Monday, August 31, 2009

The Etsy Experiment Revealed!

Does renewing really work?

After reading several threads in the forums regarding renewing as a means to boost Etsy sales I decided I would do my own little experiment in my shop with renewing. I began this trial in March of 2009 and the experiment has been running now for almost a full 6 months. Many of the previous experiments I had read about in the forums were usually held for 1 week, sometimes a bit longer. But really not long enough, in my humble opinion, to garner an accurate, overall picture. (hence the extended time frame)

First let me explain the difference between listing, re-listing & renewing.

•Listing: Listing a new item for the first time. Cost -.20¢

•Re-listing: Listing an item that has sold which you want to sell again. Cost -.20¢

•Renewing: Listing an item that has already been listed in your shop and has not sold yet. Cost -.20¢

Here is how I conducted the experiment:

Begin date, March 8th 2009.

Number of sales, 86 (since opening my shop 9 months earlier on June 8, 2008)

I committed to renewing (along with listing & re-listing) a total of 5- 10 times per day. You can see the original post here: An Etsy Experiment where my initial goal was to run the experiment for 1 week and then report back. Well, as you can see 1 week has now become 25 weeks!
What I did: I kept copious notes... writing down the date, time and number of views the item had when renewing it. I would revisit my notes 24 hours later to see how many new views I was getting. (This was before craftcult offered this service!) I checked my Google Analytics* to see what times of day my Etsy shop had the most visitors and I started tweaking my renewing times to fit.

*How do you see what time visitors are viewing your shop?

Well, you will first need to set up a Google Analytics account, if you haven't already. It's a very simple process. Go to your Etsy Shop and under SHOP SETUP click on Web Analytics. Then click on Google Analytics and follow the steps. Once you have set up your account you will need to wait 24 hours before seeing any information.
Now that you have your GA account set up, log into your account. Under Dashboard click on Visitors, then Visitor Trending then Visits. On the right hand side of the page just below the date range it says "Graph by" and there is a clock symbol. Click on that and voila! You will now see visits by hour of the day withing the date range you have chosen.

The result: Items got more views when I started renewing items during my peak viewing times.

I experimented with renewing 3 items at once or one item at a time.

The result: One item at a time is better even if it's in succession. Whenever I renewed several items at once, at least one of those items would get no new views for several hours.

I don't work on weekends. At least I try not to. So, I don't renew much on the weekends, maybe 2-3 times at the most.

The result: My weekend sales are nearly non existent (now there's a big surprise!)


Once my experiment had been running for a few weeks I noticed I was being featured in a lot more treasuries, sometimes 5 at once!

The result: Since March 25th I have been in countless treasuries and have made the Front Page of Etsy 18 times! (3 times as an alternate) While I can't say how many more sales this has brought with any real accuracy, it has definitely helped. On my best 'Front Page day' I made 9 sales.


When I started the experiment on March 8th I'd already had 86 sales within my first 9 months. That's an average of about 9 sales per month. During the 6 months of this experiment I have made an additional 297 sales. Keep in mind, those sales were mostly during the summer months which are generally slower, sales wise, on Etsy.

The overall result: Sales in my shop have more than quadrupled and my average is now at about 42 sales per month. Take March out of the calculation and it's closer to an average of 47 per month.

Here is an actual breakdown of my sales & shop hearts by month since the experiment started:

March- 19 sales (15 of which were after my experiment began) • Hearts- 89, 4.6:1 hearts/sales ratio

April- 45 sales • Hearts- 102, 2.2:1 hearts/sales ratio

May- 47 sales • Hearts- 163, 3.4:1 hearts/sales ratio

June- 49 sales • Hearts- 238, 4.8:1 hearts/sales ratio

July- 44 sales • Hearts- 94, 2.1:1 hearts/sales ratio

August- 52 sales • Hearts- 182, 3.5:1 hearts/sales ratio

The bottom line? RENEWING WORKS. Even with low views. Even during "slow" months. Even while other sellers are lamenting their slow sales (or no sales). It works.

