If you hope to achieve any success with your Etsy store, it is important for you to look for proven ways to market it to the right audience. Before opening your Etsy store, you already have some huge targets you hope to meet, so now is the time to put in the effort needed to achieve them.
Marketing to some people might sound like a huge task, and meeting those number might look almost impossible, but don’t worry, at the end of this article, you will have a clearer picture of how to market your Etsy store. But first, how do you get started with Etsy? Find out now
- How to Get Started With an Etsy Store
- 6 Tips to Increase Sales in Your Etsy Store
- 20 Effective Ways to Market an Etsy Store
- How do I Promote my Etsy Shop
- How Does Etsy Market Itself?
- Is it Worth Paying For Etsy Ads?
- How to Promote Etsy Shop on Pinterest
- Etsy Marketing Strategy
- How to Promote Your Etsy Shop on Instagram
- How to Promote Etsy Listing
- How to Attract Customers to Your Etsy Shop
How to Get Started With an Etsy Store
Are you ready to set up an Etsy shop and start making money online? Although there are a number of steps, Etsy makes it easy.
Here is how you can start selling on Etsy and set up your own online shop.
1. Go to Etsy.com to Register
Visit the Etsy homepage, click the Sell on Etsy link, then click Open your Etsy Shop.
2. Customize Your Shop’s Settings
Set your preferences for how you want to sell your products. Select the language for describing your products, and the currency for trade, include your location, etc.
3. Select a Shop Name
This is the part where your creativity can come into play. You should come up with a name that reflects your personal brand.
Read Also: Quick Selling Items on Etsy in 2021
Your name should be synonymous with your product offerings and easy for customers to remember. The name needs to be between four and twenty characters with no spaces or special characters.
4. Start Listing Your Products
Follow these steps to set up your product listings:
Add Photos: Etsy advice sellers to have a minimum of five photos for each item, to be taken from different angles so buyers can have a proper idea of what your product looks like. The pictures should be of high quality and shot with a nice background.
Adjust thumbnails: Thumbnails are the first pictures a buyer comes across when they search or stumble upon your product. These dictate the look and feel of your shop, so make sure they are consistent and match your brand.
Complete your listing information: Your product description should have a title and description that describes what it in detail.
Also, make use of the 13 ‘tags’ available for each product. Buyers look for products based on keywords, so make sure these keywords match what is in your tags.
Enter inventory quantity and price: Add the price for each item and make sure you factor all the costs into your sale price. Include the quantity in stock, and also if there are product variants such as size, color, and material.
Set the shipping fee: This is where you include shipping fees, country of origin, processing time, weight, and size. You can always update this information later if needed.
Preview your Etsy listings: Look at the shop to see if there are any changes to make. It’s important to feel good about your shop’s look from a customer’s perspective before publishing for the first time. Click finish and you’re all done adding your first product.
5. Select Your Payment Method
There are many types of electronic payments available on Etsy. You could offer PayPal or Etsy Payments which is what most sellers use. Etsy Payments allow sellers to get their money through different options like credit and debit cards (as well as store credit), and Etsy gift cards.
6. Include Billing Information
This will depend on your country of origin. Etsy may want a credit card for authorization and identification. You will also provide a card where Etsy can charge you for fees and commissions.
That’s it. You’re all set up and it’s time to start optimizing and promoting your products.
7. Optimize Your Shop
Here are a few ways to optimize your Etsy shop and attract more sales.
Add Your Profile: This will include a short bio about you with a photo. This will let visitors know who you are and increase your credibility as a seller. You can use this opportunity to create a personal connection with your customers and give more insight into your product.
Add Your Shop Policies: This section includes FAQs that customers may ask about the product. You can also add processing and shipping timelines so customers can have an idea of how long it will take to get their product. Return policies (if any) also fall into this section.
Add A Store Bio: This is the section that allows you to talk more about your ecommerce store and who you are. Etsy gives sellers 5,000 characters to write your biography. Remember to write with passion and create a connection with your potential customers.
People value transparency, so try to be open about your values. You can also show them how you create your products by inserting photos or videos of your workspace. You can share your shop’s social media links here too.
Use Etsy’s Marketing Tools: This allows you to reach out to a wider audience through social media. Etsy has made this easy to do with a new marketing tool to allow sellers the opportunity to share their products on social platforms like Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
6 Tips to Increase Sales in Your Etsy Store
Now that you have your Etsy shop set up and optimized, how do you drive sales over time? What are some ways to boost your “Etsy SEO” and gain more visibility as a new shop owner?
Here are six tips for selling on Etsy.
1. Learn Etsy SEO
SEO, or search engine optimization, enables you to increase visibility online on platforms like Google. But Etsy SEO is oe key to driving sales too.
SEO techniques depend on the platform. eBay, Amazon, and Google all have different SEO techniques, and so does Etsy. However, the basics are the same and it all comes down to keywords.
What are people searching for on Etsy? Try to understand the main product categories you’re in and use unique keywords to stand out. Use as many valuable keywords as you can so users search can match with your products and bring out your shop in the search results.
If you find it hard to think of keywords for your product, use a tool like erank.com to understand and optimize your Etsy keywords.
2. Organize Your Shop
You should put every item on your list in an order that you specify. Having products all over the place in random order doesn’t inspire confidence in the quality of your products.
