Are you looking to increase your sales? That’s a funny question, right? I know everyone would love to have 5 extra sales this week!
I’ve compiled a list of tips that I hope will help you get off to a great start or improve your sales. It’s not rocket science, but you do have to spend a little time on your shop to see those big results!
Here are a few tips to get you thinking…
1. Review Your Shop – Take a step back and really look at your shop from a shopper’s perspective. Can you find the products easily using your categories? Do you have enough items or options to keep a buyer interested? If you sell knit hats, maybe add some sets including mittens or headbands. Make it easy for them to create great gifts for holidays.
2. Know Your Market – Who is going to want what you sell? Focus on who your buyers are and promote directly to them to grow your customers with less effort. If you have a super slim group of folks that would even want or need what you’re selling…be ready to wait a bit longer for those sales. Specializing is great, just don’t get carried away. Cast a wide net and then bring it in…ever hear of that?
3. Photography – Show your products in the best light! Take multiple shots of each item and edit them to stand out in a crowd…not blend. It’s easy to use free software like PicMonkey for photo editing. You might want to check out How To Photograph Your Work for Sale on Etsy for more photography tips.
4. Great Descriptions – Describe it with feeling! Great descriptions can really nudge a browsing shopper to hit the “buy” button. Be descriptive with your words and give them ideas for displaying or using your product. Explain why they would want to purchase this from your shop. Maybe you use all natural ingredients for your soap, or you raise the sheep to create your wool. People love stories…give them one!
5. Product Selection – How’s your selection? Keep it simple…shops that are full of similar products tend to do the best. You want them to remember your shop for bags, pottery or greeting cards. Make products that you love and others will love them too!
6. Research – What works for others? Are there shops on Etsy that sell items like yours? Do they offer special color selections or sets that might attract buyers? Researching what works for other shops doesn’t mean copying what they sell, you just need to have an idea of what sells. Take the time to research what tags are used and the prices…you won’t regret it!
7. Stock Up – Do you like to shop in stores with only 10 products to choose from? No, of course you don’t. Expand your selection based on what sells the most. Create multiple colors of that items and list them or try a slightly different design. Read Increasing Etsy Sales – Mind Your Item Count for more information.
8. Price it Right! There are many ways to determine the price of an item, but the bottom line is that you have to come up with a price that works for you and the buyer. I’ve priced items low in the past and then increased them slightly until I found the best price. You can also try including free shipping or discounts for multiple orders.
9. Show your Cards – Business cards are a cheap way to reach new customers. Hand them out to everyone you know…give them a few to share. Add extra cards to each order. Mail them to family with a note about what your selling. They can’t buy from you if they don’t know what you’re selling! {13 Creative Business Cards}
10. Giveaways – Promoting your shop with a blog giveaway is a great way to introduce your shop or a new product. Don’t be afraid to approach bloggers about doing a giveaway on their blog. Some might charge, but others will be glad to promote your shop in exchange for a product for them to review. You’ll also receive links to your shop…don’t underestimate those links!! This is a great way to grow your shop, but it doesn’t always equal immediate sales so keep that in mind.
11. Great Customer Service – Make each sale count and get a repeat customer with great customer service. Send emails to confirm their custom color selections, have a friendly return policy and always answer their convos quickly. Show them that shopping on Etsy is so much better than going to the store for their next gift.
12. Package it Up – The packaging is the first thing they see when your they open your box or envelope. Make it count…first impressions are big! I usually add a colorful bow and a small thank you gift, but over time you’ll find out what works best for you. A small gesture of appreciation can give you great results…try it.
13. Give a Discount for Referrals – Giving a buyer a discount or free shipping on their next order could be that extra incentive they need to spread the word about your awesome shop. Try a few different ideas and see what gives you the most referrals.
14. Blogs – A blog can really help you promote your shop!!! Have a blog already? Great, just make sure to spend time each week growing your blog. Blog about your products, favorite recipes, how to make your products, great new products in your shop…whatever.
Once you get the hang of blogging you’ll find it to be a valuable tool for your Etsy business. {Compare WordPress & Blogger for your business.} Oh, and don’t forget to add your Etsy mini to the sidebar!
15. Use Facebook – Facebook is a great way to easily tell your friends, family and past customers what’s new in your shop. Connect your Etsy shop to your page for easy shopping.
16. Twitter – Twitter is a fun way to spread the word about your products and meet new people. Just be sure to tweet about other things too. Tweeting about ONLY your shop and products might not give you the response you want.
