I've read tons of articles on how to bring customers to your site but it seems like not a whole lot of articles cover getting those customers to return. I thought I would put together a few tips, I try to implement in my shop to encourage buyers to come back.

1.) Ensure that the first transaction goes smoothly.
- By replying to convos/emails quickly.
- Acknowledging the transaction (a thank you convo).
- Shipping quickly and letting the buyer know that you've shipped the order with a personal convo.
- The packaging doesn't need to be stunning but it should be well-packaged to ensure that the product arrives safe and in the same condition.

*These steps only take a few minutes of your time and make a world of difference.

2.) If something goes wrong, fix it.
- As a seller who accepts payments via Paypal - I am responsible for the package until it arrives in my buyer's hand, safe and sound. If the package is lost or broken, I replace it without complaint.
- Do what you say. When you don't, make it right with the buyer. My policies say I ship within 2 business days, if I can't I let the buyer know asap and if it's appropriate, I refund the shipping costs.
- Many buyers will consider coming back even if something went wrong the first time, as long as, the problem was dealt with properly.
- Don't make excuses - take responsibility for the problem and correct it.

3.) Be friendly and professional - ALL THE TIME!
- Honestly, very few things frustrate me more than pushy or angry convos. As a professional, you should be "PROFESSIONAL" at all times. If you can't be professional at the time, walk away until you can be and read whatever you've wrote at least twice.

4.) Offer Incentives
- Providing first-time buyers with coupons for %-off, free shipping, buy 2 get 1 free, etc. Can help to ensure that they come back for more.
- If you offer too many discounts, too often, some buyers won't come back until you provide them with one (I know I won't go to Michael's without a coupon anymore).
- Listing new items regularly, to a first-time buyer everything is new but to a return customer, only some will be new. Having new items for them, may help to encourage to look for something that catches their eye.

5.) THE MOST IMPORTANT
- Create a product that is well-made, well-priced, beautifully photographed, and ensure that you stand behind your work.

I hope someone will find these points useful and can implement them to ensure they're own returning customers.

I've been in dozens of treasuries over the last few months and honestly, I could probably count the number of times I've been notified by the curator on one hand. The only reason, I know I've been included in a treasury has been through www.Craftopolis.com, which I just check every couple of days.

I just wanted others to know that most sellers like to be notified when they've been included. It's pretty rare when a seller doesn't like to know.

It's really too bad that Etsy doesn't have something in place, to automatically notify the sellers, when their work has been included in something like a treasury, or the front page, or in Etsy finds, etc. Most love the extra publicity, not to mention, something as simple as someone else appreciating their work.

Also, an important thing to note - Etsy does not consider convoing the sellers of the items that you've included in your treasury, a type of spam anymore. So convo away!

Why should I convo the sellers?

- Because it's a nice thing to do!
- Common courtesy - I'm sure you would like to be notified (especially if it makes it onto the front page).
- Extra Promoting - If included, lots of sellers will blog about it, tweet about it, add the info to their facebook page, advertise it in promotions, in turn driving traffic to your treasury.
- More traffic to your treasury can result in more traffic to your shop (which is always a good thing)!
- The sellers will be more likely to look at your shop, increasing your shop traffic.

Every is going to do what they want to do. But I just wanted to say that I would appreciate a convo and I know lots of others would to!

Thanks for listening!

Another Etsy seller who is absolutely wonderful, was kind enough to share findings the other day. The program she found is called Animoto.

What is Animoto?
- It is a program that produces TV-quality music videos using your photos in just minutes.

How does it work?
- Choose your photos (about 20)
- Upload your photos to the program (very similiar to uploading photos to your Etsy listings).
- Choose a song.
- Click complete.

The program puts everything together and VOILA, you've just created your first absolutely fabulous 30 second video!

But what does it cost me?
- Well, if you know me, you know that I love free! So, of course this program is absolutely FREE!

