Flickr Favourites

1. Vinyl Toy, 2. Zog Vinyl Toy, 3. IMG 2100, 4. Loading up on sugar in time for Christmas

Might as well continue the toy theme. I love collecting things, but I become very unhappy when I have an incomplete collection. That is why I don't collect vinyl toys. I admire them from a distance. These all have teeth. The Happy Tree Friends Squirrel in the M&M's makes me laugh. Perfect expression for candy overload.

If you want to play Flickr Favourites on your blog, visit ArtMind's blog.

Mandie

Flickr Favourites

1. Bunny & gerbera, 2. Inner Light of an Angel Statue?, 3. muni5, 4. jack rose

It's getting colder every day here in South Africa and I'm starting to miss sunshine yellows. I used the Multicolr Search Lab recommended by Artmind to find photos within my chosen colour range. Visit ArtMind's blog to take part in Flickr Favourites (or favorites if you must).

Of these favourites, the angel statue is my favourite - isn't that sky amazing?

Mandie

Flickr Favourites

1. Dandelion against the sky, 2. The Great Survivor, 3. A Dandelion Grows in Portland, 4. Dandelion

Dandelions on Tuesday. It's nearing exam time and all the final assignments are due NOW. With all the work, we don't have time to post any new finds, but I'll never miss a Flickr Favourites!

Making your products worth finding on Etsy

I mentioned before that I mainly use the Etsy Pounce feature to scout for interesting finds. There are several things that will make me click on a shop and several things that will make me avoid visiting. I'd like to share these with you now. They are quite obvious, but from what I've seen while Pouncing, some people still don't know these tips!

• It's all about the photographs. If it's dark or blurry or grainy or unclear, I will probably not bother clicking, because as far as I can tell, you're selling a mulberry coloured blob that fears sunlight. All you need for effective photo-taking is a camera, a source of light (the sun will do, the moon is not so good) and preferably photo-editing software on your computer. Here is a tutorial on food photography for bloggers that might give you some inspiration. You don't need to buy the expensive equipment, just put some thought and planning into your photography. After all, in an online shop, the only way for your customers to interact with your product is through photographs.
  
• Have more than one product listed. Even if your lone listing is a thing of beauty, without other products to view, the customer can't tell whether your work is consistently excellent. I know it's unfair and it shouldn't matter, but when pouncing through galleries of product photographs, the shops that have some stock to speak of will attract more attention than the almost empty one with the single sad teddy bear. Your online shop is just like a real shop, with several listings it will look as though something is happening. One product is not enough to draw a crowd.
• Show only the thing that is for sale. Often people will show several items in a photographs, setting a scene. It looks nice, but it's disappointing when I click to check out the floating candles in the bowl next to the flowers only to find out I'm buying the tablecloth. Use your main photo to cram in as much of the product you're selling and use the other photo slots to display your product in other settings.
• Make your prices reasonable. If I arrive on your shop page to find that you're charging as much for prints of a painting as I would expect to pay for the original, know that I'm going to close the tab and not go back.
• Finally, give the buyer as much detail as you can. Not only about your product, but about you, where you are, where the products are shipping from. Some people still find it scary to buy items over the internet, so don't make it worse by forcing them to buy from a nameless seller in an unknown location. I recently found a shop with some nice greeting cards, but they all ship with a "surprise" inside. For all I know, the seller could be a crazy person shipping kitten entrails as surprise gifts inside her cards. When it comes to online shopping, buyers prefer no surprises.
  

Happy crafting and selling!
Mandie

Flickr Favourites

1. Lantana camara, 2. Pink Spring Flower, 3. Always Marry An April Girl, 4. soft pink roses

Last week we joined ArtMind in a Flickr Favourites blogging event. She has decided to make this a weekly feature and we will be joining in every week. Here is this week's selection from Dandie. Enjoy!

And now for something completely different: Flickr Favourites

1. Untitled, 2. ~ heartfelt ~, 3. bliss, 4. Perspectivism

Although our blog is about exciting finds on Etsy, I'd also like it to be about arts and crafts in general on occasion. When I saw this idea on ArtMind's blog, I just had to join in. So here is the first deviation from our Etsy finds, a showcase of some of my personal favourites on Flickr. Enjoy!

Mandie (Find Dandie's Flickr account here.)