The Breakdown With John W. Golden – Advertising Your Etsy Shop

23. Oct, 2011 14 Comments

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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.

The Artful Raccoon Print 8.5 in x 11 in

Read up on the Break Down Series.

If you have questions for John stop by the Handmadeology Etsy Team.Etsy Facebook App - Fanpageology

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14 Responses to “The Breakdown With John W. Golden – Advertising Your Etsy Shop”

  1. Linda Reply 31. Mar, 2011 at 8:25 AM

    Great suggestions – thanks for the post! And – that is one awesome raccoon!!

  2. Colleen Reply 31. Mar, 2011 at 8:41 AM

    Thank you for all the help.

  3. Debra Reply 31. Mar, 2011 at 9:07 AM

    I love your work and thank you for all of this information.

  4. John W. Golden Reply 31. Mar, 2011 at 10:09 AM

    Thanks for reading it :)

  5. pam Reply 31. Mar, 2011 at 11:58 AM

    Well firstly joyoustreasures,beautiful,beautiful. Your flowers should be shooting out the door. This is very simple advice here. Personaly I would nip down to your local book store with some pics or a little poster with your etsy shop url ect. and maybe even a sample or three(this takes guts I know ) and ask them if they would put it up behind the counter. They may charge you or you could do them a little deal. Good luck Pam

  6. ShadowCutter Reply 31. Mar, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    Try Howard Garrett
    http://www.dirtdoctor.com/

  7. John W. Golden Reply 31. Mar, 2011 at 2:17 PM

    That’s a great idea Pam!

    Cool site ShadowCutter. Exactly the type of audience to which I was referring.

  8. Clay Shaper Gallery Reply 01. Apr, 2011 at 6:30 PM

    I have found the exercises on mapping out your “Ideal Customer” to be really helpful in finding new avenues to market ones wares. There are a lot of blogs out there that go over the concept of the Ideal Customer, so please google it and get that info in you pocket.
    Ciao,
    Sally Anne

  9. Karen Peanuts Creations Reply 02. Apr, 2011 at 7:17 AM

    great advice all around…such smart peeps here!

    joyous…your bookmarks are wonderful!!

  10. Dee Reply 23. Oct, 2011 at 7:34 PM

    Thanks for the info! Love the raccoon!

  11. Penny Stern Reply 24. Oct, 2011 at 4:43 AM

    Great advice!
    However, I think that Joyoustreasures is limiting herself by only marketing these beautiful flowers as bookmarks. They would make great pins or hat decorations without the stems, especially if they were done in fluffy yarns such as mohair or angora. Also the colors don’t have to be realistic, they could be a bit more quirky. One last thing – quantity! There are not enough items in the shop. The more there are, the more will sell.
    Good luck,
    Penny

  12. Kathy Lewallen Reply 24. Oct, 2011 at 8:55 AM

    Thanks John for the recommendations. I LOVE your personalized pooch blocks!

    Joyoustreasures – you make lovely and colorful creations and I agree with Penny in expanding your shop and going beyond bookmarks. They would be lovely as bracelets or necklaces, or a bracelet that doubles as a bookmark.

    All the best,
    Kathy~

  13. stacie Reply 27. Oct, 2011 at 4:09 PM

    Hi John, Thanks so much for sharing your ideas. I have a question for you, what types of blogs should I approach to advertise my handcrafted silver jewelry? I’m at a loss for the type of blog to look for. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

  14. laladies Reply 28. Mar, 2012 at 12:31 AM

    hi john than you for sharing your writing for me this help my shop from easy sell more thank

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