A How To: Increase your online shop's exposure through giveaways by soupdeli

It’s been a while since I browsed through the Etsy forums but I’m glad I did.  I have been thinking of doing a give-away on my blogs but never done one before.  I’ll definitely be following this seller’s tips when the right time comes!

This is a long read, but it’s worthwhile if you are considering hosting a give-a-way.

A How To: Increase your online shop's exposure through giveaways by soapdeli

Giveaways are fun. They create excitement and can be a great tool for getting consumers to visit your online shop. The more traffic you can bring to your shop, the higher your chances of making a sale. And while all giveaways don't mean sales, what they do equate to is great exposure, name recognition, and possible sales down the line. Running a successful giveaway, however, can be trying and I know a lot of indie business owners who have been disappointed by how little traffic their giveaway has yielded. Because of this I've decided to share my tips on how to run an effective giveaway for promoting your shop.

Decide on a prize.

First and foremost you need to decide what type of item you'd like to offer as a prize. While it's tempting to offer that bracelet that never sold and sat in your shop until it expired, this is not the type of item you want to give away. Look over your shop or inventory and pick a product that has gotten a lot of positive attention. Even pick an item that you have sold and re-create something similar. Why? Because you want people to want to take the time to enter your giveaway and most will only do this if you're offering a product they like and can use. Think about who your target market is and what they would want. Also, be sure to keep in mind the retail value of your prize. People like big prizes - things they wouldn't necessarily be able to afford or justify buying without knowing the business or the product. Further, the broader the appeal of your prize, the more entries you're likely to receive as well. Remember that if you can't get consumers to enter your contest, then you're missing out on potential new traffic sources for your shop. Then decide on a prize.

Host your contest.

Now that you've decided what you're going to give away, you'll need to decide how to host your contest. If you have a blog or website, that's the best place to start. Not only will you increase traffic to your blog and potentially gain new followers, but you can set the terms you want for entering your contest as well. Don't discount having other sites host your contest for you though. Other blogs and sites often have different audiences which ensures you are reaching new people and not the same ones over and over again. If you don't have a blog, now would be a good time to start one with the giveaway giving you a big introductory push. There are free blogs that cost little to nothing such as Google's free blogging platform, Blogger. I highly recommend using Blogger for a first time blog as it's easy to work with and will automatically be indexed by Google.

Setting up your giveaway.

Setting up a giveaway really isn't difficult. Writing the copy is the easy part .After all, you already know everything there is to know about your product. However, what you do need to think about is what you want to gain from the giveaway. Do you want to increase traffic, gain sales, expand your social network? All of these are important things to consider. Personally I'd never pass up the opportunity to expand my social network through sites like twitter and facebook. Friends share things that interest them with their friends and so on, which can lead to a lot of indirect marketing the larger your network grows.

Here is how I set up my contests.

1. Start with a paragraph about the contest. What can visitors enter to win? Include a brief description.
2. Include a photograph of the prize.
3. Expand on the prize being offered and/or include information about what you sell in your shop. This is your chance to not only show off some of your best work through the contest, but to push your shop and the other items in it. If you hope to gain sales from this contest, include a discount code here or a special free shipping offer if a purchase is made. Be sure you include a link to your shop.
4. Include a spotlight of some of your other products if you like. Use a free program like gimp.org to create a photo collage of some of your other work to encourage greater interest in your shop.
5. Tell your visitors how they can enter your contest and set up your rules. When will the contest end? Who are you willing to ship to? How old do you have to be to enter? How many times can a contestant enter? Be sure to address how contestant information will be used as well. I always want visitors to have to browse the items available in my shop, so here's an example of what I might put here:

Want to win? Now through Sunday, May , 2010 11:59pm EST you can enter to win a free CONTEST PRIZE! To enter this contest simply visit YOUR SHOP NAME (WITH LINK) and pick out your favorite item. Then leave a comment with your favorite item to enter. This contest is open to residents of US and Canada ages 18 and up. Limit one entry per household/person/email. Please remember to leave a way for me to contact you if you win. Your contact information will only be used for acquiring your address information should you win this contest.

