five things i really want etsy sellers to know about pinterest

UPDATE March 2015: I wrote this post at a time when all these tips were accurate. Pinterest has changed a bit since then (hello algorithm! but many of these tips are still good ones). I'll be updating this soon with a few more tips in a new post. Stay tuned. But my most important new tip: Be really specific in your description when you pin because people are using Pinterest like Google these days. So don't just write, "New cute zippered pouch." Instead be sure to write the name of your shop and a good description of the product (along with a bit of a story like I share below). 

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For the last year, I've been spending quite a bit of time on Pinterest finding inspiration, pinning, and learning a lot. And somewhere along the way I found myself with more than 4 million followers. And in the last few months, this is what I've come to believe:

I really want to use Pinterest for good.

And one way I'm using it for good is by sharing what I'm learning with you. (Read previous posts here.)

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I believe that Pinterest is becoming a game changer for Etsy shops. Most articles I've read about what people are pinning indicate that Etsy is one of the top five (usually in the top two) sites people pin from. For the last year, I've been actively using Pinterest to promote my Etsy shop and my business has doubled. With that in mind, here are a few things I really want you to know.

Note: I've written this assuming you are an Etsy seller who has a pretty good understanding of how Etsy works. If you are new to Etsy, you will have to explore the seller features and play a bit to understand all these tips.  

1) So this one applies to almost all small businesses who are pinning business-related things to Pinterest. You really want click throughs more than you want repins. Click throughs = sales. Repins = people who think your product is pretty enough to repin or it inspires them in some way and they want to remember it.

What this means: Keeping this in mind will help you learn more about how Pinterest is or is not working for your business. Think about the way you use Pinterest. You might revisit DIY or recipe pins. But when it comes to a product, do you scroll through all your jewelry pins to find that one bird necklace you pinned a year ago? Or do you impulse buy when you LOVE something or see the perfect gift for someone? 

Bottomline: Your photo + description on Pinterest need to tell enough of a story that you get people to click. Repins are good. It gets your item out to more people. But we really want people to click through. For most small businesses, getting our products in front of people with a clear way for them to purchase is more important than name recognition alone. Name recognition is good for bigger stores and brands, like Pottery Barn or Nordstrom. We want the click throughs.

2) Sometimes the image that gets people's attention on Etsy might not be the same one that gets their attention on Pinterest. When they are on Etsy, they might already be in a buying mood or are searching for something specific, so unique photos work because they are already looking at "necklaces with big beads" or "zippered pouches" etc. On Pinterest, they are more likely to be looking for inspiration (or passing the time).

What this means: Can people tell what your item is when they are just looking at the first photo without any context? (The first photo is more than likely going to be the one pinned.*) If not, they might scroll right by it on Pinterest. If your item is a necklace, you want people to be able to see that. If your item is a card, make this clear BUT also be sure they can see your gorgeous artwork so they will click through to see more. If they can just tell it is a card, they might not click through unless they are searching for a card. Most people aren't searching for specific products on Pinterest. 

Bottomline: Consider experimenting with different types of photos - close-ups, unique angles, clear full product shots - and see what happens when you pin them.

*When pinning your own item, you can actually upload any product photo to Pinterest and then route the URL to the product page on Etsy. You have to first upload + write the description + pin. Then go back and edit the pin and add your product's URL.

3) When you pin your own items, be sure to add a description that explains what your item in and tells enough of a story that people will click through (see #1). But when you pin from Etsy, the default text in the description will be the title of your product plus your shop name and the price.

What this means: For example, when people pin this locket, the text says "i am brave . a whispered hand stamped soul mantra by lizlamoreux, $40.00," which seems like pretty good information on Pinterest. However, when the name gets longer than about 50 characters, it gets shortened, so this description is missing the word locket. If the person pinning your item (who might be you!) doesn't pay attention to what the description says when pinning, other pinners might be confused or your items might not come up on Pinterest searches or your item description might not even make sense if you use a lot of "key words" in your product name.*

Bottomline: Use the description on Pinterest to tell people about your product. Telling a story gets the click throughs. Don't write a lot, but enough to get them thinking about how they fit into the story. (Here's an example that usually sells well for me.)

*I'm not recommending you change the names of your products! In fact, if your items are already on Pinterest, you won't want to change them after reading #5. Just keep this in mind when you are creating new collections/adding new things to your shop. 

4) When pinning your own products to Pinterest (which is a good idea!), spread out the pins. Consider one in the morning and one in the evening. Pin a variety of products. Or once a day at varying times throughout the week. Consider creating a board just for your products. And feel free to pin the same item again to the same board because your followers change and people need to be reminded or the item goes on sale or you just have one left etc. Just spread out the pins!

What this means: Think about it. When you pin five items (or more) from your shop at once (or the same item at the same time every day), you are kind of spamming your followers with a lot of the same thing in their feed. You wouldn't do this on Facebook, for example, so avoid it on Pinterest too.

Bottomline: People are on Pinterest throughout the day, but especially in the morning, late afternoon, and evening. You will get different people looking at your items if you vary your pinning. And you will avoid people unfollowing you because you pin too much of your own stuff at one time.

