Saturday, August 29, 2009

8/29 Diva of the Day


Today's diva is Laurie from Glassbead Laurie does great fish... and she does them on a hothead... I can't even make a small spacer bead on a hot head without getting bored! The first link takes you to the purple fish ... but since I couldn't pick my favorite here's a second fish too!

Stop by our weekly promotions thread to check out work by other fire divas.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Bead of the Day 8-28-09


Today's bead of the day from our Fire Diva Promotion thread is this lovely off mandrel leaf from HollysFollyGlass. I really like the translucency of the white glass.

Check out this leaf bead and all the fabulous new beads being listed by the Fire Divas this week in our promotions thread on Etsy!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

8/27 Bead(s) of the Day

Today's bead of the day from our Fire Diva Promotion thread is this bright set from Mallory at Rosebud101 I love the color combo and the silvered ivory effects!



Check out Rosebud's Funky Fun Affordable glass and all the fabulous new beads being listed by the Fire Divas this week in our promotions thread on Etsy!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

8/26 Bead of the Day

Better late than never! Today's bead of the day features one of my favorite glasses: Chalcedony. The colors I've seen my fellow divas get from this glass are just dreamy! And today's bead is no exception. It's made by Mallory of Rosedud101 on Etsy. This heart has stolen mine!

Check out Mallory's shop HERE and don't forget to check out all the fabulous new beads on our Fire Diva's Etsy promo thread.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Fire Divas Bead(s) of the Day 8/25


This striking set from Melissabeads is aptly named Storm. There are five lentils in all, Crisp linen white beads topped with swirling black over soft blue enamels. The perfect storm.

Monday, August 24, 2009

8/24 Bead of the Day

Hi Gang! Lots of really cool listings in our Etsy Promo thread! It's so hard to choose! But today, I'm in love with Stedman, the striped turtle. I just love striped beads and Lauren of Maybeads made these perfectly. Not only that...check out the details... his cute eyes and even his toes!

You can find more Maybeads HERE. And don't forget to check out all the Divas new listings and promos!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

08/22/2009 Bead of the Day

Today's bead(s) of the day come from JanelDuddleyBeads a stunning set... This set is called the
Four Brothers and they are actually 50% off...

Aren't they gorgeous to see more of Janel's work check out her shop ! To see work from other fire divas check out our promotions thread on etsy



Thursday, August 20, 2009

8/20 Bead of the Day

Today's bead of the day from our Fire Diva Promotion thread is this Honorable Tree focal made by Ema from emakaye



Check out Emakaye's fantastic lampwork glass beads and all the fabulous new beads being listed by the Fire Divas this week in our promotions thread on Etsy!

Etsy - How to Make it Work for You

by Susan Sheehan
Originally posted on Susan Sheehan's blog

I do well on Etsy. I often get asked by other sellers, "How do I do it?" After numerous emails and convos I decided it would be easier to post this to my blog.

What works for me may not work for you. It took me about 6 months to figure out a strategy for selling my beads. While I will tell you what I do, it is not a magic foolproof plan. Take pieces of what I do and spend time figuring out how it can work for you.

Research your category. Find and monitor the successful sellers. Figure out what are they doing that seems to work. How can you do similar things with your Etsy shop?

Pictures are your strongest selling point. You cannot simply have average pictures. You need stellar ones. If you want to be the pictures people notice, you have no choice but to make them be as eye catching as possible. Make your first one jump out on a big page full of thumbnails. Be somewhat artsy and interesting. Give the buyer a reason to pick you over every other picture on that page.

Shoppers on Etsy are very visual. Tell your story with your pictures. In your five pictures show the important things people want to see. Watch someone pick up your product at a show. What do they do? Do they turn it over and look at the back? Then make sure you show that in a photograph. Show the necklace clasp, or the back of a pair of earrings. Show the inside of a vase, or how it looks with flowers. Show me the zipper on a bag and how it looks on a body. Be as creative as you can and try to use all 5 pictures. But don't waste people's time with 5 pictures of the front of the item.

