Damien, from Yaami and HandmadeMarket, recently shared information about his team’s new site, tips for handmade sellers, and what he thinks buyers look for online.

Why did you start HandmadeMarket.com? Who is your target audience for the site?

“We wanted to take the traditional way of browsing craft items (the local craft market) and today’s way of browsing craft items (online marketplaces such as Etsy and ArtFire) and mix the two together to create a more ‘real-life’ experience to browsing craft items online,” he said.

“Our target audience are buyers and sellers of handmade, art and craft items who want to buy or sell online while also experiencing the traditional craft market experience.”

What makes you different from other selling platforms for crafters (i.e. ArtFire, 1000 Markets, Etsy)? What does the site offer sellers?

“The market is unique in that it creates a more ‘real-life’ experience for the shopper,” Damien told HandmadeMarketing.org.  “HandmadeMarket’s role isn’t to provide a selling platform, as we think there are many great platforms out there already, but to provide a new and unique way for sellers to showcase their items – a shopper can then purchase via the sellers’ site of choice (such as Etsy, ArtFire or their own website).“

What does the site offer buyers? Why should those who love handmade buy from HandmadeMarket.com?

“The online handmade world brings many benefits to those who love handmade – browsing items from all over the world from the comfort of your home is one of the benefits – but in doing so you lose the experience you get from your local craft market. HandmadeMarket allows shoppers to browse from home, while still experiencing the craft market experience,” he said.

Tell us a bit about the team behind HandmadeMarket.com. Who is involved in managing the site? Why did they choose to work on this project?

“The market is managed by the small team at Yaami Handmade,” he said.  “Originally planned to be a feature of Yaami.com, we decided the idea deserved its own website. We’re hoping other sites in the online handmade world will become involved in the project to make the market even bigger and better.”

Where do you see the site going in the future – 6 months? 1 year? 5 years?

“In the future we want to continue to add features and implement improvements to make the market even better,” Damien told us.  “A chat feature is one of the features we plan to implement, allowing shoppers to talk with other shoppers and sellers, just like you would at a ‘real-life’ craft market.”

“We’re planning a themed market for the Christmas holiday season and more themed markets throughout the year,” he added.

What are some tips you would give crafters looking to break into selling online for the first time? What are your top three “musts” for all online craft sellers?

Damien told us the following three tips for sellers:

1. Create a brand for your shop and be consistent with the use of your brand image.
2. Market your shop and items – let your shop be known to shoppers.
3. Present your shop in a professional yet friendly manner, especially in communication – you want your customers to be return-customers.

Have you visited HandmadeMarket.com?  What do you think of the site?  What types of features would help you sell more handmade online?

Share your ideas with HandmadeMarketing.org!  Articles on this site are generated from readers – so tell us a bit about your marketing and advertising ideas.  Simply share your thoughts by clicking on our “Join” tab at the top of the page.

HandmadeMarketing.org reader Melissa Hamel-Smith shared why she sells handmade on ArtFire in a previous HandmadeMarketing.org article, and is back to tell sellers her 3 tips to success.  Melissa sells handmade at the ArtFire studio KaoticEkkosCuriosities and has wonderful ideas for new and seasoned handmade sellers alike.

1. Establish Your Brand.  Melissa’s first time is to establish your brand for your handmade business.  “Decide on a business name and logo that you love and won’t want to change,” she tells our HandmadeMarketing.org team. “Consistency is very important. Remember your ‘brand’ will be on everything: business cards, banners, online shops, etc. You really want people to be able to recognize your product. And the first thing you should invest in is business cards. They’re inexpensive, effective and versatile. But remember, make sure you love your ‘brand’ first. Otherwise you’ll end up with 250+ cards you can’t use and lots of trees crying.”
2. Start Small. She recommends sellers don’t invest too much in advertising at first.  “Don’t go crazy with the advertising just yet. Start with free directories such as Shop Indie Online, Indie Collective, and Handmade Directory. Advertise on your social networks. There are some awesome sites that have cheap ad spots such as Blockhead Radio. Don’t overspend. There’s no point in spending $100 per month on a site that doesn’t reach your target audience. That’s a very expensive lesson to learn!” she tells us.
3. Team Up.  Most online selling platforms have some way for sellers to connect.  Melissa sells on ArtFire, so she recommends finding an ArtFire Guild that works for you.  “A Guild is a group of artists whose art is along the same theme, same medium, etc. You’ll be promoting other artists, but remember they’ll be promoting you too!” she said.  “You can learn a lot from your fellow Guild members, especially those who have been selling longer than you. Guilds also set up promotion opportunities such as samplers, giveaways, sales, etc. What’s better than a group of like-minded people promoting each other?!“

Finally, Melissa tells handmade sellers to remember their passion when the work gets overwhelming.  “Never give up!” Melissa tells sellers. “It is a lot of work, but if you love what you do it’ll be worth it!”  Need more inspiration when promoting and marketing become time-consuming?  Handmade seller Amy Vander Vorste shared her advice on how to market your online handmade shop effectively without losing your life.

