8 Ways to Increase Traffic & Sales for Your Online Shop {PART TWO}

Happy Sunday all and welcome to part TWO of :

Today I will be sharing the last 4 ways I have personally discovered to be useful in gaining traffic and sales to my online shop!

If you missed part one, you can check it out {here}.

Now, I would like to mention, again, that I am no expert on this subject!

These are some things that I have PERSONALLY discovered to be useful and helpful for myself.

So I am sharing my own incites with you, hopefully you find them helpful!!

On with part TWO.

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5. Giveaways

Giveaways are a WONDERFUL way to attract attention to your shop, especially if you are just starting out. They are a fun way to celebrate when you hit a milestone for your blog or business.

They are a lovely way to reward your loyal fans/followers. They are also a great way to gain new followers or "likes" and build your business audience. And if you are only looking mainly to gain a following audience then go crazy with giveaways!

(Though I have learned not ALL the fans you gain will be loyal, a lot will un-follow/un-like as soon as a giveaway is over & they didnt win!)

However, if you are looking to actually get more SALES then, I suggest, you need to set a limit for giveaways.

Why do I suggest this?

Well have you ever heard the saying "Why buy the milk when you can get the cow for free!?"

Usually this saying pertains to sex (at least that's how Ive always heard it) but in this case I think it is very fitting too.

Think about it; If people know you are constantly giving away your items for free, do you think they

are more likely to make a purchase from you or wait on "Lady Luck" in hopes they will WIN something instead?

Yeah....The second one, right? Hey, who doesn't love freebies?!

You just need to be smart about giveaways.

Think about the cost versus the result, and think about what result you are really looking to get.

The result you want will vary, but don't over-use giveaways if the result you want is: to get more sales and they are not working for you!

6. Reviews

Reviews are another wonderful way to advertise.

When I first started out and I thought about reviews, I instantly thought "NO way!" I didn't want to send out my product to someone for "nothing". I thought things like; "What will I get from this?"

"I wont gain any followers.. and who knows for sure if I will gain sales!?" I was iffy... 

I was being stingy.

But something I sort of did on accident totally changed my mind completely.

We all know Casey Weigand right? Of course you know her, she is a sensation right now!

Well around the time I found her blog was right about the time she had lost her baby. Her post about it, broke my heart. I felt for her, having been through the same thing (twice). I was feeling her pain and her words spoke to me. And I wanted to do something to comfort her, something to let her know she wasn't alone.

So I reached out to her and offered her one of my custom birds nest necklaces. I shared the story behind them, and what they meant to me. She was touched and excited. I felt so happy to offer it to her. I didn't ask her to "review" the necklace for me, or even to post about it. I wasn't expecting that, and that wasn't the reason I gave her the necklace.

But she DID share the necklace in a post (this post).

It was one simple picture, with a single sentence about what the necklace meant  and she was kind enough to link to my shop. Then she shared the post with me. I was surprised and excited she posted about it. But I never expected what would happen after that. Within the next few days I had 10 sales for my custom birds nest necklaces! And after that, my sales just kept coming even weeks after....

People would make purchases and tell me they heard of me through Casey.  I was wow'd by the response, I had never had so many sales that fast.

After that, my eyes were opened to the power behind "reviews" and what they could do for my sales. I never thought about it before, but its kind of like when celebrities promote name brands by wearing their items in real life or doing commercials. Many companies will give celebrities their items for free just so they will be seen wearing them. When "normal" people see their fav celebs wearing/drinking/using a certain brand item, we "normal" people want that item! Silly? Yeah kinda... but that's advertisement.

So something I have been doing more is offering some of my items to a few of my favorite "big name" bloggers for free, in return for a review or fashion post showing off my item(s). Not only has it helped my shop gain more exposure, and upped my sales,  but it is also just so fun, exciting and cool to see how my items look on different people. I LOVE that! And I bet you would too.. So I encourage you to be open to reviews.

7. Be Unique

With so many crafty momma's out there trying to get their shop noticed, there are also so many people doing the SAME THING. 

Offering the same goodies.

The same styles, the same items, the same ideas.  Usually the only thing that varies is the price. So how do you get noticed in a world where there is so much creative likeness?

BE DIFFERENT.

Be unique.

 Think of something different. Put a different or NEW spin on something old. Take for example, my ruffled headbands. They are a unique design I came up with a while back, because I was totally crushing on all the pretty ruffled headbands out there, and I also LOVE making fabric rosettes. I wanted to make, sell and wear cute headbands but I didnt want to copy someone else's design. Or do something everyone else and their momma was already doing and selling! So I came up with a fun & unique design, that was inspired  by vintage feather fascinators and by my love of pretty ruffles.

