys Showcase goes on sale Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 12 p.m. ET.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
This Showcase will run from Monday, November 23, 2009 12 a.m. ET until Sunday, November 29, 2009, 11:59 p.m. ET.
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24-hour spot, which will be linked from a prominent banner on Etsy's home page.
Sellers determine which item will be featured in your Showcase slot. Sellers must use the tool in Your Etsy > Promote > Showcase. Learn more about this process here.

Future Showcases

If you are thinking about planning for other Showcases that may be more appropriate for your items, here are some of the front page Showcases we will be highlighting:

Holidays Parties and Celebrations. On sale Tuesday, November 24, 2009; the Showcase will be live from November 30, 2009 to December 6, 2009.
- Think upcoming celebrations and festive decor, glitz and fun attire for these events.
Holiday Gifts for Her. On sale Thursday, December 3, 2009; the Showcase will be live from December 7, 2009 to December 13, 2009.
- Think jewelry, accessories, clothing, artwork, and bath & body products for women of all ages.

Holiday Last Minute Gifts Showcase: On sale Thursday, December 10, 2009; the Showcase will be live from December 14, 2009 to December 20, 2009.
- Think gifts with expedited shipping. Expedited shipping is the criteria for this Showcase.

What is this Showcase thing? For a general introduction to Showcase, read Matt's Storque article 13.5 Questions about the Showcase, and for deeper thoughts on figuring out if Showcase is right for you, see Beth's Showcase Deconstructed article.

Quit Your Day Job: monkeysalwayslook

2009-11-16T15:30:00-05:00

Allison of monkeysalwayslook and papervictory was able to leave her previous position in television production after devising a year-long plan to sell her products on Etsy. While her seemingly flawless scheme didn't work out as well as she had hoped, she found ways to make it work and is now supporting her workload full time through her Etsy shops. Allison stands by the notion that well-styled photos that tell a story are always great marketing and promotional tools. Keep reading (or, ahem, laughing) along with Allison to learn more about her personal journey.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
I have always been artistic and come from a very supportive family who fly their freak flags high and proud. I've had jobs that were artistic in nature, but not to the extent I have now, where I have complete creative control. Creating my own products was just a natural progression, especially when I found it very difficult to work for others.

Tell us about your previous working situation.
Right out of college I worked in television production: following celebrities around, telling them how good they looked and how much I loved their new movie/album/television show/crossover act/perfume/tiny rat dog. After a number of years of premieres/award shows/press junkets and late nights, I was more than a little over it. I found myself in a “you can’t fire me, I quit” situation, so I used this newly acquired “free time” and went to art school to study graphic design. I worked as a designer for a number of years, which eventually led me to where I am now.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
That was absolutely the goal. I was planning on quitting my job in about a year and was working toward that every day. It happened a little sooner than I planned (about 10 months sooner) when I found myself in another “you can’t fire me, I quit" situation with my last job. It was absolutely the best thing that ever happened to me.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time?
The boring stuff: I got a business license and a Monkeys Always Look bank account and credit card. I put as much money in that bank account as I possibly could and I spent every penny of it. I also did some fun stuff: I trapped my husband into marrying me so I could be covered under his health insurance.

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?
I think the number one thing is to have a great product and be passionate about it since the product can promote itself. I was very fortunate that my husband’s dowry included an amazing camera. I think that a good picture is always a great marketing and promotional tool, and there isn’t a replacement for well-styled photos that tell a story and create a mood.

I have been featured on a few blogs and in magazines, which has been an amazing boost to my little shop. I really enjoy running giveaways on my blog and asking for people to comment with suggestions for new candle scents or garden marker inscriptions. I find this to be both a great marketing tool and just a lot of fun. I mean, really, who doesn’t love free stuff?!

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
Well, there was that time I got out of the car at a famous club with no underwear on...

Walk us through your typical workday.

I roll out of bed around 1 p.m. (Not really, but I wish.) In the mornings, the three giant dogs and I walk my husband to work. It takes about an hour and it gives me time to think about world domination and what needs to get done for the day.
If I have orders to pack up I do that when I get home.
Then the rest of the day is filled with chatting with customers (hi everyone!!!), huffing paint, playing with mud, squishing silverware, digging in the dirt, melting wax, and treasure hunting.
I usually stop when my husband gets home from work around 6 p.m. and we talk about the day while I prepare a five course gourmet meal...or heat up a can of soup.
Then after dinner I usually try to get a little more work done, since there is always something to do. I also use the quiet evening time for new product ideas, or "research and development," as my husband calls it. For every item you see in my shop, there are probably a dozen that didn’t work, that I didn't like or are just plain U-G-L-Y. Sadly, not every genius idea is really sellable or appealing.
Oh, and somewhere in the day there is hopefully a trip to the yoga studio or a run.

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
Even though there is the illusion that you have the days free to play bingo and go to the water park, that is usually not the case. However, there are days when I get to take the dogs to the beach or meet my unpaid intern (a.k.a. husband) for lunch. Those are great, and I will always catch myself thinking about how great it is to be self-employed. I never take it for granted, as it really does allow the freedom you would never get working for THE MAN. (Well, that is if you consider "freedom" to be synthetic leather and fake fur-lined handcuffs that keep you tethered to the computer and packing tape.)

I just heard a quote the other day that if you "do something you love, you will never work a day in your life." That is so true. I love every minute of it and am so grateful to be able to do what I do, so thank you, everyone! I miss NOTHING! (Well, I miss the water cooler; I do love cold water.)

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
The days can be long. There are times when I'd rather be sipping cocktails at the end of the dock on my private island, but instead I am ordering shipping labels or filling out silly Q&As about myself. On these days I try to keep it interesting by punctuating the day with a Flickr or blog post of my dogs sleeping or my cat hiding in ANOTHER box. Since there is no way to predict my month-to-month income, there are some lean months, and that can be hard, especially when a new T-shirt/pound of candy/water toy for the dogs insists that I buy it.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?
I wouldn’t have spent so much money buying stuff I really didn’t need. The plan was to go full time after a year of developing products (which we know didn’t happen that way). However, the first number of months being full time was spent on research and development and making up for the lost income of leaving my job. I had very little money coming in and LOTS going out. If you plan to go full time, make sure you have a product that is something that people want/need. “Make it and they will come” doesn’t necessary work in all cases, and if you were able to look though all my expired listings there is proof enough of that! (What? I can’t interest you in an infant ferret shopping cart liner? Seemed like a good idea at the time.)

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?

Expand my line of goods offered and increase my wholesale accounts.
Make more Etsy friends and learn more about business.
Make my payments on-time to the mafia (ah, I mean the sanitation department).

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
If working for yourself is your dream, GO FOR IT. What are you waiting for? It's worth every minute and I have never been happier. While I can’t justify buying a two hundred dollar pair of jeans anymore (since I rarely leave the house), I think I pull off a pair of pajama pants with class and style. I’m a member of the Etsy Full-Time Crafters Team. It is made up of some amazing people who all have one thing in common: we love to gossip and we all make our living from our sales on Etsy. They are such a great system of support and I really do suggest that you get yourself on an active Etsy Street Team.

Thanks to Allison for sharing her story. You can see some of Allison's beautiful work in the Related Items. Check out previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.

From Etsy's Merchandising Desk: December Festivites

2009-11-12T14:15:00-05:00

It's that time again, and those of us behind the scenes at Etsy would like to share our merchandising plans for December. As we continue to plan Etsy’s calendar for the year ahead with thematic merchandising, we will be incorporating many of the concepts you shared in response to November's report and continue to welcome your input. It is our goal to create a healthy balance between promotions for traditional holidays, seasonal changes, and lifestyle trends.

Rounding out November

Keep abreast of the November seasonal themes, holidays, dates to remember, and trends we are looking to highlight in November's Merchandising Desk edition.
Promotional opportunities for sellers in November:
- Nominate your favorite birthstones for our November Citrine Guide in this Forum thread.
- Learn how to participate in Friday Etsy Finds emails in this Forum thread.
- Suggest and nominate items for Etsy's Holiday Gift Guides in this Forum thread.
- Stay tuned to the Selling section of The Storque, Etsy's blog, to learn how to get involved with our broader promotional plans for Black Friday through Cyber Monday.

Stay Engaged in December
December sets the stage for a fast-paced approach toward the holidays. However, we'll soon relax and enjoy the company of family and close friends over delicious seasonal treats. Our critical merchandising focus this month will center around the holiday gift-giving season. Below you will find the extended list of topics we'll be looking to highlight throughout the month of December. We're looking for your creative interpretation and spin on each of the upcoming seasonal themes.

