Search results (tags) for: "selling"

Destination Vacation Showcase: On Sale Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 12 p.m. ET

2010-01-06T17:34:00-05:00

If your chapped lips and anxiety-ridden insomnia are pushing you over the edge, it's clearly time to flee. Indulge in some much-needed R&R with the Destination Vacation Showcase. Whether your wanderlust takes you to the tropical beaches of the southern hemisphere or intimate street cafes of foreign cities, this Showcase will complete your packing list.

Info for Sellers

Get your items ready! We encourage sellers to add items for escapism, such as passport holders, travel journals, tropical swimsuits, and vintage cameras. There are no category restrictions for this Showcase.

The Destination Vacation Showcase goes on sale Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 12 p.m. ET.

Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
This Showcase will run from Monday, January 11, 2010 12 a.m. ET until Sunday, January 17, 2010, 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:

Valentine's Gifts for Him Showcase: On sale Thursday, January 14, 2010; the Showcase will be live from Monday, January 18, 2010 to Sunday, January 24, 2010
- Think items that would make great gifts for dudes, whether they be hopeless romantics or sarcastic cynics.
Valentine's Gifts for Her Showcase: On sale Thursday, January 21, 2010; the Showcase will be live from Monday, January 25, 2010 to Sunday, January 31, 2010.
- Think items that would make great gifts for the special ladies in your life.

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: kukubee

2010-01-04T10:34:00-05:00

Brandi and Brent of kukubee once only imagined the possibility of quitting their day jobs to pursue their artistic dreams. It took little more than six months of Etsy sales before they were able to say goodbye to the daily grind to keep up with their newfound Etsy success. Brandi and Brent stress the importance of branding, using Etsy's resources and sporting their wares as some of their best tips for success. Read on for more insights from this resourceful pair.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
Brandi: I've been making things my whole life, actually. My grandmother taught me how to crochet when I was eight years old and I began making clothes for my dolls right away! My parents encouraged my creativity very early on, so I always had a project going of some kind. Once kukubee was born, creating products seemed very natural to me.

Brent: My earliest memories involving art go back to when I was about 8 years old and my daddy would bring home stacks of paper from work for us to draw on. I have always had dreams of becoming a cartoonist with my own Sunday funnies strip. I soon realized I wasn’t even a little bit funny, so I had to resort to becoming an artist instead.

Tell us about your previous working situation.
Brandi: I was working for a community college in the finance department. Although I adored the students and my co-workers (most of 'em!), it wasn't my dream job at all. I think most creative-minded people will say that working a 9-5 isn't really cut out for them. It's certainly the case with me.

Brent: Before going full-time with art, I used to take portions of cheese from larger bags and put them into smaller bags for ten hours a day. As much satisfaction as one can derive from such an occupation, bigger-to-smaller-bag-cheese-portioner just wasn’t the career for me.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
Brandi: Of course! I never thought I'd be able to do it within six months of starting on Etsy, though. We started out really slow. We had two sales our first month, I think. We were pretty excited to have sold anything at all! I think initially we thought it was going to be a much slower climb to the sales goal we had set for ourselves, and we were totally okay with that. In July I started realizing I was running out of hours when I got home from work to sew the volume of pouches we were selling. We were faced with the decision of quitting the day job pretty quickly, but I honestly wouldn't change a thing about how it happened. Our success on Etsy so far has been an awesome experience and welcomed surprise!

Brent: I had quit my day job prior to selling on Etsy. In a risky move, I quit my job at the restaurant I worked for to become an artist without having a single job or lead in the industry. I spent months and months unemployed before I scored my first art gig illustrating for a greeting card company. However, one learns a lot about one's own strengths and weaknesses during this time of fear and doubt. One also becomes very, very good at Mario Kart.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time? Feel free to give us the nitty gritty business details.
Brent and Brandi: We used to spend hours in this local coffee shop writing and sketching out ideas. We're both such creative, positive people that it's extremely easy to feed off of each other. (Being soulmates helps!) We made an extensive, prioritized list of what we felt needed to be done and researched before we officially started listing items. Then we just started marking items off as we went: applying for a business license, researching packaging and supplies options, ordering business cards... We actually started our Etsy shop in January 2009, but didn't start listing items until April. It honestly took those three months to feel prepared enough to open.

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?
Brandi: If you make jewelry, wear it! If you make bags, use them! Everywhere I go, I wear or take something kukubee-related with me. It's a great way to start talking about what you do when someone asks about an item you're carrying (and they WILL ask!). I used to be really shy, but now I have no problem striking up conversations with complete strangers! It just takes some practice. Be proud of your craft and make sure to carry a stack of business cards with you.

Brent: Branding! A strong brand keeps you memorable amidst a sea of similar, competing products online. When people leave our shop we want them to remember us for the next time they're looking to buy cute pouches. We try to unify our brand using similar characters, style, and color throughout our entire online presence: in our Etsy shop, on our own website, and our Twitter. When people think of our shop, we don’t want them thinking, “Remember that shop with those little vampire zipper pouches and some were blue and some were red and some had a bunny and some had those zombies and pandas…” We hope they’re thinking, “Remember Kukubee?”

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
Brandi: So far, so good! We haven't even been selling a year yet, so it's hard to tell if anything has really been unsuccessful. We've been pretty fortunate in terms of promotion.

