Sales, Promotions, & Giveaways, Oh My!

Give some props to our Etsy Twitter Team Shops!!

Kelly, at Purple Lemon Designs, is having a giveaway on her blog for some beautiful note cards. Two lucky commenters will win! To enter leave a comment with a random fact about yourself. Some of the comments are pretty funny so far! Contest is open until midnight CST on Sunday, March 1st. You may enter once per day but you have to leave a new random fact with your extra entries. Good luck!

Deirdre Ryan Fine Art Photography and Gifts

Fine Art Prints, Cards, Bookmarks, Photo Glass Magnets and Jewelry
"I've Got A Fever! Spring Fever!" Sale
All photo glass magnets and jewelry are 10% off!
March 1-14 ONLY!
Type in SPRING FEVER in "Notes to Seller"


Betty at Art by Betty Refour
Mad Monday Sale!!
Every Monday all original art is shipped worldwide for FREE!


Sandi's Ts is giving away free earrings!! You just have to pay for shipping. "Our dressy button earrings come in pierced or non-pierced. Made with gold nylon, and silver nylon fabric, we use 1 inch button forms, surgical steel posts, or clip-on backings."



CB's Polyworks is having a contest on her blog until March 6th. Answer one of her very interesting questions for a chance to win free advertising and mentions on her blog.


Aquarian Bath is having a contest on her blog to win a free year's subscription to The Essential Herbal Magazine, in which she is publishing her herbal expertise. Just leave a comment before March 5th for a chance to win.


BelaDonnaJewels is offering 25% off her entire shop selection until midnight EST on Sunday, March 1st.


Sumiko Shop is offering free shipping worldwide today and again next weekend on March 7 - 8.


Nina, from Pretty Cheap, is giving away free goody bags with any purchase from her shop until supplies last!


Manna in March Giveaway at Sacred Sparks -
They are offering a FREE pair of earring ($12.00 value) to all of their customers who spend $20 or more.


For the whole month of March Tamara Garvey is offering a 10% discount on any items in her Etsy shop (shipping excluded) with the coupon code "TWITTER10" in "Message to Seller".


Happy Rainbow is having a Grand Opening special: Free resin pendants for the first five customers!


Free item when you buy something from Natalie Callwood's Ceramics & Art during March. The free item is a ceramic pendant neckalce. To claim your free item put "Free and Green" in the "Message to Seller" box.

Guest Blogger: Firebird House

Kristen, from Firebird House and Still Heart Studios on Etsy, lets us in on her secrets for a fantastic personal presence in your Etsy shop. Follow her on Twitter @stillheartart. This will be a weekly series!

That Personal Touch

Have you ever gone into a new shop and been greeted with a big smile, or a friendly comment about the color of your raincoat or the state of the crazy weather outside? It probably made you feel good to chat a little, and along the way you probably got a better feel for both the physical items in the store as well as the people who worked there.

Chances are good that you remembered the smile and the warmth the next time you went shopping and it might even have encouraged you to visit again.

In Gatlinburg last year, I went into a tiny import shop crammed full of wonderful and unusual things. The owner was there and she and I chatted about how she got into opening the store, and about the items, many of which had stories. I learned a lot of fascinating things that day, and left with gifts for family that had additional meaning thanks to the owner’s willingness to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for her treasures.

The bad news is that this human connection is missing when people shop online. The good news is that there are some great, easy ways to create that connection. Online shopping already has ease, speed and convenience built into it, and in an increasingly time-and- money-crunched marketplace, those are advantages you can build on by putting a little of yourself into your shop to draw in customers once, and encourage repeat business.

So, let’s start with the Etsy Basics…the Shop Announcement and Bio/Profile.

1. Shop Announcements –Think of your shop announcement as the virtual front door to your store. What kind of welcome would you like to give customers? What kind of feeling? Elegant? Heart Warming? Come Right In and Pull Up a Chair? Or more of an exclusive, make an appointment and we’ll pamper you to death kind of atmosphere? Here is where you start creating that, in the shop announcement.

Use words that are descriptive and appeal to the senses. As an example, if you are selling candles, you might talk about warmth, romance, wonderful aromas, and creating a sanctuary. If you are selling vintage items, you might talk about how much you love the feel of a satin pillowcase, or a beautiful piece of china, or about the history and connections in your items. Put your passion into your announcement. How did you get into making/creating/selling this product? Why do you want to share it with others? What do you love about it? You don’t have to say a lot, but enthusiasm is catching and draws people in, and that is what you want to capture in your shop announcement.