Seasonal Holiday Gift-Giving: Find our full list of seasonal gift-giving thematic topics in the newly released Holiday Gift Guides. Reevaluate your line and describe why your items make great gift ideas; take the time to photograph your items in a way that shows the potential uses it could have.
Seasonal Home Decor: Winter and holiday home decor accents, displays, accessories, centerpieces, ornaments, and all the home accoutrement that make us think of a cozy dwelling. Think candles, baskets, wreaths, garlands, furniture, tabletop, quilts, blankets, pillows, storage solutions, rugs, windows, lighting, bedding, and bath. Rich materials and fabrics remain at the forefront of styling options.
Entertaining: Celebrations including dinner with the family, holiday parties, and those notorious over-the-top New Year's galas abound. We'll be looking for creative and unique seasonal tabletop solutions, dinnerware, glassware and bar, table linens, food for your feast, centerpieces, place settings, place cards, invitations, menus, favors, and hostess gifts.
Winter and Holiday Fashion: Vamped up holiday, formal, and party fashions along with warm layers, winter coats, winter accessories, boots, bags, and jewelry all sparkle this season.
New Year's Eve: Ring in the new year in style. We'll be highlighting party options, celebration accessories and party fashion. Keep in mind with New Year's Eve, resolution time is right around the corner. January sneek peek: Health and wellness, relaxation, detox, reorganization, and all that emphasizes a fresh new start.
Calendars and Paper Goods: Thank you card sets, stationery sets, 2010 calendars, and gift wrapping elements.
Shopping Local: With online shopping, comes shipping deadlines. As we near these deadlines, we'll be looking to promote the Shop Local Etsy shopping feature along with other location-based highlights. Make sure your location is up to date in order take advantage of last-minute shoppers in your area.
Boxing Day: Boxing Day is a recognized day of rest in many countries, originating as a day of extending goodwill to those less fortunate. Over time, it has traditionally become known as a shopping holiday for sales and promotions. For many retail merchants, this marketing strategy has become their highest revenue driving day of the year. We'll be hosting a special Boxing Day extended promotion for sellers interested in participating. Stay tuned for details as we get closer to December including how to participate as a seller.
Winter Weddings: Attire, decor, invitations, favors, and gift ideas.
The International Vacation: Global adventures, features on warmer weather destinations, highlights of spring/summer fashion in the Southern Hemisphere.
December trends: The all-encompassing forest imagery including holly, branches, berries, pine cones, acorns, and related animals (deer, squirrels, chipmunks). Boots, pumps, Oxfords, and ballet flats. Winter accessories. Statement jewelry, metallics and sequined clothing and accessories. Gem tones, deep berry, plum, forest green, and classic combinations of red, white, black, green and royal blues. Vintage decor, eco-friendly options, and tribal motifs continue to top the trends this season.
Turquoise is December's birthstone, and December's astrological signs are Sagittarius and Capricorn (November 23 - December 21: Sagittarius and December 22 - January 20: Capricorn).
Promotional Opportunities for Sellers:
- In preparation for our Turquoise Gift Guide, we will be looking for community suggestions and nominations for what items you'd like to see in the guide. Suggest your favorite turquoise-related items in this nomination thread.
- Suggest and nominate items for Etsy's Holiday Gift Guides in this Forum thread.
- Stay tuned to the Selling section of The Storque for additional promotional opportunities through December.

If your items fall under the main thematic categories we'll be highlighting this month, it might be a great time to consider purchasing a spot in a Category Showcase. For those of you who enjoy making Treasuries, we'll be looking to highlight lists that interpret November and December's themes in a creative and cohesive way, as well as the many innovative and beautiful collections that we normally feature.

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

November is known as Real Jewelry Month, Peanut Butter Lovers Month, and Aviation History Month.
December 1: World AIDS Awareness Day
December 6: Spain's Constitution Day
December 6: Saint Nicholas Day
December 9: Christmas Card Day and National Pastry Day
December 10: Final safe date for international shipping deadlines (save for express and overnight)
December 10: Nobel prizes presented
December 11: Hanukkah begins at sundown
December 12: Poinsettia Day
December 12: Feast of Our Lady Guadalupe in Mexico
December 17: Hari Raja Puasa
December 17: South Africa's Day of Reconciliation
December 18: Final safe date for online shipping deadlines (save for express and overnight)
December 18: Muharram
December 21: Winter Solstice — shortest day of the year
December 25: Christmas Day
December 25: England's Constitution Day
December 26: Boxing Day — also known as the Day of Goodwill
December 26: Saint Stephen's Day
December 26: Kwanzaa begins
December 31: New Year's Eve

Do you have a date to remember that you don't see on the list? Let us know in the comments section below. We are currently working toward incorporating a more detailed calendar of international holidays into Etsy's thematic merchandising plans, so we're eager to hear which dates you would like to see included.

We’d like to hear from you!
We appreciate your support and look forward to your feedback and suggestions in the comments section below.

View More Merchandising Posts | Gift Guides

Etsy International: We're Visiting Europe...Again!

2009-11-12T10:00:00-05:00

UPDATE: Just a friendly reminder!

[The following was originally published on October 31, 2009.]

Etsy International: We're visiting Europe...again! Nous retournons visiter l'Europe! Wir kommen zurück nach Europa!

English

I'm happy to announce that Matt and I will be making a quick trip to Europe this November 16-24. As you may have heard, later this fall we'll be launching localized blogs in Germany, France and the UK.

As part of this trip, we of course hope to meet with many of you. We'll be holding some informal open meetings, similar to what Maria and I did last spring, where people can come to learn more about our 2010 plans, share ideas, ask questions, offer suggestions, and enjoy some time with other Etsy members.

The basic information is below and we'll update it as specific details become available — for now just save the dates!

Berlin: Wednesday, November 18, 18:00-20:00 / Cafe Morgenland (note the day is now the 18th!)

Paris: Thursday, November 19, 18:30-20:30 / Cafe La place verte 105 rue Oberkampf

London: Monday, November 23, 18:00-20:00 / Columbia Hotel

Hope to see you on the road!

Français

Je suis heureuse de vous annoncer que Matt et moi allons faire un petit voyage en Europe du 16 au 24 Novembre. Comme vous en avez peut-être déjà entendu parler, nous lancerons plus tard dans l'automne des blogs locaux en Allemagne, en France et en Grande-Bretagne.

Nous espérons évidemment vous rencontrer nombreux pendant ce séjour. Nous tiendrons des rencontres ouvertes et informelles, similaires à ce que moi et Maria avons fait le printemps dernier, où les gens pourront venir en apprendre un peu plus sur nos projets de 2010, partager des idées, poser des questions, offrir des suggestions et profiter d'un moment passé en compagnie d'autres Etsiens.

Vous trouverez les informations essentielles ci-dessous et nous les mettrons à jour dès que nous disposerons de détails plus spécifiques. Pour le moment, vous pouvez noter les dates!

Berlin: Mercredi 18 Novembre, 18:00-20:00 / Cafe Morgenland

Paris: Jeudi 19 Novembre, Cafe La place verte 105 rue Oberkampf

London: Lundi 23 Novembre, 18:00-20:00 / Columbia Hotel

En espérant vous croiser sur notre route!

Deutsch

Ich freue mich Ihnen mitteilen zu können, dass Matt und ich vom 16. November bis 24. November in Europa sein werden. Wie Sie vielleicht schon wissen, haben wir vor gegen Ende des Jahres blogs in Deutschland, Frankreich und Großbritannien zu veröffentlichen.

Als Teil dieser Reise hoffen wir natürlich viele von Ihnen zu treffen. Wir werden ein paar informelle Meetings abhalten, ähnlich denen von Maria und mir letzten Frühling. Kommen Sie einfach vorbei und erfahren Sie mehr von unseren Plänen für 2010. Es wird auch möglich sein Fragen zu stellen, Ideen mit uns zu teilen, Vorschläge zu machen oder einfach etwas Zeit mit anderen Etsianern zu verbringen. Die wichtigtsten Informationen finden Sie etwas weiter unten. Wir werden gegebenenfalls weitere Details hinzufügen, aber merken Sie sich erst einmal diese Daten.

Berlin: Mittwoch, 18. November, 18:00-20:00 / Cafe Morgenland

Paris: Donnerstag, 19. November, Cafe La place verte 105 rue Oberkampf

London: Montag, 23. November, 18:00-20:00 / Columbia Hotel

Man sieht sich bald!

UPDATED Friday, November 13, 12:00 p.m.

Etsy International Posts | Multi-Lingual Posts

Seller How-To: 5 Tips for Item Descriptions

2009-11-11T16:48:00-05:00

Do you have writer's block when it comes to crafting your Etsy item listings? You're in luck! Optimize your shop with the following five tips for effective and descriptive prose in your product listings. You'll have a way with words in no time!

1. Create an inverted pyramid. The most important information about your item should be first in your description — not only because shoppers want the details on your items as soon as possible, but also because it's a smart way to optimize the way your description displays in Google search results.

Tip: Always use the Google search results preview.

2. Short paragraphs and bullet points are your friends. Visitors to your shop might be looking for a specific size or material, so make it easy for them to glean that info from your descriptions by cutting out superfluous language and making good use of bullet points. Think about your descriptions as a way to answer your buyer's questions (within reason, of course). Here's a forum thread, 20 Questions Your Buyers are Asking, to help you get an idea of what those questions could be.

3. Keep an eye on your web analytics results. (Find out how to set that up in the Seller FAQ.) Keep a list of the keywords visitors searched for when they found your shop and write with these keywords in mind. Remember that your tags are keywords used by Etsy Search, but your most important tags and materials should also be scattered throughout your descriptions so that internet searches (through Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc) can find you too! These sites are more likely to pick up keywords from your descriptions rather than your list of tags.

4. Just like a good therapist suggests, use "I" statements. Speaking in the first person will help you connect with your visitor on a personal level — and isn't that what they are looking for when they come to shop on Etsy? Show a bit of your personality! Think of your item descriptions as you would when meeting a new friend: you want to be polite, but you also want to be your natural self.

5. End with a link. Did you know you can copy and paste Etsy URLs in your descriptions and they will function as a hyperlink? Use this to your advantage. If your visitor has read your item description and is not biting, don't let them float away off the computer, to another website, Etsy shop or back to their search results. Instead, give them a link to learn more about you, see your entire shop, check out your policies or even a link to send you a conversation.