Walk us through your typical workday.

Brandi: I'm usually up a few hours before Brent, so I spend the morning drinking coffee (priorities, right?) and packaging up the previous day's orders for the afternoon mail run.
After that I answer any convos, relist items and check the Virtual Labs schedule.
I start sewing in the early afternoon and sometimes don't stop until well after midnight!
Brent and I both are night owls, so our most creative hours are anywhere from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. We usually reserve that time for sketching new ideas or discussing future projects together.

Brent: I draw pictures until my fingers fall off.

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
Brent: I miss my fingers.

Brandi: I can honestly say that my favorite part is NOT having to hit my alarm at 6:00 a.m. and think “WHYYYYYYYYYYY?!” Keeping my own hours is definitely a plus, but also requires a little more structure than I originally thought. It took a little while to get into an efficient, yet comfortable, routine (which I'm constantly trying to improve!). I do miss the social aspects of my day job. The students and staff I used to work with are truly amazing people with such interesting stories. I'll never forget them!

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
Brandi: For me, it's knowing that the work is ALWAYS here. I love what I do so much that I forget that it's been hours since I looked up from the sewing machine. Sometimes Brent has to remind me to take a break (which usually consists of reading, video-gaming or baking). If I ever start to feel even a tiny bit stressed out, Brent is SO good at making sure I step away for a bit to relax. Our family is also really supportive when kukubee gets super busy. My mom has stayed up really late to help me print mailing labels and package orders, and Brent's sisters come over sometimes and stay for hours to help us with orders, too. I don't know what we'd do without any of them!

Brent: The hardest part is being held accountable for every facet of your business: the day-to-day duties such as placing orders for supplies, preparing mailing material and bookkeeping that can easily be overlooked when first starting out. I also sell art in my other Etsy shop, meowza, so I also have to make sure I have supplies stocked for that shop as well. I guess the hardest part about being held accountable for every aspect of a business is not being able to blame anyone but yourself when something goes wrong. By the way, we have an opening in our studio for a Head Scapegoat.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?
Brandi: Hey, self...don't use hair dye from a box anymore! Seriously, though...there isn't much I would change about how everything happened. Maybe I would tell myself to start earlier! As far as advice for others: don't get discouraged when you first start out. The wonderful thing about having an Etsy shop is that you can go at your own pace. It's YOUR business. If your sales seem slow, stay positive and use your downtime to dream up new ideas for your shop! 

Brent: If I could go back in time, I would tell myself, “Just do it!” It’s so easy to scrutinize and doubt any idea for a design or product you may have, especially when starting. Just remember, your brain doesn’t have an allotted maximum-awesome-idea count. If one idea doesn’t work, do another! Also, I’d make sure to grab a sports almanac.

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?
Brandi: I hope to be able to build up enough inventory so I can focus on creating new products for our Etsy shop. I'd love to be able to regularly list kukubee tote bags (they take a long time to make) and still have time to try out different patterns for other merchandise as well. I'm also looking into some eco-friendly fabrics to use with our designs. Adding those to our product line is also something I'd like to accomplish this year.

Brent: Earlier in the year we were creating a number of time-intensive personalized fabric designs from scratch before we got too busy to keep up with the requests. We conceptualized a system which would make it easier for a user (and much easier for us) to customize a fabric design for use in our products using a series of templates. I’d love to finalize this system in the coming year to bring more personalized designs into our shop!

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Brandi: Etsy has an amazing amount of resources for sellers. Spend as much time as you possibly can educating yourself by browsing the Forums or attending a few Virtual Labs. I frequent the Virtual Labs as often as time will allow and still learn new things every time I attend! It's a great way to connect with other crafters with tons of helpful advice. I've been so impressed with the Etsy community and their willingness to help sellers succeed. You're awesome. Every single one of you!

Brent: I graduated from the same high school as Colin Mochrie.

Thanks to Brandi and Brent for sharing their story. You can see some of their work in the Related Items. Check out previous Quit Your Day Job posts here.

Cozy Home and Attire Showcase: On Sale Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 12 p.m. ET

2009-12-30T15:00:00-05:00

Looking to retreat from the callous weather outside? Snuggle up with the Cozy Home and Attire Showcase! Treat yourself to some thick knits, nourishing body creams, or chamomile tea. Your spirit will be soothed into rejuvenation.

Info for Sellers

Get your items ready! We encourage sellers to add items that would offer some comfort in the midst of this brutal winter. In order to keep the Showcase on-point thematically, the tool will only pull items placed in the following Categories: Accessories (top-level tag being "accessories"), Art, Bags and Purses, Bath & Body, Books & Zines, Candles, Ceramics & Pottery, Children, Clothing, Crochet, Furniture, Glass, Holiday, Housewares, Knitting, Paper Goods, Plants & Edibles, Quilts, Vintage, Woodworking.

The Cozy Home and Attire Showcase goes on sale Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 12 p.m. ET.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
This Showcase will run from Monday, January 4, 2010 12 a.m. ET until Sunday, January 10, 2010, 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:

Destination Vacation Showcase: On sale Thursday, January 7, 2010; the Showcase will be live from Monday, January 11, 2010 to Sunday, January 17, 2010.
- Think escapist items for those in warmer climates or jet-setting on a winter break.
Valentine's Gifts for Him Showcase: On sale Thursday, January 6, 2010; the Showcase will be live from Monday, January 18, 2010 to Sunday, January 24, 2010.
- Think items that would make great gifts for dudes, whether they be hopeless romantics or sarcastic cynics.

