Celebrating 500 sales on Etsy

The beginning of June marks my 6th month in business on Etsy, and I have just celebrated my 500th sale on that venue. June also marks my 3rd year in business selling recycled yarn. In all that time, the last 6 months have BY FAR been the most profitable. I have learned a lot about business on Etsy and to mark this milestone in my shop, I thought I would share some advice with my fellow Etsy sellers.

1) Treat your shop as a business.
If you treat your shop as a hobby, you will get a hobby's worth of results. Be dedicated to creating new products, filling out your shop, taking excellent pictures, knowing how to work with the Etsy system, and promoting in as many ways as your are able. Search the internet for business topics, read the forums, learn as much as you can. It is not as simple as creating something and listing it.

2) Know your target market.
Knowing your target market and providing a product that they WANT is the foundation for a successful shop. You can make beautiful things, but let's face it, if you targeting the wrong people, or if your beautiful things do not fulfill a need or want in your market you are not going to sell anything.

Ask yourself a few questions and gear your descriptions, or even your products to speak to your market. BEING a member of your target market helps tremendously with putting yourself in their mindset.
-Why would my market be interested in my products?
-What aspects of my product would be the biggest selling point?
-Where does my target market hang out on the internet? (What is the best place to join in the community and quietly promote)

3) Search your key search on Etsy every day (or multiple times a day).
A large percentage of people are going to find you simply by searching on Etsy. It is important that you show up in this search, that you show up early, and that you show up often.
-Think of all the possible search words that you think of someone might type in to find your item and tag your items accordingly.
-Create new items or renew items frequently so that you remain present in the searches. The more times you show up, the more chances you have of someone falling in love with your products. If you drop down too far, it is time to renew, or list a new item.
-Get to know your competition through this search. Analyze their style, how prolific they are, how frequently they list, their success, etc. Use this information to make your shop stand out next to them.

4) Make the most of your tags.
Use ALL of them. Tag colors, your shop name, key selling points (free shipping, eco friendly, etc.), important materials (sterling silver, cashmere, etc.) and descriptive words (soft, shiny, classy, funky, retro, etc), common misspellings, and alternate phrasing.
-Look at your competition's listings for ideas on other tags that you could be using.

Your buyers find you through these tags, as do treasury makers. Treasuries help bring more exposure to you, thus increasing your views, and hopefully sales.

5) Visually stand out from the crowd.
Make your items stand out from your competition. This is about branding. You want your buyers to see your items in the search and know that it is yours.
-Have a unique style that shows up in your photographs. This may be the style of your products themselves, or simply the way you photograph them.

6) Continually improve your photography
Your photographs will make or break you. Your customers can't hold your items, so the photographs need to be clear, informative, and visually stunning all at once.
-Read the tutorials online, and in the forums to improve your shots.
-Use natural light, or a light box.
-Tweek your shots in photo editing software to make them the best they can be.
-Take LOTS of pictures of each item at many different angles. Choose only the best 5 to keep.
-Search around Etsy for another seller who's product photographs you admire. Emulate their style and adapt it to fit your items and your shop. DO NOT copy their style exactly. You want to stand out. Use their style as inspiration on how to pose items, or how something looks best.
-Use all 5 picture slots that Etsy gives you.
-Select 1 shot that is artsy, alluring, and visually stunning that will draw your customers in. Make them want to click on it to get a better look and to see more of that stunning piece. Make this your first shot.
-Give at least 1 shot of the full item. You may loose a sale if your customer has to piece together all your shots to figure out what the whole thing looks like.
-Show important details such as the clasp, patterning, etc.
-Have a shot showing your item in scale. It is difficult to tell in a picture how big, or small an item is. Dimensions in your description are important, but it is difficult to visualize dimensions. Show a necklace or purse on a model, your stuffed toy in a person's hand, or your artwork on the wall next to a piece of furniture.

7) List more
You can't sell it if it isn't in your shop.
-Creating and listing more means more choice for your customers
-More listings spaced out have your shop show up more frequently in the searches, bringing more people to your shop.
-More variety means more choice for your customers. The more items you ahve, the more likely someone is to fall in love with a piece and take it home.
-Shops that are filled out have a more professional appearance, like you are running a business rather than a hobby.

As you list more, use your shop sections, so that your buyers can easily find everything in your shop.

8) Diversify your product line
Variety is the spice of life. Additional product lines allow you to list in multiple catagories, which allows you to draw people to your shop from multiple searches. If your products are complimentary, it encourages people to find something in your shop they didn't realize they wanted when they typed in the original search. Consistently look at your products and ask yourself:
-Is there a complementary line of products I can also sell?
-Can I make this product in more sizes or colors or patterns?
-Can I offer more products in different price ranges?

9) Make a high quality product
If your customers are delighted with your products they will come back for more and refer more people to your shop. This is free advertising, and the more people they send your way, the fewer you have to find yourself.
-Pay attention to details
-Use materials you are proud of

10) Provide excellent customer service
Each customer that you take care of well and comes back, is one customer you don't have to find.
-Treat your customers as you would like to be treated.
-Check your email and convos at least once a day, if not more often
-Be professional, polite, and kind.
-Ship quickly
-Maintain communication. If something is taking a while, keep them updated. Let your customers know when their items have been shipped.

I hope that this helps you all in your shops and here's hoping for success for each of you!

Phat Fiber Samples

Look for my Infinity Ring stitch marker samples in March's Phat Fiber Sampler box! I am sending in 45 samples, and if you don't happen to get a sample, I am also sending in 75 coupons for FREE SHIPPING, so be sure to look through your business card envelope.

The theme for March is "Celtic" so I am contributing samples of my glass and copper stitch markers tied to the card with green recycled wool yarn. These are some of my favorite stitch markers and it was really exciting to send them out.

This will be my second month contributing samples to the Phat Fiber Sampler box. It is a box full of small, bite sized samples of yarn, fiber, stitch markers, and pretty much anything fiber related. I am so honored to be a part of it, and have high hopes for it's ability to spread the word! Already I have fallen in love with several people's shops through the box, and have seen some interest in mine from it. Natchwoolie and I seem to have a joint adoration thing going on. She wrote the most amazing review of my shop on the phatfiber blog, and I have been saving my pennies so I can get some of her lovely fiber!

Check out all the shops contributing on the Phatfiber website.

On the Chopping Block

Happy Tuesday Morning everyone! I have a busy Recycling week planned. Keep an eye out for them in my shop this week, and as always if you are particularly interested in something, please let me know!




45% Wool, 45% Acrylic, 10% Nylon, 6.5st / inch, Fingering Weight.
I didn't get this done last week, but it is on the top of the list this week.









100% Wool, 11 wpi, Worsted Weight.
I got 9 skeins out of this gigantic sweater!!!! That's 1800 yrds available!









74% Polyester, 11% Mohair, 7% Acrylic, 8% Wool, 5st / inch, Worsted Weight.
This is REALLY soft.









100% Silk, Lace Weight.










26% Viscose, 25% Cotton, 24% Nylon, 17% Wool, 5% Angora
This has a deep purple blue twist in it that doesn't show up well in the picture. I have 3 identical sweaters, but due to washing, etc, they are now different dye lots.









100% Cashmere, Lace Weight.
This is very pale green, like new leaves.










100% Silk, Lace Weight











100% Extra Fine Merino, Lace Weight.