Vagabond Indie Craft Fair in San Francisco

I'll be selling my sea glass jewelry at the Vagabond Indie Craft Fair in SF on Sunday, May 6th 12-7pm. So if you're in the bay area, stop by, and see all the beautiful handmade items.

• What:  There will be over two dozen local artists selling their unique, handmade wares in Urban Bazaar's backyard garden.
• A great spot for Mother's Day gifts
• Bake sale fundraiser
• Free sewing demos and button making

• When: Saturday and Sunday, May 5th and 6th, noon-7pm

• Where:
  Urban Bazaar
  1371 9th Ave. (between Judah and Irving)
  San Francisco, CA 94122
  Inner Sunset neighborhood
  415.664.4422

Questions: GoodTimes@UrbanBazaarSF.com

SEO for Etsy Shop Owners - be found on Etsy and Google

How to optimize your keywords, titles, descriptions, and tags to be found on Etsy and Google Search.

Is your shop like a needle in a haystack?

Find your keywords:

1. Google adwords – what search terms are popular
2. Google insights for search – what are the most popular and up and coming search terms
3. Etsy Stats – what is currently driving your traffic
4. Etsy suggested keywords – appears when you type into the search bar – these are recent buyer search terms
5. Brainstorm synonyms
6. Good resource on Etsy blog for determining your keywords.
7. Think like a buyer. What would you search for? What would you search if you couldn’t find what you were looking for in the initial search? What you add colors, more descriptions? What details would you look for when searching for that item? How specific would you get?
8. Keep a notebook/record of potential keywords and keywords you’re using. Keep brainstorming on new keywords to include
9. Ask other friends to help you describe your item and give you ideas for keywords. Sometimes a fresh perspective helps
   

Plug in Your Keywords

Item Titles:

1. Titles are given the most weight in Etsy search ranking
2. The first words in the title are the most important, especially the first THREE words.
3. EXACT Word pairs and matched phrases will rank higher in search.
4. All words in the title, however, will help you in search ranking, so if a keyword is relevant, try to include it.
5. Try to make your title look natural, not spammy. Don’t smash as many keywords as possible.
6. Be sure your titles are not too long - this could appear as spam to search engines.
7. Diversify your titles! This will make you more relevant in a lot of different searches.
   

Item Descriptions:

1. Don’t duplicate descriptions across items – it could be ignored in Google
2. Make sure your item description contains the keywords from your title. Some warn repeating the title exactly could be considered duplicate data and be ignored in google, but I haven’t experienced this.
3. Try to repeat your keywords a few times in the description, but try to incorporate it naturally in the dialogue. 
   

Item Tags:

1. Use the keywords you found from google insights, adwords, etsy stats, etsy suggested keywords, and from brainstorming.
2. Again, vary your tags and make them unique across items – this increases your chances of being found in search
3. Use team tags on some of your listings, but mix them up.
4. If you have a long list of possible tags, rotate them
5. Don’t use the same tags for each listing
6. Tag pairs and tag phrases that are relevant will help you appear in search – i.e. sterling silver or green sea glass.  Hitting on multiple words will give your item better ranking. There is a character limit, so keep the tag under the limit.
   
   

Shop Description:

Google ranks based on shop description as well. Make sure your shop description contains some of the keywords you are targeting

Syndication:

1. Check if you are Syndicated and if you are eligible – this will allow you to appear in Google Product Search.
2. If you are not yet syndicated, but believe you are eligible, post on a message board requesting syndication. Most Etsy business teams have already started threads and have admin who currently check the boards.
   
   

Find Your Items in Search:

• After you’ve edited some of your items or posted something new, type in one of your target keywords and see where you appear in search.
• Better to test with a NEW item you just listed, as it takes longer for an old item to be indexed by search if you just edited the title, description, or tags.
• Work on tweaking your items, seeing what helps elevate you in search, but be sure to keep notes of your edits, so you know what worked!
• *Go slowly with your changes – make sure they helped increase views from your stats page before changing all your items

Etsy for Newbies - A Tutorial on Self-Promotion to Get You Started

Most people who start their own craft/handmade business don't know where to start. This tutorial is designed as a spring board to help you get views and introduce you to what promoting on Etsy and other sites can do for you.