Quit Your Day Job: adVintagous

2009-12-28T15:30:00-05:00

I'm excited to bring you the next Quit Your Day Jobber who just so happens to have taken the plunge to focus full time on her success in selling vintage on Etsy. Allison of adVintagous started out listing a couple items from her closet in order to clear out some room and make a few extra dollars after realizing there was a Vintage Category on the site; she never imagined she'd soon be making a full-time living from it. Allison went from a recent graduate during a recession working full time as a character photographer at a theme park to being her own boss bringing new life to vintage finds. Her best marketing advice is keeping up a shop newsletter and taking photos in natural light with a simple background. Allison is most thankful that Etsy has allowed her to concentrate on her true passions in life including vintage and birds.

How did you originally get into the business of selling vintage?
I've always loved the different eras of vintage — mod 60s, glam evening dresses, big poofy 50s skirts, all of it! I'd been collecting vintage dresses at thrift stores and estate sales personally for years, as well as shopping on Etsy for handmade goods. One day last year, I noticed that Etsy had a vintage section and decided to put some pieces from my own closet up on the site, and things just went from there. It's great because if I find something really amazing, I get to buy it, even if it doesn't fit! I always hated to leave something wonderful behind because it was too small or too large.

Tell us about your previous working situation.
After I graduated from college, I found myself working as a character photographer at a theme park in Orlando. While the park was fun, and the people were great, it was not a career that I wanted, and graduating during a recession didn't leave me many options.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
I knew that other people had been able to support themselves through Etsy, but it wasn't something that I thought I would be able to do. My goal was to maybe find new homes for some of my dresses, and make a little bit of money to supplement my income. After spending a few months with just my toes in the water, I started selling vintage seriously this past March. I wasn't expecting much, maybe a sale once in a while, but I was overwhelmed by the response to my finds, and was able to quit my day job this past summer. I've sold wedding gowns to brides, prom dresses, and even shimmery sequin pieces to bands for their photo shoots! I love the interaction with customers on Etsy, it's very different from my experiences with other online selling venues, and everyone is so friendly and happy to communicate.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time, feel free to give us the nitty gritty business details?
At first, I cut my hours to part time, to make sure I wasn't getting in over my head. Then, when I left the park for good, my husband and I made sure we had enough saved up to last a few months if things didn't work out, sort of a safety net.

What are the most effective ways you have promoted and marketed your Etsy business? What's your best marketing tip?
I've tried a ton of things — Twitter, Facebook, blogging, Flickr — but I think the most effective thing I've done as far as marketing is to have a newsletter. Once or twice a month, I'll send an email to people who sign up, letting them know about sales, and things like that. I also had little business cards printed up for my shop. I'm always meeting people who ask what I do, and it usually starts a big conversation about selling online. It's still a pretty novel idea to most people! It's nice to have a card to hand out so they can see my site when they get home.

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
I've tried a few paid blog advertisements, and while I got some views, I didn't really see any sales from them. In the end, I didn't feel the money was worth it. I'm still experimenting with paid advertisements in different places.

Walk us through your typical workday.

I wake up around 8 a.m., when my husband leaves for work.
After he's gone, I spend some time with our little bird, Peanut, eating breakfast and catching up on email and Convos.
Three days a week I volunteer at a local bird of prey rehab center, so on those days, I head to the center and spend the day with the birds.
Other days, I usually spend time visiting estate sales looking for those special vintage finds. In the afternoons, if the light is right I'll take pictures, if not, I'll process photos, and list items.
I usually pack up the day's orders at night, so they are ready to go out in the morning mail the next day!
Afterwards, my husband and I will usually watch some junky TV or play video games to unwind.

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
The best best best thing about not having a day job is that most of what I do on Etsy can be done in the evenings, or on the weekends. Having an "unconventional" job has left my days free for a different kind of work — volunteering! Animals, and birds especially, are one of my big passions in life, along with vintage and traveling. So three days a week I get to volunteer at a local bird rehabilitation center helping to care for sick and injured birds of prey, as well as educating the public about their importance. I love being able to devote so much of my time to something that means so much to me, and I would never have been able to do that without Etsy.

On a more selfish note, I also love not having a commute. Before, I was driving an hour to and from work each day, and usually getting up at 6 a.m. to do it. I'm a born night owl, so now I can wake up at a comfortable hour, and work into the night if I have to. I really miss having coworkers and friends that I see every day, though. Sometimes it gets a little lonely doing everything myself. I do make time to spend with friends and family, but it's not the same as having people that you work with every day.

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
One of the hardest things is having no one else to rely on. If I get sick, or have to go out of town, nothing gets done. Since I do everything myself, the photography, the listing, the buying, and the shipping, if something goes wrong, I know I have no one to blame but myself. I take it pretty hard when something like a lost package happens, even if there's nothing I could have done about it. Also, it is frustrating when I tell people what I do, and they act like I told them I live on the moon.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?
I would love to go back in time and change the way I was taking pictures in the beginning. I had been switching back and forth between trying to take photos outside and trying to bring light to a dark room. When I switched to a well lit room with natural light and a simple background, it was like a breath of fresh air. Now I have to move furniture every time I want to take pictures, but it's a trade I'm more than willing to make. I think photos are the most important part of your listing, the best description in the world can't help a blurry, underexposed photo.