2. Bio/Profile – This can be as long or as short as you like, but a few things should be included. Your name, at least your first, and your location. People like to know where and who they are dealing with - it’s that human connection again. Things that are personal to you, such as children, lifestyle, pets, hobbies, are all things which impact a bio and provide a clearer picture of you the person, and by extension, your items. For example, if a person has 3 children and sews handcrafted children’s clothing, its likely that she also has a good idea what kinds of things are important to both mom AND child (i.e. washing ability, style, fit, etc). This builds confidence in the buyer. When there is not a lot of money to spend, this can be invaluable. Ask yourself what kinds of things you would like to know about someone, then come up with ways you can tell customers the same things about yourself.

3. General – if your craft or art has a history (i.e. pine needle basket weaving, silk painting, beading, glass blowing, pottery, etc) as so many do, be sure to include a little bit about the history and techniques. If you’re not sure, now might be a good time to do a little research and use what you learn to help people connect with you and your work.

So, now I want you to head over to your shop and take a virtual “visit” as if you were a stranger, just seeing your work for the first time. What do you notice? Notice what’s good, and what you think isn’t really having the effect you intended. Have a friend or teammate take a look as well, and compare notes. Do some window shopping on Etsy and see what you like and don’t like about shop announcements and profiles, then add (or subtract) from yours to get the look you want. When you are finished, have your friends pay a second virtual visit and see what they think.

If you run into something you are not sure what to do with, or have questions, leave a comment or post to the group, and we can help!

See You Next Week….

Kristen

Team Treasury

New Team Treasury by HuayruroPeru.etsy.com. Please click and comment before it expires on March 1st!

Great Resource: "10 Twitter Tips for Artists"

I found this article through a Twitter link and thought I would share it with you. It’s a fantastic resource for artists and crafters using Twitter to promote their work.

The author: “Natasha Wescoat is a licensed artist and social media creative at NatashasArtCandy.com utilizing the web to promote her art and connect with her audience. You can follow her on Twitter.”

The article is titled “Tweetable Art: 10 Twitter Tips for Artists” and all of it applies to anyone who makes art and promotes it on the web and on Twitter.

I especially like her suggestion that you share your work in progress. This allows your audience to get to know you better and creates that all-important relationship with your readers. They get let in on the “secret” of what you do and how you do it. Who doesn’t like to be let in on a secret?! Post pictures of your work in progress on Flickr and tweet a link to it!

This article is jam packed with 10 awesome ideas, not fluff. Go now and read it! Why are you still reading this? :)

Shop of the Week: Impawsible To Resist

Impawsible To Resist is a collective comprised of Maureen Blakeley, her sister and her daughter, all three crafting together. Sound like fun! They make and sell arm warmers (fingerless mittens), socks, socks for diabetics, doll clothes for 11 1/2 inch fashion dolls, and ACEOs. I like the variety they have in their shop.

“My sister does the knitting and she designs all her doll clothes. Each set is unique. She makes knickers for the ladies and I've just talked her into doing boxers for the guys. I love painting, drawing, and especially doing pet portraits as my eyes permit. I've put up ACEO prints from many of my art pieces. We're adding greeting cards and gift sets this spring.”
When asked about her products, Maureen says, “The three of us, my daughter, sister and I enjoy what we do. Every item we sell is imbued with positive Reiki energy. If we didn't love what we do, we wouldn't do it. Each item is the very best we can make it and we are continuously striving to learn ways to do it better. We actually sit and dress the dolls up to see how the costumes fit and look on the 'live' model.”

Impawsible To Resist is based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. They ship internationally.

SPECIAL for this week only: All ACEOs are $1.00 off for the week. Buyers should send a message to Impawsible To Resist to have the coupon applied.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade ImpawsibleToResist.etsy.com

Team Treasuries

We had five new Team Treasuries made on Etsy in the past few days!

Please click and comment before they expire!!

By Peanut and Tommy

By Firebird House

By ScrapArcs

By Jenco13

By Pretty Cheap

Our Team Facebook Page

We now have a team page on Facebook! Please join us and become our fan! We will occasionally send updates to keep you in the loop about our team shops and promotions. Tell all your friends!

Team Treasury

Created by Angel Kisses Jewelry!

Click and comment until it expires on February 21st!

Shop of the Week: Maine Lee Crochet

Ginny, from Maine Lee Crochet, has been in business on Etsy since March 2008. She makes gorgeous all crochet or knit items. Everything is handmade by her and ready to ship. Some of her items include hats, socks, scarves, dishcloths, and towels with crochet tops.

