Butterfly Chic Boutique Blog

Persistance!

1. The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it.
2. The second time, he does not notice it.
3. The third time, he is conscious of its existence.
4. The fourth time, he faintly remembers having seen it before.
5. The fifth time, he reads it.
6. The sixth time, he turns up his nose at it.
7. The seventh time, he reads it through and says, ‘Oh brother!’
8. The eighth time, he says, ‘Here’s that confounded thing again!’
9. The ninth time, he wonders if it amounts to anything.
10. The tenth time, he asks his neighbor if he has tried it.
11. The eleventh time, he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.
12. The twelfth time, he thinks it must be a good thing.
13. The thirteenth time, he thinks perhaps it might be worth something.
14. The fourteenth time, he remembers wanting such a thing a long time.
15. The fifteenth time, he is tantalized because he cannot afford to buy it.
16. The sixteenth time, he thinks he will buy it some day.
17. The seventeenth time, he makes a memorandum to buy it.
18. The eighteenth time, he swears at his poverty.
19. The nineteenth time, he counts his money carefully.
20. The twentieth time he sees the ad, he buys what it is offering.
-Thomas Smith of London, l885

Need a web ad? Contact me at admin@butterflychicboutique.com or check out my Etsy shop or my website.

I keep getting this question… a LOT. People have been emailing and convoing me out of the blue to ask about it.

So, so that I don’t have to keep hunting it down in my “view topics you have posted in” on Etsy, I thought, hey silly girl, post it on your blog!

Here is a post I had wrote about RME. They aren’t doing the $25 for signup anymore, but I do think you still get the $10 for referring someone.

**********************************
Love it! Cause I researched it before signing up

I’ve been using them for a while and have had no problems. I’ve bought, sold, requested a check and transfered money into my bank account 3 times so far :0)
___________________________________________________

The main problems seem to be:
A) it asked for my SSN
B) it is still in Beta
C) Why no fees AND a $25 sign up bonus AND $10 referral bonus?

So I did a little research before signing up…

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/washbizblog/2007/09/steve_case_launced_revolution.html
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2007-11-06-ted-leonis-steve-case_N.htm
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/revolution_money_to_take_on_pa.php
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=atelniGmEhgM
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9045860&intsrc=hm_list
http://www.revolutionmoney.com/PressUpdates/SteveCaseBacksNewInternet-BasedCreditCard.pdf
http://www.profy.com/2008/02/14/moneyexchange/
http://geek-news.net/2008/02/revolution-money-exchange.html

why does Revolution Money need my social security number? I do not remember giving my SSN to PayPal. Revolution’s FAQ gives this answer:

“You might wonder why we ask for certain pieces of information that you may be nervous to share, such as your Social Security Number. We would not ask for any information that was not necessary to enable the security we promise to you. Also, to help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account.With identity theft on the rise, we use your Social Security Number to confirm your identity by cross referencing it against other personal data you provide. This way, if someone were to get a hold of your Social Security Number, a MoneyExchange account could not be set up in your name without knowing your other personal information. So, sometimes it may seem as if you have to share more information about yourself, but in the end it actually protects your financial information to an even greater degree.”

How do I know that Revolution Money is not going to lose my information making me vulnerable to identity theft? I found this answer on their website:

“Your MoneyExchange account is held at First Bank & Trust in Brookings, SD (Member FDIC). Protecting your information is our highest priority.”
(PayPal is NOT FDIC insured, paypal answers to no one, RME answers to the FDIC)

Why no fees AND a $25 sign up bonus AND $10 referral bonus?

In truth, Revolution Money sees MoneyExchange as a loss leader for its real business, which is the RevolutionCard, its credit card that undercuts Visa and Mastercard. It has no intention of making money off of MoneyExchange by charging for transactions because in its eyes the online payment service is just a way to build up a valuable network of potential credit card customers. You can be sure that every MoneyExchange member will get an offer for the RevolutionCard. Steve Case is just seeding the market.

http://www.revolutionmoney.com/revcard.aspx?id=revcard

Contact me if you would like a referral

Please feel free to email or convo me with any questions about anything!

