Etsy is one of the world’s top online marketplaces. It was designed to operate like a traditional market or fair, where people come to sell things that they make. Instead of stalls in an open space under the sun, these stalls are online, and their owners don’t sell fresh produce; they sell handmade goods, vintage items, and craft supplies.
The e-commerce marketplace is enormously popular, with millions of active sellers and buyers visiting it daily. To make a decent income on Etsy, store owners must implement a range of strategies, which we will discuss in detail in this article. This article will provide you with a long list of tips that will show you how to get sales on Etsy. Let’s jump right in.
How to Get Sales on Etsy – 13 Tips
1. Increase Digital Marketing
Any online brand has to invest in digital marketing to get sales – that is use online channels to promote products or services. Digital channels include websites, social media platforms, and search engines. Digital marketing includes actions like marketing emails, blogging, advertising, posting on social media, and more.
The purpose of online marketing is to reach and engage with the target audience, build brand awareness, drive website traffic, generate leads, make sales, and ultimately achieve business success.
This article will discuss various digital marketing strategies an Etsy merchant can consider, including optimizing product listings, leveraging social validation, inbox marketing, and multichannel selling, among others.
2. Create An Etsy SEO Strategy
An e-commerce store needs an SEO strategy to improve its rankings and increase organic search traffic. Without an effective SEO plan, visitors won’t find your store or merchandise on the marketplace.
Optimizing for Etsy SEO is one of the most crucial skills any Etsy retailer should have.
Etsy SEO refers to the practice of optimizing your Etsy shop and product listings to improve their visibility and ranking in both Etsy’s search function and external search engines like Google.
If you have optimized your shop for SEO, the keyword or phrase a shopper enters into Etsy search, will bring up your shop and merchandise if the search query matches your product keywords and tags.
So, one of the key SEO strategies is to do thorough keyword research. The aim is to find out what keywords Etsy visitors use to find products like yours. You can do this by typing in various terms and seeing what the search engine’s auto-complete comes up with.
The Etsy search bar works just like Google: when you type in a term or phrase, the algorithm makes suggestions for you – these suggestions are taken from terms that online shoppers use. So, when you type in an article that you sell, the search engine will suggest relevant keywords for you. For instance, when you type in “clock”, you get phrases like square, art deco, metal, wood, atomic, stained glass, starburst, and many more, which gives you an idea of what people are looking for when shopping for a clock.
You could also garner some more keywords by looking at keywords other sellers are using for similar items.
Remember, you will be competing with other sellers for the same keywords. One way to be a winner in the competition is to use so-called long-tail keywords – that is, keywords consisting of two to three words, such as Pure/Brass/Wall/Clock
Another SEO tip is optimizing your shop title. You can do this by including the word for your category, or niche into your shop name. This is a common strategy followed by many Etsy shop owners. Worldinsencestore is one of the most successful Etsy shops and its name says everything!
Also, don’t forget to optimize your profile bio and shop announcement section. Take the time to read a few shop bios to understand the scope it affords sellers to tell their story and connect with customers while using important keywords. Consider using Etsy’s shop bio generator to help you create an SEO-optimized bio.
You can also use the shop announcement section to invite customers and visitors to your shop to sign up for your newsletter and follow you on social media.
3. Optimize Your Etsy Product Descriptions
A good and compelling product description will greatly impact your conversion rate. This is another opportunity to optimize your shop for sales on Etsy. For optimization purposes, use relevant keywords to improve visibility in search engine results. Research and identify keywords your target audience is likely to use while searching for products like yours.
Also, include all the relevant key factors:
- An optimized title.
- All product details, including product dimensions, materials used, colors available, etc.
- The function or use of the product.
- Highlight the quality and mention whether it’s handmade, made with premium materials, or expertly crafted.
- Unique aspects that set it apart from other similar items.
- Focus on benefits rather than features.
Don’t present your audience with a wall of writing – break your text up into short paragraphs and use bullet points where applicable. Also, feature the most essential details about your products with your images so customers can see the most important information at a glance.
4. Take Eye-Catching Product Photos
Etsy’s research has found that product photos are the most significant factor in purchasing decisions. In fact, the quality of images is more influential than the price, customer reviews, or postage cost. On Etsy, where many retailers sell objects they make themselves, high-quality images are particularly important.
In other words, producing compelling photographic images of your items for sale is the one deciding factor that can help you make a sale. The opposite is also true – a poor image can sink even the most stunning product.
Before you take any pictures, do some research. Take a look at the product images of Etsy businesses in your niche that sell similar merchandise as you. How are they going about it?
What backgrounds are they using? Are they using props? Are they thinking of a context or an angle that you have not thought of?