Thank you for sharing your 3 tips to success Melissa!  You can learn more about Melissa’s ArtFire studio by checking out her recent post, titled “Why Artfire is Awesome”, found on her blog.  You can also connect with her on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Plurk, her blog, and Flickr.

Share you thoughts with HandmadeMarketing.org!  If we feature your tips in a future article, we’ll link to your shop, blog, or social media as a source of the information.  Simply tell us what advice you have for selling handmade online under our “Join” tab!

Janet Bocciardi, crafter from the website Honey from the Bee, shared her thoughts on why she thinks a good story and attention to quality help potential buyers have a memorable experience.

“What makes your pair of chalcedony earrings different than the ones in a department store? Why do customers want to buy jewelry from an independent artist vs. a large chain store?  There are probably quite a few different responses to those questions, but I think figuring this out is paramount in helping one sell their artisan jewelry or other items,” Janet said.

“I think we all know we’d rather put on a pair of earrings where we knew who made them than perhaps a factory or worse child labor in a third world country,” Janet explains.  “However, sometimes the price just seems easier to focus on.”

Janet suggests handmade sellers draw potential buyers in with their personal story.  “If at an art fair, buyers may get hooked on your personality or image, but online one has to focus on the story,” she said.

Can’t think of a good story to share with potential buyers?  Janet suggests writing about why you are an artist.  “Or more focused to what inspired the piece you are selling,” she continues.  “It may be the additional colors you chose to highlight the stone remind you of that Caribbean trip you took last winter. Whatever it is – write about it.”

Janet provides a great example for sellers:  “Your chalcedony earrings are drops from the sea, dripping from a mermaid’s ears as she peeks out of the water and looks longingly to shore,” she writes.

In addition to sharing a personal story with potential buyers, Janet says quality work is a key to selling more handmade crafts.  “Make sure your work is of high quality,” she tells HandmadeMarketing.org.  “One of the things that’s finally hitting many retail shops is folks are just tired of buying stuff that breaks before a reasonable amount of use.  In this day and age of making your money count, and wanting to use our resources wisely, who wants to keep replacing?“

To accomplish this, Janet things taking good and bright photographs of items is a great first steps to ensure buyers can really see what they are buying.  “Value your work.  Items perceived to be priced too low are also seen as ones of questionable quality,” she says.

Thank you for the tips Janet!  You can connect with Janet via Twitter or her blog on her site Honey from the Bee.

Have you tried something new to market your handmade items?  How did it work for your shop?  Do you have any advice for a new seller?

HandmadeMarketing.org thrives from tips like Janet’s.  If you have a marketing, photography, or advertising tip that has worked for you, share it with the HandmadeMarketing.org community!  Submit your tips to our team of editors under our “Join” section.  If we publish your tips, we’ll link to your shop, blog, or social media pages as the source!

If you have doubts about how the holidays will pan out for your handmade shop this year, selling platform ArtFire.com aims to help.  Sara Moore, Head of the Content Department for ArtFire.com, informed our team at HandmadeMarketing.org that the site recently launched free unlimited listings for all members during the holiday season!  “This is part of our Holiday Free-for-All,” she explained.  “Everyone gets free unlimited listings for the holidays on ArtFire.com.”

The site, which connects buyers with those that sell handmade items, was designed by artisans from around the globe.  ArtFire’s ever-evolving feature list, including it’s Kiosk on Facebook and recent partnership with Amazon Payments, seems to make both buying and selling handmade online easier and easier.

“We will be giving away unlimited listings completely free for all sellers during the holiday season,” Sara said.  “This means that everyone can sell and list as many items as they wish for absolutely no cost or fees.”

