Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Etsy Marketing…the snarky version

I've been selling on Etsy for two and a half years now. Which means I've been researching and working my butt off at marketing for two and half years. Here are my snarky, sarcastic observations. Take them seriously at your own risk.

♂ If you are a guy, things tend to work better for you. No, really. Etsy appears to be flooded with ladies, and men who flaunt their manliness seem to have an advantage. (A crafty man? Swoon!) Is it that they are naturally better at this stuff than women? Unlikely. My guess is it's something to do with facial hair.

☝ If you want Etsy traffic, the best way to get it is to fashion yourself as an Etsy expert and start giving advice away. Mine those forums! Collect that data! Slap it into a pdf and baby, you've got something that will really sell.

✍ Twitter. Blogging. Facebook. Do these things religiously, and you will have all the traffic you want. Or...maybe not, depending on how well you do them.

Ⓐ ALL CAPS ARE DEATH. REMEMBER THIS. AREN'T YOU ALREADY TUNING THIS OUT? WHAT? YOU AREN'T SUDDENLY OVERCOME WITH THE DESIRE TO PURCHASE WHATEVER IS ADVERTISED IN ALL CAPS? I DON'T UNDERSTAND. PERHAPS IF I ADD A BUNCH OF ~`*!L@@K!&-~*

☄ Photos. Your photos are not good enough. You need to take better ones. Hire Annie Leibovitz if you must. Because you have that sort of margin built into your one of a kind baby bow-wipe-onesie. Don't you??

☺ Give away your products to random people in the forums who ask for them! This will surely bring you customers!

Okay, I think I've completely snarked myself out for the day. Come back tomorrow, and I promise I'll have something positive and actually useful. (Like actual Etsy marketing tips. Oh yes.)

15 comments:

Dawno said...

:-) well said!

Jessie Mae said...

Yes. Yes yes yes.

Mia Sophia said...

lol, we all need a snarky outlet once in a while.

I have thought of opening a new shop for just my silver jewelry and pretending to be a man. What you said is very true!

Robin Hartman said...

I think you are on to something about male crafters being a commodity. I have to admit when I hear that the shop owner is a guy, I'm immediately curious about what this person makes.

Susan Schrock said...

I heart you!

Totally Unique Treasures said...

This one made me LOL.

Emily said...

*blows a kiss*

Yael Berger said...

Well its my first visit and i'm new at etsy so you know i catch what ever tip i can get , but you write it so nicely and funny
Waiting for the next chepter

Erica said...

I have totally noticed that about guys,which means we should probably make my husbands picture the avatar for our store (shrug)

Oh, and i think that it has more to do with the penis than the facial hair.

GMoss66 said...

Totally agree. I shake my head every day now with all the BS out there.

Sure, I've got lots of marketing and design tips (since it's what I've been doing professionally for 20 years) but would never think I'm an expert or share like I'm a know it all. Even with 5500 sales.

The retail world is a big FAT game. With rules and ideas that change daily. And if you're smart and talented - you're ahead of everyone yesterday.

Swirlyarts said...

WHAT DO YOU MEAN I SHOULDN'T TYPE LIKE THIS?????? Hee hee :)

Devon of STELLAandHODGE said...

That made me laugh. Thanks :) Much more fun reading than the usual advice!

Absolutely Small said...

Wow, thank you for the comments, everyone! ^-^

Her Royal Fatness said...

HA too funny! Love it. Being new to Etsy all of this marketing crap stresses me out!!!

Fantastic Toys said...

Darn I wish I didn't shave that beard off last week. I could of posted a pic as my avatar and made a ton of sales.

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