Dishfunctional Designs: how to get sales on Etsy

Showing posts with label how to get sales on Etsy. Show all posts

Monday, October 8, 2018

How To Boost Your Etsy Sales This Holiday Season

With lots of changes underfoot, confusing algorithms and an over-saturated market, selling on Etsy during the holidays can be a real challenge!

Some questions and thoughts you might be asking yourself during this time are:

Will customers be able to find my shop amid the oceans of other sellers?

Will I have any sales?

How can I make my shop stand out above the others?

How will I deal with Etsy’s rising fees?

Will I be able to afford to keep my shop open?
What promotions should I use to attract holiday shoppers?

These thoughts and questions range from the simple to the more complex. Some of us sell on Etsy part-time to supplement our regular income, while for others, selling on Etsy is a full-time job. But things on Etsy have been changing, especially this past year, when Etsy announced that they were increasing fees for sellers from 3% to 5%, taking 5 percent of the final sale price of every item. But not only that, Etsy also announced that they will now also take 5% of a seller’s shipping costs as well.

Along side of the increased fees, there are now also paid options you can choose from for your Etsy shop, monthly subscription-type services which may or may not help your shop. Will these subscriptions really give your shop an advantage over others? That’s a point to be debated. But what I find disheartening is that it used to be pretty much of a level playing field for everyone selling. With the implementation of the paid subscription type services, Etsy is now offering a perceived advantage to those who can afford to pay for it. Do you think this is fair?

Do you need to pay for the extra bells and whistles to stand out on Etsy?

I’m not sure what the answer to this question is. I guess you can always give it a try and see if it works for you. But one thing I can say for certain is that if you do not have a quality, salable, promoted and marketed product with an interested audience, and a well organized shop, you most likely will not attract a lot of sales. Now, all that aside, if you have a flailing, struggling shop I kind of doubt that paying for those extra services will do anything to save your shop. If you don’t have the basics down first, what good is the icing on top of the cake?

So to answer my own previous question, no, you do not need to pay for the extra bells and whistles to have a successful shop. As a matter of fact, those paid services have ZERO direct correlation with the quality of your product and the quality of your customer service! Yes, you heard right, the quality of your product and your customer service are up to you and you alone!

I am forever amazed at the amount of folks who open up shops on Etsy with the idea of the Etsy-encouraged “quit your day job“ who actually believe that they should actually quit their day jobs! Don’t quit your day job! Let me repeat, don’t quit your day job! This catchphrase was merely a marketing scheme to attract and entice people into opening shops, selling them the fantasy dream of quitting their not-so-dreamily-ideal day jobs and selling online as a career with full-time pay. But that is only a fantasy and not the true reality of selling on Etsy, unless you live with someone else who can pay the mortgage and support you while you do so. A very, very small amount of Etsy sellers are able to quit their day jobs and earn a full-time income selling on Etsy. And even then, that full-time income often changes as quickly as trends change and fees increase.

A very, very small amount of Etsy sellers are able to quit their day jobs and earn a full-time income selling on Etsy. And even then, that full-time income often changes as quickly as trends change and fees increase.

With all that said, how can you boost your Etsy sales this upcoming holiday season?

The reason I talked about all of that background information first is so that you have a clear understanding of some of the realities of selling on Etsy. Hopefully one thing that stuck out to you a few paragraphs back was when I stated that paid services have zero correlation with your quality of product and quality of customer service. Read that sentence again and hold onto it tightly, because that is the best way you can boost your Etsy sales over the holidays. It’s not something that someone else will do for you, or that you can pay for, it is something that you have to completely do for yourself!

Here are my top ways to boost your Etsy sales this holiday season:

• Sell a product that is original and unique and different from what everyone else is selling. Different stands out. Unique stands out. Remember that.

• Price your work competitively yet accordingly. A lot of this is common sense. Better quality materials and craftsmanship command a higher price. Both overpriced and under priced items look awkward to buyers. Put a great deal of thought into your pricing.

• Keep your shop neat, clean, and well organized. Use categories to organize your items. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve visited a shop and looked to the categories to help me find what I was looking for only to find a catchall category entitled something like “Other” or “New” which contained the majority of that shops products. Don’t be lazy! Put in a little bit of time and organization and your shop will instantly be more attractive to buyers. Make it easy for folks to buy from you, don’t make it difficult!

• Use top-notch photos. Images that are blurry, too big or too small, or that have distracting props in the background are not good photos. Take some time to learn how to use your camera and photo imaging software. Trust me, you can’t skimp on this. The images are literally what is selling your product. Don’t you want them to be the very best they can be? Sure you do! Work on those photos. Occasionally go through your shop and re-do any old photos that you know you can improve upon.

