The Etsy Experiment -- Packaging and Platform

Packaging: What is it that makes a gift look better if there's tissue paper in the box?

Why is a glossy recipe card with a picture more appealing to work from than the same recipe in plain type?

The few times I've shipped out orders for handmade stuff, they looked so forlorn (even wrapped in tissue paper!) -- as if they were missing something.

In an attempt to add that bit of a finishing touch, Wrist Waffles have labels (also because I really enjoy dabbling with CorelDraw!). It's also a good place to put the care instructions, even though they appear in the listing.

Platform: Why Etsy? If I was going to do this from scratch and seriously try to make a go of it, I think I'd carefully research other marketplaces in addition to or instead of Etsy. But I already had a shop there, so it was kind of a no-brainer.

Sometimes I want to print business cards that say "Find me on Etsy...I dare you." I could be wrong, but the Etsy interface seems a little overwhelming and navigation is a bit of a pain in the butt. We as sellers pretty much know how to get around, but how does it look like to someone who's just interested in buying handmade or vintage?

Anyway, that's where I am -- ready to start the most difficult and unpleasant, but maybe most interesting phase of this little experiment, which is promotion. And since that's most likely going to be an ongoing process of trial and error, I'll just update periodically on what, if anything, seems to be working.