Make-it Mondays: Goodies For Your Blog

As Esty sellers we are aesthetically sensitive people. We've made a visual, online space to market our goods, and many of us have also created blogs, Flickr and Twitter accounts and Facebook fan pages to reflect our style and story. Here are some fun things you can add to your blog that will let readers know a little more about you, your interests and enhance the visual space of your blog.

WidgetBox: a site that offers great pre-made and custom widgets for your blog. Updates often. I added their Music Monday player widget to my personal blog, since I blog specifically on Mondays. (BTW, great music choices as well)

LinkWithin: With this application you can add a list of posts readers may also enjoy if they liked the post they are currently reading. The list will go at the end of a post with thumbnails. It's a good way to keep people reading, when they don't want to search hard.

RNEST buttons: Members did you know we have a variety of colorful buttons/badges for your sites, designed by our very own Kira of KiraArts? Grab them on our Ning Team page and spread our street team love.

The Cutest Blog On The Block: Don't know much about designing your own blog layout? This site has TONS of free ones perfect for an Etsy seller. Other great blog template sites are: shabbyblogs and hotbliggetyblog.

Make-it Mondays: Fill Your Circle

Image from Think Vitamin

Most of you have probably noticed that Etsy has created a bunch of new apps to make listing, searching and connecting easier and more fun. One of the newest is the "activity feed". In it you can see a live feed of who likes you or your items, who puts you in a treasury, and my personal favorite, who adds you to their "circle". Adding someone to your circle is sort of like "friending" them into a creative network. (Which leads one to wonder if there will be a rash of uncircling, just like unfriending on Facebook...hmmm?) One plus to being in a network is the strength that comes with numbers.

Speaking of numbers, let me give you a little math....

I started my Etsy shop late in 2006 while in college. I didn't network. I didn't know how to take great photos. I didn't have feedback from other artists. And I had no business tips from anyone. Not surprisingly, between 2006-2008 I averaged a measly 8.5 sales a year. Finally in August of 2009 I began to get serious and joined RNEST, a local network or circle one could say. With better morale and a few tips I doubled my sales to 17 in 2009. Still small potatoes I know...but with the ideas, suggestions and accountability I feel being on a team, in 2010 I have made 48 sales with a couple solid holiday shopping weeks left. And this doesn't even include the opportunities I have gotten from local businesses and indie craft shows, just because I knew someone, who knew someone.

So what am I getting at? Fill your circle. Fill it with everyone on your team. Fill it with other local sellers you love. Then fill it with those special Etsy sellers you love and may never meet, but really really want to from all over the world. There is strength in numbers and it multiplies the opportunities for people to find YOU.

Make-it Mondays: Go YouTubing with Etsy

Did you know that Etsy has it's own YouTube channel? You did? Well I didn't and for those of you who didn't as well, it is worth a rainy afternoon. When you're in a rut, you can search through topics including Handmade Portraits which highlight profiles of Etsy sellers and Process which follows the step my step production of an Etsy seller's object. Here's one that I especially enjoyed from the makers behind Spruce Home.

Make-it Mondays: Write Your Manifesto

Etsy has created a boot camp for sellers this holiday season, along with a list of tasks to complete at this bootcamp. Each task is meant to keep you on track and selling well during the busy holiday season. One of those tasks is to write a mission statement. Etsy suggests that you really think about what you are creating, selling and why. Great idea. Every artist should have a statement, but let's think bigger. Let's make manifestos!

All the artistic big shots have done it, like:

• The Dadaists: "DADA is our intensity: it erects inconsequential bayonets and the Sumatral head of German babies; Dada is life with neither bedroom slippers nor parallels!"

AND

• The Post Postmodernists: "Ghosts exist; so do people who can see them and communicate with them. Extra-sensory perceptions of all kinds are real and must be reckoned with!"

wait...what?

