As a creative I’ve always had a knack for making my own products and building different brands around the things I love.
I never had an interest to wholesale or drop ship products created by others let alone run my own Shopify store.
The thought of driving an audience through Facebook ads and Google was much too overwhelming for me as a brand new solopreneur but to each their own.
After conducting research and taking an online course that showed proven results in my niche, I decided to move forward with none other than Etsy as my first platform of choice.
Etsy is full of creative business owners who sell anything from arts and crafts, handmade products, jewelry, hand poured candles, tech accessories, and digital web designs to educational resources for kids.
My ultimate goal is to sell digital products on my blog, but in order to do that I would have to drive enough traffic to actually make sales.
Make sense? Well, that’s where Etsy comes in!
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Etsy has a built-in audience full of active shoppers who are anxious to hit the buy button. What’s even better is that setting up an Etsy shop is super easy. It takes no more than a few hours tops depending on your listings.
Win.Win.
So, now that I’ve finally opened up my Etsy shop (Ahhh! That’s me silently screaming inside from excitement and nervousness at the same time) and followed all the steps necessary to launch the magic begins…Right?
Not quite.
I’ve had my shop open for exactly 2-3 months and while I’ve seen a significant increase in traffic thanks to Pinterest I didn’t start getting sales until I added more products consistently.
Unless you already have an audience anticipating your handmade products to be release or have trendy products for sale, don’t expect to become an Etsy best seller overnight.
It takes Etsy at least 30 days to recognize that you’re running a legit shop. Your store’s visibility is extremely limited unless you optimize it for SEO.
I learned this after posting a digital product just for it to show up on the 48th page of search results on Etsy.
If you don’t set your shop up the right way, your products will never be seen organically.
After implementing three simple strategies in my shop as an Etsy novice, I saw my traffic double in a matter of weeks. Keep reading to learn more!
How to start an Etsy business?
Optimize your Etsy shop for SEO
Make a first impression with visitors so that they can return to your store. A blind man can spot a newbie shop from Etsy on a mile away. There’s usually little to no sales or reviews, a small number of products, the shop description is nowhere to be found, and a banner may be non-existent too.
Don’t let this be you.
Let visitors know that your store has potential. Would you return to a store with an empty storefront, limited options to choose from, and no brand logo? …Exactly.
One of the first things I completed before launching my Etsy shop was the ‘about me’ section. I then ordered a logo, created a simple banner with Canva, and added external links to my Instagram, blog, and Pinterest profile.
It’s possible to launch a store within a few hours tops. Just make sure you have a product to list or two.
Everyone is anxious to open their shop and make their first sale on Etsy. Trust me, I get it, and there’s no problem in doing so as long as you’re efficient.
On Etsy everything counts; from the quality of your listing photos and product description right down to your tags.
Quick tip: Take advantage of every option Etsy gives you!
Add all thirteen tags, stage your product in different ways, and if there are ten slots to add photos use them all. And more importantly, add keywords in your product titles, product descriptions, and tags.
If you sale a unique product and you’ve used keywords that are non-competitive, your product’s chances of being shown on the first few pages of search results for key terms increases dramatically.
How to make one sale a day on Etsy with Pinterest?
Get your own traffic
So many new Etsy sellers delay their growth by putting up a product and throwing their money at Etsy ads. Unless your product is lucky enough to be selling like hot cakes out the gate, stray away from ads until you see a spike in sales.
I know you’re probably asking yourself why not? Don’t ads put more eyes on my product?
Sure, they do, but running ads without having a shop full of products to sell isn’t the best strategy starting out.
Keep things simple when you launch.
Create a pinterest account and business profile.
This allows you to create pin images that link directly to the product you are selling. To increase your chances of getting your pins seen and saved on Pinterest make them attractive and long in height (avoid short, square pins).
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Pinterest users love a pretty pin to add to their boards for their followers to see. Simply pinning from Etsy directly won’t always work unless your product fits into fashion or home decor.
The majority of my traffic on Etsy is free and directly from Pinterest. One of the best things about starting an online business selling digital products is the low start up costs and unpaid marketing makes having one even sweeter.
Imagine having your product repinned over and over again for thousands of Pinterest viewers to see. Once a pin picks up momentum on Pinterest it doesn’t stop but takes on a life of its own by driving traffic to your store non-stop.
Pinterest is fun to use but requires a lot of effort to grow. Many people share Pinterest strategies to use while guaranteeing your traffic will skyrocket. I’m not that blogger. Pinterest is a platform that is constantly changing and evolving like many others.
One strategy may be working well for a few months then the algorithm changes and you’re back at square one again.
So, I’ll share what’s working right now as of 2020.
…Pins. Pins…oh and more pins.
Pinterest is hungry for new content these days and they’re also incorporating more media through Pinterest stories and video pins.
If you want to increase your viewers on Pinterest, add at least one new pin each day and pin at least 40-50 times to your personal boards.
Research keywords…It helps!
Sometimes, simply researching your competition is enough to get you started.
Yes, we have various sites like Marmalead and eRank at our fingertips, but since we’re beginners, let’s avoid the overwhelm and stick to the basics for now.
How do I choose keywords on Etsy?
Titles, tags, and descriptions — what should be in them?
If you’ve sold anything online before, you probably know how important the use of keywords are on any platform.
Start by typing in a query for a similar product in the search bar on Etsy. Etsy suggests various keywords that are similar or popular to your original query.
If relevant, start with those! They are a goldmine for Etsy shop sellers.
Keywords should be added in your listings for both the title and tags. Your product description should have popular keywords sprinkled throughout it as well.
Last but not least, find your competitors on Etsy who sell similar products and get more keyword ideas. If they are already ranking high, they’ve more than likely done the bulk of the research for you.
Some keywords are more popular than others and can do really well with pushing your products to the top of Etsy’s search results.
I’ll be documenting my journey as a new Etsy shop seller in order to compare the outcome to selling products directly on my blog.
As of right now, I’m growing two online businesses at once, which wouldn’t be possible without a plan in place.
If you’re interested in starting an online business and are in need of a daily resource that will keep you focused, download The Side Hustle Planner below and get started today!
I teach entrepreneurs how to simplify their life and business with less + own their time and maximize productivity towards their personal and monetary goals.
I’m so happy that you’ve opened your etsy shop! I’ve thought about it a couple of times myself. Thank you for sharing you etsy knowledge, it sure is helpful!
Thank for the helpful info, who knew no ads in the beginning?
Thank you for writing about your business startup journey. It was very informative and guiding for me. Wish you all the luck in your journey.
Thanks Kavita!
This was very, very useful, thank you so much for sharing your experiences❤️