Handmade in Brooklyn

Return of the Etsy Experiment

Megan — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

One of the things sellers have been told ad nauseum is that in order to be successful on Etsy, you have to pay constant attention to your shop. Which makes sense, obviously. But is that all there is to it these days?

I began my first Etsy experiment in 2010, and even just 2 years ago Etsy was a completely different place. It has grown by leaps and bounds in just those few years. Is listing and relisting still a viable way to be noticed on etsy or does it take more than that? I was interested to see if the old rules still apply, and in this notoriously slow time of year, if just focusing on getting your listing on top of the searches was still a financially viable way to achieve sales.

I decided to redo the 2010 Etsy Experiment this month (interestingly enough, the experiment ALSO took place in February last time) and see what the results could be. The good news is that I really have not touched my Etsy shop in quite a few months (it still said “summer sale going on now!” oops.) so Im essentially starting with a clean slate.

Here are the rules:

I must list or relist 4 times a day for 1 month.

Right now the calendar is set to remind me at: 10 am, 1pm, 4pm, and 7pm, though I may have to waiver on a few of those times due to life situations. So around those times.

I will not promote my site any other way.

as this is a controlled experiment to see if the “old method” of constant listing is still a viable tool. I will not participate in any promoted ads or showcases. But you know, if they want to make me a featured seller…well..that’s a-okay with me

monday motivation

Megan — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because… All that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are. ~Mark Cuban

Weekend Warrior

Megan — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

This weekend:

1. Find one easy craft project

(post it here!)

2. Do 10 (more) crunches

3. Plan a light dessert to make next week

Thursday Etsy Love: Just Picks

Megan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

No theme this week, just random likes from Etsy sellers:

1950s Dress by wildfellhallvintage

Black Batik Wrap Skirt by IKHAN

Midnight Crystal earrings VictoriaRegia

Clover Print Linen Scarf by Michelle Han

Taffeta Cocktail Dress by wildfellhallvintage

Are gimmicks a worthwhile business idea?

Megan — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

To be entirely honest, I wrote this subject down a few weeks ago and don’t remember what gimmicks I was talking about exactly. So Im going to say, for the moment, gimmicks are branding-related.

To the left, some of you may remember, was a line in the old theme for Metropolis. My gimmick was pulp-comic bodycare.

Was it cute? Definitely

Was it fun? Absolutely, many got a kick out of my attempt at being witty.

Was it financially viable? Eh.

It’s hard to be schtick-y if you can’t do it in the big time. Had I had a financial boost in the beginning to avoid starting from the ground up, things may have been different. But having a gimmick means you need to do two things

1. Accept all people are NOT going to get it.

2. Cater to those who do get it EXCLUSIVELY.

Quirky people get quirky gimmicks. Cutesy people get cutesy gimmicks. Don’t try to be all things to all people. With the old aesthetic, I wanted to be high-end, but low brow, and that just doesn’t work many times. I sat down and thought “where can I market this to and would it be economically viable?” Whole Foods wouldn’t have gotten it, Hot Topic might have (but how many people there are buying soap regularly?). Natural-based stores wouldn’t get it, quirky boutiques would. Again, what was my end goal and could these boutiques sustain the company for long periods of time over the bigger stores? I didn’t wait to find out.

To come full circle, I am not knocking those who think of a business aesthetic and market the hell out of it. There are many that have done it, and done it well. But the ones that succeed are the ones who have a clear(er) plan on where their market is and who will get their gimmick.

If you’ve got an idea for a gimmick that will make you stand out, plan for how to make that affect your bank account in a positive way.

Remember earlier in the year I said 2012 is the year to:

Listen. Learn. Plan.

Don’t jump in because it’s cool and different. Work out how different will…well…work!

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