Facebook Ad Credit Follow-Up

On February 10th I posted about how you can get a $100 Facebook advertising credit in this post. It's very simple to acquire and you don't have to sign up for anything or give out any personal information; all you have to do is add a Facebook Application to your existing personal Facebook account.

At the bottom of the post I updated on my experience with the Facebook ad credit so far on February 15th. Here's what I wrote:

So I created four different ads targeting different age ranges, education levels, and interests. Three of the ads were busts; very little traffic. One of them has been FANTASTIC and created a lof traffic to my shop and resulted in several sales this weekend. I know for a fact that those sales came from my ad because the buyers told me they found me from my Facebook ad in the 'note to seller.' I am thrilled that this ad is working out. I probably would not have tried out so many different ads if I was having to pay for each of them, so I am very grateful for this ad credit. I also discovered that paying per 1,000 impressions was the way to go for me since I was getting several clicks per 1,000 impressions. If I had chosen to pay per click, the ads would be costing more. So far, since I've started this ad I've had four sales totaling about $100 and the ad has "cost" me about $8.

Since then I have discovered that I get the most clicks on the weekends. I am still getting lots of traffic but haven't had any sales as a result of the ad since the weekend has passed. Paying per 1000 impressions still seems like the way to go to get the most out of my money.

I've shared what has worked well for me, but you may get different results. If you decide to try out the $100 ad credit, you should try different ads for different age ranges, education levels, interests, as well as some that are pay per click and pay per 1000 impressions to find what works best for you. If anyone has any questions about advertising on Facebook, please feel free to convo me in my Etsy shop, or leave a comment on this post. I will try to answer your questions as best I can. Good luck! :)

Here are some questions that have been asked:

1) Mistyridge - I am a little confused on the pay per clicks vs. pay per impressions. could you explain that.

If you choose to pay per click, then you will pay X amount every time someone clicks on your ad. If you choose to pay per impression, you will pay X amount for every 1000 impressions. Impressions are when Facebook posts your ad on someone's page in the ad space. You get to choose what X amount is when you set up your ad.

2) Alissa - I haven't clicked the link yet, but is it safe? Do you have to provide credit card information? I do see a lot of familiar Etsians in my facebook side bar!

The link leads to the Visa Business group application on Facebook, just like any other link to a Facebook App. It's an official Facebook Application page and it doesn't ask for any personal information except for your name.

3) BdoozleZ - I have a facebook personal page and business page. would like to look into it, but don't want to sign up for a visa card or anything like that... does it require this?

No, you do not have to sign up for anything like a Visa card. All you have to do is add the application to your account.

4) Mireasma - It seems like a great idea, but I don't understand what the Visa network thing is.

It's simply a business networking and resource group.

5) Go Fetch Gifts - So I created my ad, entered my info, and was told my coupon code had expired or already been used. I never used it and just got in in my email on the 10th. I wonder if they've suspended this offer.

I'm pretty sure the offer is still valid. If you experience a glitch like this, email the Facebook support team in charge of advertising. Hopefully they can straighten it out.

Tuesday Tip - $100 Facebook Ad Credit

There's been a lot of talk recently about advertising on Facebook and whether or not it is an effective advertising venue. If you don't know what Facebook is, it's a free-access social networking site where users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and many other ways. I have always used Facebook since college to stay in touch with friends that I no longer see. Recently I discovered that it could be a potential venue for advertising my Etsy shop.


Facebook offers targeted advertising on their site. I've heard many people have success with it, and then some who felt like they spent a lot of money for nothing. With Facebook you can choose who sees your ad based on different factors like age, sex, interests and location. This enables you to create a very specific target audience. You can also set up the ad to pay per click or pay per impression.


Still unsure about whether you want to fork out the cash to test it out? Use this link to get a $100 Facebook ad credit. If you have a personal account on Facebook, simply sign up for the Visa Business Group, fill out a profile, and you will be sent an email with the credit. You don't have to apply for a Visa card or anything like that. It doesn't take any personal information from you other than your name. You can volunteer more info if you like. It's like free money! Why not sign up and find out if Facebook is the right place for you to advertise? I'm testing it out right now. Good luck to you!

