Handmadeology, Shop Sales, Craft Shows

I really hate when I don't get to my blogs for more than a couple of days. The next thing you know, days to turn to weeks and then there's so much to catch up on.

Last week was the Timothy Adam Handmadeology week-long course. If you weren't one of the 1,500 Etsy members to jump on that bandwagon, and you want to increase your shop views and sales, then you really need to get in touch with Timothy.

In the week long course, Timothy touches base with everything from social networking on Facebook & Twitter to promoting, blogging and even great time management tips. Even though I already had everything in place on all the sites he mentions, the amount of information he shares in each course showed me how much more untapped potential there is in all the applications. It truly is an amazing eye-opener and each time I upgraded from what I originally had, I realized an increase in shop/item views.

Shop views will lead to sales and while it's still sometimes hard to credit sales to a specific view, when you begin to see an increase in views and make a sale or two, it isn't too much of a reach to credit the social networking sites, and Etsy promotions. (the above images are just a couple of items that have found new homes in the last 2 weeks)

Craft Shows....
I have a pending show in a couple of weeks in Burlington County area. It should be a fun show and there will be a few-to several EtsyNJ team members there...hopefully I'm accepted.

It also seems that my application has been accepted for the Barnegat Bay Festival on June 7th. I believe I have a spot inside their main tent.
I'm working with a couple of NJ team members on putting a show together for the museum we all consign items to. the show is tentatively planned for June 27th in Long Beach Island and if we can put it together quickly, it should be a great opportunity, as LBI will be at near full capacity once the children are out of school.

I also have a couple of shows for July pending. A show in Point Pleasant for July 11th is practically finalized and a pending show in Burlington County for the following Saturday, July18th.
I plan on taking August off (unless the the museum would like to organize another show) to spend with my family and gear-up for the fall/holiday "circuit". (I'm already booked for shows in Oct & Nov)

I should have more info in the coming days on the show later this month and the June shows.

'til next time...

R

Increasing sales online....

I met with a couple other crafters over the last couple weeks. We had been discussing our online sales, or actually the lack of online sales this year. I commented that while total number sales for each month of 2009 have been down, I'm making as much or more money each month and have increased my return on investment for each item sold. Of course, upon hearing that, they wanted to know how I've managed to do this.

To be honest, this was part of the goals I set for myself in 2008. To be able to make higher-end items and increase my profit margin for each piece. I'd also like to credit the many helpful and more experienced members of Etsy (such as Timothy Adams, Sherry Truitt, the Virtual Labs on Etsy, to name a few) that have help me gain more experience by sharing what they learned through trials and experimenting. The have been many other Etsy members, customers and sea glass collectors that have spoken with me about having the confidence to "get paid for my creations".

The addition of Google Analytics have been a big help to see when/where potential customers have visited my shop. The use of CraftCult helps to show if potential viewers are currently on Etsy and that gives me an indication of how effective promoting on Etsy will be at that time.

I really have not increased my promoting, but I have spread out my promotions to many other sites. The use of Facebook and Twitter have helped drive potential customers to my shop, while joining sites like Kaboodle, StyleHive, ThisNext, etc have allowed me addition sites to showcase my online items.

The thought of not "keeping all my eggs in one basket", by opening online shops at Art Fire & 1000 Markets has not yet paid off, but I'm remaining hopeful that sales will begin to pick up and I'll be able to stock these "secondary" sites and promote the sites a little more in the near future.

Of course, joining all these social networking type sites does not ensure that sales will pick up and I know of several crafters that do little more than blog once every week or two, and promote on Etsy very little... yet they still make many online sales, but it makes one wonder how many sales they could make if they were working the internet.

At a time when it often seems like the only people in the Etsy forums are other sellers (and quite often the same Etsy sellers almost every time you log on) spreading the word about your shop and creations to others that may not be on Etsy or not yet Etsy members can lead to a sale. It has for myself a few times already this year... and it can for you too.

Tomorrow- Increasing sales offline....

'til next time...

R

Mentioned in a Newspaper Article About Etsy, Missed Sea Glass Hunting Opportunities...

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a reporter for a local newspaper about Etsy. The main point of the article was how handmade artisians are using the internet to help their handmade businesses. The article touched on network marketing, marketing through Etsy street teams, etc.

I had almost forgotten about the article or thought I had missed it's publishing... until Saturday. A member of our EtsyNJ street team sent me an email that it was in the morning paper. Only 4 of us were mentioned in the article, and while I didn't have many quotes credited to me, I basically said the same things about how our street team works, how social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook play a role in getting my shop exposure, etc.

It was very exciting just to be mentioned and very cool that a link to my shop was included in the article...especially since the newspaper has an online edition. Despite the article coming out on a holiday weekend that is well-known for vacations and travelling, my shop stats indicate more than 15 views directly from the online article and who knows how many viewers came to my shop directly from my shop's link. (I know I didn't have much of a chance to promote on Saturday, but my views were quite high for the day)

For anyone that would like to view the article... http://www.app.com/article/200904110410/BUSINESS/904110322

I'm kind of bummed about a few recent missed sea glass hunting opportunities. Between getting my consignment items together, running to baseball games and practices for both of my boys and a hectic J-O-B schedule the last couple of weeks, I know I missed probably 2 of the biggest opportunities of the spring.

A few weeks ago, a strong northeast wind stirred up the surf and presented some areas of the NJ coast with quite a bit of sea glass. One collector mentioned they came home with more than 300 pieces after spending a few hours searching the beach.

Last week's full moon also probably presented another great opportunity for sea glass hunters, as the low tides seemed lower than usual. I guess I'm resigned to getting my sons up early one day this week and hitting the beach early in the morning, just at low tide, for a short hunt. A bribe of breakfast at the local diner will at least get them out of bed. It's amazing what the promise of hot chocolate will do for the motivation of a couple of young boys : )

Off to place a new silver order and then take my youngest for new sneakers...maybe I'll finally make it to my craft table before the end of the day.

'til next time...
R