• Policies and contact info: have these areas filled out with easy to read information. The same goes for your product description and title: add information! Be descriptive. Also, be sure to share your story. Customers are curious about how items are made and who is making them. Why not share a glimpse into your workspace and into your inspiration? BE INTERESTING!

• Have lots of inventory. Folks will spend more time in your shop if there are lots of things for them to look at. Offer options if you can: different colors and sizes. Cater to different types of buyers. Options!

• Polish up your customer service skills. Answer emails and convos as soon as you can, and be polite. Yes, you will probably get the occasional convo from someone who didn’t bother to read the title or description. Even if you just send them a quick note that says “all of that specific information is in the description“ that is better than not answering at all. (Remember what I said about completely filling out those descriptions? This will help cut down on those types of convos!)

• Keep up with your social media sharing. You have to be your own advocate. You have to be proactive and promote yourself—constantly. One great way to promote yourself through your social media is to host a giveaway and offer everyone who enters the giveaway a coupon code to use in your Etsy shop. This truly creates a win-win situation!

• Consider having a sale. Share the sale on your social media channels. See how it all comes together? Yes, I know it’s a lot to do, but it all goes hand-in-hand. Etsy makes it easy to run a promotional sale, so give it a try.

• Stock up on your packaging to be ready for the holidays. I recently ran out of business cards and was asked to do a live show on short notice. It was easy for me to make a little sign with all of my business information on it, post it in my booth and have customers take photos of it, but you can’t do that through snail mail with a package! You do not have to have traditional business cards that are professionally made. Simply print something out on your printer and enclose one with every sale.

• Enclosing a thank you card with a coupon code inside a package is a great way to inspire a customer to visit your shop again. Etsy allows you to run sales that begin and end on particular dates, so how about a coupon for “free holiday domestic shipping on orders over $50“ and be sure to note on the coupon that it expires on such and such date. Think about the different ways that you can use the sale and coupon code feature.

On a side note: when you are creating your sale on Etsy, be sure to type in an ending date for the sale to end. I recently read in the Etsy forums about a situation where a seller had a customer who used an old coupon code that the seller created many months ago, which gave the buyer free shipping—on a very heavy item—which the seller did not intend to offer free shipping on. It was the seller's fault that they did not "end" their sale by adding an end date when they configured the sale on Etsy. AND on another side note: if you are going to create a "secret" coupon code for a sale that you are not planning on sharing with the world (for example, a coupon code that you want to give only to returning customers or first time customers) make it a random combination of letters and numbers. I have heard of buyers "guessing" coupon codes (such as the easy to guess "FREESHIP") and kind of taking advantage of the system. Just be advised!

• Offer gift wrap and gift card options. Include a photo of a wrapped package in your Etsy listings so your shoppers can see what your gift wrapping will look like. Etsy now has built-in options where you can charge a dollar or two for gift wrap services. Offering this service could be a great incentive for customers who are busy with the rush of the holidays.

• Offer a quick turnaround time for delivery. How fast can you get that package wrapped and out the door? The faster the better. Consider offering same day or next day shipping if possible, and absolutely offer expedited delivery services.

• Consider promoting your shop through other social outlets. We are all on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. But how about writing a blog for your business? Think about what else you could do to promote your shop.

As I mentioned earlier, there is no magic recipe for being successful on Etsy, but if you follow these sensible guidelines you will be off to a good start. Just remember, things get very busy over the holidays so the best thing you can do for your shop is to be prepared. Have lots of inventory and keep your shop well organized and continue to offer different options for customers, as well as provide great customer service! Check out my Etsy shop here!

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Have a great week!

Laura

My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns

Check out my new jewelry instruction books and DVDs

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Why Are My Etsy Sales Down?

Etsy is an online marketplace where you can open up a virtual shop and sell your handcrafted goods or vintage items. Lots of people have built full-time careers from their Etsy shops. At one time, Etsy even had a motto that said something like, “quit your day job.“

I don’t recommend that you quit your day job. But I do recommend Etsy as a fun and profitable way to sell your crafts, handcrafted items, or vintage and antique items.

If you visit the forums on Etsy you will sometimes find shop owners complaining that their sales are down, that they aren’t making as much money as they did last year, or the year before, or maybe they say that they aren’t making any sales at all.