What do I do with it now?
- I'm in the process of looking for places that I can advertise add my new video. So far, I've found Flickr, YouTube, Facebook fan page, and my blog but I'm still searching!

So go forth and create!

I came across this absolutely fabulous new tool that can be a total life saver for any Etsy seller. What is it you ask? What does it do? Where can I get one of my own? Well, hold on, and I'll tell you!

What is it?
- Craft Weasel

What does it do?
- Tag finder helps you choose the best set of tags for your items. Enter one or more tags and Craft Weasel will search Etsy for items with those tags, then generate graphs and suggest related tags that might be suitable for your items!

Where do I one?
- http://craftweasel.com/TagToolQuery.do

Best of luck, I hope someone else finds it as useful as I do!

As usual I was lurking in the Etsy and Ebay forums when someone posted that Paypal was holding 10% of their funds for 60 days. After a bit of research, I came across a hundred or so others who were in the same predicament. Paypal was holding their funds for apparently no reason. On top of that, Paypal hadn't issued any changes to policy requirements, leaving a lot of people wondering what the heck happened. Well after I sent off a quick email to Paypal, basically asking if and what their changes were. This is the response I received:

"Hello XXXXXXXX,

Your business is important to us, and we are working hard to provide an easy, fast and secure payment service to you and your customers while keeping our prices competitive. We're also committed to clearly communicating changes to our policies and procedures. To that end, we are writing to inform you of a change to your PayPal account, which will take effect 30 days from the date of this email.

Beginning 07/26/2009, a small percentage of the total payments you receive will be held temporarily as a reserve in your account. This small reserve amount helps to ensure that funds are available to cover payment reversals or buyer chargebacks, if you do not have a sufficient PayPal account balance and do not provide the funds to do so.

A reserve is like a security deposit for your PayPal account and is standard practice in the payments industry, especially for retail segments like Cell Phones & PDAs where there is a higher-than-average risk of reversals or chargebacks. This does not mean that you have done anything wrong. We are requiring a small reserve in your account because you sell in a category that has a higher risk of reversals and chargebacks and because you are relatively new to PayPal as a seller.

Your reserve amount will be 10% of the total payments you receive, which will be held on a rolling 60-day schedule. That means 10% of the money you take in each day will be held in your account, and then made available for withdrawal 60 days later.

For example, if you receive $2,000 every 60 days into your PayPal account, then a reserve amount of about $400 would be required on a rolling 60-day period. In other words, about $6.67 would be held in reserve each day, then released 60 days later.

If you are a PayPal Money Market Fund customer, you will still earn interest on your total balance while your money is in reserve. Click here for more information or to enroll in the PayPal Money Market Fund.

We recognize this is a change in the way we do business with you. By requiring some merchants to reserve money in their accounts, we're able to lower our own costs. Keeping our costs low helps us to continue providing competitive pricing for all sellers who use PayPal.

If you have any questions about this change, please call us at 1-877-729-7252. We appreciate your business and look forward to a continued partnership.

Sincerely,

Paypal"

So, in case anyone else was wandering lost in the dark about this situation too, here's the facts straight from the horse's mouth!

I'm not exactly sure why, but I absolutely adore "vintage" style photograph that look like they've been basically put through the ringer - with scuff marks, holes, scratches, etc. I'm especially fascinated with those that have a viewfinder border.

What is a viewfinder border?
- Basically, it's a photograph that appears to have been taken through the viewfinder of another camera.

Anyways, I'm working on a series of necklaces using vintage-style photographs. The subjects are going to be varied, birds, flowers, architecture, etc - anything that interests or amazes me!

Here's a few examples:

I recently received a question asking if there was a way to find out if the treasury you curatored (created) was posted to the Front Page. After a few minutes of double checking my theory, I notified them that in fact there was a way. How, you ask? Well, these are the steps:

1.) Go to the Etsy Front Pager's Photostream on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28488923@N05/
- This is a Flickr group that collects and posts photographs of all of the treasuries that were featured on the Front Page!
- Tip: If you've been featured and have a blog, you can copy & paste the treasury photo from the Etsy Front Pager's group and post a write up in your blog, letting others know you've been featured on the Front Page!

