Original photo by The Merrythought
I’ve been blogging about my journey with Etsy for a while on Always Rooney and while it is fun to hear my ups and downs and monotonous moments of running my own shop, I’m sure you are far more interested in the nitty-gritty details of why my shop has been successful. One of my favorite things is hearing a friend announce they opened their own shop or are in the process of opening their own shop! (Look out soon for a post of new shops you should check out) The biggest question and hurdle for most shop owners (including myself) is “How do I gain more Etsy traffic?!” That is no easy question to answer, there is no formula that is bullet proof and there are probably so many more tips out there than the ten I listed below. But these are the top ten things that have worked for me. Try them out and let me know how they worked for you!
Create relationship with potential customers. Not everyone who contacts, follows, or favorites an item will purchase your product. Many will contact you with a question about your product. When you communicate, create a relationship with your customer! It is important to know that a lot of customers make purchases because of their trust of the seller. Get to know why they are making the purchase, if it is for a special event or gift and when they need the product by. This will create relationship and even if they aren’t completely committed to making a purchase now, they will always remember your interaction and keep it in mind for future purchases!
Work with bloggers/stylists/brands you admire. The most important part of this is brands you admire. If you haven’t worked with someone promoting your brand before, you may be surprised that it actually involves a bit of work, follow up and not to mention: giving away your product in exchange for publicity. I choose very carefully who I like to send products to, but I know other brands that will send products to everyone. Whatever you choose, choose someone who is cohesive and believes in what you are selling. For instance: I sell leather travel wallets and passport covers. I am going to send my product to someone traveling Europe for 5 weeks and has a knack for well-styled instagram photos before I send it to someone who went on a trip last year and claims they love to travel. Study up! Sending your product to one blogger who can get you 50 sales is far more effective than sending your product to 10 bloggers that get you one sale each.
Create pinnable product photos. I can’t tell you how many products I’ve bought because I saw it first on pinterest. This is because I saw a pin that caught my eye enough to encourage me to click it and see how much the product was. Pinnable photos are mainly portrait, have a pop of color and well designed or styled. You don’t need all of your listing photos to be portrait, one will do! Create a photo that paints a picture to tell someone “That will go perfectly with my style or lifestyle” (I know this sounds very sales-y, but hey…you ARE selling something!)
Hashtag, promote, and partner wisely. Different promotion techniques work for different shops. Not all are equal, and not all are effective. This takes trial and error! I’ve listed some below (sales & giveaways) but this stretches much further than these two methods. You can promote on Etsy which is very simple and affordable. Other promotion ideas include newsletters, Facebook, sidebar blog ads, and sponsored blog posts. With whatever you choose, make sure it is cohesive with your brand and the brand you are trying to build. You don’t have to dish out tons of money, and most times no money at all, to promote effectively!
Tag Accurately. There are many articles out there on SEO. I’m no expert, but I know it works! This is more of a detailed and scientific approach to gaining traffic. Use this in your listing, your title and your tagging. Etsy allows you to add tags that describe your product as well as tags that describe the materials used in your product. Take advantage of this! A quote that comes to mind is “Learn how to do common things uncommonly well.” Not everyone is a SEO master, but everyone uses SEO in some way! If you become a master at it, that means more traffic for you which ends in more sales. HELLO, peaching to myself here!
Renew listings and keep adding products. There is strength in numbers. Something about having a well-stocked shop is comforting to a buyer. It shows the buyer you are serious about your product and your shop that you’ve taken the time to add products and expand your product line.
Have a weekend sale! This is something to be careful with, but you can use to your advantage! Free shipping is always a hit. Shipping charges are never fun for anyone, and it is just an extra incentive for someone to snag your cute hand dyed clutch they’ve been eyeing all month. A good sale can be anywhere from 10-25% off and last a few days. This will give buyers a reason to choose your shop more than the other cute hand dyed clutch shop that isn’t having a sale.
Host a giveaway. How to create raving fans 101: give away what you are trying to sell. This is similar to working with bloggers, but it opens up the field for non-bloggers and also creates a trust between customers. Be sure to promote your giveaway and clearly state rules! Make it fun and create many ways for the customer to enter!
Support Others! “Supporting other’s successes will never dampen yours.” This could be a whole different post, but I think it is important! Be a supporter, be confident enough in yourself and your brand that you can’t help but promote others.
Be patient. Be persistent. Success, especially Etsy success, doesn’t happen overnight. There are over 1.3 MILLION sellers on Etsy. That is a big pool to be a part of and to be found in. There is no doubt there are other shops very similar to yours. Don’t give up, be passionate and keep making your product better so it will stand out.
Need more help? Check out this post I wrote: So you want to start an Etsy shop?!
Feel free to comment below with any Etsy questions, your Etsy shop and what has helped you the most!