West Coast Origami: Tips for New Sellers.. by Analiese

This Etsy forum post by Analiese Designs originated in 2007 but it’s still going strong. It was recently mentioned in a Etsy newsletter. I read this when I first started my shop and implemented a few of her advice points. I do want to start a newsletter but I haven’t gotten there yet. It’s really great advice, hasn’t generated a lot of sales for me, but my website and blog hits are up after following some of these tips.

Tips for New Sellers..

Copy and pasted directly from the forum in green:

Tips for New Sellers..

I have seen a lot of posts about newbies with no sales, etc… So I thought maybe I could offer a little advice. I am by no means an expert, but I thought I would try to help a little by listing some things that I have either heard in the past or do on my own.

Promote yourself as much as possible

Friends, family, co-workers, whoever. Get business cards made up – and hand them out to whomever you can. I have also heard about people slipping their business cards in with their bills – who knows – it may work.

Great place for low cost business cards and other promotional items: www.vistaprint.com

Add a new item every day or every other day.

This way the listings come up to a buyer is new listings first, unless they choose to browse a different way. So, in order to make your shop visible – you can add something every day – I have heard that a peak time to list is around 7:00 pm – but I think anytime is good.

Take good pictures

clear and crisp. Try to invest in a digital camera – if you can. Take several shots and pick the best – take advantage of the 5 slots in your listings – or I have seen other sellers use those for other products. Close ups are great.

This software is amazing and easy and works great and it is FREE – it is called Photofiltre – you can download it at www.photofiltre.com. Actually I just checked it out and they have upgraded it to Shareware – free for 30 days – http://photofiltre.free.fr/frames_en.htm - If you try this link – I think it is free.

Customer Service is KEY

keep in touch with your customers once they make a purchase – let them know you rec’d their order – let them know when it has shipped and leave feedback as soon as possible. Packaging is also important – make it look professional. I use a printed invoice and some nice Thank you stickers – or you can slip in a business card with a little note – make it look nice.

Start a blog or another website

I still do not have a blog – but I am looking into it. I do have another website that does not do that much business – but it is my own URL and I list special events there, and other things – an About me page, etc..

Start a newsletter

I have done this for several months – and I guarantee that it has generated sales. There are several websites that allow you to create and send a newsletter for free – Bravenet is one of them – I use one that has a very low fee called MyNewsletterbuilder. You will of course have to get a mailing list started –I do this on my other website – since ETSY does not have that capability. I actually went through my e-mail address book and added friends and family – on top of those on my other website – I have over 60 recipients.

DO YOUR RESEARCH

see what is hot right now – I listed a previous post on Spring Color forecasts – You can go to Pantone.com and see what colors are hot for the spring or fall. See what is in style – see what sells – what the stars are wearing or buying. Look at pricing – there is so much on the internet – I can spend hours sometimes just doing research.

Stay calm, focused and upbeat

Don’t sweat it – you will get sales on ETSY – it is huge right now and growing – there are always people looking. Keep on track – stick to your guns and don’t give up.
I hope this helps in some way – I like to offer help when I can – I think that is the teacher in me. I have been home for a couple days with my little one who is sick – poor guy – so I thought I would use my time constructively :)