Tips to help you take great product photos
Get the Lighting Right
Lighting is one of the most critical aspects of all photography. In fact, for product photography, lighting is everything. What you need is lighting that is bright, soft, and diffused. Natural daylight gives the best results. The light must be diffused because you don’t want noticeable shadows.
Be Careful with Your Choice of Background
The background of your Etsy images is very important – it should enhance your product, not distract from it.
There are loads of background ideas, including using
- A simple white wall
- White marble
- Wooden planks, wicker, or bamboo
- Brown paper
- A plain color that matches your brand palette
- A transparent background. It will eliminate everything in the background, making your product stand out.
- For lifestyle photos that show the product in use, you can consider a natural background like a garden or a beach, depending on the product type.
Choose Props Carefully
Props can help to enhance your products, but props can also be distracting. The best rule of thumb is to only use props if they will enhance the product or serve a specific purpose, like illustrating the size of a product.
Plan Ten Images for each product
Etsy allows sellers to post ten product photos. Take full advantage of this opportunity and plan to create images of each item from every possible angle.
Consider some of these ideas:
- Take close-up shots from different sides and angles.
- To show details on garments and to convey your skills, take macro shots of details.
- Shoot videos to show the product in use.
- Take lifestyle photos that show the product in a daily-use context.
- Take photos that accentuate your brand and its uniqueness.
Do your best to develop your own unique style to differentiate yourself from other sellers in your niche.
5. Boost Sales with Product Videos
This strategy is increasingly being used. Video Marketing Statistics 2023 reveal that 36% of marketers created product demo videos in 2022 and 87% report that video marketing has helped them increase sales.
It’s easy to understand why videos are an excellent marketing tool. A video is more effective at showcasing a product and its use than still images – a video simply provides more information than a photo.
Consult the Etsy Seller Handbook to ensure that your videos comply with Etsy’s requirements. Basically, you can have only one video per product, it must not be longer than 15 seconds and contain no audio. The resolution should be at least 1080px.
6. Integrate Your Etsy Shop with a Live Shopping Platform for Record Sales
To get products to sell fast, you can integrate your Etsy shop with a live shopping platform, like Restream or Popshop. These platforms allow you to import your stock to a live stream from your Etsy store, where you can talk about your items for sale and show how they work or are made.
People watching the videos can use an embedded QR code to make their purchase right there and then. Or you can display links to your stock in your store. Integrating your Etsy shop with a live shopping platform is a sure way to make sales.
Before going live with the video, rehearse what you are going to say and do so you come across as professional.
7. Make More Sales with Etsy Ads
You can promote your stock on Etsy with Etsy Ads. With Etsy Ads, sellers pay every time a shopper clicks on an ad. Sellers have to pay for their pay-per-click (PPC) listings, which promote their stock in buyer searches.
Etsy Ads work according to a bidding system in which sellers compete against each other for paid advertising space in search results. You can choose a daily budget for your ads and tailor them to your target audience. To learn the ins and outs of the system and how to best make use of it, consult the Etsy Help Center.
New sellers are advised to only consider Etsy ads if they already have an established customer base.
Check out our article on How to Delete Etsy Account.
8. Relist Your Products Frequently
When you relist a product, you create a new listing for the same product, which entails a new URL for the listing. According to user forums online, this step increases traffic to the store. The increased visibility can lead to increased sales.
The Etsy algorithm prioritizes the most recently listed products, sending them to the top of search results pages. So, every time a seller lists a product, it has an increased opportunity to appear in a customer’s search, which can lead to more Etsy sales.
Relisting an underperforming product gives you the opportunity to improve the product listing with appropriate tags, an improved title, and a product description, which can boost its performance.
There is, of course, also the Etsy Auto-Renew feature, which automatically relists your listings so they remain at the top of search results. Sellers can choose which items they want to relist and how often they want it to happen.
9. Leverage Social Proof
In the digital age, social validation has become integral to the success of online businesses. Examples include customer reviews, celebrity endorsements, certifications, influencer endorsements, and the number of social media followers.
These trust signals work because the average consumer makes their buying decisions based on the trust that others show in a product or service. Plenty of examples of social validation displayed in your Etsy shop are sure to help you grow your Etsy sales.
Etsy retailers can use social validation in their business by collecting and showcasing testimonials and endorsements. Another tactic is to display the number of fans and followers on the different social media platforms.
Product Reviews
The presence of customer endorsements creates trust in the brand. Research has found that consumers consider reviews the most important factor influencing their purchasing decisions. In fact, reviews and ratings influence buying decisions more than loyalty to the brand or free shipping.
