Getting in Touch with Your Etsy Shop: DAY TEN: Advertising

Welcome to the final day of my "Getting in Touch with Your Etsy Shop" series. If you have missed any of the previous posts you can catch up here. I hope that over the course of the series you have had a chance to think about what direction you would like to take your shop in, I know I sure have, and it has given me lots of things to work on to achieve that goal. The final topic that I wanted to touch on was advertising and promoting your Etsy shop.

Project Wonderful: Project Wonderful is a great way to start to advertise your business with many FREE options available. You create your chosen size of ad (I find that square is most popular amongst handmade blogs) and then search for blogs to place your ad on. You can refine your search terms to include an amount between $0-$0 and all of the free spots will appear. It is a good way to start to get your name and/or brand out there for people to start to recognize. Often people will need to see an ad 10x or more before it even registers so frequency is key. If you want you can add some money to your project wonderful account and create an ad campaign for your budget. As a side note whatever image you are currently using for your Etsy avatar is usually a good size for a square ad.

Blog Features: Having your story and your products featured on a blog can be a great way to connect with potential customers. Often this is a much more personal experience with bloggers posting an interview and pictures of your product and most handmade bloggers will do this for FREE. Some blogs require you to do a giveaway to their readers but this is a personal choice that you will have to make.

Purchasing Ad Space: There are a ton paid options to suit every budget from buying ad space directly from blogs to Craftcult to google ads and Facebook ads. It is not NECESSARY for you to purchase ad space but is something to think about when you are looking to take your business to the next level. Currently I only have experience with purchasing ad space directly from bloggers and through Craftcult. With regards to blog advertising I suggest looking not just for handmade bloggers but perhaps a specialty blog that is in line with your products. For example if you make facecloths and scrubbies perhaps try looking for a site that focus's on spa and/or beauty tips. If you make pillows look for a home decor site. I have found that sidebar ads work best on Craftcult and it brings in a lot of traffic. While the site is geared towards Etsy shop owners don't forget that these are potential customers as well. It is a bit more of a financial commitment though.

Ready to give advertising a try? As a special thanks to all of those who have followed along in the series I am giving away a ONE month sidebar ad on both Kawartha Beads and Kawartha Bargains, along with a blog interview about your business. You do NOT need to have an Etsy shop to enter the giveaway, just a family friendly small business. Good luck! 
Giveaway ends May 28/12.

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