Renew Your Listings

RENEW YOUR LISTINGS!

First of all, what does that mean?

-If something hasn't sold and it gets pushed a page or a few back, renewing it brings it back to the front page. 

It's the button at the top of the screen that says "renew" when you click on one of your listings. 

To renew a listing on etsy will cost you the same amount as listing a new item: 20 cents. 

So why renew a listing?

Renewing your listing is like refreshing your shop. It brings more attention to your shop almost the same way adding a new item does. It starts showing up more on people's "activity feeds" and just generally activates your shop. 

It is especially important when you haven't had any new arrivals for a while. It keeps your shop active and on the market. New shoppers won't know that those items are not new, and old shoppers will be reminded that you've got that thing they want. 

For example: I have two online shops and one of them is just a side project and I occasionally forget to renew listings for a while. In the time I do not renew listings my sales can go as low as none at all. The second I start renewing those listings the activity picks up and sales start to roll soon after. 

How often should I renew listings?

Every day.

Okay, but how many should I renew a day?

So this question is somewhat up to you. If you have over 100 items, anywhere between 3-10 items a day is probably a good answer to keep your activity alive and remind shoppers of your other listings. 

If you have under 100 items, even renewing just 1-3 listings a day at a strategic time will still keep your shop active.

When should I renew my items?

 Remember those statistics we talked about a few posts ago? Well, what ever times you think are best for posting new listings are also a good time to renew old listings!

(refer to links:

http://anewstartonline.blogspot.ca/2013/10/shop-stats.html

http://anewstartonline.blogspot.ca/2013/10/update.html)

Should I renew listings even if I have new listings?

This is up to you, sometimes I will list a few new items and also renew a few that look good with the new ones. As long as you have activity, whether that be a new listing or renewing an old one, it will keep your shop active to shoppers. 

*I notice a big difference in my activity feed if I renew listings every day. I also believe that it is what keeps my sale more or less steady. You can do an experiment and renew listings in the morning one day and see how much activity you get, and then don't renew any listings the next day and see what your activity feed is like. You'll be surprised how different it is!

Facebook Ads

To get started with your facebook ad, go to your facebook business page. On the left there is a side bar and I want you to click on "Ads Manager"

Next, click on the button to the right called "Create an Ad". 

There are definitely a few different potentially useful options but the ones we are aiming for today is more Page Likes. This gets you more engaged followers. This will lead to more sales in the long run. 

Next it will ask you to include a few different ad pictures. Make sure they include your business name and what you sell with a cohesive and attention grabbing photo. 

Next you will come across this page:

Go over it and just double check that everything is correct before you move on. Next you will find some things to fill out. 

Location: hopefully you've done your statistics and now it's time to put them to use (reference last post for details). Add the top countries you sell to or that you are most interested in selling to. 

Age: Pick the age range of people buying your products. This isn't always easy but it helps narrow down who to target!

Gender: You can advertise to all or target the gender you pay specify in ex. women's clothing.

Interests: Add a few interests that are related to what you are selling. For example if you sell hand made baby clothing: babies, hand made, clothing, etc. 

Connections: Who do you want to target?

Interested in: I would stick with all unless you have a very specific business related to that.

Relationship Status: if you are selling jewelry including engagement rings you may want to try targeting engaged! But otherwise you may want to click all of them.

Language: if you want it to show up in other languages?

Education: You will likely want to press anyone if you are selling hand made / vintage goods. 

Workplaces: this might be useful if you know of similar shops. This will help target people who already like other companies. 

More Categories: read side panel on image to get more info. 

Now it's time to set your budget!

So there are a few different options for your daily budget. You can spend as little as $1.00 a day or as much as $million a day! I found even as little as $3.50 is helpful and that $5.00 is actually a great starting number. Do it for one week and try it out. Do it on and off for the year. You can start and end it whenever you want. Even if you just run the campaign without a set end date. 

On the other hand you can pre-set a start and end date so that you don't forget your ad is running! 

Now review your order and pay! 

Next I will review how to understand the statistics it's showing you! :) 

Paid Ads

Now, paid ads are not for everyone but it is definitely something to start thinking about. After the research that I've been able to do it seems that one of the most productive paid advertisements are through Facebook. Google ads can also be productive if you have your own website. Just remember that websites like Etsy, Ebay, Shopify already help you with google search optimization so it can be counter productive to put more ads out there. Especially if you are on a tight budget.

