When Cathy Tran of Jeweled Blossoms first started selling her jewelry on Etsy, she was discouraged by the low traffic to her storefront there.

She says,

"What I came to realize many weeks later, however, is that I had simply not learned how to promote myself on Etsy.

"After many more weeks, I discovered many ways to get myself and, more importantly, my jewelry, seen on Etsy."

Discover Cathy's high-traffic strategies in How to Get Your Jewelry Seen on Etsy - a survival guide article Cathy wrote just for jewelry artists.

Social networking is definitely one of the most effective ways to market your jewelry online.

Here's a true story that spans three countries and occurred over the past few weeks.

It involves three people who have never met in person but share the bond of loving the same style of art and jewelry.

Once upon a time, not long ago, I was Read more

A recent Forrester research study concludes that online retail sales will grow at an increasing rate over the next five years.

So if you're not set up to sell your jewelry online yet - there's no time like the present for getting started.

My new book, Social Networking: Sell Your Jewelry Online the New Way, guides you step by step through setting up your online jewelry business and selling your work on the Internet.

According to the Forrester ecommerce study,

"US online retail reached $175 billion in 2007 and is projected to grow to $335 billion by 2012.

"Business-to-consumer (B2C) eCommerce continues its double-digit year-over-year growth rate, in part because sales are shifting away from stores and in part because online shoppers are less sensitive to adverse economic conditions than the average US consumer.

"Despite the continued growth of the channel, online retailers face several challenges to growth: Online stores are broadly perceived as a second choice for shoppers, online retail is becoming increasingly seasonal, and online shoppers rarely admit to browsing, which can drive valuable incremental dollars during their Web shopping experiences."

Source:
US eCommerce Forecast: 2008 To 2012.

Remember Dawn Woodward, who recently shared her article, "Window of Opportunity - Parisian Inspiration", on my Home Jewelry Business Success Tips website?

Dawn's website got so much traffic just from having that article published on my main site and mentioned in my newsletter, that it changed her online jewelry marketing plan.

She says:

"Traffic was pouring in through my (Parisian!) shop door and made me realise what a powerful marketing tool I had discovered. Finally, I had found a way to bring potential customers to my site and I wasn't going to stop there."

She adds: Read more

On a trip to Paris, Dawn Woodward was awe-struck at the beauty of the jewelry shop window displays she saw there.

After returning home, she decided to give her online jewelry customers the experience of seeing her jewelry designs in a Parisian window.

Read Dawn's story of how an amateur model and an amateur photographer helped her achieve her Window of Opportunity - Parisian Inspiration.

Her article includes lovely images from the resulting photoshoot.

Article by Dawn Woodward.

Have you considered selling your handmade jewelry on Etsy, but had concerns about sellers' fees?

Check out this quick article by Beth Millner, an Etsy seller and outstanding jewelry blogger, who breaks down the exact costs:

Etsy: Guide to Fees

If you've experimented with selling your work on eBay and found that their fees quickly ate up your profits, you'll be pleasantly surprised with the fairness of Etsy's fee structure for sellers.

For selling jewelry online, you'll need three things:

• a website or blog
• a storefront or shopping cart
• an online payment processor.

To accomplish this, you have four options: Read more

Here's an important and fast-growing trend you need to know about if you sell the jewelry you make:

Small businesses - such as one-person jewelry businesses - are becoming more and more successful in competing against much bigger retailers online.

One reason is because putting up a website and shopping cart is becoming easier and cheaper every day, so nearly any "mom and pop" business can develop an internet presence and storefront.

Equally important is the growing number of opportunities for small businesspeople to promote their products directly to their target audiences - for free.

A small business profiled in the New York Times article Small Merchants Gain Large Presence on Web has been very successful by networking online and using social shopping sites to promote their products.

There's never been a better time for a small jewelry business to gain a big foothold online.

If you've been planning to put up your jewelry website someday, I'd encourage you Read more

Want to sell more jewelry to the customers who arrive at your website?

Of course you need to offer a selection of jewelry in styles and price ranges that people fall in love with.

But in addition to that, the "usability" experience your visitors have while shopping on your website is also crucial.

Since you're not there in person to guide them through the sale, your site has to do that for you.

So it's important to remove any barriers your customers might have in getting around your site, finding what they want, and checking out.

Your website doesn't have to have all of the following functions, but usability studies show that these features increase online sales.  Adding even a few of them to your site can help you sell more jewelry online.

Website Features:

• Sitemap
• FAQ (frequently asked questions)
• Site-search or product-search feature
• Contact form / easily visible email address
• Size chart / other help with choosing the right size (especially for ring and bracelet sizing, and necklace lengths)
• Clear website navigation links
• "About" page that introduces the jewelry designer and establishes a relationship with customers
• Wish-list feature
• Refer-a-friend / tell-a-friend feature

Jewelry Images:

• Ability to zoom in / click to enlarge images
• More than one view of each product, including closeups of focal or clasp details
• Images showing all the colors or other options available for a particular style

On-Site Marketing:

• Featured item page
• Clearance sale page
• Promotion of best selling items
• Online-only sale
• Targeted gift ideas (stocking stuffer gift ideas, teacher gift ideas, niece gift ideas, etc.)
• Volume discounts (save money when you buy more than one of an item)
• Cross-selling (recommend and link to related products on your site)
• Testimonials / customer reviews
• Gift certificates available on the website

Checkout / Payment:

• Accept credit cards
• Accept debit cards
• Accept PayPal
• Accept checks / money orders
• Redeem gift certificates
• Loyalty / repeat customer / "club" discount or bonus
• First-time buyer discount

Shipping / Delivery:

• Option to buy online, then pick up the order from your studio
• Free standard shipping
• Free upgrade to a faster shipping method
• Holiday shipping deadlines calendar

Customer Service:

• Personalized email or autoresponder messages (with customer's name and possibly other personal details inserted)
• Faster order fulfillment option
• Free gift wrap
• Email newsletter to keep customers updated on your products, news, events, and specials
• Blog to keep customers updated on your products, news, events, and specials
• Privacy statement
• Assurance of secure online payment

Basically your website needs to give people the most user-friendly online shopping experience possible, while making them feel completely secure about buying from your site.

(NOTE:  This article does not cover how to bring targeted traffic to your site; it focuses on how to make more sales to people once they arrive on your website.)

What does it take to be successful in selling your handcrafted jewelry on Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade items?

Many jewelry artists do quite well there, while others have a harder time developing a success formula.

One jewelry designer who's been especially successful is Chu Ling of LingGlass.  In the two years she's been selling her work via Etsy, she has racked up over 3,000 sales of her glass and soldered metal jewelry.

She attributes her sales volume to:

• Creating unique pieces.
• Good craftsmanship.
• High quality photography of her work, including different angles.
• Good customer service.
• Communication with her customers.
• Good pricing.
• Constantly coming up with new designs and colors for her repeat customers.

With those points in mind, it's no wonder so many of her customers refer people they know to her Etsy shop!

You can learn more about Chu Ling and her Etsy success story here:

Etsy Success Story - Chu Ling of LingGlass.