Photoshop Tutorial: Making an Etsy Banner

I had a request from a new seller a few days ago who needed help making a new Etsy Banner.  She wanted a background image, some other images layered over the top and to be able to add her shop name.  I decided that the best way to answer her question was to write a tutorial and share it with the blog, because I know she is not the only one struggling with this.  This tutorial is made using Photoshop CS5, but other versions of Photoshop will be very similar to this.

(Be sure to click the images to see them larger.  Numbered steps correspond to numbers on the images.)

Part One: The Background Image
Open up a photo in Photoshop that you would like to use as a background.

1.  Choose the Rectangular Marquee tool.  It looks like a box drawn with a dotted line.

2.  We need to first make this photo the right shape for our banner, by making it a rectangle that is the right ratio.  Choose Style -> Fixed Ratio.

3.  Now enter the right ratio for the rectangle you need.  For an Etsy banner that is width 760 height 100.

4.  Your cursor will look like a little plus sign.   Click and drag a box (dotted line) to select the part of the image that you would like to use.

Then choose Image -> Crop.  This will take away the rest of the image and leave you with the rectangle you selected.

Next we need to make that rectangle be the right size, or the right number of pixels.

Choose Image -> Image Size.  It will bring up a new window.
A.  Make sure that "Constrain Proportions" is checked.  This means to keep the image at the same ratio.  No squishing or stretching.
B.  Now type in the number of pixels you need:  width 760 height 100
C.  Finally make sure the resolution is 72 pixels/inch.  (That's all you need for a web based graphic.)

(More after the jump...)

You’ve Got Your First SALE! Now What?

Written by Kim from UnemployedDesigner

I see a lot of elated new sellers come to the Etsy forums looking for the answer to this question right after they’ve gotten their first sale, and just as many who simply want to know what to do so they’re prepared ahead of time, so I thought I’d put my personal step-by-step process together here in hopes that it would help!

1) First and foremost, do the happy dance!

2) Make sure you’ve gotten paid. Go to your sold (orders) page and look at the status box in the right-hand column. If payment was made with PayPal, the received payment box will already be checked, but I still advise that you log into your PayPal account to verify that funds have been received (JUST in case there was a glitch!).


If sufficient time has passed and you don’t yet have Payment from PayPal, or if you accept other forms of payment, such as checks or money order, you will need to contact your buyer to arrange payment. But wait until you check on a couple of other things first…

3) Compare the mailing addresses on both Etsy and PayPal, if that’s how you accept Payment. If they match, great! If not, I suggest clarifying with the buyer which one is correct before sending. (Note: PayPal only offers seller protection if shipping to the address on record with PayPal, though you may elect to forfeit this coverage by shipping to the Etsy address.) But before you do that, check one more thing:

4) Check the message from the buyer section of your receipt page – there may be a request or other special information that you need to pay attention to in that section as well.


5) Now is when I contact my buyer to acknowledge the order and thank the customer.

If everything is all good with steps 2 through 4, I also let them know when I expect to ship their item and how to reach me if they have any questions in the meantime. (When I happen to be able to ship the same day or within 24 hours, I generally combine this “acknowledgment/thank you” and the “your order has shipped/tracking” info all together into one contact.)

If there were any issues (Not paid yet? Address discrepancy? Need clarification on that note to seller) I first address those issues and follow up with shipping info once settled.

6) Package your items. Include any thank you notes, business cards, coupons or other literature that might go with the order. I suggest also including an itemized packing slip. You can print these automatically via PayPal, and they can be set up with a personalized message to your buyers. It’s a nice opportunity to give the customer important information, such as how to reach you if they have a concern about their order, maybe reiterating your return policy, and just thanking them for their order again – look at the packing slips you get from big retailers for ideas of the type of information to include.

7) Optional happy dance.

8) Arrange shipping with delivery confirmation to protect yourself against claims of non-delivery, and insurance, if the cost of the item is higher than you’re willing to take a loss on in case the package is lost. If PayPal is used to print shipping labels, then delivery confirmation will be added automatically.

9) If you didn’t provide this information when you first acknowledged the order, follow up with the customer to confirm shipping and to provide carrier and tracking information, if available. If you’ve printed your shipping label via PayPal, then an email with the tracking information will automatically be sent to the buyer. There’s also a spot where you can personalize a message to the buyer in this email as well (I use it to – guess what? – thank the buyer for their order and let them know how to reach me. It’s repetitive, I know, but you never can tell which of these communications get read by the customer, or which they will have handy if they do decide to contact you).

11) Try to remember to go back to your sold items page and check off the “shipped” box in the right-hand column.

12) Do one last happy dance.

13) Try to calm down.

14) Okay, one more happy dance won’t hurt anybody.

Okay, did I leave anything out? Please feel free to comment below with any questions or additional advice for handling first time sales!

[About the Author: Kim from www.UnemployedDesigner.etsy.com is a mother and wife, freelance apparel designer, fashion illustrator and teacher living in NYC, and an avid crafter since childhood. She and her husband share, among other things, many years of retail experience between them, in addition to her extensive internet shopping habit.]

