Etsy Advertising – Look To The Ad Directory

Some find navigating how to advertise your handmade shop is more difficult than first thought.  When looking for free Etsy advertising, sellers find options are limited.  Instead, many turn to buying advertising on Project Wonderful to spread the word about their handmade items.

Tara Shenson, from KMT Graphic Design on Etsy.com, shared her experience with advertising her Etsy shop online.

“After months of selling ad space on Project Wonderful, I still hadn’t made a profit,” Tara told us.  “So, I decided to sell my own ad space directly from my blog.  Selling your own ads is easy and much more profitable for the blogger.  Plus, you don’t have to wait for your pre-defined “minimum” to start to see your profits – you get paid immediately.  And why shouldn’t you?  It’s your blog after all!”

“I quickly realized there was a demand for direct-from-blogger ad space and shared my discovery with my readers, who were equally excited about the idea.  Soon, the “Ad Directory” was born!” she told HandmadeMarketing.org.

“The Ad Directory is a list of all the Etsy bloggers who sell advertising space on their blogs direct,” Tara said.  “You as a buyer can feel good about your purchase because you know you are not only getting prime ad space with your target audience but you are supporting the handmade movement and everything it stands for by avoiding a big company like Google AdSense or Project Wonderful.” Tara explains that these companies oftentimes take a large percentage as well as hold the money from the blogger until a minimum is reached.

“The Ad Directory is a way to empower Etsy sellers and bloggers to take their advertising revenue into their own hands and to give them another option other than Project Wonderful or Google Adsense,” she explains.

Tara’s Ad Directory is free to any blogger who sells their own ad boxes.  “I will even walk any blogger through setting up a payment button on their blog if they don’t know how,” she tells HandmadeMarketing.org.  “I want to encourage other Etsy and Artfire sellers to buy their ad space using the Ad Directory-I personally have stopped using Project Wonderful and will be buying all of my ads direct from the bloggers from now on.”

What is Tara’s goal for the future?  “Once I have more bloggers on board, I want to create a separate site that categorizes all the ad sellers making it that much easier for the buyers to purchase space from a blogger that reaches their target demographic.  For example, specific art genres, pet accessories, marketing and tech advice, fashion, and so on. I’m so excited to get the word out about this exciting new opportunity for the handmade community.”

To view the Ad Directory, visit Tara’s blog.  Those who are interested in adding their blog to the directory for free can contact Tara via Etsy convo at Tara’s Etsy shop KMT Graphic Design or by email.

Very exciting idea for handmade sellers, Tara!

Have you had success with blog ad space?  Do you prefer direct-from-blogger ads or using another method such as Google AdSense or Project Wonderful?  Do you have any suggestions for handmade sellers interested in online advertising options?

Share your ideas!  Comment on this post or submit your thoughts to our team via our “Join” tab.  We want to know what works for selling handmade online.  If our editors publish your thoughts, like we published Tara’s ideas did in this article, we link to your shop, blog, or website.  Increase traffic to your shop by sharing your selling tips!