Greetings this Monday! Following a weekend pause, we resume our brief series featuring insights from 4 guest bloggers on selling handmade items online. {If you missed any, please begin at the start…}
My Etsy venture originated from this blog; a craft piece gained traction on Pinterest, prompting requests for hand painted signs. This sequential progression often occurs, which can be quite thrilling!
However, it can also feel overwhelming; the entire concept of 'promoting your business through social media' is particularly daunting. I find myself fatigued from the constant pinning, tweeting, sharing, liking, and other related activities, struggling to master it all.
I shared these struggles with our 4 guest bloggers, inquiring how each manages that facet of their business.
Day 6: Shop Promotion {Reaching Customers}
Query: I must admit I am currently swamped by the multitude of 'promotional/social media' avenues—Pinterest, RSS feeds, e-mail, twitter, stumble upon, facebook, and more. I cannot keep pace! How can one publicize an Etsy shop without losing sanity!!!… {And where should the boundary be drawn among these social media options?}
Gina, representing The Shabby Creek Cottage
To be candid, I delegate social media tasks. I refrain from personal tweeting, facebooking, or pinning my creations; instead, I direct that to my blog. My primary traffic driver is producing quality blog content; readers who engage there will discover my shop. My assistant manages Facebook & Pinterest for the blog, which relieved significant time pressure. I enjoy reader interaction through comments & twitter, but daily capacity is limited
Jami from freckled laundry
You are in the same boat. Frankly, I remain overwhelmed by social media. I suggest reviewing Gina’s response first! She handles it effectively. I recognize the need to dedicate more time to social media because it is a potent marketing instrument.
I maintain a relaxed strategy for selling on Etsy and social media. I know my own comfortable rhythm for socializing and selling. I {thankfully!} surpassed this comfort level and my expectations using only blogs, facebook, and twitter. My blog serves as my primary voice for the Etsy shop. I also post new items and sales on my facebook page, which is configured to auto-post updates to my twitter. This saves time. Furthermore, listing a new item on Etsy provides a direct option to share across social media. With minimal clicks, your new listing is live. Encourage friends and family to like or share your facebook posts and tweets to aid visibility; it functions like digital business card distribution.
Blogs are also a wonderful channel for promotion. I organized several giveaways on external blogs and sent thoughtfully wrapped gifts to blog contacts who featured them.
I am still new to Pinterest and Stumble-Upon. I do not promote my own goods there, but supportive readers and bloggers have, which has successfully channeled traffic to my shop!
Email newsletters present a great opportunity, but I haven't utilized them yet. Presently, my Etsy shop is temporarily closed while I develop a signature line of textiles, coordinating clay tags, and other handcrafted items. I am also curating a vintage inventory. When I reopen, email newsletters and Pinterest will be high priorities; I plan to hire an intern for newsletter support.
Regarding an intern, Reni at Bliss & Tell Branding Co. recommended hiring one. Many students seek paid or unpaid internships offering creative/art, marketing communications, or advertising experience. Employing an intern for tasks like packaging, wholesale fulfillment, attaching tags, printing labels, and taping boxes frees up time for creation and engagement. Most Etsy owners agree that packaging and shipping can consume as much time as crafting. I haven't sought an intern because I prefer personal involvement in every shop aspect; I adore packaging… and I have a tendency toward control issues.
In summary, adhere to what feels comfortable. Remember that greater social media involvement correlates with increased shop success.
Lisa from The Pennington Point
You presume too much if you think I haven't managed this! Some of the other interviewees will offer superior advice on this topic. I primarily use Twitter and Pinterest for product marketing, alongside my blog. A question you omitted, which I will address since I have little to add to the social media debate, is how my business expanded. The initial year saw minimal sales; local shop sales sustained operations but lacked creative depth. Small giveaways yielded little. Then, I approached a larger blogger to feature my new product; she loved it and posted a photo, resulting in several orders. This was my Family Number Pillow, which remains a top seller. That small success provided the momentum to develop more items, leading to slow, satisfying growth. I am currently homeschooling 6 children plus a toddler and have 2 grown children at home, precluding full-time work for now.
Aimee contributes insights from My Pink Life
My shop's primary traffic source is Pinterest; I currently forgo platforms like Twitter or Facebook for promotion, focusing solely on my blog for marketing efforts.
Those responses brought genuine joy; it is comforting to know I am not the only one feeling swamped by social media strategy. My key realization is to focus only on my own capabilities and accept that.
Lisa, I appreciate you sharing how your blog expanded; that information proved very useful. It can be disheartening when businesses do not achieve immediate success, making another person's journey reassuring.
Our final meeting is tomorrow, {though I truly hope you will return!}. This topic connects somewhat to today's discussion on ~ Achieving Equilibrium Amidst Busy Schedules {wonder if it's real?}.