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

Aside from, of course, more hearts and sales, I would really like to make a dedicated shipping area at home. Somewhere I can lay things out for packing, and not have to run around finding tape, tissue paper, the scale, and all that. I think it would make shipping so much faster.
I also need to work on keeping up to date spreadsheets and records of expenses and sales. Not my favorite part, but something I would like to accomplish.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Having an online shop, and being your own boss is fantastic, but also a lot of hard work. I have so much respect now for others who do it full time! It's not something that I ever expected to be doing, but I love it, and I've long since stopped wondering about the crazy places that life has taken me.

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.

Quit Your Day Job: alinahayes

2009-12-21T16:26:00-05:00

Alina of alinahayes spent seven years in the medical billing and collections field before getting married and moving cross-country. Alina decided to take a pottery class to get back in touch with her creative side and make new friends. She soon realized she wanted to take the plunge into selling her wares full time via Etsy. Alina now successfully supports herself making and selling pottery, loves her newfound freedom, is expecting a child, and is reaching for goals such as a guest feature on the Martha Stewart Show.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
I always loved making things. What still amazes me is that it’s possible to create something out of nothing. While attending The School of Visual Arts in New York, drawing and painting was a huge part of my life, until I discovered pottery and the beauty of three-dimensional objects. Clay had completely won me over.

Tell us about your previous working situation.
As a single girl in New York City, I needed a day job. Somehow I managed to get into the Medical Billing/Collections profession. Yikes! I was very good at it, so one job led to another, a promotion, a bigger pay check. Before I knew it, this “career” was going on for seven years. When I got married, my new husband had a job opportunity that would require us to move to Los Angeles, and we jumped on it! Sticking to what I knew best, I got yet another job in an office as a medical collector. I knew I was sinking. I was newly married to an incredible man, living in a fabulous city, and yet I was miserable. I decided to take some pottery classes to release some creative juices and make some friends, and so here I am!

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
Yes! As soon as I saw how well some of Etsy’s sellers were doing, I realized that quitting my day job was a real possibility. I plunged into making as much pottery as I could in my spare time to fill up my Etsy shop.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time? Feel free to give us the nitty gritty business details!
I am not much of a planner, and I tend to second-guess myself, so I decided to jump in with both feet before I changed my mind.

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

Consistently listing new items kept me more visible and active in the Etsy community. Joining the Etsy Mud Team was great and helped me get into some of my first Treasuries.
Treasuries are a great way to get to the elusive home page! Creating Treasury lists and including your favorite sellers likely ensures they will return the favor.
Participating in Etsy-wide promotional sales is always helpful and will direct extra traffic to your shop.
My blog, which I started because all I wanted to do was talk about clay and pottery, has helped in my marketing efforts.
Facebook and Twitter are great networking sites to consider if you don‘t have time to devote to a blog.
I also think it’s important to go beyond the Internet to grow your business. Doing local shows and sales as well as swinging by gift boutiques with your product will ensure that more people know you exist. The more people know you’re out there, the better your chances are for a sale.

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
Discounting work for the sake of doing so. Knowing what your work is worth is important, and just because it’s cheaper, does not mean you will sell more any faster.

Walk us through your typical workday.

I wake up, walk over to my laptop to check for Etsy sales and Convos (even before I make the coffee…just can’t help it).
I like to pack up my orders first and get them ready for the post office.
I then make my way to the garage where, depending on what pottery making phase I am in, I will either throw, trim or glaze pottery. I like to spend at least four hours a day “making” pottery, otherwise I don’t feel productive.
Often times I will be so caught up in it all, I'll forget to eat lunch. However, I am pregnant at the moment, so that is not a possibility. Gotta make time for lunch!
When I feel I need a break, I’ll make a trip to the post office and answer daily email.
I don’t really keep a constant daily work schedule.
Some days I will work well into the evenings. Others, I will end around 4 p.m. The same goes for weekends.

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
I enjoy the freedom! The fact that I do not have to be in an office for a given number of hours every day. I love working in my pajamas! I love that I do not have a supervisor watching over my shoulder. I love that I get to do what I actually LOVE. I miss absolutely nothing, and that is how I know I have made the right decision.

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
Separating my personal and professional life. Working and living at home sometimes makes it difficult to stop doing one and start doing the other.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself? What advice would you give someone else?
Have confidence and take the leap.

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?
To maintain a steady and flowing production schedule. At the end of my first year on Etsy, I wanted to double my sales the next year and it was something I was able to accomplish. Now that my Etsy shop is my full-time job, I would like to double (if not triple) this year’s sales. I would like to keep increasing traffic to my store and continue to create quality product people will enjoy. Oh, and I'd also like to be a guest on the Martha Stewart Show. Hi, Martha!

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Your Etsy shop will only be as good as the amount of time you’re willing to devote to it. Take great dynamic photos and sell quality products. Do not be discouraged. It takes time and a lot of effort, but I assure you it is possible to succeed.