Want more tips? Check out these links:

Writing for an Online Audience | Seller Handbook

Quit Your Day Job: bodhicitta

2009-11-09T17:00:00-05:00

Zeke of bodhicitta was able to successfully cut back on the hours at his previous glass fabricating day job until he was able to give full notice and venture into a "right livelihood," running his own environmentally-friendly business selling recycled post consumer wine bottles. Zeke notes Etsy enabled him to make this leap and advises reading the business articles on The Storque. Keep reading to find out why Zeke says every Etsy seller should learn the basics of SEO and why he thinks he just may need to invest in a trust time-clock.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
I have always liked to make things and always disliked having a corporate job. With this dichotomy, it kind of became a necessity that I learn to make things I could sell. This included a long litany of artistic attempts mostly centered around my fascination with glass. I learned flame working around the turn of the century and when I moved to North Carolina I met some wonderful scientific glassblowers who became great mentors to me. As I got older, I became less focused on making money and more focused on what the Buddhists call "Right Livelihood," which is earning a living without doing harm to people or the environment. Making recycled glasses from wine bottles fit perfectly with my intentions.

Tell us about your previous working situation.
The last couple of years I was lucky enough to work for Ellenburg & Shaffer Glass Art Studio in Greensboro, NC as a fabricator. I constructed large stained glass windows and domes for mostly residential homes. I also assisted one of the owners, a warmed glass artist, in creating his incredible fused glass paintings, bowls, and mirrors. This was a great job that allowed me to be creative, add to my range of glass skills, and work with some really good people.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
Yes and no. I was creating things in my spare time and selling them in the gallery I worked at when my friend Katie suggested I try Etsy. I felt really good about being able to reclaim bottles that might be destined for the landfill and make them into useful things again and wanted to turn that into a business if I could. Etsy allowed me to do that. It took about a year of learning the ins and outs of Etsy and developing this idea before I started to believe that I could turn Rewined Recycled Glassware into a successful business.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time?
I spent over a year preparing to go full time. I have made a lot of bad mistakes in my life and I work hard to make sure I don't repeat them. One mistake was not being honest with myself. Another was "laser dreaming," just dreaming too big without the skills or knowledge to actually accomplish the dream. So I went slow, building a good foundation, to make sure I was ready to deliver the promise I make to my customers, which is making a quality, handmade, earth-friendly product, shipped in recycled materials, delivered in a timely manner, and with outstanding customer service. A simple idea, but like many things, it's all about actually doing it.

One of my mentors, Mr. Kennedy, taught me to keep my overhead low. So when I had to acquire expensive new equipment, I waited until I could pay for it instead of going into debt. I built some new outbuildings at my house to house my shop and my second bedroom became the shipping room, the second bathroom is the recycled box room, and my office is in my bedroom. I wanted to be as environmentally friendly as possible, so I took the time to develop relationships with local restaurants and bars so I can use only post-consumer bottles. I collect used boxes from local businesses to ship my goods, and pack my orders in yesterday's New York Times (all the news that's fit to ship!). Once I was confident that I had a good, honest product, I worked nights and weekends improving my shop little by little. Once my monthly sales were consistently at a level I could live on, I started to cut back my hours at my day job and devote more time to production. Finally, I gave two months' (yes, months) notice at work, just to make sure they had a replacement and I was ready. On August 16th (in honor of my son's birthday) I went full time with bodhicitta selling Rewined Recycled Glassware.

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?

I read Storque articles and did the things they said. Seriously, that is the best advice I can offer. I am smart enough to know what I don't know. Other people have more experience, so I listen to them and take their advice. The Etsy people want you to succeed and give really awesome advice to help get you to where you want to be.
There were some things I had no clue what I was doing like SEO, Google Analytics, and doing a Google Base data feed. But I found a tutorial and just did it. I also helped organize the NCTriad Etsy Team, which is a great networking and friend-making tool. Other Etsy sellers like WitchHazelHandmades, ecoeveryday, and thispapership, to name just a few, have been a great source of help and inspiration.
My best tip is to learn about SEO. 50% of my traffic comes from search engines. I picked some key words and made sure they are in my tags, titles, picture descriptions, etc. I get so excited to see my shop on the first page of a Google search for "recycled glasses."

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
Call me an optimist, but I don't think I have ever had a complete loser. Even when I spent lots of money to be in a blog and it didn't materialize into instant sales, I still believe people saw it and perhaps through some six degrees of separation, it ended up being beneficial.

Walk us through your typical workday.

First of all, I have sort of a disconnect between how I would like my day to go and how it actually goes.
Ideally, I spring out of bed singing Mr. Rogers, "It's such a good feeling, to know you're alive, it's such a happy feeling..." (You know you wanna sing it — go ahead.) "I think I'll make a snappy new day." In reality, I crawl out of bed at 6:30 and go to the Green Bean Coffee shop where I get the bagels, drink coffee, and talk with my friends.
Ideally, when back at home I check my email, write down orders, answer Convos, list new items and make a list of what needs to be done. In reality, I sometimes end up watching The Daily Show and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Hulu. But then I get back to work because it's time to pack and ship orders.
After dropping off the day's shipments at UPS, I end up running errands like collecting bottles and boxes or taking care of all the details to organize our Etsy Team's monthly craft fair — the First Friday Indie Market, or taking care of some sort of problem that has come up. I also manage to do some housework. But at some point I need to get back in the shop to get some glasses made.
So it's out to the backyard studio to "pop tops and fire polish rims." Depending on how the day goes this can end at 5 p.m. or as late as 10 p.m.
After I am done in the shop, I load the day's work in the kiln and fire. Then I spend some more time checking emails and orders.
At some point I have to convince myself to stop working and go snuggle with my girlfriend Amanda, who is beautiful and helps me every day. For reals. <—There's your shout out, hon! Happy now? ;)

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?

I enjoy being able to use my time and talents to help others. I like being able to work on unique projects for people in my community, like organizing the First Friday indie Market, or donating glasses to local charities, or making custom pendant lamps for a local environmentally-conscious hotel, or having the time to volunteer for Sustainable Greensboro, a local environmental organization.

I do miss the security of a steady paycheck and not having to be responsible for every single aspect of a business. When you have your own business, it is 24 hours a day. There is always a long list of things that need to be done.

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
For me it is discipline and time management. Rewined Recycled Glassware has become very popular and it takes a lot of energy and focus to keep up with the demand for recycled glasses. If I don't feel like working one day or get distracted by kittens with mittens, I can fall behind and cause myself all sorts of stress. I am seriously thinking of getting myself a time clock.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?
Concerning Etsy, I would tell myself to get organized early! I have a pretty good system down but there are aspects that could be better. As I get larger and do more volume, those problems get bigger as well. Personal advice to myself would be: "Be grateful for all that you have; take the time to enjoy it!"

My advice if you are just starting out on Etsy is to be patient and work hard. It takes time and lots of effort. Keep coming up with unique items. Always give great customer service. Have fun! Take the time to be environmentally friendly. It makes a difference!

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?
I have a back log of awesome recycled product ideas I would like to get made! I want to get better at taking pictures and take new ones for my shop. I also want to continue to have 100% positive feedback — I love making a good product and making people happy with their purchase.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
It took some hard life lessons for me to learn that we are all interconnected. What you do today, right now, matters the most. You are creating and influencing the world around you at every moment so take a deep breathe, smile and shine light into your sphere of influence. It's how we can all make the world a better place.

Have another question for Zeke?

Chat with him live in Etsy's Virtual Labs on Thursday, November 12th at 2 p.m. Eastern.

Thanks to Zeke for sharing his story. You can see some of Zeke's beautiful work in the Related Items. Check out previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.

Fabulous Packaging and Wrapping With rikrak

2009-11-03T10:30:00-05:00

Have you missed the first half of our series of holiday workshops for sellers? Don't worry, there are many workshops left to help you get your shop in shape this season. (View the entire schedule here.) Last week's workshop was hosted by Etsy seller, rikrak, our resident branding-with-packaging specialist! I've put together some great references from her workshop here, but make sure you read the thorough notes she's provided on her own blog, the rikrak studio.

Packaging How-To Videos:

Etsy Holiday How-To #1: Packaging

Etsy Holiday How-To #2: Packaging

Etsy Holiday How-To #3: Creating Labels and Hang-Tags

Furoshiki Gift Wrapping

Packaging Blog Tutorials:

Holiday How-To's: Sellers, Wrap It Up With Gift Wrap!

Team EcoEtsy Tip of the Week: That's a Wrap

Team Eco-Etsy: Make Your Own Waterproof Shipping Envelope

Furoshiki Fabric Wrap Techniques

Funky Felter's Blog: All About Labels for Handmade Items

Craftster Tutorial: Making Personalized Labels

Team Canada: Making a Cereal Box into a Beautiful Mailer

Packaging Downloads:

Envelope Pattern

Flying Floating Mailing Labels by the Small Object

Free Printable Mailing Labels by Creature Comforts

Free Printable Labels and Gift Cards by oh smile

Sweet Mailing Labs by Elephantom Knits

For more packaging tips and tricks, don't forget to read all of rikrak's workshop notes here. Happy packaging!