5) Pinterest now sends out notifications when something you've pinned goes on sale. I don't know if this is in every instance, but it is happening. My guess is that they are working with a handful (maybe a large handful) of companies, but Etsy is for sure one of them.

What this means: I've been putting one item on sale each weekend for a few weeks now. When I do this, at least some people who have pinned this item receive an email from Pinterest letting them know that the item they pinned is now on sale. The email takes them to the pin. I'm still experimenting to see how many people are buying, but this is a really interesting new feature to me, especially going into the holidays.

Bottomline: From what I can tell, you shouldn't change the name of your item. For example, when I put something on sale, I often add "SALE" in big letters at the beginning of the item's name. When this happens, Etsy changes the URL of your item, which means it might no longer be linked to your pin. The listing number on Etsy stays the same, but the URL changes to reflect the new title. (You might want to create a new photo though that shows it is on sale. Picmonkey.com is your friend!)

UPDATE 6/2/14: It has been a while since I've received one of these sale emails from Pinterest, so I don't know if they are still doing this. Here's what I recommend: Do what works for your shop. If add "sale" to the name helps people find your sale items, do that. I think tagging your items with "sale" is a good idea too (when they are on sale). Pinterest tries new features out all the time and this one might be one they did for awhile but aren't doing anymore. 

+1) And one awesome way that Etsy sellers could use Pinterest for good.

Etsy sellers (and others who have small businesses on other sites) could come together to support one another on Pinterest. Consider gathering a group of friends who all have Etsy shops and commit to sharing each other's work with your Pinterest followers. Let your friends know what items you want to highlight this holiday season. Work together to spread the word that buying handmade is a very good thing.

In the comments: Feel free to share how you are using Pinterest with your business. If you are an Etsy seller and have had other experiences, please let us know! These are my observations and I'd love to pool our knowledge. And if you have any questions about Pinterest, I'll try to answer them in a future post.

toast with an egg in the middle

Imagine you find yourself alone in your kitchen.

Alone with a silent house and no one needs you for the next two hours. (No one needs you. Seriously. This moment is just for you.)

And you are hungry.

And you remember that you want to attempt the "toast with an egg in the middle" dish you ate for breakfast in Portland on Saturday. Or rather you watched your daughter eat because suddenly she was hungry and wanted everything on your plate.

So you get to it.

Step 1: Gather a piece of bread + butter + an egg. And decide to practice with your 50mm lens and put the egg in a dish

Step 2: Use a juice glass to "cut" a hole in the middle of the bread. (Consider first beginning to melt the butter mentioned in Step 3 if you aren't stopping to take photos.)

Step 3: Warm up your pan over medium heat and begin to melt a good amount of butter. (The butter really seems to be the key.) After the butter melts, put the bread in and turn it over so both sides are covered with at least some butter.

Step 4: Crack that egg and put it right in the middle of the bread.

Step 5: While the egg cooks, pour yourself a cup of coffee in your new favorite mug.

Step 6: When the egg settles in the middle, flip it over and marvel at the fact that you didn't burn side one. 

Step 7: Add your little circle from the middle of the bread and let it cook while side two cooks for just a minute or two.

Step 8: Scoop that egg out of the pan, put it on your new favorite plate, and set the table while the little circle of bread cooks for another minute. (Consider how much easier it would be to just add the circle at the beginning and decide to do that next time.)

Step 9: Grab a favorite book of poetry on your way to the table and take a moment to breathe in all the joy of these colors and the quiet and this time just for you.

Step 10: Eat it up. (And maybe even find yourself right in the middle of a poem that takes your breath away and reminds you of why you know "poeming it out" will save you again and again. Yes.)

What have you been cooking lately? I'm having some fun in the kitchen again and would love to know.

(Note that some links are affiliates.)

here

here there is the push and pull of being a three year old.

here there is laughter between old friends.

here there is exhaustion stacked right next to please let this get easier.

here there is a quiet understanding.

here there is an exquisite salad of beets + goat cheese.

here there is a new haircut that feels like home.

here there is the neverending headcold of October.

here there is support and love and an ease unfolding.

here there is another layer shedding slowly but perhaps at exactly the right pace.

yes.

(because sometimes you just need to make a list to make sense of things.)

and how are things over there? i'd really love to know. 

pinned it. did it. {with meg}

Meg is back with another delicious recipe this week. It is totally soup weather here in my corner and this one will be fun to try.

Read on for Meg's Pinterest inspiration. And read all our Pinned it. Did it. posts here.

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We woke up here in Colorado today with gloomy skies and dreary rain, with a little snow on the way. I absolutely love autumn for the cool temperatures and the colorful scenery. But my favorite thing about this season is that it always makes me hungry for soup. And when a friend brought this version of Zuppa Toscana over for lunch last week, I knew I’d be making it again soon.

