So I am in no yet an expert on how to grow Etsy shop (check it out!), but I am doing a lot of research and will share it here. I watched a bunch of videos on YouTube, read Etsy Seller Handbook and downloaded The Ultimate Guide to Selling on Etsy from Amazon (because I am a huge fan of Amazon, and do all my shopping through them, I signed up for their Amazon Associate Program, and will receive a small commission from qualifying purchases). I am still reading the book (by the way, it’s FREE with Kindle Unlimited — so much information there!), but here is what I am applying to my shop:
Create lots of listings. I only have 14 at the moment and in the process of adding more. The more listings you have, the better! All of the successful stores have a lot of listings.
Take beautiful pictures. No matter what product you want to sell, you have to make sure it looks its best. For some people it goes without saying but it's worth reminding! Use a mock up to show your product in a setting. I sell prints so I show them in the frame on the wall in different settings. I used stock websites to find templates for my work — some are free, some are part of the paid membership. It helps people visualize how your product works. I am a designer by trade so it was easy for me to create a mock up in Photoshop, but some people have to go an extra mile to learn how to use the program. If you don’t want to learn Photoshop, there is a free design tool Canva. I personally never had the need to use it, but Internet claims that it’s pretty easy to navigate :)
Use all the attributes and fill out every field, when you create a listing. Each field works as a keyword, so it helps Etsy to get your listing in front of the right customer, who is searching for the specific product. Carefully read the listings of your best-selling competition to see how they use keywords.
Use the right and very specific keywords. There are two types: short-tail and long-tail keywords. You have to aim for the long-tail to make sure your shop appears in the search. (Long-tail keywords are more specific – and usually longer – than more commonly searched for keywords. For example, “high-quality lemon art print” is a long-tail keyword, while “art print” is a shot-tail keyword). The best way to learn what keywords to use is to use tools, such as eRank. It has free and paid options, I am using free for now but considering to upgrade.
There are many other tools, but I would stick with just one or two in the beginning, because they do require some learning and research… and if you use multiple tools, you are risking to get stuck in the research phase forever. (Well, maybe not forever, but for a long long time… that definitely happened to me!)
Get first sales and reviews. Ask friends and family to help get your shop off the ground, and offer them a free product for their review. First of all no one would wanna be the first customer and risk having a problem with their order. So potential customers have to see that the shop is up and running and reviews will help them to see that. Second, it's best to test the shop with your friends and family who want to support you and won't get mad at you for any mishaps in the beginning.
Always test the fist shipments. Testing helped me realize that I should change the processing time from 1 business day to 1-3 business days. First, I put 1 business day as I read it somewhere that customers love the 1 business day processing time and are more likely to order from that shop. What I didn't consider is that I am using an outside printer and while my processing time takes 1 business day, theirs take 2-3. Hence the change. Second, Etsy asking for the tracking numbers, otherwise they won't let you move the orders from "processing" to "complete" sections. So keep that USPS receipt with your tracking, if you are shipping out yourself. (Something easy to forget when you are using to shoving the receipts in any bag you are currently carrying). Adding tracking will help you to earn the Star Seller badge — something that will definitely show customers that they can trust your shop!
Check on how your shop is doing. Yes, that's a simple one but I somehow skipped that step! I thought of it as my side gig, so I created the listings... and forgot about it for a few weeks. No sales happened during these weeks. I decided to check on it month later... and found out that my account was suspended! I don't know for how long my shop was out, and considering that you are paying for you listings to stay active, that was a huge disappointment. I never received an email from Etsy that they are suspending my shop, so it came as a surprise. I emailed them, and week later they reactivated the shop without ever explaining what happened in the first place. Check in on your shop.
Be an active Etsy shop owner. Etsy loves to see that there is an activity in your shop, and Etsy algorithm rewards you by boosting your listings. Create new listings often (at least once a week), or update other information about the shop. This I learned from The Ultimate Guide to Selling on Etsy, but they recommend not to update tags and categories more than once a month.
Add an image of yourself and a few words about yourself to the listing. I noticed several illustrators do it, and I loved reading about them! People love buying from people and not faceless businesses. If you don't know what to write about yourself, try this: "write about what the name of your shop means, why you are selling your products, why are you passionate about your shop, how you started doing what you are doing.”
Run Etsy ads when you already have several sales. It’s best to have some initial budget for getting your shop off the ground. Etsy ads won’t help to get the first sales (remember, normally customers wouldn’t want to be the very first ones in your shop), but can help get more sales. Even if no sales come from the ads, customers who click on the ads and visit your shop will show Etsy algorithm that there is interest and Etsy won’t move your listings to the end of the line.
These are the top 10, but of course there is a lot more that can be done to grow the Etsy shop. I am happy to report that my shop earned a Star Seller Badge for August! I am still in the beginning of the journey and will share the updates in this blog!