You need to create a good first impression so buyers who come into your store see a professional layout.
3. Hire a Professional Photographer
People are visual – we want to see, touch, and feel products before we buy them. And there’s a psychology behind great product photography.
The main types of product photography shots include hero shots and lifestyle shots.
First, hero shots are close-ups of your products with a simple white background. These are great for your main photos and should be in high resolution so users can zoom in and see the product by itself.
Next, lifestyle shots show the product being used by a person or with more background context. For example, an image of a women’s sweater may be worn by a smiling woman outside in a park.
A final tip is to use a combination of both of these styles, as well as shots in between. For example, an image of an arts and crafts set could be disassembled to show all of the parts and laid out in a beautiful pattern.
Etsy allows a maximum of 10 photos, so uses them all. High-quality photos will help drive sales for your products.
4. Keep Good Financial Records
Proper bookkeeping can help you understand the direction your Etsy business is heading. It can also help you set targets and know whether you are turning a profit or running at a loss. The better your grasp of the exact numbers, the more informed your decisions are.
5. Optimize Your Pricing
Pricing has a direct impact on how much you sell. It’s usually difficult to get the right price for your product because undercutting the competition can lead to a price war, while selling too high can lead to zero sales.
Find ways to cut production costs so that your profit margin is higher. Test, test, test. You can update your pricing regularly to reflect economic factors such as the cost of raw materials as well as your competition.
6. Study the Data
Use analytical tools to help you keep track of your business. Some products may sell more than others and you may need to drop non-performing products and increase the quantities of performing ones.
20 Effective Ways to Market an Etsy Store
1. Research the Right Keywords to Rank on Google
Keyword research is still relevant when it comes to finding out what niches create steam online. They have a tight-knit approach to finding high keywords with low SEO difficulty.
When you use a keyword in their system, you can monitor the SEO metrics, results, and any keyword recommendations. Think of your reasoning on why you search for specific key terms. Are you running an eCommerce business? Maybe there are some topics related to your niche that people want to explore.
Also, there are city-specific results that will help you with your local SEO. Use the tool as a strategy for getting a leg up on your competitors in your city.
2. Track Your Successful Keywords
One of the best things to make yourself stand apart from the rest is by being a few steps ahead in your sector. Sometimes you won’t have the resources to spend thousands of dollars on an advanced SEO tool. You’ll want to budget appropriately so that other areas of your marketing strategy flourish.
Here you can use the dominance index and learn what keywords hold weight at the moment. Also, look at their search volumes to see how these can impact results. It’s a valuable source of data to help you understand how to maneuver among the giants.
Additionally, you’ll get daily reports on your ranks. It’ll help you find out specific trends in your niche. By looking at this data, you’ll see if your site is moving upward, or you may need to adjust your strategy to produce better results.
Whether you’re on your mobile phone or a laptop, you’re able to track your rankings at home or on-the-go. It’ll save you a lot of time by being able to work even when you’re on the road.
3. Monitor Your Competition
SERP Checker is a keen service to help you monitor your competitors. You could be in the same niche but have a different gameplan of how you want to move in your field.
SERP Checker allows you to see your competitors and their strong and weak points. When you have this advantage, you can decide what steps to take to make you more competitive. Additionally, you’ll capitalize on being more relevant.
It’ll help you outrank your competition and find different things within your niche to make you stand out. Ultimately, you can find out what links are more popular for both mobile and desktop. It’ll be an excellent way to cater to multiple demographics within your brand.
4. Take the Etsy Marketing and SEO Mastery Course
If you are new to ETSY or even if you are an established ETSY seller looking to grow your business, this course is just for you. To have a successful online store, you need an excellent market strategy and on-point SEO.
In this course, you will learn how you can grow your ETSY shop by using different marketing strategies and SEO techniques.
In this course, you will dive into the depths of how ETSY algorithms work for categorizing shops, you will gain a proper insight into ETSY’s SEO, and you will learn the importance of different tools that ETSY provides to its sellers to help them sell.
From learning how to select the best keywords for your shop, to understand what to avoid doing on ETSY, from learning how to identify a top-ranking competitor to emulate their success, you will learn everything.
This course will take you in the right direction by which you will learn how to create the perfect ETSY listing, how to find the best products, and how to source them to yourself. So, if you want to work from home and have some additional stream of income, then try this course out.
5. Set up a Referral Program For Your Etsy Store
For your ETSY shop to be successful, you need two things: good content and an excellent referral program. Setting up your shop and decorating it with customizable features is the natural part.
Finding the right unique products for your ETSY is a bit difficult. But the trickiest part is to make your ETSY shop a success. Because, no matter how good your shop looks, if it is not making you money, it is worth nothing.
If you want your ETSY store to grow, you need to promote it. Why? Because “promoting” your store will increase your shop’s reach, more customers will flock into your shop, they will spend time at your shop, and chances that they might buy something will be bright.
This is where OSI Affiliate comes into the game. OSI Affiliate provides different referral solutions that help your ETSY shop to get more traffic.
Affiliate marketing is one of the most active market strategies in the world. Even the success of the eCommerce giant Amazon was mainly because of its affiliate programs. People tend to trust the suggestions of their friends and relatives. This is why affiliate marketing has proved to be so beneficial for all sorts of businesses.
