Boost Your Sales, Get Publicity and Maybe an Etsy Front Page - Part III

We're on to Part III of this post. I hope everyone has benefited from the useful links and resources in Part I and Part II. I have found them very helpful. I still have to delve deeper into some of the topics and put what I learned into place. That's coming soon!

In order to implement some of the things you have learned in the previous posts (or elsewhere) you must first know where you and your shop stands. Sometimes you are not your own best judge and turning to someone else for critique can be very helpful. Find out what people think of your photos, descriptions, tags, profile and so on. Have someone tell you how and where it can improve. Take that advice and use the tools provided on this blog, the Storque and other locations and incorporate them where necessary.

There are number of ways you can find people to evaluate your shop. You can find a mentor, possibly someone who's shop you really admire and who has great sales. You can also find a buyer - someone from your target audience and not a crafter themselves. Joining a team is a great way to make friends and get honest opinions and share ideas. Some people post on the Critiques section of the Etsy forums. That is a great way to get immediate feedback, although I think it's more advantageous to find one or two people who can follow your shop around as you make improvements. Find someone that can watch your shop change and comment on the advances.

If you don't have a mentor in mind or don't know how to go about finding one, you can visit Team Etsy Mentor.

Etsy has an abundance of teams ranging from specific craft to location to who-knows-what. Find a team that can most benefit your craft and your shop.

The Virtual Labs often hosts a critique. Sit in on a critique and listen to the recommendations. Although it may not be you be critiqued, some of the advice might benefit you. Visit the Events Calender to find out when the next critique is.

Lastly, even if you think your shop looks great and is doing well, don't stop re-evaluating it. There will always be ways to make it better. That's inevitable. Use this outline to help you self-critique your shop.

Now take all this advice, implement what is necessary and promote, promote, promote. You may even get on Etsy's front page.