Improving Your Etsy Shop

Since I have had a shop on Etsy since 2009...I think I have learned a lot about being a shop owner and making a great experience for my customers.  I am still constantly learning and sometimes I think I am better at critiquing others shops more than my own.  :)  This page is intended to give you some resources for your Etsy Shop and help.  If you would like advice...please add a comment and I will respond.  I would like this page to be a safe place to critique in a kind and helpful way so our shops can all be OUTSTANDING!

Resources for your brand:
You are not only a shop owner on Etsy, but a brand.  Customer service is key.  I always like to wrap my items in a very cheerful way that promotes my brand, shows professionalism, is esthetically pleasing to the customer, gets them excited to get a package from me, and makes them want to come back.
Here is a package I recently sent out and how it looked right before I put it in the box.

















This does not take much money, just a little more time, effort and thought.  This will make you memorable as a seller.  The good news is...you can write this off in your taxes as a business expense (KEEP YOUR RECEIPTS).  Regular tissue paper is fine, however, I prefer the patterned ones.  This one particular tissue paper matches the dots in my sticker and business card.  There is congruence with all three things with the polka dots.  Target has good prices on a bunch of tissue in a large pack. The ribbon always adds a nice touch.  I have a drawer of scraps of ribbons that I dip into.  I also get the cheap $1.00 ribbon they sell in bins at places like Michael's, Joann's and other fabric/craft stores.  The stickers I love!  They say thank you...so there is no need to add a note, unless you want to, which I do also on occasion (dollar bins at crafts stores have stationary cards and tags you can use).  The sticker also has my website.  Could you make your own stickers...yes.  However, that is more time and my printer does not make as clean of stickers as these.  I get my stickers from the sweetest lady and GREAT shop owner in GREECE!!!  :)  I love her designs, she is so sweet and I can not believe how quickly my labels come in the mail all the way from Greece!
The shop is called Paper Kingdom and Nina is GREAT.  She has had an Etsy business since 2009 and has had over 2506 sales and 100% positive feedback!  http://www.etsy.com/shop/thepaperkingdom
She does so many things I can not list them all.  She has 342 items in her shop and is willing to do custom orders.  Whenever I go back to her for my stickers, no matter how long it has been, she knows exactly what I want and has my previous jpg for my order on file ready to print.  Here are a few of her items (cupcake toppers, Christmas stickers for your Christmas goodies, Stickers for your sales, signs for birthday parties, hang tags for your clothes etc. etc.)

 In my recent order she sent me address labels that match my stickers.  Great marketing strategy, right?  Now I will order those next!

 I always like to add something extra in my shipments.  Many sellers will include a sample of something else, like Nina did for me with the labels.  Recently I sent a mom a free designer, latex free burp cloth with her order of a name canvas for her newborn.  Being that my boutique name is Lil Lollipops Designs...I like to go along those lines.  Usually I add a lollipop, which costs .39, on top of the package.  Recently I found these adorable lollipop soaps...a little more expensive...but so cute and such a nice added extra.

My business cards I get at Zazzle. http://www.zazzle.com/ I really like their styles and prices.  You can always find a coupon, if they have not already sent you one with your order.  I don't know if you can see it in the pictures, but my business card has a shimmery sheen on it.  So cute!  I think Zazzle is a step up from Vista Print or other companies like that.  I also ordered some bumper stickers from Zazzle that are GREAT!  They were about 3.00 each, but the more you buy the cheaper it is.

As for hang tags for my clothing, I got some really cute ones from this company on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/YourShopNameHere  She is a mom, so I like to support other Moms on Etsy.  She was great at customizing what I wanted  and added fabric instructions on the back.  She used my logo (like on my business cards) and put it on round hang tags.  Recently, I ran out of my tags and had to print my own.  They came out ok, but I prefer the ones she made for me or tags like Paper Kingdom makes.  I just don't have the time and they never turn out as good, but in a pinch, they will do.

As for clothing labels, if you make clothing items or any other kind of fabric items, there are two places I have done through.  The first is also a mom.  She did a great job and they came quickly.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/MommieMadeIt   She incorporated my brown and pink dots with my name on the label.   I am currently trying a new Etsy shop that is putting my whole logo on the clothing label...we will see how it goes.  As for Mommie Made It, I highly recommend her!  She did a great job and has GREAT prices...especially if you are just starting out.  She has some really cute label designs too.

I hope this helps, for now.  I will be adding new entries every so often to this page to give you more tips and advice.  :)  You can go to  my Resource page for a quick reference of these sellers and others to help with your business! http://lillollipopsdesigns.blogspot.com/p/resources-for-your-etsy-shop.html