List and renew often. Once I decided to get serious about Etsy I budgeted $2 a day to list or renew items. I spread it out over the day when I get a chance to pop on the computer. As sales started to come I upped it to $3. Amazingly my sales doubled. I'm sure some of that had to do with my complete revamping of all my pictures. It was a monumental task, but it was worth it. Now I try to do a minimum of $2 a day and renew or re-list above and beyond by the number of sales I make that day. My goal is to have my total fees (including final value) be less than 10% of my sales. I use the previous months numbers as a budget and monitor my sales by the week to stay on track. Right now I sit at about 7%.

Make treasuries and work on making them good ones. Browse other treasuries and notice the little things that make the good ones stand out. Look at the front page and note what the trends and current look are. The lessons you learn about good pictures and tags will help you be easier to use in other's treasuries. Making treasuries also gets you noticed. People want to be in good ones and if they think you do well, they heart you and start to comment on your treasuries.

You want to be in treasuries for the exposure. If you have a very good first picture you'll get in them. If the picture is better than good you have a decent chance of being on the Front Page. This is huge. It gets on average 500 people an hour in your shop. While I have never sold the item from the Front Page I always see a surge in sales the few days after I am on the Front Page. Plus it gets you noticed by the Admin. I was in a Storque article within months of hitting the Front Page on a regular basis. I'm no Admin darling, but I do get in the Admin curated treasuries from time to time.

Stuff that store as full as you can. List absolutely everything you can. The more you have the more you will get seen. Don't be afraid to list made to orders. If you are willing to do custom work, it's a great way to advertise. If you make multiples of something it's a great way to list without having to have the excess inventory. Each item is a tiny seed within the pages of Etsy and it can blossom into a sale if you are found.

Do tags well. I am in a constant state of looking for new tags to put in listings. You get 14. The first is the category you will be listed in if someone searches categories. If you can, try to spread out among categories instead of staying in just one. Do add all categories you fit in after the first to be found in a site wide search too. Make sure to use color as a tag. Not just red but cherry, lipstick or tomato. People search theme words for their treasuries. Help them out.

Join a team. Not just any team, but one that is serious. I belong to a glass team that is a cooperative marketing effort. Everything we do is about promoting glass and ourselves.

The one thing I do that makes or breaks you. I CHECK INTO ETSY FREQUENTLY. People want instant gratification and if they wait more than 12 hours for a reply to a convo they move on. I have never worked harder at communicating than at Etsy. But it works. Not every buyer wants to chit chat with you, but many really do. Embrace it, you're building a relationship 21st century style.

Here is my shop if you would like to see how I do things:
susansheehan.etsy.com

Want to explore getting on the Front Page a bit further? Here is a great blog post about doing just that by Handcrafters Studio.

An excellent guide to tagging by House of Mouse.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

August 19 Bead of the Day

Today's Bead of the Day is this adorable Scardy Bat by Holly's Folly:


He's just so darn adorable! He's also in time for those Halloween projects. Check him out, and while you're at Etsy, also visit the Fire Divas Weekly Promo Thread for more great offerings by Holly and the rest of the Fire Divas!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

8/18 Bead of the Day


Meet Petunia. She is a lovely green puffer fish born out of the flame of islandgirl, a Canadian Fire Diva whose beads are also known as "fireball beeds." Petunia is a hollow bead with metallic raised dots. Unfortunately for Petunia, islandgirl has real live cats living in her house, so Petunia wants out fast.


Monday, August 17, 2009

8/17 Bead of the Day

Today's Bead of the Day is brought to you by Mallory of Rosebud101. It's an "end of the day" bead...using all the scraps on the table and it's just lovely!





There are so many lovely beads in the Fire Diva's Promotion Thread on Etsy.... And, we have a thread over on Artfire too! Come check us out!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Fire Divas Gossip Column

The Gossip was flying this week! Don't miss a second of it. And if you aren't a fan of the Fire Divas on Facebook, the question is WHY NOT? Go NOW and become a fan. You won't regret it!

Marcy has been studying eyes, and cooking up some inspiration from bakeries.

