Design Sponge Post ~ biz ladies 09: ideas for making upturns in a downtime

The Design Sponge has just posted a list of ideas (with examples) compiled from Ryan Deussing's interviews with women artisans to boost sales in this "sucky" economy.

To summarize briefly, the biz ladies recommend:

Make something special
Tap into your community
Make your mark locally
Offer fanatical support
Adapt to new realities
Make things that last
Repeat what works
Make something relevant
Make a certifiably awesome promo video
Drive a hard bargain
Give something away
Make it sexy
Make things happen
Go corporate
Make things happen
Crowdsource

Not all the ideas will be applicable to every seller but it is always comforting to know how other people are confronting the same issues I am in this "downturn." Check out the full article here.

Sales Tips that Actually Lead to Real Sales on Etsy!

I asked my etsy twitter teammates for specific, concrete, successful (led to sales) tips they had for other etsy sellers. Here's what they shared:

Katy @ South Paw Studios encloses $5 gift certificates (with a 1 month expiration date) with her customers' items for them to use towards their next purchase at her shop

Nina @ Pretty Cheap Jewelry posts interactive games like "Which Item Doesn't Belong?" and offers those who get the right answer gift certificates to her shop.
 
Vickie @ in my head studios went to http://search.twitter.com/ and looked for people trying to find gifts for someone. She found a likely "customer" and enjoyed making the person's relative a custom made piece of jewelry.  

April @ Fresh Paper said a new customer credited her shop's interesting item titles and descriptions and attractive photos with inspiring the purchase

Beth @ uberArt suggests that shop owners should "always respond to convos" so as not to let potential customers fall through the cracks. It is a good way of establishing rapport with people in the less personal online world.

Try these suggestions and let me know how they work! Or send me some tried and true techniques you use in your online shops.