You're making something really lovely, but NO ONE knows about it. No one can find it. This is where you start. 

Promotion on Etsy

1. Teams

• Join relevant crafting teams
•  beading, crochet, jewelers, metalsmiths - find others like you so you can share your work and your struggles/successes
• Join business teams
• You can learn so much from these teams, search the forums and read a ton.
• Get involved in the discussion boards. If you're confused, ask someone!

•  Join local teams
• Local teams may have meet-ups to connect with other Etsy members
• Learn about local arts and craft shows

• Post your work or sales
•  Most teams allow you to promote your items on certain threads. Make sure you follow the instructions of the thread. Any exposure you can get is helpful.

2. Support others 

• Favorite other items and shops on your teams
  
• Don't randomly favorite, but as you're going through the teams, find some work you like and favorite it and/or favorite their shop. 
• This will help build connections to other artists, and they will often support your work in return.
• Make Treasuries
  
• Don't feature your own work, only other artists
• Builds up your Etsy karma
• Helps you get exposure
•  Post tips on the teams/forums
  
• Have you learned something fabulous that really helped your business? Spread the word. 

3. Build your circle

• Add people to your circle who has similar tastes in favorite items & shops - you will then see their favoriting activity on your activity feed.
• If others add you to their circle, the benefit comes when a person hearts your shop or an item in your shop, then everyone in their circle sees that activity.
•  Being active on the teams, supporting other shops, and adding others to your circle will all contribute to being added to other circles.

4. Find a Role Model on Etsy

• Maybe it's someone doing a similar craft, or someone who is a really successful seller on Etsy. A resource on Etsy's top sellers is located here.
• Study how they are promoting themselves.
  
• How many circles are they in?
• How many people are favoriting their shop?
• How long have they been in business?
• How many teams do they belong to?
• Are they on Facebook? How many fans? Are they active on facebook? What are they posting about?
• Are they are Twitter? What are they tweeting about? How many followers?
• All of their connections and sites where they promote are directly related to their success.
  
• Google their shop name. How many different sites can you find them on? Do they have a blog? Are they featured in other blogs?
• Aspire to their level of visibility - what can you do now to promote yourself in similar ways?

Other Promotional Sites

 

1. Facebook

• Start your own Facebook page, separate from your personal facebook

• Post pictures of your work (linked to your Etsy page) or a work in progress
• Promote sales
• Promote your blog
• Visit other artists/crafters' facebook pages and comment and like their posts.
• *Important* - Link your Etsy store with your Facebook page, so others can "like" you on Facebook directly from your Etsy shop page. Go to "Shop Settings" and "Info and Appearance" to link to your Facebook page.

2. Twitter

• Promote new items, sales, or a new blog post
• Follow other artists/crafters
• Learn how about hash tags
•  *Important* - Link your Etsy store with your Twitter feed, so others can follow you on Twitter directly from your Etsy shop page. Go to "Shop Settings" and "Info and Appearance" to link to your Facebook page.

3. Pinterest

•  Pinterest is a site that allows you to create boards of products for sale and websites that you like. 
• There is a "pin it" button on any listing on Etsy, so you can pin directly from Etsy.
• Pin your own items as well as items from other crafters you'd like to help promote.
• *You need to get an invite to join.  Send me an email at seaglassreinvented@gmail.com to get an invite.

4. Blogger

• Start your own blog for free at blogger.com
• Link to your Etsy store and make it stand out
• Also link to your facebook, twitter, pinterest and any other networking sites you are on.
•  Feature other Etsy members on your blog. Trade a feature article with a friend. You post about them, they post about you.
• Follow other blogs that interest you.  Comment on their blogs using your blogger account. Post interesting, thoughtful comments, don't post spam.
• Post tutorials about your craft
• Post about your process
• Post on your inspiration - tell us your story, inspire us

Final tips:

1. If you're serious about selling your work online and you want to be found, PROMOTE, PROMOTE, PROMOTE! 
   
   
2. Get out there now and start joining those sites I mentioned and other sites you can find. If you're super ambitious, you can also promote on Wanelo, Squidoo, and Stumbleupon.
   
   
3. Start out small if you don't have much time.
    
   
4. Make a goal of doing at least one thing a day to promote your shop or joining one new site.
   
   

Comment if you have any additional ideas for promotion!

