Giveaways part 2

So we have gone over only a couple giveaways that I have seen be successful although it's important to know that there are many many others.

Secondly, we did not go over what to include in a giveaway.

That is partially up to you. You can choose a specific item you are giving away, or a dollar value. You can even choose a dollar value for a specific area / section in your shop. The giveaway does not need to be over the top, although it should be enough to make people interested. 

Here is an example for instagram:

Here is an example for Facebook:

Here are a few blog giveaway examples: 
http://www.norafinds.com/post/75196785459/vintage-runway-giveaway
http://luckylucille.com/2013/11/vintage-pattern-giveaway-and-coupon-code/

Giveaways part 1

There are many ways and kinds of giveaways. 

Different giveaways will bring in different types of attention whether that be to your shop directly, to gain new followers on instagram or facebook, but in the end it's all to gain more sales. 

Here are just a few examples of giveaways that I commonly see etsy users using. 

1) a giveaway through a popular blog

-this can mean a few different things: when I did this, the blog did a feature on my and my shop with an interview and had a giveaway at the end.

Some blog giveaway just have a quick description of your shop and then explain the giveaway details.

Remember to include a related grasping photograph and links to all related sites. Most times when you do a giveaway you should have part of the entry requirements be to like your site on at least 1 or 2 specific social media sites followed up by admiring your shop online. 

This will help bring attention directly to your shop as well as your key social media outlets.

2) a giveaway through instagram or facebook

-create an image that will attract customers, put a text on that image with the giveaway details. Make sure if it's through instagram to have them both tag @ and # your shop's tag name. 

If you are doing a giveaway yourself, make sure you truly pick your winner at random. 

I saw one shop I follow recently go viral with their image on instagram. I thought it was brilliant. 

This method of giveaway will help build a bigger audience on your instagram or facebook. These are great because it is where you should be posting all your updates which will lead them to your site. 

Customer Service

So this subject of customer service will come up again and again. I will basically be posting about it in parts. Today I'm going to go over some of the basics and how to deal with difficult people.

The reality is, just like in any business, you're going to find difficult customers - especially on etsy.

You will eventually get used to having to answer tones of questions, including having to go out of your way to take additional photos / measurements and then have them never reply or purchase from you. But it's important to do it anyways, because it does often lead to a sale and you don't want to miss out! (side note, if you commonly get asked about a specific measurement or photo maybe it's time to start including that in the future so you don't get the messages anymore)

You will also have to get used to people trying to haggle. Sometimes, especially if they are buying a lot of stuff, or a repeat customer it's nice to give a bit of a discount (but that is entirely up to you as the seller). Only you know what you can afford to do. You will also find people trying to haggle over the price of one item, and again that is up to you if you accept it.

 The hardest thing I personally find, is when someone tries to low-ball you. For example: "Would you take $5?" when the item is listed for $100. The reality is, you don't even need to respond. If you'd like to, stay polite. Just say something as simple as "thank you for your offer but I have to pass". It's one of those things where you will want to say "HECK NO, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? DON'T YOU KNOW I WORK HARD TO EARN THIS MONEY?" but that only causes confrontation. So again, either be polite, or don't bother responding. They know what they are asking and they know it's rude.

You will also notice that no matter how blunt you've made your policy page about returns / exchanges, and so on, people will buy something and want to fight those policies. Especially if they are unhappy for what ever reason. So again, it's important to stay calm and polite. Remember, they can leave you negative feedback regardless of whether or not they are in the wrong.

That's not to say you can't reinforce your policies and send them the link to your policy page. Sometimes, if they are being really pushy, it is best to find a middle ground you are both happy with even if it's outside of your policies. In the end you really do want your customer to be happy, and you'd like them to come back again. 

I will continue to go over other pieces of info & advice surrounding the subject of Customer Service. 

Photographing in Gray Scale vs. White

One of the struggles I found I would run into having a white background recently was that not all colours would show up correctly. I'd also struggle with having the background turn out more yellow or blue depending on the weather or the colour of the piece I was photographing. 

(notice how it's hard to see the details within the red dress, and how the other dress has a very yellow background - and that's after photoshop)

So, after some research, I've come to the conclusion that a gray wall might help.