Susan compiled a bunch of great links that will help anyone weed their way through Google Analytics.

Lea was excited about something her very talented customer did. Don't miss it!

Lara shows off her booth and gives tips for some tricky to make beads...

Nicole shows off some GORGEOUS new jewelry pieces using her beads.

Eileen has been super busy over at Dorset Hill Beads with Tuesday Treats, Theme for Thursday and so much more!

Jennifer featured a super cool artist that is into leather on Open Studio Friday

Glasstastic Treasures has a krazy train ride!

Pam shares and describes some of the artwork her grandmother with alzheimers has been creating.

Holly has been super busy this week and posted some great safety tips for lampworkers along with some other fun stuff that you should not miss!

Lauren is celebrating the Dog Days of Summer with a sale on....you'll have to go see for yourself!

Lynne's trees are getting better...but it's not what you think!

Rachel over at Handmade Chic is trying to cool off with some fun finds

Melissa is crazy busy!

What's up with kids? Want to know the answer? Hop over to the Mermaid's Tale to find out!

Patty has been vacationing in a top secret location! Well....it's only a secret if you don't go read her blog!

Rosemarie is redoing her studio! Check out some photos of the progress


Saturday, August 15, 2009

Saturday's Diva of the Day

The Bead(s) of the day are from Melissa of "Melissabeads" aka Melissa Vess Glass Art

The world from a Distance







To see other beads from the Fire Divas check out this weeks listing thread on etsy

Friday, August 14, 2009

Bead of the Day 8/14

Today's bead of the day from our Fire Diva Promotion thread is made by Nicole of NValentineStudio. She has a beautiful since of style and colors. Check out her beautiful owl beads. Check out this lovely ivory and blue/green silvered glass.

Check out this bead and all the fabulous new beads being listed by the Fire Divas this week in our promotions thread on Etsy!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Bead of the Day 8/13

Today's bead of the day from our Fire Diva Promotion thread is made by Marcy from Studio Marcy. She has a very fun variety of sculptural glass beads, here is Thor the Viking! He stands guard on top of a wooden pen!



Check out Marcy's sculptural glass beads and all the fabulous new beads being listed by the Fire Divas this week in our promotions thread on Etsy!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Bead of the Day for August 12

As soon as I saw this I knew it was my choice for the bead of the day today! It is made by KimVGlass and it is incredible!



Read about how this incredible series of art came to be here, and see this item and many more in the Fire Divas Etsy thread!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Bead of the Day, August 11


Today's bead choice was a no-brainer. This Metallic in the Round focal bead features three shades of transparent amethyst and violet encasing a white core, and is dotted with a high silver content glass. The result is amazing! Find this and other shiny, sparkly pieces at GlassAddictions, by Jennifer Cameron. And while you're there, wish her a Happy Birthday!!!

Monday, August 10, 2009

August 10th Bead of the Day

My oh my, was it ever hard to choose bead of the day today. The Fire Divas have been such a busy bunch with over 37 new posts - many of them with multiple listings to show off!

Today's glorious bead is from Emakaye. It is a dotted wonder in rich earth tones and comes with beautiful sterling bead caps.


Be sure to check out all the beady beauties in Fire Diva's promo thread on Etsy.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Fire Divas Gossip Column

The Divas have had lots to gossip about and because the theme of the week was Round Robin for the daily thread on etsy and on facebook, there was tons of eye candy to be enjoyed by all. Make sure you don't miss a minute!

Lauren of Maybeads listens! She made a bookmark with an alien and spaceship after she loved the suggestion made by one of her readers. She also introduced Chunk...but you will have to visit her blog to find out who or what Chunk is...

Melissa has a lot of exciting stuff to show and tell...new glass, a show, a SALE! But hurry up because the sale will be over very soon.

KimV was in a chatty mood in spite of the heat this morning and announced something very exciting...

Marcy always has something going on her blog, but this week she announced she's Miss August 2010. You definitely will NOT want to miss that!

Lynne shows off some goodies she made in a class and talks about a lamb...

