buyers and sellers; it’s populated by actual people! For another, it’s fun to see who else is on the site.
An Etsy profile can (but doesn’t have to) include the following tidbits:
❯❯ A profile picture
❯❯ Your name
❯❯ Your gender
❯❯ Your city
❯❯ Your birthday
❯❯ Your bio
❯❯ A list of your favorite materials
Anyone who visits your Etsy shop can access your public profile by clicking your name or profile picture on any page in your Etsy shop.
To populate your Etsy public profile, follow these steps:
1. Click the You menu along the top of any Etsy Marketplace page and choose View Profile.
Your profile page appears, as shown in Figure 2-5. Note the generic profile picture.
2. To add a personalized profile picture, click the camera button in the bottom-right corner of the generic photo.
The Add a Profile Photo dialog box opens. It lists various photo specs, including the file type (JPG, GIF, or PNG), file size (smaller than 10 megabytes), and dimensions (at least 400 x 400 pixels).
3. Click the Choose a File button.
A standard Open dialog box appears.
4. Locate, select, and open the photo you want to use.
Etsy shows you a preview of your photo (see Figure 2-6).
5. If you like the photo, click Save. Otherwise, click Go Back and repeat Step 4 to use a different photo.
When you save your photo, Etsy returns you to your profile page. The profile picture you chose replaces the generic one (see Figure 2-7).
6. Click the Edit Profile button.
The Your Public Profile page opens. Here, you can enter additional information about yourself. (See Figure 2-8.)
7. If you want, indicate your gender.
If you prefer to keep that information private, select the Rather Not Say option button.
8. Type your city in the City field.
As you type, Etsy displays a list of matching locales; click your town in the list to select it.
9. Use the Month and Day drop-down lists to enter your birthday.
10. Type your bio in the About box.
11. In the Favorite Materials box, indicate which materials you like to use, separating entries with a comma and a space.
You can add as many as 13.
12. If you want your profile to include your shop, any favorite items or shops, and any teams you’ve joined, leave the check boxes at the bottom of the screen checked.
If you see a Treasury Lists check box, ignore it. Etsy members used to be able to curate Treasuries – lists of their favorite items on the site – but that’s no longer the case. Selecting this check box simply enables members who curated Treasuries in the past to continue to share them.
13. Click the Save Changes button.
Etsy saves the changes you made to your profile.
14. To preview your profile, click the View Profile button in the top-right area of the page.
Etsy shows you how your profile will appear to others (see Figure 2-9).
Source: Etsy.com
FIGURE 2-5: From here, you can populate your profile.
Source: Etsy.com
FIGURE 2-6: Preview your photo.
Source: Etsy.com
FIGURE 2-7: The photo you chose replaces the generic one.
Source: Etsy.com
FIGURE 2-8: You can populate your profile from the Your Public Profile page.
Source: Etsy.com
FIGURE 2-9: Preview your profile.
Your profile picture, or avatar, isn’t just something people see when they peruse your profile page or visit your shop. It represents you across the site. When you post on a forum, your profile photo appears next to that post. Ditto when you comment on the Etsy Blog or participate in teams or online workshops. You want to select a profile photo that reflects well on you.
So what type of image do you want to choose? Etsy urges you to use one that shows your face. This helps to build trust. Just make sure the photo isn’t blurry (no “Bigfoot sighting”–style photos), that it’s well lit, and that your mug covers at least 70 percent of the frame.
For many people, the idea of writing anything – let alone about themselves – is about as enticing as spelunking in Yucca Mountain. But a succinct, clever, well-written bio is essential to the success of your Etsy shop. Why? Your bio enables buyers to see who they’re buying from. It turns you into a bona-fide human being in your buyers’ eyes.
If writing your bio seems a bit daunting, don’t freak out. It’s a process, like anything else. You can start by writing down the answers to a few key questions: Who are you? What’s your educational and/or artistic background? What do you make and/or sell? What are you passionate about? Who or what inspires you?
With the answers to these questions in hand, you’re ready to write your bio. Try to incorporate some of these tips:
• Say hello. If you
