Why Choose Etsy?

Some time back I went to our Facebook page and read someone's entry that they were thinking about joining another crafting site. I checked out the site and wasn't too impressed, and since then I have been thinking about the benefits of joining and selling on other sites that are similar to Etsy. Here are three reasons why you might want to choose to stay connected with Etsy.

First thing I did to find out how well Etsy is established on the search engines was google the phrase, "Best sites to sell your crafts on." The first thing that popped up was a direct link to Etsy.
The second was a Yahoo article talking about the 3 top sites and the third link listed 29 craft sites, both putting Etsy in the #1 spot. What that means for your business is when people search for a particular item on any search engine, the first place the search engines will look is Etsy.

The second thing to consider is if you choose to open a shop on other sites, include a link back to your Etsy store [Note: Make sure it is allowed on those sites. Etsy does not allow you to put links to your other off-site stores.] The fact is the more places you are located on the web, the bigger your personal web presence becomes, which enables you to attract more customers and be noticed by the masses and search engines. Just remember to keep your style and brand the same because others will recognize it and come to rely on it.

The third point is that there are over a million people who are connected on Etsy: you can never run out of leads for potential customers. Learn how to engage with other shops so they come to value you and know you as a friend they may eventually buy from or refer their friends to, even if you sell similar items. I realized this when I asked one shop owner if she could help me with some illustrations and she said she was too busy, but referred me to another shop who did similar stuff.

Hope this helps clear things up for some of you who may have questioned the value of joining another craft selling site.

Happy marketing, everyone!
Linda