To increase exposure for your contest and to add to your social network, you can also add additional ways to enter. For example: You may complete each of the following tasks for one additional entry for each task completed. Please comment in a separate post for each task.

1. Tweet this contest. Comment with your tweet.
2. Become a fan of YOUR SHOP NAME on Facebook. Leave a comment. (Don't forget to include a link.)
3. Blog about this contest. Comment with a link to the blog post.
4. Sign up for my newsletter.
5. Follow this blog.

Marketing your contest.

Marketing is a never ending necessity. It's great for exposure and can be more effective than advertising in the long run if done properly. While advertising and marketing together make for the best outcome, I understand that not everyone can afford to run ad campaigns. Therefore, to market your shop, you must market your contest. Here's how.

1. Utilize your social networks. Use platforms like twitter and plurk to announce the contest to your followers with a direct link to enter. Share your contest with others on facebook. Post about your contest on other social network platforms and social communities you may be a part of. This may include forums like Crafster and blogs on sites like Ning networks.
2. Submit your contest to popular sweepstakes sites. You can google for these and pick and choose where you'd like to submit your contest. Ones I recommend are Online-Sweepstakes.com and CashNetSweeps.com I also like Etsygiveaways.blogspot.com as they directly target handmade interested consumers and will post your contest, regardless of venue, as long as the prize is not commercially produced.
3. Draw your winner. Once the contest has ended you'll need to draw a winner. A great way to do this is to use a random generator. You can find one at Random.org. You'll then need to email your winner for his or her shipping information. Be sure to ship out the winner's prize within a reasonable amount of time. If it takes you a month to ship the prize, this could reflect poorly on your business practices.

I hope this article helps everyone who has wanted to run a contest but hasn't been sure how. After all, contests are a wonderful marketing technique and are often less expensive than advertising.

That 1%

Back in July 2010, I wrote a entry on my main blog about that 1% of every business transaction that goes awry and what should you do about it.

That 1%

I hope you enjoy it!

On Paypal: How to Implement a One Question Survey

Back in June of  2010, I did a quick blurb of how to implement a one question survey on PayPal.  Enjoy!

How to Implement a One Question Survey

Help! I’ve been copied… by FlyTrap

I posted this on my main blog in May 2010.  It’s a big picture view on when someone copies your designs or ideas.  I thought it might be nice to share with you!  Thank you for reading!

Help! I’ve been copied… by FlyTrap

Etsy Self-Service Critique: Tips for Improving your Sales

I stumbled upon this very helpful blog dedicated to Etsy businesses!   I need to follow many of these tips when I can afford the time to focus on both of my shops!  Enjoy!

Etsy Self-Service Critique: Tips for Improving your Sales

Tweaks that Tripled my Takings! by Vintage Scraps

Browsing through the Etsy Forums, I keep seeing this post get bumped near the beginning even after I don’t check the forums for days.  It just got featured on a recent Etsy newsletter. 

Tweaks that Tripled my Takings!

I yet to follow her last advice to go local, it’s one of those things I want to do when I can afford more time to my business.

This is a simple copy and paste in green, directly off the Forums.

Tweaks that Tripled my Takings! by Vintage Scraps

I recently spent some time REALLY tweaking my business, and as the post is titled, have tripled my sales, I believe because of these actions:

PHOTOS

(of course!) look at my shop page, then look at my oldest "sold" page, and shudder with horror! Can you see the drastic difference? Buyers certainly have. I have the same cheap camera and amount of natural light as before, but simply discovered the go to my photos right click "EDIT" and "ADJUST EXPOSURE" options.
Good grief, how did I miss that for so long??

SEARCH WORDS

that short sentence you get to place under your shop title is pretty important, as it turns out. I searched Google for the most used search words to create mine, and now my items are often found on the first pages of Google, and Google Shopping. Who knew?

The STORQUE.

Pay attention to those articles, and when MaryMary tells you that Navy, Recipes, and Graduation are the buzz words for May, including them in your listings that pertain to them. These people know of what they speak.

CUSTOMERS

don't just sell to these people, PAMPER them. It's mainly women who shop here, and it doesn't take much to lift our spirits; sometimes just ribbon tied on a package will do the trick! Shipping out as fast as humanly possible is a nice gesture as well.

