Lots of Learning

The internet has a plethora of information.

I keep finding more and more useful information and it always leads to even more.  My goal for this project was to learn about everything I'd need to know to open up an Etsy shop before I opened one and I have learned so much helpful information and tips but there's still so much more out there.  I've read so many articles on people who continue to learn and improve their shop even years after opening it.  I'll definitely keep learning for as long as I have a shop.

Here is some of the information and advice that I have found:

-If you want to have a successful business you have to treat it like a business and not like a hobby.

-Price your items properly, a cheap price will make your product seem cheap too, it won't make more people buy it.

-Make goals for your business, but remember to be realistic.  Think about and write down long term goals, short term goals and the steps required to complete them.

-Always continue to improve your shop and your items and be open to change if you want your shop to continue to grow.

-Be patient.  You won't start making money overnight, it takes lots of time and effort.

I am so thankful for the internet and everyone who has taken their time to write about what has or hasn't worked for their Etsy shop.  I would have been extremely overwhelmed to open up my own shop if I hadn't read tons of articles and posts on tips and advice from everything from promoting your shop to taking good pictures to running your own business to a bunch of little details I wouldn't have thought of otherwise.  I guess the real test will be when I finally do open my shop though!

They information I posted about today I found on xosarah and the Etsy blog (this post and this post).

Advice for Opening an Etsy Shop

I've been researching a lot of tips and advice for opening an Etsy shop and these are some of the ones that I've seen again and again:

-Have some variety of products in your shop because you will then have a bigger audience and there's more of a chance of people finding your shop.  With a good selection you are more likely to make a sale and even a multi-sale transaction.

-Keep adding new products to keep your products at the top of the searches so that people will find you and get to 100 listings as fast as possible because the more items you have in your shop, the longer people will have to browse and the more likely you are to make a sale.  Daily sales only happen in shops that are big enough for them.

-Your shop needs to look professional if you want your products to be perceived as good quality products that people are going to buy.  To do this you need to create a good brand for yourself and have detailed, clear, eye-catching pictures.  You should have a nice banner because it will be the first thing that people see in your shop.  You also need to have good prices for your products, not the cheapest prices.  If your price is cheap, people will assume your product is cheap.

-Understand SEO (Search Engine Optimization).  I don't really understand it yet, this is something that I definitely have to look into more because I've read how important it is a few times already.

-Since people can't touch or hold your products, make sure your photographs are the best they can be and show everything there is to see about the product.  People won't want to be surprised by something you didn't show in the pictures.

I got this advice, and more, from the blogs The Shabby Creek Cottage, Made it on Monday, and Handmadeology.