2.) Go to the search bar at the top right hand corner and enter your Etsy username (i.e. ImaginativeIntention). Click search.

3.) The search will bring up any Front Page treasuries you were featured on and if your a curator of any of the front page treasuries.

Well, I hope that helps anyone else who might have been wondering about it.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask!

Lately, I’ve been hanging around the Critiques forum on Etsy and I’ve noticed a lot of sellers are going straight to Critiques without really making sure that they could have done everything they should have before asking for a critique.

Why is it important to make your done your part?

When someone is taking just a glance at your shop, all they’re going to see is the big stuff, if you’re missing a banner and your location; they’re going to come back and say you’re missing a banner and your location and move on.

If you’ve got your basics covered, it forces them to look deeper. Do you have a good description, what are your photos really like, are you using all the right tags, could your announcement be shorter/longer/better, etc.

So I put together a list of some of the major things you should make sure you have in place first;

1.) Do you have a banner? Is it well done?
- Your banner is the first thing a potential buyer sees, it should draw them in.

2.) Do you have your location noted?
- You should include your city and state or country – they are a number of cities with the same name in different states and different countries.

3.) Is your avatar relevant?
- You should consider using a photo of your work or a picture of you – to capture people’s attention especially in the forums.

4.) Are your descriptions complete?
- This thread is an invaluable resource concerning all of the things that could/should be included in your description:
- http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6093673&page=1

5.) Do you photos capture your wares as good as they possibly could?
- Check out the hundreds of tutorials on taking photographs, building light boxes, which light bulbs to use, understand the settings on your camera, understand basic photo editing, etc.
- Ask yourself, if you would buy the item just based on the photo?

6.) Are you using all 5 slots for your photographs?
- Capturing the item from every angle, showing it in use, displaying on someone, etc.

7.) Are you using the feature slots for your 3 favorite pieces?

8.) Are you using all of your tags? Are they all relevant? Are you spamming with any of your tags?

9.) Are you adding new items on a regular basis?

10.) Are you promoting yourself on/off of Etsy?
- The forums, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, My Space, A blog, etc.
- Check out any of the threads on self promotion.

11.) Go in with an open mind!
- Every person has their own point of view, with a critique you'll be able to see through someone's eyes.

12.) Don't use Critiques as just another promotion venue!
- i.e. Look at this ware, what do you think?

This is just a short list of some of the things that need to be analyzed but it’s still a starting point. I wish everyone the best of luck in their Etsy endeavours!

Too many people these days are listing their products with very little or no description. If your selling your products online, your customers won't be able to touch the item, all they have is hopefully a great picture and great description.

Unfortunately, too many sellers are just listing the basics, i.e. color, size, scent (bath & body), etc. Their basically just reiterating what is obviously in the picture.

What happens next? Well the customer maybe takes a quick peek and keeps going, in the world of online selling, your competing with hundreds of thousands of different sellers, you only have a few moments to capture a potential customer's attention and keep it.

The key is to keep their attention with captivating photos with detailed close-ups (you want the customer to be able visualize the product as if it was sitting right in front of them). Second, you want a detailed description that explains who, what, where, when, and why (especially why).

You want a description that draws people in! You need to make sure that they know how fabulous your item is and why they NEED to buy it!

I was in the Etsy forums the other day and I came across this post by Sparklerama (sparklerama.etsy.com) and she compiled one of the most detailed lists I've ever come across. The list isn't an absolute 'need to have every point' in your description but its definitely a great starting point.

