Selling On Etsy, Tips and Tricks
Updated: Jun 21, 2022
I really believe that Etsy is an incredible platform. They highlight the maker community in a way that actually centres our voices instead of caving to the corporate companies. Etsy feels like a home for the handmade, which is why I’ve spent the last three years growing my Etsy platform and learning all of the little tricks to set a maker up for success.
Creating Your Shop
Once you’ve discovered your shop name, created your logo and linked your Etsy to all your business related accounts, it’s a little tricky to go backwards. Make sure you really love your shop name and branding. To help you with this big decisions, ask yourself these questions;
Who am I creating for?
What is my purpose and how can I communicate that through my brand?
What feels authentic and original to me?
How will people recognize me?
Creating the Listings
The more descriptive words you add in the title of your listing, the more likely you are to get found through the Etsy search. For example, one of my most viewed and purchased listings has the title, "Custom Cat Painting, Watercolour Pet Portrait, Home Decor, Personalized Gift, Cat Lovers".
A bonus tip is to use the descriptor words throughout the rest of your listing. For example, I’d repeat the words (decor, personalized, cat lover) in the description and in the listing tags. This will give your listing a higher chance of finding the right crowds.
Should I Advertise on Etsy?
Yes. Whenever I turn on Etsy’s ads I always get way more shop traction which in turn helps me pop up in searches. More traction is a good way to achieve long-term shop success. This is because most sales happen when people see your product several times. Having shoppers favourite listings or save them in their cart, could be the reminder that turns into a sale.
Run Sales and Promotions
I’m constantly running sales. When you run a sale or set up a promotion for abandoned carts, you’re reminding potential buyers of your existence, which is sometimes that last piece they needed to feel confident in buying from you. It shows people that you’re an active shop and gets the listing in front of customers.
What's The Deal With Shipping?!
People are less likely to buy from a shop that charges shipping. Sadly, shipping with tracking is not cheap and is a huge fee for the seller to front. Depending on what you’re selling, you could customize your listings to offer shipping without tracking, which is way more affordable for everyone involved. I’ve never had a problem sending out orders without tracking. The downside is that Etsy doesn’t favour this selling option and it will effect your rank/chances of becoming a star seller. Personally, I like giving my customers options and offering shipping upgrades with tracking if they are interested.
Shipping may take some time to figure out, keep trying different options until you find a way that works best for your products and customers.
How Else Can I Promote My Shop?
You can try posting your listings through Pinterest, setting up an instagram, getting a website or trying out TikTok. Personally, I only promote through Etsy and very rarely cross promote on my other channels.
Once you have enough buyers, admires and supporters the need to cross promote isn’t as prevalent. Back when I did cross promote, it found it didn’t effect my sales very much. Most of my sales are through people finding me on Etsy or through an offsite ad that I paid for though Etsy. Again, this is going to take some time to figure out, practice patience with this one and be open to trying different things.
It Just Takes Time
It takes time to start selling. My shop goes through periods of drought and then all of the sudden a listing gets popular and a rush of sales come through. Even though the periods of sales drought are frustrating, we are more likely to make profit with Etsy when we give it time to grow. Like I said before, traction is good and customers sometimes need to build trust with you first before making a purchase.
With the help of ads, sales, reviews, campaigns and witty listings, you could find that Etsy is the perfect platform for your products. A home for your one of kind products to find their home!