Great Post about tagging on Etsy!!

This was found in the Etsy forums, it was written by etsy member squidart, love love love this and had to share it!

The Art of Tagging: Learn it, Love it, Master it.

For many, tagging is the bane of your Etsy existence. You have to choose your own tags, but only 14, and if you mistag, be prepared for the stoning and stake burning that is sure to follow.

Have no fear, worn-out taggers. I have laid out some tagging guidelines to help ease the pain.

1. Live by the Merchandising Desk monthly report. This is the report published by Etsy that clues you in to the upcoming trends. It foretells the holidays, color combinations, and trend words that will flood the Etsy scene in the next month or two. This is the holy grail of Etsy.

- You can find the current report here: http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/from-etsys-merchandising-desk-sprouting-up-in-march-6921/

- If you are looking for any other month, go to the Storque blog homepage, scroll down the left sidebar, click From Etsy’s Merchandising Desk under the Selling category.

- Then, CHANGE your TAGS according to the report. Include the color and trend words. I mix up my tags every month or two to keep things interesting and current.

- This is how people are found for Etsy emails, blog articles, and treasuries. Use it and abuse it!


2.Use color synonyms and genre keywords.

- Most people search through Etsy by color key words. Treasuries are designed around colors, the front page is often chosen this way, and customers are looking for colors that match their décor.

- If they are not searching by color, they are searching by genre. Use style and era words in your tags.

- Perfect tag resource: http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/seller-how-to-tag-o-rama-with-descriptive-keywords-5474/

- Try not to overuse everything on this list. Know that many other Etsians are using the same list, so use it as a guideline, and then come up with synonyms. (Try a google search or thesaurus to find synonyms.)


3. Don’t overuse team tags, your shop name tags, or your location tags.

- Using team, shop name, and location tags are an excellent way to help people find you, but you don’t need the same ones in every listing.

- I would use one of these three things in each listing. You must cherish those 14 tags, and not throw them away on repetition!

- I also use them as my back up tags when I can’t think of another keyword that feels right. I use these types of tags as place holders, and then go back and edit them when I think of better words.


4. Get more than 14 tags!!!!

- Now, if you sell OOAK items or are super stingy with your 20 cents, you will not like this idea.

- Create two or more separate listings for the same item. You automatically double you tag options.

- This works really well for photography because I can sell and list different sizes of the same print. It may not work well for all categories.


5. Other tips:
- Use common misspellings of your keywords.

- Look at other people’s tags who sell similar items for good ideas.

- Remember the British spelling for common words.

- Remember to use tags like OOAK and wholesale, but don’t overuse them.

- Always think about how YOU would shop for your items. What words would you put into the search bar?

The Chicken that will never be done!

The Chicken that will never be done!

weather, chicken and getting some work done!

Cold weather

This weekend was filled with another cold weekend for us in Florida. I whopping high of 45-55, I think today it hit 55. I took the kids out to play while my husband was smoking a chicken in the smoker and my nose started running…..that’s right a runny nose from the Florida weather….I may be a little wussy but I also can complain as I spent the first 21 years of my life living in miserably cold North Dakota so it is not like I didn’t  live the harsh cold long enough…come on Sunshine state, live up to your name!!

So the chicken

oh the chicken…..let’s start at the beginning. My hubby has been wanting a smoker for about 6 months…well actually about 4 years but really go annoying about it about 6 months ago…. I found a good deal on one and picked it up for him a few weeks ago. Last weekend we spent Super bowl Sunday smoking some ribs!! Num Num,!! This weekend we thought we would give a whole chicken a try…..everything we read online said it would take anywhere from 1 ½ hours to 6 hours…..well let me tell you how me and him have not eating dinner yet and its 10pm as I’m typing this…its rolling on the 6 hour mark. I was wishfully thinking it was done around 7, I took it off and started to pull off a leg only to see pink staring at me in the face…back on the smoker it went!! Oh did I mention that I have been checking on it and adding charcoal and wood as needed while my husband takes a happy nap on the couch! I guess watching the Daytona 500 all day must wear a man out…..

The business thing…..

It was a good weekend for me and my etsy shop, I had a lot of inquiries and messages sent. 1 secured sale and a few more in the works. I was surprised on Saturday morning that one of my favorite items I sell was featured in another person’s blog. I have never met or talked to this person before, which mean that people are finding me on Etsy and the web and liking my shop!! If you wanna check out her blog here is the address http://shorelychic.blogspot.com. I was jumping up and down when she sent me a message saying she featured my work!!  I went out yesterday and did some personalized messages that had been ordered through form the week.  I had a lot of fun getting the right shots for everyone.