This has been a common occurrence within the past couple of years since Etsy completely changed their algorithm which displays how item results from search navigation are shown to shoppers. It used to be structured in a way that when someone listed a new item on Etsy, that item would be at the top of the search in front of similar items because it was a newly listed item. And not only that, but when you listed a new item on Etsy it actually showed up on the front page of Etsy, even if for just a brief moment! I think that was a pretty fair way to do things. It makes sense, right?

Dormant shops that didn’t list new items over a period of time would kind of fall to the back over time, while more active shops that continually listed new inventory would be in the forefront. I think this format encouraged shops to keep producing and kept what was shown in the forefront fresh and new. I liked it this way and so did most everyone else, at least that seems to be the general consensus in the Etsy forums.

Anyway, a few years ago someone at Etsy had a big idea and decided to change the algorithm and lots of peoples’ sales have dropped because of it. It’s been a huge point of contention throughout the Etsy forums.

And when you are reading topics in the Etsy forum, It’s like reading the same post over and over again: Why are my sales down? I’m not getting any sales. Why isn’t anyone buying anything from my shop? Can you take a look at my shop and tell me what’s wrong with it? What am I doing wrong? How do I get sales? How do I get people to visit my shop? These are all common questions that you will find in the Etsy forums.

The answer to some of these questions is surely due to the changed algorithm, but first and foremost there are many other things to look at in someone’s Etsy shop to determine why they are not getting sales.

Now personally, I sell jewelry, so I naturally gravitate towards jewelry related types of posts in the Q & A forum. If I see a post where someone asks other sellers to take a look at their shop, I will sometimes take a peek and if I have any good advice to give, I will give it.

On Etsy… And I’m speaking specifically about jewelry sellers on Etsy right now… On Etsy there are so many different types of jewelry sellers, each making different types of jewelry in all different styles, so you can just imagine all the different possibilities and variables from shop to shop. That means there are a huge amount of things that can be impacting any particular shops sales at any time. Lets go over a few of them.

Starting off, the first thing you want to look at are the very basics. At a glance, does the shop look good? Does it have a common theme, does it have a vibe?

Now here’s a big one: does it have inventory? I can’t believe the number of times where someone has said, “Please take a look at my shop because I don’t know why am not getting any sales.“ and then when I go to their shop they only have a few items listed for sale! Wait, what!? You need to have a decent amount of inventory to make your shop look robust and credible. Starting with maybe 25 pieces of inventory is a reasonable goal for a new shop, and probably the minimum amount of inventory that I would open a shop with.

Next, are all the blanks filled in? Is there a shop description? Photo of the owner? A pretty/stylish/unique cover photo of something that at least vibes with what they are selling? Do they have their shop policies posted? Things that answer buyers questions such as what are their shipping and return policies? It doesn’t matter whether you accept returns or not, but it does matter that you have it clearly posted somewhere in your shop. Fill in those blanks! Lots of info folks, lots of info!

Etsy’s format for setting up your shop and adding your shop information is basically “fill in the blank.” Etsy makes it relatively easy for sellers to include all of their pertinent information in their shops. All you have to do is choose an option or type in a sentence or two. They really do make it easy for you. So there’s no reason not to have all of those things filled in.

Another thing that is very important is that you have amazing photos. Not just good photos, amazing photos. They should be bright and clear and sharp and show your item from different angles. Take a look at your photos and replace any that aren't good enough. Also, be sure to use all of those photo slots that Etsy gives you per listing. Use lots of photos!

So we’ve made sure your shop has all the information a buyer needs to know about you, your shop policies, and your items, and you have your shop adequately stocked with inventory, so what do we look at next?

Once your shop itself looks good and is complete, the next thing I look at is your items. Do you have quality items? Are they unique? What about them sets them apart from all the other shops and makes them special? I think this is where a lot of people mess up. They either include sub-par craftsmanship in their stores, or they are selling unoriginal items that are copies of other people’s work.

To have an Etsy shop that sells like crazy, your craftsmanship has to be as near perfect as it can be. You need to be your own worst critic and have super high standards for your own work. Trust me on this one.

You need to be your own worst critic and have super high standards for your own work.

If a customer visits your shop and sees messy work they will probably leave and never come back. If you have items that you’ve made that don’t quite meet up to your own standards, then don’t put them in your shop. Remember, you will be known for what you sell in your shop. The way your shop looks and what you sell in it is your calling card for your entire business, is how you are advertising and representing yourself! You wouldn’t want to buy someone else’s seconds or imperfect items, so why should they buy yours?

