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A little birdy told me…
Image by The Sun Room on Folksy
By contributing columnist Connie of KonnieKapow on Folksy
A little birdy told me...
There have been quite a few discussions recently on the Folksy forums, whether it’s new sellers asking for advice or just a general chat, about where the best places are to promote our online shops. When I first joined I too asked these questions (I’m still asking them!) and got some really helpful answers from some really friendly sellers.
I personally learned that anyone who’s anyone blogs! At first I found it a little bit difficult to get into the swing of blogging, it’s a bit like keeping a public diary and seems quite self indulgent and me me me! But I soon got into the swing of my blog and try to update it as regularly as possible, once a day is ideal although I rarely have the time! One thing I did to try and improve my blog’s ‘exposure’ was a giveaway with a prize of three of my stationery packs where in order to enter you had to become a follower of my blog and twitter, it really worked! I’m not saying hundreds of people read every single post but a few do! One thing I did was put a visitor counter on my blog which is really handy for seeing how many people have viewed it. You can even set it so that it doesn't count visits from your home pc. A good guide for doing this on blogger can be found here.
Folksy seller Oddsox adds to this "If you have a blog see if you can set it up to automatically Twitter your new posts and also link them to Facebook if you have an account there."
Here's what some other Folksy sellers had to say on how to promote your work:
Twitter is something which comes up time after time if you ask where to promote on Folksy:
Laura's Jewellery pointed out that, "building up followers opens up a whole new world for you. It’s also useful for finding new suppliers." Adding to this linziloop says: "As a complete surprise to me i get a LOT more views from Twitter than i ever thought i would. So i think Twitter should be on [a list of recommended places to promote]."
Oddsox furthers this by adding: "At the mo I’m running a quickfire Q&A game with a few Folksy peeps on my blog – each new post automatically goes to Twitter. Today I had a new follower from it who said this…
“@thesockgarden: love your header + great feature Starstruck wish u had easy quick link on there so I can follow the peeps featured on twitter”
I replied to say unfortunately not everyone has a twitter account and she said
“@thesockgarden: thats a shame I actively look for gifts to buy online and would rather give my biz to fellow tweeters 
”
The list of websites used by sellers to promote their work is endless however some of the more popular ones include stumble-upon, craftjuice, technorati, uk handmade, craftblog UK, craftgawker, twitter, facebook, crafteroo, flickr... please feel free to add more in the comments!
Of course, there are lots of other ways to promote your shop!
Dottie Designs says: "I think that you never know where your next order will come from so whatever you are doing make it your absolute best! eg I did a Folksy Swap with Zoe from Jewelbox and she loved what I sent her so much that she ordered one as a retirement pressie for her Mum.
I gave a raffle prize recently with a keepsake box for charity and got 4 orders from people seeing it!
I'm also a great believer in listening to your customers. My very best selling Wedding Guest Book (sold about 30) was a customers design by bringing together 2 styles of books that I had displayed.
I'll message again if I think of anything else!
Oh and be wary of paying to advertise. My friend makes gorgeous bean bags and has been spending £100 a month on Google PPC for 6 months and has had just 2 orders. Luckily she has a well paid job to support her venture!!"
Some thoughts from Top Floor Treasures were; "The best thing I can think of is to ALWAYS ask your customers how they came across the item they bought. Maybe they had one of your business cards, maybe they saw a link on Facebook/Twitter/wherever, maybe they were just having a general browse on Folksy. Either way, it is very useful to know where your customers are coming from.
Most of mine so far have been general browsers on Folksy, but they have been looking for something in particular so get your keywords/tags/categories right!"
Of course, there are ways which don't involve computers! Many sellers including Diomo Glass said that they get sales through day to day conversations with people they meet:
Lemonade and Lamingtons says: "I’ve sold stuff after conversations; I sold a flower brooch to a woman at the bus stop after she overheard me talking to a friend about the brooch I was wearing! As a parent too, I find waiting at school in the afternoon to pick up the kids is a great place to network – again, just after having conversations, I’ve sold hats and gloves and scarves (and sometimes all three as a set!). I’ve sold stuff after talking to people while waiting to pick up our kids after scouts – a comment about “ooh, cold tonight!” often leads to “I like your hat/gloves/scarf/whatever” and I’ve made a few sales/commissions that way!
Similarly, The Dottery Potter pointed out that, "if you make items that you can wear yourself, such as jewellery, hair accessories, bags, clothing etc. never leave the house without wearing something you’ve made."
It’s perfect free promotion : ) Just make sure that you’ve always got a business card handy to give out to your potential customers.
Paulaz Jewelz also gets interest by wearing items she has made: "I find I get the most orders from when I’m actually wearing a piece of jewellery I have made. I love it when people come to me and say “what a lovely necklace I’d love one like that” to which I reply “Then you may have one, as I will make it!”
I always carry business cards with me to give to those that I don’t know who admire, such as shop workers etc. I leave business cards in tanning salons, beauty salons, hairdressers….. even on the bulletin board in the local chip shop! Everywhere you can think of there are potential customers, so just be cheeky and get it up there!"
Good old business cards are a must have, linziloop is "of the opinion that your business cards should be a good representation of your shop, not a pre-designed template from the likes of [vistaprint]….where someone else could have exactly the same design – that will be detrimental to you both."
Imogen's Imagination says; "always have business cards to hand…or a pen and paper at the very least.
when you've got that conversation going and the person is interested, that last thing you want is for them not to be able to contact you!" A sentiment which is echoed by Clare's Creations when she says; "I always put a little business sticker on the back of my cards to let everyone know who made it and where you can find me for future reference, and include a business card in any packages I send out."
lastly, some thoughts from another two lovely ladies who always give fabulous advice:
Emma in Wonderland suggests "Be passionate about what you sell. If you’re excited about your product, chances are your potential customers will catch your fever!" which is terrific advice, how many times have you bought something on the back of the person selling its enthusiasm?
I'll leave you with a pearl of wisdom from Quincifer of Purple Schmurple; "don’t be afraid to attempt something you haven’t done before. I had never done hair accessories before but my friend asked me to make some hair slides for her wedding. I was a bit reluctant at first because I didn’t want to risk them not being right on the most important day of her life! But I gave it a go, she loved them and now she has come back to me for more jewellery orders! And now I can add another item to my list of ‘can do’ " Gotta love that can do attitude!
Edited by Bette Miles-Holleman aka BadMsM
I’m Linda Gay Jones and here is a brief bio of me! (And I know it’s longer than I expected it to be though! Hey, I’ve lived a long time! 