Thanks for reading and I hope this post was worth the wait!I was going to save this post for the last in the series as before spending time and money on promotion and advertising, your shop should be in tip top shape, but I have had several request to go ahead and post it, so here you go :0)

Do you like pushy car salesmen? You know the one’s I’m talking about. The ‘I can get you in this new car you don’t need and can’t afford TODAY’ they play the ‘woe is me, my kid needs braces, my wife lost her job, my mom needs surgery’ card to tug on your heartstrings and try to get sales.

Don’t be like that. And yes, there are Etsians like that. They are so desperate for a sale because they haven’t made one in one day, two days, 2 weeks or 4 months, doesn’t matter how long, it’s always too long. But when you look in some of these shops begging for sales you see dark, blurry pictures, no measurements in the description, no details about the materials used…you can’t expect your promotion to work if your shop isn’t up to par. As Etsy grows, this is going to become increasingly important.

Promotion is not screaming “LOOK AT MY SHOP!! I have JUST what you need. I know you’re looking for a crocheted hat, but here are a pair of my earrings you might like. Not your style? Ok, well what about this painting I did?”

Q: So what do you do to promote and advertise your shop? What are your questions about way to promote and advertise you’ve heard of?

A: I list/relist/renew often. Several times a day in fact.

• I’m sure you have noticed it has not been working as well over time, as Etsy grows and more and more people are doing the same thing, it becomes more and more useless and a waste of time, effort and money. While it is still a good option in some categories with less items, it is already pretty useless in the larger categories such as jewelry.

A: I post my newest or most relevant items in several promo threads a day. Plus I start my own promo thread some days.

• Ever notice how quick your promo thread sinks? Like the jewelry category, it is overwhelmed with sellers trying to be seen. How often do you go to promos to find what you want to buy? How often have you bought from a promo thread? If you have bought from a promos thread, what percentage of your buys have come from seeing someone in a promo thread? Most sellers are in the promo forum to promote their own shop, not to buy. Most of the time, you are going to be missing your target audience by posting here. That section of the forums should be renamed ‘fight to the death for a sale’

A: I spend all the time I can on the Etsy Forums, in all the forums.

• It’s great that you aren’t spending all your time in promos, but you are still putting all your eggs in one basket, it’s just a larger basket than the previous answer. The only potential customers you are reaching on the Etsy forums, are other Etsians. People who already know about the site, most likely have already bought a few things, and people who might already be loyal to one of your competitors. As Etsy grows, it is becoming more and more important for sellers to bring their own customers into Etsy, instead of relying solely on Etsy’s existing users.
• The exception to this rule is people who sell items geared toward other sellers. Etsy banners and avatars, seller supplies, craft supplies, such as beads and paper, your customer base IS other Etsians, and this is a great option for promotion, although it still should not be your only form of promotion

A: I buy a showcase as often as I can.

• You know, I spend a lot of time on Etsy, shop there, browse there, sell there, I lurked and window shopped long before I started BCB, and to this day I have yet to look at the showcase. I’d venture to guess I’m not alone on this. Nothing against Etsy or Etsy admin, or anyone who has bought a showcase spot, but it seems rather silly to me to PAY to advertise on the very site you pay to sell on and can advertise in other ways for free on that same site. It seems to me, your advertising dollars would be much better spent outside of Etsy.

A: I have a blog.

