LOW BUDGET Advertising and Promotion Ideas

Top 40 LOW BUDGET Advertising and Promotion Ideas
I started Beantown Handmade with zero start-up money, so I’ve had to get creative with free advertising strategies over the last two years. Here are my top 40 free (or super cheap) methods of promoting your Etsy shop and attracting more viewers to your products. I’ve collected all my favorite marketing and promotion articles from Handmadeology and across the web and linked to them throughout this list. Some of these we’ve heard a lot about like Facebook and Twitter, others may seem a little out there but could be worth your while. Hopefully there will a few new ideas or new articles here that will help make things happen for you and your shop!
1. Take great photos so your items reach Etsy’s Front Page – this has been the most successful free advertising we’ve had in our two years on Etsy
2. Create Treasuries, Be in Treasuries
3. Make connections with Twitter
4. Make connections with Facebook
5. Post photos of your process on Flickr and participate in Flickr groups, Tumblr is another great blog/photo site
6. Comment on the Etsy blog, The Storque
7. Write your own blog, create meaningful content
8. Comment on other blogs, many blogs will link your name back to your website. When you comment make sure you enter your website in the field that asks for it.
9. Do a giveaway on a blog or website
10. Use all 14 tags to describe your item, use a few unique words/colors/descriptors
11 Offer promo codes on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, etc.
12. Post promo codes to sites like Etsy Saver
13. Include promo codes for returning buyers in your orders
14. Send out a monthly/quarterly shop newsletter with a free site like MailChimp
15. Hand out business cards, take them with you everywhere
16. Participate in a craft show, make sure to hand out business cards or postcards
17. Participate in Etsy Forums/ teams
18. Shop Etsy
19. Use the Etsy favorites and circle features
20. Leave feedback for Etsy purchases and sales
21. Use Google Analytics to analyze existing traffic so you can reach your target audience and keep them in your shop
22. Keep visitors in your shop by Including links to shops sections and other items in your listing descriptions
23. Fill in your country, city and state so people can find you using the Shop Local feature
24. Sign up for the Etsy newsletters so you can stay on top of opportunities, merchandising topics, and current trends
25. Optimize listing descriptions for google search
26. Ship internationally
27. Donate items to charity fundraisers, include a stack of business cards
28. Brand your items with sewn in tags, hang tags, and packaging (especially if you wholesale)
29. Provide awesome service and communication to your existing customers, they’ll tell their friends
30. Find free places to advertise in your local community – put your business cards up in coffee shops, at your salon, gym, or places your customers might frequent
31. Post your items in the Handmadeology Market
32. Optimize your shop’s SEO with backlinks
33. Offer a variety of items at different price points, this will attract a wider range of buyers to your listings
34. Use your own products in public as much as possible (wear them, etc.)
35. Post tutorials on YouTube
36. Collaborate with another Etsian
37. Create a Kaboodle profile
38. Enlist family, friends and trusted clients to help you spread the word about your products. Word of mouth is some of the best advertising out there.
39. List your site in internet directories40. Give out a free trial product – not something we all want to do, but sometimes if you make something great it can pay to let people try it out firsthand
I would love to hear some additional ways you’ve found to creatively promote your shop.