Etsy Beagles: "Gear Up" for Holiday Traffic to Your Etsy Site

I've recently made a few adjustments to my Etsy site to help (Gertie) "Gear" Up for the holiday shoppers on Etsy. I don't have solid data but have definitely noticed an immediate positive difference... additional sales, inquiries and just plain old nice comments.

Maybe some of these ideas will work for you too! Aroooo!:

Change the header's appearance -- make it a "holiday shop".
Add some kind of promotion/discount for the holiday. I reduced my shipping by half. Shipping cost is a big deal to buyers, on Etsy and other retail sites. It's part economy and part psychology (as much of marketing/advertising is). If you ship for less, it saves the buyer dollars but there's the added element of trust. Consumers see stores that charge higher shipping as "gougers".
Minimize the text of your intro. If you go to your store home page and can't see some of the products WITHOUT scrolling down, it's time to cut text. If there's something you feel buyers must know -- reference it in the intro and direct them to your store profile. People shy away from long blocks of text.
Also, use bullets and paragraph returns to make text more digestible.
Showcase a holiday item or two. People are in "shop" mode instead of "browse" mode right now, and it will intensify over the next few weeks. Take advantage of it.
"RENEW a few" ... Regularly. The only way to stay on top of the listing pages is to post often. If you don't have more product, or if you don't want to double up listing the same thing, RENEW 3-5 items at least every other day. It's only 20 cents each -- a minimal investment for ROI of increased views and traffic.
BE SOCIAL! On Facebook, MySpace, etc.? Post something about your store, about something you just finish making for your store, about something cool you read on this Blog. Anything to drive interest -- and include a link to your store. Once again, people NEED to start shopping to get it all done in time. Handmade items are fantastic when buying for the person who "has everything."
Socialize! Tell everyone you know that you make and sell on Etsy. Tell them more than once too -- you'd be surprised how much people forget. Don't be annoying about it, but when people ask, "what's new?", tell them.
BLOG Comment on blogs you follow, or better yet, create your own.
I did -- http://gertiegear.blogspot.com
Then, reference it and add links to your Facebook/MySpace pages. Send an email with a link directly to people that may have interest in a specific topic on your Blog.
Finally, if you can, create an "email blast" and send it to friends, family, neighbors, etc. If you have a good, relaxed relationship with your accountant, financial adviser, dentist, people at work... send it to them too! Make it less text and more graphics* -- "advertise" your special offer for the holidays and/or new stuff. Ask those people to send it to their networks. If they have purchased something from YOU, ask if they can add a personal "testimonial" note in your support.
Email blast format: include only a few key statements (less, in quantity -- is more, in quality). Use Bold, Italic, Underline styles to accent text. If adding color to text, choose one or two. Do NOT make a rainbow or use 10 different fonts -- it creates confusion and a big ole mess.

*IMPORTANT: make sure the graphic you email is small in file size and proper format that shows in the mail browser window. A jpeg will always work. The file should be NO larger than 500k -- ideally less than 200k. ALSO CRUCIAL, that the email blast contains a LINK directly to your store.

TIP: If you have Photoshop, make the jpeg by using the "Save for Web" tool instead of just "Save As" -- jpeg format. This will make the size smaller and you can preview the image quality and adjust as needed. If you have PS and don't know what I'm talking about, feel free to contact me for help.

This is the first email blast I sent out. The original file is a jpeg, only 192kb in size.
Click this image to see it actual size.