Manifestos are meant to be bold and spark revolution. They go beyond describing what and why you make things. They are a life philosophy. Also, they are ridiculous and funny. Use strong language. Make bulleted points like you're Martin Luther tacking the 95 theses of your shop against the throng of other unrighteous sellers! I'll be making one for my blog next week. If you make one, share the link in the comments :)

Make-it Mondays: Build Online Support for Your Etsy Shop

So you thought you could make a fabulous Etsy shop and wait for the tidal wave of awesome to head your way? Wrong. Think about it. Online you are one in a million. Maybe even one in a billion. What are the chances of finding your little water drop in the big crafty ocean? Here are some ways to stand out and bring traffic to your store:

• Create a blog: And use it! Write about your inspiration, share work in progress and let customers get to know you on a personal level. That connection is what makes you far more interesting than going to Walmart.
• Make a Facebook Fanpage: You can post treasuries you make and treasuries you are included in. You can post surveys. You could post giveaways for your 1000th heart or 100th fan. Just imagine, one "like" can connect you to a person who has 500 friends who may like you as well and connect you to their 500 friends.
• Get Your Own Dot Com: You can buy a domain that is short and easy to remember and have it forward to your Etsy store. This may also eliminate some competition with someone who has a similar shop name or product.
  
• Make a Business Twitter: This is a quick and easy way to announce giveaways, contests, and new items in your shop. This is great for your returning customers to access. Be careful though! No one wants their cell going off at your every creative move.
  
• Link, Link, Link: Link your blog to other successful sites you love. Comment on high traffic blogs. Comment on Etsy treasuries. Post to your facebook fanpage and twitter. Participate in street team forums. This will put you higher on Google searches.
  

Alright so here are two things you might be thinking right now: "Jesus, do you live on your computer?" and "Won't I annoy people by constantly updating them about my business?" The answers, if you do all of the above, are yes and yes. So pick and choose. Maybe use one or two ideas. Or maybe use several ideas, but just once or twice a week.

Make-it Mondays: Organize a Studio at Home

If you are an Etsy seller you are most likely working from your house, apartment or a small rented space in your city. For those working from that "extra room" at home, it can be difficult to keep the space under control and keep tabs on all of your projects. Not only does it need to be an art making space, but a business space where one keeps track of sold items, receipts, and packaging. Here are some suggestions for the Etsian working from home.

Zemphira's studio space from Etsy Studios,
a blog dedicated to Etsy artists and their creative spaces.

TIPS:

• In tight space? Build up. High shelves, peg boards, even old silverware dividers from dishwashers work to keep your clutter off your table space or the floor.
• About tables. Get something sturdy and mobile. Wheels make it easy to move one in-progress projects out of the way and the open spaces of most folding tables leave room for storage or smaller pull-out tables.
  
• Get a storage system. I recommend clear containers as the easiest solution for knowing what you've got. Another option is to color coordinate. Fabric stored this way looks beautiful.
  
• Create stations. Everything needs to have a place and artists in the middle of work are notoriously chaotic. I have one area just for packaging, weighing and printing labels. All of my materials are kept on moving shelf carts and my table is left for in-progress projects only.
  
• How about equipment? I had to find a small, portable way to photograph my items. See the tutorial here. I keep my larger tools, like a sewing machine and a table loom under my work table unless I use them. For even bigger stuff, consider renting from a local art gallery/museum, an art community center that offers classes or a guild in your area. Many times you can rent their space or tools for a single project.
  
• Tailor your space to your palette and aesthetic. I can't paint my rented walls, but I can tape up my favorite paint samples for free from the hardware store. Surround yourself with images/materials/quotes that you love.
  
• Finally, do weekly weeding. Try to find one day a week to get rid of junk you aren't using or don't need. Put away what you aren't using and mail out sold orders to make room for new.

