Monday, June 30, 2014

Items Of The Hour 6/22- 6/28



Items Of The Hour is a weekly thread on the Strategic Promotion For Success Team. Each day 4 items are chosen to be promoted by the other team members.  The purpose of the thread is to bring in new views and hopefully some sales.



Shops can promote the 4 items any way they choose.  Team members can promote by adding the 4 items to their favorites, making a treasury, sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest , other social media, and any other way they can think of.  Team members who have promoted the other shops have an increased chance of their shop being chosen for the next round.


 Please Join Me Here  Items Of The Hour




PRESENTED TO YOU BY OUR LEADER :

Hi I'm Amy. In my shop I offer a variety of crocheted items and occasionally I list vintage crochet & knitting pattern books. I enjoy working on custom orders. My customers often come up with the best creative ideas; and sometimes offer me the challenge of creating something I've never done before. It’s always satisfying to take a piece of yarn and create something new from it. 

     Granny Square Corner Dishcloth, Set Of 2 Hot Pink & Light Purple

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Meet our Members! -- Archaica from Archaic Studio

The SPS Team is an international team of artists, artisans and creators working together to promote their finest work!

Every week we are happy and proud to introduce a member of our outstanding team! They come from different backgrounds, countries, cultures and artistic horizons, but they all have one thing in common : they are driven, creative, dynamic, and dedicated to their Etsy business and to their team, SPST!

******************************************



Today we are excited to introduce Archaica, a shop owner who has a true passion for vintage books, magazines and ads. She opened her Etsy shop, called "Archaic Studio", in May 2013.


In Archaica's shop you will find an amazing selection of vintage books, magazines and advertisements, from beer ads to Hollywood glamorous magazines and appliances ads.

Let's meet Archaica and learn about her Etsy adventure, her passion for vintage memorabilia and the challenges she faces as a vintage seller on Etsy.






Why do you sell on Etsy? As a hobby or full-time job, etc.

My shop at this time is a hobby and has been created in honor of my Dad...a talented illustrator, draftsman and history buff. The items offered in the shop have been accrued over the years... files and files of historical vintage advertisements and memorabilia.


1942 Rita Hayworth "You Were Never Lovelier" Vintage Ad / Ready to Frame / Paper Ephemera


What are the specific challenges of a vintage seller on Etsy?

Initially the challenge faced upon opening the shop on Etsy was becoming acquainted with the process and also educating myself with shipping and handling costs. Since paper items are very fragile, I really wanted to make sure that the buyer is happy with their vintage purchase, receives the item when expected and that it arrives in one piece without being damaged. 


How did your Etsy adventure begin? 

I began by posting just a few items and becoming acquainted with similar shops that sold paper ephemera and vintage advertisements. 

My first sale was long awaited but very rewarding. The prospective buyer's purchase would eventually become a birthday gift for her daughter who was a fan of Lucille Ball.



1954 Vintage New Moon Mobile Living Ad starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in "The Long, Long Trailer" / Ready To Frame / Paper Ephemera


Where do you find your vintage treasures? How do you decide what to offer in your shop?

It all started in the early 40s with my Dad's interest in classic automobiles and continued when he was a student at the School of Visual Arts. Back in the day students collected magazines and created art files from the advertisements for illustrative references. Illustration was much more popular and many students went on to rewarding careers in the advertising industry. 

The items in my shop are just a sampling of a vast collection from decades past. I sort through the files and pull out what I feel would attract someone's interest today...beer ads for that beer connoisseur, Hollywood ads for movie star buffs, brand items such as Coca Cola and 7Up for those who would like to decorate their office or home with vintage memorabilia.


1960s Vintage Coca Cola Advertisement Collection / Paper Ephemera / Set of 4


What is the one thing you would like to change most on Etsy to accommodate your business?

I wouldn't change anything right now, the current update was unexpected when it occurred, but I do feel that the admins are trying to help assist sellers with a much smoother process.


Which is your favorite social media to use and recommend to other sellers for cross-promoting and why?

Right now I utilize Facebook and have created a page where I like to post historical spots and team treasuries.


How does a team like SPS Team helps you with your Etsy business?

Joining the SPSTeam has been a rewarding experience. It is a fun team, an interactive team and a team of knowledgeable sellers who would not hesitate to help a team member. 

The SPSTeam has given me the knowledge and courage to promote myself along with other team members.