More Packaging Tips | Holiday Tips for Sellers | Holiday Workshop Schedule

Quit Your Day Job: tigerlillyshop

2009-11-02T16:40:00-05:00

Allison of tigerlillyshop claims that running her own business closely resembles the life cycle of the perennial tiger lily. Her background skills in working for other professional artists combined with a little bit of risk-taking have lent Allison the necessary tools with which to pursue her own full-time creative business. Her husband has recently been able to quit his own day job in order to help Allison run the business and make their Etsy shop a venture that now supports their family. Allison says she knew they would have to work really hard to make this all happen, but she couldn’t see it any other way, even though this means the occasional "saying no to fun." Keep reading to find out some of Allison's best marketing tips including testing out new lines of work and the benefits of joining an Etsy Team.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
I am a fine artist with a sculpture background. It was natural for me to gravitate to jobs where I used my hands. I worked for a few professional artists and self-employed people early on. I even apprenticed with a furniture upholsterer after my undergraduate studies. It never seemed out of reach to do it on my own.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
My daughter was six months old when I found Etsy. Looking to sell online, I had been researching consignment and wholesale. I was really desperate to pay my end of the bills since I wasn’t going back to the software/textile production job I had before having my baby. My painter husband’s income couldn’t cover everything, and we relied on my income. Although I had my upholstery shop and working studio set up, there was no way I could work the long hours I was accustomed to. I found Etsy and signed up immediately, and that is the beginning of the wild growth of my tigerlillyshop.

Little did I know, my Etsy shop would take on the characteristics of that old time perennial. Tiger lilies are known to be invasive wild plants. If left unchecked, they grow out of control, just as my shop has done! And it’s a great thing because last year my husband left his mural painting job to make this our sole venture. My sister Maria helps me too; even though she is far away in New Orleans, she has been there for me when I need her. All we can do is try to keep up with it together!

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time?
I never took a business class or learned about marketing myself as an artist. This was all built out of necessity and intuition. My Shrinky Dink rings with original drawings were my first real success here. I am so thankful that I had that original pack around while I was trying to figure out what to sell. I started my shop with those rings. From there I branched out over time to include vintage component jewelry, the button jewelry line, one of a kind metalwork, and electroforming. All of these lines are informed by my personal material sense and skills as an artist. I make what I want to and luckily, people seem to like what I make. My education at MICA and having my MFA from Edinboro University of PA informs this, I am sure.

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?
When I began, I hung out in the Chat Rooms and the Forums; it was about building a community for me at that point. Since then, I have used online networking sites like Flickr with great results, I started my blog, then ventured into Facebook, and I even tweet a tiny bit. But my absolute greatest marketing weapon has been with my BEST girls. The motivation and professionalism in the Baltimore Etsy Street Team has been a powerhouse of promotion. We have done a ton of online promoting with each other and all contribute to our Team blog (which just won an award!). The sheer talent of these ladies is probably enough for them to succeed, but we have capitalized on group networking at shows with Team business cards both locally and regionally. We all volunteer, using our talents in different ways to promote our group. This hard work has paid off with some major printed press in Baltimore Magazine last holiday season.

We have some rockstar sellers on BEST like blockpartypress, TheBrokenPlate, elisasherejewelry, greenstarstudio, just to name a few of the now sixty members. It doesn’t hurt that we have a diverse group with backgrounds ranging from marketing, web development, wholesale gallery experience, teaching, photography, and more. We all work hard at it, especially our Team leader, jenmenkhaus.

I did the Baltimore American Craft Council trade show this year, applying as an AltCraft Artist. This program is an opportunity for artists and indie designers to gain national exposure at a well-established show. As a result of showing there, I got a ton of press on TV, in print, and online. I was proud to be there with my fellow BEST teammate sweetpepita, who showed in the same section! I was not aware of how powerful the marketing behind these major trade shows are. Artists get really good promotion out of these types of venues.

Because of my ACC experience, I took a chance on applying for the Etsy Pavilion at the NYC OOAK Show in December — and got accepted! I am really looking forward to seeing what happens in this show’s premiere year in New York City. I had a peek at the marketing package this show has lined up and it is going to be advertised everywhere.

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
I paid a lot of money once to be part of an open studio tour event — total bomb. I got to drink all the beer we bought for our no-show visitors, though!

Walk us through your typical workday.

I get my daughter breakfast and watch PBS with her. Coffee and check in online.
Then studio time most of the day. By studio time, I mean anything from ripping down the latest upholstery job, sewing, pattern-making, doing metalwork, electroforming, making buttons, taking/editing photos, listing online, networking online, assembling orders, shipping and the boring data entry part of the business.
My husband and I take turns throughout the week taking care of preschool days, parenting our daughter, and alternating studio hours.

Working from home and being full-time parents is a really tough thing to balance. We try to keep to our weekly schedule. It runs smoothly most of the time since we live where we work and have a large studio to spread out in. My daughter has her own corner of the studio here, where I try to keep her busy if she wants to be around during production time. She is now 4, so if she is not painting or creating something, she is most likely riding her scooter underfoot or “playing ponies” all day.

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
I love not having a boss. I hate having someone tell me what to do, and I have too much ambition, too many ideas and I work too hard to give my energy to anyone other than my own family. I knew we would have to work really hard to make this all happen, but I couldn’t see it any other way. I know my husband feels the same way about leaving his job. We do miss the social element of a “job” but we have made up for that by making more of an effort to visit with friends.

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
First, being disciplined enough to deal with the boring paperwork end — yuck. But at least my husband and I are working on this system together. When you are in business for yourself, the work doesn’t ever really go away, something is always up next. The next hardest thing is having to say no to fun occasionally. There are times when my husband and daughter are out doing fun stuff while I buckle down in the studio. Or maybe we are at a craft show somewhere, and we all miss a great party or something. We do have to say no to fun sometimes, unfortunately. But we do get to spend a lot of time together, and this is great.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself?
To myself, I would say, “You need to get more organized, crazy lady. Really. You should start on that NOW.” To someone else, I would advise, "It is SO worth it, go for it! Research and be smart about your decisions. If you are motivated in your talent, you can do anything you want to do. In this great nation we live in, the sky is the limit.” I would really say that to any of you out there, I truly believe it!

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?
I will be picking up more wholesale accounts for my different lines of jewelry. I also hope to offer more upholstered and soft home goods in my shop this year. Stay tuned!

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
The growth of this business has not been linear. I have had to learn many things along the way. Attending workshops and the support from my BEST girls have helped me to fill in the blanks as needed. Yes, this is all a lot of work, but I have been able to achieve a manageable balance of art-making and motherhood. I am still learning and anticipate great things on the horizon. How wild will this tigerlillyshop grow? Come visit me at the Etsy Pavilion at the NYC OOAK Show in December! I can’t wait! Long live Etsy!

Have another question for Allison?

Chat with her live in Etsy's Virtual Labs on Thursday Nov. 5th at 4 p.m. Eastern.

Thanks to Allison for sharing her story. You can see some of Allison's beautiful work in the Related Items. Check out previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.

Etsy Cooperative Advertising Program: BUST Magazine February/March 2010 Issue

2009-11-02T13:30:00-05:00

Next up in the Etsy Cooperative Advertising Program: BUST Magazine!

In case you're not familiar with this program, here are the important details:

Etsy will purchase ad space in various magazines, cover half of the cost, and design the ads.
Etsy sellers are able to purchase spots in the ad at the discounted rate.
You will get to display your shop name, an image of one item, its price, and its Category.
The limit is one spot per seller, per advertisement.

This ad will be in the February/March issue of BUST Magazine.

30 spots will be available to sellers at a price of $96 each.
Spots will go on sale on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at 1 p.m. ET. (Find out what time this is on a world clock here.)
Spots are purchased in the same manner as a Showcase.
If you successfully buy a cooperative ad spot through Showcase, your item photo and information must be sent to adam@etsy.com no later than 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 17, 2009.

About BUST:

Total Circulation is 93,500.
BUST is published six times annually.
The February/March issue hits newsstands on January 20, 2010.

BUST is a groundbreaking women's lifestyle magazine that is unique in its ability to connect with bright, cutting-edge young women. With an attitude that is fierce, funny, and proud to be female, BUST's revolutionary editorial mix addresses a refreshing variety of women's interests, including pop culture, music, crafting, fashion, sex, news, and celebrity interviews. Hip, humorous, and honest, BUST is a cheeky celebration of all things female and a trusted authority on up-and-coming trends among young women.

98% of the readers are women.
Average income is $69,000.
Median age is 27.
80% of readers refer to BUST for fashion.
91% say BUST is their favorite magazine.
68% purchased from BUST advertisers last year.

FAQ

1. What is the Cooperative Advertising Program?

By purchasing a spot in a Cooperative Advertising Program, Etsy sellers can show off their items in an Etsy-branded magazine advertisement, reach new buyers, and help boost their sales and shop awareness. Print ads in popular magazines are often priced out of reach of small entrepreneurs. Etsy is able to purchase larger ads for more impact, and let sellers buy into the ads.

2. How does it work?

Etsy reduces costs to sellers by subsidizing the ads. We pay half of the cost. The cost to you is the remaining amount, divided by the number of spots for sale.
Sellers get to display one image of an item from their shop, its price, its main category and their shop name. The appearance of the ad is similar to our homepage. Click here for an example.

3. How do I purchase a spot?

1: Go to the Showcase Gateway.
2: Choose "Cooperative Ads - Bust Magazine February/March Showcase." There will only be one date to choose from.
3: Hit the "Purchase" button. The fee will be added to your normal Etsy bill.