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

Business Growth: Separate Your Personal and Business Finances

2009-12-17T11:10:00-05:00

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.

2010 is almost here. How can you improve your business operations? One simple yet incredibly important financial step you can take is to separate your personal and business bank accounts. No more comingling of accounts, no more gray area, no more personal checks for business expenses.

Back in 2006, around tax time, I remember it taking me three days' worth of effort to separate my Quicken report into personal and business expenses. Opening a second bank account is pretty easy and, even better, free. Okay, so you have to buy checks. But the time it will take you to separate data “after the fact” is ugly. Think of it as time that you could be using to sell or make your services or products.

Photo by WhimsyHouse

When Your Business is More than Just a Hobby

When you’re first starting out, it makes no sense to go overboard with new accounts or a dedicated credit card. It’s just a hobby, right? Wrong! Sales will start rolling in, and before you know it you'll have orders to fill and more raw materials to purchase. Suddenly, you need a website, an accountant, business cards and more supplies –- you even buy ad space on a few key websites. Do yourself a favor and open a bank account specifically for your business expenses.

Yelena McManaman, social media marketing specialist and founder of 1Click VA, knew it was time to make her move when she and her husband were buying an apartment. Her business was already generating steady income, but she hadn’t yet set up a separate business account – all her earnings went into the family account and expenses were charged to her personal credit card. So when the agent asked McManaman to verify her income, she couldn’t. There was no proof of cash flow. Whoops. “That’s when I realized that having a separate business account was not only good for my business, but essential for getting any type of financing deals in the future,” she says.

Clearly, at some point it pays to separate your personal finances from your business finances. But how do you know what to do and when to do it?

You know it’s time when…

You’re not sure how much money is going in or out. Budgeting is overwhelming. Costs are rising, and you're losing track of receivables (cash that's owed to you that you haven't collected). You know you “should” be earning more based on sales volume. In practice, you still can't make ends meet and you never seem to have enough cash in the bank. You wish you could run reports (expenses, income), but you can't access the data (because it's all mixed together).

Photo by mamaroots

A few ideas on what to do…

Set up a second checking account. Use your business name and Employer Identification Number (EIN) on the account — do NOT make it a second personal account. If you don’t have an EIN, you can apply for one online on the IRS website. Make it your business bank account. Get a separate credit card. Concerned about running up debt? Please, be concerned. If you’re sweating a second credit card, get a debit or prepaid card instead. But get a card to manage all expenses like website hosting and PayPal transactions. Remember: A credit card is free as long as you pay off the balance every month, and there are plenty of cards out there with no annual membership fees. Deposit all of your sales income into your business account. Technically, all profits are your earnings and you have to pay taxes on the profits. But that doesn't mean you should always take all of the profits from your business account. Put yourself on a fixed “draw” to make sure there’s operating money in the account and budget accordingly.

Set a goal to hire a bookkeeper with Quickbooks expertise. Or hire a bookkeeping service (cheaper than an employee in the beginning). Request monthly profit-and-loss statements. You need real data to understand which areas of your business are performing well – and which aren’t.

For Kate Lister, founder of Undress4Success.com and author of Undress For Success: The Naked Truth About Making Money at Home, the defining moment came when she was line-item audited by the IRS. Among the issues were credit card membership fees, if the card was used for both business and personal expenses. “In the end, they owed me money,” Lister says. “But it wasn’t enough to pay the $2,500 it cost me to defend my innocence.” Since then, she has started three successful businesses — and become religious about keeping separate accounts.

By separating your accounts, your personal financial choices (good or bad) can’t affect your business — and vice versa. You'll also find you have better control and far more sanity when it comes to your finances.

Get more financial tips like this by signing up for DailyWorth.com, a free daily email about personal finance for women.

Find More Tips for Running your Shop in Etsy's Seller Handbook.

Winter Fashion & Accessories Showcase: On Sale Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 12 p.m. ET

2009-12-16T14:57:00-05:00

Brr! The talented Mr. Jack Frost has officially taken up an artist's residency on my windowsills, which means it's time for my tender digits to burrow down into soft and woolen winter accessories. Take heart by scooping up some adorable cold weather cover, be it a fashionable leather bag, popcorn crochet mittens or a toasty hood. The Winter Fashion & Accessories Showcase is sure to be stocked with an abominable snowman size selection of fuzzy fashion.

Info for Sellers

If you are a maker of jewelry, scarves, gloves, hats, bags, sweaters, jackets or anything else that is ideal for the winter, we're looking for you! In order to keep the Showcase on-point thematically, the tool will only pull items placed in the following categories: Accesories (top-level tag being "accessories"), Bags and Purses, Clothing, Crochet, Jewelry, Knitting, Vintage.

The Winter Fashion & Accesories Showcase goes on sale Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 12 p.m. ET.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
This Showcase will run from Monday, December 21, 2009 12 a.m. ET until Sunday, January 3, 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:

Cozy Home and Attire Showcase: On sale Thursday, December 31, 2009; the Showcase will be live from Monday, January 4, 2010 to Sunday, January 10, 2009.
- Think about all the great items that make hanging out at home such a pleasant experience: luxurious lap blankets, snuggly sweaters, comfy pillows and the like.