GO LOCO

(I mean LOCAL. You can go loco too if you want, but not in the forums please.) Local meaning, selling in your home town. Check threads about wholesale vs.consignment, how to approach a business owner, etc. and go for it!

I’m not a particular fan of vintage paper myself, I prefer art pieces like these.  Each of this photos are linked to her listings.  Enjoy!

Don’t Judge a Phone Book by it’s Cover

I posted this on my main blog in May 2010.  I thought it might be nice to share my thoughts with you!  Thank you for reading!

Don’t Judge a Phone Book by it’s Cover

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 :)

If anyone has any specific questions – please feel free to convo me and I will help as much as I can.

Analiese Designs makes these beautiful polymer clay and glass tile pendants

She also and even sells a tutorial if you want to make your own. 

What to do when you have nothing to do at work?

I recently posted on my on blog, Cindy Ho Designs

Thank you for reading!

What to do when you have nothing to do at work?

Article: How to Make Money on Etsy

I subscribe to Etsy’s newletters as a easy source of business related information.  Today linked to a interesting article that provided a few tips for the serious Etsy seller.  Enjoy!

How to Make Money on Etsy by Lindsay Silberman

Professionalism - Your conduct will affect your business

I had creator's block for the past two weeks so I started to read Etsy's forums. I was in for a shock. It's full of threads of frustrated Etsy sellers. 80% of the threads are negative. It's not what they are complaining about it's HOW they are getting their point across to the masses. Many comments are unprofessional, blunt and rude. There is even cursing and political debates. It’s surprising as many of these posters don’t realize that once you post, that comment remains online for everyone to see. A forum post gives a glimmer of insight of who you are as a shop owner. One poster seems to feed off the negative energy to a point that the owner starts several threads in a course of a few days.

That seller I've made a personal note never to purchase from even though the products are beautiful. I feel offended to a point that this shop owner loses potential business from me. I know it’s not this seller’s intention and it's difficult to convey a message behind the wall of the internet. However, Etsy is an online marketplace and whether in person or online, professionalism is important in running any business.

There is a new term out there called E-Professionalism, I’d like to share an article with you:

E-Professionalism - Article by Joke Bradt

Also, I just ran across this post from a fellow Etsy seller, elunajewelry, of the consequences of a blog attack she recently experienced and how she managed to discredit the blogger:

Blog Attacks!  - How to Defend Your Business

In addition, here are three things that I've learned from my career in the workplace that also apply when online:

• Interpersonal skills are important for any job or business. Demonstrate respect with your peers and your customers at all times. 
• Your reputation is just as or more important then how well you do your job, or in this case, how well you produce high demand handmade products. Majority of buyers won't purchase from a business with a poor reputation unless there is no other choice.
• Once it’s in writing, you can NEVER take it back. You never know who is reading and researching on your business. You can turn off potential buyers or encourage competing sellers out to take that business away from you. If you must talk about them, always be professional if you can't be positive

It’s okay to show a little of your personality or quirks when you comment. It’s okay to have an opinion. Just be aware how you want to be perceived. It will affect your business.

Lastly, since this post is my opinion on professionalism, I thought to end it off by featuring some products on Etsy when I search the tag, “Professional.” Have a good evening everyone!


 

Beanie and Tie One-Z by WeChooseJoy

 Glass Tiled Badge Holder by jewel2jule

Customized Website by mymagicbutton

Business Cards - Do we really need them?

First off, I apologize for my lack of blogging for the past few weeks.  As everyone knows, Vancouver just recovered from a 2 weeks of Olympic 2010 activities.  Also it coincided with Chinese New Year which my family does celebrate as well.  We are gearing up for Paralympics 2010 and I'm excited to experience that as well.  In addition, I've been designing origami cards and unique tags for my etsy shop.  I'll be posting a peek soon as soon as I have a good inventory to show you.

