Etsy Survival Guide
for Jewelry Artists - Part II

© by Cathy Tran; all rights reserved

It's been a few months since I last wrote an article sharing some of tips for successful selling on Etsy, so I thought it was time for another edition.

In Part I of this series, How to Get Your Jewelry Seen on Etsy, I discussed tips for getting jewelry seen on Etsy by way of having a memorable banner and avatar, joining the Etsy community, 'Heart-ing' other shops, joining an Etsy street team and making or curating Treasuries.

Heirloom sterling silver glass locket necklace
by Cathy Tran

Achieving regular sales and getting noticed on Etsy can be quite difficult when the jewelry category is the largest in Etsy, but it is not impossible.

Aside from having a phenomenal product and the tips I shared previously, there are a few more things you can do.

1. List items or renew items regularly.

   With nearly 32,000 items listed in the jewelry category, it is quite easy to get buried in the listings, as they list the most recent towards the front of the lists.

   Listing new items at regular times during the week can really increase your presence at the 'top' of the search lists. Try to list an item every day, every other day or at least twice a week.

   An alternative to listing a new item regularly is to 'renew' an item.

   Every listing you create has an expiration date and when you 'renew' you extend the life of the listing and bump it to the front of the search lists.

   This comes in handy when you don't have time to create, photograph and list regularly.

   Again, this should be done daily, every other day or weekly. There are many shops I've seen who renew their entire shops on a daily basis.

   While that may be a bit excessive in my opinion, I have noticed more sales in my own shop since I started renewing and listing more frequently.

'A Misplaced Soul' moonstone and sterling silver necklace
by Cathy Tran



2. Join social networking groups such as Twitter, Indiepublic, Flickr, Facebook, Myspace, etc.

   Many Etsy sellers have joined up and created groups in many different social networking sites. These can help give you exposure to a lot of different audiences and drive traffic to your shop.

   You can also again find a community of artists to network with. I've heard about many success stories with people advertising by using Twitter, Flickr and Indiepublic.

'Walk the Line' garnet and sterling silver earrings
by Cathy Tran



3. 'Froogle' your Etsy shop.

   Google's latest database allows people to search for products.

   By loading your Etsy shop items into the Google Product Search database (formerly called 'Froogle'), you can attract a lot of new traffic from across the web.

   There is also Let's Ets, an easy program set up that allows you to load your items in quickly and efficiently.



4. Make your shop friendly for international shoppers

   Let's be honest, the US dollar is not very strong right now and our neighbors to the north, south, east and west can get quite a good deal on purchasing American goods.

   By making your shop friendly for international customers, you open the door to a lot of new business. Several things you can do are:

   
   
   • Offer international shipping. This seems silly, but I've seen many forum posts from frustrated international customers who WOULD have bought from a store, but sadly, the seller did not offer international shipping.
   
   
   
   • Accurately calculate shipping costs. Shipping is not as expensive as you might think, and doing your research will really help prevent you from scaring off international customers with exorbitant shipping rates.
   
   
   
   • Use metric measurements. Be sure that you give measurements in centimeters as well as inches, as most the rest of the world uses the metric system of measurement.
   
   
   
   • Offer discounted shipping to international customers. I've often seen many shops do 'free shipping' sales, but only to domestic customers. This can be very frustrating to international customers who may feel as though they are being treated as second class citizens.

   'Gratitude' coin pearl and sterling silver necklace
   by Cathy Tran

   
   

5. Participate in promotional threads in the forums such as Saturday Night Specials (SNS).

   Each Saturday, a special thread called 'SNS' is put up in the Promotions section of the Etsy forums. Shoppers know that this thread is posted weekly and it's a great way to promote your shop.

   It's run by an Etsy street team and is regularly checked by many Etsy buyers. It's free and all you have to do is post in the thread on Saturdays at 5pm EST. Nothing beats free promotion.

Using some of these tips, in addition to having a well structured shop with great pictures, clear descriptions and good products, will certainly help you succeed on Etsy.

How to Get Your Jewelry Seen on Etsy