So let's talk about Facebook ads and what you should know before you start! 

The great thing is that you can set a daily budget, you can start and stop at any time, and you can "boost" specific posts for a set budget. The last one is especially helpful during sales! 

Another thing to think about is that you can target your ads! You can target to age, sex(male/female), and location. To find out this information, maybe it's good to find out where your customers are from! How I found out: I went through all of my sold orders and wrote down what country each order is from. From there I discovered the USA was most popular and went through again and found out where in the USA is most popular. This information may be very different for you but that is why it's important for you to do this yourself and find out this information. It will help make your money go further!

My experiment with facebook ads gave me 697 new likes in just one month. I also started by spending $5 a day and then brought it down to $3.50 after two weeks. I have now been noticing an increase in activity on the things I post on my Facebook Page and I had my best month in sales which may be related. 

So I want you to gather the statistics I mentioned above and the next post will be the how to use Facebook ads!

How to Make a Business Card

The best way to create a business card is with Photoshop. If you don't have it available to you I will include a few other options at the bottom but I strongly recommend finding a friend that has it! Or, they often have free 30 day trials which is more than enough time to create your business card. In that case you might as well also create your header for etsy / shop and anything else you can think of. 

So let's start with creating a business card template. Like mentioned in the earlier post, a business card measures 3.5" x 2" but to make sure it prints correctly you need to leave a "bleed line" as it's called. 

So, now that you're in photoshop, click "file" then click "new". You will see this window and I want you to fill it out as 3.75" x 2.25" because that includes the bleed line. Try a resolution around 300! Feel free to give your card a name so that you don't lose it. 

Now that you have your template it's time to design your business card! Let's start with the front:

Let's include your name / business and logo or image.

Choose either an image or colour for you background (that can include white if that is the look you are going for).

For this I chose a dusty pink and filled in the whole card. Next I'm going to include my logo and business name.

For this I used the text layer to add the information required. You can include your logo by creating it in photoshop, or bringing it in if already created. In this case I found the stars in the paint brush style. 

This is the finished Front:

Okay, now let's move onto the back!

There is not much difference in how to do it. But here is an example of what to include. You are also welcome to include a different colour or image on the back (typically the image will be on the front and a solid colour on the back). 

This is the finished back. Now remember that both of these have a bleed line which is why the font may appear a little smaller than it should. Remember you want people to be able to read you business card easily, including those who are hard of site. 

Here are a few places you can get business cards made. The first link does extremely cheap cards with specific templates, they are only one sided and have their logo on it. If you are seriously tight on money it's at least a good start until you can afford professional ones. 

Vistaprint.ca

The one I recommend by far is: Club Card!

Now, here are a few shops on etsy that have some other options for you if you have a hard time with this. You can also hire someone to create a business card for you. Graphic designers are the ones to do it and there are always students looking to do projects which may be more affordable than a graduated professional. Putting an ad on craigslist or talking to a few friends is a good way to find one. 

This shop sells PDF templates for business cards. You still require photoshop but all you have to do is fill in the information. You don't have much creative freedom in the design but it's still a start: Cruzine Design

Now this website has a few more template options. In this case you are actually purchasing the business cards themselves. All you have to do is give them your information and they will fill it out and create them for you. Just remember they are more expensive than getting large quantities from companies like Club Card: Mallory Hope Design

Final option is a similar concept but they send you a digital file and you can get it printed yourself. 

-Open Quote Designs

-rdk Design

There are many different shops and designs on etsy. Just give it a search. You can search "business card" or "PDF business card", or even "business card template" and see what else is out there. Just make sure you read the description accurately so know what you are getting and make sure they have 5 star reputation! 

Business Card

Do you have a business card yet? Well it's time! 

Why are they so important? Because you never know who you will meet, and it gets your name and business out there to the world, and it's important for networking. 

So whether it's meeting someone who can help produce your product for less money, someone who wants to invest in your business, someone who wants to purchase from you, or just simply someone who has even the slightest interest in what you do, don't let them forget you! 