Wednesday Workshop Wrap-Up: Gift Certificates in Your Shop

2009-12-16T14:00:00-05:00

This article was originally published on December 17, 2007 and updated on September 8, 2008. We've updated the content to be current as of December 16, 2009 for the current holiday shopping season. Etsy does not offer site-wide gift cards, but individual sellers may provide gift certificate listings that shoppers can use in that store only. Check out Holiday How-To: Offering Services for more great tips on providing those special extra touches for your holiday shoppers.

As we quickly approach shipping cut-offs to deliver gift purchases in time for the holidays, some last-minute shoppers may appreciate the convenience of a gift certificate from your Etsy shop. We have some guidelines and tips for sellers who wish to offer gift certificates.

First and foremost, you must research and abide by any applicable local laws governing gift certificates.* This is clearly stated in the DOs & DON'Ts of Etsy, as detailed below:

Gift certificates are governed by local laws; it is the seller's responsibility to determine if they are in compliance. If you list a gift certificate on Etsy, you are responsible for this compliance.
You must include this sentence in the item listing: "This Gift Certificate is valid only in my Etsy shop, and it is only redeemable here."

If you are a seller in the USA, you may be interested in The Consumer's Union for a brief overview gift certificate laws. (This website and this article are for informative purposes only, and should not be considered legal advice.) Please refer to the laws of your state and/or country for more accurate, detailed and up-to-date information. You may wish to consult an attorney for specific questions.

When you list your gift certificate on Etsy, be sure you follow all of Etsy's rules for item listings. Here are some specific things to keep in mind:

Your listing must be for a set price; this should be the full value of the gift certificate.
Your listing must be an actual, tangible item for purchase. This could be a traditional, formal paper certificate, notecard, Moo card or something the recipient might want to hang onto a little longer, like a sticker, coaster, patch or badge. A digital file, like a .pdf, may also be acceptable.
Your listing description should be accurate and detailed. Provide all the details and terms for using the gift certificate so shoppers know exactly what they are purchasing (see below).
Be clear in your description that this gift certificate is only redeemable in the Etsy shop from which is it purchased.

Be sure to include pertinent information on your physical gift certificate and in your item listing, even if it seems obvious to you:

the name of your shop
your shop's unique web address on Etsy (for example: username.etsy.com)
the words "gift certificate"
the value of the gift certificate
a unique secret code, which the redeemer of the gift certificate will be instructed to type into the Message to Seller section when checking out (do not include this in your item listing!)
clear instructions on how to redeem the gift certificate (for example: "Go to my Etsy shop, and select the items you would like to buy with this fine gift certificate. Click the green Checkout button. In the Message to Seller section, please type in the code. I will send you a Convo to confirm your order. Thanks!")

Be organized and keep track of the code of every gift certificate that is purchased and redeemed in your shop. When the gift certificate is redeemed, you may need to send a revised PayPal invoice to the buyer if there is a remaining balance that needs to be paid on the sale.

A final point of consideration for Etsy sellers who offer gift certificates is the associated Etsy fees. Two separate transactions occur with Etsy shop gift certificates: one when the gift certificate is purchased by the gift-giver, and one when the gift certificate is redeemed by the recipient. Applicable listing and transaction fees will be reflected on your Etsy bill for both of these transactions.

Find more how-to's about selling in our Seller Handbook.

*The fine print from SarahSays, our lawyer: This information is for educational and informational purposes only. The content should not be construed as legal advice. The author and Etsy, Inc. disclaim all responsibility for any and all losses, damages, or causes of action that may arise or be connected with the use of these materials. Please consult a licensed attorney in your area with specific legal questions or concerns.

P.S. A great big thank you goes out to thankyouenjoy for taking such detailed notes when we had a Virtual Labs workshop on this topic.

Quit Your Day Job: jill2day

2009-12-14T14:10:00-05:00

Jill of jill2day spent many years in corporate design departments until the economy's downturn left her unemployed. She took her career change as a motivating opportunity to start her Etsy shop, learn more about the ins-and-outs of e-commerce and begin supporting herself through her artistic voice. She's now successfully making her living through her Etsy business, loves making her own schedule, and if she could go back in time, she would have advised herself to do it sooner. Keep reading to find out how Jill uses customer service as one of her best marketing tools.

How did you originally get into the business of making things?
I can’t remember not making things. One of my prize possessions is a clay dog that I made in 2nd grade and I can remember making things even before that. I can honestly say I would not have graduated from high school if it weren’t for my art classes — and the fabulous teachers I had. They taught me that making things was of value.

Tell us about your previous working situation.
Ironically I left art school and entered the corporate world. I remember working as a bank teller and seeing an ad agency come in to pitch an idea. It was then that I realized that there were people who were actually making a living coming up with ideas and creating things. I went back to school for graphic design and spent the next many years in corporate and agency design departments. I also taught graphic design for a while. I liked the problem solving and customer service parts of these jobs almost as much as the creative part. However, the longer I was in the corporate environment the more I started to get the “been there done that” feeling during meetings.

When you first started selling on Etsy, did you have dreams or goals of eventually quitting your day job?
My day job quit me before I started selling on Etsy! I am one of the “recently unemployed” from this economic craziness. I spent a while looking for another position, but really wanted to see if the fiber art that I had been doing for myself could be a full-time endeavor — or at least keep me occupied until the economy picked up again. I also really wanted to increase my knowledge of the world of online commerce and advertising.