OSI Affiliate will help you to create your referral program for your ETSY store. This will not only help you get more traffic to your website, but more leads will turn into sales, and your ETSY shop will start growing at a pace like never before.
OSI Affiliate provides you all the necessary online marketing management tools to manage your referral program. When it comes to promoting your website and creating and maintaining a referral program, no one does it better than OSI Affiliate.
6. Look For People to Link to Your Etsy Store
Quality backlinks can create more solid leads for your site. You want to link to sites with authority, which can help build your online presence. LinkMiner focuses on potent link juice to increase your brand’s power.
If you’re trying to see your link placement, you’ll get a preview of how it looks. It’ll highlight it for you to help ease your stress. You won’t have to look through a bunch of tabs, and it’ll keep your browser from getting overcrowded.
Another gem that this program has is breaking down specific links. If you’re trying to get a better handle on blog links, you’ll be able to view it right in the program. Maybe you’re more active on the forums. You can analyze the data and see how it impacts your site.
If you have any sites that you want to get linked from, you can automatically save those in a list for your convenience. It’s an excellent way to keep track of things for research purposes.
7. Check the SEO Authority of Any Website
Not only do you want to monitor links, but you should see the authority of different sites. Maybe there’s a site that’s in direct competition with your brand. Wouldn’t you like to know why they’re more successful?
SiteProfiler helps you see the authority and trustworthiness of a site. There are different SEO metrics, such as MOZ and Majestic, to help show pertinent data on these sites.
Even more important is seeing the types of links you have on your site. You can see your backlink health. Spammy links can drop your rankings substantially. When you have more quality, it’ll help you keep a good ranking on the search engines.
You can also find out what content is most relevant. Use that feature as a tool to help you come up with new content. Maybe you can get in touch with someone who has premium content. There may be an opportunity to do some link building.
8. Don’t Forget to Implement SEO
Now that we are talking about promotion, it is important that your Etsy store is also search engine optimized. Why? Well, 50% of buyer traffic comes from the search engines.
You will be losing out on all of these money if you don’t optimize your site for better search engine rankings. Moreover, don`t forget about website monitoring features, it will help you to track any changes made on your website within minutes, be notified about any seo alerts.
It`s really helpful when you have tough competitors and have to be always in trend. Check server status codes, indexation process and on-page seo changes.
9. Target Medium Tail Keywords
When it comes to keyword research, longtails are obsolete. The new trend is in optimizing for medium tail keywords. What are medium tail keywords?
These are keywords with 3 to 5 words. It is still long and descriptive but not so long that the traffic is too little.With this in mind, you can now optimize your store for your target keywords.
You should make sure that your title and meta description contains the keyword. The same is true for your website. You should optimize it for your target keyword if you want it to rank.
10. Create a Crowdsourced Guide
One of the fastest ways to get people to link to you is by featuring them. How can you do this? You create a guide that has inputs from at least 20 different people.
The guide should be a collaboration of different people in your industry. All of these people should have their own websites and they should have an area of expertise.
You will then ask for their advice and compile everything into one big guide. From here, the only thing you need to do is ask them for a link when the crowdsourced guide is up. It is an easy way to get instant backlinks.
11. Pay Your Customers to Refer New People to Your Website
Interestingly, you can simply pay your customers to refer new people to your site. You can pay them a small amount or reward them with a simple discount code.
You’ll be surprised on how this can drive more traffic to your site.Etsy has changed the way people sell handmade products. From creating and waiting for people to take notice, handmade crafters can now showcase their products on Etsy and have people come to them.
A site that started 10 years ago, Etsy has grown to a 54 million community. It has over 1.6 million sellers from all over the world and around 25 million active buyers. That’ a lot of people to sell your products to.
People love Etsy because it gives them more than just a platform. It grants them instant exposure. True enough, there are people who managed to make a living from Etsy alone.If you are one of those people who hopes to make a killing on Etsy, you’ll need to do some promotion.
12. Analyze Your Traffic and Tweak Your Promotions from There
You’ll also need to know a bit of conversion optimization if you want to increase your sales. This can be done by looking at where your traffic is coming from and keep on doing promotions on the places that has the most leads.
This is like targeted marketing where you stop doing what doesn’t work and only focus on the methods that work.
13. Engage Your Followers by Asking for their Opinion
What’s the fastest way to make your followers feel valued? You ask for their opinion. This can be a simple email asking them about your service and how you can improve it or you can ask them to make some product suggestions.
Even better, you can ask them about what they think on a product that you are just planning to launch. It will make them feel valued and part of the team.
14. List Related Products
Want an instant increase in sales? With this technique, you’ll be able to do just that. The technique is simple. All it requires is that you list some related products along with some existing product listings. That’s it. Why does this work?
Read Also: You Can Make Millions Of Dollars On The Internet Selling Products On eBay
It works because it shares the traffic instantly. Instead of your visitor seeing only one product, he gets to see a group of products and thus, have a higher chance of buying more.
15. Join a Product Roundup
Another way to get your products featured is to join a product roundup. These are mini-reviews that lifestyle bloggers do on a regular basis. What they do is they take a certain number of products that they like for the month. This can be around 7 to 10 products.