As soon as a product has five reviews, the likelihood that it will sell increases by 270%, according to Spiegel. Also, the number of reviews is a deciding factor for shoppers. When two products have similar ratings, consumers tend to buy the product that has more reviews.
In addition, the conversion rates of product pages with reviews are up to 3.5 times higher than those that don’t.
If you want to grow your Etsy sales, feature customer testimonials on product pages. One way to get user testimonials is to take action immediately after you make a sale. Send a message asking the buyer for a review. Customize your store’s settings to automatically ask for a review when a customer buys an item. To encourage customers to leave a review, offer a discount for them to do so. This tactic has the added benefit of fostering good customer relationships.
Promote Your Etsy Shop on Social Media
One effective way to increase digital engagement is by joining social media platforms. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are effective avenues for promoting an Etsy store and growing your sales.
Link your Etsy store to your social media accounts and take the following steps to promote your store. Add links to your social accounts in your Etsy About section and Shop Home.
Post Regularly on Your Chosen Social Media Platforms
Choose the platforms that would best suit your brand and post regularly on them about your business, products, plans for the future, upcoming events, or anything else you can come up with.
A lot of Etsy store owners are using Pinterest to promote their Etsy stores. The platform is visited by millions of consumers every day, looking for all sorts of products and ideas. Account holders create boards of what they like and pin and repin their own and found items. It’s in this pinning process that visitors to Pinterest can discover your business.
Use the analytics of each platform to discover the best times to post your news so your target audience will not miss your posts. This can be quite time-consuming, so consider an automation tool to take care of this for you.
Create Social Media Ads
In addition to posting often, you can also post ads on your social media accounts. Your bought advertising allows you to select your target audience, so your ad will appear in their feed.
The Etsy Sellers Handbook offers detailed suggestions on how to promote an Etsy store on social media.
Use your followers to promote your store
Here is a neat suggestion. Get your followers to promote your store for you. You can accomplish this by promising followers one of your products as a giveaway in return for them liking your posts, reposting your posts to their followers, or tagging friends in the comments, This tactic will help you to get more followers and hopefully increase your Etsy sales. You can also offer the giveaway to social media users visiting your account, in return for following you or taking some other action that would help your store.
Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content is gold for social proof. Like customer reviews and testimonials, UGC helps to build trust in your brand, which can ultimately boost sales.
Content that involves your brand and is created by your customers is user-generated evidence of your brand’s reputation. Think about it, a photo of a customer using your product and obviously pleased with it, is only second to the person actually standing in front of you saying how great the product is.
User content elevates your brand because it’s created by consumers for consumers. This type of content comes across as authentic, builds trust, contributes to a sense of community.
The trick is how to get your hands on UGC. The simplest solution is to ask customers to share photos of themselves using an item they bought from you and to tag your business in the photo.
If the customer complies, ask if you can repost the photo. Repost the photo with a product review (even a one-liner will do) and post it across your social media platforms.
Other examples of UGC include short video clips and product reviews posted by influencers.
10. Use Email Marketing to Boost Your Sales on Etsy
Email marketing has proven itself as an effective marketing approach, yielding a superb $36 for every $1 spent. Most brands worldwide view email campaigns as critical to business success. It is a sure way to grow your Etsy sales.
If you consider that 50% of people buy from marketing emails at least once per month, it’s clear that Etsy store owners cannot ignore the ability of inbox advertising to promote their products. It’s a tactic that builds customer relationships, spreads brand awareness, and increases long-term profits.
But wait, Etsy does not allow sellers to reach out to customers via Etsy messenger to obtain their email addresses. So how do you collect a list of customer email addresses?
Ways to get Etsy Customers’ email addresses
Post the URL in Your Shop’s Header image
Make the link to your email address part of your shop’s header image. Being part of an image, your clients won’t be able to click on it, but they can type it into Google, so try to keep it short and simple.
Post A Link to Your Mailing List in Your Etsy Shop
Put a link to your mailing list sign-up in plain sight, by including it in the Shop Announcement or About section.
Post A Link to Your Mailing List in Your Thank You Message
Put a link to your mailing list sign-up at the bottom of your thank you message that goes out when someone has made a purchase.
Include it with your packaging
When you ship orders, it’s the ideal opportunity to add marketing materials. It could be as simple as a small business card with your business details printed on it.
Use Your Social Media Accounts
If you have followers on social media platforms, you can invite your fans and followers to sign up for your mailing list. Give them an incentive to sign up like a promise of exclusive content.
Once you have implemented a way to obtain subscribers to your email list, it’s time to consider the best way to leverage email outreach.
Here are a few tips.
- Have a definite goal for each email, such as introducing a new product, sharing company news, linking to a blog post, or a social media post. Don’t focus each email on selling – people quickly get tired of that.
