The Newest Etsy Challenge: Shop Makeover

I decided to join in on my first EVER Etsy challenge.  Every so often, Etsy offers challenges to its sellers and shop owners.  The challenges always have to do with making yourself, your product, your image, and your shop better than when you started.  So...I decided to take the plunge and begin the challenge!


The first challenge in this series focuses on your shops BRANDING.  Here is what Etsy had to say.


"But what is a brand? It's the promise that a shop makes to its customers. Your brand tells your customers what they can expect from your products and what differentiates your products from your competitors’. Simply put, your brand is a combination of the image you are trying to project for your business, plus the associations and memories that your customers bring to the table when they encounter that image. (Read the full Etsy article here)"


So to begin, Etsy gave us a challenge and it begins with asking some simple questions.
1. What are your shop’s values? My answer: customer satisfaction.
2. What are the unique features and benefits of your products? Why should a customer choose you over another company?  My answer: Because I have a flair and zest for life that shines through in the whimsical and "geeky" designs I create.
3. Who is your target market? And what do your existing customers already think of your shop?  Target market is both women and men, men for their ladies and women for themselves.
4. What do you want your customers to associate with your shop? What are the emotional, somewhat intangible attributes that your customers can experience and identify with?  My answers: humor, fun, and whimsy.


Here are Etsy's tips on Making the Sale:
(Please click here to go directly to Etsy's article)

Before the Sale

1. Get a great logo. Visual design is an important part of brand identity. Choose fonts and colors that evoke your brand.
2. Design marketing materials with your brand in mind. Your business cards, banner ads and promotional postcards should have a visual aesthetic that supports the image you hope to achieve for your brand. Use the same color scheme, logo placement and fonts. Your designs don’t need to be fancy, just consistent.
3. Integrate your brand image across your social media profiles. For example, match your Twitter background and Facebook fan page to your shop’s  banner.

During the Sale

1. Write item descriptions with a tone of voice that reflects your brand’s personality. 
2. Tell the story behind your product and how it relates to your brand values. 
3. Use your photo background and props to help convey your shop’s identity to your target customers.

After the Sale

1. Design your packaging to be consistent with your brand’s personality. A well-packaged item will impress your buyers, turning fans into loyal, repeat customers. And don’t forget that your stamp, sticker, or label is an opportunity to remind your customers of your brand name and shop URL.
2. Branding extends to every aspect of your business, especially customer service activities like answering follow-up emails, shipping, and issuing refunds. As a business owner, you have a great opportunity to build your brand during customer service activities where you have the (rare) full attention of your customer. 

Today I will begin with Challenge #1: Take a good, long look at your products

Try This: Take all of the items in your shop and group them together in groups of 4 using Etsy’s poster sketch. Make sure all items within a group are related to each other — color, size, material or anything else. Then take those groups and line them up in 4 rows that visually flow from one to another. When you are satisfied, take a few steps back and see how your items look together. The goal is to arrange your items to create a cohesive shop that makes sense and looks like it’s from one artist — you!

For all you other Etsy Sellers out there who want more information.  Here's Danielle's post on the challenge for this week.