Leave me your ideas and creative solutions or send me a pic of your space to add to this post :)

Make-it Mondays: Take Note of Your Buyers

Yesterday was my third art market of the year. Throughout these three shows I have kept a reciept book, a.) to look legit b.) to keep my accounts in order and c.) to take notes on my buyers.
I urge all sellers to do this. Not only will it inform you about who likes your stuff, but it is really funny to go back and read later. For (totally doctored) example:

Once you know your audience, ask "Is this who I am making things for?" If yes work this knowledge to better your product and reach the people who will love it. If that answer was no, enjoy a nice surprise and consider multiple directions.

Make-it Mondays: Get A Critique

This is a great idea! Critiques allow us access to another individual's perspective of our work, revealing the strengths and weaknesses we might not otherwise see. They wake us up to possibilities and make us reconsider why and how we create. If you are in a slump, find someone to critique you today or go and critique a shop that you really love.

How do you critique an Etsian?

• Similar to Feldman's model for Art, but with selling in mind.

1. Describe what you see. Your initial feelings about an item. Your overall sense of a shop front. The overarching theme of a blog.
2. Analyze how an item, shop or blog is put together. What materials are used most? What is the photo quality of the seller's items? How does the seller get traffic to their shop, blog or fanpage?
   
3. Interpret what you see. What message is the seller sending? Does the shop cater to a particular audience? Do the items align with their price point? Would you shop there?
   
4. Evaluate. What needs to change? What should the seller keep up or enhance? What products are strongest? What can the seller do to make his or her shop more cohesive, attractive and successful?
   

Where can you get critiques online?

• Our RNEST Ning site critique thread
  
• On the Etsy forums under 'critiques'
  
• At CRITIQUE MY BLOG

Tips?

• If you are the critic, be helpful, not hurtful. If you receive a critique, realize that the comments are about things not you.
• Go on your initial responses. If you have to spend time explaining your items, shop or blog your message probably needs clarity.
• You don't always have to listen to a critique. If a person thinks you should go in a direction you don't feel comfortable about, DON'T. Find critics you trust.
  

Make-it Mondays: Go Us!

Recently the local news seems to be, well...all about us. Our team leader Just Ice Jewelry, and several dedicated members have been featured in the newspaper, on local tv news and in online periodicals. Check them out below:

Just Ice Jewelry: The Rochester Examiner
Gock's Frocks: The Democrat and Chronicle
Just Ice Jewelry, The Quilted House, Jack Bear Stamps, and Paper and Tact: The Democrat and Chronicle
Duncan Creative: (as seen in the Yarn Bombing post) Channel 13 News
Bead Work By Amanda, Peaches Products and In My Head Studios: (For May Day Underground) The Rochester Examiner

Go us! P.S. Don't forget to keep adding secrets to last week's Make-It Monday.

Make-it Mondays: Is There a Secret to Making it on Etsy?

I paid for a strange experience this past Saturday: an evening with (totally fake) psychic Sylvia Browne at the Seneca Niagara Casino. It was a case study in desperation, as genuinely hurting, or in some cases, just genuinely curious seekers invested their dreams in her vague responses.

photoshop quackery by buenahelena

We all want quick answers. We all want to know the proverbial secret. Anxiety over our success on Etsy is very similar in a way. Sellers like The Buzz offer the secrets to crafting success on Etsy,blogs and facebook. Other Etsians have graciously pooled together their secrets for free online. Like Sylvia Browne, some of the answers seem obvious and sometimes they blatantly contradict one another.

I would like to make this Make-it Monday an ever expanding post of RNEST secrets. I will start with #1 and keep adding from your comments:

#1: Actively participate in the street team. You can get some action on the dock, but you won't enjoy the cruise without getting on the boat.

#2: Promote others. I just feels good to help out a fellow artisan. The added benefit is from goodwill word of mouth.

#3: Mind the store. Post new items regularly, reorder your shop, relist and renew. Just generally make sure it looks like your shop is being well-tended.