Since the beginning, ArtFire.com has focused on changing the way handmade is sold online.  “When we first launched, ArtFire revolutionized the handmade marketplace by making it completely free for users to sell online,” Sara said.  “Members were able to list and sell up to 12 items at any point on the site, and could have unlimited listings with customizable features for the flat rate of $12/month.”

Already selling handmade on ArtFire?  During the Holiday Free-for-All, every member of ArtFire.com can list and sell an unlimited number of items for free.  This even includes those who currently sell using free Basic Accounts.

Not using ArtFire to reach your potential buyers?  Now is a great time to try out ArtFire.  “No fees, no commissions, no cost to you.  If you sign up for a Basic (free) account you don’t have to pay us a dime. Ever,” the ArtFire website reads.  “This gives everyone a risk-free way to try the fastest growing handmade venue on the internet.”

After seeing the effects of the current economic situation, ArtFire made the decision to lighten the load for handmade sellers.  “We have decided to remove this 12 item limit for the shopping season, giving everyone on the site the option to list unlimited items for sale,” Sara announced.

“Many of our sellers are concerned about the shopping season due to economic issues, and cannot afford to promote and advertise as they had last year,” added John Jacobs, CEO of ArtFire. “This Holiday Free for All will allow them to sell more items than ever before completely free.”

“To make things even easier for sellers, ArtFire has also launched the their Global Product Editor, which gives sellers the chance to make batch edits to hundreds of products in their inventory at once,” Sarah said.  “Although this feature is normally reserved for pro members, ArtFire is opening this tool up so that all members on the site can make use of it.”

ArtFire is excited to see the reaction from the artisan community online.  “This Holiday Free for All Promotion is the first ever of its kind, and expected to completely change the craft marketplace,” Sara said.

“Regardless of marketplace or venue we’ve found that sellers who list more items have a much greater success online,” said Tony Ford, COO of ArtFire. “We want to give everyone the chance to be successful, and free unlimited listing will help our artisans obtain more sales during the fourth quarter.”

Do you sell handmade on ArtFire.com?  What do you think of the site?  What tips would you give a new seller when they are deciding which online selling platform is best for them?

When the Etsy’s SEO Guide was released in September of 2009, Etsy seller Amy Vander Vorste published her own SEO tips with tools to help sellers on her website.  Amy sells handmade at Etsy’s Avlor’s Imprints and has shared her marketing and business tips with HandmadeMarketing.org before – from showing us how to create a form for customers and inventory to creating a Facebook user name. 

The SEO guide from Etsy.com aims to share great tips with sellers and offer insights into how to enhance Etsy shops for search engines and improve rankings.  Because search engine optimization is an evolving process, expect updates to this initial guide.

The guide advises sellers to focus item descriptions and as well as the shop title on the first 30 words.  This will ensure that the most optimized keywords will be displayed.

“[After reading the Etsy SEO guide], many of us are redoing our shop and item titles and descriptions to utilize those first 30 or 160 characters,” Amy says.

To help make this process a little less painless for sellers, Amy says sellers count their characters using Google Docs’ word count tool, which can be found under “Tools”, then “Word Count.”

“If you make a selection, it will count the characters in the selection. Then you can easily tune your titles and descriptions to the correct number of characters,” she tells other Etsy sellers.

What techniques have you used to help make your shop or website optimized for search engines?  What role do you think search plays in sales?  Have you noticed any changes in your SEO since Etsy published this guide?

Melissa Hamel-Smith, handmade seller from the ArtFire studio KaoticEkkosCuriosities, recently shared her thoughts on what it’s like selling on ArtFire.com, what features she likes most, and her tips for marketing handmade online.

Melissa opened shop at ArtFire on December 3, 2008 and calls the decision the best she’s ever made.  “I can’t recall how I came across Artfire,” she tells us.  “I think it may have been through an ad on Facebook. I was looking for an alternative to Etsy because I wasn’t making sales and I felt like I was a number, not an individual artist.”

When asked her favorite ArtFire feature, Melissa replied enthusiastically, “Do I have to pick just one?!“  She loves the Rapid Cart, which allows customers to make a purchase without setting up an account or even visiting the Artfire website.

“Rapid Cart makes it super fast and easy, something that can make or break a customer deciding to buy. I also love the ability to customize your shop. Upload a banner, play with the colors, you can even add widgets and HTML! Artfire lets you be as creative with your shop as you are with your art!,” Melissa said.

Melissa said she also likes the way ArtFire.com has structured their fees to sell.  “I prefer paying a monthly fee and not worrying about products expiring,” she told HandmadeMarketing.org.