Subscribe to my blog to learn more about promoting your shop on and outside of Etsy.

 
Visit my Etsy shop, Seaglass Reinvented


Thanks for reading!

My Four Leaf Clover Necklace is Featured in an Etsy Treasury!

'Red and Green and Colours Between' by MeerkatArt

A lovely gift collection in spring or autumn colors.

Needle felted olive gre... AgnesFelt $20.00	Swarovski Cosmic Neckla... TrinketsNWhatn... $28.00	Whimsical Love photogra... dullbluelight $12.00
Eye Shadow Mineral Make... MadisonStreetB... $4.99	Dark brown string neckl... khaliweb $33.00	Green Sea Glass Necklac... SeaglassReinve... $33.00
Cranberry slouchy tote ... ACAmour $32.00	Birdcage Veil -Turquois... ZoeyCatherine $45.00	An abstract blue cat is... HopeSpringsStu... $8.00
Deep Purple Leather Wra... Wrapology $38.00	Stunning Minty Green wi... TheBountifulBi... $34.00	5x5 Fine art photograph... mylittlepixels $13.00
Crochet Beanie - Hat Wi... Madebyfate $30.00	Artisan Wire Wrapped Tu... wirequeen $120.00	Tin Soy Candle Travel 4... SensualScentsa... $5.75
Holiday Accessories, La... DEMET $21.00

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Tides and Sea Glass - When are the best times to look for Sea Glass?

Beach in Monterey, CA

After the Storm

The first low tide after a storm would be a great time to look for sea glass.  The wind will be stronger during the storm, causing higher tides and a likelihood that debris will be washed along the shore.  Then the first low tide will provide calmer waters for you to find what the storm has produced, and more of the beach will be revealed, since the water recedes during low tide.

 

Negative Tide or Low Tide

The low tide in my area is from 4-6pm today

Consult a tide table or graph for your area to determine when the low tides occur that day. There are typically two high and two low tides per day.  It is best to hunt for sea glass during what is called negative tide, which means the tide will have receded below the average low water line. Otherwise, if you hunt during a higher tide, the tide may be covering up any sea glass that has washed on the shore. Some beaches are completely covered during a high tide and are only accessible during low tide. Also note that during high tide it may be dangerous to wade in the water.

Perigean Spring Tides

The Perigean spring tides occur when the moon is closest to the earth during a spring tide. 

• Spring tides  - occur during a new moon and full moon when the earth, moon and sun are aligned. This causes the tides to be 20% higher and occurs every two weeks. 
• Perigean tides - occur every 28 days when the moon is closest to the earth, which causes an increase in the range of tides; high tides are higher and low tides are lower.

About 3 to 4 times per year, both events occur on the same day, when the moon is closest to the earth (perigee) and there is also a full moon or new moon (spring tide), termed the "Perigean Spring Tides."  On these days, the tides will be higher than most days during the year.  These would be prime days for searching for sea glass, during the first low or negative tide after a very high tide.


Visit my Etsy store to see the jewelry I've made from my sea glass finds.


Sources:

NOAA Tide Predictions
http://www.co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml

Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perigean_spring_tide

Spring Treasury

'Springy springtime finds' by SeaglassReinvented

Peacock Feather Fabric ... EmilyRoseBloss... $10.00	Brooch delicate floral ... mollymoodesign $9.00	Polka Dot All Occasion ... TheEnnaCollect... $5.00
Gorgeous Vintage Butter... lesleyhornbeck $12.00	Easter bunny ears headb... urBunny $16.00	Set ring and earrings ... irinacarmen $26.00
Stuffed Easter Bunny Ke... DesigningImpre... $11.50	Pink Dots Bunny Bib StudioInGrid $10.00	PDF Pattern - Crochet T... SweetCrocheter... $2.50
Easter Day Eggs Garland... accessory8 $22.00	Butterflies Set of 16 N... smileywalls $18.90	Chocolate Filled Toadst... andiespecialty... $42.00
Princess Star Wand in P... AmericanBlosso... $5.00	Multicolored pastel cha... strandsofgrace $56.00	Spring Pastel felt hear... LullabyMobiles $25.00
Pastel Easter Tutu TutuDoll $19.99

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.