on Sep 10th, 2013 | in Etsy Tips | 4 Comments

With over a year of blogging under her belt and hundreds of Pinterest followers, Mary of Craft Colorfully has weathered the ups and downs of blogging. She shares four quick tips to help Etsy sellers dip their toe in the authoring waters.

Etsy sellers know firsthand that getting a shop up and running takes patience and hard work. Starting a blog is no different; if you’re not ready to commit the time and effort, blogging can feel like a bust.

But fear not! If you’re ready to make the commitment and leap into the blogosphere to complement your Etsy shop, these tips will make the adventure a little more fun.

Pretty pictures

Etsy regulars know that photos are of prime importance in the Unofficial Stuffs You Gotta Know About Selling on Etsy book. That’s totally not a real book, but I call dibs on the title. In the same way you bring your A game when taking photos for your listings, you want to kill it with photos on your blog.

You don’t need to be a professional photographer with an expensive setup, just remember the basics – natural lighting and great composition. Put your best foot forward.

Personal content

Many sellers stumble into the pitfall of using a blog as purely promotional. No one wants to read that, including you – it feels spammy. Only a small chunk of my blog even remotely relates to my Etsy shop.

I love making quirky greetings cards – but I’m also a hardcore foodie who loves to whip things up in the kitchen. I’m a traveler, photographer and maker of stuff. These are the things I highlight in my blog. It’s not all about what you’re making for your shop; your blog should reflect who you are outside of your shop.

As bad as promotional blogs are, it’s easy to go the other way and take on too much. Good blogs have a feel or a theme; I center mine around crafts and lifestyle. Focus on a few topics and stick to it – it’ll give you direction and readers will know what to expect. Throw a curve ball every once in a while to keep them on their toes!

Apply the same strength and passion you have for your shop to your blog. Write from the heart and people will see it.

SEO and promotion

SEO is the ugly beast that every Etsy seller wishes they could ignore. It’s painful to deal with, but buyers aren’t going to show up on your doorstep waving money. Bloggers need to focus on SEO and promotion just as much as Etsy sellers.

Pinterest is my favorite way of promoting, but I’ve also discovered that button swaps can breathe life into new blogs. Find a few blogs you enjoy reading, introduce yourself and ask to do a button swap to help each other build traffic. Host a banner for their blog and they do the same for you. It’s free promotion that benefits everyone!

Enjoy yourself

Seriously, have fun. If blogging feels like a chore, readers can sense it and they’ll quickly jump ship for something more enjoyable. Are you witty, or do you make terrible jokes like I do? Whatever your passion, let it shine in your writing. If I try to force it with either my blog or shop listings, it comes out awful – or mediocre at best.

Let your true voice out, don’t over think it. It’s your space and you should enjoy it.

Mary is more than just graduate student in literature – she’s a traveling foodie who enjoys making stuff and loves photographing. She blogs at Wild Fox and runs her Craft Colorfully shop on Etsy.

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