The Etsy marketplace has made it easier for artisans and crafters to profit from their creativity. But in order to be a successful Etsy seller, you must do more than just set up your shop. You need to practice the entrepreneurial skills that all small business owners must learn if you want to stand out from your competitors.
So, we’ve put together a list of ten essential Etsy selling tips to help make your business a hit.
Become a Part of the Community
The Etsy community is vast, and it’s in your best interest to join it. Try participating in the site’s forums by providing feedback to other sellers and reaching out to your favorite Etsy sellers for advice. To build in-person outreach, search for local events in your community to participate in. Attending events within your own community, such as meetups and pop-up shops, are opportunities to spread awareness and network with other sellers and potential buyers.
Post Quality Photos
A picture is worth a thousand words, and even more on Etsy. Be sure that you’re using quality, high-resolution photos that show your products professionally. Use different angles and depths to show the detail of your items.
It’s always a good idea to post multiple images, with at least one of those photos showing the product in action. While you don’t have to hire a professional photographer, you need to use a good camera and present your products in a good light.
Know Your SEO
Many of your potential customers will come from internet searches. It is important to make your Etsy shop SEO-optimized. Doing so will help your shop and products rank near the top in web searches.
Be sure to consider everything from your business name to the product titles and descriptions. When writing product details, every aspect of the product should be addressed (size, color, condition, uses, shipping, etc.) to minimize any concerns from a customer while satisfying the search engines. Additionally, keeping your shop updated by adding new content will also help those optimize search results.
Start a Blog
Even if your products are unique, there will likely be other sellers that offer similar items. What sets your products apart relies on how well you promote your shop beyond the Etsy website. Starting a blog to share information about your products is one way to increase visibility apart from Etsy. Consider including details about yourself and your products (how they are manufactured, etc.), and be sure to use relevant keywords for SEO. Another great idea is to write about topics that your shoppers are interested in. For example, if you sell eco-friendly products, write blog posts about how your shopper can be eco-friendlier in their day-to-day lives.
Provide the Best Customer Service
Shoppers are more likely to buy from shops where they receive great service. Provide customers with the option to contact you by email, phone or chat. Keep your customers happy by replying quickly to any questions and feedback. Make sure to respond favorably to your customers if any problems arise, even if you feel that the issue wasn’t your fault. When on social media, be sure to reply to any comments or inquiries. Throughout the buyer’s journey, follow up with your customers to ensure that they’re enjoying their purchase. Sending out thank you emails or asking about their shopping experience shows customers your dedication to providing excellent service. Your best marketing efforts will come from happy, satisfied customers that recommend your products to their friends through word-of-mouth marketing tactics.
Build Your Brand
Branding isn’t just about your shop and your products. It’s also about you.
Launching your Etsy shop, creating unique products, providing outstanding service, and establishing yourself as an expert through blogging are all ways to establish your brand. Consider creating a distinctive logo for your shop. Use your new logo on your shop, ads, business cards, and packaging. This will help establish trust and confidence with your customers, indicating the quality of your products and brand.
Research Successful Etsy Sellers
Not only do you need to perform research about your particular product – to determine how it might sell, who your competition is, and how to price it appropriately – but you also need to take the time to research what other successful Etsy sellers are doing.
Take a look at the shops that appear frequently in the search results. Ask yourself, what are they doing right? What would you change to make it better? After observing other Etsy shops, start performing research to enhance your seller skillset. Finding blog articles, eBooks and podcasts from your favorite ecommerce platforms are a few ways to get started.
Market Your Brand on Social Media
Social media plays a huge part in today’s marketing strategies and in order to build a loyal following, strategic communication strategies are a must. To start, create profiles for your store on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at the least, and on other social media networks if you have the time to manage them. With social media, you can develop a relationship with your customers. Interacting with followers is a popular source of engagement that shows how personable your brand is. Something as simple as liking and responding to comments lets customers know that you appreciate their support. These platforms are also a good source for influencers to discover your brand and share it with their followers on social media.
Utilizing the story or live feature on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is a quick way to announce new products or any upcoming news about the company. If customers happen to post pictures with your products, feature them on your page (with their permission, of course) or story to increase engagement. This strategy increases your visibility and provides completely free marketing opportunities. You can promote your blog, products, sales, and discounts – and doesn’t cost anything more than your time.
Related: Here are some social media marketing tips to help you boost ecommerce revenue.
Create a Mailing List
Emails are a fast way to reach customers. By sending email campaigns, you can keep customers in the know of any new products, changes, or sales your business is holding. It’s also a great way to assist customers and seek feedback. This action helps maintain brand awareness by appearing in the shopper’s inbox every week. Creating a campaign may seem like a workload, but using email automation systems, such as Constant Contact, makes designing emails easy.
Be Creative with Packaging
Customers are always excited to receive their Etsy purchases, and you can make it even more exciting by providing creative, quality packaging. Not only will it delight your customers, it shows that you’re professional and appreciate their business. Add some unexpected personality to your packaging – something beyond boxes and envelopes. Include business cards with the product for customers to give to family and friends. The Etsy community is full of creative shoppers and sellers, so exceed that reputation with beautiful and creative packaging.