So let's start with what your business card should include!

-Your name, your business, or both

and possibly your logo or tagline!

-Your website

but only include your main website! Remember you have limited space and your website has links to the rest of your websites. 

-Your contact information including your email, phone number, contact name, and address 

but keep it simple

-Your networking sites 

ex. twitter, instagram, facebook, etc

but once again you have limited space so only pick 1-2 of your most important ones. You have limited space!

The average business card measures 3.5" x 2". I strongly recommend getting double sided business cards, the are typically not much more expensive and well worth the money. 

Most business cards look best with a simple front with an image / logo and business name and then on the back is where all of the content information will be. 

Here are a few examples of good business cards:

(I will post a how-to make a business card next)

The first two images are from Mallory Hope Design

The third image is from Hello Cheerio

Here are a couple of other informative links about making a business card:

http://shawngraham.me/blog/what-should-be-on-a-business-card-for-small-businesses

http://www.marketingpower.com/Careers/Pages/10-Business-Card-Mistakes-You-Might-be-Making.aspx

What to blog about!

So I'm sure for those of you who would like to maintain a blog are wondering what to blog about. Well obviously, this really does depend on what it is you are selling. So I'm going to give a list of ideas of appropriate blog post ideas and you can pick and choose ones that work for your shop! 

Shop Updates!

-Let your followers know whats new in your shop, any upcoming sales and the details, any markets you might be selling at. Remember to give a few weeks or at least days notice if it's an event update!

Editorial / Look Book Photographs

-Have fun! Do some photo shoots of your product in a real life or creative setting!

-If you sell wearables (clothing, jewelry, accessories, etc) do some editiorial style photoshoots of people actually wearing your products.  

Customer Appreciation Photos!

-The more you sell the more you'll start to receive photographs of the person either wearing your product, or where they've placed the painting in their home for example. Gather a few of these every once in a while and post them! Show off how happy your customers are so people can get the feeling that they will be one of them. 

***Always remember to ask permission to re-post any images of your costumers! 

Related Interests

-Maybe you just read an article you really liked and want to do a write up about it (again still related to your product)

-Or maybe you want to show off a friend's art work, or collaborations

-Maybe something historical about the creation / start of what you do. If you're in fashion, have the occasional article about fashion history, etc. 

Inspiration! 

-Let people know what's been inspiring you lately! Whether it's a fashion icon, the shade of the leaves on the trees, or your cat. Let us know!

Sneak Peak:

-Have photos of you working on your next collection of things for the shop without giving away too much! Make people excited for what may be next!

How To

-Now depending on what you sell, maybe there are some "how-to" blog posts you can do. Now, don't give away how you make your product, but maybe you have a fun craft to show off. One that would be fun to have everyone make. Like a Christmas ornament, etc. That way, every time they look at what they created they think of you and your shop! 

Other Things to Post About

-COMING SOON (post things that will be hitting the shop soon)

-The things on your wish list! Remember to be part of the community! What related items are on your wish list? 

These are just ideas! Remember to always make your posts look cohesive. Make sure the images are all the same size, and look pleasant when scrolling through.

The more your post, the more attention you will get. But don't over post, you will run out of things to say! 1 - 3 days a week is plenty!

Also TAG YOUR POSTS! On the right hand side it says "labels" click it and type in related search words to make it easier to search. That way when people are searching for "fox art" for example, you will pop up in the search engine!

Gadgets

Okay, so regardless of whether you are setting up your blogger to be a website or a full on blog, you should definitely have some information on the side of your page. 

These are called "gadgets".

So to start, find your navigation page and click on "template"

On the right (you can change it to any place on your page that you prefer) you will find a button that says "Add a Gadget" (click on it)

This screen will pop up! Have fun exploring all of the options but lets actually start with looking for the button that says "image".

Once you've found it click on that + symbol and this screen will pop up. This is where you are going to create the button on the top of your page that links to your shop! So give it a title of your shop name, add the link to your shop, and then add an image with your logo / brand. Don't forget to save!

Some of the other gadgets to add that may be helpful are: a link to your pinterest, blogs you follow (show you appreciate the rest of the community), a stream of your instagram photos, your followers, etc. You can find all of those by searching through the gadgets and filling in the information!