How to Pay by Credit Card Using PayPal

Many of my customers are having problems checking out on Etsy when they want to pay by credit card.  It can be a bit confusing, but you should always choose 'PayPal' as a payment option and then proceed to their site even if you just want to pay by credit card.  Here's what it looks like when you first proceed to PayPal to pay:

And here's what it looks like when you click the 'Pay Now' button:

So that's how you do it!  It's simple and easy.  Happy Shopping!!!

~Lori

Notes to Seller on Etsy -- What is it? Where is it?

If you're a newbie when it comes to shopping on Etsy, and there are a ton of you according to Etsy's latest weather report for November, you may have seen a similar message in a particular listing:

Please leave all customization requests, color, sizing, other preferences in notes to seller at checkout.

Etsy sellers use this method to give buyers options and flexibility as we really don't have another option, like a drop down box during checkout to choose a size, flavor, color, etc.  But where exactly do you leave this information?  It's simple... in step 3 of checkout:

When you leave your requests there, they show up on the back side of the seller's shop where all of our orders reside.  (I like to call this land Etsy-topia, lol.)

So, see, it's super easy!  Happy Handmade shopping! Only 43 days til Christmas....

~Lori

Keep Calm and Shop On Poster, Keep Calm Shop

Go Crafty or Go Home

Lately, I've been in a very celebratory mood when it comes to crafting. I think part of it is because our culture in America is changing. When I was in school, being a crafty kid didn't get you very far. If you wanted to crochet during lunch, you could count on sitting by yourself. If as you grew older, you still enjoyed playing with beads or god forbid, making potholders, Christmas ornaments out of walnuts, or latch hook rugs, you might as well not leave the house. Not anymore. Our culture is evolving into one with a real appreciation for crafting talent. College kids have knitting needles in their backpacks for those long lags between classes; guys who can handle a sewing machine are viewed as modern super-heroes instead of losers. Women who can handle a saw and a torch are--dare I say it--sexy. DIY TV shows are ruling the air waves. We're no longer merely judged on what we know or what sport we play but on what talents we have and what we can create. The crafter and the geek are becoming people we idolize instead of mock. In that spirit, I bring you a few Etsy items that celebrate this new reality...go crafty or go home!

Paintbrushes Greeting Card, Broomhill Pictures, $4.50

Crafty Ass Bitch 5"x7" print, Sweet Perversion, $12

Crafty Mix of Multi-Colored Resin Beads, Sunshine Craftworks, $2.50

My Husband Lets Me Have All the Craft Supplies I Can Hide Wooden Sign, Patti's Primitives, $9

Underwater Sisters on the Go Hook and Needle Storage, Slipped Stitch Studios, $20

DIY Felted Wool Soap Kit, Heartwood's Creations, $9

Vintage Sewing Machine Tee, Caustic Threads, $12

I Came. I Saw. I Crafted. Keychain, Risky Beads, $12.95

(had to include this because I'M inspired by this whole movement!)

The Revolution is Being Handmade Button, Button Empire, $2.50

Blue Swirl Origami Lotus Flower, Butterfly Eyes, $10

Girl With Scissors Original Painting, Before the Giraffe, $27

Make Your Own Scrabble Pendants, Peachy Pendants, $20

Crafty Vintage Colorful Alphabet Blocks, Little Red Mercantile, $12

Crafty Superstar Book, Gracie Sparkles, $15

Can't Talk. Must Knit. Button by Bad Idea Sleepover, $1

Sand Dollar Rubber Stamp, Nora Jane, $3.50

Project Bag Square Spotted Owl, Madbird, $24

Peppermint Stick Baker's Twine, California Craft, $1.99

Handmade Pottery Yarn Bowl, Anne Marie's Pottery, $34

Boy Lounge Pant PDF Pattern, $6

Mug Coffee Cup Apron Organizer, LexiBri, $15.50

Pink and Black Sewing Kit, Chennapenna, $12

10 Packs DIY Origami Lucky Stars, Beladonna, $45

*Whew* I don't know about you, but I'm tuckered out now!!! Stay tune for tomorrow's post...how I'd decorate my dream craft room.

~Lori

How to Put an Etsy Treasury on Your Blog

I get a lot of questions regarding how I put Treasuries up on my blog, so I did a quick video tutorial to show you how. Feel free to ask questions!



Here are the steps in list form. Feel free to ask questions!
IMPORTANT NOTE: You'll see these stars * in the code below. They are there so that the code doesn't compile and you can view it. When using your own code, TAKE THEM OUT. They're not part of the correct code.