Thank you so much Archaica for your generosity and your insight!

Visit Archaica's shop today at www.etsy.com/shop/archaicstudio or connect with her on Facebook!


******************************************

If you are a member of the SPS Team and wish to be featured on our Team Blog in the series of articles 'Meet our Team Members' do not hesitate to contact our Leader, Natalie!



Read some other amazing stories from our Team Members :

Vintage Shops:

- Ellen from The Chilly Dog



PRESENTED TO YOU BY OUR LEADER: 


 
My name is Natalie. I am a French-Canadian gal, but I live in South Korea. My passion is called "Hanji" : sumptuous Korean paper made of mulberry pulp. Hanji has been used for a thousand years in Korea to create decorative or ceremonial objects. For me, it is essential to offer useful and practical objects, that can enjoyed on a daily basis. Tissue cases, pen holders, jewelry, fridge magnets, hair accessories: let the beauty and unique character of Hanji paper make our everyday life objects irresistible!

Hanji Pen Holder Pencil Case Desktop HANDMADE Pink Fuschia Purple Hand dyed Rainbow Wheat Country Style  
        
www.etsy.com/shop/HanjiNaty

Follow Natalie's Blog For The Latest Updates To Her Shop:


www.hanjinaty.com


Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Health Advices aka Selection of Weekend Game

Dear Readers,

Summer is here with strawberries. I love it. Love the color, love the taste. Fresh and healthy. Of course Wikipedia knows the history:
''The strawberry fruit was mentioned in ancient Roman literature in reference to its medicinal use. The French began taking the strawberry from the forest to their gardens for harvest in the 1300s. Charles V, France's king from 1364 to 1380, had 1,200 strawberry plants in his royal garden. In the early 1400s western European monks were using the wild strawberry in their illuminated manuscripts. The strawberry is found in Italian, Flemish, German art, and English miniatures. The entire strawberry plant was used to treat depressive illnesses.''
This beautiful treasury is for your health:)


After we eat a bunch of it just go to the beach, do some sport or just sunbathe, Sun, breeze, ocean and of course you can meet with your friends.


Now you can say: ''Today is going to be amazing!'' Have a great, fresh and sunny day to all of you!


A little extra, I found 15 Fun and Clever Strawberry Drinks here.
One of them:


Sparkling Strawberry Limeade

makes one quart

1 cup strawberry puree
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (roughly 5 limes)
1/2 cup simple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
zest of 1 lime
2 cups seltzer
strawberry slices, lime slices, and mint for garnish

To make the simple syrup, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add 1/2 cup sugar and lime zest, stir until dissolved, and cool. I used raw sugar and love the depth of flavor it brings. If you’d like to add herbs to your limeade, steep whole sprigs in the simple syrup for at least 10 minutes for optimal flavor.

To make the limeade, combine the pureed berries, lime juice, simple syrup, and seltzer. Add plenty of ice, strawberry slices, lime wedges, and mint, and serve.



PRESENTED TO YOU BY OUR CAPTAIN: 




Hi, my name is Ildi. I really enjoy the process of making pottery: I sit down at a table with clay and try to make something that I have an imagination of. I want something and the clay wants something but in the end I can work until I am most satisfied with the outcome. 


Monday, June 23, 2014

Items Of The Hour 6/15- 6/21



Items Of The Hour is a weekly thread on the Strategic Promotion For Success Team. Each day 4 items are chosen to be promoted by the other team members.  The purpose of the thread is to bring in new views and hopefully some sales.


Shops can promote the 4 items any way they choose.  Team members can promote by adding the 4 items to their favorites, making a treasury, sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest , other social media, and any other way they can think of.  Team members who have promoted the other shops have an increased chance of their shop being chosen for the next round.




 Please Join Me Here Items Of The Hour


PRESENTED TO YOU BY OUR LEADER :

Hi I'm Amy. In my shop I offer a variety of crocheted items and occasionally I list vintage crochet & knitting pattern books. I enjoy working on custom orders. My customers often come up with the best creative ideas; and sometimes offer me the challenge of creating something I've never done before. It’s always satisfying to take a piece of yarn and create something new from it. 

     Granny Square Corner Dishcloth, Set Of 2 Hot Pink & Light Purple

Sunday, June 22, 2014

Raluca's Fresh Finds for 6/3 - 6/9

I bring you again my picks for last week's Fresh Finds! 

