My top Etsy Success Tips, what works and what doesn’t

As a seller, I remember reading all the websites on how to be successful on Etsy and there’s so much information to sift through! Based on my experience as a seller, here are my top tips for Etsy success and acquiring more sales!

Pick a shop name that buyers will remember **Note for new shops only**

This is important to do before you set up your Etsy shop because once you set up your Etsy Shop, you cannot change the shop name. Take the time to brainstorm a name that connects with your Etsy buyer profile, reflects your shop’s theme and is not used by any other business.

Need help with thinking of an original Etsy Shop name? You can use a business name generator! If you search the web for “Business Name Generator” there are tons of websites that can help you create an original or quirky name. You can type in a few words that are associated with your products and the name generator will create a list of possible business names by combining your words with trendy words.

Once you have compiled a list of possible names, confirm that the name is unused and the domain is available. A quick way to research whether a name has been taken is by doing a quick web search of the name surrounded by quotation marks. Example: “SoapsRUS”. Once you determine the name hasn’t been taken, you can check web hosting sites such as Bluehost or GoDaddy to see if the domain name is available. I recommend picking a shop name that has an open domain name because eventually you may want to expand your Etsy Shop into a website.

You Need A Plan!

Having a big goal is necessary for your success! However, sellers often get caught focusing on the big picture and don’t plan out the small steps involved in reaching their goal.

While talking with other sellers, I have seen sellers get tired due to their unfinished task list coupled with lack of sales. Sellers have good intentions and want to do everything to make their Etsy Shop thrive, however, they get overwhelmed focusing on the big picture.

If you haven’t done so, set up a planning system. In my Etsy shop I sold printables and I’m a big fan of using planners. Not everyone likes to use planners, and that’s ok. You can use a calendar, online project management app or visual board. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s a planning system you enjoy.

Once your planning system is in place, turn your big goal into an objective and measurable goal. Being the greatest soap maker in the world is great, but how can you measure that goal? Does that mean make $100K per year? Or does that mean to get 5,000 sales? Analyze your big goal and figure out how you can objectively measure your goal.

Now that you have created an objective goal, take out a notepad and write several small measurable steps to get to that big goal. For example, you want to make $100K per year. With that goal you may want to measure how many sales per month you would need. Another way to break up this goal is by posting a set amount of listing per week. The key is to break up your big goal into small monthly goals.

Make sure these goals are attainable. If you are starting out with a new shop, it’s unlikely you will create 25 listings per week, 100 listings per month all year without a break. This will lead to burnout! If the small goals are unattainable then readjust your big goal.

Now that you have your big goal, your small goals, and your planner in place, write down the weekly tasks that work towards your small goals. If you need to set up 10 new listings per week, then add those as daily tasks in your planner. As you get more developed with your planning system you can add social media tasks and shop keeping tasks to improve your customer’s experience.

Complete Your Etsy Shop Home Page

It’s a common mistake that sellers think they can simply list items and get sales. You must establish trustworthiness with your buyers. This can be accomplished by completing your Etsy Shop page.

First, set up a banner on your home page. Create a banner that shows your shop name, theme, or top selling items. You can create a professional looking Etsy Shop banner in Canva. I recommend creating a banner that is minimal in appearance coupled with soft pastel colors. If you’d like to learn more about color psychology, then check out my article on Pantone color trends.

Next, create a logo. Buyers are less likely to trust sellers that have an empty image where the logo picture should be.

Under the shop name on your Etsy page there is a little text box. This snippet of text is important because it’s the text that your shop will be associated with on search engines. Use keywords in this text box that are associated with products you sell. To create a powerful text snippet, include popular keywords from your Etsy statistics.

Scroll down, under the featured items there is an announcements section. Don’t leave it blank, include an announcement here. Buyers want to know exciting news about your shop. Ideas for this section include a shout out to your social media links, a link to your newsletter or any current sales you are running.

At the bottom of your Etsy Shop page there is an About section. This section has a spot to add images, videos and information about your shop. I recommend adding at least three images to your About section. You can post images of your workspace and ways customers can connect with you on social media.

Finally, what should you write in the About section? The first step is to create a headline. The headline should be light, fun and capture the reader’s attention. In the body of the About section tell your story. Topics you can discuss include: What is the purpose of your shop? Why do you have an Etsy shop? Why do you sell the products you are selling? What sets you apart from the competition?

Complete Your Etsy Shop Profile

This is another important element to gain trust and connect with customers. As you gain happy customers, they will want to follow you and learn more about you. This is great because when someone follows you on Etsy they will get direct access to your products on their Etsy home page and via email.

