Often I am asked how long it took me to make my first sale on Etsy and then what advise could I offer to help them with their new shop. I am still very new to making and selling but there are a few things I have learnt along the way which might help those starting out.

1. When I opened my shop the first thing I did was send out an email to all my friends letting them know about it. This is a bit rude but they were all very supportive and I made a few sales through it which was also extremely useful becuase once I had made a few sales other people felt more confident buying from my shop.

2. Feedback on Etsy is also very important becuase it is another thing that makes new buyers more confident buying from you. I found that one in three people left feedback so it is important, especially in the beginning, to remind buyers to leave feedback.

3. When I was bored of clicking ‘check mail’ in my inbox for the 75th time in one hour in hope of a ‘you have an order‘ email I would find myself in the etsy chat rooms. I have never made a sale through chatting but it did boost my morale, encouraged people to heart my shop and increased my views. This exposure often led to my items being included in treasury’s which is fantastic free advertising (especially if you make the Etsy front page).

4. Constantly updating your shop is also a good way to make the Etsy front page (even if it is only for a few seconds in the ‘most recently uploaded’ spot).

5. Visit other Etsy shops and heart them if you like their products. Often these shop owners visited and hearted my shop in return.

6. Connecting with blogs whether it is by commenting on posts or writing them an email is a great way to promote your shop indirectly (Note: please do not try to promote your product through the comments. Your name should be hyper linked to your shop and you can get quite a few people clicking through without even mentioning your shop). With this said, a give-a-way on a blog always pays off in visits or sales. Most blog owners would love to give-a-way items. There are also blogs that do just that. For example, Etsy Giveaways blog and a Give-a-way-a-day blog.

7. Having a blog is hard work but now, a year later, I can say that it was and is definitely worth it. I have developed a loyal readership of whom many were customers first and have become repeat buyers. A blog is a great way to stay connected with customers.

8. Twitter is another great way to inform customers of new products or shop uploads. It is great to keep updating what you are doing creatively or day-by-day on twitter. If you can’t blog, tweet.

I hope that these 8 points can help those new Etsy sellers. If you would like some more tips check out the ‘marketing on a shoestring budget’ and ’10 newbie tips‘ article in the Etsy storque.