• Blogs can be a great way to promote your shop, if you use it right. Most people don’t use it right though.
• Don’t blog about every cute little thing your kids say and do, while it might make a great read for grandma or aunt Becky, most people aren’t dying to read about every little thing your kids (as cute and sweet and funny as they are) do.
• Don’t rant and rave and throw a temper tantrum on your blog about something everyday. Especially not other sellers, your venue, competitors, suppliers, or customers. No one wants to read a blog daily where the writer does nothing but bitch about life (we all have our own problems) or berates others or their work. This is a very unprofessional approach that won’t work for business.
• Don’t make your blog all about you, your shop, your site, your designs, your craft, your products, your listings, your ideas, your art, your…..get the picture? It gets old when it’s all about you. If someone wants to see your new products, they can look at your shop, they don’t need to go to your blog daily to see what you listed in your Etsy shop that day. Posting about your own shop/products is fine, just don’t ever do it.
• Do feature other artists, crafters, sites and items on your blog. It’s a great way to network. It also often turns into a return feature on their blog, or a thank you post on their blog with a link back to your blog and or shop.
• Repost other peoples posts/articles/advice/quotes with their permission. A great example is the post on branding here on BCB blog. I had every intention of posting one about branding and was actually working on the rough draft when I went into the forums and saw a fellow Etsian, who works in marketing, had started a thread on branding. Her post was much better and went into more detail, and, obviously, her words held more weight than mine would. I immediately convo’d her and asked if I could repost it here, giving her credit and linking back to her shop. Most people are excited to be asked if you can repost their words/works/advice if you ask permission and give them a link, it’s free advertising.
• Do share your knowledge. Etsy is full of people who have had their own business or been selling online for years and people who know nothing about computers and just signed up for Etsy yesterday and have no idea what PayPal is. Some people get most of their business from wholesale orders, others have never done wholesale. Some signed up after years of craft shows or doing consignment, others have been selling online for years and are just starting craft shows and consignment. Plus, in our time selling, no matter how long or short of a time, we all learn different things. Some people may have a non-paying buyer their first month, others may not have one for a year. Share what you know with those who know less, or don’t know the same things you do :0)
• You can use many blogs blogger, wordpress, typepad

A: I’ve been thinking about getting a Flickr account to promote, but I’m really sure how that will help my sales…. and is a pro account worth it?

• Many people think Flicker is just about posting your photos and hoping someone sees them and likes them and stumbles into your shop, but it’s much more.
• Post your photos, spread them out. Use your title, tags and descriptions just as if you were posting them on Etsy.
• DO NOT put your shop link anywhere but your Flickr profile. DO NOT put it in your photo descriptions. It is against the rules and your account can be shut down if you do.
• Make friends, the more friends the better.
• Join groups. Not just Etsy groups either. Joining only Etsy groups will only expose your photos to the same people as posting in the forums or chatting or buying a showcase. You’re still only reaching people who already know about Etsy. Join groups for shopping, handmade, colors, you craft (not Etsy specific) The goal with all these outside sites, is reaching people who haven’t heard of Etsy yet. When you join a group, post pictures to them, check out the discussions and mingle.
• And yes, a pro account is worth it. With a pro account you get unlimited upload and unlimited storage (you have a monthly upload and a total storage account limit of about 100 photos with the free flickr account) and you also get unlimited sets to seperate your photos into with the pro account (you get 3 with the free account) and you can get a Flickr pro account for only $24.95 a year. Also, a new thing to Flickr pro accounts is stats, stats come in VERY handy.

A: I have a MySpace page, but I haven’t gotten any sales from it.

• Have a profile layout that matches your shop. Whether you generate your own layout, or use one of the many premade ones, make sure it matches the feel of your shop. If you are very gothic and you sale little girls hairbows, you don’t want a black profile with gothic images on it, someone looking for a hair bow for their 2 year old is going to pass you by. Keep it professional. I chose to have a seperate business and personal MySpace, but it is a matter of choice.
• Don’t fill your page with slideshows, flash, videos, music, lots sparkley flashing graphics and other things that slow down a page loading. Remember, some people who might very well be a potential customer, may be on dial up on an older machine, you don’t want your potential buyers leaving before they even see your page because it took too long to load. If you must have something, pick one thing, let the rest go…. (I have music on mine)
• IndiePublic, Facebook, We_Love_Etsy and others- these sites are much like MySpace, MySpace just seems to be the biggest market. Use them all or pick one or 2 of your favorties that best suit you and your shop. Again though, the we_Love_Etsy site, is gearing your promotion at people that already know about Etsy, so don’t let that be the only one you use.
• Add friends. Search MySpace for people in your town, people with the same interest, people who graduated from the same schools you did, add friends like they are going out of style!
• Join groups. Just like with Flickr, join groups that are geared toward your target audience, not just groups about handmade, Etsy, crafting, card making, jewelry making. You not going to make a living selling your jewelry to other jewelry makers.
• Use the bulletin board. Don’t over use it posting sales and new listings, people will remove ‘pushy car salesman’ types from their friends. Once a week or so is fine, gets your name out there, but you aren’t like a corny commercial that makes you want to flip the channel.
• Always post a “thanks for the add”comment to new friends. I do these in batches about once a week or so.
  • You can get free graphics by searching for them, but these don’t say a lot about your shop.
  • An Etsy mini will work, but it won’t make you stand out as everyone is using them now. If you do use an Etsy mini, don’t use on that has 25 of you items. use the thumbnail view and 2 across at most, so you don’t blow up your new friends comment section and make their page look all ugly, and 4 items doesn’t look too pushy, but will show off your featured items and your newest listing.
  • A custom graphic is best. One that is no more than 300 pixels wide (that page bomb thing, ya know) It should represent your shops feel and have either what you make written on it, or even better, have a picture or two of your work on it. I sell these in my shop for only $5!! (Hey, it is my blog, and I am giving all this great info, I can pimp my own shop a bit if I want! LOL)
  • Always link your graphic to your shop or website. You can mess with the code to do this if you have your own graphic, but should not do so with the free graphics, those are set to link back to the site you got them from and should remain that way.