Navigate over to your Etsy Shop Profile. In your Profile add a profile image that is a real image of you. Next use the About section to write a short bio. Include why you decided to sell on Etsy and why you sell the products that you sell. You don’t have to go into great detail, but include a couple sentences about your background that you want customers to know. I recommend adding links in the bio section to your shop, social media and newsletter to let buyers know how they can connect with you.

Logo and Branding

Logos establish a connection with customers across platforms. You are likely not just selling on Etsy but you can be found on a variety of social media platforms. Having the same logo used across platforms will make it easy for customers to recognize your shop.

To create a logo that stands out, you can use Canva (please note any licensing restrictions with using Canva images if you go this route). Canva has tons of templates and images for you to choose from to make a quick and professional design. If you can’t find a logo on Canva and want to create a logo that is more unique then I recommend using Adobe Photoshop Elements or Adobe Illustrator. Another option is to outsource a graphic designer. You can hire a graphic designer on Fiverr to create a professional logo for you.

If you are going the DIY route with your logo, it’s important to consider your brand theme while making the logo. Examples of themes include: natural, modern, tech, or homey. Considering the theme, you want to create a logo that sticks to a theme, is simple and memorable. I recommend creating an image that is minimal with a white or pastel background and an image that isn’t too visually heavy. Refer to the most successful Etsy sellers for logo ideas. Note how their logo connects with their brand’s image.

To give you an example, my themes include vibrant, colorful and clean. I revolve my products, logo and designs around these central themes.

Titles and Tags that Rank

This is one of the most frequently discussed categories among sellers. Without well established titles and tags nobody will be able to find you! Here’s how you can improve the titles and tags of your listings.

First, gather data by doing an Etsy search of competitor’s items that are similar to the items you’re selling. On a piece of paper write down the titles that they use. Next, click on each listing and scroll to the bottom to find the tags. Jot down the tags that they use.

After taking note of several different shops and items, you may start to notice a pattern of common keywords. Keep in mind that these titles and tags may not be grammatically correct. What these sellers are doing is using the buyer’s search terms to form their keywords. Note that buyers don’t search in grammatically correct ways (think about when you’re doing a web search and how you type in the search box). Once you find a high frequency of keywords, then add these keywords in your tags and titles.

If you are new to SEO, then start with general keywords, you don’t want to be too specific unless it’s part of a niche. For example, if you sell crimson colored soaps you may want to consider using the term “orange” over crimson because it is a more general term. An example of a niche term would be using the term “goats milk” if you sell goats milk soaps. The term “goats milk” may not be a top searched keyword on Etsy, but it is an important keyword relevant to the niche of your product. As you gain more stats on listings you can narrow down to specific keywords. 

If you would like to do further research with titles and tags, then sign up for Etsyrank.com. This website is a free resource that gathers data on the best titles and tags, competitor information, and listing performance.

Photos

Creating clear, non pixelated images is important for making your shop appear appealing. The images that you create are the first impression that you’re going to be providing your customers. Here are a few Etsy tips and tricks on creating successful images:

Use a white or light colored, solid background. You want the product to pop, which is why a white solid background is commonly used when selling products.

If you use a background other than white, make sure the background doesn’t have too much clutter. This creates a chaotic image and may confuse customers as to what they are buying.

Finally, take your image in natural lighting. You don’t want the image to be taken in a dark room where it’s hard to see the detail of the product. As a tip it’s best to use a warm glow (morning or evening lighting is best). The warm glow adds a nice feel to the overall product and image.

Connect With Customers

The key to success is through the customer experience, without customers you wouldn’t have a business. Here are Etsy tips for beginners on ways connect with customers on a personal level beyond your About section.

Always connect with customers through conversations. Anytime you have a customer message you about a product, make sure you sound personable and reasonable. This tip of course should go without saying but I have heard so many stories from customers having bad experiences with Etsy sellers. Always be kind when answering questions  and add an emoji or two to your responses. In your response be grammatically correct, capitalize the word “I”, write out the word “you”, say please and always say thank you! Finally, be timely in your response. I like to respond to customers within a day and customers appreciate the quick response.

Another way to connect with customers is through the “Message to Buyers”. This message automatically sends to all customers after they have purchased an item. Sellers often use this message to provide information about shipping and returns, but you can include much more! At the bottom of my message I include links to my newsletter, social media and website. I also ask customers for a 5 star review. A lot of sellers feel weird asking for a 5 star review (I was too), but it has led to a significant increase in my shop receiving positive feedback! There are ways you can ask politely without sounding rude. Here’s what I write:

Once you download and print the item, I encourage you to provide a 5 star feedback rating in order to help keep me in business and allowing me to bring you more great items in the future!