**For those fearful of clicking on links, the above link simply leads to the Facebook App. It's just like any other App page on Facebook, like the Etsy-Mini Facebook App.

***UPDATE: FEBRUARY 15th***
So I created four different ads targeting different age ranges, education levels, and interests. Three of the ads were busts; very little traffic. One of them has been FANTASTIC and created a lof traffic to my shop and resulted in several sales this weekend. I know for a fact that those sales came from my ad because the buyers told me they found me from my Facebook ad in the 'note to seller.' I am thrilled that this ad is working out. I probably would not have tried out so many different ads if I was having to pay for each of them, so I am very grateful for this ad credit. I also discovered that paying per 1,000 impressions was the way to go for me since I was getting several clicks per 1,000 impressions. If I had chosen to pay per click, the ads would be costing more. So far, since I've started this ad I've had four sales totaling about $100 and the ad has "cost" me about $8.

For more updates and answers to frequently asked questions, see -----> this post.

Four Tips On Growing A Business In Today's Marketplace

This is a repost, but I thought it would be helpful to bring it back up in honor of the new year. :)

A month or two back, my dog-related networking group, The K9 Circle, hosted a guest speaker who talked about "Four Vital Essentials To Growing A Business In Today's Marketplace." The talented man who gave the presentation was Aaron Mangal of Magnetic Messages. I've been re-reading his presentation and thought I'd share the basics with you.

To begin with, what is entrpreneurship? Aaron gave us a quote from Jeff Bezos, "Entrepreneurship is really more about a state of mind than it is about working for yourself. It's about being resourceful, it's about problem solving. If you meet people who seem like really good problem solvers, step back, and you'll see that they are self-reliant." He also described for us a very interesting study. In a study published in Getting Rich Your Own Way, 1500 middle class workers were asked about their career goals and were subsequently tracked for 20 years. At the end of the study 101 out of the 1500 were millionaires. So who of those individuals was more successful in their business? Of those 1500 people, 83% made their career decisions based on money and 17% chose their careers based on passion. And here's the interesting part; 99% of the 101 millionaires came from the 17% based on passion. So to all of you out there who do what you love for a living, especially you fellow Etsians, your chances of becoming a millionaire have dramatically increased. ;)

So let's talk briefly about advertising. This is where vital essential number one comes in; we are in the Information Age, so it’s time to study, meaning, know where consumers get their information. Here are some statistics on the traditional venues of advertising and marketing. Only 18% of TV ads generate a positive return of investment. Fifty percent of newspaper readers are doing another activity at the same time and 46% of magazine readers do the same. So what seems to be the best avenue for marketing and doing business in today's marketplace? The internet! There were 22,368,960 billion views of User Generated Content in 2007. Research what tools you have on the internet to market your business.

So when using the internet to market and conduct business, we should remember vital essential number two, use transparency as a new guiding principle. Our conversation with the marketplace must be honest, authentic and completely “see through.” Why is this? Your marketing cannot defeat a community, you can't trick people (nor should you want to), there's nowhere to hide, and your secrets aren't safe (of course, if you're an artist, there are some techniques that you must keep to yourself to keep your work unique to you). This is all especially true for the internet, so take a vow to be authentic, empathetic and honest with your market. Your consumers will recognize and appreciate it.

This brings us to vital essential number three, become a friend and an expert to win the market over. Being a friend and an expert of a particular subject makes you a maven, and with the internet today, virtually anyone can become an expert in any field. Friends are trusted and salespeople are despised. There’s only one way to cross over; become a maven. Here are four steps to become a maven:

• Choose a subject area you’re passionate about
• Commit to lifelong learning
• Work hard and smart to create world-class content
• Build a knowledge base and fill it with relevant cutting edge tools

Finally, this brings us to vital essential number four, share value through expertise, time, ideas and commitment. Sharing with your market in this way shows that you care about your customers. Sharing knowledge leads to very happy customers. Find ways you can share your ideas, time, and commitment with your market.