Then they feature all of these products on their website. The key is in finding a blogger that does this. From there, you can contact them and offer to give them a sample of your product in exchange for a review.
16. Get Your Product Included in a Vlogger Haul
In the same way, you can also contact vloggers to include you in their haul. A haul is like a product roundup but bigger. It is a type of video that showcases 10-50 products. This is your chance to get your product in front of your target audience. Just contact a vlogger and ask them to include you in their haul.
17. Have a Referral Program in Your Website
If you want to get people in your website, you need to start rewarding your customers for referrals.
This can be a simple online form that allows them to input the emails of their friends or it can be a sales-based referral program where they get a prize or discount whenever someone buys a product under their name. You can get creative with this. It is one the fastest ways to grow your website.
18. Create Video Tutorials
Your buyers may also be interested in how you created your products. They may want to see the behind the scenes and may feel inspired to do the same.
For this, you can create some video tutorials. You can post this on Youtube for some extra cash or you can post this as content in your own website.
19. Sell an Online Course
Once you get the hang of creating video tutorials, you may want to organize them in a sequential manner. This will allow you to create an online course. Millions of people are already making a killing doing this and it is a great way to promote your online store.
20. Publish a Book
If you want to take the old fashioned route, you can also publish a book. You can put what you know in handcrafting your goods and share it with the world. The best part? It doesn’t only help in promoting your site but it also helps you in making some extra money on the side.
How do I Promote my Etsy Shop
While SEO professionals take their time to figure out how to adjust to the new trend in keywords, there’s still a lot you can do to sell your products via Etsy.
1. The Right Social Media Mix
Etsy and social media go hand-in-hand. Platforms like Pinterest and Instagram are especially effective for advertising your Etsy products.
Create beautiful pictures showcasing your products, and share them with your followers. Remember that each platform is slightly different so make sure you optimize your campaigns for the specific platform you’re sharing them on.
It takes time and effort to build your crowd. And have some patience, because the personal interaction with customers that these platforms offer is a huge boost to sales.
But what if you don’t have a lot of followers and need to market right now?
2. Product Roundup
Hijacking large crowds of followers has never been easier. Ever heard of a product roundup?
All you need to do is pick out a few of your products and create a theme around them. Like Healthy Eating, or Sunrise at the Beach, anything that appeals to your audience and lets your products shine.
Then browse Etsy (or another ecommerce platform) for other products that complement that theme. Make sure that the products you pick aren’t competing with yours, but complementing them. Put together all the products into one picture, arranging them tastefully and numbering them.
Optimize the image for both Instagram and Pinterest, and write an accompanying blog post, complete with links to the shops where all the products are available.
When that’s done, notify the other shop owners of the product roundup. Explain to them what you did, send a link to the picture, and encourage them to share it with their followers.
Then lean back in your chair and wait for orders to start rolling in.
3. Blogging
This is no instant solution, but it’s worth the effort. Research the blogs dealing with issues related to your products. Reach out to bloggers and let them know about your shop.
Tell them why you’re worth their attention, and explain why working with you would be beneficial for them. As an incentive, you can offer free samples of your product, or suggest a contest or a giveaway. Anything to get them to write about you.
Alternatively, you may consider blogging yourself. Writing about topics that interest your target audience is the best way to draw them in.
4. Use the Right Hashtags
When you’re uploading pictures of your products to Instagram, make sure to include the hashtags your audience is searching for. If you’re selling handmade teapots, using #handmade or #teapot will only get you so far.
Who do you want to sell to? For example, let’s say your target audience is stay-at-home moms. What are they usually looking for? Try hashtags like #healthydrinks, #familytime, or #metime.
And instead of spamming your picture with captions of hashtags, put them in the comments. The post will still get noticed, but without an army of ugly #s.
5. Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the most effective methods to get people to buy your products. Create a mailing list and offer an incentive for subscribing, like a sneak peek into your next giveaway or a 5% discount.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to manage to send out a zillion emails every day. Platforms like MailChimp are there to make email marketing easy for you, automating all your marketing emails.
How Does Etsy Market Itself?
With big players like Amazon and eBay in the market, what marketing strategy did Etsy use set themselves apart, secure their first customers, and become the largest online craft fair?
Unlike eBay and Amazon, where buyers can get literally anything they can imagine, Etsy focuses on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies, ranging from art, photography, clothing, jewelry, bath and beauty products, knick-knacks, and toys.
Made up of primarily independent artists as sellers, Etsy has come to be synonymous with artisanal craftsmanship. This proves a large draw with artsy types, or those hoping to find unique items that are not commercially mass-produced.
As a result, buyers associate the site with a certain level of artistic quality, and are likely to tell their friends about “that amazing artist on Etsy who makes really cool sweaters.”
Many who make a living or supplement their income by selling goods online say they like the tight-knit community feel of Etsy, which offers online forums and real-life gatherings for members, and also social media features that allow users to browse other members and their favourite shops.
Etsy also embeds social media widgets on the page of each listed item, allowing users to easily share said item on Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, or Tumblr.
Robert Kalin, co-founder and chief executive of Etsy, said the site caught on because “many people now want their buying habits to reflect their values.”
Shoppers feel good about their purchases because the experience is similar to that of supporting an independent crafter or local artist at a flea market, and are likely to share their experience with like-minded friends.