#4: Do what you love. The passion and thrill of creating what you love comes out in your work and the way you present and promote it. At my very first show, Casey of Peaches Products heard someone come up to me and suggest I make a certain item. She leaned over and said "Don't make anything you don't want to make just because someone suggests it. Only make what you love or it will stop being fun and people will be able to tell." I cling to that piece of advice. When it comes from the heart it cannot be duplicated and heart-filled peices are so very attractive!

Make- it Mondays: Your Message To Buyers

You know that little box in your Shop Appearance page called message to buyers? It's somewhere near the bottom of the editing windows when you're logged into Etsy? Many people gloss over this or leave a tiny, single sentence like "thanks for stopping by and come back again." This little box is a huge opportunity, so take advantage of it.

At a minimum it should contain:

1. A thank you for the purchase
   
2. A reminder of your shipping policies
3. A way to contact you in case of a problem

Many sellers also add:

1. An option to sign up for a mailing list
2. A request to heart their shop and return often
3. A buyers survey
   

Recently I decided to add a small optional survey for future discounts. This way you can get feedback on how shoppers find your items and what they like most or dislike most about your shop. My Etsy shop is in constant edit mode, so this kind of feedback is invaluable.

My announcement currently goes something like this:

" Thank you for your purchase! May your day be filled with unheard of happiness, until you receive your item from me and feel even greater happiness. Please heart my shop and come back often.

Your purchase will be shipped after payment is made or cleared, usually in 2-3 business days.

If you need to contact me about your purchase, send an email to: buenahelena@hotmail.com or convo me on Etsy. Learn more about how to use Etsy Conversations here.

Want a discount? Take this quick survey and convo your answers to me. I will send you a password for a 15% discount on your next purchase.

1. How did you find my shop?
2. What item would you most likely buy or buy again from my store?
3. What would you like to see to make your shopping more fun, quick or understandable?"

Be clear, concise and always remember to make it yours. You can be funny and professional. That's what make's you more like the lovable corner store owner, in a world of corporate coldness.

Make- it Mondays: Optimize Your Creative Time

Thanks: garfield.nfshost.com

Last week I blogged about boosting your creativity. This week I want to focus on actually finding the time for all that boosting. Many of our team members have day jobs outside of their Etsy shops, families and everyday life to take care of before they can get down to working on new items. Here are some ideas for the time crunched:

Always keep a small project with you. Much of our time is spent waiting for buses, interviews, doctor's appointments, commercials to end while watching tv...and the list goes on. Use that time for mindless work. Perhaps punching holes onto handmade price tags or cutting loose threads off quilted items.

Keep your hands busy while you learn. One thing I have challenged myself to do is learn more about the business side of Etsy by checking out Etsy's virtual labs. Many of them last a half an hour or more. I use that time to listen and learn while doing handiwork. A tactile experience also improves your aural retention on the subject of a lecture. Knitters know this well!

Invest in a kitchen timer. If you are spending more than hour a day looking at blogs and tutorials for inspiration, you're probably daydreaming projects more than actually starting them. Before you get sucked in, set a timer and promise yourself you will walk away from the computer when it dings. Working on your own site doesn't count. That's work!

Pencil creative space into your schedule. As artistic people we like to wait for the mood to strike us. Too often though, it strikes in the middle of something. Find three solid hours in your week and isolate yourself from the world. Turn off your phone, drop the kids off at grandma's and shut the door. After awhile you will jones for that three hours and bust out the goods.

Comment, comment, comment! Where do you find the time?

Make- it Mondays: Boost Your Creativity

photo shamelessly doctored by buenahelena

In a rut? Ideas gone stale? We all need a creative boost from time to time. As a high school art teacher, I draw creative blood from stones everyday.Here are a few tricks that really work.

1. Keep a pocket sized journal and pen with you at all times. Jot down ideas as they come, quotes you overhear and your observations of people throughout the day. Everyday happenings make strong springboards.
   
