We publish our traffic stats publicly using Quantcast, you can take a look at the latest numbers here.

The people over at Etsy have seriously added to the technology that powers the site, delving in to solving the problem that people in tech circles call “big data.” The tech blog GigaOm, sumarizes it like this:

“Etsy, like so many other companies — especially on the web — is both drowning in data and trying to leverage it.”

We here at Handmade Spark marvel at the growth of Etsy.. and the growing tech complexity that comes along with it. But when it is all said and done what all of the tech is for is connecting buyers and sellers through the magic of the web. And connecting buyers and sellers doesn’t have to be through big, complicated tech solutions! It can still be done through simple old school tech solutions.. and that is why we added the ”Contact Me: I do Customer Orders” Button. Yes, by just telling people “Contact me, I do customer orders” people will do it. Every day, people are using this to contact sellers and asking them to make custom things for them.  Sometimes it is for things very similar to what they see on the page, sometimes it is for things inspired by what they see.. and sometimes, for the lucky ones, it is for a whole bunch of things..

If you are an Etsy seller, and are looking for a way to market your shop and connect with customers, consider giving Handmade Spark a try. You can preview your site and sign up for only $6 per month. It only takes a couple of minutes — and you can cancel at any time!

Heart of the Magpie

Studio Quality Product Photography With a $12 Set Up: Guest Post from Via U Photography Blog

This post as been widely shared on Pinterist and also on Reddit, where it is in top 10 in photography.

Paper Punched Easter Eggs Tutorial by Nikki In Stitches

This post was Stumbled in April and has had 61,000 views since!

Psst … We have some exciting news to share: Our social site for makers, crafters, and DIY-ers has finally launched! It’s called Things People Make.

So, what is Things People Make all about? Things People Make is social site where crafty people can share their creative process, learn and teach new skills, and even sell their finished products — for free!

Want to show off your projects and connect with other awesome makers? Great! Just create a new profile and start poking around. You’ll be able to create new Things and Tutorials, follow other makers and their projects, and share all of your progress on Facebook and Twitter!

If you’re looking for a little more guidance on how this whole thing works, why not read through the Community Guidelines and FAQs?

Things People Make has just launched and is growing fast. But it is still in beta, which means that the site will regularly add new capabilities and actions, based on feedback from you — the maker community. Share your thoughts, concerns, and visions for Things People Make – and start making the world you want to live in!

Hope to see you there!

Many of your potential customers will find your shop through an Etsy search query. This means that when someone is looking for an item, it is key that your photo on that search page pops right out so buyers are tempted to click on your item first. Photos are your #1 sales tool, and the first photo a potential client encounters makes or breaks your views and your sales. Your photos should be bright, in focus, and cropped accurately. They need to be the very BEST photos that you can take. (I can’t stress enough how IMPORTANT it is to have good photos!!)

Start off by asking yourself honestly: Do my product photos look like the product photos that are featured on Etsy’s front page? If not, then you need to work on improving your photos. Don’t feel bad—you should have seen my photos when I first started on Etsy! We can always improve our photos.

What You Need For Good Photos

Camera. Your camera need not be expensive, but it should be in good working condition and snap reasonably good photos. Since photos are so important, try to invest in as good of a camera as you can afford (meaning, if all you can afford is $30 for a camera, then do your homework and buy the best $30 camera you can find). People who sell jewelry and small items need a camera with a “macro” setting for good close-ups.

Lighting. Avoid using your flash. Flash creates glare and shadows, which are not good for showing off your item.

The best lighting is natural light or sunlight. Shooting outdoors means you don’t need to use your flash, and colors are more true. Do not shoot in full sunlight, however, as it can be too harsh and glaring and can cause shadows. Shoot on a bright but overcast day (to avoid shadows), or shoot on a sunny day, but in full shade.

If you are shooting small items indoors, a light box is a great way to take bright and clear photos. You do not need an expensive light box to take good pictures; in fact, you can make one yourself for next to nothing. There are a quite a few tutorials on making an inexpensive light box—I recommend this one, but you can also use Google to find a good how-to.

You can also try this technique for shooting. It doesn’t require a light box and looks like a pretty great set-up:

If you are shooting large items indoors, do not use your indoor (incandescent) house lamps and lights. They lack the full color spectrum, causing your photos to have a golden or orangey glow—not a good look. You can purchase some “photography daylight bulbs” (online at Amazon.com for a reasonable price) that have the full color spectrum and will light your items well. You also want to diffuse the light with photography screens (also easy to purchase on line at Amazon.com) so that there is no harsh glare or shadows (the same reason you don’t shoot in full sun).

Cropping. Photos work best on Etsy when they are cropped square (1000×1000 pixels). This helps you control how the photo looks when Etsy automatically crops the photo in gallery and thumbnail view. Avoid borders, halos, and watermarks as these are all things Etsy doesn’t like.

Show Us Everything. Buyers can’t hold your items, so they count on your pictures to show them everything they need to know to make a purchase. You should show all angles of the item, and be sure to always use all five photo slots in each listing.

Photo Editing. Photo editing can really kick up your photos up a notch. When photos come out less bright or colorful than you would have liked, you can easily fix that in post-processing. You can use software programs like Photoshop (which is around $600+) or Gimp (which is free). You can also use online editing tools, like Picnik.com or Picasa. Picnik and Picasa are a great alternative to expensive editing software. You can adjust levels, contrast, brightness and color levels—which is generally enough to make your picture look tremendously more bright and shop-ready!

FotoFuze is another great free online photo editing and enhancing tool for Etsy Sellers.

Links To Articles And Tutorials That Will Help With Photography

Etsy has just released a fabulous two-part video workshop on Photography that I highly recommend.

Achieving clarity and crispness in your photos

How to style your photos (props)

Photographing for success

How to make your photos pop with histograms and levels

Using ev and white balance to make your photos true to life

Product Photography

Clothing Photography Tips

DIY Lightbox

Before and After With Photoshop

PHOTO CREDITS: Image {Leave Nothing Behind Earring Prototype – Crafting365/167} courtesy of Creative Commons License via BlockPartyPress photostream – flickr.com.

About the author: Sandie Russo is a 3+ year Etsy veteran with 2 shops, KnitzyBlonde.etsy.com and ZaftigDelights.etsy.com, and is the Captain of the Sellers Assisting Sellers Etsy Team and the SASsy Critique Forum.