Market Research
But sellers who already have an Etsy shop can still benefit greatly by going through this step and refining your niche and target customers.
Market research can help you get a better idea of how much demand and competition there are, and whether your product idea is viable on Etsy.
Doing this for your different product ideas can point you in the right direction of where you should put your efforts in.
It helps you answer these questions:
- What products are in demand?
- Does your product idea sell well on Etsy?
- Who are your biggest competitors selling similar products?
- Are there gaps in the market where you can enter to serve customers better?
Brainstorming product ideas
It’s important to first get a list of potential product ideas before analysing them. Here are some ways to get ideas:
- Your own skills & hobbies - Do you have a great amount of knowledge about a topic?
- Your unique advantages - Can you get some supplies cheaper than other people? Do you have your own culture you can take inspirations from?
- Browse Etsy - Use Etsy search, browse related products, check out your customer's favourited lists.
- Pay attention when you go shopping. Look at what’s on display, what things other people are buying, etc
- Browse social media, YouTube, magazines, TV, etc.
These resources can help you with your brainstorming:
Try to be as diverse as you can with the ideas. There’s no wrong answer. List them all out.
But try to avoid these for now:
- Seasonal products (e.g. skiing equipment, Christmas decorations)
- Products with possible restrictions (e.g. nudity, violent themed, etc)
- Excessively large or heavy items (e.g. furniture, dumbbells)
Understanding Demand on Etsy
Before you start, make sure you are browsing Etsy on an incognito mode browser and not logged in to Etsy. So that your results are as neutral as possible. I would recommend open a new incognito window about every 5-10 minutes.
One difficulty of estimating demand on Etsy is that Etsy doesn’t tell you the actual sales of individual listing.
First, search the keyword of your niche. To estimate whether a niche has good demand, there are some indicators on Etsy:
- Many ‘bestseller’ and ‘popular now’ badges in the search results (the discount listings may not show the badge even if they are a bestseller. You may have to click into the listings to see it)
- The niche keyword appears in the Etsy search bar autocomplete function
- Red text ‘In xx carts’ appears in multiple listings (Again, you may have to click into the listings to see it)
- Trending product ideas outside of Etsy, for example, trending on Instagram (be careful of the risk of those product trends being very short-lived, e.g. fidget spinner)
Understanding Competition on Etsy
A bit about the competition level on Etsy, some people will suggest you to stay away from highly competitive categories like jewelry. But in my experience, a high level of competition is not necessarily bad. A lot of times, highly competitive category also means high demand. And because of that, there are opportunities to 'niche down' in that category.
To niche down means to find a segment of customers who have more specific needs and preferences. For example, ‘natural gemstone necklace’ is a niche inside the ‘jewelry’ category. And ‘luxury vegan skin care’ is a niche within ‘skin care products’. These smaller sub-niches are less competitive and give you a better chance to succeed.
Niche Research Using Tools
You can speed up the process above with Etsy research tools. The two I recommend are Alura and EtsyHunt. Both of these can help you estimate demand and competition on Etsy pretty efficiently, and they both have reasonably priced plans that are highly usable.
Choosing Your Niche
After you have analysed your product ideas and niches, it’s time to choose the ones with higher demand and lower competition.
It's also smart to match it with your skills and interests:
- Do you have experience in making any of the products? Are you willing to invest time to learn some new skills?
- What interests you? Which of the products would you buy yourself?
I recommend choosing 1 product idea/niche to start with. It’s better to sell a small selection of high quality products, than to sell a bunch of mediocre products. And it’s always possible to expand your product lines and branch out in the future.
After we have narrowed down your niche, it's time to understand your market and target customers.
"If you selling to everyone, you are selling to no one.”
Understanding your target customer is important for:
- Product development - Create products that solves their problems and satisfy their needs
- Etsy shop optimisations - Craft Etsy product listings that converts shoppers to customers
- Marketing - Know how to craft a clear message that resonate with them on social media, email marketing, etc.
If you have time, you can construct a complete persona profile for your target customer (more information in this chapter), but here are the most important thing you need to know:
1. Target Customer Pain Points (And How to Solve Them)
Etsy shoppers look for items that bring a positive change to their lives. Whether it's solving a practical problem, adding beauty, or saving time, your product has to offer a solution that give customers a positive transformation.
Brainstorm a list of potential pain points your customer may face. For example, cafe owners may face the problem of wanting to easily update menus and social media posts without having to hire an expensive designer.
Once you know their pain points, list out a list of solutions that help solve them. Using the same example, editable menu and instagram post templates can address the pain points of cafe owners directly.
Keep these pain points and solutions in mind as they are useful in crafting powerful messages that resonate with your target customers in your Etsy listings, social media posts, email marketing, etc.
2. Analysing your Competition
Pay attention to your biggest competitors in your niche as they are the ones that your target customers will compare your products to.
Think about it this way: if you sell exactly the same product as them, the chance is, customers will buy from your competitors as they have a more established and trustworthy shop.