Part of my activities that's keeping me busy is reading through the etsy forum for business advice.  I stumbled upon this insightful article about business cards written by Danielle Laporte: 

a short rant about business cards

What blew my mind is that her friend was completely right, I've been working professionally for over 10 years and I have never finished a box off.  I think I had 5 boxes of 1000 cards from the company I currently work for, all of which I had to get because my work title has changed or my company logo has changed.  In addition, in the corporate world, most cards are pretty much the same.  logo, name, contact info and the only time I looked at them was when there was power outage and I had to make that urgent phone call.

I do disagree on some points, I do think unique business cards have their place.  My favourite ones are one that are functional or interactive:

Metal Business Card - Design by Aehrich O'Dubhchon

Easel Business Card - Design by Egil Paulsen

 I recently been sirened on moo cards.  I got the 10 free sample pack from moo and I was blown away by their quality to the point that I paid for a 50 pack promo (only pay for shipping).  You can upload a picture on the back of each one.  I already use them to showcase my work and great conversation starters.   I plan to design my own business card one day, maybe like the easel card or origami based.  For now, let's keep focusing on selling my products :)

Million Dollar Craft Ideas by Teens and Tweens

I was watching the show "The View" today.  The panel interviewed two companies started by teen and tweens who simply had an craft idea turned them into million dollar businesses!  These girls were inspiring and lucky have such supportive parents. Alot of parents were have been weary and want to protect their children from the risk and potential disappointment of running a business.

For those who have creative but also business minded children, please encourage them. I personally know the feeling when people doubt your ideas and skills. I had my idea for selling origami and crafts when I was about 14. A pestimistic classmate who looked down on everyone told me, "Cindy, no one's going to buy them." The mistake here was that I believed her! Because of that remark, I shelved the idea for over 15 years.  After stumbling upon online handmade marketplaces such as Etsy, Artfire, eBay, Zibbet etc, I realized that there is a huge market for handmade items including origami.  Initially, I felt I really missed the mark, but then again, you can't live your life in regret.

These are the two business that was featured on the show:

 Snap Caps

The more endearing of the two were the teen and tween owners Maddie and Margo Bradshaw.  Maddie wanted to have unique magnets for her locker.  Her friends liked them so much she made some for them too.  And their business grew from there. 

I got this  picture from their website.  I really love these owls.

 Doodle Bra

It is a bra that you get with some non-toxic markers and you can doodle on it.  The owner, Rachel Segal and her friends started to draw on their new bras and had so much fun doing it.  With her parents support, started marketing this idea.

Not a great fan of the product but you must admire her business sense.

Niche within a Niche - How do I compete on Etsy?

I was poking around in the Etsy community section and saw a twitter update about a cute comic about a first sale.  I like comics, who doesn't?   Just click on the picture on the left twice so you can read it.   I giggled, it's cute and I'm sure there are many etsy sellers out there are nodding in agreement!

I registered for Etsy in 2007 but never got around opening up shop until about 3 months ago.  I was fortunate to receive my first sale within 2 hours of posting.  After that, it was a waiting game.  If it wasn't for the sneak attack, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten sales for a weeks. 

It's hard to get buyer's attention, like any business you are competing and your listing can get easily get lost in the midst of the hundreds that also get put up every day.  How do I compete? 

I started the shop in the mindset as something to help fund my hobby, not to replace my day job.  This pads a barrier against discouragement.  When I was ready to list, I searched anything that was tagged 'origami' to see what I was up against.  The most common product is the traditional origami crane. It's not hard for anyone to learn to fold the crane, diagrams are on the internet and it's easy to get commericial origami paper.  Unless you need lots of them, why bother buying from Etsy when you can make it yourself?  What they did something to make their product special or unique. Some had beautiful embellisments, were jewellry, converted into ornaments, or use the highend materials like yuzen or washi.

Well, I wasn't going to try to sell cranes as that niche market is saturated.  I was already selling them on my regular website and if an Etsy buyer wanted some, they could contact me.   However, I like the crane. So I did research and found I can make products that use a variation of the crane.  My niche within a niche! 

So I made a few samples and listed them.  The response was great, I only got one Etsy sale one item, but a non-Etsy buyer who's into amature photography saw my envelopes and asked me to make ones that would fit 5 x 7 photos so she can give out as Christmas this year.  That gave me my boost to fund my origami addiction.  :)