Adventures in Advertising (and Marketing!) - Part One

Somehow, brooklynthings (http://brooklynthings.etsy.com/) and maryvsmith (http://maryvsmith.etsy.com/) and I ended up chatting separately about different advertising/marketing strategies... so I decided to blog a little about what has worked for me, and what has totally blown up in my face. For someone who really only sells on etsy, my experience is quite limited, but I feel that it's only fair to pay forward what I have learned... when I started here, a couple of etsy gurus took me under their wing and I wouldn't be here without them.

So, here we go. Let's start with your corporate identity and your etsy shop.

1. Choose a shop name, and design - or get someone to design for you - a fabulous logo. The first thing that people do is identify you by your shop name and your avatar in the etsy forums. I find that when people have a shop name that reflects what they sell, it is so effective! When people use their own name, I think it says "classy and artsy"! I like it when sellers use their products as their avatar because it gives me a little window into their shop. I tell you, I actually think that some people look like their avatar in real life, that's how linked your identity becomes to it. Think about the image that you would like to portray, what your target demographic is, what you want to have in your shop. For instance, if you sell high end jewelry, you don't want to pick a cartoon or something that you would find in a kindergarten classroom - you want your logo and avatar to say "elegance, flair, timelessness... you're worth it!" I feel that my little "muffin" avatar has a combination of funky, sweet and creative, which is exactly what I want to convey. When you sell jewelry AND sock monkeys, you have to choose something that spans both sections, LOL!

When I designed my little "muffin", I drew several drafts on paper and test drove them on the husband, and a few friends. They voted, and the rest is Muffin Top history! I even went and got a rubber stamp of my design at Staples (it cost me about $40 CDN and took three days), and I use it to stamp on EVERYTHING!

I do have to admit though, that even though I LOVE the name muffintopdesigns, I feel that it's a little misleading about what I sell. People actually thought I sold muffins. So not true. I should have thought about it a little more, but oh well. I've worked hard to promote myself, so I would hope that muffintop now reflects me, my jewelry and my sock monkeys. And plus, I really love the new nickname, "muffin" that I have in the forums - and in real life!

2. Invest in some primo promotional materials. See the business card above and to the left? That's mine! There are some really great people on etsy who have the skills to help you with this, if you can't do it yourself. My cards and mailing labels were created by etsy's own KJPatino, who not only does promo stuff, but also has fantastic crocheted items! (http://kjpatino.etsy.com/) My cards are printed on high quality, glossy photo paper and I include one in every package I send.

To the right are my mailing labels. They are obviously designed to match my business cards, which helps reinforce my "corporate" identity (okay, I had to laugh uproariously here, I am sooooo not a corporation!!!!!!!) I used to just write the addresses on the envelopes and boxes I sent out, but I find that these not only save a crapload of time, but they also give a really nice finishing touch.

Now, this is probably not a required promo item to have, but PurpleHug (http://purplehug.etsy.com/) makes these kick-ass receipt pads. She did a wicked job working with my logo to create these and prints them out on her laser printer. They also come with carbon paper so that you can have a copy of every order that goes out! I don't regret for one second investing in these and have had people comment on how professional their packages have been when they open them!

magymai711 is a jewel hidden under collage sheets and supplies... she also makes amazing paper goods! (http://magymai711.etsy.com/) She made me some tags with really nice beige cord with my muffin logo on them to tie onto the sock monkeys. I also think that this was a nice touch! You can see the tag here (sort of) on Woodrow the sock monkey. They're lovely and rustic and she made them for me in two sizes!

(the baby here isn't mine - she belongs to another fantastic etsy artist, Tiffany - who can be found at http://tiffanyteske.etsy.com/! and i don't think she's for sale, LOL!)

so, how's that for a first installment? next time I'll talk about setting up shop and PAID advertising, and how I'm not sure it's worked for me, :)

xoxoox muffin