So it’s important to:
- Create a comparable product in terms of feature list
- Create a strong USP to give customers a clear reason to buy from you
In order to do that, let’s have a look at your biggest competitors and see what they are doing.
Start by identifying the most successful shops specialising in your chosen niche or selling similar products to what you plan to offer. Pay close attention to these details:
- List of product features - This helps you establish the baseline for your own product offer. For example, materials, functions, sizes, etc.
- Their biggest selling point - What is the one thing that stands out for that product? You can use your own judgement, or find that out in the product description or customer reviews. Understanding what makes your competitors stand out can help you define your own unique selling proposition (USP).
Repeat this process for at least 5 of your main competitors. This market analysis prepares you for the next part - Developing winning products.
Developing Winning Products & Brand
We will also look at other important areas of you want to be successful on Etsy - Product photography, pricing and packaging.
One thing to keep in mind before starting: don’t be a perfectionist. Give yourself a time frame, and do as well as you can during that time. You are encouraged to continue to refine these areas as your shop grows.
With the insight from the market research, let’s translate that knowledge into developing your winning products.
1. Crafting Your Feature List
Using the list of common features you compiled while analysing competitors to create a baseline for your products. Even though your product may not need to have every single feature as your competitor, having a comparable feature list would help your product to be perceived as a viable option in the niche.
2. Develop Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
Your USP gives shoppers a clear reason to buy. It’s what sets your product apart from competition. And it’s the reason that a shopper says, "I need this and I can only buy it from YOUR shop."
Some of the most common ways to develop a USP include:
- Target a specific group of customer - Develop features that are tailored to their needs. For example, you can create a traveler planner with pages for travel photos and a budget list for hotels.
- Customisations - Offer customisation options such as size, colours, materials, etc. to cater to individual preferences. This adds value and enhances the customer experience.
- Unique product design - This helps you stand out visually on Etsy
Of course, whether a particular way can help you stand out depends on your competitors. For example, if all of them are already providing customisation, then providing basic customisations may not help you stand out.
(For the list of 15 ways to develop a USP, read this chapter of my Product Development course)
Ensure that your USP is highlighted in your product photos and descriptions when creating your Etsy listings in future steps.
A strong brand goes beyond just a pretty logo. It's the overall impression you leave on shoppers visiting your shop, and on customers that you want to impress again and again. Let's break down the key tangible and intangible elements of your Etsy brand:
Tangible Branding Assets
- Professional Logo: For many Etsy shops, a simple text logo is sufficient. But if you have a strong design background, you can also consider a more graphical logo design.
- Fonts: Opt for readability. Choose a primary font that stands out more (a bit bolder and stylised) and pair it with a simple body font (clean and easy to read).
- Brand Colours: To keep things simple, I would recommend a brand colour palette with just 1-2 colours - A standout colour and a complementary secondary colour. Sites like colorspace can help you with inspirations.
- Other Visual Assets: Product photography, shop banner, social media posts, and even printed assets like packaging and thank you card should be created with your brand colours and fonts in mind to maintain cohesiveness.
The logo design pack and branding guidelines provide a great starting point for your Etsy shop.
Intangible Branding Assets
- Brand Voice: This refers to the tone that you communicate with your customers including direct messages, marketing materials, etc. Is your tone friendly, sophisticated, or quirky? For many Etsy shop, I find that a semi-informal, friendly tone to work great.
- Mission & Values: Do you emphasise sustainability, humour, or luxury? Weave these into your product descriptions, marketing and all the other ways that your customers will see to connect with them.
I cannot stress enough how important product photography is on Etsy.
Good photography can:
- Draw shoppers in from Etsy search page which increases your click rate and views
- Showcase the best features of your product
- Make your product look professional and increase the perceived value
- Appeal to shoppers emotionally so that they buy
Some general guidelines for a great product photography:
- Clean and simple background that doesn’t distract from product - A piece of white paper is a great budget option
- Product in the centre and in focus - You can add props but only if they make sense and don't distract from the main product
- Take photos from multiple angles showcasing different parts of your product
- Good natural lighting - Strong indirect lighting is preferred
- Avoid harsh shadows as they distract from the product
You don't need an expensive camera; Most phone cameras are capable enough.
Here’s an idea for a cheap photography set-up you can use at home:
- Clean up a table in your home - Preferably one that’s relatively new and not colourful. You can always cover it with a white cloth or paper as a clean photo background.
- Put the table next to a window
- Take photos with strong, but indirect sunlight to avoid harsh shadows
And after you have taken the photos, make sure you edit them. It can make a big difference.
You can use Canva or Lightroom to edit your product photos. Lightroom is the more capable tool between the two and it has a free version on mobile.
In many cases, try lifting the shadows and brightness of your photos, and adjust the white balance to make sure the colours are accurate.
Click here to read my top 8 product photography tips with real examples. It includes a lot of inspirations of the types of photos you can take, like lifestyle shots and closeup detail shots.