2. Get outside of YOUR box. Take an alternate route to work and listen to a new radio station. Pick up a magazine, a book, or rent a movie that has nothing to do with your style or interests. You might just find a new one. In the worst case scenario you might hate what you get and spend an evening fuming about creative ways that you would change some horrendous movie's plot.
   
3. Get a soundtrack. Sites like pandora and playlist.com can help you customize an art making mood album. Some people need the speed of dance music, while others need the storylines of good songwriting.
4. Hire a Craft Coach. Or coaches! Get a friend or colleague you trust to give you their honest two cents and bounce ideas off of. Our monthly street team meetings are flooded with ideas once 5 or more creative people start talking over coffee.
   
5. Get a healthy dose of competition. Joining Etsy challenges, taking classes and acquiring a secret arch nemesis can bring out that fighting creative spirit. Pressure can be a great motivator as well as accountability to a person or group.
   

Things that DON'T work:

1. Comparing yourself to others. I'm very guilty of this, so take it from me. Pouring over other Etsian's pages and blogs can bring you down when you have a measuring stick out. Plus these down days are generally not productive days.
   
2. Experimenting with "enlightening" drugs. Everything you do will seem amazing...to you. To the rest of us it will look a piece made by a person on drugs. Plus it will probably be covered with Cheeto dusted fingerprints.
3. Jumping into a pile. Sometimes you just throw all of your supplies and half finished projects onto a table...and stare at it...and stare at it...and...that just doesn't work. Do one thing at a time in small chunks of time over a period of days.
   

Make-It Mondays: DIY Photo Studio

From Buenahelena!

At our last Rochester NY Street Team meeting many of us confessed that photographing items causes the most frustration, in terms of posting new work in our Etsy shops. There are a ton of posts on the Etsy blog and forums with tips on making great photographs. One tip they ALWAYS mention is to use natural light. The only problem is that we're in Rochester...so natural light is not at our beck and call. Here is a solution that I have come up with so I can take photo's whenever I need them and still get great contrast, fine details and that floating quality Etsy likes to see on the front page.

My studio space is in a basement, so I don't get much light, besides the fluorescent stuff hanging from the ceiling.

I use bright white foam core that I have scored down the middle. This way I can fold it flat for storage and open it up for a solid base and backdrop. White also tends to reflect light when you don't have much to start with. If you have large work to photograph you may want to hinge together two separate pieces of foam core.

I also invested in an Ottlite lamp. They can range anywhere from $45-$145 depending on their size. Ottlites give off the closest light to natural light. Not only are they great for photographing items indoors, but they also save your eyes if you make extremely fine crafts like beading or weaving. They also show off an item's true color, unlike other bulbs that give off blue or yellow casts. Joann Fabrics sells them and often has great sales and coupons. Mine was originally $120, but with a 50% off coupon and teacher discount I got it for about $50.

When you photograph an item keep as still as possible. Use a tripod or steady your elbows on a table. I sometimes use an old egg cup with a flat bottom for close ups of small items. On most digital cameras holding down the button halfway will make a focus box appear on screen. Hold that box over the item you want to photograph and shoot. For close ups of small items I always use the Macro function, which looks like a flower. The symbol is the same on nearly all digital cameras.

This alone can greatly improve your photos. If you have Adobe PhotoShop take the extra step to crop you items into 5"x5" squares. Go to Adjust> Contrast and bump it up a couple notches to make the background a crisp, bright white. Adjusting the color, adding filters and other fancy tools will slowly break down the resolution of the photo, so less is more. If you don't have Photoshop, go here for a free trial.

Hope this helps RNESTers!

Make- it Mondays: Why Our Street Team Works

On my personal blog, Buenahelena, I wrote about the recent successes in my Etsy shop today, and I owe much, if not all, of it to this team.