Every week I will post a selection of my favorite items recently listed by our lovely team members to give you some suggestions for your shopping!

Make sure you check back every week to see what's new! Enjoy! :)

See you all next week!

For a chance to be featured in the Fresh Finds post please join me here :

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Wanelo for Etsy Sellers

Earlier this year, I discovered a site called Wanelo. As an Etsy seller, I was very excited about the potential usefulness of this site as a marketing tool and as a way to reach new customers.

If you've never heard of Wanelo before, it's a platform very similar to Pinterest, except it is dedicated exclusively to shopping. It's free to set-up an account and if you are already familiar with Pinterest, it's fairly easy to use. (Learn more about getting started on Wanelo in my Wanelo 101 article)

How do you get the most out of Wanelo as an Etsy seller?

The first thing you will want to do is complete your profile.

Your profile is at the top of your Wanelo page and is the first thing people will see, so you want to make a good first impression.

This is the profile on my Wanelo page.


When you set up your profile, make sure to...

  • Add an avatar - It could be a picture of you or a picture that represents your shop.
  • Link your social networks - Not only does this give you the ability to post stories directly to your Twitter and Facebook feeds if you choose, but if people click on the icons in your profile, they will be taken to your pages. Maybe they'll follow you on your other social networks as well.
  • Claim your store - I can not stress how important this part is. It only takes a couple of minutes to submit the application and a day or two for Wanelo to process it. One benefit is that a link to your Etsy items on Wanelo will be included in your profile (where it says Managing your-shop-name). It also helps people who like your items find your Wanelo page. Finally, Wanelo sends you a monthly update about how many of your Etsy items are saved each month. It could help you decide what kind of items people are most interested in.
  • Complete the "All About You" section - It's a short and sweet 140 characters (or less) message that helps you connect with customers.
  • Add your location - Don't worry. It's not your street address. But people may be interested in what city, state or country you are from.
  • Include a link to your website if applicable - The link should go to your blog or business website if you have one. If you don't have a blog or website, you could use a link to your Etsy shop.

Once you've saved your profile, make some collections.

Collections on Wanelo are like boards on Pinterest. When you create a collection make sure to...
  • Give your collection an appropriate and specific title
  • Add a brief (140 characters or less) description
  • Select a category
These steps help people find your items in searches.

I have two types of collections on my Wanelo page - Collections of my own items and collections of other people's items.

Collections of your own items
It's okay to add every single one of your Etsy listings to your Wanelo collections.

Since Wanelo is all about shopping, you are not going to upset your followers by sharing all of the items available in your shop. However, be sure to differentiate collections that are made up of your own items. I do this my including my shop name in these collection titles.



Collections of other peoples items
Like Facebook, Twitter and  Pinterest, Wanelo is a social platform. One way to build your network is by promoting other people, too. What goes around, comes around. Make collections of other items you like.


Share your news by posting stories.

Did you just list new items in your shop? Are you running a sale? Did you just add some great seasonal items to your collections?

Share the news with your followers by posting a story. You can use #hashtags to highlight keywords, add up to 9 item pictures, and send the story to your Twitter and/or Facebook feeds.


Follow the SPSTeam on Wanelo and get listed in the team directory.

Everyone is invited to visit and follow the SPSTeam Wanelo page. We're proud that all of the items in out collections are from Strategic Promotion for Success Team member shops!

Also, you can find a directory of Strategic Promotion for Success members on Wanelo in the team forum on Etsy. The list is updated monthly and the SPSTeam Wanelo page follows all of the shops who participate in the thread and adds a few of their items to our collections.

I look forward to seeing you on Wanelo. Happy sales!



PRESENTED TO YOU BY OUR LEADER :


My name is Ellen and I LOVE to design and create things. I find it deeply satisfying to start with nothing more than an idea and finish with a tangible, beautiful, functional piece of work. I enjoy learning new techniques that I can incorporate into my creations. I practice a variety of different art forms, but find I always have at least one knit, crochet or sewing project in progress.

Boho Crochet Backpack Purse - Aqua, Light Teal


 

Friday, June 20, 2014

5000 Members Promotion Celebration


Recently the SPSTEAM reached a huge milestone of reaching 5000 members. Our team continues to grow each day. Congrats team!

To celebrate reaching 5000 members and to give our shops some extra promotion we held a special week long promotional event June 2-7. 