*Note: The items that appear in the Showcase section of "Your Etsy" will not affect this purchase. The item photo that you send in via email to adam@etsy.com will be what appears in the ad. There is no online Showcase associated with this purchase!

**Also note: If your shop is currently in Vacation Mode, you will not be able to purchase a spot. You must turn Vacation Mode off in order to participate.

4. What do I do next?

You will receive an email from Adam (adam@etsy.com) with details, and we will need the following from you:

Your shop name.
The price of the item.
The main category that the item is listed under.
A high-resolution photograph of your item (300 dpi).

If you need help with photo issues, please ask, and Adam will send you detailed instructions. If you already have a photo that you like, great! If not, check out some of our photography tips.

We will need your image by 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 17, 2009 to give us time to lay out the ad and meet our deadline.

5. How many spots can I reserve?

You can purchase one spot per advertisement.

6. Can I cancel a spot after I've made a reservation? Is the fee refunded?

We will only cancel and refund spots under very special circumstances. Deciding you are no longer interested in your spot does not count. If you feel like you really have a valid case please email adam@etsy.com.

7. How do I know if the current Cooperative Ad is right for me?

Do some research! We'll provide helpful info for each ad as it becomes available (see above). It may be helpful to visit your local bookstore or newsstand to see if they carry the magazine. Remember, there will be more of these Cooperative Advertising opportunities available in the future. If you don't feel like this magazine is perfect for you, there will be other opportunities...

See our posts on upcoming Showcase opportunities as well!

Holiday Gift Ideas Showcase: On Sale Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 12 p.m. ET

2009-10-28T11:00:00-05:00

The holiday season is just around the corner, and the search for unique, heartfelt gifts need not wait until the last minute. The Holidays: Gift Ideas Showcase will exhibit interesting, expertly handcrafted items that you won't find at your local mall. Make this holiday season an affair to remember with gifts only Etsy could provide.

Info for Sellers
Get your items ready! There are no restrictions for this Showcase, but please highlight unique holiday gifts, especially for those hard to please individuals on everyone's lists.

The Holiday Gift Ideas Showcase goes on sale Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 12 p.m. ET.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
This Showcase will run from Monday, November 2, 2009 12 a.m. ET until Sunday, November 8, 2009, 11:59 p.m. ET.
For $15 USD, Etsy sellers can purchase a 24-hour spot, which will be linked from a prominent banner on Etsy's home page.
Sellers determine which item will be featured in your Showcase slot. Sellers must use the tool in Your Etsy > Promote > Showcase. Learn more about this process here.

Future Showcases

If you are thinking about planning for other Showcases that may be more appropriate for your items, here are some of the front page Showcases we will be highlighting:

Holiday Gifts for Him Showcase: On sale November 5, 2009; the Showcase will be live from November 9, 2009 to November 15, 2009.
- Think accessories, cuff links, geekery, artwork — anything appropriate for the men on our shopping lists.

Holiday Stocking Stuffer Showcase: On sale November 12, 2009; the Showcase will be live from November 16, 2009 to November 22, 2009.
- Think about all the smaller items that can fit into a holiday stocking.

Holiday Kids and Toys Showcase: On sale Thursday, November 19, 2009; the Showcase will be live from November 23, 2009 to November 29, 2009.
- Think fun holiday gifts for children of all ages.

Being Safe on Etsy: Spotting and Avoiding Advance Fee Fraud

2009-10-26T18:15:00-05:00

It's important for us at Etsy to ensure our community is safe while using the site. Unfortunately there is no foolproof way to ensure safety online at all times. Sometimes all we can do is give information and hope that well informed users will be able to protect themselves. As the Etsy name spreads throughout popular culture and the world, it is bound to attract more and more unscrupulous individuals with ulterior motives. Unfortunately, this happens to web companies as they become more popular.

One of the most common scams is known as Advance-fee fraud. Also called the "Nigerian scam" or the "419 scam," this type of scam is frequently seen in emails where a person claims to be looking to engage in a business deal involving a large some of money, but these scams are now cropping up more and more on online retail sites.

How this scam shows up on Etsy:

Typically this scam begins with the scammer sending out conversations (also known as "convos," Etsy's internal messaging system) to a wide range of Etsy sellers, specifically those that list one or more high priced items. In some cases the scammer may simply purchase a large number of these expensive listings. If they have checked out and committed to buy these listings, it's likely they have not "paid" in any sense and will send a conversation along with their purchase.

The convo will usually indicate that this buyer will pay with a money order or a check and will need to tack on an extra amount for their "shipping agent." Usually this amount is very high — sometimes even higher than the original cost of the listing. If this is agreed upon, then the buyer will send out the money order or check and typically a fake "invoice" from the shipping agent. They will then request that any over-payment from the money order be sent back to them.

This works because the check or money order (typically from an overseas bank) is a forgery. Your bank will allow you to deposit it, and then by the time the bank realizes it is a forgery, you have already sent back the over-payment to the scammer. Once the forgery is detected your bank will hold you liable for the amount, and now that the con artist has their money, you will not hear from them again.

What to do:

If you receive any suspicious convos like this the best thing to do is ignore them and report it to abuse@etsy.com. You can cancel the transaction as well.

Sellers should never send any money in a situation like this, no matter what reason is given. If you do find yourself facing a potential loss, or realize too late that you were being targeted by a scam, be sure to contact your financial institution as soon as possible. You may also want to contact local law enforcement. Again, let us know about this and send us the pertinent information, so we can take steps to remove and block these types of users from our site. Please share this article with your family and friends so we can spread awareness!

More posts about Scams | Seller Handbook

Quit Your Day Job: goodgirlsstudio

2009-10-26T16:00:00-05:00

Johanna of goodgirlsstudio brings her longstanding background in the fashion and culinary fields to the forefront with her unique designs. She began making her pieces from the broken bits of jewelry and leftover fabric in the shop where she worked. After spending many years in retail, Johanna was able to turn a negative (the shop where she worked being liquidated) into a positive life change that allowed her to fulfill a dream of running her own Etsy business. Johanna admits becoming her own boss has been a challenging learning curve as she is now her own accountant, photographer, writer, marketer, outside sales rep and creative designer, all while raising her son. Johanna's favorite part about being her own boss is the time it has allowed her to spend one on one with her son and she reiterates the importance of following one's heart.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
Other than a few jobs in the culinary field, the only jobs I’ve ever held have been in the fashion industry. I was always able to up-sell my clients by showing them how to accessorize and give the outfit a whole new look just by changing something as simple as a necklace. I started making jewelry from bits of broken pieces of jewelry and fabric from the shop I managed and luckily there was a bead shop right across the street! Customers and coworkers started commenting on my creations and my hobby slowly began making me money. It just seemed a natural flow of events to begin to design my own accessory line.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
I’d dreamed about quitting my day job ever since I had my son. Retail had become a grind but once I began selling pieces to my coworkers and friends it seemed like a viable form of income. When the company I was working for liquidated, I used my severance and unemployment checks to float until Good Girls Studio could bring in enough money to support us. So in a serendipitous fashion, my bad luck was the catalyst to making my dream a reality.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time?
I’d like to say that I budgeted, planned, saved and figured it all out ahead of time…but I didn’t. I incorporated my business and opened up shop all the while thinking I would keep looking for a “real” job, because there was no way I could make ends meet by working for myself. I didn’t really have the faith that I could make this happen. Managing your own business is a completely different animal than running someone else’s! How was I supposed to become an accountant, photographer, writer, marketer, outside sales rep and creative designer, all while raising my son on my own?! There was a huge learning curve but thankfully I had friends and family who all offered such a wealth of knowledge and emotional support!

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?

I try and blog several times a week and I post on relevant blogs as well, which has made me both friends and customers!
Utilizing Facebook and Twitter has done more for me than anything else. I post on both of those regularly.
Customer service also plays a big role in marketing. My customers constantly send me more customers! They are my biggest cheerleaders (aside from my mom, of course).
I also try and send 25% off coupons with every order and that has generated more repeat business.
My number one marketing tip: Make what you love and wear it with pride! Don’t be afraid to talk about yourself; be passionate about it!

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
Having a giveaway on my blog, or on someone else’s, has never generated any sales, to my knowledge. It’s nice exposure but I’ve never found it to be profitable to give away something I could have sold.

Walk us through your typical workday.

I get up at 7 every morning and get my son ready for school. I’m back home by 8 and have my quiet time. That is the only constant in my day! My favorite flow of my work week involves making jewelry in the beginning of the week, followed by taking and editing pictures and then uploading the new goodies to my shops.
I’m most creative in the morning, so that’s when I try and make jewelry. Some designs take weeks to finish as I gather and pile up little "collections" of vintage baubles and work them together. Others "speak" to me right away and I’m done within an hour or so.
If I’m really not feeling creative I’ll go to one of the local antique malls. Loading up on treasures and touching pieces of the past clears my head. Hopefully I remember to stop and have lunch — if not…watch out!
I schedule my meetings with shop owners before I pick up my son from school around 2:30, then try to finish up whatever I’m working on by 4. From there it’s usually time to take my son to the park, do homework and make dinner.
I try and blog and plan out my next day after he goes to bed.
Each work week is as different as each day. Lately I’ve been involved in several local fashion shows and photo shoots, so there’s been the added running around, meeting with clothing designers, planning out hairstyles and makeup and the general craziness of putting together a show!

