Nutmeg Spring Spotlight: Bugs

 Everyone say "bees"!

Spring in Connecticut is definitely one of the most enjoyable seasons.  Hot on the heels of what is usually a long and miserable winter, the extra sunshine, warmer temperatures, and blooming foliage are a welcome sight.  However, along with spring comes bugs - a slightly unwelcome sight for most people.  For fans of the insect kingdom, the members of the Nutmeg Collective have come up with the best products to highlight these tiny species.

Ants cutting board from The BURNT Shop

Ladybug Mini Canvas Magnet by Sprinkles of Color, $10

Reversible headband by Milo and Molly, $10

Victorian-style pendant necklace by The Tiny Wren, $45

Bumble bee note card by RiverDog Prints, $3.50

 Bumble bee salt and pepper shakers from Painted by the Shore, $6.95

Hand-rolled beeswax pillar candles from Little Bee of CT, from $12

All of Little Bee's products come from their very own honeybees, shown at the top of the post.
Scott shared the following graphic with us,
to help encourage everyone to plant wisely to help save the bee population.

For purchase or more information, click on any of the above products to be taken to their site.

One Thing: Newsletter Sign-Up Links for your Etsy Shop

Our One Thing series is all about fitting an action into your day that is fast, efficient, and hopefully, effective for your business. Today is all about building your email list through your Etsy Shop.

Email marketing is still the best way to reach your target audience.  This is a huge topic, but the focus today is providing links to subscribe to your list on Etsy.

There are three major places to place your newsletter sign-up link within your Etsy Shop:  About Page; Shop Announcement; Message to Buyers. 

When you edit your About Page, click on the Story tab and add your sign-up link where it makes sense in the "story" you write about yourself and your shop.  There is also the Related Links section, which does not have a newsletter option at this time. There is a link to your Shop Website, so be sure to have a highly visible sign-up there for your potential customers.

Your Shop Announcement is a very prominent place to provide information, so a link to your newsletter should be included.  This section is right below your featured item images and is the first place visitors to your shop can read more about you and your creations.

And finally, in your Message to Buyers note, definitely include your link to sign-up in this area to encourage your current customers to keep up to date on your business.  This is included in the Etsy order confirmation email that your buyers receive after purchasing.

Providing the link to your newsletter in as many places as possible will help to build your list, so your message will reach the people who most want to hear from you and about what you create.  Do this One Thing today!

Cyn Thomas is the illustrator, designer and pattern maker of RiverDog Prints. Her paper goods and gifts are guided by earth, animals, function, food and cocktails. You can also find Cyn canning in her kitchen, walking her dog, being outnumbered by her boys and husband or reading herself to sleep.
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | woof@riverdogprints.com

Treasurypalooza Tuesday

Each month, the members of the Nutmeg Collective have the option to create a curated collections of items found in our Etsy-based shops in an effort to get to know each others' items and to help show off out beautiful work to others. So much thought and consideration goes into putting these collections together that we decided to show off some of the top groupings from the past month.

 When Autumn Leaves are Falling by Easton Place Designs

Featuring members InDee Designs, Everything Glitzy, That Retro Girl, Lilypad Prints, Post Porter Photoworks, Patti Murphy Boutique, Poor and Pretty, Persimmon Pearl, The Toy Box by Vinny

 Light and Chic by Solstice Handcrafted

Featuring members That Retro Girl, Persimmon Pearl, Cottage Wicks, Mystic Knotwork, The Tiny Wren, Pure Naked Soap, Treefort Naturals, Hickster Tees, Post Porter Photoworks, and InDee Designs

 My Favorite Color ~ Green by InDee Designs

Featuring members The Felt Haus, Hockman Photography, Jenny Fields Fiber, andMorgan, Everything Glitzy, The Toy Box by Vinny, and Easton Place Designs

Sepia Tone by MSD Design

Featuring members Digijewels, Treefort Naturals, Cinder + Salt, The Toy Box by Vinny, The Tiny Wren, Hockman Photography, RiverDog Prints, Evelyn Pelati, Solstice Handcrafted, Nutmeg Naturals, Post Porter Photoworks, and The Leather Genie

Summer Nights by Designer Dwellings

Featuring members Everything Glitzy, Lilypad Prints, Cottage Wicks, Milo and Molly, The Felt Haus, and The Toy Box by Vinny

****

Click the photos to go directly to the treasury on Etsy, where there are clickable links to each item.
Which grouping is your favorite?