Grow your followers by following people with the same interests. Most of them will follow you back and might even take a peek at your shop.
17. Go Team! – Join teams on Etsy! It’s a great way to get tips on selling and promote your shop. Try a few and be active in promoting other members. We have a team for Etsypreneurs like you…check it out!
18. Treasuries – Treasuries are a fun way to get your shop noticed and share beautiful items you’ve found through teams or by search on Etsy. If your item is included in a treasury that makes it to the front page you will be shocked at the traffic you get…shocked!
19. Comment on Blogs – Visiting blogs and leaving thoughtful comments can lead someone right back to your shop by clicking on your name in the comment. This works, but you’ll want to avoid being “spammy” by leaving links to your shop in the comment {unless they ask for links}. Try commenting on 5-10 blogs a day!
20. Keep Improving – Sales can go up and down for no reason at all…stay positive during slow times and work on your stock and photos. Get creative and try a new idea or two. Think ahead to upcoming holidays and start planning for huge sales!
You might enjoy this infographic…How To Build An Online Empire Starting With Etsy!
21. Have fun with it? Your creativity shines through when you’re enjoying your work. Don’t get caught up in what you’re not doing, just take it one step at a time.
Are you still reading?? I can go on and on about this! {obviously}
Etsy is a wonderful place to sell your beautiful handmade products! You can’t beat waking up to sales in your shop or working on your next new product while watching a movie on a rainy day. This is my kind of business!
These are just a handful of ideas to keep your shop growing…care to share a tip of yours???
~Kim
Other posts you might be interested in for your Etsy business…
Great tips! I’ve been on Etsy for almost 2 years now, and I’ve learned so much! My sketchbook has been my best friend when it comes to designing, sketching, planning for my target demographic, and jotting down helpful tips and advice from around the web 🙂 I also have been using my blog to promote my shop – it works!!!
Thanks so much for sharing!
Erin
Your advice and ideas, are indispensable. I find photography to be the most difficult thing to get right. Another thing I would personally remind people of is get some goals going for 2012. I’ve already started with mine and I am now working on implementing them.
I totally agree with Erin too. My blog is a big role player in my business. It allows me to notify followers of any giveaways, deals etc. As well as educate people on the products I use!
Thanks again for sharing!
Liz of
ElizabethMD Jewelry
Thank you for all the great tips! Sometimes we all need a reminder to step back and take at look at what we’re doing.
Great tips. It never seems like I can get around to all of them though, lol! Oh well, I will just do the best I can!
Ditto the list Kim and thanks so much for helping us all!
I love ‘tending my Etsy shoppe’ and all that it entails. I feel as if I’ve been attending The Handmade College of Etsy and working on a Masters Degree!
Fabulous list! I think I need to take a “new look” at my shop, if to do nothing more than rearrange and re-categorize my items!
Thank you for this insightful article! There are some really great tips.
Thanks for these tips! Very helpful as always. I’ve got to get my rear in gear!
Thank you so much for all the tips! I just revamped my shop and hopfully the sales will start coming in. I think its a good idea to take a new fresh look at your shop every few months.
SUPER post!
Working on my shop is continuous! At the moment I am trying to get it all stocked!!
Thanks for all of the great pointers!!
Such wonderful tips. I’m taking a good look at my shop with new eyes. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Fantastic bite-size tips!
Everyone, no matter how experiences, can learn something from this article 🙂
Useful tips, thank you very much. Tip number 19 being put to good use right away!
Very useful! I just started on etsy and this is completely meaningful for me!!!
Thanks
I find all these tips very helpful. I’ve been on etsy for a month now. Have not had any sales yet,but it is ok.I’m taking it slow learning my way around my shop. My greatest challenge is my photos. I know it can only get better its just a matter of time.
Thanks Shawn
I have been on etsy for multiple years. I had an amazing (and stressful) season last year. This year after they changed to relevancy my sales have dropped majorly down. Its making me really nervous but I am happy to have time to do more experimenting for new designs. Sometimes I think I have too many items in my shop and should just streamline more and open another shop for other designs , But I’m not sure what to do! Is it too much or not enough?
thanks for the tips. i, like everyone else reading this today, have written my goals for the year down and increasing my etsy sales is on that list. This will surely help me.
Thx
Love this! Thank you for taking the time to help us with our etsy shops! I’m so glad I found your site. This is great as I set my goals and plans for 2012. Thank you!
Good luck in 2012! Go handmade!