Melissa was recently interviewed by HandmadeNews.org regarding her marketing tips. “I thought I’d share!” she told our team.

Our HandmadeMarketing.org team liked Melissa’s tips for newbie craft sellers best.  Her number one tip for a crafter selling their items?  “Business cards,” she said in the interview.  “They’re inexpensive. They solidify your brand and your image. Just make sure you decide on your logo and contact information. You want people to recognize your business.”

Melissa explained that when she made the move from Etsy to ArtFire, she had to get her cards reprinted.  “Make sure you think things through,” she warns other sellers.

To help reach potential buyers, Melissa recommends to be bold.  “Don’t be afraid to ask local indie businesses if you can put a couple in their store. Also, search out free directories online,” she said in the interview.  “If it’s free or low cost and they’ll take your info, do it. The internet is so wide that you know someone will happen upon it!”

As for features she would like to see on ArtFire.com, Melissa hopes the site expands to include options for those selling handmade internationally.  “I’m hoping there will be more options for international sellers. I’d like to be able to list a product in Canadian dollars instead of having to figure out the exchange rate,” she says.

However, Melissa says she is satisfied with ArtFire’s ability to keep up with sellers.  “The wonderful people at Artfire are always coming up with new innovations to make the selling process easier and more effective,” she said. “They implement features before I can even think of them! They’re really up-to-date on trends and sellers’ needs and wants.”

Looking for more thoughts from Melissa about selling handmade?  Check out her article, titled “Why Artfire is Awesome”, found on her blog.  You can also connect with her on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Plurk, her blog, and Flickr.

What do you think of Melissa’s take on ArtFire?  Have you visited the site?  What do you think?

Share you thoughts with HandmadeMarketing.org!  If we feature your tips in a future article, we’ll link to your shop, blog, or social media as a source of the information.  Simply tell us what advice you have for selling handmade online under our “Join” tab!

Sara Moore, Head of the Content Department at ArtFire.com, recently told HandmadeMarketing.org that the just launched their Global Product Editor.

ArtFire’s Global Product Editor is intended to help make inventory management simple for crafters. “ArtFire.com’s new feature allows members to quickly manage hundreds of products,” Sara told us.

“To help members prepare for the busy holiday shopping season, ArtFire has launched their Global Product Editor for sellers,” she said. “This simple-to-use tool allows ArtFire.com artisans to quickly make mass changes to their inventory to run sales, adjust for changes in cost, and make seasonal changes. Such a useful and time efficient feature has never before been offered by a handmade venue.”

“With the Global Product Editor Management tool,” Sara continued, “Pro users on ArtFire will be able to easily change the price for a selection of their inventory to reflect a sale, or change their shipping costs to reflect an increase in postage expenses.”

Using this new ArtFire tool, handmade sellers can quickly modify item titles and tags for search engine work and optimization. They can also move items into different studio categories for better organization.

“Sellers can even use this tool to change where their items appear on the site, moving them into new gift guides, site categories, changing the primary color to allow for different results in ArtFire’s Search by Color feature, or setting different target genders and age groups,” Sara tells HandmadeMarketing.org.

“This tool will change the way artisans mange their inventory, making it easier for them to have complete control of their business,” said John Jacobs, CEO of ArtFire.com. “Artisans have been asking for this tool for a long time, and we were happy to be the first to give it to them.”

ArtFire is an ever-changing handmade marketplace on the web. “We are known for our customer service and consistent innovation,” Sara tells us. “ArtFire runs on a system of Community Directed Development, in which member feedback and suggestions are implemented into the direction of the site. On ArtFire, members have direct communication with developers and influence the types of projects built.”

In fact, Sara tells us that this Global Product Editor was designed with member input to reduce the time required for artisans to manage their business during the upcoming holiday shopping season.

What tools does your online marketplace provide to help you sell more online? What would you like to see implemented? What tips do you have for preparing to sell more handmade this holiday season?

Many artisans selling online will acknowledge item photography is one of the biggest challenges they face.

“Great photographs are extremely important to both the buyer and seller of jewelry that is sold online,” photographer Jim Juris recently told HandmadeMarketing.org.  “Unlike shopping in a brick and mortar store the potential buyer of the jewelry cannot see and touch the actual item when they shop for jewelry online. You decrease the chances of making a sale when your jewelry photographs are not good because a photograph is all that the buyer has to go by when making a buying decision.”