A: What is a plugboard and how do you use it.

• So glad you asked! Plugboards are FREE advertising. There are pay to plugboards and there are different size plugboards, but the most common are teeny tiny graphics, that are usually animated, and are easy to do. You upload to your photobucket or flickr account, then find plugboards and simply copy your plug URL, paste it in the plugboard and type in the URL you want people to go to. (another shameless promo, I sell animated plugboard ads starting at $5.75 email me at sales@butterflychicboutique.com )

A: I’ve thought about buying ad space on websites and blogs, is it worth it?

• Yet another wonderful question. Yes, I personally think it is worth it. Some don’t think so, but I have my own website and I can see where my visitor come from, so I know which ads I buy work, and which ones don’t. Like I said, stats are VERY handy. I have a few on other Etsian’s blogs and a few on other non Etsy craft related sites. Some work, some don’t. The main question you want to ask when buying ad space isn’t “how much?” it’s “how many” you want to know how many unique views/visitors/hits) that site averages per day. Unique views/visitors/hits means each person that visits, no matter how many times they visit, are only counted once.
  • For example, one day last week on my blog I got 969 page views (or hits) but it was only 402 UNIQUE views/visitors/hits So while my blog was viewed 969 times, it was viewed 969 times by 402 different people.

• You want to think about where your target buyers would be online, and buy ad space there. Buying ad space on a site about frugal living if you sell high end art, probably isn’t a wise investment of your advertising dollars. But if you sell beads and jewelry findings buying ad space on a blog about how to start your own business selling handmade jewelry is a great fit!

A: I post my link everywhere, does this help?

• Yes, Yes, YES!! The more people that see your links or ads, the more people will actually click on them and visit your shop, the more people that visit your shop, the more sales you make. It’s not unusual to have hundreds of views of an item before it sales. I’ve sold things that have gotten over 1000 views and I’ve sold things that have gotten under 10 views, it’s all about the right person viewing that item. The more people you get into your shop, the more likely that the right person will come along. Drive traffic to your site anyway you can, then make sure your items, photos and descriptions keep them there for a while and hopefully, they buy.
• Putting your shop link or graphic (with a link) in all you email signatures is a good way to get people into your shop.
• Putting your shop link or graphic (with a link) in forum post siggys is a great way to drive traffic to your shop. I get a large percentage of my hits from this method. Probably my best free advertising. If you frequent a non craft related site, something you’re into, whether it’s breastfeeding, cars, music, religion or whatever, if you have something in common with these people, there is a good chance they might like your shop. Plus people are more likely to click on a link an ‘online friend’ posts.

A: Is project wonderful worth it? Is it expensive?

• ProjectWonderful is a great way to pay for advertising on a budget! You search for sites that fit your criteria, and you may be able to get ad space for free, but often it is for pennies a day. You bid for a spot to advertise on that site, and can even set up a spending limit so you don’t go over your budget. You ad stays up until you reach your budget or someone out bids you on the space.
• Site or blog owners sign up for ProjectWonderful and place a ProjectWonderful ad box on their page. The specify to project wonderful how many and what size graphic they will allow on their page. They are standard web size graphics. ProjectWonderful offers ad space in 7 sizes. (guess what’s coming now? That’s right, I can design all 7 ad sizes for you! email me at sales@butterflychicboutique.com and no I’m not just trying to sell stuff, search project wonderful on the Etsy forums and you will find many sellers who don’t sale graphics rave about projectwonderful)

A: What does it mean to ’stumble’ someone or to be ’stumbled’?

