Do you constantly watch the Etsy stats trying to figure out the best keywords? Do you check to see the best social media sites for traffic to help you know where to focus? Well, today we’re going to talk about how to get your Etsy shop featured by blogs. It’s a great way to get new people to your shop! There are many reasons why this shouldn’t be overlooked in your marketing plan.
Follow these tips and you’ll find it gets easier and easier to have your shop featured on top blogs!
Why Would You Want to Have Your Shop Featured on Blogs?
Trust me, it’s awesome. Well, let me tell you a bit more…
- One mention on a popular blog can get you tons of sales!
- Links into your shop or {blog} from high ranking blogs can help grow your SEO power, juice, rank…you get the idea. It’s a good thing.
- The more links the better!! {I can’t stress this enough!}
- You reach new people…HELLO, that’s what you need!
- You are building your brand recognition with each mention or featured post.
- You are being endorsed by that blogger to their audience. If their favorite blogger loves you, your golden!
- Traffic is worth money! Usually your return for working with a blogger is a big benefit to you…cost per click could be super low.
How Do I Know Which Blogs are best?
- You want to reach your target audience. If you’re on Etsy you most likely will be contacted by some bloggers asking to feature your items. You don’t want to work with every blogger that contacts you. Your target customer is usually just like you! Make sure you think their blog is awesome!
- You’ll want to know that the blog has traffic. Ask the blogger or check out the blog ranking at Alexa.com. This won’t tell you everything you need to know, but you will know right away if it’s a blog with 200 people visiting a month or 200,000!
- The best way of knowing a blog’s reach is to check out their social media sites…all of them. When a blogger writes a post they share it multiple times across all their social media accounts. This can be huge!
- Make a list of 10 bloggers that have content that attracts the kind of people you want to reach. This will take lots of research, but it will pay off.
- Check the ads in the sidebars to see what type of businesses promote themselves through advertising on the blog. Are they the same type of business? Are they handmade businesses? Do you think their target customer is like yours? It’s a good thing if they are!
- Read the content…yes, I know it takes time. This will give you a feel for the blog and blog readers.
How Do I Reach Out to Bloggers?
- Find their contact info on the blog. Sometimes there are contact forms, but email them if you can find their information. Make sure you find their first name to use in the email.
- Never send a form letter to all the bloggers you’re trying to reach. It needs to be personalized or it will just blend with all the other emails they get looking for promotion.
- Make sure you have read the blog some and know a bit about their regular content. This will also keep you from sending an email to a blogger that would never promote your item because it doesn’t go with their content.
- Make your email short and to the point. Be sure to mention that you’ve read the blog and maybe refer to a post that you liked. Two to three paragraphs will be all you need. Longer emails will only get scanned if the blogger is busy.
- Add a beautiful large photo or two so they easily know about your products and style. Great photos are a must! Bloggers will need images to feature you, and if you have bad lighting you will not be featured no matter how great your products are. This also saves time for them by showing them what you sell without them having to click through to your shop.
- Tell them what you are offering. Don’t make them try and guess what you actually want. If you want to do a giveaway because you think their audience would love your products…tell them. If you want to promote a special item or sale…mention it now.
- This one might make some of you roll your eyes, but it’s a big deal. Offer to send them a sample to review. Yes, it will cost you money. If you are going to be getting lots of exposure for your shop you will need to respect the blogger’s time and not ask them to do it for nothing. If this is something you will never do you might notice other shops getting lots of reviews and features while yours doesn’t…that’s the truth of it.
- Some blogs charge to be featured along with a sample of your products. Don’t be offended by this if they respond with information on what it will cost. Companies pay quite a bit to featured on blogs and most bloggers give a reduced price to handmade and small businesses right from the start. It’s just like a magazine, but online. So, you wouldn’t expect free advertising in a magazine at your request, would you? You’ll need to decide whether the cost and value line up. Do they have the perfect audience? Will they take some photos of your products that you can use later? {most bloggers are great photographers} Whatever you do, just don’t be offended. Bloggers have to eat and this is their job.
Working with bloggers is not an exact science and you can’t think it’s a fail if you don’t have massive sales the very day you are featured. Your feature stays on that blog forever! Search engines will always know where to find it. It’s not like a newspaper that gets thrown away…it lasts. You can get sales months and years later from one link! Pretty cool, right?!
So, hopefully this gives you an honest look into how to get your shop featured on blogs and why you should count it into your marketing plan. Yes, it could just happen because they found your shop and love it. But, you’ll be able to grow your brand faster by reaching more people through more blogs.
I’d love to hear what has worked for you! Please share your experiences with blog features so everyone can learn from it!
~Kim
P.S. You can find more helpful Etsy Business Tips right here!
It is said there’s no silly question so here goes…how do you find the blogs to start with and then do all the reading,research,etc.?
You could check out the discussions on your Etsy teams to see if any of your teammates are bloggers. Usually teammies are pretty eager to help you promote.
Hi Barbra!
It’s so nice to hear from you!!! I think you’ve been reading blog for years and you have to already have a handful of blogs you love. Start with those because you know them and there’s a good chance their readers will be like you. Usually your customers are like you…so, that works.
