Promotion Tip #1 Paypal Survey

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Promotion Tip # 1

I want to post quick tips to share with fellow Etsy sellers to assist them with utilizing all tools available on the web. Quick easy tips that any seller new or old can use!

Paypal Survey:

This is a feature I just found out about, and would like to share with fellow team members. Paypal offers a way for customers to tell you how they heard about your shop, Google, friend, face book etc. We spend all this time and money into marketing our shops with different venues. At the end of the day we want to streamline what brings the traffic in.

Log Into you Pay Pal account:

Under the My Account Tab go to the profile tab

Click More Options

One the left hand side click My Selling Tools

Click Custom Payment Pages

Change the tab to options

Check Add A Customer Survey Box

And simply fill out.

This is free, and takes five minute to implement. Although doing some research, it is not a feature generally used by the customer during checkout. It is generally overlooked, but I have some additional tips on my blog to engage the customer to fill it out.

Another way to make customer aware of survey, is include instructions how to do so in your message to buyers. (In Etsy under your account info & appearance)

TIP* Guide them to the correct place!*

It is the first line in my Message To Buyers:

For special coupon code please fill out our survey during PayPal checkout. Let us know how you heard of our shop! I will email you exclusive code!

Want to keep it simple try this:
Let us know during checkout how you heard of our shop, find our customer survey in PayPal checkout.

A helpful seller in the EETeam www.flowerthyme.etsy.com gave us additional information on how to set up survey notifications! This way you are emailed when someone fills it out!

My Account
More Options
My Settings
Update Notifications
Check Email box for customer survey!


Again this is just one more way to streamline our business, promotions, and marketing tools.

Please join EE Team on Etsy for additional business to business support:
http://www.etsy.com/teams/7978/etsy-entrepreneurs

Follow my blog for business tips, and fun product reviews!

Jojoba Oil Product Review

Tuesday, May 17, 2011


Skin Hair Nails All In One Oil Product Rave!

Product Review: Desert Essence 100% Pure Jojoba Oil

Purchased @: Whole Foods

Price: around 4 or 5$

What Can You Use It For? Just about anything and everything under the sun, the one great thing about this product is that it serves so many purposes. A great staple to have in your home. You can use this on your skin, hair, nails, serves as a moisturizer, mask, makeup remover, hair treatment, cuticle oil.

What I use it for: Mainly I use this product for my skin, I started using retina cream good for sun damage. It is a prescription cream from the dermatologist, one major side effect is peeling and dryness. This side effect can last a few days to a few months, I didn't want to waste three months peeling to find a solution. So I read online of products to use in conjunction and shabam jojoba oil was one of them. So I purchased and started using over my retina cream at night and what a difference.

I have used this for four months every day and night. Oil sounds scary but this oil mimics a natural oil produced in the skin that is too large to clog the pores. Can it break you out yes depending on your skin type I have normal to dry skin. But it has worked for many with acne prone skin, the skin can go through a stage of purging. But for me I had no breakouts due to this oil, it leaves my skin so smooth and glowing like no other product.

Application:
Night I don't use any other moisturizer I only use this I look a bit shiny but when I awake my skin is hydrated and luminous. I use about three to four drops.
Day: I mix one to three drops in with my DDF oil free moisturizing dew and it gives me the glow, and hydration my skin needs.

Overall: A great inexpensive product that truly delivers natural moisture to the skin. Dessert Essence is a pure oil that is cruelty free and no animal testing of raw materials or finished product. I am not a dermatologist and this may not work for all skin types but what a great product to try that wont break the bank.

Revising Descriptions

Friday, May 6, 2011


Revising Descriptions:

Ok one of the many tasks on in my One Month Challenge is revising all of my shops descriptions. Now I feel I have figured out an informative way to describe and list my items with as much useful and necessary information as possible, without overwhelming the customer. I read tons of forums and Etsy newsletters and finally I am happy with my current revisions.

Again we will always be updating and revising our shops but if you are thinking of starting a shop or already have one there’s no time like the present to set up a clean informative description for your buyers.