Did you do anything to prepare ahead of time?
Yes. I bought a serger! I found one that I could buy on a no-interest one-year loan. My goal was to just make enough to pay this off before the one year ended and interest kicked in. I had my own B+M graphic design firm years ago, so I already knew about record-keeping, etc.

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

First and foremost: Join Etsy and use all the tools available to you. It was a great sort of “start-up franchise.” I read all the info on starting up, joined in the Forums, and generally just decided to focus, focus, focus.
Secondly: Customer service. My background included a lot of both vendor and customer relationships, so I have just applied lessons learned previously to my Etsy shop. I always keep in mind that repeat customers are gold — and fun. So I really am trying to build relationships and listen to my customers' ideas — not just sell them stuff! Consequently I am doing many custom items. I love to do these, because they are often for people who have had a hard time finding their size in “fun” clothes before, so they are so excited to have these items made, and we have so much fun planning the garment. They come up with some great ideas to challenge me!

What have you found to be an unsuccessful promotion?
So far so good. I have had success with the Showcases, Weekend Deals and renewing (a reasonable amount!). I will be in my first show in a couple weeks, and also am participating in the Etsy Pavilion at the Chicago One of a Kind Show — so ask me that question again in a month! I don’t tweet, and my Facebook is purely for family and connecting with friends: no business.

Walk us through your typical workday.

I stumble downstairs and take the dog out — but first I turn on the computer so that when I come in it is all set to check in with my “positive thread” buddies in the Forums. (Hey, look guys: I'm in an article!)
After my husband goes to work, I spend some more time on Etsy: check Convos, Forums, renew, etc.
At 9 I turn off the computer (usually) and I head off to the studio (getting dressed first is optional).
Then it is sewing until lunch.
During lunch it is another check on my shop, Convos, Forums, etc.
The afternoon is either photo time, post office time (I love going to my small town post office with a load of boxes), or back to the studio to plan, cut apart my found sweaters and adding the parts to my stash, or make “sweater bundles” — bundling together all the various parts for each sweater, or sew.
Once a week I go material shopping and once a week I do some bookkeeping.
I usually emerge from the studio when my husband gets home, and run another Convo and blog check while he is checking his computer.
I resume hand sewing while watching the TV, but usually don‘t go back to the studio in the evening, as I am spoiled by the daytime daylight!

What do you enjoy most about not having a day job? Is there anything you miss?
I love making my own schedule. In the corporate world I had to react to all the deadlines imposed on me. But on Etsy I can prioritize and pace myself to my life much better. I am also loving the solitude and the community! (And my local NPR station.) I have this quiet, productive life that is intermittently enhanced by my fellow Etsians and customers through their Convos and emails. It is so lovely to have these interactions, but because they are electronic they are so much easier to manage than the people popping into your cube or office all the time…and I do not miss meetings!

What's the hardest part about running your own business?
No back-up and, because I am new to this production mode, and am generally a complete optimist, judging how long things will take. I have occasionally bitten off a bit more than I should chew.

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

Myself: I would have done this earlier!

Others: Decide why you are here. If you want to make a living, then you have opened up a business and you must approach it as such — 100% x 24/7. If you are here to subsidize your hobby, great, but don’t expect to have the same results as those who are full-time businesses.

What goals do you wish to accomplish in the coming year for your Etsy business?
Well, I have the money to pay off my serger, but have already decided I might need a commercial serger next year! Beyond that, I want to keep coming up with new designs and products that my customers will love to wear, and that will enable me to keep enjoying what I am doing. I will probably do more shows. Technically, I would love to get better at SEO and maybe open my own site as a hub for my blog, Etsy, shows, etc. Who knows, maybe I will even learn to tweet!

Is there anything else you'd like to share?
A big thank you to Etsy and my fellow Etsy sellers and buyers, and to my husband and friends. I am sure that this year of unemployment would have been very tough without all of you. In losing my job I have found out that Richie Havens was right when he said, “Backwards is not necessarily a negative direction!”

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

Holidays: Last Minute Gifts Showcase: On Sale Thursday, December 10, 2009 12 p.m. ET

2009-12-09T10:30:00-05:00

I'm always so pleased with myself weeks and weeks before the holidays, checking everyone off my gift list, hoarding pretty little boxes in secret drawers of my bedroom, smugly avoiding the season of midtown madness. Pleased, that is, until I realize at the last minute that the great aunts will be in town, and oh goodness, is my sister's fiance joining us this year as well, and did I manage to forget about my friend who now lives across the country? The Last Minute Gifts Showcase will preempt my panic attack with a bevy of unusual and beautiful gifts, all with the glorious option of expedited shipping.

Info for Sellers
Get your items ready! Think gifts for that hard to buy for person, that last person on people's lists. These items must also be available for expedited shipping. For more information about expedited shipping check out USPS Express Mail Overnight, UPS or FedEx.

The Holidays: Last Minute Gifts (Expedited Shipping) Showcase goes on sale Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 12 p.m. ET.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
This Showcase will run from Monday, December 14, 2009 12 a.m. ET until Sunday, December 20, 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:

Winter Fashion & Accessories Showcase: On sale Thursday, December 17, 2009; the Showcase will be live from December 21, 2009 to January 3, 2010.
- Think cold weather clothing and accessories, like gloves, scarves, sweaters, and jackets.

