Great tips, Laura! It took me awhile to discover the importance of adding my location and I do think that filling it in helped.

Very helpful! I never gave much thought to adding my location, but now I will. The first thing I did was fill out my profile (could just be because I talk too much) but I was excited to realize that people were ACTUALLY reading it! So Great suggestions!

Great post! Yes, I’ve noticed the ‘festive’ specials – thank goodness I’ve cleaned up my shop by now…

With adding your location – the other bonus is that it helps you connect with other local Etsy sellers. I often do a ‘shop local’ search to look for crafters in my area who I might want to track down on twitter – getting to know sellers in your local area can provide a great business support network, and also helps with sharing knowledge on craft fairs, markets and local suppliers.

Good point Emily about using the Shop Local feature to connect with other local crafters for support and networking! Thanks!

Thanks for your advice. I don’t think I am guilty about leaving Christmas on my site. But it is a good point to go check it now… giggle .. That advice is good for any special or holiday. Thanks again

All wonderful tips! Another tip is to write a little bit of a personal story in your profile. People don’t always just fall in love with your creations…selling in line you want them to fall in love with you so that they return. thanks so much for adding my queen anne’s lace earrings!

I didn’t even know there was a Shop local feature! Thanks so much!

More great comments – thanks everyone!

Waterrose – great suggestion to include a bit of one’s personal story in the profile section!

Caroline – scroll down on Etsy’s front page, left-hand side menu…in the “Explore” box offering different ways for Buyers to search. :)

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For once I can say I’ve done something right! Although I live in such the boonies that I have to list FIVE locations just to get noticed. I’m somewhat of an overachiever. :)

Great tips, thanks!

I didn’t realize you could list more than one location? how do you do that..I dont have anyone in my area to shop local, so I put the city an hour away. Then I get people saying they would like to see me when they come to Portland and I get torn about doing that…

Great tips Laura! One of the first things I look at when I visit a new shop is their location! The second is the profile. If these are blank, I usually leave and look elsewhere.

These are great ideas. Thank you! I’m so glad to see WaterRose here. I simply adore her work.

I agree with Alison, for once I say did things right from the beginning. This is good information that I definitely agree with. I look right away for locations when I go to shops on Etsy.

I purposefully leave the Favorite Materials area blank because if shoppers click on them they are taken OUT of my shop. As much as possible, I try to avoid giving shoppers reasons to leave my shop :)

Great tips!

So what do you make of people who put several places into locations? Ok maybe 2 if you have a vacation home. But some have way more than that

Customer service! I’m always polite w/ my customers, and they return! I have someone who currently buys from me every two weeks! I love sending little goodies along w/ their order – candy, notepads, something that says “thanks”.

Thanks for the great tips. I know I am guilty of not updating my shop. Thanks for the reminders!

Thanks for all of the feedback and comments!

I’m not sure if it is really necessary to list several locations, unless you are living in several areas simultaneously. My take on the “Location” is: Where does this artist live?

If you have a wonderful product, with clear photos and descriptions, you will be found on Etsy, regardless of where you live.

Afraid people won’t know where in the world your town is? Consider putting something about it in your profile, such as “XXXXX is about 60 miles south of Portland.”

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Also an interesting point about not wanting people to click on your Favorite Materials, thus leaving your Etsy shop. Yes, there are many opportunities for buyers to click away from your shop while browsing your items, including your tags and your materials used in each product listing.

great tips- esp. the Christmas over ones- there is nothing that turns me off quicker than that!
moondog- i throw away candy when i get it with an order (FYI) If i get something free that is related to what i have ordered then I am thrilled- like recently I bought some candy from Vintageconfections and she sent a few lollipops–that was really nice- but I also bought supplies recently and had candy sent with it that i promptly threw out.

I made sure when I opened up shop to put in my location. When I’m purchasing items here on ETSY myself I look at the location of the shops.

Thanks

Great ideas and reminders! Sometimes it’s the little things!

I live in a ‘burb outside of Sacramento, CA. But I’m close enough to Sacramento that anyone in the area (or visiting the area) can get there. And if they can’t, I’d be happy to meet them somewhere to share my folk art with them!

I just did a little test with the GeoLocator. When I search for local shops located in Sacramento, there are 74 shown as being where Sacramento, CA actually is. There are 6, 1, 1, and 2 shown somewhere on the California coast (Sacramento is about 3 hours inland!). 4 more “Sacramento” shops are shown on the map approximately where Wyoming is located, another 5 are shown as being in Missouri (more or less) … it’s just so weird! Oh, and I know there are other cities in the U.S. named Sacramento but (1) I was searching for Sacramento, CA (which should have just shown Sacramento, CA shops), and (2) the few that I clicked on are indeed in Sacramento, CA … so why are they shown on the GeoLocator map as being all over the place?

As for showing your location as being in multiple cities if you’re in a metro area, searching on ONLY Sacramento gave a respectable number of shops, however searching on Sacramento, Carmichael, Folsom (Carmichael is in the heart of “Sacramento” and Folsom is about 20 miles away) only gave 4 results. So if you’re counting on potential customers finding you using the GeoLocator, PERHAPS listing just one city is the best way to go???

Great tips! My store got an amazing consignment deal from a local boutique that did a local search.

Oh how true…words of wisdom! If only all the shops with these issues were listening.

Good Tips!–Middleburg

Great tips! Thank you for sharing them. It’s always interesting to see where the sellers are from. I came across one today from Ramstein, a little town in Germany where I once lived. I hearted them immediately. It really is a small world!

Great tips again… Already improved my shop in just a few minutes! Thanks so much for the ideas.

Wonderful tips! I’m usually skeptical about buying from sellers that leave their location blank. I think it definitely affects sales.

These are great tips and I am thrilled to know that I do most of them. I am not that familiar with some of the ways to search. Is there a way to search on my own site to erase any references to the holidays? I have close to 200 items and it is time consuming to check each tag. I have done it as I go along, but maybe I’m missing an easier way. Thanks for all the info

[...] listed helps customers build a relationship with you with you.  This listing also make you into more of a real person not just some data on the internet.  Giving up some personal information will allow your shop to appear more legitimate and give you [...]