Having an etsy shop (or two!) is a lot of fun, but it is still a business...and the way you name it, set it up, and run it will all affect sales. When I started out I knew next to nothing...over the years I have learned so many things from so many people and places that I have decided to try to share it in one place. Hopefully this will be helpful for other etsians.
An Etsy Mini? What's that? Oh, it's that little thing there on the sidebar--it's a widgit that shows what's currently in my shop. Yes, it automatically updates to match my current listed items. Yes, each item's photo is linked directly to that listing, and yes, my shop name there at the bottom of the widgit links to my shop. I can also set it up to have large or small photos, and can choose from 1-5 rows and 1-5 columns. In other words, I can completely customize it to fit wherever I want to put it. (Please note that you can't select which items, just how many. The widgit will automatically take the top items from your shop/favorites.)
To create your own etsy mini, log into your account, and select "your etsy." At the very bottom of the right-side menu, there is a section called "Promote" and the last entry in that section is "Etsy Mini."
Once there, you will have several choices: whether to show objects from your shop or from your favorites, whether to show thumbnail or gallery size photos, and how many columns and rows to use. As you make your selections, a preview of your mini will show up below. Once you have selected your preferences, scroll down and you will have the option of 'javascript' or 'flash' script for your mini. Just copy and paste the appropriate text and put it where you want the mini to appear. (It says that the javascript will work for blogs, but I have had problems with it, so I always use the flash).
To put the mini in the text of a post (on blogger at least)--click the tab to switch to 'edit html' and then just paste the script. If you switch back to 'compose' mode or look at the post preview, it will not show your full mini, but the script is there, and it will show when you publish the post.
To put the mini on a sidebar, do 'add gadget' and then use the 'html text' option. Be sure you select a mini size that will fit within the width of your sidebar! (default sidebars are usually 220px wide)
Here are a couple of samples:
large (gallery) photos, 2 columns, 1 row, from my shop
| Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade lilbees.etsy.com |
small (thumbnail) photos, 4 columns, 2 rows, from my favorites
| Etsy Buy Handmade lilbees |
Etsy Mini's can also be posted on social networking sites such as myspace. So far as I know facebook does not accept the script, but it does have an application of its own which will show photos from your listed items...it does not update very well though. I have had trouble with it.
Hurray!!! Thank you!
ReplyDelete