I think the idea of finding sites through teams or in the forums is great, but just make sure to check the traffic for them. You’ll want to be able to reach quite a few people if you’re going to invest time and money working with them.
If you have any other questions just let me know. 🙂
~Kim
come check put my blog!
http://sleepyslothblog.wordpress.com
I have a craft blog and love featuring other crafters! Although my primary focus is sharing patterns and tutorials, it’s such a joy to introduce my readers to other artists. Don’t be intimidated about reaching out to bloggers to ask if they are interested in featuring you or reviewing your items or shop. Not only can it bring new customers to your shop, it can also give you the opportunity for ongoing collaborations with the blogger.
Thank you, Ellen! You and I are already connected and yours is one of the few blogs I do keep track of.
I love featuring others on my blog. It helps everyone out…more traffic for you, more content for me. It’s a win/win.
Thanks friend
Hi Kim,
This is an *awesome* article! As a blogger whose sole focus is promoting and featuring handmade goods, this is the exact kind of information I think is most helpful to my customers. Thank you for writing it, I pinned it right away!
With gratitude,
Jules
Thanks, Jules! I LOVE pins and shares!
~Kim
This was extremely helpful since I’m a new blogger and want to start my own Etsy shop. Building traffic is difficult but I look forwarding to using your tips.
Thanks,
Hi Nina!
You’ve started blogging…that’s the biggest step! It can make a world of difference helping you promote any product or business. Just keep at it!
Thanks for stopping by!
~Kim
Thanks for this article! I found it super helpful. Ever since I opened my shop (on Monday!), I have been searching and searching on how to get my name out there and how to bring customers to my shop (www.bevybeeshop.etsy.com).
I will definitely be using this in the future. Thanks again!
Kelly
Hi Kelly!
I love your shop! It’s always nice to see someone starting to sell on Etsy. If you would like for me to give you a few tips to more sales, just email me. Kim@everythingetsy.com I’d love to help you out!
~Kim
I would also add: engage with the blogger via social media and/or blog comments BEFORE reaching out via e-mail.
I’ve been blogging since 2006 and promoting other handmade artists since then as well, and when someone has already interacted with me elsewhere and demonstrates that they actually follow me already and know what type of stuff I usually feature, I’m much more likely to bump them to the top of my priority list than someone who reaches out only once.
Bloggers are usually inundated with requests and unfortunately there just aren’t enough hours in the day to help everyone. But when someone has already worked on building a relationship with you, when they DO reach out with a request, you’re much more inclined to help them.
Mallory – That’s an excellent tip! I’ve actually used that in the past and it was a success. I’ve also found some amazing friends that way! Don’t be afraid to respond or comment to people you don’t know of social media. You would be amazed at the small percentage of people that actually do this! It works!
Thanks for you comment, Mallory!
~Kim
Wow, thanks for sharing with me. this is amazing i think i’am gonna try this
I am a blogger as well as an author an I also have my own business. I love to connect with other small business owner and feature them on my blog as well. So let connect.
I have had an Etsy shop since 2012 and have struggled to bring in sales. I would love it if you guys to stop in and take a peek. I would really appreciate any advice, good or bad, about what you see. Thanks!
https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/CRACKERJACKCOUNTY?ref=hdr_shop_menu
I have an Etsy Giveaways Blog and feature all giveaways for FREE! I have my own Etsy shop and know how hard it is to get off the ground so I love promoting Etsy shops who are doing just that through a giveaway. Customers love and and it’s great for shop owners!
This was a great read! I’ve already reached out to a few bloggers and am awaiting responses!
If you have a moment, will you take a look at my newest product and tell me what you think?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/265257889/16×16-pom-pom-pillow?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=sewlydecor&ref=sr_gallery_5
I am so glad I came across this article. So many great tips to starting a blog! I recently opened an Etsy shop and have been having a tough time driving traffic to my site. I am on several social media sites but they haven’t taken off yet. I was a like intimidate to start a blog but these tips make it seem like something I could do. Thank you!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/2LittleCrownsPrints
Hi! This is super helpful for us Etsy newbies, thank you for sharing:) It may sound silly, but I wouldn’t have even thought to include images in my email! Something that may seem so simple to a seasoned pro can be a total mystery to those of us starting out, so thanks again!
Nsmaste,
Yogabender 🙂
Thank you for the helpful tips!
I am currently looking for some Bloggers who will be interested to feature or to giveaway my wool shoes, wool slippers from my Etsy shop:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/FeltWoolSlippers
As an Etsy blogger, I look for shops that show a passion through their art with inspiring product descriptions and a thorough About section.
Alan
http://www.etsystories.com
I find so much more information, including blog, for handmade sellers on Etsy vs. vintage sellers. Do you have any specific suggestions on blogs geared at vintage resale? Thanks in advance, Stacy https://vintagevagabond1967.blogspot.com
The thing that I would add on top of this is to start building the relationship first. Promotions second. I got hundreds of people trying to promote on my site without even attempting to build a relationship. What’s worse is that these same types of people would fill up my inbox with wanting to promote themselves.
There are other bloggers that feel the same. If you take the time to build that reputation with them, then they are likely to return the favors accrued. It takes time but it is so worth it.
What’s your favorite way to find new blogs to get featured in? Do you google for blogs that feature content in your niche?