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
Being able to spend quality time with my son! It is very important to me to be able to pick him up from school and volunteer in his classroom, which was such an impossibility when I worked retail hours. I love having the flexibility to run out to help a friend or just grab a cup of coffee with my mom. Not working nights, weekends and holidays is amazing!

I do miss the one-on-one interaction with customers since most of my sales are wholesale orders and Internet purchases. Trunk shows and participating in local markets give me the opportunity to meet my local customers. It’s great when I meet someone in person and they recognize my jewelry because they’ve bought pieces at a local shop!

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
Being a one woman show! I’m such a great delegator and there is no one to delegate to! Seriously though, it’s hard to find time to do it all and I have a hard time asking for help. Luckily I have friends that will work for free jewelry! I’m also terrible about visiting new shops and marketing myself to them. I really need to get some new wholesale accountants and I get so nervous even thinking about it that I don’t make it out of the house! I’ve gotten much better at this and have found that wearing my jewelry is usually a big conversation starter. Once they ask me about it, I ask if they are the owner and take it from there.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?
Believe in yourself! If you’re not excited about what you are doing no one else will be either; it really does show in everything you do. Also, follow your heart! I really feel that God gave me this talent and this is what I was made to do. Sometimes I forget this and start floundering, questioning myself and getting discouraged with my business. I start looking for a “real job,” you know, the one with health insurance and benefits. I never find one and am always reminded that I already have a real job, one I love and while it doesn’t have insurance benefits, it does have one great benefit: I can’t be fired! The emotional benefits of being home for my son and being creative all day far outweigh any negative ones!

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?

I’d like to get my jewelry into fashion magazines.
Opening up new wholesale accounts is a constant goal for my business.
Seeing a movie star on the red carpet being interviewed and saying, “This is a Good Girls Studio necklace,” — now that would be amazing!

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Be true to yourself! There will always be other people who don’t want to see you succeed; it is a sad fact of life. If you believe in yourself and use your God-given talent, there is no end to what you can accomplish!

Thanks to Johanna for sharing her story. You can see some of Johanna's beautiful work in the Related Items. Check out previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.

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!

Not-So-Top-Secret: Policy Sneak Peek

2009-10-20T10:32:00-05:00

Psst ... Secret Squirrels! You may not know this, but for the past few months, a special task force at Etsy has been locked away in a tiny conference room, buckling down to polish up Etsy's site policies. I've just smuggled some highly classified documents out of the heavily-guarded, steel-doored Lawyer Hole over at Etsy HQ. I think you'll want to take a look at this file — it contains proposed revisions to the DOs & DON'Ts of Etsy.*

It’s been over a year since we last updated the DOs & DON'Ts of Etsy. During that time, the team has received feedback on our existing policies from the Etsy community — through the Forums, emails, Virtual Labs and in-person meet ups. Thank you for your input! Keeping our policies clear and up-to-date is one way we can help preserve the integrity of the site. We want to continue working with the community to better our services and our marketplace. This sneak peek preview provides another way for us to improve the site together. The revised DOs & DON’Ts will be posted on a special page for about a week to offer the opportunity to read through the document and respond with your thoughts about the proposed changes. If necessary, we may make final tweaks before we go live with the new DOs & DON'Ts. Our other policy documents, as well as Help content, will be updated to reflect the revisions to the DOs & DON’Ts at that time.

We understand that the changes may have a direct impact on some members and shops. Once we go live with the new policies, we will institute a grace period of several weeks to allow all members to edit existing account information, shops and listings as needed.

Visit this special page to see the preview of the revised DOs & DON'Ts of Etsy.

As you will see, most policies remain the same. In many areas, we've just clarified existing information or elaborated upon current practices to include these items formally in the DOs & DON'Ts document. Below I’ll highlight the changes, but be sure you preview the updated DOs & DON'Ts in their entirety.

Membership: A few notable policies that apply to all members have been moved up to the Membership section, like our policy for linking from a shop or profile to another selling venue. Collectives (seller accounts involving multiple people) have been further defined with the categories of Collaboration, Sharing a Shop and Shop Management Help. We clarified our rules for younger Etsians; collectives that include minors under the age of 18 may not utilize community features unless otherwise stated.

Conversations: You may not use Conversations to interfere with a transaction (with details on this in the Transactions section, too). We've also elaborated on the definition of "spam" as it relates to Etsy Convos.

Transactions: We’ve added information to the Transactions section, describing the roles of the seller, the buyer and Etsy in a transaction. Additionally, we’ve detailed various concerns or scenarios in which a transaction may be disputed, including: non-payment, non-delivery, refusal of service, dissatisfaction and interference. We’ve also clarified the circumstances in which a transaction may be canceled. In general, the additions to this section outline in greater detail the processes and policies already in place for transactions.

Feedback: To better accommodate custom orders and international transactions, we will be increasing the timeframe for submitting feedback from 90 days to 120 days. (This will go into effect when the policies are "live.") Additionally, we’ve clarified the circumstances in which Etsy will review feedback for removal, and we've lifted the 30-day limitation to requesting a feedback review for policy violation.

Shops and Listings: Formerly called “Selling,” this section has been expanded to include detailed policies about shop set-up, listing items, tagging and specific rules for handmade items, vintage goods and supplies. The section on Tagging is entirely new to the DOs & DON’Ts, but most of this information was available in Etsy’s Help section or through guides posted on Etsy’s blog, The Storque. Expanded sections on rules for handmade, vintage and supplies items should help sellers understand what can be sold on Etsy and how to list items for sale.

Charitable Shops and Listings: Etsy appreciates the spirit of giving back. Due to some laws and the existence of unsavory individuals who may try to take advantage of this spirit, we have added a section for charitable shops and listings.

Prohibited Items: In response to a variety of community concerns, we have clarified our prohibited items list. These items — though they may be handmade, vintage or a crafting supply — are not allowed to be listed for sale on Etsy.

Showcase and Treasury: Making a first time appearance in the DOs & DON'Ts are specific sections for participation in the Showcase and the Treasury. We have gathered information from other areas of the site about these interactive features to formalize as policies in the DOs & DON'Ts.

The DOs & DON'Ts of Etsy, Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy and the Help site all will be updated for consistency. Once we gather your feedback and make any changes, we will launch the final versions of everything together. At that time, we will send an email notice to all members. As stated above, we will also allow a grace period for all members to edit their existing content to comply with any changed policies.

*OK, so I admit it. I'm a lousy spy and a loyal Etsy employee. I totally made sure I had permission from the head honcho before I released this not-so-top-secret sneak peek of our new policies to you, the Etsy community. Truth is that we really want your feedback. Be sure to read the preview of the entire revised DOs & DON'Ts to provide us with the most accurate feedback, and then join us for discussion in this Forum thread.

Quit Your Day Job: littlealouette

2009-10-19T16:45:00-05:00

Joe and Amy of littlealouette are successfully supporting their family selling their simple natural wooden toys on Etsy. With backgrounds in carpentry, furniture making, education, and politics, this duo melded their collective skills into a business they never dreamed would take them this far. They both admit being their own boss is the toughest work they have known, but find balance in taking time out from work each day to spend quality time together with their children. Keep reading to find out why Joe misses his daily lunch outings at bistros and pubs and why they both claim a British accent and wicked grin have been one of their best marketing tools to date.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
Joe is a master craftsman who apprenticed in the North of England where he grew up. He became a self-employed bespoke furniture maker. When he moved to the states he worked in carpentry. I worked in education and politics after university, but always found myself spending time on artistic projects and volunteering in local art charities or working with local arts councils. Joe made me furniture and I would create gifts for family and friends. I would write poetry about Joe’s hands and what they could make. I still do. Joe began making simple toys for our first child and the rest is history.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
Not really. We thought it would be extra money for our family; we were in the middle of a very hard financial time as we juggled two mortgages while trying to sell an investment property in a very still market here in Ohio. We knew that our family and friends loved what we were making for our kids and for others so we thought we would make some money, but never did we realize that we would make a whole new life.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time?
Always adapting and growing, it has been an organic process and a juggling act with two small boys and a passionate marriage. While it's been quite fluid, we have learned that sometimes you just have to roll with it. It requires loads of paperwork and time, so planning ahead is important. We stepped down our spending and live with frugality and perseverance. Lastly, asking for advice and help was and is so important!

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business?
I am a blogger and this has helped me a lot with meeting others and spreading the word. We have a Twitter account (@littlealouette) and a cool Tumblr blog for Little Alouette with daily parenting tips and inspiration (we are always looking for guest parents)! We have a Facebook page and I have a big mouth! Joe is not a big Internet individual. He has a smart phone and sometimes uses Facebook, but he relies on me to work the magic on the Internet. He carries a stack of business cards, his British accent, and a wicked grin. We get a lot of sales from him. I like to work with other bloggers for giveaways from time to time and there are a lot of really great blogs and sites you can advertise on to find your audience. Etsy has been incredibly helpful with the light it has shined on us. The whole world is in love with Etsy and it is amazing to be a part of this family of artists.

What have you found to be unsuccessful promotion?
We came up with an idea of keys and key sets that we named after a great customer's daughter. The keys were a big hit! You know how babies and kids love to play with and chew on your keys? Well, we also thought that kids love other everyday items like remote controls — so we made a remote control rattle and no one bought one. We may try again in the future for some everyday life items. You have to try things!

What's your best marketing tip?