20 Questions Your Buyers Are Asking:

1. What IS it? (It may be totally obvious to you what the item is, but it might not be so obvious to your customer).

2. What color is it? (The color on your computer monitor may not be the same as mine).

3. How big is it? (As a buyer I don't want to guess if that painting will fit over my fireplace or if those earrings are going to hang past my shoulders).

4. What is it made from? (What materials and techniques are used?)

5. How do I care for it? (Can I wash and dry that wool sweater?)

6. Who should buy it? or Who should NOT buy it? (Is it appropriate for pregnant women? Children? Pets?)

7. What is it used for? (Is it decorative? Does it have a function? Both?)

8. What does it feel like? (Is that scarf soft to the touch? What's the texture like? Is that necklace very heavy?)

9. How does it work? (Does it slip over my head? Is there a clasp? Do I tie it around my waist?)

10. Why is this one better than the one in the next shop? (What special skills, materials, or ideas do you use that make your item the best?)

11. Do I get everything in the picture? (I see 12 items in your picture, do I get them all? Only one? Does that lovely bauble in the background come with it or is it just for display?)

12. Will it fit me? (When I shop in a brick and mortar shop I might try on 12 things and find only 1 that fits well. I am taking a BIG chance on buying clothes online. Please make it easier for me by offering extensive measurement and sizing information. Don't assume that your customer will know what you mean by "small" or "Large")

13. What if it doesn't fit? (Am I stuck with it? Will you exchange it? Who pays to ship it back?)

14. Is it ready to use? (Is that painting ready to hang? Do I need to frame it first?)

15. How does it arrive? (Is it gift wrapped? Is it ready to ship or is it made to order?)

16. Will I get the EXACT item in the photo? (Is it a stock photo or do I get the exact item?)

17. Is it gonna stink? (Does that vintage item have a funky, musty odor? Does the seller smoke while he creates that item?)

18. How do I know it's "vintage"? (What kind of research did you do to determine how old that item is? Is it marked? Is there a date on it? Are you experienced with vintage and antique items?)

19. What do those fancy terms mean? (Don't take for granted that your customer knows what a cabochon is or what giclee or gocco means.)

20. Can I live without this item? (Chances are your customer can easily live without your items. It's your job to SELL it to them. Let them know why owning this item is so wonderful. Are they gonna feel like a princess with that lovely bracelet? Is that platter not only functional, but makes a wonderful work of art? Is that item the perfect gift for hard to buy for people? Does the item evoke certain emotions? Tell us what's so great about it!)

Good luck with your descriptions!

I know lots of Etsians have wandered away from their shop and upon returning noticing a HUGE spike in their views but have no idea why? Well, there are few things you can check out right away to see if you've been featured somewhere.

1.) Craft Cult (formerly known an majaba) offers a free service where you type your username in and it will tell you if one of your items has been featured on the Etsy Front Page, Storque, or in a gift guide!

http://www.craftcult.com/etsyfeatured.php?userid=

2.) Craftopolis also offers a free service that allows you to search your username to ascertain whether you've been featured in any treasuries or gift guides!

http://craftopolis.com/index.php?com=th

3.) On Flickr, there is a Flickr group called Etsy Front Pagers and lists screen shots of all of the treasuries and the sellers featured on the Etsy home page.
- If you search your username in the search bar, it will bring up the front page that you were featured on.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28488923@N05/

4.) If you sign up for Google Alerts and add your shop name and username as alert terms, each time those terms are posted on a web page, you will receive an alert to your email letting you know, where it was posted.

http://www.google.com/alerts

5.) And the simplest way of all, search your shop name or username in any of the major search engines and see what pops up!

6.) http://socialmention.com/

Another great website, where you simply enter your shop name and VOILA, it will bring up all of the sites that your shop was mentioned on!

Just thought I would pass on some useful information!

