Musings from our Marketing Maven: Circles & Favorites by Cori of Terikor

Musings from our

Marketing Maven

Cori of Terikor

Into the Heart Saluki Dog By Cori Solomon

Like any profession or business we have to network our businesses and ourselves. That means letting the world know who we are and what we sell. 

This is true of Etsy.com as well so, how do we let people know we sell on that venue ? 

LISTING PRODUCT

The first and most obvious way is by listing product into your Etsy shop. Stagger your listings rather than presenting them all at once. If you have a lot of product, list or renew one item a day. This brings your shop to the forefront frequently.

Antique Clock Photo by Kelly Warren

Pick what you think is the optimal time of day to do that. I gather that most Etsy customers are in the United States so sometime during the US business day. You will have to experiment with this to see what works for you as well as your schedule.  

I myself renew or list one or two items a day and more as we get into the holiday shopping season. I do this even if am out of town. It does'nt take long. When listing a new item- if its similar to another listing- you can use the 'copy' tag and make whatever minor changes your new listing needs. This can save you a lot of time !

Kitty Ink Drawing by CatCalls

CIRCLES & FAVORITES

There are other ways to get your shop and name out there on Etsy.  Etsy created Circles and Favorites.  Use them to your benefit by adding either a person to your Circle and/or Favorite an item or shop daily. In order for Circles and Favorites to work to their maximum potential, make sure your Favorites are visible to the public.

Your Activity Feed defaults to show 'your Circle' and 'your shop'.  You will find this at the top of the page. Check your activity page daily to see who has added an item of yours to their Favorites.  Then check that person’s shop.  If you like what they have, Favorite their shop or some of their items, or add them to your Circle.  

Upcycled B&W Pop Ring & Fabric Necklace by Upcyled Stuff

The idea behind this is- the more people who look at your shop from an outsider’s feed, the better chance you have to sell your wares. When an item is made Favorite several times by different people on a particular given day (especially when it is not due to being in a treasury) you know Circles & Favorites are working! It means your products are being networked through the Etsy community. This increases your visibility and a sale may occur as a result.

Speaking of Activity, if your item is in a Treasury make sure you Favorite / Heart that Treasury. It is your way of saying thank you to the person who made it and letting those in your Circles see your item in that collection. When you check out the Treasury - Favorite some items you like and/or add the person who created the Treasury to your Circle. 

Personalized Go-Go Bag with Heart by Ek NeverFeltBetter

If someone adds you to their Circle look at their shop and either Favorite their shop, certain items or return the compliment by adding them to your Circle. You don't have to add everyone (I have found some people bog down your activity monitor with too many Favorites) so pick people who appear to have similar tastes to your own. You can be selective and of course, you can always remove someone from your Circle if it doesnt work out for you.

Checking your activity page and adding people to your Circle or picking Favorites can take 5 minutes daily and in exchange can reward you with the greater return of views and ultimately, sales.

Graduated Circles with Gemstones: earrings by ZoeandPiper

Remember that we have to do a little work to get something back and one can pick & choose how to make your marketing successful.

So... why not start by adding other Etsy for Animals team members to your Circle ? Alternatively... if another team member adds you to their Circle, turn around and add them to yours. It is like the old saying what goes around comes around.