1. Have your treasury on screen and make sure you can see all that you want to capture.

2. Hit the 'PRT SCR' button on your keyboard. Usually up in top right of your keys. This takes a picture of whatever's on screen and copies it to your clipboard

3. Open your graphics program and paste the image. Usually, you can just hit ctrl+v and it will be there.

4. Crop the image and resize it to your specifications. If it's too huge (generally wider than 800 pixels) it will look wonky on your blog. This depends on your blog though.

5. Save the image to your hard drive as a .jpg or a .png.

6. Upload the image to your photo host of choice. I use photobucket, but you can use flickr or any of the million sites to pick from. Now, when you're posting it on your blog (in Blogger) you can choose just 'upload' from your PC, but I often get a weird compression on the image when I do this, so I opt to host it somewhere so that the pic of the treasury has an existing web link.

7. Create a new blogger post. Upload the picture and choose 'url.' Paste the url of the picture. (This is the link from photobucket or wherever you hosted it.)
8. View the HTML section of your post and alter the HTML... see below

Notice how the 2 links shown are the same? They are both: http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo259/riskybeads/VacationMay2010.jpg

<*a href="http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo259/riskybeads/VacationMay2010.jpg" target="_blank"><*img alt="vacation TEast May 2010" border="0" height="400" src="http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo259/riskybeads/VacationMay2010.jpg" width="375" />

If you leave them this way, then you won't link to the treasury; you'll just link to the image, so we need to change the 'a href' link to be the treasury link. See below:

<*a href="http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4bf98908aad88eef2a71981f/vacationall-i-ever-wanted" target="_blank"><*img alt="vacation TEast May 2010" border="0" height="400" src="http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo259/riskybeads/VacationMay2010.jpg" width="375" />

If that code above is in your post, the treasury will show up and be clickable.

~Lori

How To Write Good Copy

Once customers are dazzled by your photography and are visually interested in your product,they’re going to read your copy to see if it matches the picture they see. If the picture and the words don’t feel right together, you’re going to lose the sale. Technically speaking, ‘copy’ is the description you write for your items. Be sure to spell words correctly, use correct grammar, and give your customers all of the pertinent details (color, size, condition, purpose, material) they need about what they’re buying. And just because I see it all the time and it drives me cuckoo, there's no ‘a’ in any of the following words:

consistent/consistently
definite/definitely
independent/independently

But copy is much more than basic information, and you can take the most beautiful pictures in the world, write crappy copy and kiss your shop good-bye. Let’s look at a couple examples. First, let’s look at examples of ‘bad copy.' I'm using my own pictures, and I'm making up this bad copy so no one comes after me with a pitchfork.

Example #1:


These are 3 pairs of earrings look like fruit for only $17 which is a good deal. One is red, one is orange, one is hot pink. The picture only shows one earring, but you really get 2. Like I said, this is a really good deal Please check out my other items. I have a lot of things on sale. If you would like me to make you something, just ask because I don’t charge a lot to make things. If you like my shop even if you don’t buy anything please tell your friends about my shop. I have been selling a long time and nobody is buying anything and I don't know why maybe its the economy.

Example #2ITEM: AUTUMN JASPER ROUND BEADS
SIZE: BIG AMOUNT: 20 (I THINK. HARD TO COUNT BECAUSE THEY KEPT ROLLING ALL OVER THE PLACE.)
DO *NOT* PLACE AN ORDER WITH ME UNLESS YOU HAVE READ ALL OF MY SHOP POLICIES. I DO NOT OFFER REFUNDS FOR STUPIDITY.

Do either of those made up descriptions make you want to buy anything at all? No. In fact they make the biggest mistake that untrained copywriters make: they reveal the seller’s insecurities and weaknesses. No one is going to buy from you if you aren’t confident enough to represent yourself well or describe your product well. Another copy killer is cutting and pasting copy directly from eBay straight into Etsy so that you have auction verbage listed. There are no auctions on Etsy. Care enough about your shop to make that your copy reflects the correct venue.