The current layout I am going with for my descriptions is as followed: I broke it down into sections to explain my reasoning behind this layout and the link for this piece is http://www.etsy.com/listing/73493153/lime-green-chalcedony-drop-vintage-brass
This way you can view the final layout.

**This is an example, alter and change for your specific needs, find a unique way to make it yours**

**Take your time but again use your Google calendar to set a goal date to finish your revisions by I am currently in the process of changing all 82 items I have for sale.

Section One: Description

- Shop Name – repeating your shop name in the description for a way to implant your shop name into the buyers mind. The more they see it the harder it is to forget. Your selling your item but also your name.
- Materials – What materials, ingredients, fabric etc are being used, Google is going to recognize the first 2 sentences of the description so make it count. If I am searching Lime Green Chalcedony Earrings your visibility has just improved.
- Enticing Adjectives – Have fun use rhymes, quotes, out of the box words to express the item at sale. Horrible at writing use a thesaurus to make your words pop off the screen.
- Origin – Include the origin of where you may have gathered materials or inspirations.
- Weights/Texture – The customer cannot touch your item; explain the weight, feel, textures, and tastes.


These MeShe Design Earrings feature a key lime green chalcedony faceted briolette drop, wire wrapped with vintage brass. A handmade earring that is simple yet delivers a beautiful soft lime green. This color bursts with personality and brightens any complexion. A great gift for any green lover, If you prefer a fish hook earring back feel free to contact me upon purchasing.

Section 2: Detailed Descriptions:

- This is optional I choose to do this to better inform customers of material there buying; maybe if you sell handmade clothes you can talk further about washing and drying instructions of fabric.
- I feel is allows customer to see you want them to be as knowledgeable as you are when it comes to the material


Chalcedony is the Astrological Sign for: Cancer & Sagittarius

Chalcedony is considered a member of the Quartz family, color ranging from transparent, translucent, or opaque. It occasionally contains a small amount of opal.

Chalcedony balances the energy of mind, body, emotions and spirit. Alleviates hostilities, irritability, and enhances generosity.

Section 3: Tag Line
**Again with branding yourself including your signature statement, let the customer remember you!

Wear it, feel it, love it, own it - Meshe Designs

Section 4: Materials Listed and Measurements:
- Some people hate reading descriptions and prefer items listed clear and easy, this is great in addition to Section 1.
- Listed should not be your only way of describing product it won’t come up in the search engine as efficiently.
- I also include all material that my description may not
- List Measurements again they cannot touch or feel the product, so paint a picture and minimize reasons to hesitate buying right that moment.
- More information = less convos from buyers because you already included vital information. Which in turn allows for a more impulsive sale


Materials:
♥ Lime Green Chalcedony Faceted Briolettes
♥ Wire Wrapped
♥ Lever Back Earrings
♥ All Other Components Are Vintage Brass

Measures:
♥ With Ear Wire: Approx: 1.5"
♥ With Out Ear Wire Approx: 3/4"
All Measurements are Approx.

Section 5: Refer another Item
- This simply gives the customer one more reason to stay or make an additional purchase.
- All big name online retailers give you suggestions based on the item you are currently viewing. There not multi million dollar companies for no reason.


Love This Stone:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/71635559/lime-chalcedony-simple-briolette

Section 6: Link your policys:

-You want every customer to know your terms and conditions as far as shipping, and returns. Don’t assume they know where to find it, guide them!

MeShe Designs Policies & Shipping Info:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/meshedesigns/policy

Section 7: Gift Wrap

-Let the buyer know you offer gift wrap, one more reason for them to hit the checkout button.
-Customers Love Eco Friendly!


99% Eco Friendly Packaging, Gift Wrap Included
All Pieces Are Cleaned Prior To Shipment

Section 8: Contact Info

- They may be new to Etsy and know how to contact you; again you just saved a sale.
- Some people prefer email so I throw it in there

Any Question Contact Us:
Via Etsy Conversation
or
meshedesigns [!at] yahoo.com

Section 9: Facebook/Twitter:

-Allow your customers to be updated 24/7
- People Love promotions and you could have a new fan followed by another sale!


