For quite a few days, until I run out of steam, I'll be posting tips for Etsy sellers. A little background on me, and then we'll get going.
I opened my Etsy shop on 1/7/09, and I've learned a lot, mostly trial and error. I'm 70, and I live on the East side of Vegas, in a senior mobile home community. I've worked my entire adult life. The first 30 years, in bookkeeping and minor accounting; the next 35 years in writing and editing. I know, I know, the math doesn't add up but that's because I was working them both for a few years while getting ready to dive into full time writing/editing. My general profile is on my Etsy shop.
Etsy vendors depend on folks finding them. One of the best ways is to be at the top of the many search venues Etsy provides. I spend a lot of time on Etsy Forums (I'll post about Forums ASAP), and saw many posts encouraging Etsy shops to renew their items often. They said that this brought the shop up higher in search engine searches. My budget is limited, and I knew that renewing meant another $.20 per item fee for each renewal. Because of that, I dragged my heels for a long while.
Two days ago, I added two widgets to my blog, and one was a slideshow of my shop (I'll post about widgets, too, ASAP). I wanted the slideshow to show the items in a better order. I noticed that the widget always started with the most recently renewed. My first slideshow was showing about 5 items of the same type (just different colors) in a row. Overkill, for sure. I could just see blog browsers with eyes glazed over. Aha! Renew!
I went into my shop and renewed four items that were each entirely different from each other, to provide variety at the start of the slideshow.
Today, I saw an unexpected result of that renewal. I happened to be exploring, trying to find out which items were "hot" on Etsy. I went to Buy, then scrolled down to the various venues. One was Shop Local. I clicked on that, just to see how far down I was, and amazingly, I was the second shop of only two listed! Anybody, at least today, who clicks Buy Local, and puts in Las Vegas, NV, will see, first, CarolynsJewelry, and next, EvelynMayfield.
Why did I get this lucky? Because that venue lists the 2 most recently updated shops in the search area! Her shop and mine were the only two shops in our area that had updated in the past 24 hours. Does that tell you something?
You can bet I will be renewing at least one item a day. I figured that $.20 a day is $6 a month. For those on an even tighter budget, try renewing once a week. That's less than a buck a month.
For those who do not know how to renew: Go to your Etsy shop. Across the top of the page, go to Your Account, and Currently for Sale. Then, pick the item you wish to renew, check the box to the left, and scroll down to the bottom and hit renew, and in the next window, "renew" again. That's it.
Good luck.
April 30, 2011
May Is Lupus Month
Hello all,
I was diagnosed with Lupus in April of 2007. It was a very difficult time, I was in pain, tired and it took a good 2 years of trying to get the right mixture of medications to get me to a functional level. I spent a lot of time doing nothing and sleeping. I needed to fill my time and to take my mind off the daily struggle, as it was causing a depression that I feared would get very deep. Not working caused another level of stress, financial. It was getting close to Christmas and I decided that sitting on my but watching TV everyday was not getting me anywhere and with money tight, I needed a hobby to fill the time, take my mind off the pain and get Christmas gifts with little money. I made a necklace with a boyfriends sister back in high school and it has been hanging around my stick shift in my car for years. I was starring at that necklace one day, sitting in the car wondering if I should go to the mall or....a bead store! I can make a Christmas gift for my mom with beads! That was it! I was able to sit and bead with out to much effort physically and it took my mind off what my body was doing to me everyday. This beading hobby is now a full blown business. It has been a while but as you can see from the pictures my work is progressively gotten better. My 4 yr anniversary of living with Lupus was last month and this month is Lupus month. There is just now a new clinical trial out now for the first new drug to treat Lupus in 52 years! That needs to get better, fast!
Thank you for taking the time to listen to my story and view my jewelry that has become the key ingredient to a healthier me. I am making the Swarovski crystal butterfly bracelet seen below in colors that match the Mt Charleston butterfly, chosen by the director of the Colors of Lupus Nevada. Lupus uses purple(the color of awareness for Lupus) butterflies as a symbol so this bracelet works perfect for raising awareness. We will be selling this new version on my site starting tomorrow (you get a sneak peek) and a portion of the sales will go to the Colors of Lupus Nevada to help others with this disease in many different capacities.
Thanks again for the soapbox!
Laura Graham
The Lupus Mt Charleston Butterfly Bracelet
Swarovski Crystals Butterfly Bracelet
My first necklace I made back in '08
April 29, 2011
New to Handmade in Vegas
My name is Stephani and I live in the northeast/downtown section of Las Vegas. I am a medically retired Registered Nurse. I make and sell baby and children's items, specializing in cloth diapers and accessories. I sell mostly online and am looking forward to connecting with other crafters and increasing my presence in the Las Vegas area. My shop is called Chubbie Bums Heirlooms. The name came from the fact that it takes about a fat (chubbie) quarter of fabric to make the outer layer of a cloth diaper and because I have a love of sewing heirloom infant and children's clothing. My grandchildren are the most common recipient of the clothing to date. My motto is "Cloth diapering the world, one Chubbie Bum at a time" and dressing kids like kids, not small adults" My etsy store is Chubbiebums1 and my Facebook page is facebook.com/shubbiebumsheirlooms. I look forward to meeting you all soon
April 21, 2011
April 17, 2011
Mt. Charleston Show Update
Hi everyone. I haven't sent out any contracts yet or accepted any money, but I do have several interested people. I plan to start working on the details in May, so that's when I will send out contracts and start accepting money. I sent out an Etsy convo to everyone on the team shop listings, but I may have missed someone. If I didn't send one to you, and you are interested, please e-mail me at nevadawoods.@hotmail.com.
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