Be original. This is what will make you stand out from everyone else and will get you the most sales by far. I’d say that most customers shop around and they know what’s out there. When you’re buying from the comfort of your own home on your own leisure time, you have time to look around, browse, mark items as favorites or add them to your wish list, etc. Etsy is not like walking into Macy’s, finding a dress, loving it, and then buying it. If Macy’s was like Etsy, you would walk in, see 10 to 20 dresses that are similar, with some clearly made better than others, and with some clearly more unique than others. Which would you choose? That’s what Etsy is like. You have to be the best. You have to have excellent craftsmanship but even more importantly, you have to have your own unique style.

Another thing that I would look for in a shop is that there is some variety. Customers want to have different things to choose from, so give them different options by offering items in different colors and styles. Everything should still tie together so that your shop looks cohesive, but don’t make everything exactly the same. Similar, but different. Get it?

The next thing that’s important for your shop is customer service. I can tell you I get tons of emails asking for custom work which I often don’t have time for, but if someone asks a specific question about an item that is in my shop, I will make their email a priority and answer them immediately. So be sure to check your messages every day or two and keep up with your customer service.

The final, and probably biggest thing that impacts sales on Etsy, especially in the jewelry categories, is the sheer number of people who are making jewelry and selling jewelry on Etsy. The market is just flooded with sellers. And I don’t even consider this “competition” within the jewelry categories. It’s just too many people, too many shops. It’s getting too hard to get found amid the masses of sellers.

I noticed a few people making videos on YouTube that claim to offer tips and secrets for how to increase Etsy sales and offer advice about how to navigate the search algorithm, etc., but after watching handful of them, I found that they all fell short of offering any real, solid information and I suspect these videos were made for the sole purpose of just having a video to put up on YouTube!

The speaker in one YouTube video actually pulled a “stat” saying that Etsy had released revenue numbers from 2017 which said that Etsy’s revenue was higher than ever... but remember, that’s Etsy’s revenue! That’s the money that Etsy is bringing in from all of the fees that they are collecting from sellers listing items and selling items. That’s a big difference from the income that a shop earns.

All the hype one year ago was Etsy’s last venture, Etsy Studio, which was supposed to be a marketplace for sellers to sell supplies, hoping to rival the big box craft supply stores Michaels, AC Moore, and Hobby Lobby. Etsy Studio flopped. And in all reality, I could’ve told you that was going to happen.

As much as people love the convenience of shopping for unique handcrafted items from the comfort of their own home, people also love the experience of going out in person to a craft store to purchase supplies for their next project. It’s fun. And though it may be convenient to purchase certain supplies online—basic things such as adhesives, or wire—people still want to go out and see what’s out there in person and be inspired by what else is on the shelves, even if it’s something that they didn’t go there looking for. It's the whole experience of going there in person—that's what makes those big box craft supply stores all that $44 billion revenue. How many times have you been with family or a friend and said "let's go to the craft store!" —not for any one particular item, but just for the fun experience of it. Etsy, you just can't stuff that into a website, no matter how hard you try. Some experiences just have to be, well, experienced! In real life!

You can’t do that with an online supply shop. You can try to do that. You can choose images of certain items and put them across the front of your website hoping to entice a shopper into being inspired by what you’re showing them, but that’s not creativity. It’s not giving people enough freedom to discover their own creativity.

A website that sells supplies for crafts may show you a few photos of things that are current trends, such as the currently popular cacti trend. By doing this, the website is telling the shopper, “Here, look at this cacti. This is what’s popular now. You should make cacti crafts too!” That very well might inspire some people to make cacti crafts.

But where do those trends begin? They begin with a clean, blank slate. They begin with someone physically walking into an art store or a craft store and seeing colors, and textures, and in their own minds, combining those things to create something completely new. That is the inspiration that walking into a craft supply store affords. Just as creative inspiration that comes from walking into and experiencing the outdoors and nature, or love, or any other real, tactile experience that might inspire something creative. The greatest creative ideas aren't born from looking at computer screens, I guarantee you that. They are born from the human experience of interaction.

The greatest creative ideas aren't born from looking at computer screens, I guarantee you that. They are born from the human experience of interaction.

And this is why, in my opinion, that when business men or women make these decisions instead of artists and craftspeople with business knowledge, those decisions fail. Art and creativity aren't about money.

OK, now that I’ve gotten totally off track… LOL. Yes, I could cut this blog post into two or maybe even three separate posts but I’m not going to. I’m going to put this all up just the way it is for you to take in and digest and maybe you’ll have an opinion or thought or idea about it and leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the whole spiel, or on any part of it that you would like to comment on or discuss.

I’ll wrap things up by saying this, competition is stiff, the market is overcrowded, but you can still do it. You can still have sales and be successful. Follow the suggestions that I wrote above, work hard, and above all be creative and unique, and you will find success.

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