One of the advantages of having a strong online community is the ability to create buzz without spending a single penny.
Etsy user Susan Schumann was responsible for getting #etsyday as a top trending topic on twitter and roping in 250,000 other members to post a little sign she made – “Did you Etsy today?” – on their cars or in their favourite coffee shops.
Schumann was surprised many of her friends hadn’t heard of the site and decided to take matters into her own hands – after speaking to Etsy’s lawyers, of course. Schumann said, “I felt that if we could all unite today not to promote our own shops but to promote the whole handmade artisan movement, we would all benefit in the long run.”
Etsy’s 54 million-strong user database also gives it the advantage of a massive audience to market to. The company sends out daily “Etsy Finds” emails that are usually put together by a staff member or a popular merchant.
These display a handful of items arranged around a central theme or color scheme, inadvertently predicting trends of the season that will be talked about by buyers and sellers alike.
When Etsy was started in 2005, the company unbendingly positioned itself as a disciple of crafting and making.
But in the fall of 2013, Etsy announced a change in policy that allows users to hire outside staff and manufacturers to help produce their goods on a much larger scale to keep up with overwhelming demand.
With this change in policy, Etsy not only hopes to attract a larger swathe of sellers and consumers but also to spark a discussion on changing the way things are manufactured, making it more local, sustainable and human-centered.
Is it Worth Paying For Etsy Ads?
This varies from shop to shop. It’s better for new shops to build an audience, get some reviews, and then run ads. On the other hand, well-established brands and shops can benefit from paid advertising a great deal.
Keep in mind that your Etsy Ads have a better chance of getting a competitive placement if your shop also has strong SEO – if you run Etsy Ads on an optimized listing they have a better chance of performing.
One great thing about Etsy Ads is that you don’t have to immediately invest a large sum of money. The amount of the bid is entirely up to you. For example, you can pay just $.02 cents per click on your Etsy Ads.
However, keep in mind that Etsy has an automatic bidding system that will favor sellers that have put a higher amount on a bid. The best way to determine whether your Etsy Ads are worth is to measure the return on ad spend.
Return on Ad Spend 101
If you invest in Etsy Ads, then obviously your prime goal is to increase your revenue. One way to determine if your business is gaining revenue from your Etsy Ads is to measure ROAS.
ROAS, or return on ad spend, is a metric that sellers use to determine how many dollars they are earning for each dollar spent on ad campaigns. To put it more simply, ROAS measures the amount you are receiving when you put X amount of dollars on an Etsy ad.
ROAS may sound similar to ROI, but they are entirely different. ROI, or return on investment, measures the revenue from the business’ overall investment in marketing.
Unlike ROI, ROAS measures the costs of a particular campaign and evaluates its effectiveness. So, if you want to determine which ad campaigns work best for your business then you should definitely calculate ROAS.
How to Promote Etsy Shop on Pinterest
Millions of people use Pinterest every day to explore their interests, find products to buy (like yours), and connect with people who share similar interests.
The more people pin, discover, and repin your products, the more likely new customers will be to discover your business. Use these tips to join the pinning party and promote your brand on Pinterest.
Start pinning
Create a range of boards that showcase your shop’s personality and taste, and make sure each board has enough pins to make it feel substantial so pinners will feel like it’s worth following.
Give your boards clear names so people can instantly understand what’s on them. But don’t be afraid to get creative—just keep names to 20 characters or less so they don’t get truncated. Categorize each board and include a description, as this can inspire people to follow your boards and help you appear in searches.
For each board, pick a compelling cover pin that quickly gives people a visual sense for that board—often the one with the most repins works well.
You can connect your Pinterest account to Etsy’s social media tool to share right from your Shop Manager.
Pin like a pro
Try to pin at least once a day so your followers get fresh content in their home feeds. You might also want to pin throughout the day instead of all at once. And don’t feel like you need to just pin your own stuff. You can tell a much richer story about who you are, what your shop represents, and what inspires you by including pins from others.
You can even use pinning as a way of telling stories about your products. Pinning a handful of pins that together tell a fuller story can capture the imagination and help you make a deeper connection with pinners.
For example, a shop that sells women’s coats might pin a product photo alongside pins of beautiful winter scenery to help inspire pinners about the magic they can experience outside in wintertime. But remember that most people are probably going to see the pins individually as they discover and repin the individual pins they like best.
Just like with boards, thoughtful descriptions will make your pins more inspiring and searchable. So take a moment to write descriptions for everything you pin.
Don’t be shy
A great way to get people pinning your stuff is to be an active pinner yourself. Follow other people’s boards and then repin and comment on pins that inspire and relate to your shop. This will help people get a sense for what makes your shop special.
What kinds of things should you repin and like? What should you say in comments? A good rule of thumb: Just be yourself. And don’t forget to let your customers know you’re on Pinterest. When you exchange messages with them, for example, include a link to your Pinterest profile so they can follow you and repin your pins.
Learn from pinners
Keeping an eye on what kinds of things people are pinning and repinning can help you stay on top of trends. You can also search for your products (and similar products) on Pinterest to see what boards the pins appear on, how they’re described, and what people pin along with your items.
All of these insights will help you make smarter choices about the products you make and sell, and help you evolve your pinning strategy. Every pinner is unique, with personal interests and tastes.