When taking photographs of your craft items, backgrounds can be as important as your subject matter.  In a recent article on her blog Haptree and me, handmade seller Hilary tells readers, “Backgrounds are important because, if you are not careful, they can completely out stage your subject resulting in a confused and weak image.”

“Can you imagine a bride and groom being happy to have their photos taken round the back of the church by the wheely bins just because that’s where the light was best? I’m not suggesting that the photos you use on your blog or for your craft photography are quite so important as wedding pictures, but they do deserve a little time and effort to make sure they attract rather than detract from the subject, especially if they are advertising your hard work,” Hilary explains.

When photographing any area, whether it is your garden, kids or a finished craft item you are ready to sell, Hilary suggests taking the time to consider the photograph’s background.  “Giving some extra thought to the background can make a huge difference to the final image,” she says.  “Sometimes just changing position is all you need to do but when you are photographing crafts for sale it may need a bit more thought as the background you choose can affect the exposure, color intensity and the general feel of the piece you are selling.”

When photographing items for her ArtFire Studio or Etsy shop, Hilary uses a white background for the pieces.  “This is because my wristlets and bead kits are really colorful and brightly patterned,” she tells HandmadeMarketing.org.  “I think anything other than white would make the image too busy. I also want my shop to have consistent, branded look, so I chose white and I have stuck with it, I also use white as the background for my blog, to try and continue the theme of bright colors on a white background. As you can see I don’t use a studio, just a tripod, natural diffused light, a white board and a reflector made of tin foil! Below is one of the images from this mini session, showing you don’t need expensive equipment to achieve good results.”

“I would actively encourage a new seller to try out as many backgrounds as possible to find one that suits their products best, but I would also add that you need to think about the extra time you might have to spend styling the background, if it’s your gorgeous country kitchen – is it always immaculate, does it get great light in the winter aswell? In my opinion consistency is key to making your online shop gallery look professional,” she says.

Hilary explains that even the most eclectic items can look like part of a “family of items” if they are photographed with consistency.  “Equally, you can add character to a set of similar items by adjusting the background.”

Hilary recommends thinking outside the box when picking a background for your craft photos.  “It may be that the background forms the “story” of the piece or that it adds another complimentary dimension for the viewer to unconsiously take in. For example using slate or rocks as a background can imbue us with the notion of natural strength and durability. Or using the fragile pages from an antique book gives us the feeling of great value and age. The choice of background maybe purely to contrast with your object, making it stand out.  For example, shiny metals seem to look great against driftwood,” she says.  For more ideas about how a photo background can tell a story, or tell potential buyers how the item can be used in their lifestyle, read recommendations from Etsy item photo guru Renaissance Austin.

“If you chose to use a plain background, you may need to include something to give scale,” Hilary tells artisans.  “It can be done surreptitiously without detracting from the image, a ruler shot isn’t always necessary! I use coins with my coin purses, they show it’s function but they also add scale. Likewise with something such as a knitting bag, it would be nice to see it with needles nearby.  The ideas are limitless for small objects but things get a lot trickier with larger objects or indeed oddly shaped objects. Try and use the same principles as with small objects but if the background itself can’t be consistent then try to keep the style consistent. For online selling you could always use cropped in pictures of important details thus eliminating the background for the first gallery image and then full frame pictures in the remaining slots. Using a large aperture to blur backgrounds can also help, allowing your subject to really pop out, especially if you are forced to use a particularly busy backdrop, see my post about depth of field for advice on this.”

Hilary finishes her blog piece with a few final points to consider when choosing your background:

1. “A plain white backgrounds is great in most situations, but can make dark objects recede from the viewer and can affect your exposure if you are not careful with metering,” she says.  “In most cases any issues can be remedied when editing your images.”
2. Hilary tells craft photographers that black backgrounds absorb light.  “You will get rid of unwanted reflections,” she says.  “Sometimes this can make very shiny objects appear to merge with the background. However it can also add drama and make bright colours look very intense.”
3. She tells artisans to beware to using too many intense and bright colors.  “These can really make a shot zing but beware that the subject is still visible and not drowned out by all that color!” she says.
4. “Colors all have an effect on each other, so experiment with different colored backgrounds and colored objects on a small scale before investing in anything large or expensive,” Hilary told us.
5. Hilary thinks that a graduated background can work really well for craft photographers.  “Having the subject sitting in the lighter area in the forground with the background seeming to dissapear as it gets gradually darker works well,” she explains.  “I have managed to achieve this affect with natural light, but I would like to make this more consistent with my photography so I am looking to buy a graduated background. I will be sure to make a post about my discoveries!”