I once read the following quote in a marketing book and it has always stuck with me. "Not advertising or promoting is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know exactly what you're doing...but nobody else does."

Of course you must consider the price of the items you are renewing. If you are selling $3 cards or $1-$2 supplies (etc) then renewing may not be the best practice for you and in that case I would stick with listing & re-listing as a means to garner more sales.

Now, before you run over to your shop and start renewing items willy-nilly you need to have a few things in place first. Otherwise all that renewing will be a colossal waste of time & money. And we don't want that, now do we?

Here is my 'to do' list before you begin your renewing campaign: (and it's not long, I promise!)

1. You have heard this one oh-so-many times before but it's THE number one, most important piece of the Etsy success puzzle. PHOTOS . They must be great. This means great lighting, great composition, interesting, eye catching & intriguing photos. If your photos aren't really good make them better.

HA! I can already hear the collective groan. Look, it took me at least 4 months of constant shooting several times per week before I was happy with my photos. I have absolutely no background in photography and believe me, I understand the frustration because I have been there (and sometimes still am). But this is not something that can be ignored. Since joining Etsy over a year ago I now have a few tricks up my sleeve that I'm more than willing to share with you. And I will. I'll be posting a photo tutorial someday*...think of it as ~Product Photography for Dummies~ (no offense)

*Update: the tutorial has been posted!
Here it is

2. Make sure your shop is in order. Do some spring cleaning if you need to. Re-shoot those photos, again. Make sure your shop policies, and profile are all filled in, make sense and are cheery and user friendly. Fine tune your shop announcement. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Choose eye catching photos as your featured items and change them at least weekly to keep your shop looking fresh. If you have a large inventory be sure to have shop sections which make it a lot easier for a buyer to navigate your shop quickly and effectively.

3. If your banner doesn't capture the essence of your shop and what you offer, make a new one. Or hire one the the many, talented graphic artists on Etsy to make one for you. (I did!) They are very reasonable and it's well worth the investment to have a great looking banner. Think of your banner the same way you would a store sign or even a display in a shop window. I don't know about you, but when I'm walking down the street and I see a beautiful, (or cute, or clever, etc) shop sign or window display, it makes me want to pop inside and see more...this is what your banner should be doing for your Etsy shop as well. And the same goes for your avatar.

4. Is your shop well stocked? Do you offer a variety of items, styles and colors? A variety of price points? Look around and see what your shop is missing. Try to see it through the eye of a buyer. If you see any gaps, fill them. For example if you make bath & body products can you offer your most popular scents in a room spray or a solid perfume? If you create jewelry do you offer a matching bracelet and earrings to your most popular necklace design? You get the idea. Maximize your opportunity to turn a browser into a buyer.

O.K. you are now ready to renew your way to more sales! But, keep in mind the sales don't start pouring in on day one. Don't get discouraged! Think of it as a snowball effect. The more you renew the more you are seen. The more people that see you the more likely you will make a sale and/or be chosen for treasury. The more treasuries you are in the higher your chances are of making it to the Front Page. The more often you are on the Front Page the more people see you, buy from you, heart you etc. This includes people who write blogs who may even offer to feature you (for free). And the list goes on and on and on...

Once you get started I would suggest you keep notes, at least in the beginning. This will give you valuable insight and assist you in refining YOUR renewing strategy. And please, don't renew for one day or 1 week and then give up....it's not going to work that way. Your snowball will melt and you will be left sitting in a soggy puddle.

Good luck! Please write to me and let me know how it's going. I would love to hear your experiences and if I can offer any advice I would be happy to.

Oh, and one more little tip. Change your shop announcement daily. This puts you at the top of the Shop Local list :)

Update: As of this posting my Virgo Medallion Necklace is featured in the Shades of Sapphire Gift Guide! No doubt a result of renewing. I know this because I just renewed that item VERY early Monday morning (and at that time I was not in any Gift Guides)...and now I am :)

post signature

135 comments:

tricia mckellar said...

Holy cow! Thanks so much for the generous information! And congratulations on your sales.

--Tricia
http://eyeful.etsy.com

Beadin By The Sea said...

