April First Weekend Shopping Extravaganza

Beginning on Thursday at 12:00 AM EST, the Etsy Supply Street Team is hosting another"First Weekend Shopping Extravaganza." This months event will run from Thursday, April 2nd - Sunday, April 5th, 2009. ALL ETSY SHOPS - HANDMADE, SUPPLIES AND VINTAGE - are invited to participate by placing an announcement in your shop and joining in with promoting on the "Official" Promotional thread in the Etsy Forums.

This will be a “Shopping Event” similar to a Public Marketplace. There will not be a "Overall theme" since Etsy is a Global Marketplace hence, the seasons, cultures, holidays, etc can vary quite a bit. Although not required, we do strongly encourage shops to have a feature, theme or sale as this can pique interest and help you to draw people to your shop.

You do not have to participate for the whole weekend simply join in when you can on the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums. You can search for the official thread - “APRIL FIRST WEEKEND SHOPPING EXTRAVAGANZA APRIL 2ND-APRIL 5TH” Here is the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums: http://www.etsy.com:80/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6102925

The only requirement is that you have a shop on Etsy and help promote by joining in and bumping the thread throughout the weekend. Talk about your shop and what you have to offer our shoppers.

Those of you who blog or twitter can post and/or tweet about it and promote to people that are off Etsy to visit us. It will provide the Etsy community with publicity, making our shops more visible, and hopefully creating a monthly event shoppers will look forward to.

If you have any questions please convo EviesToolEmporium.etsy.com

Shop Advice: Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of our most useful (and often overlooked) tools for promoting our shops.  And while there are scores of companies to choose from (to find the most popular services google "email marketing"), my favorite is Constant Contact.  A free 60 day trial drew me in initially, but it was their easy-to-use format and super-reasonable rates that kept me on.

Benefits of email marketing include:

*Increased sales -- Let customers know about new products, promotions, etc.  Also, the "forward to friend" link in each email lets you reach friends of customers.

*Generating repeat sales -- Customers already know to come to you for your great products.  By sending emails you stay fresh in their minds and encourage them to revisit your shop.

*Cross sell products -- By featuring complimentary items your suggestions make shopping for additional items easy on your customers.

*Get feedback from visitors -- By reviewing the statistics on who opened your email, what they clicked on and what led to sales, your customers are telling you volumes about effective strategies.  

It's important to remember to be selective when collecting email addresses.  Spamming is a big no-no and a practice that will result in account cancellation by your service.  A good habit is to only add customers to your list who have shopped with you or who have asked for updates/correspondence.

It's also important to decide how often you want to correspond with your email list.  I like to keep in touch about once a month, or when running special promotions, around holidays with holiday specific suggestions, or as new specialty items come in. 

If you've been wanting to try email marketing but have felt hesitant, don't wait a minute more: jump in and sign up with a service you like. It'll be one of your best and most effective shop decisions.

Art Saves Lives!

Written by West Coast Sea Glass

As I drive through the hip, coastal art communities here along the Pacific coast, I often catch a glimpse of that famous bumper sticker proclaiming “Art Saves Lives”! Can it really? I ponder. Why yes! The music in my car stereo attests to this truth as it lifts my soul. The colorful mural I pass boosts up the otherwise ruddiness of the parking lot I pull into. I stop and slip into a gallery on this drizzly, looming afternoon. Dry and quiet now, my surroundings include; an abstract watercolor, a tribal mask and near the window, a teal art-glass vase spilling color up and out and overflowing into the gallery. My world has become a more beautiful place and this is just the perspective from my eyes!

Whether you’re an artist or someone who makes art supplies available to the art community, you are making the world a more beautiful place … and saving lives. How? According to a recent Washington State University article entitled “Why Do We Need Art”, we see that art has been a part of human culture, expression and survival for all of human existence. Ellen Dissanayake, affiliate professor at the UW school of music and author of “What is Art For” says “We don’t have a verb ‘to art’, but what are artists, dancers, poets doing? They’re taking the ordinary and making it special. You create a bowl out of mud by you don’t leave it ordinary, you make it special by engraving a pattern or figures on it. A poet takes ordinary words and makes them special. An artist places an activity or an artifact in a realm different from the everyday.” And artful expression is something that cultures throughout history have needed to survive.
We need art as an avenue to express something in us and we need art in order to make exceptional, something that’s otherwise ordinary in our world. In a sense, art saves our lives from stagnation, meaninglessness and the ordinary.

Are you an artist? My guess is that there are times when you feel you must create to live, not because you need to sell something or to create an income (a nice benefit from living in a world that appreciates and understands the need for art) but because creating is living and to live is to create!

A recent Seattle Times photographer viewed a photo collage of mine. Excitedly, he asked me to stand with my piece so he could photograph me with it. “That’s a work of art”! He proclaimed. I got more mileage and “life” out of his appreciation than I do when I sell a print of it. Why? Because even in a tough economy, while some people may perceive art as a “luxury item”, artists will still create, not always because it may stir up income but because we have for thousands of years and like those hip coastal community, car bumper stickers attest; Art Saves Lives!

