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| Do I have to sneeze on you to get you to do a Pay it Forward, this 1938 Valentines Card by Paper Picker. |
A "Pay it Forward" is when you list an item for an unbelievably low price. I've seen them listed anywhere from .20 to $5.00, but the lower the better. Tag and title the item with pif, and pay it forward tags. I recently did this with some items that I've had forever, things I've reduced and relisted so many times they were going to Goodwill.
Consider it a clerance sale, there's over 2600 "PIF" items on Etsy at any given time! I sold a small wood box, some old letterpress and have a brooch currently listed waiting for it's buyer. The PIF's,drove a lot of shop views and got me one customer who ordered some wood print blocks.
Some PIF's sell pretty fast, but others are still waiting to be had. In the listing I explain that this is a pay it forward, and that they in turn should do something nice for someone else today. Nothing like spreading kindness and a good deal at the same time. If anything, people will be drawn to your shop and maybe give you a few hearts. They may even favorite you and check back sooner.
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| Once upon a blue moon you should have a giveaway...speaking of blue moons gorgeous Ensemble by GreenBeadz Designs |
Giveaways can be posted on various sites and can drive exposure to your shop and your blog. Many giveaways ask you to read a particular blog post and "comment on it" and by doing so you have driven traffic to your blog and made people aware of your merchandise and your Etsy shop! Case in point, feature 5 vintage items and ask sellers to pick their favorite. One lucky winner wins the item.
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| Winners and Losers, with Giveaways everyone's a winner. Angel Bag by RoyalRedneck! |
Giveaways can be done at:
- Funky Finds (FREE) I'm having one on here--but not actually "giving it away" until May. Nice thing is they list my shop up until the giveaway,then will write a blurb about it, so nothing like free exposure! They select a winner, and will contact me. What's not to like?
- EtsyGiveaways (FREE)
This place has so many giveaways it will make your head spin. They also have a high page rank and people read this thing. It's a great way to do a giveaway and most I've seen have about 40 to 60 average entries PER contest or more, meaning that's about 50 more people to your blog post and aware of your shop! *Focus on handmade but I've seen just about everything on here.
- EverythingEtsy ($$$) Everything Etsy has a huge following, and is a well read online publication opens up giveaway slots, and usually asks for a fee plus two samples.If you were donating a glove mold send them two. One will be reviewed in a nice blog post highlighting your shop for more exposure, and they will send out the second item direct to the winner. Last giveaway I saw cost $50, but this covered the write up, contest, and them mailing your item. So, essentially you are paying for a giveaway but in turn gaining a lot of shop views and exposure. This may be better in the long run than taking out a button ad. Contact them for more information and current pricing, and Kim is super cool to work with.
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| Relax and let your giveaway take it's course...and enjoy breakfast in bed with this upcycled cork tray by Lolailo. |
Try it and let me know how your PIF or giveaway works! I hope if anything it will drive exposure, page views and new "hearts" to your shop!
Originally written for the Vesties by yours truly. See full post with more ideas here.
Read the other Marketing 101 posts I've done for their blog HERE.
