Baby Got Bling AKA My New Love for Etsy
I’ve written before about the expense of buying author promotional items. We all have small budgets for this. Okay, maybe mine is VERY small. Anyway, I recently found a way to purchase some items at a reasonable price. I have discovered Etsy. No, not discovered as in Christopher Columbus discovered America or Bill Gates discovered Microsoft. I mean that I have found a new love that gives meaning to the word shiny.
Etsy.com is a place for artists and vendors to set up an online shop with their goods. If you are crazy about Pinterest, you are in big trouble now. Because Etsy is like Pinterest with price stickers. Umm hmm…
I joined Etsy and did a search for book promotional items. I found several. I wanted special items that I could give as contest prizes, beta reader perks, and street team gifts. Click on any of the images below to see a larger view.
Prices (before shipping fees):
- custom bookmark = $5.00 from Sophie’s Beads
- custom large pendant and tree charm necklace $12.99 from Sophie’s Beads (note: My husband insists that I keep this one and order more. It’s amazing. Who am I to argue?)
- custom paper book pendants $2.00 each. I plan to attach these to leather cord necklaces at $.50 each. Pendant from The Book Swag shop. Leather cords from Barsikmoy. Complete necklace price will be $2.50
- Ball chain ($4.00 from a local shop, not Etsy) and small pendant ($2.99 from Sophie’s Beads) necklace on my beta reader (including a $.30 bail to hang it) at $7.29. I’ve now ordered organza ribbon necklaces and leather cord ones from Barsikmoy at $.50 each to bring down this price to $3.79.
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- custom bookmark
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- Large pendant and tree charm necklace
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- paper pendants
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- ball chain with small pendant
I’ve already ordered more items. Keep in mind that I know this is too expensive to hand out at conferences. If you’ve been following this series, you know that I use my collector cards for that purpose. I plan to give the jewelry as special gifts. I ordered some charm bracelets as well.
I love the bookmark, but I’m not sure if I’ll order more of those. I’m also considering keychains and cell phone earphone jack dust covers with my book covers.
Have you been on Etsy? Are you scared to find yet another great place to browse forever? Warning: set a timer.
BIO: Brinda lives in the southern US with her family and two spunky cairn terriers. She’s terribly fond of chocolate, coffee, and books that take her away from reality.
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How much money to spend on SWAG is a tough decision, but these are all lovely choices and don’t cost too much. I’d even think about $1.50-$2.00 for a conference, if it were a reader centered con and you were specifically handing out to your target audience, not the whole con. I know lots of people on Etsy, it is very cool! I love that the books look like they have pages, like real books. I’ve done the shrinky dink book covers, but they don’t have pages. What a great prize for a street team!
It is tough to know how much to invest. I’m tempted to write tiny notes in the paper pendants. You can actually flip through the pages.
Brinda, I also love Etsy for ordering. I loved it so much I opened my own shop there. Not for promo material or the types of things Gloria’s readers would need to help with inexpensive promos. It’s nice to know I now belong to yet another community of great people who share what they love
http://www.etsy.com/shop/FindsOfTheCity
I am a new Etsy fan. I will follow your shop!
Great post, Brinda! I tweeted it!
Thanks, Ally!
Thank you for the shout out….I truly enjoyed working on your mini books
~Christine (The Book Swag Shop)
I’ll be back for more. I love my books that you made. They are spectacular.
This is amazing, Brinda! My daughter showed me the way to Etsy a long time ago and I have made jewelry for years so the two ideas in one post just tinkle together on my gold chain. I’ll definitely look into this for The Loyalist’s Wife coming out soon.
This idea is made for you. You will have a blast with it.
Great finds, Brinda!
I’ve heard of Etsy, but haven’t ever sampled it yet. Those items are very cool though. Very unique.
Cool. I’ll have to check them out.
I hadn’t heard of Etsy, but it sounds dangerous. A part of me is glad that the ocean between the US and NZ makes postage expensive
Verrry dangerous. lol.
Adorable! Thanks for the links and info.
Oh no, you didn’t! Why?? I didn’t need to know about Etsy.
But thank you thank you thank you.
)
You always have such great ideas, Brinda. I want to be just like you when I grow up.
Yes, a little scared to visit because your purchases look fantastic. You do always have the best ideas, Brinda, I don’t know when you sleep.
I love swag. It’s great fun. I also love bookmarks and couldn’t help designing one for Rhapsody (even if they are banned from conferences). Etsy is taking bookmarks to a whole new level!
Seems so long as we have the budget, Etsy has the imagination. Wonderful swag items for special giveaways. Like!
Oh no!!! Why oh Why did I read this post!!!! Etsy here I come!! ooops I mean thank you Brinda!
Actually, we have an Etsy event here in Brooklyn during the Christmas season. So many vendors were there and we purchased a lot of good items for gifts. I was impressed with the talent. I’ll let my fiancee’ know about this.
Phil
http://www.blog.theregularguynyc.com
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Brinda, great ideas, love them, but when I go to Sophie’s Beads, I do not see the custom bookmarks anywhere. Even a search doesn’t pull them up. Do you have a specific link to them? thanks!
Melissa- Sophie will give you a special link for a custom order. If you are requesting a bookmark with your book cover, just use the email within Etsy to send her a message and attach your book cover. She will send you a custom order link for a bookmark. You can reference mine if you like and she’ll know the item.