Apps I Use for Selling on Etsy

March 6, 2014

Along the same lines as Blogging Tools, I found myself getting into tools/sites that I use for sales so I broke that off into this post:

Etsy

Even as I am starting to branch out into physical booth for sales (and possibly consignment??) I still like to have Etsy as a landing page & sample of work available by me.

Along the same lines, I like to keep a dedicated Pinterest board to my previous work, especially when it comes to one-of-a-kind pieces to be referenced by customers or used as inspiration for future work. This has also been handy in knowing what needs to be duplicated for popularity's sake. I also use Pinterest to brainstorm my craft show set up, new patterns to try, and any marketing or advice I might come across that I find worth referencing.

Square Up

Square has been a great tool for accepting credit payments in person plus generating a neat, digital sales receipt for anyone requesting one. ~~So far the only draw back has been that my particular smartphone (LG Spectrum 1st gen.) is not fully supported so I always have to type in the card numbers which results in a higher fee.~~ I still did fairly well at the Make It Indie fair in November but it sure has me thinking about that next phone upgrade this spring....
*Edit: Now that I have a Samsung Galaxy S5, the Square card reader works like a charm!*

Facebook

To promote art/craft shows I am participating in, to send customers for product + experience feedback as well as interaction, share new items listed in the shop, latest blog post link, and anything I find interesting that I think my followers may also enjoy. I like to keep my Facebook light-hearted but centered around the knitting/crocheting/crafting theme.

Maybe not so surprisingly, I have noticed that some have even used my Facebook page as a way to contact me via message instead of my email. This is how I was invited to join the Merchant's Landing Arts & Craft Show!

Free "scrap" bracelets

Freebies

Speaking of physical shows, I've also found that a little freebie is a great draw to your table. I like to crochet long leftover scraps of cotton yarn into bracelets which I offer for free to whomever. I find it is a great way to strike up a conversation with anyone "brave enough" to pick out a free bracelet. :)

PDF Compressor

Once I started selling PDF patterns, I needed a compressor for the large image-heavy files that are my pattern's signature. And not only do I want to make friends wait hours to download a large file, but Etsy does not allow pattern files greater than 20mb. So needing a solution, I found Chrome's free PDF compressor + was instantly impressed with not only it's ability to crunch the size of my recent pattern from 38mb to 1.35! But it even preserved the quality of the crisp images! Sold!

Wholesale

So far I haven't branched out into wholesaling (purchasing or selling) but it has crossed my mind several times. Does anyone have any wholesale experience?

Spread the Word

And as always, word of mouth through supportive friends and family members has helped generate a fair handful of sales this past holiday season. Plus a few times when asked what do I do for a living (a question that always makes me cringe), I mention that I am a knit/crochet instructor as well as an Etsy shop owner. I like to show pictures of what I make via my smartphone (images taken directly with my phone as well as pulling up my Etsy shop on my phone) and hand them a business card, encouraging them to explore my shop more when they are home. I don't know how well it works, but I figure it can't hurt, right?

I'd love to hear what tools you use for "pedaling your wares" :) If you already have a post about it, would you mind pasting a link to it in the comments section? I'd love to read it!

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Newest Cowl

January 8, 2013

I'm so excited about this new cowl. Not only is it my favorite style to wear, but I was also able to get my beautiful cousin to model it for me while we visited her family for Christmas! :)

I have to admit I'm not normally much of a color-red fan, but this variegated skein was calling out to me in the store and I couldn't wait to get it on my needles.

Long enough to wrap around twice for extra neck coverage.

I was hoping to have enough to make two double-wrap cowls but I guess I didn't realize how much I truly needed. So this time I have one long (above) and one shorter (below).

How do you think they turned out?

It's One of Those Days

January 4, 2013

The ones that are too-few coming in 2012 but have hit me like an Energizer-Bunny tonight :]

The beautiful productivity of constant-motivation (still going strong for over 4 hours!!). Almost seems like one of those new 5-hour-energy commercials. Anyway, check out all the progress!

I have photographed & drafted 6+ listings today; including a new cowl with my cousin modeling!

I will be staggering the dishcloth listings over the weekend, but you can enjoy the new cowls tonight!