Packaging is a big part of your customer’s experience. Not only does it protect your product during shipping, it also helps to give the best first impression to your customers.
Professional packaging can also help you sell more because it improves the perceived value of your products. In the previous step, you have seen some examples of how to take packaging photos to showcase it.
Let's look at the different components of packaging:
Shipping and protection
This is the outermost layer. This layer is especially important for fragile products or international shipping.
Some examples include envelop, cardboard shipping box, padded mailers, etc.
Although it can be seen as the ‘boring’ layer, there are some opportunities to show your branding and personality here. Some popular methods include logo stamp, custom stickers, washi tape and custom printed envelops.
Branding and promotion
This layer can really help you set yourself apart as a handmade seller compared to big retailers or other resellers on Etsy.
If done correctly, you can make the customer experience more special with some extra things like a thank you card (handwritten or printed), freebie/sample, care instruction for products, etc.
Product packaging
This is what most people think when they think about packaging. It’s the layer/component that closely protects or hold the product.
Some examples include jar that holds a facial cream, jewelry box that holds a necklace, a band that wraps around a handmade bar soap, etc.
Sometimes there is overlap of the product packaging being a part of the protection layer, like jewelry box.
To learn more about packaging, read this packaging course.
Most handmade sellers unintentionally underprice their craft. The worst part is that shoppers may misinterpret low prices as a sign of low quality, making them hesitant in buying.
When you price your product, it needs to cover all your expenses and have a margin on top of it (either to reinvest or allow you room to run sales and discounts).
Main cost components:
- Materials: The direct cost of the materials used in each product.
- Etsy fees: Includes transaction fee, listing fee, ads fee and more (Learn all about Etsy fees in this guide)
- Packaging & Shipping: Don't overlook the cost of boxes, shipping labels, and attractive presentation materials.
- Labour: How long does it take you to create each item? Assign a value to your time.
- Overhead & other fixed costs like rent, utilities, etc.
Great pricing isn't just about math. It's about showcasing the value you provide. Through strong branding, optimised product listings, and high-quality products, you can justify a price point that exceeds mere costs, just like successful luxury brands do. Read this chapter to learn the tactics to increase the value and charge more for your craft.
Setting Up Etsy Shop & Listing Optimisations
After that, it is finally time to set up your Etsy shop. We will go through the simple steps you need to do to get your shop up and running.
SEO (search engine optimisation) is how shoppers can find you on Etsy.
It involves finding the right keyword to use for your products and implementing those keywords in the right places like title and tags.
Mastering Etsy SEO can help you maximise the chance of showing up in front of the right customers.
How Does Etsy Search Work?
After a shopper types in a keyword in the search box, Etsy first finds all the listings matches the search term, and then rank them by a number of factors.
Query Matching
Etsy listings that have the search keyword in any one of these places will be eligible to rank.
- Title
- Tags
- Categories
- Attributes
- Listing Description
Ranking Factors Of Etsy Search
After Etsy has all the products that are eligible to rank for a query, Etsy algorithm uses these extra factors to determine the final search ranking. Here are the most important ones:
Relevancy
This is how well your listing's titles, tags, etc match what shopper searches for. Exact matching of keywords will improve the ranking.
Product Description
Etsy looks at your product description to further determine the ranking of your listing in Etsy search. Aim to write a short paragraph in the beginning of your listing description that includes 3-5 keywords and describe the benefits and features of the product.
Listing Quality Score
This looks at how well a particular product sells/converts. Etsy takes into account the percentage of people clicking, favoriting and buying a product to determine the score. Etsy wants visitors to actually buy the products. The higher the conversion rate, the higher your Etsy ranking will be.
Recency
A new or just renewed product will get a small boost in ranking, but the effect is very small. So renewing all your products constantly will not be helpful, especially because it costs money to renew listings.
Shop's Age
New Etsy store gets a boost in ranking for a period of time.
Customer And Market Experience Score
Etsy also looks at your shop’s review, policy and more. Achieving these will help your ranking:
- Good reviews for the particular products
- Good reviews for your shop
- Finished About page
- Completed shop policy
- No cases open against your shop
Shipping Price
Etsy ranks shops higher if they offer free shipping to the US for orders over US$35. This could be difficult to do if you are outside the US.
Finding Long-Tail Keywords
Method 1 - The A-to-Z Method
Step 1 - Put in your ‘seed’ keyword in your search bar. A good seed keyword should be specific to your product and about 2-3 word long, like “gemstone ring”, “soy candle”, “floral tshirt”.
Step 2 - Add a space to the end and start adding on a letter. Once you added a letter, the search bar should come up with suggestions of other popular keywords. For example, when you type “gemstone ring s”, it should come up with keywords like “gemstone ring sterling silver” and “gemstone ring set”.
Step 3 - Go through this process from A-to-Z and mark down all the keywords that are suitable.
Step 4 - Repeat the process with other ‘seed’ keywords. For example, once you finish with “gemstone ring”, you can go on to “amethyst ring” or “gemstone jewelry”.