When professional photographers are setting up a photoshoot they often use a "kodak 18% gray" card which does the following:

"The KODAK Gray Card Plus has the property of reflecting red, green, and blue in equal amounts, which greatly facilitates postproduction and color grading."

Read more: http://motion.kodak.com/motion/Education/Publications/Shooting/grayCard(2).htm#ixzz2tihRgkBF

This means that it can help pick up the colours correctly. Now, I tried painting my wall 18% grey (code 6000N with Dulux Paint), but it is simply too dark for the look I'm going for.

After much reading I've come to the conclusion that lighter shades of grey will still work and not be so harsh. 

So if you find yourself struggling with having a white background, this might be a good solution.

Here are a few examples of a successful grey background. 

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/BeeJayKay?ref=fp_treasury_4

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/RuthieJax?ref=pr_faveshops

https://www.etsy.com/shop/machinedance?ref=search_shop_redirect

https://www.etsy.com/shop/DearGolden

Updated Statistics!

I really do find that posting new items or re-listing older listings at the right time can truly effect your sales. This is why I have continued recording my statistics and want to share my updated information:

As the statistics continue, Thursday seems to be creeping up as an important day just as Mondays and Sundays. 

Popularity of days in order: Mondays 17.6%, Sunday 17.2%, Thursday 15.5%, Wednesday 15.3%, Tuesday 14.7%, Saturday 14.2%, Friday 5.1%

Sales on specific days in order: Sunday 16.5%, Thursday 15.9%, Monday 15.3%, Friday 14.7%, Wednesday 14.1%, Saturday 11.6%, Tuesday 11.6%

Best time for sales: 10AM - 4PM

Best time for attention (admirers): 10AM - 8PM 

What do I do if I go on Vacation?

Something you may be wondering is, what to do while you're on vacation / going to be away for a while.

Well luckily there are a few options!

If you are away for no more than a week or so, here are some clever options I see used a lot:

1) simply tell your customers by adding that you will be away from (place dates here) until whenever and that items purchased between those dates will not be shipped until (place date here).

2) this is the option I usually go with: have a sale while you're gone! Make people think that the wait is worth it because they got a great deal on that item. Usually even 10% off is a reasonable vacation sale. So have your information say for example: "Vacation Sale! Save 10% off between Feb.4 til Feb.10th - all items ship Feb. 11th"

If you are going to be away for any longer than a week I would recommend simply putting your shop on "Vacation Mode". Yes, that does mean your shop will not be available to customers. Your shop will appear but no items will be available. It will however give shoppers an option to request an email notification letting them know when your shop will be available again. You can also write in the info & appearance section that you will be away from (place dates here) so they know when to expect you back. 

Here is how to do that:

1) go to "info & appearance" then scroll down to click on "options"

2) then click on "vacation mode" and turn it to "on". You can also write your announcement explaining why you are away and for how long.

You can also have an automatic message respond to anyone who may try to contact you while you are away. Something like "We are currently away and will not be able to get back to you until Feb.15th. Thank you for understanding! Kind regards, -businessname" -> this is not a necessary thing to do, just a good option if you will not have access to the internet while you are away.

 Once you save, this is what your page will look like:

Treasury Etiquette

After having your shop up for a while, you may notice messages letting you know that your item has made it's way into a treasury. Now this is great news! That means someone is helping promote your item. But what is the right way to respond to that?

Some messages will literally say "no need to respond" and in that case you don't need to reply in the messages. Usually it's not expected that you respond regardless, but a simple "thank you" is never harmful. The typical thing to do is to check out the treasury that they have created. 

It's always nice to "admire" it, even if it's not totally your thing. Plus, if your profile is open, it will show the treasuries you have admired and they'll notice your items. Just more simple marketing. 

It's also always appreciated to leave a little thank you comment. Try saying different things on different treasuries. Comment on something you like about it before saying thank you as well. Something simple like "I love you colour choices, thank you so much! :)" or "Great selection of dresses! Thanks for including mine!"

If you notice in the image, it will also show which people commenting have a featured item in the treasury. That way they can find you easier and see that you care about the effort someone put into their treasury!

This will go along way helping show you are part of the community. 

Also, don't forget to create a couple of treasuries yourself once in a while! For help with that, here is the treasury link:

http://anewstartonline.blogspot.ca/2014/01/creating-treasury.html