John W. Golden is a digital artist that has been designing since the 80′s.  John joined Etsy in July of 2006, and has sold over 8,000 items.  You can also find John’s work in Target!  The Breakdown series is a ongoing series that goes behind the scenes of John’s successful Etsy shop.   We will be looking at real questions from real sellers, and John is going to break them down and give his straight-up answer.   We will be covering a wide range of topics, but all will be geared to the success of your Etsy business.

Today’s Breakdown -   John talks about adverting  your Etsy shop.

joyoustreasures says

First of all thanks for posting this thread! Very generous of you to do this.

Do you have any advice on how I can advertise to my market, or how to go about finding them? I have tried to get in contact with a few blogs that focus on books and reading, but got no response What other suggestions might you have?
I personally think that I need to start marketing off etsy, but don’t have much experience with that!

Thanks in advance!

johnwgolden says

joyoustreasuries – If you can budget some money to purchase advertising on those blogs that you identified as good places to feature your work, you might find that they write a feature on your work. I don’t ever spend much when I advertise on blogs, but only because I don’t have much budgeted for doing so. If you can find that rare blog with lots of traffic and very affordable advertising, it can pay off.

Barring that:

If I was seller your product, and I had already tried the books and reading blogs, I would concentrate on trying to find and get in front of:

1) folks who love flowers and horticulture

2) folks who know folks who love flowers, etc.

3) Readers, of course

4) folks who know readers

And pretty much anybody else I could think of that could need a bookmark and likes flowers .

I’d look for gardening blogs, specifically ones with a focus on gardening books. Don’t know if those exist, but that’s what I would look for.

If you have any kind of community in place, like this team, or a Facebook page, or Twitter, I would put out to those folks that you are looking for places to approach with your bookmarks. Ask if they have any favorite gardening blogs, etc.

I guess what I am suggesting is, since you have tried the places that you would expect to get a little traction generating exposure for your work, try some of the unexpected places.

Read up on the Break Down Series.

If you have questions for John stop by the Handmadeology Etsy Team.

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We have a new writer on the team…. Give a warm welcome to Chelsea!! She will be putting together our weekly Crafty DIY Round Up .

I’m Chelsea and I’m a self-taught jewelry designer.  I double as a full time Biology Education Major at the State University of New York at Oneonta. I love working with other people, teaching and creating my unique jewelry designs. However in my free time, I enjoy being outside, playing pickleball and eating icecream with my awesome friends, drawing, taking pictures, and finding cool mixtapes. Life’s too much fun to stick with just one thing.

I started designing my jewelry lines at the age of 12 in 2005, selling mostly at craft fairs and to family friends, and started my business Bejeweled: Designs by Chelsea when I was 14. Selling jewelry as a teenage entrepreneur has not been easy, and its something I am still challenged with today, but it has given me a competitive edge and I let it drive me to do better. I’ve learned so much along the way, and I learn more and more each day.  I can’t wait to see where this year takes my business.

Be sure to take a look at Bejeweled Designs on Etsy. I am all about fashion, trends, and a creative lifestyle, which I write about often. To find out more check out my blog A World of Color!

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