Believe in yourself.
Know that you are amazing and groovy and smashing!
Be able to talk about your business freely and with anyone.
Changing up photos and keeping the shop full works well for us!
We like to offer our customers free shipping and codes and deals.
I think Twitter is excellent for this type of promotion, but just try and remember that Twitter is a give and take and it is a great place to interact and get to know your customers — not just a place to hawk your wares.

Walk us through your typical workday.
Most days are different — some days in the indie life are diamonds and some are not. Yesterday was like this:

6:30 a.m.: Blaise, our two-year-old screamed, "Mama! Mama!" for about ten minutes until we brought him into our bed. We woke up Finn, our five-year-old, and had breakfast and the first of several pots of coffee together. We walked Finn to half-day kindergarten and then we all went off to the gym for an hour. We played with Blaise after a good stress-relieving workout until time to collect Finn from school.
We had lunch as a family and then Daddy went to the workshop. The kiddos had naps and I worked on Little Alouette.
I talked to people all over the world, mailed samples, answered emails and Convos, and worked on new packaging.
I made a cake while doing this all. I love working from home!
The kids got up and I took off the Wood Queen crown and became Mom again. I rolled to the playground and then to the post office and then hosted a play date at our house. I used my BlackBerry to relist some items and chat with customers. I taught my children about Jackson Pollock. I sketched a new toy while the kids went down the slide.
One thing that is constant is that when Joe comes home from work in the evening, we are diligent about putting the work away. The kids get us all. They get the attention and energy and everything. When they go to bed we must work more and it takes a lot of effort, but we must if we want to keep this balance. We do not have TV. This is a big help!

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
My family has eaten most meals together in the last two years. This is amazing. When we both worked outside the home it was rare that I got home before 7 p.m. We ate in shifts and smashed quality time into 1.5 hours. I missed some milestones of my oldest son. I rushed. My husband drove far too fast in his truck. We raced through life. Now we are slower. More deliberate. This is important. The way it feels to just go to the park on a Wednesday at 2 p.m. with my whole family. The freedom to schedule out a day that works for you is exhilarating. The way it feels to know that we are instilling hard work values and an entrepreneurial spirit into our children. We are showing them that even in the middle of your life, you can change gears and do something that makes you feel good. You can follow dreams big or small. Telling strangers about Little Alouette feels stellar!

I miss tons of people and the energy all around me. I worked with so many people in my old career. I miss adult interaction. I often find myself discussing new ideas and wholesale accounts with my five-year-old. He looks at me funny. Joe says he misses lunching out at bistros and pubs. I make him eat healthy lunches at home now. We miss our old insurance. But nothing can take away the reality of being with each other so much. It is gorgeous.

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
Heavy shoulders. The paperwork and responsibility that come with this lifestyle are quite hefty. Organization is a sick and dirty word for me. We are learning to keep receipts and may even graduate to a file system this winter! We never stop working. The fatigue is tough at times. No one tells you to stop. You may not sleep properly.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?
Listen to advice and take it! My pal took me out for drinks last fall and told me my business was going to take off and I should get myself in order. I remember laughing about it then, but it has taken off. Be ready for what you want because you may well get it! Find good business folks like cool insurance agents, lawyers, and smart fellow artist mentors. Surround yourself with goodness. Stay in the light. Be kind and open. When times get tricky, keep focused and believe. Be happy and optimistic and acknowledge that you are lucky to be making art and living off of it in these bleak times.

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?

Work on loads of new ideas and toys.
Grow the business.
Perhaps gain an employee.
Keep babies happy throughout the world.
Meet more cool Etsy folk in real life.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Thank you so much to Etsy and our customers. We are so blessed and we thank you! We love you! Smooches. Each product is made by hand and usually all the wood is surrounded by cups of tea, laughing children, and disco music so each product will come to you infused with love and bliss!

Thanks to Amy and Joe for sharing their story. Have your own questions to ask? Come on by and chat with them Wednesday, October 21 at 5 p.m. ET in Etsy's Virtual Labs.

You can see some of their beautiful work in the Related Items. Check out previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.

Seller Tip: Present Yourself to the Press

2009-10-19T14:20:00-05:00

Attention, sellers! I have been your faithful blogger for the past two years and I have an important tip for you:

You need to be prepared with photos that represent you and your business.

I cannot tell you how many times I've been working on a blog post spotlighting an excellent person — seller, blogger, figure in the arts and crafts world — but they either don't have a headshot or they send me the most low-quality, blurry photo. It's driving me crazy!

And here's the thing — it's not just the Storque editors who may come to call. We're gearing up for a busy holiday shopping season, and bloggers and members of the press will be looking for unique gifts with interesting angles. The stories of crafters, artists, and small business owners should get out there, but in order to take part and get the most out of any exposure, you need to have a mini media kit at hand.

I know, I know, you are creators and you're busy making things! Yes, I hear you. You are makers of objects and art, not self-portraits! But I'm begging you, take a day to invite a photographer friend to come over and style some photos for you.

Here are the basic shots I look for and what many bloggers and journalists are seeking:

Nick and Kimber of littlesaplingtoys | Karin of ValhallaBrooklyn

A nice headshot — This is a portrait that is NOT a fuzzy, grainy photo that you obviously took of yourself with your cell phone. It's NOT a snapshot cropped to include your ex-boyfriend's hairy limb draped around your shoulders. This is a high quality, professional portrait of you looking your best. Like any good portrait, it gets across your vibe and makes you look good. You are the center of the photo, not the Statue of Liberty you're posed in front of with your group of friends. Want to get artsy? Do it! As long as it intentionally reflects your personality and your brand.
A photo of your studio or workspace — Use natural light, not flash. If the room is too dark even in the day time, set up some lights. Tidy up your work area, or if a workspace crammed with stuff is your vibe, make sure it's artfully portrayed.

Kara Ginther, a.k.a. KGLeather, via ToBeInspired on Flickr

A photo of you in the creative process — Have a photographer friend take some action shots of you in the midst of making. Don't be afraid to strike some natural poses and style these shots as you would a magazine shoot. Arrange your supplies, tools and background just so, make sure your outfit, hair and makeup are done the way you like it. Capture some of the action. Experiment with different angles.
Your items in context — If you make paintings, show some of your pieces arranged beautifully on a wall. If you're a potter, show some of your excellent tableware displayed on a kitchen shelf or in a dining room setting. Take some close-up detail shots and some shots that show the whole room. These photos are great for your listings as well as for press outreach.
Your items against a plain background — Shoot some well-lit shots of your items against a plain white background. Some bloggers and magazines prefer simple photos with solid backgrounds. These make it easier for them to incorporate your items into their posts or spreads. (An item on a white background won't compete with the design of their website or blog.) Learn how to remove your colored background in this how-to by Etsy 101.
Keep a high resolution version — Have on hand a version that is at least 300 dpi and 2500 pixels across. You can always size it down and send that copy. Learn more about photo resolution here.

atelierpompadour's studio, featured in the Etsy Open Studio Flickr pool

Now you'll be prepared when you get that call from a blogger or journalist, and with these new photos you can get out there and do some outreach of your own. They may not even use these photos, but the images may speak to them and get across the essence of what you're all about. Here are some of the other uses for these photos:

About Me or Contact Me page of your business website
Your blog
Facebook Fan page
Your Flickr stream
One of the images in your Etsy listings
A blog, magazine, or newspaper interview
Applications for a grant, artist in residency, gallery show or craft show
If you're picked for Featured Seller on Etsy
Etsy Open Studios Tour series on The Storque and its Flickr group
For another example, check out ShareSomeCandy's Workspaces series
Other Storque posts

Take a look at the Etsy Open Studios Flickr group. Which of these photos can you imagine being featured on a blog? Why? Post in the comments below.

More PR Tips | Seller Handbook

Pikaland's 9 Tips to be More Creative

2009-10-15T11:48:00-05:00

Amy Ng, Pikaland blogger and artist collaborator extraordinaire, has many a helpful article on creativity, business and life in her zine, The Good to Know Project. Amy hosted a Virtual Lab as part of our Holiday Workshops for Sellers series on Getting Out of the Box (you can find the recap here). I asked Amy to share more tips on sparking the creative process with Storque readers. Here they are...

About fueling creativity:

Creativity is fueled by experiences, sights, sounds and smells. Sitting still won’t bring new ideas in; experimenting and trying new things will jog your creativity.
I maintain a certain pattern to the day, with my morning bath signaling to me that I am starting my work with a fresh mind and spirit. After breakfast is when my day officially begins — I turn on the radio and look at my to-do list (see #3).
I jot down notes every night before I go to bed about what I need to accomplish the next day. This way, I’m actively placing my worries onto paper so I can go to bed not fretting about what needs to be done.
I have a box labeled for each different project I’m involved in, so I don’t worry about misplacing things or ideas. (This one was inspired by The Creative Habit.)
I also keep a different sketchbook for different topics and ideas. I have one for business, one for random sketches and another for my writing. And in these sketchbooks I sometimes allocate different sections so that my thoughts don’t get messed up too much (there isn’t a search function on them, like a computer has!).
I throw these sketchbooks all over the place, so when I have a thought I scribble it down quickly.
I try and find the pattern between things, and connect the dots between random things just for fun when I’m stuck in a rut. For instance, when I see the color yellow around me, I start to focus on finding yellow things — stuff that I didn’t notice before will show themselves to me. I’m heightening my sense of awareness because I’m narrowing my focus to one thing.
Doing things differently helps. I love calligraphy, but sometimes I seem to be stuck in a rut — it seems that I could only write in a certain way! So I stop, and see what others are doing, and try to analyze what I could do differently. A little more pressure on the downward stroke? Or how about adding more flourishes to that letter? It took me about a week of constant practice to free up my hand. If you’re stumped for ideas, have a look at Keri Smith’s 100 ideas to get you started.
Practice, practice, practice. Creativity is like a muscle that you need to flex regularly. I dread staring at a blank piece of paper, but everything begins with that first stroke. I’m a perfectionist, so I train myself to not use erasers at all when I’m drawing. And if I do make mistakes, I start on a new piece of paper — that way I let new ideas in and not just dwell on what I previously did.

