Advertising

I'll admit it. I am pimping my etsy stuff left and right.

If you've read this blog more than once, you've noticed that I mention etsy. A lot. If you run into me on the street, wait on me in a restaurant, serve me at the bank, or even look in my general direction, I am liable to insert the "e" word into the conversation somewhere. That's because a) etsy isn't that well known among the non-DIY set, and b) I really need sales if I'm going to feel like this is a legitimate use of my time.

So when we had the contest a few weeks ago, I managed to convince my local bank branch to hang up an advertisement for it in their front window, even though they're only supposed to put up non-profit and charity announcements . I talk about etsy to any quilt/yarn/craft store personnel I meet. I try to limit the number of sellSellSELL e-mails I send to my friends, but that's only because I'd like them to STAY my friends, but a girl's gotta try, right? Heck, I even went and put my shop name on my license plate, for goodness sake. And now I snicker every time Jason has to borrow my car :)

So when Liza's preschool teacher asked parents to bring in treats for the Halloween party goody bags, I made six Halloween tote bags and made sure my business cards were attached so firmly to each one that it will take a nuclear explosion to get them off. At first I wasn't sure it would be appropriate, but then I justified it to myself - if I had BOUGHT the bags on etsy, and they came with a business card attached, I would have left it on when I gave them to the kids ... so why not do the same advertising for my own shop?

This sort of rampant self-promotion is hard for me. I'm not really comfortable selling myself or promoting my stuff. Even when I promote my shop, it's more of a "have you heard of etsy, and oh yeah, I have a shop there too" than it is "look how awesome my stuff is - don't you want to buy tons of it right now?" That second approach always seems pushy and false to me when I see it, and I'm no good at it, anyway.

I have all sorts of ideas of ways to get my products some extra publicity ... but all of them require a lot of hyping my own stuff, not just etsy, and so far I haven't found my sincerity comfort level when it comes to talking about myself. Because, honestly, I'm sure there are nicer baby blankets out there, and mittens that look more professional. But none of them help to support my craft habit, so screw 'em.

If you don't mind, take a look at my shop (http://lazymamadesigns.etsy.com - you didn't think I could finish a post without linking to it at least once, did you?) and leave some suggestions about where YOU think I should advertise. I'm planning on actually buying some ads early next year, either online or in print media, and I'm interested to see if you folks have any suggestions I haven't thought of yet.

Oh, and by the way - I make the coolest baby blankets on the planet, and my tri-mitts are pretty nifty, too. Buy something, darn it!