Conclusion
The key to selling on Etsy is to be credible. Focus your marketing efforts on customer service and how you’ll present your company to the public. Stay up to date on trends and continue to seek new tips through research. By establishing your business in every aspect (outreach, SEO, product quality), these actions will help build your brand and reputation on a great marketplace.
What do you think of our tips? Do you know how to sell on Etsy successfully? Let us know your tips and tricks in the comments below!
Curious About Etsy Inventory Management?
If you’re concerned about managing inventory on Etsy, consider using an automated inventory management system like ecomdash. These types of tools will sync your Etsy store to your other ecommerce channels, ensuring sales are accurate and consolidated.
This was great! Very useful!
ace. As someone who has only just about to dip my toe in the Etsy world it is really helpful. Cheers
Thanks Daniel! If you’re thinking about selling on Etsy, you may also be interested in these articles:
The Do’s and Don’ts of Listing Products on Etsy
Common Etsy Seller Mistakes to Avoid
This was really useful! Thank you for taking the time to post this. I am so excited to launch my Etsy shop in the next few weeks and I will take on board all of the points you have suggested. Thanks again Jo😊
Hey Jo,
Thanks for sharing! We’re happy to hear that you’re opening up a new Etsy store. Do you mind sharing your store’s link with some other information on the products? We’d love for other readers to check out your store as well! Once you have a large inventory, you may need some assistance. Luckily, we provide expert inventory management services that are perfect for ecommerce sellers large and small.
Happy Selling
Many thanks for these tips. I’m just getting started on Etsy again after being away for a few years.
Thank you, Barbara! If you’re getting started on Etsy again, make sure to check out some of the articles below. We hope you find them helpful!
The Do’s and Don’ts of Listing Products on Etsy
Common Etsy Seller Mistakes to Avoid
9 Essential Tips for Selling on Etsy
Thanks for this! Just started buying my materials and was feeling disheartened calculating the costs vs. how much I can actually make.
This was informative regarding the selling and marketing aspect but I also feel uplifted knowing that spending time/money on how I package and present my product is going to be appreciated:)
We’re glad you found the information helpful! Selling handmade items can be tricky, so if you need more tips, check out these articles:
Common Etsy Seller Mistakes to Avoid
What is Amazon Handmade?
hi i have been on etsy for months but i am not getting sales.tried many things
Hey Rani,
We totally get your frustration. Here are some articles to help you with your Etsy marketing strategy:
The Do’s and Don’ts of Listing Products on Etsy
Common Etsy Seller Mistakes to Avoid
4 Ways to Refresh Your Ecommerce Marketing Strategy
Hope this helps!
what a great article . I appreciate for your information. thank’s
All good advice, EXCEPT…. DO NOT participate in the Etsy forums – under ANY circumstances. All though there are a FEW really good sellers who OCCASIONALLY post there, for the most part the frequenters and the regulars are the shop owners you want to avoid – not emulate. They may even have good advice from time to time but in large their info is either outdated or delivered with a slant towards their own shop. Customers know it. I’ve been told by many that if they want to check out a seller from a shop they are contemplating buying from, they will first visit the forums to see IF and WHAT that seller has posted. They get a really good picture of what any transaction will be like just looking at how they conduct themselves there. So, in that regard, the forums can be useful. Etsy itself NEVER chimes in there to answer legitimate questions or concerns, so keep your business YOUR business and stick to trying to contact Etsy directly.
Hey Bill,
That’s really good advice! A lot of new sellers wouldn’t know that. We’ve also created a list of mistakes that new Etsy sellers MUST avoid. Give this guide a read and let us know what you think. Do you have any other tips for Etsy sellers?
Thanks!
Very informative article, for a newbie like me who will be entering the Etsy platform in a few months. Its daunting but at the same time, can’t wait to start the journey.
Thanks
Hey,
Thanks for the feedback, we’re glad you found this article useful. We’re really happy to hear you’ll be starting your ecommerce journey, it’s an exciting endeavor! What kind of products will you be selling? We’d love to hear more about your ecommerce company. If you’re looking for some more information on Etsy, we have lots of content that can assist you in this journey. Check out some of these top etsy apps. Also, to stand out, use some of these Etsy SEO tips. Let us know what you think.
Happy Selling!
Thanks for the tips. I have a question, what about paid advertising? Either via etsy or on other platforms such as pinterest? Would you advise this for new sellers?
Hey, we’re glad you enjoyed this article! And that’s a great question, paid advertising can be very beneficial but expensive. Luckily there are several types of paid advertising ranging in price. While traditional advertising like television is more expensive, more modern digital ads (like Ecommerce PPC) and social media advertising allows smaller businesses to promote their brand without breaking the bank. We hope these articles help! Let us know what you think.
Good Luck!
Thank you so much for these helpful tips. I really liked your “start a blog” idea.
We opened our shop three months ago, and we love the platform so far. Setting up our shop was quite time consuming. But now the process feels a bit easier.
We also recently created our Instagram page and would love to support other members of the Etsy community. Our handle is @dmteesdesigns. Leave your links below so we can check them out! 🙂
Hey,
Thank you for your feedback, we’re glad you enjoyed the article! We checked out your Instagram and really enjoyed your t-shirt designs. Let us know if there are any other topics that you’d like us to cover.
Thanks