Etsy Promoted Listings

When I opened my Etsy shop, I’d decided that I wouldn’t pay for advertising.  I held out for over six months.

My shop is really a Christmas shop.  I don't always want to focus on Christmas, but for now, it's a Christmas shop.  I never expected many sales until November, but once Halloween was out of the way, I thought it might pick up a little.  And for a while it did.  In the first week of November, my shop went from having a handful to no visits per day, to around 100.  Now whilst I knew it wasn't quite time to pop open the Champagne, I was definitely pleased about it, but I was also cautious.

In that first week of November, when my visits picked up, the traffic was broken down as follows:

External Searches <1%

Etsy Search 7%

Direct Links 15%

Social Media 78%

I started to wonder if I'd ever sell my stock, and after reading a few horror posts about shops who whose Etsy traffic stopped over night, I thought I would give paid advertising a try after all.

In the Beginning - So to Speak

I've been a crafter almost all of my life.  My mum was a crafter, her mum was a dress maker, I guess it's just always seemed normal to have some sort of project on the go.  So if it's a craft, I'll give pretty much anything a go - I'm hopeless at drawing and dressmaking (much to my grandmother's dismay), but knitting, crochet, beading, cross stitch, paper - I love them all. 

Over the course of my adult life I've made all sorts of things.  Each time I completed something, I either gave it away or crammed it in a drawer somewhere, a little voice in my head said, 'You know, maybe you could sell that.'  Though it was a nice thought, it felt silly, and I continually shushed that voice, putting it down to a pipe dream.

But... last year, when a co-worker confessed she was also an avid crafter, and had dreamed of selling her 'wares, I confessed the same, and it .  It gave me the confidence I needed, at least to give it a try.  

But where to start.

I'd heard of Etsy, and opened by shop in April this year.  Don't get me wrong, I'm realistic, my expectations were never high, but I thought I would give it a try.  I confess, I still haven't quite got my head around it.  Whilst I consider myself a somewhat experienced crafter, by no stretch am I a business person. Ideally I think you need to be both.

I posted some items, the number of which have grown as time has gone on.  I made a couple of sales, got a couple of reviews.  I thought things were ticking over nicely, but this weekend, after some internet research to see if I couldn't boost my sales, I'm more confused than ever.  It seems everyone's opinions differ on everything.   I'm totally lost.  What am I trying to do here?  Should I even be on Etsy?  Is Etsy downright rubbish?  Or is it the best thing since sliced bread.  I've seen arguments for