Pay it Forward and Giveaways, Do they Help Etsy Sales in Your Shop?

Do I have to sneeze on you to get you to do a Pay it Forward, this 1938 Valentines Card by Paper Picker.

1) PIF - (Pay it Forward) / Clearance Sale

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.

Once upon a blue moon you should have a giveaway...speaking of blue moons gorgeous Ensemble by GreenBeadz Designs

Hold A Giveaway!

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.

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.

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.

The Correct Way to Make an Etsy Treasury

Apple of my eye APPLE from SharingBliss shop

The Etsy treasury is a helpful tool to all sellers on Etsy. Not only does a treasury allow you to promote things on Etsy , but you may just end up on the front page of Etsy if your treasury is good enough!

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a person who always reads directions. I try to figure out how to do things on my own. What can I say, I'm a kinesthetic learner. In other words, I like to figure things out by just doing and/or performing the activity. This includes making an Etsy treasury.

Each and every treasury I've ever created, I've included one of my items. Yesterday, I created this treasury for the Etsy Recyclers Guild team . I typically only choose one item per shop, although yesterday I mistakenly added two items from the same shop. I also typically include an item of my own.

Something I have overlooked is when you go to create a treasury, on the right side of the treasury, the following info is given:


Treasury Guidelines

You can create a list of items for any purpose. Learn more.

If you'd like your list to be chosen for inclusion on Etsy's home page, here are a few tips:

* Be diverse! No more than one item per shop.
* Don't include your own items. Spread the love!
* Make it beautiful.

Treasuries should be beautiful, and have great pictures. Gloves by FlourishesHome

This morning, I received a message from a team member who's item was included in my treasury. She clarified the correct way to create a treasury, which is to only list one item per shop and not to include your own items. This led me to a Google search on how to effectively create an Etsy treasury. I found one link for Etsy’s Dos/Don’ts. The treasury section of this page states the following, "Members can feature their favorite items, items selected on a theme or whatever items they like".

I also found this link on the Etsy Storque explaining how to make a treasury. In June of 2010, Etsy treasury went from beta version to the current version. You first need to decide on your theme, if you have a theme (or a color scheme). Then you go and search for items that will go with your theme. I always try and search for people on my team. Next, I see what they have in their inventory and choose items from different shops that will compliment my theme. I know many users go to the poster sketch, but I honestly don't think that is a necessary tool any longer with the new way the treasury is set up. Once you have all of your items chosen, you'll want to name and tag your treasury. Notify all of the people you included in your treasury. Ask them to post on their Facebook and Twitter and possibly their blog. The more places the treasury ends up, the better chances you have at selling something. The directions in the Storque article are a bit outdated, but you can get a basic idea of what you are supposed to do.

Everything we do in life is a learning process. Mr Bentley learns to read by Iota Illustration.

I have learned a valuable lesson from this and will try and read how to do something before diving in and just doing it. I think a little shameless self promotion is okay every now and then, especially when you are taking time out of your day to create something as simple as an Etsy treasury.

Treasuries are a great way to promote your team and should be utilized as such!

This blog post was contributed by Heather of Texas Vintage Things. All views and opinions expressed in this post belong solely to the author.

It's never too late to learn says HOOT the owl by Noble Upcycling.

FOLLOW up by Ira Mency:  Thanks to Heather for sharing this information as we all would like our treasuries to make it to the front page.  Remember after creating any treasury, to also share it outside of Etsy for maximum exposure driving traffic!c back to the treasury member's shops. Although you may not make the front page with your treasury, it can go "viral" by  sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, or your social networking sites--and to do this easily you can find the buttons are right next to your treasury on Etsy!  If you would like to embed the treasury like we do on this blog, use the WhaleSharkTreasury Tool or CraftCult's treasury widget that I'm using below.

xoxoxo
Your Team Captain
Shamelss Self-Promoter as seen below: Treasury by Wandering Lydia.\