Thank you for the photography tips Hilary!  You can connect with Hilary via her blog’s photo tips or on Twitter.

What tips do you have for taking outstanding craft photos?  Do you have a photo that turned out well that you would like to share with HandmadeMarketing.org?  What do you think of Hilary’s suggestions?

Share your ideas with HandmadeMarketing.org!  Post a comment to this article, or write a craft article of your own and submit it under our “Join” tab.  If we publish your article, we’ll link to your shop, blog, and social media links as the source of the great information!

April Stanley Njari, seller behind the Etsy shop AprilMist, tells HandmadeMarketing.org that networking with bloggers and other crafters is vital to increasing sales online.

“I’m a huge Etsy fan and had thought about opening a shop for some time,” April told us. “After months of creating my handmade paper beads and studying the resources links and forum posts, I took the plunge and opened AprilMist on June 25, 2009.  I listed several of my funky and sassy handmade paper bead jewelry creations and decided to offer free shipping for as long as I am able because as a customer, I don’t like paying for shipping.”

April says her Etsy business took off quite quickly. “In 10 weeks, I sold 15 items! I’ve really enjoyed the process of creating and selling, meeting amazing people through Etsy and my local craft community, and learning a lot about maintaining my business throughout the process.”

April says two things have helped her have success on Etsy.com – connecting with bloggers and being active in an Etsy Team.

April says her strategy to connect with bloggers has been to really get to know the style of the blog and interest of the blogger. She also focuses on posting helpful comments on interesting posts.

“This is the best way to start getting involved and connect to the community, plus its lots of fun! When I discover a blog that resonates with me and my business, I add it to my favorites and subscribe to the feed and start to interact by leaving comments. I do need to get organized in order to decrease the amount of time I’m spending online,” she told HandmadeMarketing.org.

Currently, April does not yet have her own blog. “I have lots of respect for those who can maintain their business and frequently post interesting articles. Myself and many others enjoy reading, so keep on blogging!” she says.

April’s favorite blogs are Modish Biz Tips, HandmadeMarketing.org, and CraftNouveau.

What makes a great blog in April’s eyes? “I’m especially drawn to bloggers who share their knowledge and expertise, offer advice and suggestions based on their experience, share their challenges and highlight the success of others in addition to their own successes,” she tells HandmadeMarketing.org.

Looking for a way to connect with bloggers, but still have time to craft? April recommends a Modish Biz Tips resource for getting organized, researching blogs that pertain to your work, and documenting your correspondence with them.

“I have yet to completely implement these suggestions, but it’s on my “to do” list!” she says.

April also tells new sellers to think about joining an Etsy Team to connect with others.

“I would absolutely recommend joining an Etsy Team to connect with like minded crafters! I joined the regional EtsyCREST (Capital Region Esty Street Team) since I live in the DC area and wanted to become part of my local craft community,” she says. “Being an active member of this team has afforded me the opportunity to get involved in awesome local crafting events such as volunteering at the Ballston Arts & Crafts Market, and meeting up for monthly crafting and happy hour with Crafty Drinks DC. The friendships I’ve made and advice and encouragement I’ve received through this community has been totally amazing and quite helpful in developing my handmade business.”

Being a member of an Etsy Team has also directly increased April’s Etsy sales. “Through my Etsy team I have met a few friends who have blogged about my jewelry designs and my process of creating handmade paper beads. A fellow member of an Etsy Team (Capital Region Etsy Street Team) posted a photo of one of my listings on her blog and my page views for that item really shot up,” April told us.

Although April’s Etsy shop has slowed a bit, she continues to develop her business. “Recently, business on Etsy has been a bit slow for most sellers, so I’ve used this down time to continue to create fun new designs, research the Etsy Forum posts for ideas on improving my shop, connect with local crafters and prepare for the upcoming holiday season,” April says.

Thank you for the networking advice April! Readers can connect with April by following her on Twitter or via email (aprilmist.etsy@gmail.com). You can also learn more about her craft in her DC Craft Mafia feature.

How do you connect with bloggers? Are you a member of an Etsy Team? Which networking opportunities have been best for your Etsy shop?

Technology guru Amy Vander Vorste, from Etsy’s Avlor’s Imprints, is back with a time-saving and easy-to-learn tip for online handmade sellers.

