Let's talk about advertising - heartsabustin

This time a busy multiple shop owner is with us to answer a few questions about the effectiveness of off-Etsy paid advertising for both of her shops - heartsabustin and 1mADwoman.

Q.  Where did your ads appear? How long did they run?
A.  I've placed ads at EtsyStalker.com, Craftcult, Craftopolis, and PolymerClayDaily.com.
It's varied - I've run the ad at EtsyStalker for a month, and it's still up right now. Craftcult and Craftopolis, I've run as long as a month. I tried PCDaily for one week, and will probably try them again in the future.

Q.  What did the ad/s cost?
A.  Month-long ads at Craftopolis are $55, and week long are $15; the ads at Craftcult are similar, I believe. The ad at EtsyStalker is $20 a month for a sidebar, and the ad at polymerclaydaily was $15 for one week. With Craftcult, it depends on whether you're running a straight sidebar or doing their combo. Combo ads are sidebar for 4 days and the rotating carousel at the top for 7 days for $28. I find those to be very effective.

Q.  What results did you expect?
A.   I got (and expected) lots of hearts and views off the initial Craftcult and Craftopolis ads. The last few times have been a little slower in the rate of hearts and views, but I've still been getting them. The ads at EtsyStalker and PCDaily have been low, but it's advertisement. I may try one of the more expensive Shadowboxes at EtsyStalker soon. I'm not sure that I've ever gotten a sale directly from an ad I've run, but hey, there's always this week!

Q.  How did you measure your results?
A.   I used Google Analytics to measure where the hits were coming from.

Q.  How did the ads do? Were they effective quickly and/or over time?
A.  They're effective both ways, quickly and over time. Sources say that some people have to see an ad 15 - 20 times before they'll check it out. I try to make my ads beautiful and clickable and simple.

Q.  Would you advertise again?
A.  I will absolutely advertise again!

Q.  What, if anything, would you do differently in future advertising?
A.  I'll try to seek more off-Etsy venues (Craftcult and Craftopolis are awesome, but I'm seeing far fewer views with them than I used to.)

Q.  Anything else you'd like to add?
A.  I design ads, so if anyone is interested, I've got good rates. That's how my other shop - 1mADwoman - started out.