Thanks for sharing your results with us. I've stepped up my renewing since the beginning of the year and I find that it works for me as well. Congratulations on your success!

Elise Hooper Designs said...

I'm impressed. This is great info. You should pitch this as an article to the Storque. Keep up the good work!

Blue Cat said...

Many Thanks for sharing this info! I am going to have to keep a closer watch on when my peak traffic times are. Telling us about renewing one listing at a time is invaluable. Thank you!!!!

BTW- your jewelry and images are beautiful!

Cathy
http://bluecatvintage.etsy.com

Darling Gifts said...

Wow, thanks for sharing this, very helpful! I especially appreciate the tip about changing the shop announcement daily. Thank you!

Lisa Rios said...

Thank you for all the information! I'm definitely going to get my shop in order and follow your advice :)

Unknown said...

Thanks, this was so informative. I've been renewing and reshooting but you have given me some new ideas. I'm off to tweak!

Mia Rosina said...

What an amazing, comprehensive post! Thank you for sharing!! ~MR

Helen Janow Miqueo said...

WOW! What a wonderful post! It all makes sense and nicely presented! Great job and great info! Thank you for sharing!

Anonymous said...

A heartfelt thank you for sharing your superbe advice! 2 thumbs up, and some claps for your sales!!! YAY!

mistyridge said...

First let me say Congrats on all the success. This is wonderful news. I am so happy for you that this worked out so well. Secondly thanks for sharing with the rest of us. I agree with all of your tips. I can't wait to read your photography tutorial, that is where I need the most help. If you don't mind though I would like to ask if you actually came out ahead when you subtracted the money spent for renewing that often from the money made from sales. Renewing that many times per day for 25 weeks must have been pretty expensive was it still worth it. thanks again

Krystyna81 said...

Thank you for the insights! I think renewing is important, and much more effective use of your money than a showcase. Congrats and best of luck for continued success!

AmyE said...

This is really interesting. Congrats on all those sales. I'm definitely going to give this a go!

Anonymous said...

This is by far the best article I've seen on this topic so far. Very valuable information - surely worth all the work you did to get it! Thank you so much for sharing this, I'm new and it's one of those things I haven't "seen for myself" yet.

Hazel said...

Thank you for sharing your experiment - you've definately given me some things to think about!
You have some lovely jewellery, and great photos too!

Jenny, Mid-Western Fashionista said...

I'm a new fan and follower of your blog. I saw you in the Etsy forum, and am so impressed with the work you're doing. Thank you so much for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Excellent post. Thanks so much! The quote about winking is so telling!

Anonymous said...

Good report on your experiment. Renewing works for me too.

Jen
http://www.edithandlulu.etsy.com

Leah said...

Great article. I've been renewing about once a day, maybe I'll up that a little...and yeah, keep working on my photos. I spent time improving them earlier this year & saw a definite jump in sales, but I know I can still do better! Congrats on your success.

Anonymous said...

What a terrific job and thanks for taking the time to keep track of all your "evidence" this way. It's so easy for people in the forums who aren't getting sales results to go "neggo my lego" without a solid explanation for the problems. This blog is a great service to many! Thanks!

SomethingBlue said...

mistyrigde says:
If you don't mind though I would like to ask if you actually came out ahead when you subtracted the money spent for renewing that often from the money made from sales. Renewing that many times per day for 25 weeks must have been pretty expensive was it still worth it.
_________________________________
Yes! definitely worth it! My sales and profits far outweigh the expense of renewing.

VintageChanteuse said...

This was such an inspiring story to read! Thanks for all the info! I will be renewing my items very shortly :)
Chelsey
http://mcgregorgirl.etsy.com

Unknown said...

Angela:
Thanks for the info, and for breaking it down so clearly! You could be a teacher.

EmbellishYourself said...

Wow, thanks so much for sharing your experiment with us. I appreciate it very much!

IndieCEO / GalleriaLinda said...

This is really a great post. Very methodical and I love that you give a "to do" list!

JessicaVanDen said...