What she wants you to know about her products: “My product is high quality and made with my heart. I love what I do and I hope it shows in my items. If I don't like the way something turns out it doesn't get listed for sale. My ‘oops’ products stay at my house for my own use.”

Her promotional efforts: ”I use MySpace, word of mouth, I leave business cards where ever I can. I use the forums a lot. I also visit the chat rooms on Etsy and talk about my items, the way they are made, and the material used.” I like that she talks about her items in the forums rather than just posting a link and running like so many people do.

She ships internationally! Stop by her shop for some good crocheted love!

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade MaineLeeCrochet.etsy.com

Team Treasury

This Treasury was created by Joslin Jewels.

Please click the image above and click and comment on the Treasury before it expires on February 16th!
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We have another one by Simply Doodles!

Please click the image above and click and comment on the Treasury before it expires on February 16th!

About Twitter in 140 Characters or Less

Becki Krska, from Ambient Lights, wrote an article for our blog!

What Can You Say in 140 Characters or Less In the Twitterverse?

Lots of things. Each section here will only be 140 characters or less and will be a complete thought. This is exactly 140 characters long :)

U can only use 140 characters b/c Twitter is designed so you can receive & send messages via text msg.I might be in trouble if I did that ;)

Twitter, plain and simple, is fun. It's a great way to meet lots of people, chat and have a chance to promote your website(s) or blog.

Many Etsians are on Twitter. Etsy themselves are on Twitter. I have seen moms & pops & gov ppl, other well knowns & not so knowns on Twitter

Bloggers, journalists, artists, radio show hosts, mentors, life coaches, SEO specialists, herbalists, marketing specialists...& on & on!

Smtimes u need 2 get creative w/ ur words if u want 2 fit evrythng u want 2 say in 140
chartrs > tho there's usually plenty of rm 4 evrythng

You can tweet about what you are having for dinner, the weather, a favorite quote of yours or @ reply to chat w/ people.

Or something random like, "My ‘e’ and ‘s’ are half worn off my keyboard! Too much Twittering maybe?"

BTW, I had still had 40 more characters I could have used on that last one :D

You can tweet links to videos, articles, your favorite artisans, links to your own work, whatever you like.

Links can use up a lot of your characters. Here you can make a tiny URL though, http://tinyurl.com/ so you can fit more in your tweet.

I love looking at links but honestly ppl, if apx half or more of your tweets are JUST promos for you, I may not follow you.

Chat w/ me too! Tell me what you’re doing; let me get to know you a bit. Twitter, I feel, is best described as a "water cooler stop." Short and sweet :)

Oh, & if you say something quirky, cute or creative in your promo link too, I'm even more inclined to take a peek and see what's up :)

You can also DM ppl that follow you (Direct Message). It's a mini "email" within Twitter, tho you still can only use 140 characters or less.

To sign up for Twitter go to twitter.com & to search for people go to search.twitter.com

Follow ppl that interest you, just be sure not to follow 2 many at once. If you are following 2 many & not enough are following back (cont)

you'll be blocked from following more until the ones you're following and those following you becomes more balanced.

You can set your background of your Twitter page to anything you like. An easy one to do is set up an Etsy mini (from your Etsy), (cont)

and save it as a jpg file (you can do this in Paint) and load it to your Twitter page. It's fast, easy and cute!

A couple great twitter tools are Twhirl & Tweet Deck (just Google them) :) Twhirl is ok IMO but I'm really excited to try Tweet Deck!

To see your (or others’) Twitter ranking based on followers you can go to http://twitterholic.com/

You can check out your Twitter grade here twitter.grader.com/. Last time I checked I had a failing grade, now I have a 98.3 out of 100!


I've only had a few quitters (I don't really know why they quit following) but if you want 2 know who quits on u go here useqwitter.com/.

There's other neat things out there that you can do w/ Twitter and lots of fun to be had, but I'm about tweeted out now...so go on people!

Go tweet! Find some neat new people to follow, see what your Twitter ranking is, tweet something funny or tweet a link to this post!

Tweet y'all later ;-) http://twitter.com/AmbientLights

Team Treasury

Another one from Pretty Cheap!! Thanks!!

Click on the image above to visit the Treasury before it expires on February 14th! Click and comment!

Another Treasury!

Another Etsy Twitter Team Treasury. This one is by YarnCoture! Thanks!

Click on the image above to view the Treasury before it expires on February 14th!!

