Blogging for Sales – Sellers Dish About Blogs

If you are wondering how a blog can help increase your handmade sales, you aren’t alone.  Our HandmadeMarketing.org team often hears seller chatter about the purpose of blogs, how they impact sales, and how much time a seller should spend on a blog.

To help solve the blog debate, our team looked to HandmadeMarketing.org readers and the Etsy.com forums for insight.

Why start a blog in the first place?  Our team read one Etsy seller’s thoughts in the Etsy.com forums and thought this seller’s insight was helpful:

“I use it for myself, to help organize my thoughts, and also to reach out to more people. I think it’s a great way to promote my Etsy shop (that’s the main reason I have it) and it helps me see feedback about items or ideas,” the Etsy seller writes.

The seller explains that a handmade seller’s blog can be used for more than just promotion.  “Besides just promoting though, I think it’s also just a lot of fun and I like connecting with other people on Etsy,” the seller wrote.

“I’m really glad I started a blog,” the seller continued.  “I started with only a few followers. It’s been a little over a year and I have about 80 because people gradually kept following. I got followers by posting in promotion threads every time I update my blog. I follow other blogs I find interesting because I think they’re inspiring to read and I like learning about other people’s crafts (or how they run their Etsy shop).”  You can read more from this Etsy seller on the seller’s blog.

Some handmade sellers may question if a blog is right for them.  Cindy Lietz, the writer behind the well-known blog Beads and Beading, shares her advice for handmade sellers who are torn on the idea.

“Having a blog is right for all online sellers,” she tells the HandmadeMarketing.org team.  “It allows your customers to get to know you as a person. People buy from people, not from websites.”

Although some sellers fear being “taken over” by their blogs, Cindy has a suggestion for making the most of your time spent blogging.

“Figure out a publishing schedule that works for you and stick to it,” she says.  “Whether it’s once a week, three times a week, or daily… commit and follow through. Focus on adding valuable, original content to the web… not regurgitated, rehashed information. There’s already too much of that floating around.”

We often heard sellers mention that blogging has helped increase their exposure, and even help them find their target market.  Even Etsy sellers new to blogging agree it’s a great way to increase sales and exposure.  In the same Etsy.com forum thread, this Etsy seller tells others why she likes blogging:

“I just started my blog a bit over two weeks ago and am having so much fun with it,” the seller explains.  “I have met a ton of really cool people and have gotten more exposure of my work. I use my blog mostly to talk about reading, vintage treasure hunting and whatever else of importance (or interest) is going on in my life. I’ve found that lot of people like to read it and that makes me happy.”  This seller can be found on Blogspot.

Some handmade sellers keep both a personal and shop-focused blog.  One Etsy seller mentions the difference between her personal blog and her shop blog.

“The things I write in my personal journal is not public information,” the seller explains in the Etsy.com forum thread.  “Some of my entries contain very sensitive subjects or goofy things like my dog playing with a ball. It’s not the type of thing people outside my circle would find interesting.“

On the other hand, the seller explains that her Etsy store’s blog contains photos of what the seller is currently working on, the latest fashion trends, and homemade patterns and tutorials.

The HandmadeMarketing.org team even found an Etsy seller who doesn’t blog in the first person.

“My blog is not my blog,” the seller explains in the Etsy.com forums.  “It’s actually the blog of 6 cartoon cows. They have an Island, they have a couple of boats – they have adventures. 6 blogs a week and a new picture with each blog. They (with my help) have been doing this for two and a half years.  It’s funny!“  This unique spin on blogging can be found on Blogspot.

Time and time again, our HandmadeMarketing.org team found that sellers like to blog as a form of release.  Blogging is a great way to relieve stress.

“I started my blog as a way to find myself and as a release,” one seller wrote in the forum thread. “I have found that I really enjoy blogging, though I haven’t done much of it lately. I pretty much write about every day experiences or things that strike me as interesting. Several people that I follow do the same and many also use it as a promotional tool and that’s fine cause I end up peeking into Etsy shops that I generally wouldn’t seek out.”

You can read how this seller utilized a blog to promote Etsy by checking out her blog.

Interested in learning more about starting your own blog or improving the blog you already write?  Have a look at these HandmadeMarketing.org aimed for craft bloggers:

Blog Categories – Organize Your Blog

Blog Challenge – Learn Blogging Techniques

Etsy Team Blogs – Make Blogs Work For Your Team

Do you blog?  How has it helped with your business?  Do you focus your blog on your handmade craft, or simply keep a personal blog?

Share why blogging works (or doesn’t work) for you!  Submit your thoughts to the HandmadeMarketing.org under our “Join” tab.  If our editors like your ideas, we’ll publish you in a future site article – and link to your shop, blog, or website as the source of the great information!