Twitter – When You Become Just Another Sales Tweet

Have you been “tweeting” about your handmade shop all day, each day and seen a drop in followers?  Hate to break it to you sellers, but you may be overloading people with shop news and no “real” news.

Twitter’s co-founder told USA Today recently, “When people hear about Twitter, their immediate reaction is that it’s the simplest and stupidest idea in the world.”  However, Twitter can hold marketing power for your handmade shop.  Twitter is easy to use, bite-sized enough for any Internet user, and can help connect your shop with your target market.

Although our HandmadeMarketing.org team will never tell an Etsy seller to stop promoting, we recommend you promote in a way that helps you, not hurts you.  Any kind of “spamming” should be avoided, and we find many people we follow on Twitter do just that.

Etsy seller Rachel Wall, from Etsy’s Twightlight Visions, wrote to us about Twitter taken too far:

“Many Etsians have been joining the world of “Twitter” in droves with dreams of sales dancing in their heads,” writes Rachel.  “Like most of us who first join, you may think the free advertising tool should be utilized and frequently.“

“You will find that while it’s easy to get followers it’s even easier to lose them if all you are doing is tweeting about your shop 20 times a day.  I will admit I am one of those in the twitter community who have stopped following someone because they did this even though I too have a shop.  Annoying someone into a sale never works,” Rachel continues, “but enticing them does. Many Etsians support other sellers because they believe in handmade and don’t want to support a corporation. What makes this community go round is the personality of each shop, and the ability for us to identify with the seller and their passion for their work amongst other things.“

“So, next time you are on Twitter tweeting about your shop, don’t be afraid to also tweet about yourself,” writes Rachel.  “Tell us about what you made for dinner, something funny you saw, or make your listing announcements creative. It makes me identify with you on a higher level and I will click your links wanting to see your new listings.“

Great tip Rachel!

For some ideas on how to keep your tweets Etsy-focused, yet rid of spam, check out another Twitter article on HandmadeMarketing.org found here.  Consider using our tips for only a certain number of your posts (not all) in order to keep Twitter a lively part of your Etsy marketing strategy.

Want to make the most of your Tweets?  Shoot to go viral on Twitter!  Viral marketing can be great for your online craft shop, and there are easy ways to do it.  While over-Tweeting is annoying to your followers, Tweeting about things that matter to them can give you the most bang for your buck.

Have you had success using Twitter to increase your Etsy, Artfire, or other selling platform sales? What do you like most about Twitter? What other social media websites help you reach your target market?

We want to hear about your Twitter success!  Share your tips for other sellers to HandmadeMarketing.org for a simple press opportunity for your shop.  If we feature your ideas and suggestions for other sellers, we’ll link back to your shop.  Get your name out there while helping other sellers like yourself!