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Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label etsy. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
IS ETSY STOPPING YOU FROM GROWING YOUR BUSINESS?

I have a love/hate relationship with Etsy....they have brought me exposure to a wider audience, but in some aspects they have also hindered me from gaining new customers.
The community is large and for the most part extremely helpful, but I have found that some customers are put off by having to go to Etsy and join the site just to buy my or others products. Also it stands to reason that while a customer may go on Etsy intending to buy from a particular seller, there is a strong likely hood that they will stray from the intended purchase by searching thru the site ( I have done that many times). One seller brought up a good point....when someone asks you "Where did you get that?"...do you say the store name , like" Gramkin Paper Studio" or do you just say "I got it on Etsy, or Ebay or Artfire...." More than likely you stated Etsy or the selling site as opposed to the actual name of the company who makes the item.
Now there are people who do "Quit Their Day Job" and I like others, read those featured sellers, but the majority of people who sell on etsy, have a "back up plan" in the form of a full time working partner or a job themselves. I am a big promoter of not putting all your eggs in one basket, having income from various sources and because Etsy doesn't really have the easy "social media" integration that a website gives you, it makes it difficult to cross promote your brand. You really cant add a blog, twitter or an other site that you might have that the customer might like to see. There is no mailing list for your specific store, just Etsy in general and the customer has to sign up to be part of the marketplace to purchase items from you. There are definitely customers that I have lost because of this last option.

What am I doing about it? Well, my business has expanded beyond what Etsy solely can do for me so I have decided to do a company overhaul. We now have a brand new site "Gramkin Paper Studio" and market outside of Etsy.This allows me to not only sell my merchandise, but also integrate all the other branding tools that I need. Now I still have love for Etsy, but now I love it like a mistress as opposed to my website that I love like a spouse. Etsy will now be a secondary option for those of my customers that still shop there..... basically a giant promotional tool for my business.



HAVE YOU GROWN BEYOND ETSY?










pictures courtesy of BearandRobot
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Saturday, December 11, 2010
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  • 9:26 PM
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So Etsy was featured on ABC's Nightline and it was interesting to say the least.For those of you who missed it, take a look below :)

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Monday, November 22, 2010
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Anyone who owns an Android or I-phone knows how addictive the apps can be...there are applications for everything ( my personal favorite is the "Starbucks Finder") and it looks like Etsy has finally gotten on the bandwagon. For those of you who have an Etsy shop, you can now take advantage of Etsy App Gallery. These applications are from developers who have tapped into the Etsy community, building their own apps for the web, desktop and mobile devices. Just as with most applications, some are more "useful" than others. The following are some of my favorites:

1. Etsy Catalog- Let's you create a PDF catalog with all the listings in your shop. You can then use your PDF catalog at trade shows, craft fairs ,in emails or with your company newsletter (if you have one).
PROS: Very easy to use beta interface to easily create the catalog. You can also change the listing easily before pushing the "button" to make the pdf catalog
CONS: Limited in design and color theme but if you are Illustrator savvy, you can alter pdf catalog easily in Adobe Illustrator and save as pdf.




2. Clock Bot- Let's you automatically renew your listings by setting the date and the time. This app is brought to you by Statsy, which ( for those of you who are not familiar with) is similar to Craft Cult.

Pros: Can set it to automatically renew your most popular items so you don't loose sales when something sells during an "off peak time"

Cons: Taking the time to set your listings, which can be time consuming if you have alot of items in your shop






3.Etsy Text- Sends you a notification text when you sell somthing in your shop. For those of you who do not have an smart phone with easily accesible email options.

Pros: easy to get an update when you need a quick notice. free to install and use

Cons: this is the only thing this app does and standard phone messaging rate apply.














Do you know of any etsy apps that are useful?
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