That is a fantastic experiment - thank you so much for sharing your results with us all!

Darlene Jones said...

Thank you so much for encouraging renewing. I renewed today and made a sale! Thanks for all your great tips.

--Darlene
http://romancecatandwhimsy.etsy.com

Jordan said...

Thank you for the tips!

Jordan
www.jpulliam30.etsy.com

cory - falling star lane said...

i feel really silly asking this, but what is the shop local list? you say change announcement daily etc. i don't understand? help?
thanks, cory, fallingstarlane

SomethingBlue said...

cory said...

i feel really silly asking this, but what is the shop local list? you say change announcement daily etc. i don't understand? help?
______________________________
Don't feel silly! Shop Local is a tool on Etsy, located towards the bottom left side of the front page. When you click on it it shows you all the shops in your local area...or you can search any location you like by typing in the city and state name into the search box at the top of the Shop Local page.
The shops are listed in order of most recently update so if you update your shop announcement you are put at the top of the list!
You can also achieve the same results by listing or re-listing (bt not renewing) however that cost's .20¢. Changing your shop announcement is free :)
http://www.etsy.com/shop_local.php?ref=fp_nav_local

Lauren said...

Thank you so much for your valuable information! I am pretty new to Etsy and I did the relisting yesterday and got a sale out of it! I will be doing it daily. Question- was a little confused on something you mentioned- do I relist just one item a day or everything? I was doing about 3 a day. And if I have a new item I add or an item that sold that I relist would that count as my "relist" if it's just one item? I cannot wait to read about your photography and your jewelry is gorgeous!
Lauren
www.laurenblythedesigns.etsy.com

SomethingBlue said...

laurenblythe said...
Question- was a little confused on something you mentioned- do I relist just one item a day or everything? I was doing about 3 a day. And if I have a new item I add or an item that sold that I relist would that count as my "relist" if it's just one item?
__________________________________
OK first let's establish that reLISTING is listing something you have sold and want to sell again. Renewing is listing something again that hasn't sold yet (in order to get towards the top of the searches...) So, yes, listing and re-listing count and are actually preferred. Include everything in your daily tally. I went with 5-10 times per day including all forms of listing. You will need to find a budget and method that works for you :)
Hope that answers your question!

alyssakaycollections.etsy said...

Thank you so much for your information. I have just started listing and renewing up to at least 3 times a day for now. Congrats on your renewing success.
www.alyssakaycollections.etsy.com

Unknown said...

Wow, I really appreciate how thorough you were with your experiment. As someone with an engineering background, I have been frustrated by advice in the forums that hasn't been backed up by any true data. It's really awesome that you shared your results with everyone. I love your shop too!

Snuggy Baby said...

Thanks so much for sharing this information with us. I have already bookmarked it and will be refering back to it often, I am sure. I will start implementing your ideas today. Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful post! Thank you for all the tips and being so gracious to share them!

http://thevintagechain.etsy.com

Lullaby Loft said...

Thank you so much for all your helpful information. I have been an etsy seller for over a year. This is my second shop and I am learning so much more than I ever have. I look forward to trying your new ideas! I will be book marking your info thank you!
Heather
www.lullabyloft.etsy.com

RagsNehali said...

Thanks so much for sharing your results and great tips. I was not aware of changing the Announcement daily tip.

JoanneSweet said...

Brilliant! Thank you so much for the information!

BululuStudio said...

Excellent tips thank you so much Angela for sharing these words of wisdom.

Anonymous said...

Wow! This is really helpful and informative! Thanks a lot for sharing.

Sarah Deragon said...

thank you for posting this - my friend and i were just talking about renewing!

Mary Ann said...

Wow. What a comprehensive experiment. Thanks for sharing your results with us.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for sharing your exoerience! i think it's really usefull!

UniqueDichroic said...

Wow..thanks so much for sharing this with us:)

Dalia Costa said...

GREAT information!! Thanks sooo much for sharing!!

I definitly will try to renew and track, to see what will happening...

Your blog and shop is a inspirations!