• This is referring to StumbleUpon. StumbleUpon is a great way to get hits. It is a site you join, then download a toolbar (works with FireFox and IE) and if you find a site you like (even your own) you click a little button to rate it and it is added to the stumbleupon base of websites. Now when you have this toolbar, you can set up your preferences and you can “stumble” other sites and this is where your hits come from, others who use stumbleupon can click stumble, and if your site fits their preferences, they can randomly be taken to your site. Your own website, your blog, Etsy shop, or even a specific listing. A great way to bring in new traffic.

A: What do you get out of joining a streeteam? How does that help promote my shop?

• Well, it depends on the street team, as each is run separately by Etsy sellers, not Etsy admin. But joining a street team can help in many ways.
  • Some teams have dues and purchase ad space as a colaborative, you use that street teams tags in your listings and when people come to Etsy and search that tag, your shop is one of the ones that pop up.
  • Some teams are done by locality. This might increase your sales to other local Estians who don’t make the same craft as you.
  • It’s good to talk with others who make the same craft as you to bounce ideas off of and tolear from each other the things that help increase sales for your specific craft.

A: What do people mean by sending out promos? What are good promos?

• Promos is a promotional item, it can be anything with your website on it.
  • A business card is a promo in it’s simplest form.
  • Earrings
  • Key chains
  • Magnets
  • Samples
  • Bookmarks
  • Cell phone charms
  • Mini Note Cards
  • Stickers
  • Pins/buttons
  • Soaps
  • Matchbook notepads
  • Pens/Pencils
  • Lip balm
  • Post cards
  • Tags
  • Mirrors
  • Candy
  • Use your creativity! Samples aren’t possible for every craft, but they are for many.

A: Should I promote my online store offline?

• YES! Just because you have an online store doesn’t mean you are bound to selling only online. There are many great ways to advertise offline, whether the person buys offline or you direct them to your onlilne site.
  • Hand your business card to EVERYONE you meet. The cashier, the gas station attendant, people you wait in line with, other people you meet in the craft store, your mailman, PO workers, your bug man, your coworkers (if allowed) your child’’s teacher or coach, anyone you speak to.
  • Leave your business cards laying around where someone will see them (great if you are too shy to hand it to them) leave on in public bathrooms (yes I actually do this) with the tip you leave your hairdresser, waitress, nail artist, leave them in the craft section at walmart, leave one on a table at starbucks, leave on one the pump at a gas station, if there is a flat surface or a push pin, magnet or clip, stick a business card there!
  • Use/wear your craft. If you make jewelry don’t go out of the house with a pair of your earrings in your ear or one of your bracelets on your arm, if someone comments on it, tell them you made it, you sell jewelry and whip out a business card!
    • ok, this is probably really bad, but I have went so far as to go out with a friend and when people are within earshot she will say “ooo, I love your earrings, did you make those yourself?” It gives strangers an opening to approach you if they like your work…. I’ve made 2 sales like this! LOL
  • Wear or carry something with your URL on it. It can be a shirt,a tote, a purse, whatever, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve handed out a business card when people see my “I love Etsy” tote.
  • Buy a vinyl cling with your URL on it for your car. I think it really helps to spend the extra money for aline about what you make if it isn’t in your URL (like JanesJewelry.etsy.com does need a lot of explaining, but JanesShop.etsy.com would benefit from having a line saying ‘handcrafted jewelry’ above it’
  • Look into a local newspaper or radio ad. Some are cheaper than you might think.
  • Ask local business owners if you can leave a stack of business cards, brochures or post a flyer in their establishment. I have a stack of business cards in the lobby at my local HoJo and Super8.
  • Offer to supply some freebie promo items to a local business with your URL on it. Maybe your local bakery could use napkins with your shop name on them, or your local dry cleaner could give a mini candy bar wrapped in a custom label (like you see for weddings and babies) out to every customer.
  • Try to find local business that have the same target customer as you and promote each other.
    • Like if you do jewelry, call your local formal wear shop and florist and offer a discount if you shop at all the places. Make custom pieces to match one of their dresses and leave it or a photo of it in the store, hand out each others cards and brochures, switch small photo albums with each other to share with your customers, offer them a link on your website or blog.
    • If you make pottery plates, see if a local bakery will let you advertise or consign some of your plates there.
    • If you make baby clothes or cards, talk to the hospital gift shop
  • • Find your nearest tourist attraction and see if you have anything to offer a local shop in that town.

