Places to Be Seen!

Whether you are selling your crafty wares on your own website, Etsy, or any of the other fabulous sounding sites out there, there are a myriad of ways to get your name, and your products, known out there in this big world. I am a shop owner on Etsy, so I would like to list and describe a few ways that I believe have helped me get my name out there.
1.) www.flickr.com is a large photo sharing website. With a free account, you can upload 200 photos. From there, you can send each photo to a maximum of 10 groups. Groups have their own little corners of flickr, and have a chance to pool pictures uploaded by users all over the world. The groups are separated by interest, color, themes, photo subjects~ you name it, there is most likely a group for it. By joining these groups, and sending your photos to the groups' pools, you have a good chance to be seen. The free account comes with basic stats~ how many people viewed each picture, how many views your entire photostream has gotten, and how many comments each picture recieves. Their rules include not putting your website in the description, and just promoting yourself in your profile. Even if it doesn't lead to any direct sales, it still an excellent opportunity to show the world your talents.
2.) www.linkreferral.com is a link exchange website. You register your website with them, and you receive a ranking in their database of sites. To improve your ranking, you must browse through other people's websites, a maximum of 30 a day. You can also improve your ranking by reviewing other people's sites. I like looking through other people's Etsy shops that are registered there, because it gives me a chance to browse through other people's work that perhaps I would not have seen before. It gives you stats on how many people visit your site through linkreferral, and shows any reviews that people give you.
3.) Social networking sites, such as www.weloveetsy.com and www.indiepublic.com are great for making friends who love, for example, Etsy, as much as you. You can upload your photos of your work, and add people as friends. It's a lot of fun, and again, even if it doesn't lead to any sales, you are still reaching a crowd of people who might not have even heard of your shop. And it's good to form a circle of supportive people around you who are as into creating, and having an indie business as you are.
4.) www.twitter.com This is a fun, pretty addicting site where you submit tiny blogs about various parts of your day~ if people find your "mini blogs" interesting, they put you on their list of people to follow. you can tweet about anything. Many people tweet about their business. You can put your website in your profile and have a chance to be seen by your followers.

I have no doubt that this is just the tip of the iceburg~ the Internet is a vast place with so many places to see...and perhaps be seen!