Here are some books in my collection that I pick up whenever I need a boost:

The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp: I love this book. Twyla is a dancer and choreographer, but a lot of the things she has to say cuts across all disciplines.
How to Be an Explorer of the World: Portable Life Museum by Keri Smith: Keri reminds everyone to put on their explorer goggles and look at the world with new eyes — I did a review of her book here.
Living Out Loud by Keri Smith: Although the book is a little girlish for guys, I love the article she wrote about how to find what you love to do.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho: This is an amazing book that I pick up and read again and again. The message is simple — you won’t find what you’re looking for until you follow through on your dreams.
How to be an Illustrator by Darrel Rees and Nicholas Blechman: I like how they talk to illustrators and get their feedback on running a creative business.
Lines & Shapes by Lena and Mav: Amazing artists and beautiful, beautiful pictures. I have volume no. 5 and I treasure it.
The first issue of the Good to Know project: I like keeping a copy on my bookshelf so I can read up on what my friends have to say about being creatively stuck.

Seller Handbook | More Posts on Creativity | Your Shop 101

Quit Your Day Job: laralewis

2009-10-12T16:30:00-05:00

Lara of laralewis has been able to successfully quit her day job in the teaching field and move her family closer to her hometown as a result of her Etsy success. Lara swears by a daily list of goals and was able to make quitting her day job a reality by planning ahead and making life changes that contributed toward her dream. Today Laura provides some of the most practical, useful and detailed tips for running a successful business that I've ever come across in the Quit Your Day Job series; you're in for a treat!

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
I have such busy hands that I am always making or creating something. It wasn’t until just recently that I thought I could actually make a business out of it!

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
No, not at first, but I have dreamed for a long time of moving back to my parents’ hometown to be closer to my family. With teaching jobs becoming scarce and the economy being what it is, I didn’t think it was possible to be able to afford to quit my job and relocate. However, that was about three months before we actually did! Once we made the decision, things happened pretty fast.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time?
Yes! Here are the nitty-gritty details; I hope I didn’t forget anything!

My fiancé, Jesse, and I reevaluated our monthly budget and started to utilize Quicken to manage our finances. This made a huge difference when we realized where our money was going, and we stopped doing things like eating out and all those other little extra things that add up.
After we looked at our budget, I figured out how much I would need to make if I was actually going to quit my day job. Then I added in the expenses needed for us to move and cut out the money we’d be saving from me working at home instead of driving to work every day. This gave us a goal to work towards.
I buckled down and worked extra hard in order to pay off debt that I owed. This is really important, because there will always be slow periods. You don't want those extra bills hanging over your head.
I met with an accountant to make sure there wouldn’t be any nasty surprises at tax time. He also helped me keep track of expenses that I didn’t realize were tax deductible!
While I still had my steady income, I stocked up as much as possible on supplies.
Right before our move, we traded in both of our cars for one smaller and more economical vehicle. I called our car insurance company and lowered our rate based on our only having one car, and it being driven so much less.
We still clip coupons like maniacs and plan meals in advance. You’d be surprised how much money the Sunday paper coupons save.
We’re much thriftier shoppers. If we can fix something rather than buy another, we do, and if we need something, we always hit up places like Salvation Army before going to the retail stores.

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?
Most importantly I feel it’s crucial to stay visible, and these are the three main ways you can do this:

Take great pictures of your products and you will inevitably be featured in Treasuries, homepage collections and The Storque. Also, fans will blog, Tweet, and Facebook about you like crazy. I use an “old” digital camera and I don’t own a tripod, so I can tell you with certainty that you don't need anything fancy to do this. Here are some tips I have learned that have helped me:

Photograph in natural light and turn off the flash.
Find the sunniest location in your home to set up your shots.
Only shoot in filtered sunlight, because otherwise the shadows are too harsh. If you need to, stretch a piece of tracing paper over your window where the sun streams in.
Take a piece of cardboard and wrap it in aluminum foil. Use it to reflect light onto your subject.
Don't go too crazy with your backgrounds, but definitely choose something that tells the story of what you are trying to sell. When in doubt, go neutral.
Set your camera on macro and after your camera focuses, pull back just a smidge before you take the picture. Take several shots and use various angles.
Set up your pictures knowing that you might want to crop them to a perfect square to look best in your thumbnails. Pick your best one as your "money shot!"

Frequently Add New Items/Renew

I have found that customers will regularly “check in” on your shop to see what you’ve been up to. Keep your store fresh, and your customers interested, by regularly adding new items.
Facebook Connect is a great new feature! I also Tweet and blog about items I am excited about and explain a little more about the impetus behind them.
Renew items that might be in a category that is broad and/or trendy. I know this is highly debatable, but I don't think there is a perfect time of day to list or renew items. Just try to be consistent.

Provide Excellent Customer Service

Customers who are happy with their purchases will tell their friends and family, blog about you, include you in their Treasuries, etc.
Treat customers how you would want to be treated. It’s the golden rule! Provide quick responses to their queries, ship as quickly as possible, use beautiful packaging, and include a little thank you note. Make each and every one of them feel special, because they truly are!

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
I honestly feel that if something brings in just one new customer or brings a little more attention to my store, it was a successful promotion. However, what works for some, might not work for you...so do what you feel most comfortable with!

Walk us through your typical workday.

I’m up before the birds to say goodbye to Jesse as he heads off for work and to get our teenage daughter ready for school. After they leave, I sit down with a cup of coffee and check for messages, print receipts, and make a daily goals list. If I don’t make lists, nothing will get done because I am so easily distracted.
Usually the mornings are spent creating new items and listing them in my shop, while jotting down lists of supplies I need to reorder. I email back and forth with my mom a lot because she also works from home.
Around lunchtime I practically attack the poor mailman when he arrives to see if I have received any new supplies. Then I continue to make and list new items. Because I can multitask like a pro, I am also doing laundry, answering emails, blogging, Tweeting, sketching new designs, and squeezing in food and drink somewhere in there.
By mid-afternoon, I start packaging any sold items to go out in the late afternoon mail run. I also start thinking about dinner because when my daughter comes home, she is like a hungry Velociraptor and there had better be food ready.
Jesse prints out my shipping labels, puts them in their envelopes, and delivers them to the post office. He’s the best! Then we all sit down to dinner, go over homework, talk about our day, and they patiently listen to me blah, blah, blah about my business.
After that, Jesse goes to work on his college classes, and my daughter and I spend time being silly together. If it’s not too late, we will take long walks on the trails surrounding our home, and being the nerd that I am, I love taking pictures of the various trees and wildflowers we see.
After that, I’m back in the studio stocking up on inventory, ordering supplies, working on new designs, answering emails, etc. until around 11 p.m. when Jesse drags me back out and tells me it’s time for bed!

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
What do I enjoy most? Where do I start?! Being “forced” to simplify, we have actually found that our lives are greatly enriched. Now that I am working from home, and not driving 100 miles a day to get to work, I can spend more time with my family. Now that we've moved closer to my grandparents, I love that I can be there when they need me. Also, fellow teachers will appreciate that I now don’t have to wait until planning or lunch to go to the bathroom! I do miss my friends with whom I was lucky enough to work and I truly miss my students. I am so proud to have once been part of the teaching profession and have the greatest respect for those who make it their life work.

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
You can’t walk away from it! I think about what I can do to improve constantly, and I’m a really tough boss. Also, with working from home, it’s hard to not get distracted by things like the dishes in the sink and other housework to be done. It can be really scary, too, knowing that I am the only one responsible for my success. Yikes!

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?

Take a class with your local Small Business Development Center early on. It’s free and they provide excellent advice.
Get organized right from the start with an excellent filing system and create a spreadsheet to track sales and taxes.
Plan ahead by organizing a studio and shipping area that can handle the workload of a bigger business. If you’re not there now, you will be eventually, and you will save yourself the trouble of having to rearrange by starting big!
Google your business name from time to time and see what comes up! Use Google Analytics to see how traffic is being directed to your page, and upload shop content to Google Base. Buy a domain name for your shop even if you don’t plan on using it yet; along the same lines, establish an account with the major social networking sites, so someone else doesn’t grab your name first.
Try not to compare yourself to others, it will just make you feel bad and prevent you from developing your own style. Most importantly: Don’t give up!

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?
I have been working on some new illustrations, and I hope to open another shop soon to offer paper goods and prints of my artwork. (*Cross fingers*)

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
My most heartfelt thanks to Etsy, my customers, my family, and friends who have all been so supportive. Without all of you, I wouldn’t even be in this position to share this story, and I only hope I can pay it forward to help someone else!

Thanks to Lara for sharing her story. Have your own questions to ask? Come on by and chat with her Wednesday, October 14 at 5 p.m. ET in Etsy's Virtual Labs.

You can see some of Lara's beautiful work in the Related Items. Check out previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.