Etsy sellers need to think dynamically about how to make
their Etsy Squares stand out from the pack.
In essence, you need to brand your Etsy Squares, so the buyer knows it is your Etsy shop and your Etsy item just by glancing quickly at the square.
And when we say brand, we don't mean to just put big words "My Shop Name Here" in your square, but to visually brand your images. Make them work for you 110%.
Our steps will hopefully help you accomplish this goal.
If you want to research this more, you can probably search for ways to maximize your Etsy 'thumbnail.' We like saying "Etsy Squares" though, so we are going with that. ;-)
Step #2
Think about what should be visible in that square.
It might not be what you expect.
"Peeps should see my item, right?"
What the buyer should see is a high-quality photograph taken with care and effort.
We have often talked about how you need to take high-quality images of your products to properly advertise them online.
For us, if the photograph in that square is very high-quality, we will click on it no matter what is being shown in the picture.
Truth.
You don't need to show the complete outfit in that tiny square.
You don't need to show me another headless doll body.
You just need to show me that you take very extra care to take very special photographs of your items.
Creativity and artistry in your photos translates into your Etsy items.
Dedication to photography is often visible in other parts of life, including sewing skills.
People who are OCD about sewing are OCD about photography.
And we like OCD people.
They make the best doll clothing and accessories on the handmade market.
Here are some examples of Etsy Squares that do not show the whole outfit, do not even show the whole clothing item, but are fantastic photographs that we will click on anyways.
From A Lady's Heart:
From Closet 4 Chloe:
From Janie Jumps:
From Royal Doll Boutique:
From Sylvie and Bruno:
From Pippaloo:
From Back in Time Creations:
From Shimmer Myst:
From Dolly Dorm Designs:
From Woodland Pines:
From l'Atelier de Sitara:
Many of the best Etsy Square pics feature a blurred out background.
You might have noticed a couple of them up there ^^^.
This can be accomplished with your lens or even with photo editing software.
PicMonkey lets you blur out any section of a pic you want blurred.
This is the type of effect you see in professional fashion photography.
We already showed you these examples in Step #1:
Those types of effects are created with the camera lens,
usually with a set focal distance, such as 50mm, and by using manual focus.
But if playing with your camera sounds like a nightmare, remember there is always photo editing software and go embrace PicMonkey or Photoshop. :-)
Here are some more great Etsy Squares with blurred out backgrounds:
More from l'Atelier de Sitara:
From Mimiville:
You may have also noticed by now that
many of the best Etsy Square pics are taken outside.
If your item and your environment allows you to photograph outside, you really should do that.
The best lighting for your objects is daylight, on a semi-cloudy day,
in the early evening or early morning.
You want soft, warm light, not harsh, super-bright sunlight that casts big shadows.
Not sure you know how to photograph outside?
No one does until they try.
Experiment peoples!
From Thank Heaven 4 Boy Dolls:
Another from Royal Doll Boutique:
From Lost in a Jungle:
More from Fox and Family:
From Mon Chat Dans La Lune:
We have several more steps for how to Brand Your Etsy Squares to help you learn more about what types of squares we tend to click on and how to make them yourself.
So Stay Tuned!!!
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to let us know!!!
p.s. The winner of the Buzzin' Bea outfit giveaway will be announced soon!
p.p.s. We have a doll jewelry giveaway happening right now, here...
Enter on or before Aug. 31st, 2013.
6 comments:
Wow! Thanks so much for featuring all of the handsome boys in my Etsy store!!! With school back in session now I barely have time to look at my store stats. Today I got a message from someone very excited about them and I feel like it must have come in part because of your featuring the photos of the boys. Thanks again. I remain a fan of your blogsite.
You're welcome Andrea!
Thanks for selecting one of Dolly Dorm Designs photos as an example...yeah, I'm pretty OCD about my photographs! ;)
If I might...I just thought I'd add a little tip for those trying to take that next step towards the type of photography you are suggesting. This is sort of an “in between” step to going from AUTO to full MANUAL which can be very scary and daunting. To get that "blurry" look with your camera/lens as opposed to doing it in post processing, try changing your camera setting from AUTO to APERTURE PRIORITY and then experiment. By "going down" in your AP (aperture priority) number, you will create a "shallow depth of field" which translated into novice language, means; a blurry background and foreground. So, for example; an aperture of f2.5 is going to produce a photo that has a very blurry background and foreground and only a very small area around your focus point will be clearly in focus. If you set your aperture on f13, most likely everything in your foreground and background will ALL be in focus. Take a couple hours to experiment…that’s the beauty of digital photography is that you can practice, practice, practice and not have to wait for the roll of film to come back, lol. One word of caution when shooting at a very low, aka “wide-open” aperture is…you have to be careful to put your focus point on the exact place you want to have tack-sharp or else you’ll not get the results you desire. Hope this helps someone!
Thank you Dawn!
This is very helpful!
Such wonderful crafts people focused on here. I have not registered on Etsy, yet, but I think I will have to to start marking favorites. :)
I love this posting, more please !! Make sure to check out my AG blog at taraheartag.blogspot.com thanks!
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