When I first started my Etsy shop I was in high school and, well, knew nothing about Etsy! It was just a place to put my work up with the hopes that someone may buy it. I got one sale.
It wasn't until this year when I decided to start taking my Etsy Shop serious. When I began studying the SEO, promoting, and creating like crazy, my sales started started increasing.
Now, I'm nowhere near an Etsy expert and my shop is still small. But, for those of you who are just starting out and are completely lost, this is what I have done that has helped increased my visits and sales.
1. Have AMAZING PHOTOS.
The NUMBER ONE thing on Etsy is your photos. This is the first thing customers see when searching Etsy. You want to make sure your photos stand out and are appealing. Making sure they are bright, clear, and easy to tell what you are selling. You don't need a fancy camera to do this, your iPhone or Samsung takes amazing photos. The key is to take photos in a natural lighting, such as outside in the shade or by a window. If you are unable to use natural lighting then I highly recommend using the led daylight bulbs as they are the closest to natural lighting. Doing this is going to ensure that you're properly portraying your products true colors. Also, if your products are small using a light box is an amazing way to take bright clear photos
2. Understanding SEO.
Besides your photos, your titles and tags are the next most important thing. They are the reason your products show up in search. So how do you use them?
Use long tail keywords. Ex. Original Abstract Oil Painting on Canvas, Pink and Black Abstract Painting, .... instead of painting, abstract, pink, ,canvas..... Think of things people might type when searching for your product.
Also, pick one or two important key words and repeat it multiple times, this will help you rank higher for that word. Ex. Peony oil painting, Pink Peony Painting, Peony canvas Painting, Peony Flower Painting.
Make sure you are using up all 160 characters in your title and all 13 tags
Copy and paste your title into your tags that way they match and you are more likely to rank higher for those keywords since you are using them repeatedly.
3. PROMOTE / Have a social presents
You can not rely on etsy alone if you want to start making sales. You need to be driving traffic directly to your shop. You can do this by joining Etsy Facebook groups that allow you to promote your products. Also, Consistently sharing on Instagram, and creating long graphics to pin on Pinterest.
You don't gave to be on every social media platform,and you definitely don't have to use paid advertising, but you do want to make sure that you have a social for presence and that your are constantly sharing.
My favorite two platforms that drive traffic to my shop are Instagram and Pinterest. I'm not going to go into to much detail on these at that would be an entire post so I will save that for another day. The important things to remember are:
Take good quality photos.
Share daily and be consistent.
Share more than just your products. give customers a glimpse inside your work area and let them get to know you.
My favorite Facebook groups: https://www.facebook.com/groups/EtsySellersandBuyers/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/thejoyfulmarketplace/
4. Create an email list.
This can be somewhat tricky on Etsy, but if done right can have an amazing outcome.
Now, Etsy does not allow you to email people without their consent so if you need to use a email platform form like Mailchimp so people can opt into your email list.
Etsy makes this kind of difficult for sellers as there isn't an exact spot to put your list and outside links are aren't clickable. So how do you share your sign up form?
create a graphic and share it in your listing photos
Leave the info in your product description.
Put it in your shop announcement,
Add it in your note to the buyer at checkout.
The fact that Etsy does not allow clickable outside links means the customer will have to copy and paste the URL which actually works in your favor because this means only serious buyers will sign up. How do you convince people to sign up? I like to offer a 10% off coupon code to those who sign up!
5. LIST!
There are thousands of sellers on Etsy and if you only have 5 listings then your not going to show up in that many search results. Try adding new items weekly ( If possible) and aim for 50-100 listings.
REMEMBER
Etsy takes time, it's not a overnight thing so be patient and keep up the hard work.
Etsy's SEO can take up to 3 months to fully take effect so if you make changes to your listings don't get discouraged if it takes a while to see a change, also I recommend only updating a few listings at a time.
It's a learning process and there will be many trial and errors, so just embrace it.
Do what you love and put all your heart into it and you will never go wrong.
Know your worth and don't compare your prices to others. If someone truly loves it then they will buy it.
Good Luck Etsy Sellers!
If you haven't opened up your shop yet i encourage you to do so! Here is a link to get your first 40 listings for free! https://etsy.me/2qVvjjf
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