β˜… How to Sell Your Handmade Products Online! | ETSY SUCCESS TIPS & TOOLS β˜…

My personal advice:
- Photos are THE most important thing about selling online, since your customers can't pick the item up in real life. Make sure they're clear and bright, and show every detail. You don't need an expensive camera; I have a point-and-shoot, white paper for underneath the jewellery, a spotlight and a lightbox, and then I use Photoshop Elements (bought for Β£10) to brighten the photo up on the computer. And take LOTS of photos and at different angles, so that you have a higher chance of getting a couple of really good captures!
If your photos are good enough, put them on Flickr (with your shop address in your profile, not on the photo page).

- Have patience...you may wait months to get the first sale, and years for regular sales. People 'in the know' have said it takes a few months for the first sale, and around 12-18 months for regular sales.

- Update regularly. Don't lose heart because you're not making sales. Persevere for months and eventually search engines will notice you update regularly and you'll creep up the search results.

- Have as many designs as you can manage/afford in your shop. The more items you have for sale, the easier it is for people to find you, and the longer people will stay in your shop. Imagine each of your items is a little pointer directing people to your shop, and the more pointers there are, the more visitors you get. Some people who sell full-time recommend listing as many products per day as you'd like to sell per day.
It's no good having a singular great product all alone in your shop unless it really is amazing and it is consequently spread around the net by fans. People like choice, and they like to browse easily too, so categorise your produts well for easy of use for the customer.

- Have pretty packaging which matches your shop style, preferably with branding on, plus a hand-written note and 2 business cards (so that the customer may give a card to a friend). People want a special touch, but don't go overboard! Go for simple, consistent and inexpensive, whilst making the packaging unique to your shop.

- Brand your shop: If you haven't already thought of a name, think of something memorable and easy to spell. Remember not to call your shop something like 'super duper jewellery', if you're not 100% certain that jewellery is all you want to ever sell. Something beginning with 'A' is good if you want to appear at the top of link lists :-)
Know your style, your market, and your niche. What makes you different from everyone else? Write down keywords that sum up your style and products, which are what your intended market would search for.
Have a logo, the more memorable the better. Put this on your business cards. Try and make your business cards as pretty as possible (maybe include photos), or put a '10% off' code on them to try and encourage people to keep them.

- Use Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites to advertise your wares. You can also use a blog, but only if you are happy to write posts regularly, otherwise you'll hate doing it. Also join appropriate forums but don't post comments just to advertise - put your shop link in your 'signature' and join in conversations on the forum as normal. People hate spammers.

- Use Metatag Analyser
on each of your web pages to check whether your tags/descriptions/titles are search engine friendly.

- Approach suitable blogs to ask for a feature - provide a little write-up and your favourite photo or 2 in your e-mail. Perhaps you could offer a Β£10 giveaway if people comment with their favourite item of yours.

- Use Project Wonderful to advertise on suitable websites of your choice. You can pay any amount ( sometimes nothing) - it depends on the site popularity. Just create eye-catching ads in the correct sizes.

- Submit your shop to search engines. See this page for a great list.

- Create your own Squidoo lens on a subject related to your shop in some way (with valuable information on - not just an advert for your shop), and have a link to your shop in the intro.

There are so many reasons to buy handmade rather than buying from high street chains, and in my opinion the following points are the most encouraging reasons to cross over to the world of handmade :
1) Much friendlier, more personal customer service
2) Original, unique and often one-of-a-kind designs
3) The artist behind the items really appreciates your custom
4) There is the real possibility that the artist will accept personal requests and create a custom item just for you...all you have do do is ask!
5) The artist often puts plenty of thought into packaging your purchase to make it more special and fun to unwrap
6) You are helping someone to carry on being able to do something they love
7) The quality is usually higher because of the heart, attention and care put into handmade products
8) There are items available for every taste and pocket

I really hope that you consider buying handmade in the future if you don't already - just think of the independent artists you are supporting all over the world!