So no matter what you sell, there are pinners who would love to see what you have to offer. Every time someone makes a pin, their followers can see it, helping other people discover your business.
Etsy Marketing Strategy
Let’s look at seven tested and trusted marketing strategies that are sure to put your business out there and give you more leads and more money.
1. Branding
It’s 2019, and branding has never been more important. One way to get more attention is to build a brand around your products.
Keep your brand in the minds of your buyers by incorporating it into your shop’s page on Etsy using the available banner and square image spaces.
Watermark photos of your products, so customers know they’re looking at your product wherever they see it. Also, for products like clothing, using a label or more visible tag is good for your branding and marketing goals.
2. Categorize Your Products
The best way to increase sales is to make your products easier to find. When listing your items, be very descriptive but straight to the point. Use specific words and describe the item by what it is and not what it is made of or used for.
This usually requires just one word; so, for instance, if your product is a vintage festive wool blanket, when putting it in a category, what matters is that it’s a blanket, and that should be its category.
This way, it’s sure to come up in searches for blankets and other related items. Use the Shop Sections to organize your categories and help customers browse through your shop easily.
3. Build a Social Media Presence
After building your brand, take it to social media. One way to draw more attention to your Etsy shop is to be in conversations surrounding your product constantly. So, take advantage of your social media accounts and become a voice people listen to when it comes to products in your niche. When they trust your opinions, they’re more likely to buy from you.
4. Post Tutorials and Guides
Content Marketing has become one of the most effective ways to attract consumers to makers. A cheap and easy way to delve into this is to create how-to posts and buying guides.
The how-to posts can show potential customers how to create simple crafts at home or even break down more complicated ones into a few easy steps. This is guaranteed to get you more leads.
Pro tip: Offer to send the content you create to their emails; this way, you get to build your email marketing list.
5. Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is what makes you more visible to the Google and Etsy search bots. A quick and easy way to gain this visibility is to incorporate keywords into your profile, product name, and product description.
Keywords are words people associate with your product or, more accurately, what people search for when looking for a product. Think of words and phrases your customer is most likely to use when looking for the product or service you offer and incorporate them into your Etsy profile, product name, and product description.
You can find keywords using the Google Ads Keyword Planner. This gives accurate keywords plus demographics showing how often they’re used so you can make informed choices.
6. Facebook and Instagram Ads
With over three billion users between both apps, if you’re looking for customers, they’re probably on one or both of them. Although the cost of advertising on both platforms depends on some factors, you can advertise for as low as $0.27 CPC (Cost Per Click) on Facebook and $0.20 on Instagram.
Whether or not your ads will be effective will depend on whether you put in the right factors when choosing your advertising options, so here are a few pro tips:
- Choose a time for the ads based on when your audience is online
- Pick an age range closest to your target audience or your regular customers (you don’t want to advertise to teenagers when your target audience is their parents)
- When choosing interests for your target audience, pick something as closely related to your product as possible
- If only people in a certain area or who speak a particular language would be interested in your product, make sure to streamline your target to them
- Pay attention to the estimated audience reach
7. Host or Sponsor Contests and Giveaways
People like getting free stuff. Exploit this basic human nature by hosting or sponsoring contests and giveaways.
One way to host a contest is to have people post a picture of your products on their pages, repost their posts, and have them get their friends and followers to like the reposts and follow you for a chance to win the products. This gets you traffic, post interactions, and more buyers in the long run.
You can also sponsor giveaways on popular social media accounts. This gets you free advertising and drives traffic to your social media page or Etsy shop. Take advantage of holidays and give away some products in exchange for advertising.
How to Promote Your Etsy Shop on Instagram
Go pro
Once you’re committed to Instagram, set up a business profile. There’s no cost to switch to a business profile, and it gives you access to useful analytics, Instagram Insights. Insights provide information to better understand how your content is performing and who your followers are.
Insights are available starting from the day you convert to a business account, and include information about reach, impressions, website clicks, most engaged posts, and video views.
You can also use insights to learn more about your followers, including their gender, country, and the time of day they’re engaging with your Instagram page. These demographics can help you cater to your content and the timing of your posts.
As an Etsy shop owner who migrates over to a business profile, you’ll also be able to add a contact button next to the traditional follow button. If you have a brick-and-mortar store you can even give your customers the option to text, email, or call your business, along with map directions to your shop’s location.
Experiment and observe
When you first start using Instagram to market your shop, take an experimental approach. Try different things to see what posts resonate most with your audience. During this testing period, take time to analyze what received the most engagement and why: Was it your image quality? The colors? Your caption? Did you tag the image effectively? Was it the time of day you posted?
If you’re stumped, try exploring the accounts of other brands you respect and admire. Follow like-minded people and interact with them. If you find yourself gravitating toward a particular type of post, consider testing out similar content on your own channel.
Add context with captions and hashtags
Use captions that relate to the visual story you’re telling about your business to complement the photo or video you’re posting. Our social media experts continue to see longer and longer captions on Instagram driving engagement, so experiment with caption length to ensure that your optimizing your content for your audiences.
Adding a few hashtags that relate to the visual content you’re sharing can help tie your posts together. When you’re just getting started, try using the Explore tab to see which relevant hashtags are popular. You can also try sites like all-hashtag.com or apps like Leetags to find trending tags to complement your content.
