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Etsy Banner Design {How to Integrate the Shop Announcement Box}

Everything Etsy — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 21:29:48 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I am NOT a big fan of the new location of the Etsy Shop Announcement box. It really messed with my sense of symmetry! I’m going to show you how you can work with that pretty grey box and integrate it into your banner design!

You can see the problem in the “before” picture above. By putting the announcement box directly underneath the shop banner with no white margin between them, Etsy has effectively reduced the height of usable space in your banner. The idea must be to get as much product as possible “above the fold”.

But as you can see, my artwork looks poorly centered with so much white space above, and none below. So that’s the first thing I need to fix.

In the “in-progress” picture above, you can see that I’ve raised my artwork to the very top of my banner to create white space between the fish and the grey box. I even had to lose one bubble! The little lines you see are me trying to figure out exactly where the box is.

After a little trial and error, I found that the Shop Announcement Box is inset from the ends of the banner by about 33 pixels on each end.

Once I figured out where the ends of the box were, I could integrate the box into my design:

Not all banner designs will make this easy work. Some are conducive to working with the box, while some absolutely are not. In this case, I think we were able to make it work pretty well. Much better than what we started with, in my humble opinion!

You can see it live on Etsy at Flashy Fish!

This is the banner itself… you can see that I just ran the grey color right to the bottom edge. The color of the Etsy Shop Announcement box is #F5F5F1

We’ve got a whole selection of free banners for your Etsy Shop on our free banners page! Check back soon for some new additions that work with the shop announcement box! We’ll be adding more this coming week.

Questions about Etsy Banners? Feel free to ask right in the comments below. I’ll answer your questions in the comments. Just don’t forget to come back and check!

My Etsy Shop – Flashy Fish {Giveaway}

Kim — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 01:27:41 +0000

A Bit About Me & My Shop

A couple years ago when I first started a blog I planned to use it for promoting my Etsy shop. I quickly learned that I enjoyed sharing new finds and my creative Etsy friends more than just talking about my own creations. After all, I see my stuff everyday, so it doesn’t interest me in the same way as discovering other handmade treasures to share.

I’ve enjoyed sharing business tips, craft studios, and great Etsy finds so much that I tend to hardly even mention my own shops on my blog. How strange is that? I actually have three shops now, and I STILL love Etsy! It works perfectly for my life, and I hope I’ve been able to share a bit of my enthusiasm for selling online with you through my posts.

So, let me share some of my felt and button goodies with you! Flashy Fish is the perfect shop for for all the little ones just starting back to school and for the holiday shopping that’s just around the corner.

I’ve been making these hair accessories for years now and I still enjoy creating new designs.

Monogrammed items make great gifts! This has always been a favorite…and you can pick your colors! I even make tiny flowers that are perfect for babies.

This one’s for all those little football fans out there. And yes, I can make it in pink.

I’m able to travel with a couple baskets and create these little clips and buttons from anywhere!

As some of you might know we’ve spent a great deal of time out of town with our son in a children’s hospital this summer. My business was able to go with us and it gave me something to keep busy with in such a stressful time. He’s doing better now, but we still have more testing and other visits to the hospital in the future…not fun!

I love making little animals like these owls! I even have a sweet little hedgehog clip that is sure to bring a smile to anyone that sees it.

Thanks for letting me share my handmade goodies with you! I would love to give one of you a bunch of felt goodies of your own!

One Everything Etsy friend will win a $25 gift certificate to Flashy Fish! You can use it for yourself or give it as a gift!

Here’s how to win…

Visit Flashy Fish and leave me a comment about your favorite item.
Heart my shop to stay up-to-date with my newest items.
Share this giveaway by Twitter, Facebook, or blog post. {1 entry each}

Please leave a comment for each entry. This giveaway ends September 14th at midnight…good luck!

Thanks for hanging out with me! I appreciate all of you!

~Kim

Twenty Ways To Get More Traffic To Your Etsy Shop

Everything Etsy — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:44:55 +0000

We’ve brought back a blast from the past post here today. Many Etsians have told us that this post was helpful to them, so we thought it would be good to offer the information again. Enjoy!

