Etsy is a wonderful place to sell your handmade goods! It is a thriving market place with its own built in search engine, with tons of online shoppers searching for the very product that YOU are making, on a daily basis.
In our third month on Etsy we made $22,183.42 in sales of our handmade wreaths. Yep, that was just three months after we opened our Etsy shop. I mention those numbers, not to brag, but to show you that if you set up your shop and your shop listings correctly, it is very possible to have massive success selling on Etsy.
On the contrary, if you don’t know how to effectively sell on Etsy, then all of the work that you put into creating and setting up your shop could be a waste of time and energy.
Below are the biggest mistakes I see people making when selling on Etsy. If you avoid these common mistakes, you will be well on your way to creating a thriving and successful Etsy shop, so here are FIVE things you do not want do when selling on Etsy.
- Failing to Completely Set Up Your Etsy Shop
When you are setting up your Etsy shop, you need to be sure to set it up entirely. That means that you need to be sure to have the following completed:
- Shop Name
- Shop Title
- Profile Photo
- Shop Banner
- About
- Polices
- Shop Announcements
- Product Title
- Product Description
- Tags
- Materials
- Shipping Profile
- Processing Time
2. Not Consistently Adding New Product Listings
Think of your Etsy shop as your own personal boutique. You want to consistently be rolling out new and seasonal appropriate products. Shoppers will get bored with seeing the same few listings over and over again, so you want to be consistently offering new items.
Adding new items and updating your old listings will help to signal to Etsy that you are a relevant and active shop, which can increase your chances of being shown higher in the search results. I think it can also be highly beneficial to consistently update old listings. Tweak your title and description, or add a new photo, to revive your listing and generate new traffic to your items.
3. Using Poor Quality Photos or Too Few Photos
When selling Etsy, your photos are extremely important. You want to have clear photos of your product in a non-distracting and well-lit location. You do not want to use grainy or blurry photos, and the less in the background the better. Be sure that your product photo grabs the attention of shoppers as they are scrolling through the search listings!
Your main product image should be a clear, cropped photo, showing your item in its entirety. Use most, preferably all, of the photo spaces that Etsy so generously allows. Take photos of your item from different angles, to give shoppers a good visual representation of your product, and if your item has any special or unique selling points, be sure to show those in your photos.
4. Ineffective Product Descriptions and Titles
Your descriptions are super important when selling on Etsy. Shoppers don’t have the luxury of trying on a product, or touching, smelling, or holding it like they would if they were shopping in a boutique or brick and mortar store. They are relying on you to provide them with enough information about the product for them to feel comfortable handing over their hard earned money, so just like good, clear product photos are essential to selling on Etsy, so is a well constructed product description.
You want your Etsy product descriptions to answer as many questions as possible. The less a potential customer has to think about, or wonder about the product, the better chance for a sale. Answer any common such; as size, color, dimensions, and material, in a clear and easy to understand way. I also encourage you to include shipping and processing time in your description so that the potential customer knows right off the bat how long it will take and when to expect the item.
Add keywords throughout your product description. Keywords are “searchable” words and terms that people may be typing into the Etsy search bar to find what it is that you are selling. For example, if you are selling handmade wreaths, you may use keywords or keyword phrases such as, spring wreath, front door wreath, or wreath for doors. Use keywords that represent the product that you are listing sparingly throughout the description, in a way that they flow and sound appropriate. Don’t “stuff” your description with keywords, but do add a few when appropriate.
Include a link to your Etsy shop home page or other section of your shop. This will help shoppers to browse through your shop longer, and the longer they stay in your shop, the more likely they are to make a purchase!
5. Failing to Promote Your Shop
Once you have your shop completed and up and running, you absolutely MUST promote it. How will people know to buy from you if they don’t know you are selling anything? Etsy has a great internal search engine, but there may be a lot of competition in your market, so you don’t JUST want to rely on the search engine to bring traffic to your shop. A Facebook business page is one of my favorite ways to promote your shop, and you can click here for my top 8 ways to promote your Etsy shop.
Etsy also has a section where you can link your social media platforms, and I think this is great, because it is a way for people to find you and get to know you on all of your social channels. BONUS TIP: People buy from people they know, like, and trust, so the more you can effectively get in front of your potential customer, the more likely they are to purchase from you!
PIN IT FOR LATER
Etsy is a great place to sell your handmade products and crafts, so I encourage you to use these helpful tips and give it a try!
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