Method 2 - Using Etsy Keyword Tools
There are some paid Etsy tools that are great at finding keywords. My favourites are Alura and EtsyHunt, both of which have great free/affordable plans for keyword research.
How To Choose The Best Keywords To Use
The best keywords should be:
- High demand and used by many Etsy shoppers
- Low competition from other Etsy shops
High Demand
The keywords generated by our previous A-to-Z method should have decent demand generally. This is because the keywords suggested by the Etsy search bar are based on real shoppers' data.
Low Competition
You want to use long-tail keywords, which are keywords that are 2-5 word long. They tend to have lower competition and higher purchase intent by shoppers.
For example, 'jewelry' is a highly competitive keyword and ranking on the first page for it is almost impossible. Instead, use keyword like 'rose gold amethyst ring' that are less competitive and more specific to increase your chance of ranking.
For a small shop, I would recommend aiming for long-tail keywords with less than 5,000 search results.
Optimising Your Listing For SEO
Title
Put your most descriptive keyword at the front of the title. The front of the title is given more importance in search ranking. Separate keywords with commas, dashes and other symbols to make it easy to understand.
Example from my shop: "Custom Tea Packaging Label Template - Printable Label Design, Square Product Label, Tea Label Editable, Minimalist Product Label Template"
Tags
Use all 13 tags. They should also be long-tail keywords, and are keywords that customer would actually search for. I'll explain it with examples:
First, come up with tags that are in your title. Using the example above, "Custom Tea Packaging", "Tea Packaging Label" and "Square Product Label" are in the title and can be used as highly relevant tags.
Keep in mind that the tags should make sense. For example, "Custom tea" and "Editable minimalist" appear in the title but not relevant.
Afterwards, there are two methods to get additional tags to fill up all 13 spots:
- Mix-and-match keywords in your title. E.g. "Square tea label" doesn't appear as a whole in the title but is relevant
- Add extra words that is relevant or from your keyword research. It could be style, size, use case, colour, etc. For example, "Tea pouch label" and "Pastel label design" are two possible relevant tags.
Description
Because Etsy now considers keywords in your description as well. Aim to write a short paragraph in the beginning that includes 3-5 keywords and describe the benefits and features of the product.
For more in-depth SEO strategies, click here to start the SEO course
Now that we increase the chance of your products showing up in front of shoppers, it’s time to make sure they actually click and buy.
There are two main parts of this process: Get shoppers to click your listing from the search page, and convince them to buy your product.
Clickable Thumbnail photo
Whether shoppers click depends heavily on your product photos, especially the first photo which is the thumbnail photo.
Make sure your photo is bright, clean and with the product being the focus. I would also recommend using a simple background with minimal texture and patterns to reduce any distractions as we discussed in previous section of the roadmap.
Another way to increase the clicks into your listings is adding text to your product photos. The text you add should be your strongest selling point and/or product information. Here's an example from MyLifePlans:
Showcase Your Product with Strategic Listing Photos
To convince shoppers to buy, there are two main ways: present them with your strongest USP + features, and eliminate barriers of purchase.
Also, because Etsy has been reducing the visibility of product description over the years, I'd recommend students to consider adding text of these in your listing photos.
Highlight Your USP & product Features
- Visualise Your USP - Can you capture your USP in an image? Maybe it's a unique functionality, an eco-friendly material or a list of customisable colours. Pair that with a few words to explain your USP.
- Emphasise Key Features: Stage photos to showcase the features that matter most to your target customers. This could be beautiful details, size comparisons, or various use cases.
Reduce Barriers Of Purchase
They are the uncertainties that can stop people from buying even though they want the product. Some common concerns people have:
- Are the photos accurate? - Make sure your photos look as close to the real product as possible. Check them across multiple screens to double check. Use Canva or Lightroom to edit your photos.
- Can I trust this shop? - When you are crafting your listing, sprinkle in some behind the scenes photos and even technical details of how you make your product is good. Just make sure you say it in an easy-to-understand way.
- Do other people like this product? - Other than the product review, you can extract some of your best customer reviews and put them in the product description and product photo (a photo with 3-5 related quotes from customer reviews).
- What if it breaks in the future? - Have a clear shop policy. You can consider offering refunds or exchange.
For more details about listing optimisations, read the Etsy Listing Sales Machine course. Also, copy my Etsy listing photo templates as a great starting point for high converting listings.
Writing Product Description
Even though it's become less prominent on Etsy, a good product description can still boost your conversion rate by articulating the benefits to your target customers, and eliminate any concerns that they may have. The Etsy Product Description Formulas can help you save time when writing it.
Now you should have everything you need to open your Etsy shop! Yay!
Let’s walk through the simple steps to open your Etsy shop:
- Using this link to get 40 free listings, click “Open a shop today” and follow the steps.
- Set your shop preferences - including shop country, language and currency
- Name your shop - Use Namelix or ChatGPT to generate catchy brand name quickly.