Eileen has been having a blast being creative in her studio...but it's not what you expect!

Lara loves her Divas!

Nicole got a blog award...

Rachel is at it again over on Handmade Chic...showing some red hot...you'll just have to go see for yourself.

Chaos reigns over at GlassAddictions, but there was still time for an Open Studio Friday.

Glasstastic Treasures has some pointers for you to buy handmade for the holiday...and yes, you need to read this even though it's only August!

Holly shows off some eye candy

Pam shows off some eye candy too!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Saturday's pick of the Day

Today's (sat August 8) Diva is Lauren from May Beads... I just love this little guy

Baa Baa Blue Sheep

Come check out work from the other divas on our etsy promotions thread

Friday, August 7, 2009

August 7th Bead of the Day

Today's bead of the day from our Fire Diva Promotion thread is made by LAJewelryDesigns. Here is a lovely set of Poppy colors beads made of boro glass. Poppy Fields


Check out all the fabulous new beads being listed by the Divas this week in our promotions thread on Etsy.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

August 6 Bead of the Day

Today's bead of the day from our Fire Diva Promotion thread is made by Holly from Holly's Folly Glass. Here is a Kandy Korn Kat to help get us into mood for the (soon to be) changing of the season!



Check out Holly's work and all the fabulous new beads being listed by the Divas this week in our promotions thread on Etsy.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

8/5 Bead of the Day

Today's Fire Diva Bead of the day is from Islandgirl. It's an incredible Fireballbeed focal bead.



See this and many other unique and beautiful Fire Diva offerings on Etsy here.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Fire Divas Bead of the Day, August 4


Can you believe this balloon animal is made of glass? Fred the Red Balloonimal is one of several unique beads in the Etsy shop of CindyLynneGlass. But Fred's adoption fee will be donated to a local Florida animal shelter. Don't you want to take him home with you?

Monday, August 3, 2009

8/3 Bead of the Day

Today's Fire Diva Bead of the day is from TeaseBeads. It's a stunning Raku shell.


Check out all the fabulous new Fire Diva creations and listings on Etsy by following our sales and promotion thread.

DIVAS In Hiding...

Here is a gallery of Divas who we haven't seen much of...Let's give them a BIG SHOUT and invite them to the Etsy thread...




COME JOIN THE FUN...

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Fire Divas Gossip

The Divas have had lots to gossip about this week and with all the beads being shown in the daily thread on etsy, lots of eye candy too. Make sure you don't miss a minute!

Nicole announced a sale and who doesn't love a good sale?

Eileen of Dorset Hill Beads had a wild start to her week, but still managed to give the answer for the Thursday Theme AND put together a new one. It's a toughie! Make sure you guess the answer in the comment section for a chance to win a drawing! She also shows some beady goodness.

Marcy talked about the fun class she held at the Gathering and found out that pigs smile!

Over on Handmade Chic Rachel shows off the work of some the Fire Divas-there's some good eye candy there!

Pam of the Blue Between shows off some amazing beads she made using only TWO colors.

Patty is back from the Gathering and has been feeling lucky...

Jennifer of Glass Addictions is having a contest that requires a little bit of work and a book review for a metal clay beads book.

Holly had a fun playdate!

Karen of Fire-n-sand has been working on converting a hunting camp to a log cabin.

Glasstastic Treasures has a bunch of crazy train riding going on.

Melissa is at Big Ass Indie craft show this weekend and had time to put together some cute chocolate party favors.

Lynne is having a BOGOF sale!

Susan Sheehan wrote a very thoughtful and well written post on the hidden value of shows.

If you are looking for fabulous beads or jewelry, click on the various etsy, artfire, and 1000 Markets links to the right----------->

Click here to find all products by Fire Divas!

Saturday, August 1, 2009

August 1st Bead of the Day

Today's bead of the day is a gorgeous fish by Melissa Vess of Melissabeads!

All of Melissa's Fish are really stunning. You can check them out HERE.

Check out all the fabulous new Fire Diva creations in this week's Etsy sales thread.