Shop of The Week: Tinker and Po

Tinker and Po… doesn’t that name make you want to click on her shop? I did the first time I saw it in the Etsy forums. Lisa Gergets, of Tinker and Po, creates the most wonderfully warm fingerless gloves/arm warmers and accessories that are made from felted and repurposed merino wool, angora, cashmere or lamb’s wool sweaters. She selects source materials for her fingerless gloves from used sweaters, which present endless possibilities in color, pattern and texture. Tinker and Po has been selling on Etsy since July of 2008.

“Every item I sell is meticulously handcrafted, is 100% repurposed, and 10% of every purchase is donated to autism research,” says Lisa about her work.


She uses Twitter effectively as a marketing tool. “I Twitter each new listing in my Etsy shop, any publicity or blog posting the shop receives, and engage in general ‘shop’ talk with other Etsy sellers on Twitter. I am also not hesitant to Twitter about an Etsy product that I enjoy, since in business, as in life, what goes around, comes around. I have definitely seen an upswing in my Etsy traffic since using Twitter.”

Valentine’s Day shipping deadlines: Domestic – February 10th; International - by arrangement, as normal shipping deadlines have already passed. Tinker and Po offers expedited and overnight shipping on all orders.

Free shipping on everything except the felted sweater scraps!!

A Beautiful Etsy Twitter Team Treasury

Evelyn, of SumikoShop.etsy.com, created an Etsy Twitter Team Treasury! Thanks for promoting the team!

Click on the image above to visit, click, and comment on the Treasury before it expires on February 10th!

Valentine's Day Gift Guide: Part 3

Welcome to Part 3 of our Valentine's Day Gift Guide from the Etsy Twitter Team!

And Then
This kit contains materials to create 3 beautiful Valentine hearts! When the sun shines through, they look just like stained glass!


Wayside Violet
This lovely pink coffee cup cozy is hand knit with a gorgeous cable stitch. An eco-friendly alternative to disposable paper sleeves.


Firebird House
Glass gems are paired with vintage images to create a one of a kind link bracelet sure to let anyone know how much you love them!


Aquarian Bath
This is a beautiful and lovely soap scented with Rose Geranium, Camphor and Menthol. The lather is light and fluffy and it will leave you feeling clean and cool after using it.


Emmakat
Simple Valentine's Day card in Red, Gold and White. Eight groups of Gold hearts have been printed onto the card using a Gocco printer.


SafiyaBeauty
A delicious combination of chocolate therapy and aromatherapy. Creamy cocoa butter mixed with vanilla extracts form a rich and ultra moisturizing butter.


Applied With Love
Stunning pink papers overlapping one another, with hints of sparkle surrounding the heart makes this frame a true beauty! Genuine Swarovski crystal rhinestones are carefully placed atop the finest papers; all consisting of different textures and prints, yet all pink and sweet~


Jessica Doyle
This is a set of 8 handmade mini heart themed greeting cards made by me. They are so cute and are perfect for Valentine's Day!


Tanya Nichols
This is for those of you who have locked your heart safely away.


Free Forged
These earrings are the romantic side of my Molecular series. I carefully form delicate sterling silver wire into hearts and then solder them each to two smaller circles - forming a molecule of love.


Lorem & Ipsum
The cyclops is made with yarn, felt, and stuffed with polyfil. The "M" can be replaced by any letter of your choice.


Falling Leaf Designs
A 17 inch red silk choker, that can be adjusted to 19 inches, from which a glitzy 1.75 inch wide by 1.5 inch tall 3 dimensional heart woven from dozens of 6mm Swarovski crystals.


Misses Kwitty's
What a sweet old-fashioned gift for your sweety this Valentine's Day, or any day you just want to say "I Cherish You".

Natalie Callwood's Ceramics

Rustic design travel mugs - they all come with lids and are made to order with in a week . The mugs are all hand painted by me with a low fire glaze.
They're great for on the go coffee, tea , or soup.


Sumiko Shop
This candid necklace features a gold heart pendant with rose cabochon made of polymer clay, gold chain, glass pearl, rose beads made of polymer clay, and red bow.


Ela Steel
"The Lovers" is a pair of pendants created from the unusual artwork of Ela Steel.


By Light Of Moon
Each Special Hat has a magnet back and is embellished with ribbons and flowers and/or beads as the photo shows, and comes with a Special Gift Card with a nice Saying and the words ~ "SO ...... HATS OFF TO TO YOU!"


Part One of the Gift Guide
Part Two of the Gift Guide