Material Girl: A Quick Look at ESST Fabrics

I've had a thing for fabric for a long time: from exploring the meticulously organized drawers in my grandmother's sewing room as a young girl, to starting to sew around age 11 and choosing bright patterns from bolts in the now-long-gone local fabric store, to traveling with my mom in the 90s and bringing back yardage as souvenirs from places like Tahiti, Grenada and Antigua.

Now, thanks to the internet, patterns and prints beyond my wildest dreams are just a click away.  My favorite place to "get lost" is in the fabric shops of fellow team members.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Coriander in Blue at BeeSquareFabrics.

Bright Red Crysanthemum and Phoenix at EllaHound.

Ocean Zinnia Path at FabricsByTheSea.

My current obsession is a set of Pastel Dye Sticks by Pentel that let you apply vivid color directly onto fabric. Once your design is complete, you simply cover it with a sheet of paper and iron over it to set the dyes. It's the perfect way to add the personal touch to your work and my favorite way to make handmade gifts even more special.



With wedding season coming up, I see a few sets of pillowcases and hand towels sewn from unexpected prints with complimentary hand drawn embellishments in my crafting future.

Team ESST on Blockhead Radio Live!

On March 24th at 8pm (est) Team ESST will be on Blockhead Radio Live. We will apart of the "Artisan Teams & Groups" talk show. Not only will we discuss our great team, we will be talking about our Fabulous Supply shops. Our team members have awesome supplies for crafters and designers. Team ESST has members in 12 different catagories of supplies. Our members carry a wide variety of items from Buttons to Yarn. We have commercial and handmade supplies.

Come and join us on the talk show :) To sign up for a user name: http://blogtalkradio.com/ To listen to the show and participate in chat: http://blockheadradiolive.com/

Shop Advice: Guerilla Marketing

Guerilla marketing is one of the most useful tactics we can use to promote our shops and make an impression on potential customers. First coined and defined by Jay Conrad Levinson in the early 1980s, guerilla marketing is ideally suited to small businesses and refers to unconventional methods of promotion that focus on time, energy and ingenuity as opposed to a large marketing budget; it is entertaining, innovative, creative and an excellent way to shine the spotlight on a particular product.

Many of us already employ guerilla marketing (whether we know it or not) by enclosing small bonus items with purchases, offering free or extremely discounted items in our stores, and having promotions that provide the customer with more than they're ordering (like buy one get one free). 

Don't be afraid to get creative and try new ideas --  when Yahoo was starting out they would put coins in parking meters for huge numbers of cars and leave a note saying, "Your meter has been fed by Yahoo.com." Good resources include Levinson's book Guerilla Marketing, and www.gmarketing.com. 

And for a look at some tactics that really catch the eye, click here.

Get to Know -- Evie's Tool Emporium

What is your Etsy shop name and how did you come up with that name?
Our Etsy shop name is Evie's Tool Emporium. Evie is our black cocker spaniel. She is full of life and is a great reminder that we should live each moment full of positive energy!

What sort of crafting supplies do you sell?
We sell a wide variety of crafting tools. We sell everything from automatic center punches to wire brush sets. One product line that we are really excited about is our metal letter and number stamp set assortment. We are constantly adding new tools to our assortment. A lot of our new listings are items that have been specifically requested by our Etsy customers. We have a warehouse full of tools which keeps us really busy! When we opened our business 7 years ago I never would have guessed that tools were such an important part of everyone's lives!

Favorite website(s) aside from Etsy?
My career centers around retail. I love to read up to date business articles. The NRF Smartbrief website is a great resource for me!

Do you craft yourself? If so, what do you like to make?
I don't craft myself right now! My husband loves to work with wood and I live vicariously through his craft!

Please tell us one thing that nobody would know about you.
I am passionate about teaching water aerobics! I became A.E.A. Certified 13 years ago and I absolutely love teaching in the water! I enjoy sharing my knowledge of the principles of water with the members who attend my classes and it gives me great joy knowing that I have made a positive impact on their lives!

What is your favorite thing to make for dinner?
My favorite thing to make for dinner is anything Italian. I also love to bake. My mom is the best baker I know and I have to work hard to live up to her skill level!

What goals do you have for your shop over the next year?
Our goal for our shop over the next year is to continue to expand our assortment on Etsy. I believe there is a huge opportunity out there for us to explore.

If you sell on other venues, where else can we find your items?
We are currently working on a new website for all of our tools that are in our warehouse. It is a work in progress that will feature a wide variety of tools from automotive to woodworking.
We really enjoy selling on Etsy and if there are any specific tools you are looking for please feel free to contact us! http://www.eviestoolemporium.etsy.com

Etsy Sellers - Join us ~ First Weekend March Shopping Extravaganza

Beginning on Thursday at 12:00 AM EST, the Etsy Supply Street Team is hosting another"First Weekend Shopping Extravaganza." This months event will run from Thursday, March 5 - Sunday, March 8, 2009. ALL ETSY SHOPS - HANDMADE, SUPPLIES AND VINTAGE - are invited to participate by placing an announcement in your shop and joining in with promoting on the "Official" Promotional thread in the Etsy Forums.

