The Etsy marketplace has grown every year and you can still turn your passion for creativity into a business or extra cash. But in order to be a successful Etsy seller, you must do more than simply set up shop. It takes dedication and a lot of hard work. You need to stand out from the competition and this means donning your business and entrepreneurial hat to make sure you are successful. I have made a list of some of the most important Etsy selling tips for beginners to help make your business a success from the start.
For an in-depth guide read our Ultimate Beginners Guide to Etsy here. You can also use the Etsy Fee Calculator to make sure you are factoring in all your fees before profit here. This website has everything you need to learn and will be updated with new Etsy selling tips on a regular basis!
Start a Blog
Starting a blog has many benefits. It gives you an opportunity to document and share your ideas with others, promote your items and meet more people. Your products might be unique but there will be other sellers with similar items. The best Etsy sellers are professional businesses and create multiple streams of income from their blog. Make sure you research your SEO and other key words related to your website. Write about topics that interest you and that of your fanbase.will enjoy reading. You can monetize your website in multiple ways from advertisements, affiliate links, links to your own shop and that of others.
Be a Part of the Community
The Etsy community is huge and it by participating in the site’s forums by providing feedback to other sellers and reaching out to your favorite Etsy sellers for advice you in turn will also receive constructive criticism and help to improve your own business. Search for local events and Etsy teams which hold meetups and pop up shops. This will increase your customer reach, network with other sellers and potential buyers.
Post Quality Photos
Your pictures need to show your products as professionally as possible. It is the first thing your customers will see and judge your product based on them. Be sure that you’re using quality, high-resolution photos and use different angles and depths to show the detail of your items. Use the maximum allowance of photos and if possible make sure one of the photos shows the item being used. Always take the photos in good natural light. While some smartphones have excellent photo cameras eventually you should think about getting a better camera and some studio lighting.
Know Your SEO
Learning SEO can seem daunting but you don’t need to hire a professional company to do this for you. A lot of your customers will come from organic searches looking for that ideal gift. Because of this you need to make sure your Etsy store is keyword rich, with words relating to your products. Doing this helps to rank you at the top of search engines.
Make sure your business name, product titles, descriptions and images are assessed and are working for you. You are trying to satisfy your customer to feel safe purchasing the product while ranking on search engines. Make sure to update your blog and shop on a regular basis to keep search engine bots happy!
Guarantee the Best Customer Service
This goes without saying but offering the highest level of customer service should be your number one priority. Shoppers are more likely to buy from shops where they receive great service. Give customers lots of options to contact you and make sure to reply quickly to questions or issues that may arise. Sometimes you may feel that the customer feedback is not fair or that you think it wasn’t your fault. Be as it may, you should still try to resolve the issue and remember you want that customer to come back, leave a positive review while spreading the word on your shop.
Always follow up with your customer’s purchase and try to get some feedback. If there is some criticism don’t take it to heart, use it to improve your business practice. By doing this you will show your customers you are serious about your business.
Building a Brand
Building a brand is more than just your products and shop. It is your image, your personality and distinguishes you from the rest of your competition. Following other points on this list will ensure you are establishing your brand. Make sure to think about a logo for your shop and website. Make it consistent so that customers become familiar with your brand. It shows trust, confidence and quality.
Research Research and more Research
This is something that you should never stop doing! Businesses evolve and are changing all the time. It is important you know what your competition is up to and where they are taking the business. You should be researching your own products and determining how much it will sell for, demand, who the competition is and are they more successful than you? Why is that? What can you do differently to make you stand out more?
Social Media
You can’t succeed online without social media nowaday. It plays a huge part in getting you and your products seen and for building a following. You should be looking at the most used platforms having at least Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Create a Mailing List on your Blog
Mailing lists are an excellent way to keep your customers and followers up to date. You can push a notification of new products, limited editions and voucher codes to them. This helps to keep your brand visible and the more you do this the more your customers will remember you. I advise sending out one email a week. But make sure that it is quality content like a new blog post or product on your shop. Customers do not want to be spammed with filler content!
Unique Packaging
Having unique packaging doesn’t mean getting it made professionally in a factory. You could decorate some paper with your own artwork, stamps or lettering to wrap your products. This shows you care about each and every item sent out and that you want them to have the best experience right from the moment they receive it in the post! Make sure to include your business card or thank you note with a link to your website!
Remember, offering the best customers service, being honest and reliable will all point towards you being a credible business on Etsy. By following these Etsy selling tips for beginners you are well on your way to success!