- Create your listings - You will need at least one listing created, but you will be able to open your shop first before adding more.
- Choose how you’ll get paid - Most sellers will use Etsy Payment, which is Etsy’s own payment processing system.
- Set up billing - entering your credit card details
- Open your shop. Your shop address will be etsy.com/shop/yourshopname or yourshopname.etsy.com
- Customise your shop - set up shop policy, upload shop icon and cover image/banner, add about section, etc. Use templates in GYC Resources Library to speed up the process.
- Add the rest of your products - be sure to use the duplicate listing and quick edit functions to speed up the process
Shop Management
It’s time to tackle a few operational topics of running an Etsy shop, like shipping, reviews and customer service.
We will also review and analyse different areas in your shop to make sure traffic coming in your shop will convert to sales.
Good customer service can help you win sales and build long-term relationship with customers. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Be Helpful - Most shoppers and customers reach out because they want their problems solved or questions answered. Keep this in mind when you reply to messages.
- Reply in a Timely Manner - A lot of time when shoppers are trying to pick a shop to buy from, the shop that can answer their question the quickest will get the sale. This is because a responsive seller is seen as more trustworthy, therefore shoppers are more willing to buy. Also, replying within 24 hours after getting the message also contributes to being Star Seller.
I have written the Customer Message Swipe File where you'll find template replies to common customer service scenarios. I'd recommend setting up saved replies in your Etsy Messages to speed up your workflow.
If you are selling physical products, you would need to think about shipping, returns, refunds, exchange, and other issues.
How Much To Charge For Shipping
It depends on the products that you sell and what your competitors are doing.
If you sell a small size item that is not costly to ship or if most shop owners in your niche ship free, I would recommend to include the shipping cost in your product price. This way you can take advantage of the higher ranking in Etsy search (Since July 30th, 2019, Etsy gives priority in US search results if you ship for free to the United States for orders of US$35 or more)
However, if your item is more bulky, or if most of your competitors are not providing free shipping anyway, then charging an additional shipping fee would be ok.
Dealing With Shipping Issues
Returns can happen when the customer is not happy with the item or when they want to exchange for another item. It’s important for you to offer returns as an option because that is important way to make sure they have a good experience with their purchase.
If the return is not because of your fault, for example customers’ change of mind, then it’s normal to ask your customer to pay for the shipping fees. It could be a good idea to offer them the option for a discounted rate if they purchase an additional item from your shop.
However, if the item is damaged or the size is not correct, then usually Etsy sellers will pay for the shipping. If the item is not too expensive, it may even be a good idea to ship an additional one for free without asking the customer to ship back the original one.
Packages do get lost sometimes. That’s why it’s a good idea to include tracking for your orders if they are not prohibitively expensive. Insurance is a good idea for high priced listings.
For lost items, sellers would either resend a replacement at their own cost, or a refund would be given to the customer. Talk to the customers first and ask which option would they prefer.
Be sure to make it clear in your shop policy for these situations. And I've included these situations in the Customer Message Swipe File so that you can handle them more efficiently.
Reviews are extremely important on Etsy. In a competitive marketplace like Etsy, shoppers are much more likely to buy from shops with more positive reviews as they are an indicator of trust and reputation.
Here are a few ways to increase the chance of getting positive reviews:
- Good quality products
- Accurate product photography - Show the actual color, size, texture in your photo so that customers know what they are expecting and won’t be disappointed.
- Reply to questions and concerns quickly
- Include little touches to delight customers - Ideas include a handwritten thank you note or a small gift that's related to the main product.
Asking For Reviews
If time allows, it's a good idea to politely ask your customers for review. Here's the template I use and feel free to tweak it to fit your shop:
"Hello (name),
Thank you for your order! I really appreciate it!
If you like the (product), please consider leaving a review for my shop. It would help a small handmade business like mine so much. You can leave a review here:
www.etsy.com/your/purchases
Thank you again!
(Your name)"
Dealing With Negative Reviews
Bad reviews are inevitable for Etsy sellers. All sellers will encounter unreasonable customers at some point.
Before anything else, take a deep breath so you can handle this professionally without getting too emotional.
Remember don't reply to the negative review until you have tried everything, because replying to it will lock the review and the customer won't be able to change it even if they want to.
Some of the possible reasons for customer leaving bad review:
- Faulty product
- Didn’t meet expectation
- Subpar service
- Shipping problems
- Simple misunderstandings
Here are the steps I use to communicate with unhappy customers and hope that they will change their minds:
- Let customer know you are willing to fix the situation
- Apologise - “I understand your review, and I’m sorry that the fit is not what you expected”, or “I’m sorry that the piece got damaged during shipping.”
- Empathise - "I understand how you feel", "I completely understand the frustration of ..."
- Offer options to fix the situation - A lot of times, bad review is just that customer's way of saying they want a fix. Be generous and clear with your offer, but know your bottom line. You should be able to offer discounts, resend of product, or even refund. But don’t get threatened to send customers 5 extra items that they did not order.