There are things I know I have missed or forgotten to put in this post. There are so many ways to promote your shop. More ways than most people use or even realize. I know it sounds corny, but you do have to spend money to make money. Do your market research and plan where to put your advertising dollars. It will be worth it in the end, when you have repeat customers who found you through an ad or promo.

In slow times, buy another ad space or two, had out more business cards, try a new venue for advertising and wait for sales to pick up. :0)

One of the hardest thing for many sellers is pricing. Many things on Etsy are servely under priced in hopes of getting sales. This doesn’t always equal sales, as many shoppers equate a low price with low quality product and will pass your shop on by. If it does sell for the low price, once you add in PayPal and Etsy fees and overhead and supplies, you don’t really make any money.

There is an art to pricing. It’s called a formula.

So many times people ask, “how’s the price on this?” This tells potential customers you aren’t sure of yourself, your product, your skill, your talent, or your price.

Let’s look at an example. You might see that you took $5 worth of supplies, made it into something, list and sale it on Etsy for $10. You think you made a $5 profit, right? Easy math! They math is easy enough, but the formula is flawed. Let’s take a look:

• You list it and Etsy then takes their $0.20 listing fee $9.80
• You sale it for $10 and Etsy takes their 3.5% equaling $0.35 leaving you with $9.45
• PayPal takes their fees equaling $0.59 leaving you with $8.86
• Minus the $5 for supplies you are left with a $3.86 profit, correct?
• You spent $0.04 each on business cards and, like any good seller put 3 in the package totaling $0.12 leaving you with $3.74
• You put your item in $0.10 Organza bag or cello bag leaving you $3.64
• You wrapped your item in $0.05 worth of tissue paper and $0.20 worth of bubble wrap leaving you $3.39
• You then place your product in your $0.10 mailer and tape it up with $0.10 worth of shipping tape leaving you with $3.19
• You then use a $0.08 PayPal Label and say $0.05 worth of ink to print it leaving you with $3.06

So you took $5 worth of supplies, sold it for $10 and spent 30 minutes assembling/creating and 5 minutes to photograph it, 5 minutes to edit photos and 5 minutes to list it. Then you go on the forums and spend 5 minutes promoting it in various threads and another 5 minutes blogging about your new creation.

So for an hour of work you made $3.06…..would you take a job making $3.06/hour???

3 Simple things to consider when formulating your prices:

1. Materials
2. Labor
3. Overhead

Sounds easy enough, right? Think you got it down? Check the detailed list below.

Thing based on each product:

• Supplies/Materials
• Labor
  • Actual production
  • Photographing
  • Listing
  • Promoting
  • Emails/Convos
• Packaging
  • Cello Bags
  • Tissue Paper
  • Bag
  • Tape
  • Business Card
  • Tag/Label
  • Box
  • Ribbon/String/Raffia
  • Card
  • Mailer
  • PayPal Label/Printer Ink/Address Label
• Selling Fees
  • Website Fees
  • Etsy Fees
  • PayPal Fees
  • Market/Fair Entry Fees
• Including Shipping in Price

Yearly overhead costs to be evenly divided between all products you make:

• Tools
  • Computer
  • Camera
  • Craft Specific tools
    • Printer/ink/computer programs
    • stamps/pens/ink
    • brushes/brush cleaner
    • pliers/bead board
    • storage/organization containers
    • Button machines/sewing machine/cutting machines
    • glue/adhesive/tape
• Studio/workspace Rent
• Electric/water bill
• Internet Connection
• Phone Bill
• Office Supplies
• Printing
• Accounting Fees
• Advertising
• Insurance
• Display Costs
• Subscriptions/Dues/Memberships
• Travel Expenses
• Taxes (usually 25-35% for small businesses)

Now that you’ve considered everything, you have to put it together. There are tons of formulas out there you can use, here are just a few….