In the past, Amy has shown HandmadeMarketing.org readers how to create a Tweetable link, steps to creating a Facebook username, how to manage your time marketing your Etsy shop, and other valuable tips.  In this article, Amy explains in her recent Google Docs blog post how using Google Docs can save handmade sellers time and money.

Google Docs allows users to create basic documents from scratch or start from a template.  Users find that doing all the basics for document prep is as easy on Google Docs as it is when you use your computer’s word processor, spreadsheet software, etc.  The Google Docs overview on the website says “making bulleted lists, sorting by columns, adding tables, images, comments, formulas, changing fonts and more” are just as easy as using computer software… and it’s free!

To get started, a user simply creates a Google account (if they do not have one already) and uses the Google Docs feature to upload existing files.  “Google Docs accepts most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, PPT, etc.  So go ahead and upload your existing files,” the site reads.

A user’s existing documents can now be “web-based”, meaning no more emailing documents to yourself because you are not going to be able to be at your computer.  You can also create new documents using Google Docs.

So… how can this feature be used for handmade sellers?

“If you have a product or set of products for which you are consistently asking your customers the same questions, need a place to track all the information for an order, or need a poll – here’s a solution: Google Docs – Forms!” Amy explains in her article.

Amy writes that for her Etsy business, Google Docs has become a time saver.  She creates upcycled labels and generally has to ask the same questions over and over to my customers.

“Putting them in a form means I can ask the questions all at once and have all the information in one spot,” Amy explains.  “Easy on the customer and easy on me when I’m working on orders.”

“Here’s where either the customer or I enter the information,” Amy explains (form shown above.)

At the end of the form, Amy has implemented a “submit” button.  “After the submit button is pushed, the information is entered into a Google Spreadsheet where I can access the information or keep it for reference,” Amy tells us.  “Slick and simple!”

Are you as excited as we were about using Amy’s tips for your business?  Here are steps to making your own form:

1. Once you have a Google account, simply visit http://docs.google.com and log-in.
2. Under the “New” tab at the top of the screen, you will see a number of options for a new project including “document” and “spreadsheet”.  Click on “form” to create a new form.
3. “Then you’ll be taken to a screen where you set up your form,” Amy explains.  “The “Add Item” menu will give you a variety of choices for your questions.”
4. “You can move form items around on the form so they are in the order you want. Just keep in mind, the spreadsheet that all of the data goes into will have form items in the order you add them, not the order you have them arranged on the form,” Amy says.
5. Next, Amy says you can pick a theme for your form with the “Theme” button.  From there, Amy suggests previewing and testing your form.  “To access your data and spreadsheet from the form editor, click on the “See Responses” menu,” Amy says.  “To get back to the form or the edit form menu from the spreadsheet, click on “Go to live form” or “Edit form”.”

To share the submissions form, Amy tells crafters to go to the submissions form and copy the URL at the top of the window.  “From the spreadsheet click on the Form menu “Go to live form”,” she explains.  “Send this URL/web address to anyone that you need to fill out the form.“

Now that you have a great form set-up, how to you go about using your collected data?  What if you want to view the records individually in a readable format?

“If you’re like me,” Amy writes in her part two Google Docs tutorial, “you know generally what you want on the form – but didn’t plan it out in detail and nade a few changes and additions along the way. Google forms can handle this no problem. But the corresponding columns in your spreadsheet will be in the order that the matching form items were created. You can technically move the columns around – but then they won’t match with the form anymore. I tried. My submissions columns were out of order. No good.”

Amy says she would love to see a human readable page with the vital info to print out and look at while she’s working on an order from her Etsy shop.  “I don’t want to be scrolling through columns and rows in a spreadsheet or even be running back and forth to the computer. (Too much of a temptation for me to be distracted!)” she writes.  “So far, Google hasn’t provided a tidy little way to view individual records/submissions in the submissions form. (Though Google, if you would do this – we’d love you forever!) This leaves rolling up our sleeves and using formulas – not so glamorous. Never fear though – I’ll walk you through it. We’ll actually just be using 1 little formula to pull the data for this tutorial. We can handle 1 measly formula.”

Amy has a great solution to this problem.  Here is her step-by-step guide to making Google Docs work for your craft business.

Do you use Google Docs for your business?  Have you utilized for “Forms” feature before?  Any tips for those new to Google Docs for using this tool to save time on craft business tasks?

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