- Follow through with your promise - If customer says yes to your suggestion of the fix, then let them know clearly what to do and the time frame of when things will happen. E.g. “Thank you for letting me fix the situation. I’ll send you a new piece tomorrow.” or “I’ll send you a full refund right away. Thank you for your understanding and patience.”
- Follow up with customer - Be careful to not to ask for a positive review explicitly and violate the Etsy rules of review extortion. Instead, you can say something like: “As a small business, your satisfaction and feedback is very important. If after this (refund/replacement of product/discount), you feel more happier about your purchase, a revision of your feedback would be greatly appreciated.”
Again, copy my Customer Message Swipe File to streamline this process.
Getting Traffic & Sales
We have two objectives in this module:
1. Knowing how to get traffic to your shop
2. Getting customers to return again and again
First part, we will look at the ways to get people to your shop - Both internal traffic within Etsy, and external traffic from outside Etsy.
After that, we will see how to leverage email marketing to get customers to buy from you again and again.
Before starting to work on your Etsy shop marketing, it’s a good idea to make sure the Etsy shop and listings are optimised. That includes your product offering, listing photos, listing description, pricing, branding, etc. An optimised shop will make sure that the traffic coming in has the best chance to convert into sales.
Also, when it comes to traffic, quality is more important than quantity. Quality traffic means that you are bring in traffic that closely resembles your target customers. That is why promoting on Etsy forums is not an effective strategy, because most people using the Etsy forum are sellers and are not interested in buying.
In fact, if you bring in traffic that doesn't buy from you, it could hurt your conversion rate and listing quality score, which can cause your search ranking to drop.
With that in mind, let’s start working on bringing good traffic to your Etsy shop.
The majority of your traffic should come from Etsy search. To learn how to rank better on Etsy search, click here to review the Etsy SEO Course.
However, there are additional strategies that you can use to get more shoppers into your shop.
Etsy Ads
Etsy ads is a good way to generate a lot of views in a short time, and can be very useful for smaller shops at the start of the shop. Just keep in mind that ads fee can add up very quickly if you are not careful.
Before turning on the ads, it's a good idea to first optimise your listings.
After that, here are the 7 steps to test profitable Etsy ads:
- Choose 10-20 initial items - They can be bestsellers, recently sold products, products with high margin, products in many shopper's carts, etc.
- Test for a week - I use a budget of $5 daily. Many sellers set the budget too low or the testing period too short, making it impossible to make informed decisions to improve their Etsy ads performance.
- Analyse & improve - Keep high conversion rate listings (>3%), improve photo of low click rate listings, optimise listing of high click rate low order rate listings. And if the view, click and conversion rates are low, turn the ads off for them.
- Add new products to test if necessary - They could be products recently sold, products on sale, etc.
- Test for another week and analyse again
- Turn off listings that still have low conversion rate or click rate. You should be left with the best performing listings
- Scale up
For more details, click here to read the Etsy Ads course.
Product scarcity
Sometimes, Etsy puts “only 3 available and it’s in X people’s cart” to create scarcity and urgency for shoppers. It makes them feel if they don’t act soon, they may lose the chance of buying that popular product.
You can take advantage of this by putting the quantity of your bestsellers to 3 or lower. It increases the chance of that sentence showing underneath your listing, which creates a powerful sense of urgency for your potential shopper at 0 cost to you.
Create product bundles
Combine some of your products together to create new bundle listings. Even better if the products make sense to be together (e.g. same color, frequently used together). This way you will be able to create more listings to cover more long-tail keywords, potentially reaching more customers.
Additional traffic is always good, but one thing to keep in mind is to not overwhelm yourself and spread yourself too thin.
A lot of successful Etsy shops, including mine, are built without many external traffic sources like social media, blogs, etc. If your foundation is good (great product offering with optimised listings), you may be surprised of how little you need from external traffic.
But if your shop is ready, here are 3 ways that you can bring in traffic from outside Etsy:
- Social media
- Forums and Quora
- Your own blog
Social media
I would recommend learning the basics of 1-2 social media. If you have a platform that you use regularly and are already familiar with, start with that. Don't spread yourself thin by being on every social media platform.
The main aim for social media is to build better relationship with your followers by providing useful content for them. Useful content can include educational (like infographic about your niche), behind the scene (especially good if your product requires skills to produce), or even just entertaining (e.g. funny, trendy reels on Instagram).
If you'd like to start bringing in traffic from Instagram, read this comprehensive course and copy my Instagram templates. You'll also find Pinterest templates in the GYC Resources Library.
Forums & Quora
By forum, I’m referring to forums external to Etsy’s like Quora, Reddit and other sites. Don’t waste your time promoting on Etsy forum as most people there are sellers, not buyers.
To promote your shop on forums, you need to be a helpful expert in your niche. Use your expertise and skills to answer your potential customers’ questions. Show them that you are a trustworthy advisor. Show them you are an expert.