The big opps….

I was very excited to be making some save the dates for a couple who will be getting married in September of this year. Well cuz what the date is Sept 18^th not Sept 21^st. Yep that right, I had the perfect shots for them got home sent them out to them. I was very excited about the shots I was able to receive. I then realize that I had written out the wrong dates…OPPSSSS!!! She was very nice and I headed to the beach again in the evening to do a reshoot! My husband did a very good job of taking care of the kids all day for me when I spent some along time at the beach!

The new shot….

I took a new favorite picture when I was at the beach..I have posted it in my store and I hope everyone loves it as much as I do! The waves hit it perfect and I was lucky enough to get such a unique angle on the shot!!

Lets hope for some sales this coming week! Only 4 weeks till Disney world with the kids. 

Our Families Etsy Store

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lovefromthesand

The Navy is killing my business....

Well maybe not killing it but definitely putting a slight damper on things for the moment. All week I have been working hard on trying to promote, get my name out into the world, tweek and perfect my etsy shop.
Work has came to a halt the past 2 days. Besides the weather being not so nice out and no beach trips to write the messages, Andy (my hubby) has been either at work, talking about work, talking to work, napping and sleeping.
I finally get on the computer to get some business thing accomplished this evening, of course the minute i open the laptop  the kids are in my face asking for drinks, snacks and just wanting my attention. I look over at my husband to give him the wifey nasty look so he gets the hint.....what is he doing oh yes napping once again! So of course, I throw a small hissy fit, get up accidentally running my leg into his leg asleep on the couch. He doesn't move. I get snacks drinks close the computer finish up Valentine card for classes, find jammies for the kids, brush teeth and he finally moves. He says "oh I will put them to bed"
Where is he now you may ask. Well he is on the bottom bed in the bunk bed sleeping, where am I sitting on the computer blogging with kids coming out to see me every once in a while, which I send back to bed only to have them reappear 5 minutes later.
Will the Navy drive me crazy with working my husbands butt off so hard, he cant keep his open for longer then 2 hours after being home....no I will win this battle not sure how and when but I will. Let it be the day he retires and I can give a a speech about all of the hard times we struggled through as a family.
What will my poor etsy shop do without my attention I need to be giving it at this important time of starting up?  It will strive and people will find me with out renewing items, posting new items and spending time promoting.
I guess I will end this with Go Navy attitude and go give my kiddos some nighty night cuddles.

If your On Etsy, Join our Contest to win a FREE 8X10!!!!

If you are on Etsy as a shopper or Shop owner, follow our contest we have running in the forums section!!
I am giving a away a FREE 8X10 from our etsy shop, of course you have to follow the rules to win. They are easy and explained on the etsy forum!
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6432107

                               To View our shop visit~  http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lovefromthesand

Visit our NEW Etsy store!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lovefromthesand
We have many Ready to ship Messages in the written in the Florida Sand, or can create a special custom message just for you! FREE SHIPPING is now being offered on all items! We also have a great sale going on with the purchase of any 8X10!

No beach Today

Day 1 of blogging.....

I am opening this blog to share with the world about my life...Things can be insane as a Navy wife, mom of 4 and one on the way and starting a new small business.

This morning the Chief wife got a true blessing!! My husband was able to stay home from work and help me with getting 2 kids of to school. We were then off with the other 2 to my big ultrasound.

the baby....
You may think the big ultrasound as being the one where you find out the sex. Well, that was last month, we are expecting a little boy. This one was an echo cardio on the babies heart. EVERYTHING WENT GREAT! We now know that the baby's heart and brain are fine! We have had quite a few scares this pregnancy! Even though this is our 5th, we have never been through this much testing and so happy our baby will have a 99.9% chance of being born completely healthy.


Then it was off to lunch with the hubby and 2 kids. Of course the Navy couldn't live without my hubby to long and he was soon off to work.

An afternoon was full of picking up kids, chatting with friends and busy on Etsy.

Etsy...
Of course Etsy has been very time consuming for me in the past few weeks as I opened my first store. Everyday I meet a bunch of great sellers and making new friends. I also spend lots of time editing my store and making sure its perfect. Well, as perfect as it can be right now!
I have had 4 sales so far, looking at a 5th but not sure yet it that one will stick around. We have been emailing back and forth for 2 days.

I have had great sales in the FS forum on etsy and also am doing a wedding project for someone at the moment. Today was not a good beach day with the cold and the bad tides and very windy, not good picture taking conditions...but i might head out this evening to snap a few for my customer waiting. If not It will be tomorrow morning i will be heading with the kiddos!