Kristen Skelton of Milo and Molly is a self-taught sewist, Kristen who runs her business while staying at home with her two small children.  Fueled by an endless supply of tea, she sews late into the night when the house is quiet, most often accompanied by her faithful poodle, Casey.  Stop by and see her collection of bold modern accessories and home goods.

Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | miloandmollyshop@gmail.com 

SEO for Etsy: Part 3 - Implementing Keywords

In the last exercises you created your master list of SEO keywords and identified your front runners. NOW you need to implement them into your listings to make your items visible to your audience.

Here is how this works.

Etsy uses your product titles and your product tags to locate your item in a search. So your most powerful keywords should be in these spots followed by variations i.e. Color. Any open spots is where you will start sprinkling in the remaining items. If you have different listings for similar items then stagger the remaining keywords between the listings. By doing this you are pushing the boundaries of your visibility.

Now even though Etsy does not use your item descriptions in their search algorithm - Google does. So make sure that you are reinforcing your entire internet presence by including your strong keywords in your item descriptions as well.

Remember to periodically refresh your keyword list as trends or times of year change.

Happy Sales!

Written by Alonda Baird-Juhasz, owner of Designer Dwellings, who believes in adding color to life. An avid DIYer, sparkle-loving, all things fabulous addict, her shop features bright and fun home decor accessories and gifts. When not in the shop you can find her interior decorating or visual styling events and photo shoots.

SEO for Etsy: Part 2 - Keyword Strength

You have created your master keyword list - so how do you know your most important keywords? Simple - search them.

Actually type your keywords in and hit search. Look at the listings that come up. Should your item be in this group? Think about the buyer that is clicking through. If you used the word "rustic" as a descriptor does it make sense in this setting or should it be adjusted to "shabby chic"? 

The searches that your item would fit into best should be highlighted. These are your strongest keywords and the ones that should be most present in your listings. This does not mean that these other keywords are useless! It just means that these are the bright blinking arrows that direct the buyer to your amazing listing.

Note: On the bottom of a listing are the tags used for the item. These are clickable and will bring you to a search using that specific tag.

Written by Alonda Baird-Juhasz, owner of Designer Dwellings, who believes in adding color to life. An avid DIYer, sparkle-loving, all things fabulous addict, her shop features bright and fun home decor accessories and gifts. When not in the shop you can find her interior decorating or visual styling events and photo shoots.

SEO for Etsy Part 1: Identifying Keywords

You have an amazing item, you set up your listing, you hit publish and then poof your item vanishes into the sea of other listings.

So how you do you get YOUR amazing item found by buyers? SEO!

Search Engine Optimization. You need to leave a bread crumb trail of keywords that will lead buyers towards your amazing item.

Step 1: Creating your keyword master list.

• Go to Etsy's search bar and start typing in the obvious and basic descriptions of your item. Etsy will now provide other variations of what you are searching. Write those down because these are words/terms that are being used to find similar items.

• Expand your search into those variations Etsy provided for you and a new set of options should open up. Write those down. Rinse and repeat.

• Now include descriptors in your search. Is your item "modern", a "houseware", "home and living". Think of the categories Etsy puts their collections in. Write those down.

• Lastly is your item included in a current trend or time of year? Is it ombre, color blocked or holiday? Add those items to your list.

At the end of this you should have a solid list of SEO keywords that you can now use to strengthen your item's visibility in an Etsy search.

Written by Alonda Baird-Juhasz, owner of Designer Dwellings, who believes in adding color to life. An avid DIYer, sparkle-loving, all things fabulous addict, her shop features bright and fun home decor accessories and gifts. When not in the shop you can find her interior decorating or visual styling events and photo shoots.