So, the overreaching goal of the entrepreneur is to utilize these four essentials to create an environment where the value of you being in that enviroment is greater than the value of the environment without you. Basically, make yourself vital to your market. :)

Again, I'd like to extend a special thank you to Aaron Mangal for joining the K9 Circle and sharing his expertise, allowing me to share it with you. I hope these tips help some of you entrepreneurs and fellow Etsians out there. Enjoy building you business and keep on doing what you love!

Four Tips On Growing A Business In Today's Marketplace

A month or two back, my dog-related networking group, The K9 Circle, hosted a guest speaker who talked about "Four Vital Essentials To Growing A Business In Today's Marketplace." The talented man who gave the presentation was Aaron Mangal of Magnetic Messages. I've been re-reading his presentation and thought I'd share the basics with you.

To begin with, what is entrpreneurship? Aaron gave us a quote from Jeff Bezos, "Entrepreneurship is really more about a state of mind than it is about working for yourself. It's about being resourceful, it's about problem solving. If you meet people who seem like really good problem solvers, step back, and you'll see that they are self-reliant." He also described for us a very interesting study. In a study published in Getting Rich Your Own Way, 1500 middle class workers were asked about their career goals and were subsequently tracked for 20 years. At the end of the study 101 out of the 1500 were millionaires. So who of those individuals was more successful in their business? Of those 1500 people, 83% made their career decisions based on money and 17% chose their careers based on passion. And here's the interesting part; 99% of the 101 millionaires came from the 17% based on passion. So to all of you out there who do what you love for a living, especially you fellow Etsians, your chances of becoming a millionaire have dramatically increased. ;)

So let's talk briefly about advertising. This is where vital essential number one comes in; we are in the Information Age, so it’s time to study, meaning, know where consumers get their information. Here are some statistics on the traditional venues of advertising and marketing. Only 18% of TV ads generate a positive return of investment. Fifty percent of newspaper readers are doing another activity at the same time and 46% of magazine readers do the same. So what seems to be the best avenue for marketing and doing business in today's marketplace? The internet! There were 22,368,960 billion views of User Generated Content in 2007. Research what tools you have on the internet to market your business.

So when using the internet to market and conduct business, we should remember vital essential number two, use transparency as a new guiding principle. Our conversation with the marketplace must be honest, authentic and completely “see through.” Why is this? Your marketing cannot defeat a community, you can't trick people (nor should you want to), there's nowhere to hide, and your secrets aren't safe (of course, if you're an artist, there are some techniques that you must keep to yourself to keep your work unique to you). This is all especially true for the internet, so take a vow to be authentic, empathetic and honest with your market. Your consumers will recognize and appreciate it.

This brings us to vital essential number three, become a friend and an expert to win the market over. Being a friend and an expert of a particular subject makes you a maven, and with the internet today, virtually anyone can become an expert in any field. Friends are trusted and salespeople are despised. There’s only one way to cross over; become a maven. Here are four steps to become a maven:

• Choose a subject area you’re passionate about
• Commit to lifelong learning
• Work hard and smart to create world-class content
• Build a knowledge base and fill it with relevant cutting edge tools

Finally, this brings us to vital essential number four, share value through expertise, time, ideas and commitment. Sharing with your market in this way shows that you care about your customers. Sharing knowledge leads to very happy customers. Find ways you can share your ideas, time, and commitment with your market.

So, the overreaching goal of the entrepreneur is to utilize these four essentials to create an environment where the value of you being in that enviroment is greater than the value of the environment without you. Basically, make yourself vital to your market. :)

Again, I'd like to extend a special thank you to Aaron Mangal for joining the K9 Circle and sharing his expertise, allowing me to share it with you. I hope these tips help some of you entrepreneurs and fellow Etsians out there. Enjoy building you business and keep on doing what you love!