Regards,

Dalia
www.saudadestudio.etsy.com

2 Virgos Designs said...

great info! Thanks!

Bluebirdsandblossoms said...

Thanks for sharing your research - Great post! Congrats on all your sales!

paula :: plays with mud said...

This is such a great post - thanks for sharing your insight!!

Elizabeth Johnson said...

Thank you for all your work and help.

Loudlife said...

This is phenomenal, priceless information! Thank you for doing the research and being willing to share the results with your readers!

LavenderField said...

Thank you Angela for this fantastic post! I guess I need to work on 2 things right now before I can start my renewing stragety: my photos and having at least 100 items up for sale....
my shop: http://www.lavenderfield.etsy.com

SCJ Jewelry Design said...

Thank you so much for sharing this information! This is osmething I've considered doing, but have not tried it as a marketing tool - now I will. After I retake some photos :)
I'll be following your blog from now on!

Anonymous said...

Great info, thx for sharing.

rosepetalsjewelry said...

I have been renewing, but not with your gusto. Thanks for the info. I am now on a mission.

Unknown said...

that's wonderful information, thanks for sharing it with us all. off to try!

Stephen Edward Graphics said...

I was just starting to run my own experiment with renewing. Your article definitely gave me the drive to keep going and I got some great tips too.

Thanks
Stephen
www.stephenedwardgraphic.etsy.com

Som's Studio said...

Thank you for the elaborate post and details of your experiment. I want to add that relisting/ renewing really works. Every day I do so, I receive sales without fail.

Nevita said...

thank you for sharing. It wa very useful to know that it works

Snuggy Baby said...

Thank you so much for posting this. It has completly changed the way that I have done business on Etsy, and I credit you with my fast sucess (1,000 sales in 8 months) Whenever I see a thread in the forums where sellers are asking about renewing/relisting I always share your blog.

www.SnugygBaby.com

teri said...

Thanks for sharing //// still thinking about this ... not sure.
Congrats on your increased sales!

Jonathan said...

Excellent information. Thank you for sharing ! :)

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing. I stumbled upon this just as I was personally debating the benefits of renewing and whether or not it would benefit my shop. I think I will give it a try.

Chillien

http://www.chillien.etsy.com

barbara@sparrowavenue said...

This is amazing. I'm still having a hard time swallowing it, it sounds like so much voodoo. But your generous information is starting to make it clearer. Especially the analytics part because when I first read about that somewhere else it was way over my head.

Dawnmarie Huerta said...

This is great info! Thank you for being willing to share it with us. After reading this, I am going to bite the bullet and start my own renewing campaign.

Janet Quinlan said...

So glad to have found this - thank you! I renewed consistently in the spring, and the sales came. I got busy, stopped renewing, and my sales dropped off. Will have to get back to it!

Janet
www.embroideredheirlooms.etsy.com

Stubborn Dog Artwork said...

Thank you so much for sharing this! It was linked to in the forums and I couldn't be happier to have read it.
Congrats on your success!

Anonymous said...

Very thoughtful, well written article. I agree completely and have similar results with renewing.

Unknown said...

what a fabulous article, it was so interesting, i read every single word! thank you for sharing your experience with the rest of us who are trying to find their way in 'etsyland' ;)

Julie said...

Thank you for your generous info. Off I go to play. I have also attached a link to this post from my blog. :)

Liz-Anna said...

Wow! Great advice and very inspirational. Thank you for sharing!

PriaVanda said...

Just read your blog. Better late then never. Great information can't wait to experiment with this

kc said...

I'm just gettin' to the party, but gosh, THANKS for doing all this work & sharing it with us!! I've not renewed anything yet on http://sewwritecreations.etsy.com, but your post sure makes sense, so maybe it's time I started!

VidalButtons said...

WOW! amazing post! this really helped me! thanks!

PinkyCrafts on Etsy said...

I have been doing the renewal dance for some time now, but I haven't had a solid plan on how to make it work! This makes total sense, I can't wait to put it into place. Congrats on your additional sales!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/pinkycrafts

Rumi said...

