Merchandising goes under the header of "things I didn't know I needed to know". It isn't hard to figure out, but it does take a little work. And, I am not someone who knows proper business terminology so if my terms don't jive with what you learned in college, sorry, just bear with me.The "merchandising" I am talking about is putting your items out there in a way that connect with relevant and current topics that are out there in the world.
Take this necklace for example. I made this necklace a few months ago before the Sherlock Holmes movie came out. Since it reminded me of a monacle or a magnifying glass it tagged it with detective, Sherlock Holmes, magnifying glass, novel, mystery. I also titled it "Watson Magnifying Lense Necklace". I also included a quote from the novel in the listing description. When the movie was being promoted and after it came out I was included in several treasuries and front pages with this theme.
Now, fast forward a few months. The Sherlock Holmes movie is over and Alice in Wonderland is the new up and coming movie. Last week I changed the title of this necklace to "Looking Glass Necklace". I changed the tags from the Sherlock Holmes theme to the Alice theme, cleaned up the description and left it.
Today it was featured in a "Down the Rabbit Hole" Etsy Finds Email here. How exciting is that? Would the EXACT SAME necklace had been featured if I hadn't changed the title? Nope, I can say definitely doubtful.
Etsy provides is with all the information we need to merchandise our items. They tell us what type of treasuries they will be looking for, the themes they will be using, holidays they will be highlighting and much more information. Another plus is that they give us a month's heads up so we can plan ahead. See this week's article here: April Showers. You can find more articles on the Storque Blog, under the "Selling" side bar header.
Some imagination is necessary, but we all have lots of that don't we? Think outside the box and read the articles. It may give you some inspiration and ideas.
Excellent post! I'm ashamed to admit that I've never really paid too much attention to those Storque posts - I really should have done more Alice in Wonderland stuff. Going to pay more attention now, thanks!
ReplyDeleteAlso, well done you! I'd do anything to get in one of those Etsy emails again, but I haven't been in one since the weekend deals promotions, and now it seems like I'll never get in one since they scrapped them. :(
Excellent tip! Thank so much.
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