You can ‘soft sell’ your shop by mentioning it inside your answer/post, but pushing your shop shouldn’t be the main focus.
Starting your own blog
Starting your own blog can be a big commitment if you don’t have the experience. It can take months of hard work before you see any decent traffic to your blog.
You will need to spend quite a bit of time to learn how to build a website. Options like Squarespace, Wix, Shopify are relatively easy to pick up, but if you want more control, you may look into options like Webflow (Growing Your Craft is built on Webflow FYI).
Also, you’ll need to find the right topics to research and write. Remember keyword research from the Etsy SEO course? You will need to do the same for your blog articles. Only this time, instead of trying to rank on Etsy, you are trying to rank on Google.
Write blog posts that your potential customers would care about. For example, if you sell crystals, a post about “10 crystals that help with love” could interest your target customer. Or if you sell kitchen supplies, you can consider writing recipes that use the supplies you sell.
Despite the work that you’d need to put in for starting your own blog, there are a lot of positives. You will have a lot more control over the design of your website compared to your Etsy shop. And a successful blog can bring in a lot of traffic, and the traffic is generally more consistent over time. Also, it gives you more opportunity to collect emails from potential customers through lead magnets.
I would recommend giving it a try as many website builders have free trials available, and knowing how to build and customise a website is a valuable skill.
Email Marketing is a tool to help you convert shoppers into customers, and most importantly, customers into long-term fans.
Many Etsy sellers ignore the power of email marketing and are basically leaving money on the table.
Let's look at how to effectively capture customer emails, build an automatic email system and market to your customers so that they come back again and again.
Creating A Lead Magnet
Lead magnet is the incentive or a freebie that you give to shoppers or customers to sign up to your email list. They could be a discount, free shipping, relevant information like style guide, etc.
Ask People To Sign Up
You can't just add your customers to your email list as that is against Etsy's rules.
For customers, there are two main ways for you to contact them for a sign up: direct messages on Etsy and automatic receipt message in their order receipt. A simple message like this can do the trick:
“Thank you so much for your order! I really appreciate it!
I’d like to send you some useful information on how to take care of your product, special deals during holidays and new products when they come out. I promise there won’t be any spam!
Please follow this link for the signup:
(link to signup form)
The first email would be a guide to making sure your product lasts a long time.
Can’t wait to talk to you soon!”
Choosing Email Marketing Services
Here are the ones that I recommend because of good functionalities and high deliverability (so that the emails actually ends in your customer's mailboxes:
What Types Of Emails To Send
- Product launch email - Send out email when you launch exciting new products. Pairing a product launch with a discount can make it more effective. Just be careful not to give discount too often because it can lower the perceived value of your products
- Holiday sale email - Sale seasons like Black Friday and Christmas are huge. And email is the best way to reach your customers directly, and it's way cheaper than placing ads because ads tend to be a lot more expensive in sale seasons. Black Friday sale should be the biggest of the year, and you can highlight that in the email subject line: “Our biggest sale of the year”
- Product care email - Sending care instruction or use guide for your product can improve the overall experience of your customers, making them more likely to leave a positive review and come back in the future
- Review ask email - You can also send out email to ask for reviews after your customers have received the products
Click here to start the email marketing course for in-depth strategies
Really Good Emails for email design and message inspirations
Sales and promotion are a double edged sword. On one hand, it can boost your shop’s sales drastically. On the other hand, if it’s overused, it can cut into your profit as customers won’t buy at regular price any more.
Sales and coupons are more powerful when combined with email marketing. Customers can be informed of promotion when they happen, or the promotion can be paired with new product launches. Refer to the Email Marketing course for more details.
There are 3 types of special offers you can run on Etsy:
Run A Sale
You can choose to offering a percentage off discount or free shipping discount. You can also set the minimum order to qualify, duration of sale and location where it will be valid. If you choose ‘none’ for the minimum order to qualify, then you can pick which listings you want to run the sale on.
Send offers to interested shoppers
There are 3 types of situations where Etsy can send a coupon code automatically:
- When a shopper favourites your item
- When a shopper leaves your item in their shopping cart without checking out (abandoned cart)
- After a customer’s order is shipped
In my experience, they can be very useful in turning shoppers into customers, and also encouraging customers to come back to purchase again. The set up process is pretty easy as well. Just keep in mind not to offer a discount too big that it discourage shoppers from buying your products in regular price.
Create a coupon
Unlike running a sale, coupon code is only applicable to people who have the code. Other shoppers/customers will not see the discount in your shop.
Other than a percentage discount and free shipping, you can also create a coupon code that discounts a fixed amount per order. One thing to keep in mind is that a fixed amount may discourage bigger orders, as the amount of discount doesn’t change even for more items in an order.
Grow
This step is all about building on top of your great foundation and coming up with new products to reach new customers.
We will also look at doubling down on your marketing channels that are getting traction.
Finally, we will do another review to make sure the traffic coming in your shop are converting to sales.
