Pinterest and Polyvore Promotion

I'd like to show folks HOW to utilize the various shopping and social networks available out there to maximize your visibility across the internet.......

And, this is assuming that you, dear reader, have NO experience with such things.  (Which is not true for many of you, but may be for some........)

NOTE==== you can click on ANY of the photos in this tutorial to blow them up if the writing is too small for you. :)

First up:  PINTEREST!!!!!!  
Other than being my very favorite site to use, Pinterest has a dedicated set of users, all pinning and re-pinning away.  You can set up your account, and then spend HOURS browsing and pinning to hundreds of boards that you organize according to what's in them.

For example--- I have my etsy items on various boards, but I also have a Yoga board, a gardening board, recipe boards, even a board dedicated to Bento lunches!

Here:  take a peek:
http://pinterest.com/rosemeister/

But, since we are working on promoting our Etsy shops, let me show you how to pin an item from your shop.  Etsy has a "pin-it" button on every item listing page--- let's use it!!!!!!!  (But first, did you create an account?  Do that first.)

This will open a window, where you choose which board you'd like to pin to, or you can create a NEW board right there in the pop-up.

The site is VERY user friendly.  Get to know it, organize your boards, follow your friends, and enjoy the promotion to your site each time someone repins your item, or clicks on that pin which will send them directly to your etsy store.

Here are GREAT articles discussing how to further your pinterest/etsy connection:
 http://handmadesuccess.com/2012/09/how-to-use-pinterest-to-drive-traffic-to-your-etsy-shop/

http://outright.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-for-using-pinterest-for-your-etsy-shop/


Next : POLYVORE !!!!!!!!!!!!
Polyvore is a site where you can create "sets", basically collections of things set up as an outfit.  Now, if you sell anything you can wear--- clothing, accessories, jewelry, shoes--- Polyvore is an untapped wonderland of possible visits to your etsy shop.  It is a bit more work, and a little less user friendly than Pinterest, but you may find that is well worth your time to put together an "outfit" once a week.  I'm brand new to the site, so I don't know all the tips and tricks yet--- but I thought I'd share what I've learned so far:

First, create an account.  Then--- HERE is the secret ingredient to getting your item out there--- you'll need to install the "clipper" to your bookmarks toolbar.  Like this (Make sure that your bookmark toolbar is open by going to "options" and making sure the bookmark toolbar is checked) :

Now that you have that, all you need to do is click on that "clip to polyvore" from any listing in your shop.  Let's do a scarf, and then we'll make an outfit to match it. :)  Type in any tags you want shoppers to find when they are looking to make their own sets.

Voila!  Your item will now be saved in your profile, under "items".  Next, we need to "create a set".  This is the fun part.  Basically, you drag stuff over to your board to create an outfit using your item in the outfit.  You can always crop and change the background of the items as well - play with that.

Now I start searching for items already on Polyvore (or add more items from my friend's etsy shops to complete the outfit!), and drag those over too:

Bada bing!  Now your item is part of a collection.  More bang for your buck?  See that "pin it" button up there?  Do it!  :)

It does take a little bit of time to start this, like anything, you'll have to play around with it and get used to how the site works.  You'll be a pro in no time!  Read this article on the Etsy blog for more:
http://www.etsy.com/blog/news/2012/sharing-and-selling/


That's all I can type up for now, but I promise to cover StumbleUpon and Wanelo soon--- I need to play with it more before I can give you a good tutorial.  Now go-- Pin it!  Clip it!  Set it!  :)

Let me know if you have questions, and I'll be glad to accept requests on further tutorials! :)
♥Rose