Branding Your Etsy Squares, Step #5

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. ;-)

Click Here If You Missed Step #1.

Click Here If You Missed Step #2.

Click Here If You Missed Step #3.

Click Here If You Missed Step #4.

In Step #4 we showed you the basic process in regard to images when creating an Etsy listing and initial steps on how to control what you see in that Etsy Square.

http://thedollwardrobe.blogspot.com/2013/09/branding-your-etsy-squares-step-4.html

For that post we used our DW blog banner and button as just simple example images.

Step #5

For this step we'll advance our game and use doll photographs 
when creating an Etsy listing.

Oooooo!

Now what we do is not the one and only way to do things.
We are only showing you examples to use as inspiration.

We'll be starting our posts on critiquing specific shop squares soon.
So if you want us to critique your squares, please email us at nora.demington@gmail.com or comment below with your shop info.

Alright here we are back at square one.

I have a folder of 27 pictures of Needa taken outdoors.
Let's pretend I want to sell her outfit.

I will carry out this process to show you how to pick the best images for your Etsy Squares and how to edit the image that appears in that Square.

This will not necessarily be a process for the 5 Best Pics to Put on Etsy,
but it will be a step in that direction.

1) Pick A Photo with Needa Making Eye-Contact with the Camera
AND which Shows the Whole Outfit

2) Edit Your Photos

Before Editing in PicMonkey

After Editing in PicMonkey, Save as a Second Version

Crop and Save as a Third Version
I am not selling the woods here.

Edit all 27 of your photos in one go.
Crop your pictures and save as other versions.
It will save you time laters.

3) Test All Three Versions of That Image As 
Your First Listing Image

The Cropped Version
Bam!

Non-Cropped Version
Not So Bammy.

Non-Cropped and Non-Edited Version
Even Less Bammy.

When you place a vertical image as your first image in your listing,

the subsequent horizontal images will then appear like this:

When you place a horizontal image as your first listing image, 

your vertical images will look like this:

4) Test These Images As Your Etsy Square

The Cropped Image Appears Like This:

You have the headless doll syndrome that does nothing for your sales.

The Un-Cropped Image Appears Like This:

You have a pretty photo, but the outfit is too far away for me to really see it,
never mind want it.

5) Manipulate These Images As Your Etsy Square

You can use either of the edited pictures as your first image and Etsy Square, but you need to hit that "Adjust Photo" button and start playing around.

Personally we'd use the vertical cropped image as our first image of the listing.

But each image provides a different range of Etsy Square possibilities.

After you click on "Adjust Photo," you may have noticed a gray bar that appears to 

the left of your image with a little blue dot on it.

Dragging the dot up and down zooms in and out on your image.

Zoomed Out on the Non-Cropped Pic

Zoomed In on the Non-Cropped Pic

Mid-Zoom on the Non-Cropped Pic

And You Can Click-Hold-n-Drag the Pic Around, 

As We Showed You in Step #4

But I wouldn't use that image ^^^ as my Square, 

because you aren't selling the rock wall and tree root.

Here Comes the Fun Part.

Play Around with the Zoom and the Hold-n-Drag.

An Intriguing Square We'd Consider Using in a Final Listing:

Cuts Off Her Face on the Left in an Uncomfortable Place, 

Like You Just Sliced Off Her Ear Van Gogh Style:

Better Artsy Cropping:

Nice:

I'm drowning!!!
While humorous, this Square below won't work well for you:

This Square may look fine at first glance, but hitting the curve of the neckline with the bottom of the square is visually uncomfortable for the buyer's eyes:

Nice:

This is a popular Square technique, but visually we wouldn't choose it:

If you are cropping at the eyebrow line, we'd suggest going 

with an asymmetrical image.

These two examples look like you put more effort into your Square's aesthetics:

If you are selling just a shirt, you may logically choose this Square below.

But no, don't do that.

Remember our advice about using the doll's face in the Square, 

and think about if she is making eye-contact with the viewer.

She can't possibly make eye-contact with the camera if her head is missing:

Again, you may be selling just the pants, but 

I am not clicking on this Square because 

I don't know if this product is shown on an AG doll.

Random Legs:

Unless you are selling that stuffed dog, 

he shouldn't be your Etsy Square.

Even though he is totes adorbs.

As we said above, this Square is just too far away for 

the viewer to appreciate the product:

This is slightly better, but we still wouldn't use this as our Square:

Getting Warmer.

Dude, Where Are You Going?

I don't want to buy a tree root.

Ahhhhhh.

Better.

Even nicer.

No, we don't see the whole shirt. We don't see the whole outfit.

But we do see a photograph taken with care.

We see an AG doll.

We see her looking at us.

And we want to clicky on that Square.

Artsy. But No, don't do this:

Again, No Don't Do This:

Are You Selling a Floating Doll Head?

Artsy, But Still Gives Us Great Info:

Would Totally Click on This.

No. Headless Doll. No.

No. What Kind of Doll Is This? No.

No. Dog's Head Awkwardly Cut Off. No.

No. Looks Like Her Hands Were Chopped Off 

for Stealing Stuff with Aladdin. 

Don't crop an image at a doll's wrists like this. No.

No. Showing Just Enough of the Pants to Be Visually Disturbing. No.

 By now you may be thinking that we will only be satisfied with a Square like this:

No, don't do that unless you are selling the doll.

But we do like Zoomed In Squares

Like This One:

Here you can get an idea for how it looks from a distance:

Remember that the potential buyer is looking through a sea of these squares, 

and that AG face will really visually pop in that sea.

Good Square:

Bad Square:
Am I Selling Shorts?
What is That Tan Mass on the Bottom Right?
What Happened to the Top of Her Head?

 An Okay Square,
But Just Off-Center Enough to be Neither Centered Nor Asymmetrical,
And Hence Visually Annoying:

Uh, No.
I Think Maple Started Playing with the Etsy Squares...

Nice Nose, But No.

Maple, Did You Do This?

Stop Messing with the Etsy Squares Maple.

A Beautiful Pic, but that Awkward Vinyl Meets Cloth Body Gap is
Front and Center in this Square.
So No.
And the neckline of the shirt is cut off.
We mentioned that before as a visual no-no.

See the whole neckline, 

but are we selling Dolly Dentistry Services?

No.

Again, Are You Selling AG Orthodontic Braces?

No.

Ooooo! Nice.

Good Job.

Post This Puppy:

Now that we have shown you 600+ examples of Etsy Squares from One Picture....

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly....

Please let us know 

if you have any questions about this manipulation process.

________________________

Up next in Step #6 we'll work a little bit more on choosing the best images for 

our listing from our 27 Needa pictures.

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!!!

We have had a couple requests to "critique someone's squares" -- 

so we will offer this service to you completely free.

But it does mean we'll post about it on here, haha.

That way our advice can help as many people as possible.

Even the shy peeps who don't ask us to critique their squares. ;-)

So if you want your squares critiqued, 

comment below or email us at nora.demington@gmail.com.

When we are able to, we'll post about your squares and our advice and examples on how to improve them.

(Which will be soonish.)

_______________________________

p.s. We are almost done posting the 2013 FDC Second Outfits here: http://2013dwfashiondesignchallenge.blogspot.com/