Great tips I studied well and began to follow
Rumi
http://www.etsy.com/shop/3patch

MAUstudio said...

I run 2 shops on ETSY, my www.maupromos.etsy.com has been very busy that I haven't had the time to renew as often for my www.maustudio.etsy.com and noticed the big difference in sales. I used to get at least a sale/day for MAUstudio, but now I get 1 every few days. After reading our article, I will make extra effort to renew both of my shops. Thanks for sharing your experiment with us. :)

Unknown said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Though I'm just starting my shop (just this past week to be exact) this is definitely information that I need to know!!! Wonderful ideas and beautiful blog!

<3 Jmarie

charmedstyles.etsy.com

Cari said...

Angela, as an Etsy Newbie (but I've had one sale!), I've been curious about the delete/relist/renew strategy.... and you've spelled it out perfectly. Many thanks for taking the time to share, and congrats on the success of your shop.
Cari
SeclusionCove.etsy.com

The Feisty Redhead said...

A million thanks for this info! I don't have a lot of items in my shop, but I will definitely work with what I have and push to add more so I can try this experiment. Thanks again!

AlpineGypsy said...

This is my first time on your blog, and it looks really interesting.

Just wanted to say THANKS for all this advice, it's very appreciated.

Makes me think more about the art of renewing.

Heidi

Unknown said...

I saw this article referenced on one of the Etsy forums and decided to take a look at it. I did just what you said not to do. I preformed my experiment for a week got no results and gave up. Your detailed information as a wonder to me and I look forward to trying my experiment again, only this time for the long haul. Thanks so much for doing this and posting the results.

Emily
http://www.nothingbutstring.etsy.com

Theresa Plas said...

Great advice Angela! Thanks so much for sharing:)

Lauren said...

Thanks for sharing this. I hear "renew, renew, renew" all the time but this is the first time someone has actually spelled it out! Congrats on your success!!

Lauren
http://blackcatcraft.etsy.com

Abounding Treasures said...

A very helpful, fantastic post ~ Congrats on your success!

I couldn't locate the post you did on Photography for Dummies [like me] can you point it out, if you've done it?

Thanks!

Unknown said...

WOW! This is great advice. I'm new to Etsy and just got my Google Analytics set up, so reading your article about renewing is extremely helpful! thanks for sharing!

Cinderella Lollipop said...

You are very generous to share your expertise with us. Thank you so much!


http://cinderellalollipop.etsy.com

sandyvern said...

Wow! What an informative post! Thank you so much for sharing it. I found this from SnuggyBaby's post in a forum on Etsy. I have recently been trying to be 'active' lately and trying everyone tips for generating more sales...and I have to say July has been my best month since I have been selling on Etsy (just shipped another 3 items today!). And now I hope to implement your "etsy experiment" as well :-)

Thanks again for such an informative post!!

My Shining Lights said...

Angela, thank you so much for such helpful information. It is so generous of you to take the time to help others! And yes you are right the photos do make a difference the earring photo that you show is incredible! I'm always working on that and though it is getting better it is still an ongoing process.
Jo
myshininglights.etsy.com

rraps said...

You are so amazing! Thanks for the clarity and sound advice regarding renewing. I am about to embark on that strategy right NOW. Weekend in Summer start.

Momma Goddess Treasures said...

Thank you for the amazing information! I'm so excited to give it all a try, except for the photography part, but at least you expected it. Thanks again.

Trudy
www.mommagoddess.etsy.com

Informal Elegance said...

Thank you for sharing your hard work with us. Can't wait to try it out and find out exactly when the best times to renew would be in my time zone:)
Karen
www.informalelegance.etsy.com

Angeloco said...

Thank you so much for this information. I totally agree with renewing, re-listing as often as affordable for you.
Barbara
http://www.angeloco.etsy.com
http://www.angeloco.artfire.com

jacqm said...

ok--i'm convinced!
going to give this a try starting today, but keeping records so i can tell better what/when works best.

Great post! i came here thru snuggybaby (another great post) as well.

BellaOpenAirMarket said...

