Marketing Tips for Online Sellers -The Importance of a Good Avatar

An avatar is a graphic image that represents your store on the Internet.  If you sell handmade items or supplies on Etsy or Artfire, your avatar shows up right by your name on the homepage of your store.  You can also see your avatar right near your comment if you post a question or answer in the forums.  Also if you send a convo or message to a buyer or seller within Etsy or Artfire, your avatar will show.

Something I haven't heard anyone mention in all of my marketing reading is the importance of a good avatar.  And since this is the photo people come to recognize as you and your store, what makes for a good avatar?

If you go to the forums on Etsy or Artfire,  you will see people use photos of themselves, photos of one of their items, or a photo that is irrelevant to what they are selling as their avatar, such as their child or pet.  As a buyer, what draws me to click on a shop is not the shop name, but if I can see what it is that is being sold in that shop.  A clear, colorful photo is a lot more interesting and it grabs my attention better than any other image.  It gives me a good idea about what the seller is selling, and if it is something I am interested in seeing more of.  And believe me, I have made purchases, and I am probably not alone, by being directed to a shop because of their avatar. 

In addition to a good photo of something you sell, if your avatar has your shop name on it, that also makes it, and consequently your shop, more recognizable. And you really do want name recognition. Repetition, repetition, repetition is what my husband reminds me is needed for a buyer to feel comfortable with you as a seller.

I hope this is helpful advice for some of my readers. As with all advice, use what feels helpful and disregard the rest.