• (supplies + packaging) x 4 + Labor + 10% = Base Retail Price
  • 10% is for overhead, normal overhead is 10-20%
  • x4 is your value factor, lower for wholesale raise for high end fairs
    
• 2 x (supplies + labor + overhead) = cost of sold goods
  • Wholesale price: 2 x ($2 + $3 + $1) = $12
  • Retail price: 2.5 x $12 = $30

I’m not a big fan of these formulas, but if you don’t want to put a lot of time and effort into it and are not doing your Etsy shop as an income, I and other sellers like me who do this for a living would much rather you use one of these simple formulas than to price $5 worth of supplies at $10! :0)

• Labor + Materials x 3 = wholesale
• Labor + Materials x 4 = retail

Formulas that use percentages are best as they are easily adjusted to fit your venue as some venues will allow a larger mark up than others.

You overhead should be adjusted to fit your needs and your hourly wage should fit your craft, Jewelry makers can easily charge $20/hour while someone who crochets or quilts could not.

My hourly rates are as follows $10 for paper crafts, $15 for graphics and $20 for jewelry.

The above formulas won’t work for everyone in every field, but they are a great place to start. Try them out and compare your prices to fellow Etsians selling the same items and adjust them to suit your needs.

The easiest thing to do is set up a spreadsheet in Excel (or buy one off Etsy) and use it to simply input your data, adjust your overhead, hourly wage and value factor and let the spreadsheet do the work for you!

To calculate Etsy and PayPal Fees http://etsy.ppcalc.com/

To calculate paypal fees without Etsy fees (if selling elsewhere) use http://ppcalc.com/

Have a different formula you use? Email it to me and I might add it to the post. If I do I’ll give you credit!

If you missed the 1st post on Tips for selling on Etsy, you can read it here other articles are linked within that post.

So we’ve talked about your product, now lets talk about listing that product.

Your customers can not pick up your product, touch it, feel it, examine it, turn it to see it from all angles, so they need YOU to do that for them with your photos and descriptions. The better you do this the more sales and happy customers you will have.

Photos -

Buy the best camera you can afford. It is a great investment in your online business. You camera should be as many megapixels as you can afford and have a macro setting and you should be able to adjust the white balance. Then get to know your camera! Play with settings, lighting, angles, zoom with one product (especially if you have a product type you make over and over with variations, such as earrings or cards) and see what works best.

You need good, clear, crisp, well lit photos in your listing. Be sure to use all 5 photos.

I take about 30 photos of every product I list, at least two of every angle, then I pick the 5 best and edit them to show off my items. Always take each picture twice, in case one turns out fuzzy for some unknown reason.

Capture your product form all different angles. Get close ups of details. Show the product in use if appropriate, this is NOT appropriate for earring and hats. Show scale by using a ruler, but never in the 1st photo.

Use a light box or take photos outside, being careful to avaoid casting shadows on your product. Don’t photograph your products inside under bright lights, natural light is best.

Use interesting props.

Don’t use a background that will compete with your item or one your item will blend into. Your background should be simple and contrasting so your item pops.

Use the macro setting on your camera (the little flower) for close up shots to show texture and detail. Don’t zoom in when you are in macro setting, just move the camera closer to the item being photographed.

If you don’t have a macro setting, turn your flash off and get as close as you can and still get a clear photo. You can crop the picture later to show detail.

Jewelry photo tip, having something in the background with detail, such as laying your earring on an open book or placing your bracelet on a patterned scrapbooking paper, will help your camera focus on your items better.

Having problems with fuzzy or blurry photos? Try propping your arm on a sable surface to give your arm, hand and camera more stability.

Photo editing software is your friend. Find one and learn it, work it and use it! There are free options you can download http://tiny.cc/s03Nw

Set up your own mini photo studio. Fasten two pieces of 12″x12″ wood together to make a 90′ angle (adjust for the size of stuff that you shoot) You can use different papers and fabrics to have lots of background colors and textures. Wrinkles in the fabric add texture to a background without over whelming your product as does paper wadded up and then flattened back out.

Place your mini studio with the light coming in behind it with no hard light (glare, shadows) hitting your paper or product.