Great stuff. I have so much to learn and your posts are so helpful.
Thanks so much for these tips! I’m not new to etsy but it’s always a good idea to keep improving and you’ve listed some great ways to do that. I just recently found this site and I’m off to read some more!
I found out recently about a new site: pinterest, you need an invite to join, but I simply requested one and got it. You can make there your own board with all kind of stuff, and since I have a board there with my stuff from etsy my views are incresing.
Maybe you can try it:)
It’s all about thoses little things. I have only been on etsy for 4 months and every time I read posts like these I learn new things. It’s not as easy as it looks at first but with some work and efforts, I think it can pay off. You really have to work as hard on improving your shop as you do when making your products.
Very useful post, I took notes of everything!
Thanks!
Patrick.
I’m so happy to have found your site! The wealth of information you have on here has been so helpful for me! I’m off to try some of these things and will let you know how it goes 🙂
These are wonderful tips! I’ll definitely apply them to my Etsy shop. I sell my photography, and I’m working on adding more items to my shop so I can get more sales. I really appreciate these tips! You can never read to many blog posts on how to increase Etsy sales, because everyone has different advice. Thanks!!
I just started my etsy shop and I am SSSOOOO glad I found you! I can’t wait to learn how to be the best seller I can be!
Blessings,
Grace
Thanks for the tips. Though written for etsy these can work for any site.
This is great! Such good advice for anyone trying to make a successful business online!
thanks for the pointers!!! i’m starting NOW =)
Hi Charlene,
I’m a reporter at Fast Company and I’d love to talk to you about your experiences with Etsy. Please email me back ASAP at kschwab@fastcompany.com if you’re interested in speaking with me.
Thank you!
Katharine Schwab
Thanks for the great post. I have the hardest time with photography. 🙁 I’ve improved a lot, just listed some items that I realized look horrible. My task for tomorrow is to redo those pictures. Sigh…it is a never ending process, but also one that brings me joy. 🙂
Super helpful blog, thank you so much fro sharing! I love all your tips and tricks and especially for new sellers on Etsy this is like a haven of information. I am new myself…but I believe even in a few years there will still be new things to learn!
Great tips, I especially love that they are short and sweet yet concise. Great, thorough way to stay inspired and motivated to keep going! xx
I’m going to try to use these suggestions one by one to kick-start my new Etsy shop. Thanks, Kim.
Thank you so much for these advices!!! Very helpful. I try to keep going:)
Thank you for sharing this! I’ve been absolutely gobbling up all articles on this topic right now! I’m a relatively new seller and I know it’s important for me to spend the right amounts of time on the right type of promoting and also keep my expectations realistic. Blogs and articles like this help me to do just that! Thanks again for the encouragement!
Shirley
Thank you for compiling all of these pointers – I have just opened my very first etsy shop and after the initial buzz I have hit a low point, feeling very insignificant in the massive pool that is etsy. However your article has given me direction (and hope) and I hope I can shock everyone, myself included, with how successful my shop can be! Thanks again!
Thanks for the advice!
I’ve been officially selling for a little over 3 months now and every time it goes quiet for a day i insist to my husband I’m closing shop because my time is over!!
It’s about time i accept i won’t be getting multiple sales every day. hahah.
Thank you so much. I am new on Etsy and loving the fact that there is so much help with it all!
I joined Etsy in 2008 but just started selling my vintage jewelry there in the last couple of months. Thanks for posting such helpful tips, especially the ones about creating your own blog and linking to others. One of my big issues is that I have amassed a huge collection of jewelry from a wide range of time periods. Would love any suggestions about how to get lookers and buyers to know that I have so much more than what is listed. I’ve been adding a blurb to that effect to my listings. Any other suggestions?
Just found your blog, what a shame! Wish I found it before. Thank you for everything 🙂 I learned so much from your blog.
Oh, also i have a question if you don’t mind me asking;
I have different types of items in my shop.
Do you think is it OK? Should I sell them in different shops?
I shared this topic on Etsy forums and most people agreed on having one shop with different types of items but keeping it well organized.
Thank you
Great inspiration..when views are low I like to look for inspiration like this and I can walk away feeling assured for another day and not dwell on stats.lol thks.
Thanks for the ideas! This greatly help new etsy shop owners like me!
Can you keep going on and on, I would gladly enjoy more ideas. But still, there are a bunch of reasons! Thanks so much! I will have to try some!
thank you so much for all that usufull informatios! amazing blog and helpful for all of us!
thank you!
Thank you so much for this!