Using a popular hashtag can make your post part of a larger Instagram trend. For more ideas, you can click on a hashtag to see Instagram’s suggestions for related hashtags. We’ve seen success with between 5-10 tags per post.
If you’re concerned that adding a bunch of hashtags could make your caption look cluttered, try using the comment field to add hashtags on your photo.
Interact with your audience
When you use social media to promote your business, you open up a new channel for communication with your customers. While Instagram gives you an easy way to keep customers in the loop (for example, letting customers know when you release new products), it also gives customers a way to reach you.
Interacting within comments can also help increase your organic reach on the platform and even mitigate repeat questions if someone sees you’ve already answered a previous comment. Be prepared to receive more comments and questions on the platform as your Instagram presence grows.
If someone is praising your business or asking whether something is available, answer the questions and respond to say thanks. Replying within 24 hours to customers can help build strong relationships.
Scheduling content and posting on-the-go
Social media platforms are continually developing new ways to empower small businesses: Instagram now has the ability for accounts to schedule content through many third-party tools like Buffer, HootSuite, and Facebook’s Creator Studio. Another benefit of marketing on Instagram is the ability to post on the go.
We recommend posting one or two new images a day to keep your followers engaged and to keep your brand top of mind. Or, you may want to take a more spontaneous approach to post, depending on what’s going on in your studio on any given day (or go live from your studio to show off your latest creation!).
If you take a few photos of a specific process or technique, space them out rather than posting them all at once, mixing in product shots and other images. You can also try shooting a few less formal photographs when taking product shots.
Then you have an image set to pull from when promoting that product. Those photos can be repurposed to build buzz around a sale or restock announcement, for example.
Tell the story of your brand
Instagram is a great platform for showcasing your personality. Sharing behind-the-scenes or meet-the-maker style posts are a great way to build your overall brand voice and connect with your audience. Use your Instagram feed to showcase the tiny details that make your brand special.
A few fundamentals to try out: shots of your work, your process, and your workspace. Be sure that your feed remains true to your brand’s aesthetic.
Create a unique visual
When you look at some of Instagram’s most popular brand accounts, what do they all have in common? A unique, but cohesive look and feel. Consider this when creating content for your account. When a casual browser looks at your profile page, they should understand at a glance what you’re all about.
For example, if your brand is centered around home goods, you might focus on sharing images of scenes taken in living environments.
Create feedback loops
Reciprocity is a driving force behind Instagram, so be sure to like, share, and comment on other people’s photos as well. If you “regram” a customer or friend, always credit the original poster. Keep customers engaged by encouraging them to post and tag images of themselves using your items.
You can also use Instagram as a market research tool. Check out the profiles of your followers to find out more about your customer base and spend some time analyzing which products get the most likes. You can also use Instagram to inform your product development.
For example, if you sell jewelry you might ask your customers which stones they’re most drawn to or what their favorite chain length is. Creating this give-and-take dialogue gives customers another way to feel invested in your brand.
How to Promote Etsy Listing
We’ll cover three strategies for promoting your listings effectively over time.
Promote your entire inventory to get started
When you first start running an Etsy Ads campaign, we recommend promoting all of your active listings. This approach helps provide the responsive Ads algorithm with the most accurate data on how shoppers are engaging with your shop.
Over time, the Etsy Ads tool can optimize when to show your ads and which searches your ads appear in to help bring your shop the most visits possible, providing even more opportunities to boost your visibility and increase sales. You might even be surprised at which listings perform best!
The budget and length of your campaign are important factors for this approach to be effective. Letting your campaign run for at least 30 days provides enough time for the Etsy Ads tool to collect and optimize based on how each ad placement performs.
If you have a large item inventory, your initial advertising budget might need to be higher in order to ensure exposure across your listings. Remember, you’re only charged when shoppers click on a listing that’s being advertised, so the higher your budget, the more opportunities you’ll have to collect performance data across your listings.
If you have a limited advertising budget, promoting just your best selling items or item category can be a good place to start.
Since these products are already bringing people to your shop, there’s a good chance they’ll perform well when you advertise them to a whole new group of potential customers. If you sell vintage or one-of-a-kind items, choose listings that best represent the types of items you sell most frequently.
Promote your top performers to increase revenue
Once your Etsy Ads campaign has run for at least a month, you can optimize your paid advertising by refining which listings you promote based on performance.
A popular way to determine your strongest performers is by looking at which listings are driving the highest return on advertising spend (also known as “ROAS”). Calculating ROAS answers an important question: For every $1 spent on advertising, how many dollars in revenue are being generated?
To calculate your ROAS on the listing or campaign level, divide your revenue generated by your advertising budget spent:
Revenue/Budget spent = Return on advertising spend
ROAS varies greatly by industry, but a common benchmark used is 2.8 ROAS. Review Understanding Your Ads Performance to learn more about performance metric calculations.
If you’re still not seeing conversion for those listings, consider turning off advertising for those listings to refocus your budget on the ones that are driving strong ROAS.
Promote your new inventory to get a head start
Launching a new product line? Promoting your new inventory is a great way to improve their organic search placement on Etsy since views and orders are both factors in your search relevancy.
