Promote Your Etsy Shop Online

Promoting your Etsy shop online takes only a little time, a little experience, and a little imagination. A few simple ideas can help drive more traffic to your shop and give potential customers a "heads up" on your latest products and ideas.

The first step in promoting your shop is creating a free blog. Blogspot.com offers users a variety of choices in templates, gadgets, and arrangements -- all for free. Customize your blog to fit your needs, adding links to your shop, photos, slideshows, and other promotional materials in addition to regular posts to update your readers. The search option allows you to browse through the blogosphere for similar sellers and potential customers who might be interested in following your blog.

An online newsletter is a great way to promote your business and make instant contact with your customer base through email. Utilize your existing customer list and add a link or "button" to your blog encouraging visitors to sign up. A word of caution, however -- use a separate email address for your newsletters than your business address, to prevent scammers or viruses from hacking your financial information. Make your newsletters creative and colorful with pictures, cool fonts, and your business log or trademark.

Join an artist or business group: being part of an organization that supports and promotes your line of business or creativity is a great way to help advertise your presence. Post on the forums and message boards, using a signature link to your blog or business, and post on individual members' blogs so their followers will see your profile.

Make sure you post your blog, group membership, and your newsletter address on your Etsy home page -- while direct links aren't allowed, you want to increase the chance that visitors to your shop will see the information and follow up on your work in the future.