I started my etsy shop 6 months ago with only 3 sales to date… I was wondering what was I doing wrong and I guess exposure its what I need! I will try and put into practice what I learned today
again Thank you!!
As a beginner, I found this article so useful.
Thank you for sharing. I am still learning the bits and pices.
Wow! Very valuable information! Thank you! 🙂
Love this Read!
Thanks so much for this great article! I have just started out. I only have one sale and I’m hoping some of these tips will help me (:
Thanks Kim for compiling these pointers. I have opened my shop on etsy just a month back. And all these tips are very useful 🙂
Hi,
Thank you for writing such helpful and informative article. It’s really helps out when I’m just starting my little adventure:)
This is very helpful and will definitely save for a good reminder of what I could do to better my shop. I’m so new and have only five sales since I started a couple months ago and I hope I can get better at this.
Hi,
We have just taken our first step by opening a shop on etsy. Thanks for the useful tips – will surely use them to boost some traffic on our site and hopefully will have our first sale soon.
Well it said to do this so I am giving it a shot.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/SplendidSublimity?ref=s2-header-shopname
Great tips! I love Etsy and am launching my custom invitation shop this summer. Working on stocking up now and I’m looking for all the tips I can find. Your articles are very helpful thank-you!
You definitely have this down. Images are major as well as customer service. Updating tags and titles help tremendously. I remember looking back on my tags from when I first started and wondering what I was thinking. Always view yourself as the customer. Try to create at least one new product every two weeks. Most of all, have fun! I’ve helped my son learn his colors from our rolls of vinyl. If you’re not having fun with it then what’s the point.
It always comes as a surprise to me how shy Etsy sellers are about posting on social media. Etsians are such excellent consumers and pollinators of social media, but we’re shy to share our own stuff…And, even then, we seem to be obsessed with Facebook, to the detriment of other outlets. Do yourself a favor for a month or two and just resolve to really hit Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest hard with excellent and relevant original content. See what happens. I think you’ll like what you see. 🙂
So helpful! Thanks so much!
When selling vintage items, like I do, I find it hard to get enough inventory. I have only 13 items to date. Do you think it would be all right if I made a few handmade items as well? Or should I have a separate shop for that? I was thinking that if I organized everything well, it might work. I am good at making rubber band bracelets, greeting cards, recycled paper bracelets, can make simple origami, I can sew (but not clothes), and I am a writer. Thanks for any feedback! And please check out my shop! (greatpicksla.etsy.com)
I have been getting a consistent small number of sales per month but am looking to increase this over the next year. the main problem has been I make the things and haven’t really put enough effort into the site it self. Also I am making jewellery which is a very saturated competitive market. Something I think is important is the quality of the photographs and so initially I am tackling that part at the moment. to see what I should be aiming to get I looked up jewellery in the ‘big’ shops to try and achieve the equivalent type of image. Also I realised that they tend to have a standardised look to their image across their shops. So I have bought / made photo props to use when showing my necklaces and earrings. I am currently waiting for my home made light-box glue to set…. so hope better images will help. I notice of the 100 visits only get one sale and so there is something lacking at the moment in the shop that is needed to get someone to press that buy button. I have joined fb pages which increases visits to sites but doesn’t seem to get the sales. I think part of the problem is the members tend to be USA based whereas I am in the UK.
Isn’t it funny how this post is relevant years later? I just started selling on Etsy and have gotten a couple of sales at first. They have trickled to a stop. I realize I have a lot of improvement to do and will be using this post to start with. Thanks so much for the post.
Thanks for these tips. I’ve also been researching and using automation tools for Etsy to help streamline the processes of the shop. With all of the work maintaining a shop, I was finding that I barely had any time to create or design. One of my favourites right now is Best Auto Renew. It renews my oldest listings, randomly renews listings every day, and can be set during promotional times to renew sold out products. It’s been pretty awesome to have it take care of the listing process — loving it so far. Worth checking a program out like this to save yourself some time and headaches!
Thanks for nice post. I do logo design and I believe quality and unique work get more sell.
So glad i found this! Its great! It doesn’t confuse or scare you! It’s simple and easy to understand! Thank you!
This was so helpful! I only just started on etsy and havent gotten a single sale yet, ive gotten multiple views (into the 60’s) but cant seem to make a sale! I definitely understand hoe having more products makes you look more professional but in the soaping business its a time game, just hoping to improve and work on my shop a little at a time!
I’ve definitely taken note, you have wonderful ideas!