Etsy guide for beginners in 7 steps

1. Choose what to sell.

In Etsy, the choices are two – vintage or handmade. But the options are so many! Not only physical items but also digital – like pictures for example or any kind of services. It is your choice, but remember – it is not necessary to have something unique, but it is necessary to be good presented and to make it wanted for many buyers. My research shows what sells best on Etsy – personalized items! For example – T-Shirts, Caps, Pillows, Baby bodies and everything that can be made like a present for someone, or with text to someone. So, if you plan to make something handmade, try to transform it into something personal – write the name or other text, that buyers will want.

2. Choose very good the name of your shop, it is important for SEO.

It is good when you start your business to choose something easy to remember and connect with your scope of business. You can use it as a hosting platform, whose links can present your shop everywhere in the internet space like in social media, for SEO and others. If you already have other online shops – like for example eBay, it will be good to use the same name, so buyers can easily find you. And remember you! Also important the name of your shop to be connected with the items you sell, for example, if you sell handmade headbands the name of the shop is good to include these two keywords.

3. Make a good presentation of your items.

This means very good pictures /you can find on the web many bits of advice on how to make this/ and it will be good to invest some time doing it. But the most important when you create a listing is the title and the tags. Here is the big secret of Etsy! You can use up to 13 tags, so people can find your item easy. What means this? This is like SEO built-in on Etsy. Use keywords describing material, color, size also names of brands, target people, country of origin if it is not produced by you, synonyms are very important /for example sunglasses and eyewear, handbags and all other words for this like purse, tote …/, because different types of people use different types of words. Another good idea is to duplicate your title keywords as tags also. So, use all 13 tags and this will increase the traffic very, really. The title – extremely important! It should be detailed and keyword rich. This will increase the chance your item to be found easily. Use also words to describe the positioning or uniqueness of your items –  like rare, premium quality, designer, mint.

4. Choose well the prices.

The price is very important! But I frequently see that the most Etsy sellers actually don’t define it well. This is not fatal. The most used method for pricing is to look for similar items from other shops. You can’t see for how much exactly something is sold, you can only see available items like yours with their current prices for sale. The price must be not too low, but not too high. Often people define the quality with the price. The best thing to put the right price is to check and just to see how the market will react – watch the traffic to your items and if it is low, think again about new prices /of course if other things like SEO is already correctly done/.

 

5. Use the marketing tool.

Here is the other secret of Etsy. Go to the marketing tool and look at the options for sales and coupons. You can choose to make a discount promotion for 10%, 15%, 20% or more. The buyers will see the old price and the new one. Buyers always like to save! So, when they see that they can buy with some discount, this will make them happy and ready to buy! You can choose also to make free shipping promotion. The other option is a coupon system. You can choose the buyers after purchasing something from you, to receive mail with some special discount for the next purchase with code, sent to them.  This will bring the sense that the buyer is special and that is always good for your business! The idea of the coupon system is that this will make your customers ready to come back for more orders any time. Use also key shopping dates – Etsy is making a calendar with the important dates for shopping – like for example black Fridays or other similar dates. This will help you to make sales at the right dates when most people are looking for good deals and are ready to spend some money for themselves or for gifts.

6. Make good graphic design

Good design will make your shop looks professional. It is not necessary to pay for good design. You can make it alone. There are many programs and even online you can do it. One of these options to make a good design without Photoshop is to register here – www.canva.com. You can make there great Etsy covers and logos. If this is just not for you, find a designer to do it for you because to make the good graphic design is like to be a painter – you can do it well, or not at all.

7. Social media marketing

The last point from this guide, but not the least at all J Something very important to reach more people today, you can’t do it without social media, even if you are not a big fan of it.  Create a matching Facebook page. Use the same name and logo. If you prefer Instagram, it is also a good field that is preferred by many people. Make more followers there, catch the clients and “take” them to your shop. But the best option for Etsy is actually Pinterest. I believe Pinterest is an excellent idea to advertising your Etsy shop. There you can create “pins” and “boards” with your pictures of items directly connected with a strong link to your Etsy shop. This is maybe a good place to use social marketing for free because officially Pinterest doesn’t have a section for advertising. But non-officially it is the best free channel for small business to presents itself.  Do not underestimate it at all! My advice is to start with Pinterest as soon as possible!

Now enjoy Etsy, sell and make money!

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