One of the cool things about Etsy is that you can sell as much as you can make! There are no limits, other than the fact that you have to sleep! And you may have kids to feed, and a house to clean, but hey, you gotta pay the bills, right? (or get money to buy more crafts!)

But you can’t sell anything at all unless you get people to your Etsy Shop! They have to know you’re there first, then they have to be interested enough to come to your shop and explore!

Here are twenty great ways to get more traffic to your Etsy Shop:

List items during peak hours
Make a Treasury
Re-list your bestselling items frequently
Start a blog and use it to promote your shop
Use Etsy-Mini’s on your blog or websites
Write a blog post about your Etsy products
Comment on the blogs of other Etsy sellers
Write guest posts on other blogs
Gain exposure through blog giveaways
Have freinds and family put your Etsy-Mini on their blogs
Make business cards and give them out
Use nice packaging to build your brand
Use promotions to reward repeat business or referrals
Advertise in Etsy Showcases
Join Etsy teams to network
Participate in Team promotions
Put-up flyers at church, school, local bulletin boards
Participate in Forums and Discussion Groups
Advertise off-line such as newspaper or magazines
Advertise on Blogs – Such as this one!

In making this list we came up with at least twenty more and many of the ideas that made the cut here are summary descriptions of ideas that can break down into many more detailed ideas! The point is that the options are endless and you can get traffic to your Etsy Shop.

What has worked for you in the past?

Back-To-School Giveaway – Flashy Fish

Kim — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 12:02:14 +0000

Back-to-school means it’s time for lots of new clothes. Matching hair accessories would be the perfect finishing touch! This seems like the best time to have a back-to-school giveaway from Flashy Fish!

Have you ever been to my Etsy shop…Flashy Fish??? If not, now’s the time to check it out!

Custom hair accessories can really make an outfit extra special! I hand-cut felt and create sweet little flower hair clips and ponytail holders in beautiful colors. I have so many shades of felt that I can usually match outfits from photos that are sent to me. Have them monogrammed at no additional cost! Flowers are available in both a regular size and a tiny size that’s perfect for babies.

Do you have a little animal lover in your house? This is my little “Hedgie” clip, and she has got to be one of my favorites. Check out Flashy Fish’s Animal Collection with dolphins, birds, an elephant, a monkey, starfish, and lots more! I’m working on adding a black cat that matches a Gap shirt right now.

Do you use ponytail holders for yourself or your children? I have a huge selection of them, and they make great gifts! I try to create quality hair accessories that can’t be found in your local stores.

I even have one for my artistic readers that dream of days in Paris! Let your personality shine with this ponytail holder.

Here’s something for the teachers. Beautiful thumbtacks could help everyone start off the school year right. They even come in a little gift tin!

Got magnets??? I have fabric covered button magnets to help you display all the art that they’ll be bringing home.

Don’t forget about the holidays! They will be here before you know it. I have anything from tiny pumpkins and fall leaves to Christmas trees and gingerbread men. I’m adding new goodies weekly, but I’m sure you can find something…I have about 200 items listed!

Just for being wonderful Everything Etsy friends, you’ll receive 10 percent off your next order {any size} and Free shipping when you purchase 4 or more items! This back-to-school discount will run until September 15th. Just type in “back-to-school” in the note section of your order. I will refund all discounts through Paypal when the order is shipped.

One Everything Etsy reader can win a $25.00 gift certificate to Flashy Fish!

To be entered just visit Flashy Fish and leave a comment about your favorite item. If you are an Everything Etsy subscriber, leave a second comment. If you spread the word by blog post, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever…leave a third comment. That gives you three chances to win!

Here’s a bonus…If you win and you have a blog with an Everything Etsy button on it, you’ll get $10.00 more!!! It’s a way of saying thanks for all your support.

Good luck! I’ll pick a winner on September 10th!

This giveaway is closed…thanks for the great response! The lucky reader is Patt from Patt’s Creations Madness!! She even had our button on her blog. Congratulations!