If there are any issues preventing you from being 100% satisfied and leaving a 5 star positive feedback rating, please be sure to reach out to me via Etsy Message or by emailing tamara@paperdelsol.com

I borrowed this from a seller on eBay and I loved it because the statement focuses on the customer’s experience. By adding this simple statement, I gave my customers a direct way to contact me if they have issues or questions about a product. I have been able to nip any issues in the bud which has also led to more positive reviews!

Connect Socially

If you’re not connecting with your customer socially than you’re missing out! Social media is the best way to expand reach to potential customers and also connect with customers that love your products. Here are some tips on ways you can improve your social media reach on the major platforms:

Shop Updates

The Shop Updates feature is fairly new to Etsy and a great way to connect with customers that may not know about your product. Shop Updates are images (similar to Instagram) that post to your Etsy Shop Page and also to the Etsy home page. Every time I post a Shop Update, I will see in my stats a significant jump of customers referred from the Etsy.com home page checking out my product.

Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual platform, so it is essential to pin beautiful photos of your products. Here are some tips to maximize your exposure on Pinterest.

If you are starting out on Pinterest, set up a Business Pinterest Account (if you use Pinterest for promoting your Etsy Shop then you should have a business account according to their policies). A Pinterest business account will give you access to Pinterest Analytics. This will allow you to track the stats of your pins and the interests of fellow Pinterest users that pin your products.

As a new user, aim to follow 50 profiles every day. By following users, you will increase your chance of getting people checking out your profile and following you back.

Create boards for everything that you are interested in, not just what you sell. On my Pinterest account I have one board for my products. Then, I’ve created a few boards similar to my products that my audience likes. Finally, create boards that are related to what your followers like. You can find information on what your followers like in Pinterest Analytics.

To further expand your reach, join Pinterest Group Boards. Group Boards are a great way to maximize your exposure when you’re just starting. If you are not sure how to find Pinterest Group Boards, then head over to pingroupie.com. Find a Group Boards that meshes well with your products, and ask the maker of the Group Board if they would be willing to add you as a collaborator.

Facebook

Facebook has had great impact on my business – but not in the traditional way of building a Facebook Business Page. The best success I’ve had on Facebook is by word of mouth! I reach out to users by finding groups on Facebook that are in need of my product. For example, I will reach out to Facebook entrepreneur groups and share how my business planner will organize their business and lead to better sales. I’ve had a lot of success with this tactic and I find it to be effective for getting your product in the hands of your Etsy target audience.

With that said, there is value in setting up a Facebook Business Page. Facebook Pages allow you to engage with customers and finding potential customers. Besides posting products you will want to mix up your content to not bore your audience. You can post DIY projects, behind the scenes, relevant articles and tips. Try experimenting with videos and different formats of content. Facebook is a platform perfect for delivering videos that will showcase your product in greater detail.

Instagram

Instagram is another way to connect visually with your customer. Unlike Pinterest, products do not directly link to the item’s webpage. With that in mind, Instagram is ideal for promoting your entire Etsy shop. Successful Instagramers post behind the scenes pictures, tips and visually appealing content (that is indirectly related to their products).

To increase Instagram followers be sure you follow other users. Like Pinterest, when you follow users, you are more likely to get users following you back. Also, make your Instagram page consistent. What I do for consistency is create a color theme each week. I also create daily themes, for example Monday I post a quote, Tuesday is a sale item and Thursday I will post a tip. Creating this kind of consistency will cue customers on what to expect on your Instagram page. Also, creating a theme will provide a guide when you plan your weekly posts.

Understand Your Target Audience

As you start acquiring more sales, you may notice Etsy user demographics, as well as when customers make purchases and how customers find you. All of this information will help you in your marketing tactics.

If you’re just starting out I recommend grabbing a piece of paper and writing down who your ideal customer will be. Take note of not only the Etsy buyer demographic information but any problems they may have. How does your product provide a solution for them? This information may change down the road (for me it totally did). By writing down information about your imaginary customer, you will get an idea of the type of products you should sell based on the imaginary customer’s needs.

If you are a seller with less than 300 sales, then pay attention to your Etsy shop statistics. Which items are popular in your shop? Consider creating more of those items. On the Stats tab, click Listings. In the listings tab you will find other items that your customers are actively looking for on Etsy. Use this information to brainstorm products that you can add to your shop. At this point I would suggest setting up your Google Analytics.

If you are established in your shop, then confirm your Etsy account is linked with Google Analytics. This will help you gain advanced demographic information such as age, gender, income level, interests and affinity categories. You can also find on Google Analytics other items your customers are purchasing outside of your Etsy Shop. This can give you a clue as to the type of products your customers want. In Google Analytics separate customers that have purchased transactions from the browsers. What are your Etsy user demographics? What are their interests? How are customers browsing outside of your Etsy shop? All of this information will help you provide exactly what your customer needs.