Uploading your items to Google Base

I have seen my share of forum threads discussing the process of uploading products into Google Base. I for one never had the time to sit down and learn the big 'how to'. I was however very excited to learn of the site Let's Ets. This site has some very clever tools but the one I was eager to try was the Google Base Formatter. All you do is plug in your Etsy ID or username and click the fetch button.

On the next screen you will see a list of your etsy products, images, descriptions, and price. Look them over very carefully so all is in order. (*Note only the first 100 items are included)


At the very bottom of the page click the 'download bulk file' button. A window will pop up giving you the choice to either open or save. Make sure you click save. The file name will be your username followed by the .xml file type.



Now on to uploading that file to Google Base..... http://google.com/base Once there click the data feed button and login if necessary. At the top there are two tabs. Click settings and make sure to include your etsy shop url in the website box. This is important when uploading your file. Click next and register your feed. Insure you select products from the drop down menu. The data feed file name is the same file name you downloaded earlier (usename.xml) Register your feed.

Once completed you will see the file name. Next to that is uploads. Click to manually upload your file now. Locate the file on your computer using the pop up window. Click upload and process file. You should now see the words 'Processing'. In a few moments (hours) your items will be uploaded and visible using the my items tab to the top right. If for some reason it comes back 'failed' try this processes over again and make sure all file names match. Your feed will stay live for 30 days. At that time you can repeat all of the above and stay active in the google shopping searches. Good Luck.


About the author: I am Amanda, owner extraordinaire of Sygnet Creations. I have been selling on etsy for over a year now and I loving it! I am a full time mom and military spouse. I tend to know a little about everything and I am always a friendly ear and convo away. Ask me anything.

Secrets of a Camera Novice - TUTORIAL

Well, maybe I'm not a novice, but I'm definitely an amateur. I'm Renovia from Endless Whimsy, I teach music and love photography,cats and polymer clay. I'm a member of the Sellers Assisting Sellers Mentor Team as well as co-treasurer of EFA Artists Helping Animals. I began taking photos for my Etsy shop with a Fujifilm CoolPix before I switched to a Nikon D40.

Here is one of the first photos of my sculptures: ------------>
(right) Pink Catnap Summer 2007
(below) Green Frolic Winter 2007

After I got my Nikon D40, I continued taking photos with my makeshift light box (two pieces of paper!). Only now, I had a better grasp on lighting – notice the background isn't as defined and the shadows are minimal – this is because I used indirect natural light. I also changed the angle of my photography.


Though my photography had improved, I still felt I hadn't developed my own 'style' yet. I looked at some really successful shops over on Etsy to see how they created their style in photos. They all had a way of photographing their items in a unique way that highlighted their beauty and functionality.

Alteration Tutorial

Here I'll walk you through my process of altering photos. I use Aperture (one of the best investments I've made next to my camera and my remote) but you can use Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Fireworks or a free program called GIMP. Either way, you'll need to do some fishing around to see what they call all the tools I refer to in the tutorial.


First, I chose my background for my photos. It's important to pick something that compliments your work. It should be simple and not take away from the object you are photographing. Here I used scrapbook paper.



Secondly, I set up my workspace. I chose my table because it has the most indirect natural lighting. I also have a tripod so I don't have blurry images. Sometimes you need to go a step further and use a remote or the self timer to eliminate camera shake.




***Remote Control and Tripod: it's a small investment for being able to take photos in a not so forgiving light – and NOT be blurry!








After I take the photos (at least 6 of each object) I settle in for some tea and alterations!


p.s. Take many, many photos if you want to fill your 5 slots on Etsy. I took 6 of each sculpture just to get my listing photo!




The Nitty-Gritty of Altering

Step by step alterations of a polymer oyster I purchased from Paula at PolymerPaws:

Photo: 1 Unaltered Photo 2: Auto Levels (not exposure) Photo 3: Up the Black Point

Photo 4: Up the Contrast Photo 5: Reduce the highlights Photo 6: Add Vignette

Photo 7: Crop Photo 8: Tilt the photo

FIRST PHOTO

FINAL PHOTO

And one more example using my own Ivy Frolic sculpture:

Photo 1: Unaltered Photo 2: Auto Exposure Photo 3 Fix Tint to 'blueish'

Photo 4: Up the Black Photo 5: Reduce the highlights Photo 6: Add Vignette

Photo 7: Crop

FIRST PHOTO

FINAL PHOTO

To get to this point, I read articles in the Storque on Etsy and also picked up some tips from tutorial sites on the internet. Amazingly, Etsy now has a mentor team that only existed in passing when I first started. When I started, I just asked for help and one amazing seller took me under their wing. Now there is a whole team of sellers ready to help you and answer your questions. Take the time to ask members of the Etsy Mentor Team for advice. They are your outlet for improving all aspects of your store, not just photography.