WOW...I've been researching a way to account for renewing and how often one should decide too and your piece is a time saving masterpiece of etsyian help! Thanks a million, and congrats! My shop wants to be like yours when it grows up!

Sincerely,
Mys Allnatural, luxury, bath and body products

Anonymous said...

I've been away for a couple of months and just started renewing. I've been featured in several treasuries and sales are picking up again. YOu are soooo right!

Elisa said...

Thank you so much, so well written. And yes, the argument with evidence to renew is much more convincing than most claims. One question. I use Google Analytics but it is a bit above me and I don't find where it tells a peak time of day for visitors. Do you need a "pro" account or am I just missing it? I'll try searching myself but thought you might have a quick easy answer. Thank you for your time! :)

LittleSmartyPants said...

You are so inspiring and have given me a lot to work on!

BellaOpenAirMarket said...

@ Elisa, here's how to access the times that you're getting visitors from google analytics:

1. From the overview page, choose "view report".

2. Under "site usage" click "visits".

3. on the top right hand side, directly under the date range there's a box labeled "group by" choose the first icon "hour". you can roll over each little icon to see what they'll display. But for what you're seeking choose the first. It shows the list in military time but it gives you the times of day your etsy shop is most and least visited.

There you have it, hope that helps!

Jan said...

This is so cool...I'm definitely going to try it...I love the way you have documentation on your renews.
Thanks so much for sharing.

Ivy said...

Thanks so much for the advice! One question, please: what did you find is the peak time to renew your listings?

SomethingBlue said...

Thank you to everyone for all of your wonderful comments and good luck to you as well!!!!

Some have asked about the photography link...here it is:
http://shopsomethingblue.blogspot.com/2010/07/quick-dirty-photo-tutorial.html

Ivy,I think the best renewal times vary for each shop so you will need to do a bit of research via Google Analytics in order to figure out which times will work best for you.
Here's how:
To see what time visitors are coming to your shop:
log into your account, under Dashboard click on Visitors, then Visitor Trending then Visits. Once you're there on the right hand side of the page just below the date range it says "Graph by" and there is a clock symbol. Click on that and voila!
I hope that helps and good luck to you!

Elisa said...

Thanks Mys and SomethingBlue about the "clock" icon. I totally missed that little thing but they sure didn't make it easy to find. Thanks again.

Much success to you all!

Anonymous said...

Wow, sounds great... great post

Unknown said...

Aloha,
Many mahalos for all this great info.I had been wracking my brain just to figure out how to see the time of visits on analytics so that was esp. helpful!Best wishes to you!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sustainablemama

LeslieGallery - Tales of an Entrepreneur said...

WOW! thank you so much. I am so excited to get to work on this. Definitely an inspiration piece.


-Leslie
www.lesliegallery.etsy.com

AngelEden said...

Wow, looks like you have it all worked out. I'm afraid I rather gave up on etsy. I could have given it more time, but I felt it took too much time and effort and I really wanted to focus on our main website which has worked better for us. But I'm glad to see others make a success from it,

Abi
www.angeleden.blogspot.com
www.angeleden.co.uk

ifrog crafter said...

Thank you so much for this info! I needed that. It was fuel for the embers that have been burning in my mind. =) I was one of the collective groaners when it comes to the pictures. I've been working on them, but am still having issues with lighting. I think for some people it is a trial & error experience. But i'm going to keep trying till i get it right.lol. Thanks again for this insight & Congrats to your success.

Anonymous said...

WOW! What a great experiment. I have often wondered about this. You did a great job on this post and Congrats on all your sales!

Helena said...

Thanks so much, I have been wondering too about renewing. This will help me a lot!

Moosjeploosje said...

Thanks so much for sharing this with us!

Tsuki aka LittleGrayFox said...

Amazing advice! My friend passed on your link and it's the best etsy advice I've read in a long time! Thank you so much for taking the time to research it all! I never had a clue about the shop announcement update. And when I've renewed before, I've done more than one item at once. So I wont be doing that again!

thanks so much!

♥ Tsuki
Little Gray Fox

Unknown said...