So, David Letterman style, The Top 5 Reasons Why Our Team Works:

5. We're held accountable by real people we have to face each month.
4. Bad things don't seem so unmanagable, when you can share Etsy horror stories with other sellers.
3. Word of mouth works a lot better when there are a lot of mouths
2. We freely swap everything, from ideas, to advice to market connections.
1. Because we're from Rochester and we're fueled by garbage plates! (see below)

***Here is Garbage Plate 2.0 by Michelle of The Quilted House (the plate) and Karen of Duncan Creative ( the hamburger)! Version 3.0 to be continued by Carol (me) of Buenahelena.***

Make- it Mondays: The Whole Package

From Buenahelena!
There are many reason why Etsy has been so wildly successful. The piles of unique, one of a kind items. The assurance of knowing who made the item your buying, the quality of their working conditions and the equity of their wages. Beyond all that good stuff, is that lovely feeling of getting something great in the mail. Not your email, twitter or facebook. Something in that little metal box at the end of your driveway. It's delicious and it keeps buyers coming back.

How can you make an irresistible and professional package with each item you send out?

1. Brand: Always include a business card for your shop. Create your own invoices with your brand and logo as the header. Stamp your items and packages (perhaps with a personalized stamp from JackBear Stamps). Stay within your shop style throughout the whole package. For example I upcycle a lot, so I've used silly things like Mighty Taco tray paper for my gift wrap. (Clean of course.)

2. Have you own Back: Print your shop's return policies and contact info on the back of your invoice if possible. Many folks don't bother to read it on your Etsy profile and it's better for them to know your policies and willingness to remedy problems before getting negative feedback.

3. Beautify: Make your package look awesome. Stock up on: Gift boxes, gift wrap, patterned packaging tape (now sold at JoAnn's), stickers, handmade envelopes. I recently sold something to someone who lives within 2 miles of me, but she wanted me to ship her item simply for the joy of the packaging!

4. Butter up: Send a personal thank you. Add a coupon code to your note or the back of your business card to show return shoppers your gratitude and persuade them to shop again. Give a small freebie, ie. Anything you'd sell for a dollar or less like magnets, key chains, samples items, a tiny zine or an artist trading card.

5. Branch out: Promote your team with a pack of business cards from other team members. Create a stand alone team business card promoting your blog or team website. Make a flier of upcoming shows or markets you'll be attending.

Follow these five B's. When you take each step of a transaction seriously, buyers will appreciate it and come back. They may very well bring back more buyers with them too. Let me hear what your put in your packages!

Make- it Mondays: Short and Sweet

Happy Holidays!!! (image of Wreath by RNESTer, VictorianPetals)

The Monday before Christmas is hectic for everyone, especially myself as a teacher. From last minute gifts to tying up lessons at school I can barely keep up. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas that feeling of frenzy is in the air. Everywhere besides Etsy that is. For many sellers the rush of sales are long gone, as shipping this week is already too late. I would expect low sales to continue in the following weeks as people play with all of their new toys and get their credit card bills. Yikes! In this down time I suggest a few ideas for Etsy sellers to ring in the New Year.

1. Organize your Etsy budget/sales/purchases/ bills from 2009. See what you made. What worked and what didn't? Get something prepared for the taxman to see.
2. If you have never kept an Etsy account, resolve to start now in 2010.
   
3. Make a new banner for your shop. I know I fall for all those ''New Year, New You" gimmicks. Why can't your shop get a lift too?
4. Take one of your vacation days off to to edit all those posts with the descriptions and tags like holiday, christmas, stocking stuffer etc...
5. Put obvious holiday items at a discount and rename them with SALE in the title. I know a lot of people who do all of their decoration shopping at high discount after the season.
6. Think ahead to Valentine's Day. What can you make in warm colors? Do you have actual vintage Valentines? Pieces for couples or gifts that one might give on a romantic date? Start putting those things together.
7. Give yourself a pat on the back and sleep in. That's an order!