In 2010, I had a very short-lived Etsy shop. At that time, I was making button-embellished headbands and getting compliments on them pretty much everywhere I went. I eventually decided to try selling them. I took some photos, wrote up descriptions, and threw them on Etsy,the beloved online marketplace that I knew and loved from my years of customizing Blythe dolls (Etsy was one of the only places I could find eye chips or doll clothes at that time). I shared the link to my shop a couple of times on Facebook. I knew absolutely nothing about SEO. I doubt I even knew what SEO was an acronym for.
Needless to say, my shop sold nothing. Rather than try to push forward or figure out what I could improve, I chose to blame Etsy. Oversaturated jerkface Etsy! Forget them, their search engine SUCKS!
Fast forward five years and here I am, completely reconsidering the idea of an Etsy shop. Yes, the punk rock teenager in me is slightly bummed about Etsy's changes over time, going from a tiny niche market to an over-saturated beast full of everyone and their mother's candle and jewelry shops. But nonetheless, there's no denying the fact that Etsy did kind of create the online marketplace as we know it. While Etsy may have gone and "sold out," and while it is indeed over-saturated thanks to the recent popularity of indie craft, it still remains the place to be apparently. When we want something unique or handmade, we run straight to Etsy. Hands down, through and through, they take the cake every time.
And I'm not just referring to the e-commerce. The Etsy seller forums are exactly what I've been stubbornly seeking and not finding during fruitless Google searches. The bitter 25-year-old in the back of my brain still wanted to hate on Etsy for my previous lack of sales action, and when Etsy forums inevitably appeared first in a Google search for "crafter discussion board," I refused to click on their links. There had to be other great resources out there. And there definitely are, but they are few and far between, and my other go-tos are print resources, which are by nature much more limited in scope than an ongoing forum thread.
This is basically just an apology to Etsy, because, man, Etsy, you rock. There is a reason you rule the internet, and I finally have succumbed. I bow down to you, the almighty Craft Buddha of the Interweb.
Let's just say this will be the spring of serious SEO-schooling, forum-stalking, drafting, and networking in pursuit of my own Etsy shop. And this time, I'm going to do it right. Even my recent exploits on Big Cartel were a hustled attempt to get something out there without having to pay a cent. As I get more products made, I'm understanding that I now is the time to start doing what's best for Lady and the Cat. Yep. There it is. Lady and the Cat on Etsy: Coming Soon to a Wifi Hot-Spot Near You!!!
Xo*
Jess
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