Thank you for all your information and how to track visits on Google A.

I have been renewing when I do not have a listing. Been trying to do my own survey. Now that I have read your test I know I was on the right track.

Thanks again...Rae

sammysgrammy said...

Referred to your blog by a team mate (Radyne). It seems that the more successful you are on etsy, the more generous you are sharing your experiences and advice. I so admire that.
I'm going to follow your blog and like a little puppy, look for the crumbs you drop under the table.

sammysgrammy

T said...

great post, I'll try to figure it out when to relist as well. Great blog.

T said...

Fantastic post, love your blog.

Raige Creations said...

great study and thank you so much for sharing! I have been really thinking about trying the renewing but am so afraid in the incread in costs to my little shop. But sales do motivate to create, so off I go to try a little experiment of my own...
Also, I was in my first treasury after listing one thing each day this week, so think there really may be something to this.....
Thank you again, and congrats on your success!

Dave Conrey said...

As I mentioned to you before, an awesome post and I'm sharing with everyone who listen. Thanks again for this.

Chloe's Collars said...

Definitely going to try this..

Leslie

http://www.chloescollars.etsy.com

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the awesome tips... off to set up a Google Analytics account!

I want to add a few more items before starting a renewing strategy, but you have definitely turned me into a believer!

http://www.megansbeadeddesigns.etsy.com

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the awesome tips... off to set up a Google Analytics account!

I want to add a few more items before starting a renewing strategy, but you have definitely turned me into a believer!

http://www.megansbeadeddesigns.etsy.com

oh dear watson said...

I am pretty late reading this post... But I enjoyed in greatly...Thanks for sharing what worked for you on etsy.

Bajuna Jewelry and Custom Beaded Creations said...

This is a really great article about renewing! I like that you pointed out to do it during peak viewing and one at a time. It makes sense. Thank you for the valuable advice!

Couve Illustrations said...

Thank you so much for that information, great results!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/couve

G.F.Veg said...

this was a great post---so detailed!


http://www.etsy.com/shop/glutenfreefromNYC

ampracticum said...

Great advice! Thanks so much for sharing ^-^


--Anahita

http://www.amehrva1.etsy.com

mammamiaeme said...

Thank you very much for that clear and sincere sharing; very useful information.
Congratulationss for your sales!
Cheers,
Sevda
http://mammamiaeme.etsy.com
http://HomeOfficeDeco.etsy.com
http://RingBearerPillow.etsy.com

Tania Armstrong said...

Many thanks for sharing these fabulous tips!

Your jewelry is spectacular.

Tania
www.chloeandolivedotcom.etsy.com

Anonymous said...

Brilliant, intelligent advice. Thank you so much for posting this. The best article on renewing I've ever read (and I've read a few!). :)

Natasha

http://www.theblackbirdsings.etsy.com

Anonymous said...

I am so happy that I was referred to your blog post before I started promoting my shop. I'm going to go through your to do list and then start my renewing. Thanks for sharing, this is so great! :)

Lizette - Clovetree said...

Oh, so helpful! I'm new on Etsy, and how to increase traffic to my site has been on my mind a lot! I've just printed out your research experiment, and this will be my bedtime reading for the next week or so - there's a lot of info here! I am very impressed with your organisational skills, and thank you for sharing. Your generosity warms my heart - and now I'm going to heart your shop too!

Lizette - Clovetree said...

Gosh - I think my computer just swallowed my previous comment - so, just a quick thank you for your generous sharing of info. I'm new on Etsy, and would love to increase sales and visitors to my site.

Lizette - Clovetree said...

Oh, so helpful! I'm new on Etsy, and how to increase traffic to my site has been on my mind a lot! I've just printed out your research experiment, and this will be my bedtime reading for the next week or so - there's a lot of info here! I am very impressed with your organisational skills, and thank you for sharing. Your generosity warms my heart - and now I'm going to heart your shop too!

Countrygal said...

thank you Angela, just what I needed in terms of encouragement. I did not understand the timing of renewing though but I'll have a go. thanks again.
Fulvia

 
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