My Autumn earwarmer was featured in a treasury today!

See it? Bottom-right corner.

Did I blow up your Newsfeed today? I apologize; some sort of creative bug grabbed hold of me this afternoon and I couldn't help feeling the need to share those stories with my followers. Did you find any inspiration? Or should I stop sharing others' posts/pictures and keep it to just Etsy shop-related stories?

I have more to share but I guess I ought to save some for another post and that energy is finally starting to slow (after 6+ hours!). Anyone else excited for the new year?

Coffee Coffee Coffee!!

March 2, 2012

-- as excitedly chirped by Lorelei Gilmore and thus my inspiration for this Treasury! .... along with my nearly-equal enthusiasm for the ~~drug~~ delicacy. :]

Starting with my *own* mug of Morning Happiness

And onward:

(More found in my etsy favorites!)

*Do you have a morning routine that you absolutely LOVE and look forward to? I hope you'll comment about it or write a blog post & leave your link in the comments. I'd love to read about it. :)

Lazy Lately

February 20, 2012

Excuse me as I've been laying low the last half of last week and this weekend. I think all our travels with different friends every weekend for the last 4 weeks has taken its toll on my energies.

I'm happy to report it hasn't stopped my knitting much, but it has slowed down my progress on projects.

I hope you will stick around; This weekend is the first since Jan. 28th that we will be in town and I'm so excited! You'd think we were leaving on a vacation! haha. As always, I have way to much on my Want-To-Do List for Saturday (Sunday is our Day of Laziness & my brother's 20th birthday) plus there is a Seed Swap that I will *absolutely* be attending so we'll see how much I can squeeze in.

I promise there is a LOT of Etsy & crafting on the TOP of that list. :]

P.S. Check out PrettyWit's adorable Valentine Note to her winning Rose Pink Ear Warmer. I'm infatuated with her graphic art. :]

Look What I Found

January 19, 2012

While gearing up for work Wednesday morning, I came across this in my activity feed:

Did you see it in there? The brown camo beanie is featured! That helps start the morning off nicely :)

*update*

This afternoon, I just found this treasury by Baghy!:

Isn't it interesting? I love all the variances of color. She did a beautiful job with this treasuring & I'm so honored to have the Blue Stripe Blanket featured it!

What are you finding today?

Ear Warmer Giveaway - Round 3

January 16, 2012

Congratulations to Liesl at LieslMade for winning Week 2! She chose the mustard yellow ear warmer.

This time around, let’s change things up a little bit.

Rose Pink

Pick your favorite item in the shop. Then, in your comment, link back to the item & tell me what you like about it. Or tell me what you would do to make it better (written description, photo, pattern design, anything you see that needs improvement).

Pink & Chocolate

For an extra entry, post a link to this giveaway on your site (Twitter, Facebook, blog, etc) and share your link in another comment here.

Thanks for all the love! I’m so happy to share my craft enthusiasm with you. :)

*Please be sure to include an email address at which to notify you of the good news & which color earwarmer you would prefer as your prize. A winner will be chosen at random Saturday, Jan. 21, around midnight and notified Sunday morning. Please respond during the day Sunday so I can ship your prize on Monday. Otherwise a new winner will be chosen Monday morning. Thank you!

Productive! = Success!

January 25, 2011

Yes, I'm still around. Life has been getting pretty busy around here. I picked up a fourth (!?) job for the spring only because it is in the area of my degree and I figure it is time I start using that University degree ;) So bear with me, the posts may not be coming as often as they had before the new year but I'll definitely be trying to keep up with a schedule once my life's schedule settles into itself.

On to the fun part: Today was an Etsy Day! That means I have nothing scheduled outside of my apt (all those other jobs or errands) and I only work on Etsy To-Do things like....

Making more packaging. I've been dwindling so low, I used up my last good-sized package to ship off a cowl to Chicago (one of my more recent custom orders) and realized that was the last one! Yikes! Luckily, I haven't been too busy that I needed to get orders out lickety-split but that is changing soon. I have another order to ship out Thursday and quite a few others locally that are interested so my little fingers will be working quite a bit for the next couple weeks.