how to be popular on etsy?

Heather your plushies are so cute!Especially the sock elephant and the pink zebra!I wish i could make a sock elephant...
I have no advice on how to sell them better,Im not using etsy,and I promised myself not to sell my work,I tried once and it was horrible.Im too insecure for that.
But I can assure you,that your work is amassing and super cute!

Do you have a twitter account? Loads of people use that to promote their etsy stores and blogs and what have you.

The trouble with etsy being a full time job is that if you're a one woman business you will be spending ALL your time creating for the store and won't have time for anything else. I read an article about it and women were working up to 20 hours a day just to keep up with orders:-O

I love etsy, but there are so many items it is really difficult to choose and see everything...
I don't have an etsy store, so speaking as a "customere", nice pictures are the first thing that catch my eyes... they should be very recognizable I think.
Don't know if this can be helpful :S

lovely toys by the way!

How long have you had your store? I read somewhere before I got mine that it usually takes at least 6 months to even get your first sale. I have had mine since May and I have like 19 sales. So, sometimes it is a slow process.

I have also read to use as many tags in your listings as possible. Word of mouth is good. I have made a few sales because I made some free tote bags and purses for friends and gave them a bunch of my cards to give to people. They have given out a quite a few cards and I only got 2 sales, but hey that was awesome to me. Also give business cards to your customers in their package. When you participate in swaps send your cards. Shout out other crafters Etsy's or other shops where ever you can, and they will shout out yours. So, on and so.

Hope I helped.

try facebook, twitter, get friends to advertise your wares on their websites.

thanks guys, i've had this shop since um sept i think, but i did have another store with a different name but same thing soft toys for about a year and i did 25 sales or so. I think i really need to find more ways to advertise, i have twitter but don't use it much so i will have to try that....
i know it would be a lot of work fo rit to be a full time job, but my budget is so tight these days it would make me feel good to be able to contribute more to paying the bills

I'm having the same problem on Etsy too, but some of the best advice I received and concluded to myself was that you can't just limit yourself to online promoting. We're all pretty much promoting in the same areas: Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, etc. no matter how great they are.

Customers like to touch and see items in person, so one of the best things you can do is sign up at your local craft fairs! I'm doing one this summer to get some exposure out there in my local community, and I'm going to take some of my designs to local stores. A craft vet told me you get a lot more exposure this way and sales, where your marketing only continues on when you hand out your business cards when you sell at craft fairs (then comes in your Etsy shop). I hope this helped, and good luck to you and your shop!!

I have seen some videos on youtube promoting etsy stores, just some pictures of your wares, the name of your etsy shop, etc. Maybe that is worth a try. I have to agree with glamazon 08 about the craft fairs. There is a big craft fair that happens in my city twice a year and most of the vendors have buisiness cards which promote their etsy pages. I have checked out lots of etsy pages I probably wouldn't have found otherwise because they were at the fair and I took their business card. Also, I'm not sure if there are shops near you that carry items from local artists, but perhaps you can sell some of your items there and attach a tag with your etsy account.

i have done 2 craft fairs so far and they both tanked! i think they were just badly promoted because i wasn't the only one who didn't sell much. although i do really like craft fairs so i might do a few more different ones.there is a local store downtown that sells handmade things from the state. but how would ask if they are accepting consignments?
i'm thinking about dropping some of my business cards off in random places, like the babies changing room at the clothing store, stuck in kid's books at the library. haha guerrilla style advertising

if i could sell 5-7 items a week that would rock!

I agree that you definitely sell more at crafts fairs than on line, because people like to touch and see things, and then buy on impulse, because they know you are only there for a short time.
I've been doing craft fairs for over 10 years, and for the most part I take in about £100 for a day... £60 of this being profit (after deducting materials cost) usually pay about £20 for the table and £5-10 travelling/parking/lunch etc. so at the end of the day I have about £30 profit left. You have to consider that you've spent a day at the craft fair, and maybe 3 days making the things you sold, so I don't think I'll get rich quick!!!
The biggest selling things (here, anyway) are jewellery, home made confectionery and cakes, and cards.
But looking at your lovely plushies, this is what I would do if I were you: Go round all your local pre-school playgroups, nurseries (kindergartens, I think you call them in USA?) church groups etc. and suggest to them that they hold a fund-raising night, or afternoon. We do this a lot here, and you pay say £10 for a table towards their funds and you keep whatever you make, or some of them suggest 10% of your takings If you have 4 or 5 other stallholders, that's usually enough, and it's more of a success if you serve tea, coffee, cakes etc. at the same time. People come in for coffee, and end up buying. At the playgroups you get young mums and Grannies, ideal customers for your plushies!

What do you think? Why don't you give it a try?

Your things are awesome! I really like the banner in your shop, too! Everyone has offered very good suggestions. I love your idea of guerilla advertising! Another small thing you could do is make a blog button to put on your blog linking it to your shop, also include a text box underneath so others can "grab" it and post it on their blogs. Check out the Grab My Button, Share Yours thread. I have a link tab on my blog where I keep all the buttons linking to my friends shops and sites. I'd really like to add one for you!

cute plushies^^

Check out Kiddo's thread on the Swap Shop board on making a button, you can make a button directing people to your store. Put one on your blog and if you post it on Kiddo's thread we can put it on our blogs too. We can all help promote each others stores that way.

Laurel, I'm completed obsessed with button making now! And, I'm getting rather good at html! It's kinda scary!!! Hurry up and get yours done, missy!