So I decided that today’s weather warranted a slow cooker full of bubbling soup. I declared about a month ago that I wanted to use my slow cooker as many times as possible between now and the end of the year. Nothing makes me happier than to have dinner prep finished and the kitchen clean by lunch time. I love to sit back at dinner time and enjoy opening the lid and scooping a bowl of soup rather than spending an hour standing in the kitchen cooking. It’s not that I don’t love to cook, because I do. But opening the lid to the slow cooker is such a peaceful way to end our day. And this soup was the perfect way to do just that today. 

The recipe is easy to follow for both the slow cooker and the stove top. I love how hearty and filling it is yet it still has a lightness to it and doesn’t feel heavy. I used sweet italian turkey sausage and lots of kale. I also used half and half instead of heavy whipping cream. I also added a teaspoon of salt. 

I love how comforting soup is on a cold day. I have been busy pinning recipes to my soup board and my slow cooker board on Pinterest so that I have plenty of new recipes to try this season. A few recent favorites are:

Mexican Lime Chicken Soup
Beef Rice Noodle Soup
Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

I’d love to hear about what soups or meals you are cooking up lately that you’ve enjoyed. Tell us about it or share a link in the comments below. 

Meg Brothers is an artist, photographer, mama, and dreamer. She loves cooking, tattoos, and sporadic dance parties in the kitchen. She prefers dark chocolate, black coffee, and flip flops when weather permits. She is a lover of Pinterest and truly believes in integrating ideas and inspiration - big or small - into normal life. Meg lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, Dustin and son, Julian. Meg writes about photography, family, and creative inspiration at megbrothers.com. Find her on Pinterest here and on Twitter here. 

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Note from Liz: Over here in my corner, I'm trying to "use Pinterest for good." I really see it as a community of people trying to see the beauty and possibility in their lives. I'm adding a few new features here on my blog inspired by or directly about Pinterest as a way to invite others to look for this beauty within a social media community. Connect with me on Pinterest here. Read other "Pinned it. Did it." columns here.

21 Secrets

I am so delighted to share that I'm part of Connie Hozvicka's incredible Spring 21 Secrets workshop!

This workshop is a beautiful journey into art journaling with 21 teachers spilling some of their favorite techniques, ideas, and stories. I am honored to be included among these incredible teachers. There is so much wisdom + creativity + experience within these women. Just look at their beautiful faces!

21 SECRETS Spring 2014 will be a downloadable eBook, which means you receive full access to all the 21 SECRETS workshops at once (including videos, written content, and visuals) and are able to keep them forever. This way you can go at your own pace, and if you've ever taken an ecourse with me, you know how important I feel that is. 

But you don't have to go it alone! Students and teachers will be connecting in a private Facebook group and private Flickr group. Love this!

I'll be sharing more details about my own workshop that is part of the course soon. It is called "I am..." and brings self-portraits, poetry, and journaling all together. I am so excited to share the ways I use these mediums to gather my stories. My workshop will be a lot like going on a creative play date with me and then coming back to my studio to integrate all that we find into a book we can turn to again and again.

And here is something that I love about the way Connie does this: By announcing 21 Secrets months ahead, she gives you the opportunity to be thoughtful about how you want to spend your creative time in 2014. There are so many beautiful ecourses to choose from, but so often we sign up and don't finish them. I love that this gives you an opportunity to look past the holidays and the beginning of the year stuff and say to yourself, "Next Spring, I'm going to give myself the gift of diving into art journaling. For real this time."

There are so many other good things to share about 21 secrets, including information about all the workshops, and you can read all about them over here on Connie's site.

I hope you will come along. I can't wait!!

{Note that as a teacher, I am also an affiliate for 21 Secrets. This means I receive a commission when sales are made through my links.}

yes, this.

I shared the above quote in today's final Yes, This practice. 

Each time I read these words, I feel less alone.

I feel closer to that YES that lives inside me.

I hope you will too.

(The last 10 days have been full of magic and joy. Thank you for coming along!)

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To receive little reminders and love notes like this quote above in your inbox, sign up to receive my (almost) weekly newsletter here.

soul mantra pocket talismans

a peek at my studio altar (shell given to me by a family friend over 30 years ago)

I've been dreaming about these little talismans for a while now and I am so excited to share them with you today!

I wanted to create something that you can carry around with you in your pocket. Then each time you feel it, you would be reminded to take a deep breath and remember you are not alone.

love keeping these all together in a bowl on my studio table

You can hold them in yours hand and rub your fingers along the letters and let yourself believe the words hand stamped just for you. You could also place a talisman on your altar or next to your bed or even in your cubicle at work. They will remind you to just be right here and know that you are enough.

These talismans are stamped with the mantras I hold onto, that guide me, that remind me I'm not alone.

You can find them all right here. I hope you enjoy them...

yes to this moment

This weekend, I followed my own prompt to "get outside" and breathe in the beauty in my corner of the world.

And as I stood there watching Ellie walk back and forth finding sticks and rocks to see what would make the biggest and loudest splash, I felt more grounded than I have in weeks.

Yes, this.

This life. This rememebering what I know. This being right here. This laughter. This patience. This light. This choice that is up to me every single day.