You can also use an advertising test to more quickly learn which items are most enticing to shoppers and which items convert at the best rate, rather than relying solely on organic traffic.
How to Attract Customers to Your Etsy Shop
So, we’ve put together a list of ten essential Etsy selling tips to help make your business a hit.
1. Become a Part of the Community
The Etsy community is vast, and it’s in your best interest to join it. Try participating in the site’s forums by providing feedback to other sellers and reaching out to your favorite Etsy sellers for advice.
To build in-person outreach, search for local events in your community to participate in. Attending events within your own community, such as meetups and pop-up shops, are opportunities to spread awareness and network with other sellers and potential buyers.
2. Post Quality Photos
A picture is worth a thousand words, and even more on Etsy. Be sure that you’re using quality, high-resolution photos that show your products professionally. Use different angles and depths to show the detail of your items.
It’s always a good idea to post multiple images, with at least one of those photos showing the product in action. While you don’t have to hire a professional photographer, you need to use a good camera and present your products in a good light.
3. Know Your SEO
Many of your potential customers will come from internet searches. It is important to make your Etsy shop SEO-optimized. Doing so will help your shop and products rank near the top in web searches.
Be sure to consider everything from your business name to the product titles and descriptions. When writing product details, every aspect of the product should be addressed (size, color, condition, uses, shipping, etc.) to minimize any concerns from a customer while satisfying the search engines. Additionally, keeping your shop updated by adding new content will also help those optimize search results.
4. Start a Blog
Even if your products are unique, there will likely be other sellers that offer similar items. What sets your products apart relies on how well you promote your shop beyond the Etsy website. Starting a blog to share information about your products is one way to increase visibility apart from Etsy.
Consider including details about yourself and your products (how they are manufactured, etc.), and be sure to use relevant keywords for SEO. Another great idea is to write about topics that your shoppers are interested in. For example, if you sell eco-friendly products, write blog posts about how your shopper can be eco-friendlier in their day-to-day lives.
5. Provide the Best Customer Service
Shoppers are more likely to buy from shops where they receive great service. Provide customers with the option to contact you by email, phone or chat. Keep your customers happy by replying quickly to any questions and feedback.
Make sure to respond favorably to your customers if any problems arise, even if you feel that the issue wasn’t your fault. When on social media, be sure to reply to any comments or inquiries. Throughout the buyer’s journey, follow up with your customers to ensure that they’re enjoying their purchase.
Sending out thank you emails or asking about their shopping experience shows customers your dedication to providing excellent service. Your best marketing efforts will come from happy, satisfied customers that recommend your products to their friends through word-of-mouth marketing tactics.
6. Build Your Brand
Branding isn’t just about your shop and your products. It’s also about you.
Launching your Etsy shop, creating unique products, providing outstanding service, and establishing yourself as an expert through blogging are all ways to establish your brand.
Consider creating a distinctive logo for your shop. Use your new logo on your shop, ads, business cards, and packaging. This will help establish trust and confidence with your customers, indicating the quality of your products and brand.
7. Research Successful Etsy Sellers
Not only do you need to perform research about your particular product – to determine how it might sell, who your competition is, and how to price it appropriately – but you also need to take the time to research what other successful Etsy sellers are doing.
Take a look at the shops that appear frequently in the search results. Ask yourself, what are they doing right? What would you change to make it better?
After observing other Etsy shops, start performing research to enhance your seller skillset. Finding blog articles, eBooks and podcasts from your favorite eCommerce platforms are a few ways to get started.
8. Market Your Brand on Social Media
Social media plays a huge part in today’s marketing strategies and in order to build a loyal following, strategic communication strategies are a must. To start, create profiles for your store on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at the least, and on other social media networks if you have the time to manage them.
With social media, you can develop a relationship with your customers. Interacting with followers is a popular source of engagement that shows how personable your brand is.
Something as simple as liking and responding to comments lets customers know that you appreciate their support. These platforms are also a good source for influencers to discover your brand and share it with their followers on social media.
9. Create a Mailing List
Emails are a fast way to reach customers. By sending email campaigns, you can keep customers in the know of any new products, changes, or sales your business is holding. It’s also a great way to assist customers and seek feedback.
This action helps maintain brand awareness by appearing in the shopper’s inbox every week. Creating a campaign may seem like a workload, but using email automation systems, such as Constant Contact, makes designing emails easy.
10. Be Creative with Packaging
Customers are always excited to receive their Etsy purchases, and you can make it even more exciting by providing creative, quality packaging. Not only will it delight your customers, it shows that you’re professional and appreciate their business.
Add some unexpected personality to your packaging – something beyond boxes and envelopes. Include business cards with the product for customers to give to family and friends. The Etsy community is full of creative shoppers and sellers, so exceed that reputation with beautiful and creative packaging.
Conclusion
Marketing is a critical component of running a successful Etsy store. Even if you make the most earth-shatteringly brilliant product ever invented, if no one knows about it, no one is going to buy it.
Effective marketing solves this problem by raising awareness of your brand and establishing your reputation. This, in turn, helps shoppers discover your items, builds buyer trust and confidence, and leads to sales and opportunities.
Whether you’re a new entrepreneur or already have a thriving Etsy store, this guide will help you hone your marketing skills and connect to your target customers. Ensure to put all this tips in action and watch your Etsy store increase in sales.