This will be a “Shopping Event” similar to a Public Marketplace. There will not be a "Overall theme" since Etsy is a Global Marketplace hence, the seasons, cultures, holidays, etc can vary quite a bit. Although not required, we do strongly encourage shops to have a feature, theme or sale as this can pique interest and help you to draw people to your shop.

You do not have to participate for the whole weekend simply join in when you can on the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums. You can search for the official thread - “March First Weekend Shopping Extravaganza For All Etsy Shop-Mar 3-8-Join us!” Here is the Promo thread in the Etsy Forums: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6067724

The only requirement is that you have a shop on Etsy and help promote by joining in and bumping the thread throughout the weekend. Talk about your shop and what you have to offer our shoppers.

Those of you who blog or twitter can post and/or tweet about it and promote to people that are off Etsy to visit us. It will provide the Etsy community with publicity, making our shops more visible, and hopefully creating a monthly event shoppers will look forward to.

If you have any questions please convo TheArtistsCloset.etsy.com

5 Steps to Making a Blog.

This article is designed to help you make a blog. A blog is a slice of the Internet that allows you to post pretty much what ever you want on it. If you are looking for a way to show your customers and friends what you are about this is the perfect answer.

Etsy sellers often have Blog pages allowing them to have a window in which they can display stock, personal information and other things.

This article should help new Etsyians to make and develop their own blog in 5 easy stages.

First you need to pick a site to host your blog. The main favorites are Blogger, Word press, My Space, Bebo and Face book. Bebo and Facebook are aimed more at the 'social' side of things and although they can be used i find blogger and wordpress to be more 'seller' friendly in appearance. We will use Blogger for this demonstration.

1) Sign up. Signing up and starting a blog is so easy. Simply register at Blogger and within minutes you will be ready. You will need to have a Gmail account to register. You will be asked to name your blog. Pick something easy to remember and that applies to your stock.

Top Tip : Google trawls blogs so placing a tag in the title will help it find you in searches. For example... if you knit you could have Handknitted.blogspot.com, KnitCraft.blogspot.com etc. Be creative.

2) Adding a header. So you have a blog. Like a new house it will look cold and lonely, so brighten up the place with a nice header. Many pre-set blogs have a header area set up to type into. This will give a simple header to the top of your page. Why not add the header from your Etsy page? It's simple to do. Go to Layout and hit 'edit' on the header area. Upload the header image from either your file or a URL and its done.

3) What to add to your blog. The interface on blogger is very easy to pick up and use. Simply select 'new post' from the dashboard screen and type away. There are 3 simple ways to make a post great using type font, text links and images.

Type font :- In the Layout area of Blogger you get a chance to change type fonts. Try to always use Ariel, its the easiest to read. Use the first few lines of a post to outline the content then make them bold. This helps open the article to the reader.

Text Links :- Linking text to an area of the Internet like your Etsy shop or a product could not be easier. Simply highlight the text you want to use and hit the link button. It's the little image of the earth with a chain on it. A window will pop up and in this you type or paste the address you want to link to.

Images :- Images make pages..no amount of writing will really explain just how soft the plush is or how great your new earrings are. So take a picture and upload it. The 3rd icon in from the right shows a photo, click it and you'll be asked to either upload from your Pc or give a web address for the image. Once you have given this info you hit upload and in a few seconds it will appear. There are options as to the size and scale of the image, play with these until you get used to them.

4) Gadgets. When you are on the Layout page you will notice windows with 'add a gadget' on them. These allows you to add content that can for example show how many people visit you, add an RSS feed or twitter feed or simply add links or pictures to your site as permanent fixtures. Play with whats on offer here, try not to fill your page with them.

Top Tip: There is an option to add some HTML code. Etsy has a 'mini etsy' widget that allows you to stream your items to a blog site. It works very well.

5) Get yourself seen! Now you have a blog, your posts are getting better and better and your sites full of lovely pictures but how to get people to see it? There are lots of ways..

Add your blogspot address to EVERYTHING! Add it to your Etsy profile, forums, emails and most of all to Google. ( do that here )

Talk about it. When your chatting tell your friends, list it in Etsy chat and text your friends.

Do not give up. Blogging is not a quick fix, like a pet it needs time and love. Be creative and be loud and soon you will have a blog to be proud of.

Coming soon - How to 'sell' an item with a blog post.

Shop Advice: Facebook Friends Lists

Back in December Facebook launched Friends Lists, which allows you to easily organize your friends into logical groups that reflect your relationships.  You can have up to 100 Friends Lists and up to 1,500 friends per List, and this new tool can be used to send private messages to all friends in a List.  If you use Facebook for promoting your Etsy shop, consider streamlining your Lists to reflect your business side and your personal side.  By having dedicated  "work" lists you'll be able to limit the exposure of your friends and family to your professional networking and vice versa.  Useful lists for etsians to consider include Blog Readers, Etsy Shop Friends and Team Friends.  And don't forget: the same friend can be on multiple lists.