Simple Etsy Tips For Beginners

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Start With At Least 20 Products

Think of Etsy as a store. No one wants to go into a store, and nothing is on the shelf. People want to look around and explore. This is true for Etsy, just like any store.

Keep Listing New Products

If you’re not adding items to your digital shelves, your store can feel state. You also risk being less relevant to Etsy Search. Etsy constantly wants people to find new things to buy. Lean into this fact. 

Learn How Etsy Search Work

a woman using her laptop to search Etsy
searching on etsy by Liza Summer

Your customers go to Etsy and search for things. This is how they find your stuff. Learn how the search work on Etsy. This is critical to be successful on the platform.

Build Your Email List

Yes, you want customers, but you also want an audience. Audiences can follow you on any platform. Start an email list as soon as possible. Growing your audience is just as important as making the items you’re selling on Etsy.

Write Great Product Descriptions

People love a great story. Infuse your great stories into your product descriptions. If you’ve made a piece with reclaimed wood, add this information to the product. Stories make your items feel fuller and less hollow.

Utilize Social Networks

social network icons by Pixabay
social network icons by Pixabay

Make sure you leverage the visual social network like Instagram and Pinterest. These sites can send your store a lot of traffic with minimal work.

Reply To Customers Like A Friend

Etsy has a chill vibe. People like investing in creativity. When you respond like a friend, you’re not killing that vibe; you’re embracing it.

Learn from Successful Etsy Sellers But Don’t Copy Them

It’s straightforward to go to Etsy’s site and see the best-selling items. You could copy the pictures and text. After you copy, you create a listing and paste what you copied early. This will get you banned. Instead, study these listings. You will see the pattern and incorporate them into your listings.

Level Up Your Coupon Code Game

red love heart coupons
red love heart coupon by Olya Kobruseva

Many people don’t shop without coupons in physical stores. Why would you take this ability aware from them? Coupons are a great way to juice sales. Coupons are also a great source of referral.

Understand Etsy Ads

A significant challenge all of us face when we start something new is getting noticed. You can gain awareness through Etsy Ads. These can get expensive if you’re not careful. If you use them or not, you should understand them.

Create A Sensible Pricing Strategy

a summer sale up to 70 picture on a store window
summer sale up to 70 by Artem Beliaikin

You should start with a narrow price range. You don’t want people thinking about your pricing. You want them to say ‘ooh’ and by your item. You don’t want them to say, ‘why is this item so much more than…’ 

Use Easy To Understand Names And Taglines

Keep things simple. Think about how things work in the real world. If someone calls it a lamp, call it a lamp. Don’t get cute and call it a light stick or other ridiculous made-up thing.

Understand Seller Fees

These are fees on Etsy. Make sure you understand those fees. You can end up losing money if you’re not careful. 

Keep your cost to ship low

A container Ship on the sea that's loaded with hundreds of containers
Container Ship by Pixabay

Amazon has put the idea into many shoppers’ heads that shipping should be free and a package will arrive at your doorstep in 2 days. Consciously or subconsciously, people expect this. If you accept this, you can focus on meeting your customers’ expectations instead of fighting with them.

Simplify Your Shop Policy

No one wants to understand crazy rules when they buy stuff on Etsy. Please resist the urge to create a policy that works only for you as the seller. You can get in the way of the money train if you’re not careful with this one.

Note: This page does link to referral programs.