Well, I've been reading a lot lately on the Etsy forums from other sellers who are debating what to include in their packages (that are shipped to their customers). A little something extra, if you please...I've heard tons of ideas in the hopes of a proper thank you to the customer and of course, the hope of drumming up some new/repeat business. Here are some of the best ideas I came across and some of the ones I'm hoping to employ when I start selling again:

1.) Glass Marble Magnets
- They're really cheap and easy to make. I'm thinking about making ones to match some of my pendants.
- Tutorial: http://www.flickr.com/photos/honeygirl_studio/sets/72157594472276952/

2.) Bookmarks
- I was originally thinking about creating bookmarks but I'm still debating what it will cost.

3.) Samples
- When I'm creating new lines of pendants, I'm thinking about possibly including an extra pendant.
- If your wares come in a variety of scents, colors, etc, you could include a little sample pack in with their purchase, it will give them something to smell/feel rather than buying just based on a description.

4.) Promo items with my logo
- I was wondering and doing some basic research on sending promo materials like business cards, match books, note cards, buttons, etc in the package with my logo BUT when I receive similiar stuff, I tend to toss it out, so I'm still thinking on this one.

5.) Coupons
- Come on, everyone loves coupons! Free shipping, Buy 2 Get 1 Free, $5 off $25 purchase. Whatever tempts you will probably tempt someone else. If you can do it and it makes sense profit wise go ahead!

Things to Remember When Including Freebies:

- Pay attention to weight, you don't want to be adding to the overal weight which translates to upping the postage cost.

- Try to keep your freebies "cheap", that doesn't mean they have to look cheap but you need to make sure they're not eating into your profit margin too much.

- DON'T include anything edible because of allergies, medical conditions, the heat can melt the food and ruin the rest of package, and you tell your kids not to eat candy from strangers, so why would you?

- Be careful, when shipping to other countries, each country has their own regulations, you don't want your shipment confisicated because of a problem with a freebie!

- Try to keep your freebie relevant to what your selling, it will be easier for the customer to recall who/what/why/when/where they got it from.

Something else to keep in mind, no matter how great the freebie is, the best way to keep a customer happy and encourage that customer to come back is through:

a.) A great product at a good price!
b.) Awesome customer service, before & after the sale!
c.) Professional packing!

So I have 2 years of Etsy selling experience and I was thinking of some of the mistakes I made in the beginning. I figured I should pass along some of the my "mistakes" in the hopes of helping others to avoid those mistakes.

1.) DON'T list your products on Etsy all at one time!

Why:

When your item is added to your Etsy shop, it ends up at the top of the search for a few minutes and then disappears into the search pages. Those first few minutes that your item is up there, it will be in the first few items the buyer sees. If you list a few times each day, different buyers will see your items at different times. Increasing your exposure and possiblity of selling.

2.) Always fill out your policies page!

Why:

If you have a problem with a buyer who disagrees with you about how something is supposed to be paid for, or how/when something is supposed to ship, you will need something to reference to show how and when that something is supposed to be done. Otherwise, you'll both be arguing over who is right without a good, standard solution. Especially when it comes to return policies.

3.) You can't just list your wares and sit back and wait for the sales to pour in, you need to do outside of Etsy promotion, here's a few suggestions:

a) Spend at least 1-2 hours in the forums about 6 days a week, reading and posting.

b) Started a blog and post almost every day.

c) Go to forums on other websites, google, yahoo, anywhere you can think of and post there making sure your store link is in your post (but don't just post to spam).

d) Get business cards and put them in all the packages you send to customers.

e) Start a flickr account.

f) Include in your packages to current customers, coupons offering discounts on future orders.

g) Make sure your store link is in every email you send.

h) Sign up for outside advertising (Project Wonderful, Google Ads, Facebook, etc)

i) Read other people's blogs and post messages on them, they will reply and notice your blog and sometimes post a link to yours.

j) Join an Etsy blog ring, so other people also find your blog

These are just a couple of things that I've thought about lately. I'll be adding more, as I think about it! I hope someone can use some of this to help themselves become more successful!