Now, let’s look at good copy! One of the most popular bath & beauty shops on Etsy is Gudonya Too. With their permission and my serious handmade soap affliction, let’s look at one of their listings and see how a great picture and excellent copy sells the everloving yum-yums out of this soap:

Gudonya Whipped Clean (tm) - Wild Blackberry --- vegan ---8oz Jar

VEGAN - VEGAN - VEGAN - VEGAN - VEGAN - VEGAN - VEGAN (MOST IMPORTANT PRODUCT FACTOR)

OOH LA LA! Can I just stop here and ask you something? Do you like loads of fabulously-smelling bubbles running down your body? Yeah, we do, too. And that's just one of the reasons why we love this stuff! (RELATES TO CUSTOMER ENTHUSIASTICALLY & PERSONALLY)

But before we go on and on about the great lather, the wonderfully strong scents, and the fact that one jar of Whipped Clean seems to last forEVER, let's talk about the fragrance.... Wild Blackberry-- This one is a true Southern Blackberry scent; very pungent, sweet and fragrant aroma of ripe Blackberries ready for picking. Dark and delicious, a heady full bodied fragrance. Great "comfort" scent just for you!!! Now back to Whipped Clean and why we think you should be showering or bathing with it... All you need, literally, is 1-2 swipes through it with your bath pouf and you've got enough bubbles and aroma for a car wash! Honestly! (FANTASTIC IMAGERY)

The NEW WIDE MOUTH plastic jar is bathroom-friendly (yes, ahem, one of us is always dropping things in the shower. Perhaps it's all the lather, perhaps someone's just a klutz, but the point is that we haven't broken a jar yet.) We especially like this packaging with kids/teens in the house. And believe us, if you have this fun stuff in the shower, there's no WAY they're going to stay out of it! It's pretty easy to access the Whipped Clean in the bottom of it, whether you use a bath pouf or not, which is another plus for us.

So why do we call it Whipped Clean? That's easy - it looks like whipped cream but that phrase was already taken. It's a pretty solid mixture that lathers easily in the hardest of waters and is kind to your skin. (More advertising coming your way here... ) Of course, we always recommend following up your daily body cleaning ritual with a sMOOchy! (BRINGS CUSTOMER IN ON PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS)

Being trained by a MASTER bath and body formulator, we make and use all of the items ourselves and stand behind the quality. We use only top-shelf oils and ingredients, including fragrances and essential oils, and the scents are very strong. All bath and body items are labeled with our brand name of Gudonya (pronounced good ON ya). Gudonya.... the way it SHOULD be! (EXPERTISE)

PLEASE…Convo us with any questions, comments, suggestions or custom orders! (ACCESSIBLE)

Thanks for spending time with us and have a Good on you TOO day!!! (GRATITUDE)

All Content, including product names, in www.gudonyatoo.etsy.com and www.gudonya.com is ©Copyright 2005-2007. All Rights Reserved (PROFESSIONAL AND TRUSTWORTHY)

Now, I will grant you that that is a lot of copy, and you certainly don’t have to write something that long, but I chose it as an example because it demonstrates every aspect of what good copy can and should do. It draws the customer in, excites them, engages them, relates to them, involves them in the entire process of the product, empathizes with them, over-delivers on customer service, guarantees the product and ends by solidifying trust with the potential customer.

Any copy you write always needs to reflect your personal style. If you're not a stream-of-consciousness type, then the copy written above wouldn't make sense for your shop. Here's a much simpler example of successful copy from blacksheepbeads at ArtFire.

Vintage Plastic Beads - Faux Pottery Clay Beads

These funky vintage plastic beads remind me of antique pottery - they have the appearance of clay with a carved design visible beneath the finish. They measure 16mm and are drilled through the middle; you'll receive 10 in the lot.

That copy is simple, engaging, and it adds value to the product. You get all the information you need and feel comfortable purchasing the product.

Writing copy isn't difficult; it's a skill that once practiced over and over, can become an art in itself. If you love what you do and know what you're selling, you can write good copy. We live in a 24/7/365 world where anybody who knows anything about anything can become a self-proclaimed expert on any subject in ten minutes by setting up a blog with the right keywords and posting articles about the current hot topic and the next thing you know, they’re being quoted as a reliable source on CNN. If Joe-the-Plumber can get a book deal, you can write copy that engages your customer and keeps them in your shop! Trust me!



Parts of this article are an excerpt from my e-book How to Make It Small When Your Trying to Make It Big. Top photo is The Writer by emmaklingbeil. Save $4 on the book when your register your shop on the Handmade Highway, the living directory of handmade sellers.

Viva La Moda!

The new issue (vol. 3) of VivaLaModa is out!! This is a great online fashion magazine. It has fantastic articles about handmade fashion and so many other things. This month's issue has:

A great tutorial for a basketful of coasters on p. 42
Enchanting Eye Makeup Tips on p. 48
Turn your ordinary T-shirt into a fabulous shabby-chic halter top! p. 58
How to make a cheater's herb garden on p. 75
How to wear a silk scarf p. 86

Read VivaLaModa here!

(my contributions are on pages 15 & 32. They're not instructive, just reflective, lol.)