Also, take for example, my custom birds nest necklaces. Those are EVERYWHERE. And when I first made one it was for a gift for my mom. I didnt intend on selling them. Why would I? There are several others out there that sell them already. But when I came up with a new design, a "unique twist" to add to the necklace to make it personal, memorable and make it MY OWN design, it was THEN that I decided to sell them.

If you arent getting many sales, take a look at your shop and all you offer. If it is filled with the same things several other (already well established shops) are selling chances are, that is why. A lot of customers are loyal to certain people, shops, brands. And they wont likely drop one shop for another that has the same stuff the can already find at their favorite shops already.

So be unique, be yourself, stand out. Give people a reason to remember you. And they will keep coming back, and before you know it, you will find yourself your own loyal customers!

8. Sales & Promotions

Last but not least I come to Sales & Promotions. I decided to save this one for last because these things tie into several of the things mentioned previously in ways 1-7 to give them a little extra boost!

Everyone loves a great sale!

Having a sale is one of the
 BEST ways to get sales quick.
Just a couple weeks ago I had a big 50% off sale, to celebrate hitting 2000 likes on Facebook.
I got about 13 orders that day.
Of course 50% off is a HUGE sale, so I only use such a high percentage on rare occasions.
But it definitely gets people's attention!

Here are a few fun ways to use Sales & Promotions to help you gain more attention and sales.

~Holidays 

Have a sale for each Holiday, 

even your Birthday, and Black Friday!

~Givaways
Ok so I mentioned being smart about doing giveaways. Remember how I mentioned most people holding out to get something for free!?
Well its always smart to create a special coupon code to go along with your giveaways.
It gives people more incentive to check out your shop, and purchase something (other than the giveaway item) because they are getting a deal. 
Be generous, people respond to coupon codes 25% off or higher!
You can also offer a discount code for those who do reviews for you.

~Specials or "Deal of the Day's"
Do you have a certain item in bulk??
Want to sell it fast?
Give it some extra attention, create hype about it with a deal of the day sale for that item,
or a Special deal price for a certain amount of that item.

This is something I remember Little Miss Momma doing {here}.
She had 50 of a certain necklace in stock and did a "deal of the day" for it.
I remember looking at her shop, at the sales and was WOW'd at how many she had sold!
I have done something similar with this necklace {here}...
This is a necklace that is fast for me to make, and I have plenty of supplies for it in stock.
I decided to create a special price for it (40% off) and list 10 in my shop at that price.
I posted about it on FB, and sold 7 within the week.

~Promotions
Last year I had a special promotion going on in my shop.
FREE earrings with each purchase.
I promoted it on my facebook page and here on the blog too.
It was fun for me to give a little something extra to my customers.
And my customers loved getting a special freebie too..Again, who doesn't!?
Things like that make you memorable, and more friendly to your customers.

~Customer Coupon

When someone already makes a purchase, send them a special coupon code for future purchases! 

This is a great way to encourage repeat business, and build loyal customers!

I LOVE {this idea} from Dana of Wonder Forest, where she created "secret savings" scratch off cards to go out with orders. Such a FUN idea! I am actually going to be doing this soon. ♥

~Ad Spots

When you sponsor someone, include a special discount code on your ad button!

Ive seen lots of people do this, and its always wonderful to find a new shop on someone's blog, 

and ALSO see they have a coupon for me to use too!

Ive got a coupon posted on my blog here at all times, on a button linked to my shop.

Its only 10% but its something I have going ALL the time, as a bonus for those who read my blog, 

and for all the new friends/followers who find my little space here in blog-land.

~Games

Ok so this one is new to me, but oh so fun!

I originally saw the idea for this on The {Posh} Daisy's FB page.

We played BINGO on facebook and winner received a special coupon code for 50% off!

Its fun, it gains attention fast, it gets people to interact with you, and its win-win.

Win for the person who gets 50% OFF, and win for you getting another sale!

Extra's

Just for a bonus extra, I wanted to mention a new series I have started for etsy shop owners!

Its called Treasury Trade Off, and it is a linky party!

If you would like to gain more exposure for your etsy shop, while also helping others promote and gain exposure for their shops through making beautiful treasuries, then please check out these series here:

I would LOVE to have more people participate!! :)
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And that is all for this 2 part series!
 I truly hope you enjoyed this post and found the info helpful for your online shop!
If you have any questions, concerns, tips or suggestions please post them in the comment section!
I'd love to hear from you. ♥
Please feel free to tweet or pin this post!!
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Much Love & Hugs,