You sell your stuff where? How do you spell it?

OK, today my goal is to come up with some sort of business card/etsy card kind of thingie. Something that doesn't just promote me, but promotes etsy, too.

Last week, I found myself being repeately asked about where did I sell my stuff? How do you spell "Etsy"? (Just like Betsy, no "B") What kind of stuff do they sell there? You get the idea.

Each time, because I had no biz card or handout, the poor soul had to find a piece of scratch paper or old receipt and scribble down the name, only to be lost in the laundry later.

I get it. I suck at the promotions thing. I especially suck at the "tooting my own horn" thing. I'm much more comfortable talking about Etsy than I am my own little shop.

So. Goal. Come up with something to give people. Print many of them. Put them in my purse.


In other news, new coasters! For the Geek who needs COASTERS! Or, basically anyone who uses a keyboard.

Brainstorming for Promos

I've been thinking about promo items lately. I like the idea of giving your customer just a little something extra to say "Thank You", but it's hard to find things that won't get tossed in the trash or break the bank.

Now, there are tons of great sellers on etsy that do a fantastic business making cool promos, such as buttons, magnets, etc... But, as a DIYer with crafty tendencies, I like to find things that I can make. The most recent thing I made were magnets. I'm also in the process of making some matchbook notepads. If anyone would like a tutorial on these, just let me know.


I think the best thing is to try and be creative and keep in mind what the customer is buying. Are you selling aprons? How about printing out your grandmother's famous oatmeal cookie recipe on cardstock and enclosing it? Is it Springtime? How about picking up some flower seed packets at the dollar store and putting your own printed label on the package? My next plan for a promo to go with my Market Totes is to do a grocery list with a magnet on the back to stick on the fridge.

I looked through the etsy forums on this subject, and here are some of the other popular ideas...

• bookmarks
• silver cleaning cloths
  
• soap samples
• stickers
• key ring charms

I found a few articles as well -

• Matchbook notebooks and gift tags at Bliss by Heather.
• Using pictures to customize your promo items at Hello Craft.
• Storque article on finding creative ideas for promo items.
• Moo Cards - always popular.

If you have any other ideas for thoughtful promo items, please leave a comment. I would love to gather more ideas on this subject.

Etsy day, promo items, and Twitter

Tomorrow is Etsy Day! However, since I'm going to be the gal about town today, yet homebound tomorrow, I decided that Etsy day would be today for me.

I decided to print the sign that was made by shugirl for this special day, but I didn't want to drain my color printer cartridge with all the orange, so I made a black and white version to print on some colored cardstock. Feel free to take it and make your own.

I think it came out pretty good!

I happened to have some extra cardstock because I've been making promo magnets.


If anyone hasn't made these before, they are super simple. You need flat back glass marbles (found in the floral dept. for cheap!), cardstock, Mod Podge, round craft magnets (available everywhere) and E6000 adhesive (craft dept, comes in a gray squeeze tube with a pointed nozzle).

The rest is time consuming, but easy. Print your business name or whatever you wish on the cardstock. Use plain paper the first few times to make sure the size is right before you use your beautiful cardstock. The design will need to be just a touch smaller than the glass marble.

Print your designs and cut to size. Apply Mod Podge to the back of the marble, put the design in place, and Mod Podge again over the entire back. Let dry. Glue the magnets to the back using E-6000. Let dry.

TADA!!! Promo items!!!

Yesterday, I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to make my blog bloggier. It's getting there, but I'm not totally satisfied. The picture for the header is still a little fuzzy. And I am going to start on Flickr soon, because, well, everyone else is?

I also made a button for my sidebar for Twitter. Once again, if you would like to use this for your own blog, feel free to take it.