- Balance your promotional emails with links to content that will be useful for your readers. You could include a link to a blog post or offer downloadable digital content.
- When brainstorming content for your emails, think about knowledge or know-how that your business is in a unique position to share. The content of your emails will depend on the nature of your brand and the niche it occupies.
- Think of specific information that would be helpful for your customers, such as:
- An upcoming sale
- A link to a webinar or podcast
- A case study
- An interview with an industry leader
- Survey results
As a general rule of thumb, send your marketing emails once a week if you have something new to share. Don’t send emails more often than once a week, and send at least one a month.
You might want to keep in mind that the highest opening rate for marketing emails is on Friday evenings and the slowest is on Saturdays. Send your emails at times when your target audience is most likely to open the emails they receive from you.
11. Participate in Etsy Sales
Etsy runs site-wide sale events a few times a year, often during the holiday shopping season. These events are of great benefit to Etsy sellers, who benefit from the increased traffic to the platform.
During these sales, Etsy promotes the sale at no cost to the retailers on the platform. The result is more visitors to Etsy, which might benefit your store, even if you don’t participate in the event. The problem is that if shoppers use a sales filter when on the platform, they will be guided to participating shops, so your store might not benefit at all if you don’t participate.
Etsy-wide sales events during busy seasons can help attract shoppers to your store on the marketplace. In the past, retailers that have participated sold at a higher rate than stores not participating.
If you plan to participate in an Etsy sale, communicate the fact to your customers and followers well in advance of the event.
12. Become a Top Etsy Seller through Multichannel Selling
Integration with other sales channels enables multichannel sales. For example, as an Etsy retailer, you may have your items available for sale through your Etsy shop, another e-commerce platform like Shopify, a mobile app, a social media platform, or another marketplace like Amazon or eBay – 61% of Etsy sellers are considered multi-channel retailers.
Multichannel sales are increasing and becoming an established phenomenon in e-commerce.
When you become a multichannel seller, you give yourself an opportunity to skyrocket your sales on Etsy and increase your digital footprint.
Sell Through Your Own Website
One way to stop competing with the other thousands of sellers on Etsy is to use Etsy360 to embed your Etsy shop listings on your website and sell from there. Etsy360 is an easy-to-install app that streams your Etsy shop, complete with all of your listings, product photos, descriptions, and more on your website. Any changes you make to your Etsy shop are updated in real time.
Sell on Facebook
Using Etsy360, you can also start selling on Facebook and increase your sales. By integrating with Etsy360, you can automatically take your shop to Facebook Marketplace, the largest social media platform in the world, with millions of users meeting, shopping, and sharing information.
A move to Facebook is potentially very lucrative considering that up to 1.185 billion online shoppers buy something on Facebook Marketplace in any given month.
On Facebook Marketplace an Etsy store owner can capitalize on opportunities like boosted listings and Facebook groups. Joining Facebook groups that might be interested in your products is a great way to find potential customers. There are thousands of groups and it’s free to join.
Sell on eBay and Amazon
To really become a multichannel seller, you can integrate your Etsy shop with ExportYourStore. The platform enables cross-channel integrations that make multichannel commerce simple and seamless.
Using ExportYourStore, you can export your inventory from Etsy and import it into Amazon and eBay. The solution will sync all of your Etsy inventory with the platform you choose and automatically update everything. Many Etsy merchants have stores on Amazon to reach a wider audience and increase their sales.
Integrate Your Etsy Shop with Shopify
This tactic may just offer you the best of two worlds. Selling on both platforms will optimize your sales.
You can sync your Etsy shop with Shopify by using native marketplace integrations offered by both Shopify and Etsy. Both platforms offer features and apps that enable retailers to integrate their online stores.
Selling on both marketplaces enables retailers to broaden their consumer base and benefit from the features and advantages of both platforms. Best of all, selling on both Etsy and Shopify increases your chance of getting sales.
13. Turn a Profit on Etsy with Free Shipping
Offering free shipping for online purchases used to be a competitive advantage for online businesses, but since the pandemic, it has become common practice. Consumers have become so used to it that added shipping costs are one of the most common reasons for shopping cart abandonment.
Since it has become common practice to offer free shipping, online retailers must find a way to pay for the delivery cost without it adding to their costs and eating into their profits.
One way to achieve this is to factor shipping into operation costs and pricing from the outset.
Another way is to promote up-sells and cross-sells to customers. You can increase your order value by combining upsells with free shipping – offering free shipping if a buyer adds more products to their cart.
Etsy merchants can also negotiate lower shipping rates by developing relationships with shipping vendors. Free shipping is a long-term approach, which involves a short-term loss for a benefit down the road in the form of loyal customers who keep returning.