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

Etsy Statistics: November 2009 Weather Report

2009-12-07T12:29:00-05:00

Etsy's holiday shopping season sprung into full effect during November of 2009. We'd like to share these encouraging numbers with you.

Here are the stats:

$21.9 million of goods were sold by our community in November, roughly 24% higher than October's $18 million.
That represents 1,297,964 items sold for the month, 22% higher than October’s 1,065,475.
1,931,988 new items were listed in the month, 16.4% higher than October's 1,659,220.
246,230 new members joined the Etsy community in the month, up 43,218, or 21% from October.
680,742,203 page views were recorded on the site this month.

(Sources: Etsy and Google Analytics.)

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Etsy community in November!

Curious about how other months and last year compare? Check out our past Weather Reports for more statistics.

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.

Holiday Gifts for Her Showcase: On Sale Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 12 p.m. ET

2009-12-02T10:00:00-05:00

Still have a few ladies left on your holiday gift list? The Gifts for Her Holiday Showcase may be the perfect place to find meaningful presents for the special woman in your life. This Showcase will have a wide variety of handmade and vintage items for women: think jewelry, clothing, accessories, bath and beauty, home decor, artwork, or something you think she'd love, but would never buy herself.

Info for Sellers

Get your items ready! We encourage sellers to add items that would make great unique gifts for any woman — wife, daughter, sister, mom, cousin, coworker — this holiday season.

The Holidays: Gifts for Her Showcase goes on sale Thursday, December 3, 2009 12 p.m. ET.
Go to the Showcase Gateway to purchase a spot.
This Showcase will run from Monday, December 7, 2009 12 a.m. ET until Sunday, December 13, 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:

Last Minute Holiday 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.
Winter Fashion & Accessories Showcase: On sale Thursday, December 17, 2009; the Showcase will be live from December 21, 2009 to January 3, 2010.
- Think cold weather clothing and accessories that pack a fashionable punch, like gloves, scarves, sweaters and jackets.

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

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.

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

Customer Care: Improving Etsy Support

2009-11-12T12:30:00-05:00

Etsy's Support Team is committed to providing the best possible service to the Etsy community. We are delighted to announce that we are launching a brand new Help section and a new set of internal tools for Etsy's Support Team.

As we have with other recent features, we are going to roll out use of the new Help system over the next few days instead of all at once. We appreciate your patience and participation as we get the new Help system up and running.

Here are the highlights:

Searchable Help. Wave goodbye to those long, clunky, list-style Help pages. For the first time, Etsy's Frequently Asked Questions knowledge base (FAQs) is searchable! View FAQs by topic on Help Home, or quickly find answers by searching for a keyword or phase.

Contact Etsy Support. The new Help site allows you to contact Etsy's Support Team via a web form, instead of leaving Etsy to use email. Super convenient! (Note: You must be signed in to your Etsy account to use this feature, and we're gradually rolling this out to members. Until you your account comes up in the queue, this section will direct to the old FAQ.)

Help History. You can view and update your questions to Etsy's Support Team — and see our responses — right from the Help site using the My Help History page. In addition, a copy of the response from Etsy's Support Team will be sent to the email address on file in Your Etsy > Account Info. (Note: You must be signed in to your Etsy account to access My Help History, and we're gradually rolling this out to members. Until you your account comes up in the queue, this section will direct to the old FAQ.)

Submit a Suggestion. Have an idea to make Etsy even better? Want to offer us your point of view about Etsy? Use this handy form to let us know. (Note: You can alternatively discuss your ideas with other members in the community Ideas Forum.)

Teach Etsy How to Help. The new Help site allows members to rate the helpfulness of each FAQ. This provides us with valuable information so we can continually improve our resources for you. The Help site "learns" which FAQs are the most popular and automatically keeps these near the top for easier access.

Better Admin Tools. Etsy's Support Team has a new set of internal tools that integrate directly with the Help site to better serve our community. Every message sent to Etsy's Support Team is read and responded to by a real person. This human touch is vital to provide personalized assistance to every member who needs help. As we ramp up to full speed with these new tools, we have the ever-present goal in mind of improving the quality and timeliness of our customer support.

You may notice this week that emails you receive from Etsy's Support Team will look a little different. You can now easily see both your question to Support and our reply as a discussion thread. In addition, you will receive a reference number for your issue to improve correspondence tracking.

If you've recently sent an email to Etsy's Support Team, don't worry! You do not need to resubmit your question through the new Help site. We will respond as usual. Currently, you can still contact Etsy's Support Team by email to support@etsy.com, abuse@etsy.com, billng@etsy.com or content@etsy.com. We will forward emails to these addresses into our new Help system. (Be sure to send your message from the email address on file in Your Etsy > Account Info.) Over time, we will phase out the use of these email addresses and transition to using the Contact Etsy Support web form to contact the different areas of Etsy's Support Team.

P.S. If you would like to receive breaking, vital Etsy news as it happens — delivered straight to your email inbox — then sign up for Etsy News Alerts emails. Read more about it here. Expect this as an Etsy Alert email in your inbox if you already subscribe to the list.

You can also get an RSS feed of all TechUpdates here.

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