In my first Camp Etsy post, I went over 5 simple tips to taking pictures for Etsy, now I'm going to explain why good pictures are important.
But first - I wanted to share a couple photography articles I've come across that aren't totally focused towards professionals with $600 cameras...
Photo Styling with Kim Ludy of Trampoline - Even if you don't like photography articles, this is a great read with great pictures.
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So why does all this matter.....
....because....
Great Pictures are More Likely to....
1. Become a "FAVORITE."
Etsy has this fun little feature that allows you to click on a heart and have items or entire shops saved to a list of favorites.
(Any member of Etsy can use it - you don't need to be a buyer or seller - just have a (free) Etsy Account).
Other members of Etsy can look at your favorites (favorites can also be kept private)
If people like your shop enough and favorite it--whenever you add new listings to Etsy, anyone who has you saved as a "favorite" will get an update to his / her "Activity Feed" ( which is like a dashboard that tells you when you've been added to Treasuries, favorited, etc.)
I look through my favorites when I'm looking for a blog post idea or if I'm working on a treasury, which leads me to my next point...
Great pictures are more likely to....
2. Get your listings featured in TREASURIES.
Treasuries are collections of listings that can be created by any member of Etsy (you don't have to be a buyer or seller to create treasuries)
Here's an example of a treasury that included my green farm table:
Another pretty treasury:
Treasuries are another avenue for your shop to be seen...
This treasury, which includes my Shades of Pink Wreath (which, by the way, I named before the whole Shades of Gray thing became popular), has had 745 views....that's 745 potential buyers, or 745 sellers who might "favorite" you, or 745 people who might post you to their Facebook or Pinterest pages...and then it's out there to repin and repost to infinite places.
All because you took the time to create a pretty picture.
Pretty fantastic (and free!) - but wait, there's more...
Being featured in treasuries can lead to....
3. Be Featured on the Home Page of Etsy
The Etsy "Gods" choose the Handpicked Items that are featured on the front page of Etsy from the Treasuries made by its users....
Here's a Treasury that was featured on the front page:
Making the front page is a big deal.
Etsy receives 42 million unique visitors and 1.4 billion (that's Billion. with a B) page views monthly. MONTHLY.
BIG.DEAL.
To see if you've had an item featured on the front page, check out Craft Cult.
So, it might just worth your time to check out my 5 Simple Tips for Great Etsy Photos for some tips to make your product pictures attractive to treasury creators.
If all of this isn't the best thing you've seen since Pinterest....there's MORE!
Great pictures are more likely to be FAVORITED, which are more likely to be used in TREASURIES, which are used to create Etsy's HOME PAGE - all of which make your item more likely to....
4. Be shared via SOCIAL MEDIA.
Have you ever bought anything on Etsy?
How did you find the item that you ultimately purchased?
Did you search through thousands of listings? Or, did you see it on Pinterest, Facebook, a blog, an Etsy Treasury, or any one of the social media options out there?
After I post a new listing to Etsy, the first thing I do is add it to my "Salvaged Whimsy" board on Pinterest.
Now my practically obscure item will at least be glanced at by a couple hundred people who would not have seen it other wise. If it's repinned, that number is multiplied.
At first, it was hard for me to "pin" my own stuff, so I chose to create a board specifically for my items.
I also have a board called "a la Etsy" where I post other shops' things that I like from Etsy: (Some items I pin to other boards where they make more sense)
I choose these pins directly from my Etsy Favorites .
Every so often, I'll add some pictures to my Salvaged Whimsy Facebook page -
If you don't have a Facebook page for your business, go set one up here (you set them up as an extension to your personal page)...it's another great way to meet people and share your ideas.
In my opinion, your Facebook page shouldn't be one big Etsy shop advertisement. I have my blog posts automatically uploaded to Facebook using dilvr.it., and occasionally I'll add pictures of my booth or items that I don't share on my blog.
I try to check my FB page once every one or two days in order to "like" anyone who has "liked" me, and make sure I haven't received any questions comments, etc.
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Now, these are the social media sites I use, but if you're interested in one of the other options, here's some information to get you started:
You can network with other Etsy Sellers via the Etsy Forums - I don't spend a ton of time here, but I always learn something when I do - great resource!
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It's taken me a good 3 weeks to get all of this out in a way that makes sense- so I apolgize for the time lapse since my last Camp Etsy post.
It's important to me to offer advice that can't be read on 1000 different blogs.
Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or corrections!
Have a great weekend (and try to stay cool!)