Let’s dive right in:
A new Etsy shop needs to release new products regularly to keep the shop fresh. This can also increase your exposure on Etsy and reach more potential customers.
Here are a few ways to come up with new product ideas:
Expand on the best performing listings
They are your best selling products, or the products that have a high conversion rate.
Try thinking of ways to add new variations to these products. That can be in terms of different sizes, new colours, material, etc.
Add Products Based On Customer Feedback Or Enquiry
Proactively analyse your reviews and messages from your customers and shoppers. Look for requests, questions, or comments that come up multiple times about product features. These could be great ideas for refining current offerings or inspiring improved new products.
Add products of different price points
Having products of different price points is a good way to reach a new group of customers. For example, if you are selling crystal jewelry for around $30, consider adding some rarer crystals and sell them for $80. Or if you sell tote bags, using a more expensive material or making a more intricate design would warrant a higher price.
It can also go the other way of hitting a lower price point. That usually involves simplifying your production process. For example, if you are selling custom illustrations, consider making some of your pieces in printed form instead of made-to-order each one.
Check competitors for product inspirations
The successful sellers in your niche have been in the market for longer and have a wider product selection. Look through their shop and see which products are popular (in many people’s cart or regularly reviewed) and consider adding them to your shop.
Another method is to look at their review section and pay attention to reviews that are 2-4 stars. Usually customers include reasons why the product is not perfect. It’s a great opportunity if you can create new products to address those issues.
Check shopper/customer favourites for new product ideas
People who favourite or buy your products have a good chance of being your target customers. Looking at their favourite list can help you uncover what else they are interested in.
After the previous step, you should have started your marketing effort on some external channels, like Instagram, Pinterest, forums, or even your own blog. I'd recommend analysing the effectiveness of these channels after about 2-6 months. You'll generally see results quicker for social media platforms compared to your own blog.
Go to your shop stat on Etsy. You should see that there are some that are bringing you more traffic than the others.
Some other people may tell you to adding even more marketing channels, but in my experience, that’s a recipe of feeling burned out quickly.
I would recommend choosing the best performer to focus on. Double down your effort in terms of creating content, engaging with users, incorporating your email list, etc. In case there isn’t a clear winner, choose the 2 that brings you the majority of external traffic.
Scale
It’s time to think about scaling up your shop, hire external help, and even possibly opening a second Etsy shop.
At this point, you probably have a lot of practice making your craft. It’s time to streamline various areas in running your shop.
The main recommendation is to group and do the same tasks together. Not only will that increase your productivity, it will likely improve the quality of the result. For example, I answer all my customer messages 2 times a day: once when I wake up, and once before the evening.
Ideas for other tasks to batch perform:
- Make 10 social media posts in one go and schedule them/save the draft
- Create 10 products in one go so you can take photos and edit them in a batch
- Research keywords of 10 underperforming listings and update them using the ‘quick edit’ function
For digital tasks, most of them you can speed up the process with templates:
- Etsy message templates (saved replies)
- Use Lightroom presets to edit photos quicker
- Create templates in Canva to make listing photos quicker
Also look for ways to save costs in your production process without compromising on quality. Are there materials that you use regularly like product materials, shipping materials, etc? Buying them in bulk can potentially save you some cost. Another thing to consider is to purchase the raw materials from trade shows for cheaper price.
When your Etsy shop is stable and running smoothly. You may have extra time to diversify and grow outside of Etsy.
Here are some opportunities to consider:
- Open shops on other platforms like Amazon Handmade
- Start your own online shop with Shopify, Squarespace, Webflow, etc. Read the book Guide To Branching Beyond Etsy for more details.
- Open stall in local markets, craft fair and trade shows
- Teaching people how to make your craft. Making online courses with platforms like Teachable and Skillshare
Most handmade shops are a one-person show. As you are getting busier, you may notice that you are spreading yourself too thin with all the different tasks.
Here are some criteria to consider for outsourcing:
- Tasks that take you a long time. It takes away your time in making high level decision to grow your business.
- Tasks that you hate doing. Those are the tasks that drain your energy.
- Tasks that you are honestly not good at. No one is good at everything. Outsourcing those tasks to the right people allows you to have a better results and saves you time.
Have a helper in person for physical tasks, or a freelancer online for digital tasks.
There are two main group of tasks:
In-person tasks
- Making the products
- Packaging and shipping
- General maintenance of space
Digital tasks
- Customer service
- Social media management
- Website design and maintenance
- Photo editing
To start with, it’s easier to hire freelancers online at sites like Upwork and Fiverr, to help with digital tasks. There is less commitment up front and more flexible.
Hiring employee to help with in-person tasks are likely to be a longer process. Research your local employment laws, taxes, insurance, etc. before deciding to post job ads.
With the experience of your first shop, you should know more about the process of building an Etsy shop from ground up.
If you have other product ideas that aren’t suitable for your first shop, it can be a good idea to start a second one.
Make sure the second shop is different enough so that you are not competing with yourself.