‘Etsy’…. some of you might not of heard of it, for others it’s the go to website for unique gifts, handmade jewellery, unusual homewares, wooden toys, craft supplies and now my shop!

Since creating my website, one of my goals was to have an online shop. In the future I plan to build this into my website but for now the most obvious choice was to create an Etsy page and link it to my website. https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SarahKingArtDesign

My shop is constantly evolving. It takes time to photograph each listing and upload it in the right size onto the site (hooray for Photoshop). You need to decide on descriptions, choose tag words that might match what potential customers are typing into the search box (I’ll add being a mind reader to the list!) and work out your prices. I still need to tweak a lot of my images and information. I am constantly inspired by other shops layout ideas and have gained alot of advice by reading blogs that form the Etsy seller handbook.

Recently I was fortunate enough to meet up with some local established Etsy sellers in town, for a cuppa ….and cake (ssshhh don’t tell anyone!) and it was great to quiz them on subjects including shipping costs, where to add tag words, how many photos to take etc. Meeting other creative folk is one of the perks of developing my art business, and these guys through lots of hard work, are making their Etsy sites successful.

Here’s a link to ‘Sew Sofia’s blog and she lists the makers who made our catch up https://www.sewsofia.co.uk/post/305932063742/local-networking-with-etsy

My next challenge is to work out how to build up an audience i.e get people to find my shop. I’ve started to post regular updates on my Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages, with images of my prints and cards and that all important link to my shop.

I’ve also downloaded the handy Esty seller app and have become obsessed with checking my stats. You can see how many visitors your Etsy shop has had that day, week, month or even year. You can see how visitors have found your shop (i.e. through my social media pages, through Etsy direct or via my website). Occasionally my heart races when I hear a noise on the app….so far this has been to notify me that people are favouring my shop or liking an individual listing, rather than a cold hard sale….but I’m hopeful that I’ll soon be hearing more noisy notifications as my shop grows!!