If the photo needs some extra punch, take a piece of paper and fold it in half and set it just out of frame of your shot this will bounce a little bit more light on to the item you are photographing.

Descriptions -

Give details, lots of details. Use lots of adjectives. Write your listing as if you are talking to someone. Be sure to use the word “you” a lot and avoid “me” statements. Your customers want a product made for them. Instead of “I love this print” say “YOU will love this print” Describe it as if there were no photos, as if you were telling a freind about your new creation over the phone.

Statements like “this item will add warmth to YOUR kitchen” are what sells. Cheesy I know, but I paid big bucks in my first business venture to have a marketing guru help me with my copy on my website, and this is what she told me :0)

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS give measurements and sizes, in inches and centimeters (or mm, which ever is appropriate) There are buyers from all over the world shopping online.

Be sure to tell the buyer everything they need to know in the listing. Don’t assume that they will read yourshop announcement or profile for additional information. If they need to know it, put it at the end of the description.

Check your listing for grammar, spelling and typos.

Tagging- use every tag you can without mistagging. Use the obvious, jewelry, earring, sterling silver, then pull those adjectives you used int he listing to your tags, use colors, patterns, styles, ect such as pink, retro, rockabilly, fun, sparkle, fuzzy, ect you never know what a customer might search for. Also be sure to use different variations of tags such as promo and promotional or ad, ads, advertising, advertisement.

And I’m sure there is much more I have missed, as there is tons you can do to your photos and listings to make them better. I would love for other sellers to leave comments with tips I missed.

Never settle! Never get comfortable! Constantly try to improve your photos and descriptions.

Stay tuned for part 3! Now go retake some photos and punch up some of your descriptions!

Here is the first of the elaborating follow up posts I promised. If you missed the original post you can read it here.

The most important thing in selling is what you are selling. Your product!
I mean you can have great photos, list regularly, great prices and promote your butt of but if you are selling chocolate covered rabbit poop, it ain’t gonna sale. If you are making the same, exact thing as 285 billion other sellers, you aren’t going to sell as much because you have more competition.

Do you have a usable product?

What do you mean by usable product? By useful product, I mean things that serve a purpose. Practical items. As the USA is in a recession, and the majority of buyers and sellers on Etsy are from the US, and have less and less disposable income, and become more prone to save than spend, it will start effecting companies that sell non-essential items.

Like if you sell art or photography, especially if your price points are in the high-end range, I’m sure you have already seen sales start to taper off, try putting your art onto items people can use, and you can offer at a lower price point, coasters, hair ponies, totes, shirts, cards, those types of things.

Not to say that all people who sell non-essentials will not have great sales stats, but the more useful or unique the product, the easier it is to market and sale….

It also helps if you sell a disposable product, one in which the customer will use your product for it’s intended purpose and then need to come back to you to replace that product. Things such as soap. You don’t buy a bar of soap and keep it forever and never need another bar of soap. It gets used and must be replaced by another bar of soap.

Do you have a unique product? Can they find the same thing everywhere else? Are you one of 15,469,034 zillion jewelry makers? If so, you know what I mean. Jewelry is probably the most competitive handmade market out there, so you really have to do something to give yourself an edge over the competition.

Do you have a style? Do you only work with sterling silver and Swarovski crystals? Do you offer clip earrings? (an often ignored market) Do you work with gold vs silver? Do you use only the finest, most expensive beads and findings, or do you specialize in quality made affordable jewelry?

What makes your product unique or better than those they could buy elsewhere? Do you do something special? Are your cards hand cut by you rather than precut store bought blanks? Are the envelopes handmade? Is that fabric used to make that purse brand name? or vintage? Why would the buyer not just go to wal-mart and buy the same thing cheaper? Why would they not go to one of the other 50 shops on Etsy that sell the same thing you do? Why would they not just go to their local craft show and buy from their instead of you?

Continually improve your product. So you make an awesome product that sells like hot cakes. But what happens when your target market all own your hot seller? Sales drop if you haven’t improved upon it or added to it in some way. Never think you ‘got it’ always look for ways to improve all of your products. There is ALWAYS room for improvement in every aspect of your business. The market is constantly changing and business and products should constantly be changing to meet those needs. That is what makes a successful business.

So, what makes your products special?