Visit Our Fan-page For Promotions:
www.facebook.com/meshedesigns

Sections 6, 7, 8, 9 I copy and paste work smarter not harder!

Again this is my layout make tweak it to fit your needs.

Don’t feel overwhelmed with all these tips just take it with a grain of salt and evaluate. Could your descriptions improve, and increase sales by increasing your buyer’s knowledge through descriptions?

Tuesday, May 3, 2011



One Month Challenge:
I encourage other fellow small business owners to participate in this One month Challenge to better your business. A simple practical way to enhance site appearance, viewers, sales, and overall better our everyday task management. I had an idea or maybe a million; on things I would like to do for my business, improvements that needed to be made, promotions that needed to run you catch my drift. But I found with all these tasks that needed to be started or completed in conjunction with everyday business maintenance I was not managing my time properly. This is a great challenge for new business owners, veterans, or entrepreneurs in need of a serious over haul. This is a simplified way to really outline your tasks into a format that fits your schedule not mine because all business needs are different. Remember you can alter this method to something that fits your needs this is just the tasks and format I am following.
Step 1 - Sign up for Google Calendar
www.google.com
Click on the more tab and you will find calendars
Google Calendars a great free way to organize your daily tasks and events.
Similar to Microsoft office without having to buy or downloads any extra programs.
If you are signed up for Google Analytics you can access the calendar feature under the same account name.

Step 2: Write down your specific needs for your business
Really sit down on this one and think of all the day to day tasks that YOU DO or SHOULD BE doing in order to run a successful business. They don’t all have to be done on the same day now just write them all down!

For Instance:
List 2 Items per day
Blog Three times per week
Renew twice a day
Update Face book/Twitter
Create 3 new pieces
Pictures for 5 pieces
Order Supplies
Pricing New Merchandise

Now List all the tasks you would like to incorporate maybe promotions you want to run or people you need to contact shows you would like to attend, business meet ups you get the idea:
* This list is not everyday tasks, this second list shows you new projects,promotions, or business opportunity's you would like to incorporate into your monthly challenge.

Run Face book Ad
Feature/Review Seller on your blog
Retake Pictures
Revise item descriptions/tags
New Banner/avatar/cards
Approach Brick and Mortar stores for consignment/wholesale accounts

Step 3 – Create a 30 day Calendar that fits all your to do’s into a schedule.
Tip 1 – Be practical
-don’t shove 12 tasks in one day if that day you work another job, have the dentist appointment, picking up joey and Janie from soccer at 2 keep it practical
- don’t overwhelm yourself you will end up getting discouraged
-don’t think about what you wont be able to get done think about what you can get done in a day -If you don't finish a task on one day you may have more time the next and keep notes in the calender, the beauty is you can move the events alter and add at any time.
-don’t have too many ideas and not enough time

Tip 2 – Keep your schedule consistent
-Keep your main business needs consistent meaning Mon Wed and Fri you always list 3 items and take all your pictures.
-Have everyday tasks filled out first then go ahead and plug in your extra projects you’ve been sitting on all year! It will be more clear as too whats priority and what is optional.

Tip 3 - Entering tasks/events:
When entering in a task or event you simply click one on the day and time you would like to enter in the
I love the event option because you can create notes and use the repeat button, which allows you to repeat a task what ever days and times for however long you want to repeat that particular event.
You can play around with the calendar features it takes no time to get the hang of it, and how you want to operate the features.
Play around with the features and modify the calendar to your liking.

Step 4 – Follow Through
-Make sure you really stick to your 30 day challenge to see a improvement, and conduct small studies. When renewing record how many views your item had at the beginning of the day and then record how many at the end. These things can all be plugged into your Google Calendar or any calendar program.

Taking 30 minutes to fill out this calendar just set a months worth of goals that you can alter and tweak for the following month. You can track your views from google analytics, sales,hearts,treasury features at the beginning of the month to the end and compare to see if any of these methods are working for you.

So hear we go and periodically throughout the month I will be blogging about my experience and I encourage others to share tips and tricks and there journey on the one month challenge!