We had 39 shops who participated.  Please take some time to visit the participants. 


www.etsy.com/shop/amydscrochet             www.etsy.com/shop/northandsouthshabby
www.etsy.com/shop/ceraminic                    www.etsy.com/shop/trellislanevintage
www.etsy.com/shop/catchingwaves            www.etsy.com/shop/bridgetscollection
www.etsy.com/shop/hanjinaty                     www.etsy.com/shop/rainstudio
www.etsy.com/shop/BarnshopAntiques      www.etsy.com/shop/superadorable
www.etsy.com/shop/sustainablygrateful      www.etsy.com/shop/SacredVeilBridal
www.etsy.com/shop/RollingIdeas               www.etsy.com/ca/shop/LittleGemsByLuisa
www.etsy.com/shop/PaperLovePrints         www.etsy.com/shop/FabricMuse
www.etsy.com/shop/DeepSilence               www.etsy.com/shop/prettyflowerstudio
www.etsy.com/shop/AndrasVintagelane     www.etsy.com/shop/melimelon
www.etsy.com/shop/HelenaArtSilk             www.etsy.com/shop/Bylala
www.etsy.com/shop/veddma                       www.etsy.com/shop/InNonnasKitchen
www.etsy.com/shop/mypillowshoppe         www.etsy.com/shop/AHappyHaberdashery
www.etsy.com/shop/LadyBluesBaubles     www.etsy.com/shop/VLLDesigns
www.etsy.com/shop/PrettyByrdDesigns     www.etsy.com/shop/Bellebijouatelier
www.etsy.com/shop/EchidnaArtandCards  www.etsy.com/shop/hamptonbaypetsteps
www.etsy.com/shop/GumpasteGarden       www.etsy.com/shop/SerendipitiniPet
www.etsy.com/shop/MAKERSNINE          www.etsy.com/shop/SeagullSmithJewelry
www.etsy.com/shop/LayoutsFromTheHeart
www.etsy.com/shop/SoulFILLedExpression
www.etsy.com/shop/WithTheseHandsCreate


Let's take a look at each day's activities:



 6/2 -Shop Hearts Day - Each shop lists 5 items from their shop which they would like others to heart & heart everyone else’s items. More hearts more views!

























6/3- Treasury Day- Create at least 1 treasury featuring 8 shops from the participant list and 8 from anywhere on Etsy.



6/4- Promote The Shop Below You Day- Each shop will promote a minimum of 3 items from the shop below them on the sign up list. You can favorite items, promote the shop in social media, make treasuries, feature them in a blog post, etc. Promote them the way you want to be promoted. 

























6/5- Photo Collage Day- make a photo collage using some of the shops on the sign up list & post the collage to your social media.  Here's a few samples of collage's that were made.


Soft Romantic Items from SPS Team













A few more collages can be found here:
https://twitter.com/amydscrochet/status/474508643706998784
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/296252481710991821/
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/556687203912708814/
https://twitter.com/noandsoshabby/status/474561950802661376
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/263319909437814625/
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/351140102169642585/
https://twitter.com/Gumpaste_Garden/status/474621494996504576

There were so many wonderful collages!  I wish I could feature them all.


6/6- Social Media Day- Post 1 item from your shop that you’d like promoted; Favorite and Promote 3 items posted below you on a minimum of 2 social media sites for each item.










6/7 - Wild Card Day- Pick a shop Not on the list & promote them today. Send them a note letting them know why their shop is special/why you picked them.  





Please take a look at the shops who were chosen for Wild Card Day.

www.etsy.com/shop/MommyandMeWorkshop
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CrolAndCo
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Daniblu
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MelaniePearsonDesign
https://www.etsy.com/shop/EndoraJewellery




Thank you for joining me in our 5000 Member Celebration.  You can read the history of our team and find out about the captain & team leaders in this blog post: http://strategicpromotionforsuccess.blogspot.com/2014/05/5000-members-lets-celebrate.html 



PRESENTED TO YOU BY OUR LEADER :

Hi I'm Amy. In my shop I offer a variety of crocheted items and occasionally I list vintage crochet & knitting pattern books. I enjoy working on custom orders. My customers often come up with the best creative ideas; and sometimes offer me the challenge of creating something I've never done before. It’s always satisfying to take a piece of yarn and create something new from it. 

     Granny Square Corner Dishcloth, Set Of 2 Hot Pink & Light Purple