Etsy is a remarkable platform for online sales that eliminates the need for your own eCommerce store. If you specialize in selling handmade goods, vintage items, and distinctive crafts, it is highly recommended to join Etsy. Through its thriving community of over 80 million buyers, Etsy provides an opportunity to expand your sales and expose your unique creations to a broader market.
To maximize your sales on Etsy, it is important to have a clear marketing strategy in order to stand out among the competition on the platform.
We are ready to begin!
1. Use Pinterest to promote your shop
If you are an Etsy shop owner, it is crucial to prioritize social media marketing. Among various channels available, Pinterest can provide excellent outcomes for your store. Pinterest is highly effective in visually endorsing Etsy products, and connecting your Pinterest account to your Etsy shop is effortless.
You can utilize Etsy’s Pin It button to directly pin from your Etsy shop. By doing so, Pinterest will automatically extract the description from your shop and attach it to your pin. The first step to achieve this is to claim your Etsy shop. You can easily complete this process by accessing Pinterest, selecting Settings, and clicking on Claim. Once claimed, you are now able to directly link your Pinterest boards to your Etsy store.
Etsy and Pinterest have a symbiotic relationship because people use Etsy to find special items, and they use Pinterest to find inspiration, unique product ideas, looks, and decor trends.
By consistently pinning and ensuring that all of your pins directly link to your Etsy shop, you have the potential to attract a larger customer base.
2. Create a clear brand
In order to properly begin your marketing efforts, it is essential to establish a clear brand. Regardless of the quality of your products on your Etsy store, if you desire your business to be distinctive and memorable, it is imperative to create a recognizable brand. A well-defined brand is crucial for an effective marketing strategy on various channels and platforms.
To effectively showcase your brand, make sure it is visible on your Etsy shop, website, and social media networks. Utilize the banner and square image sections on Etsy for displaying your brand.
Adding watermarks to the product photos on your Etsy shop is a recommended strategy to enhance your brand’s visibility. Another effective way to make your brand more prominent is by including visible tags on your products during the photography process.
Due to Etsy’s emphasis on genuine, handmade items, sellers often neglect the significance of establishing a brand. It is essential to ensure that your Etsy shop prominently displays a distinctive logo and brand name.
3. Develop a strong social media marketing plan
Establishing a presence on social media is one of the most effective methods for marketing your Etsy shop. It is important to first establish a clear and concise brand before proceeding with this strategy.
Social media provides numerous valuable prospects to sell products online. Through various platforms, you can establish connections with your specific target audience and interrelate with your clientele. Instagram and Pinterest, as visual platforms, present an ideal arena to showcase your products.
The selection of social media platforms to prioritize should be based on your brand. We suggest prioritizing Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook.
Instagram and Pinterest provide excellent platforms for showcasing the visual attractiveness of your products, while Facebook is an ideal platform for locating and engaging with your target audience. Although you have the option of incorporating additional social media channels such as TikTok, it is advisable to begin with a limited selection and concentrate on what you feel at ease with. It is always possible to expand your reach at a later stage.
Here are a few tactics you can implement to get started with your Etsy shop marketing strategy using social media.
- Create a business page on Facebook and use it to show off your brand. You need to make sure that you link from your Facebook page to your Etsy store.
- Set up a social media content strategy and post frequently and consistently across all platforms. Your customers will probably see your product a few times before making a purchase, so make sure that you post often.
- Join Facebook groups that relate to your niche and use these groups to connect with potential customers.
- Create short video content for social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. Use these videos to reveal your products, show them in use, and demonstrate how they can help customers.
- Run a social media giveaway. This is an important Etsy marketing strategy, so we’ll cover it in more detail later.
- Use social media to engage with customers. Respond to their comments, accept feedback, and open up discussions about your products. You should also encourage happy customers to leave reviews on your Facebook page.
- If you’re just starting out and are struggling to attract an audience on social media, then you can reach more customers with paid advertising.
4. Categorize your products
In order to increase sales, it is important to ensure that your products are placed in appropriate categories when users search for your Etsy shop. This will enhance the ease of finding your products and subsequently lead to higher sales.
Although categorizing products may seem like a straightforward aspect of your marketing strategy, numerous Etsy sellers fail to accomplish this effectively. Instead of utilizing the appropriate keywords and categories to accurately describe their product, sellers tend to prioritize explaining its usage or composition.
To categorize your hand-crafted scented soy candles, begin by selecting the most suitable term that accurately describes your product. In this case, it can be simplistically categorized as “candles”.
If users search for candles on Etsy, your product will be more likely to appear. Otherwise, users may have to search specifically for “hand-crafted scented soy candles” in order to find your product, which is not the most probable search term for them.
Once you have properly categorized your products, you can utilize Shop Sections to neatly organize your categories on your Etsy store. This simplifies the browsing experience for customers and helps them find the appropriate products.
5. Research keywords for your Etsy products
Let’s analyze the following: what are the online search preferences of people? Which demographics do your users belong to and what exactly are they searching for? What kind of inquiries do people have about your product online? When someone is prepared to make a purchase with their credit card, what terms are they entering into the search field?
When an individual is inclined to purchase a product, the keywords they use in their search are usually “long tail keywords”, which are more detailed and specific descriptions of the product, as opposed to generic terms like “soap”.
To maximize the chances of appearing in search queries, consider naming your products according to customer searches, taking into account various keywords and combinations related to your product. Once you have identified the appropriate keywords, employ various methods to enhance discoverability in search results.
To maintain the same meaning, the text can be rephrased as follows: One way to think step by step is to include popular questions and answers containing your keywords, or use keywords related to fellow competitors in the content on your site or Etsy store. The more product name and description contain related keywords (along with content-heavy pages such as FAQs or blogs), the higher the chances of your product being visible in search engines like Google.
6. Promote your Etsy shop on social media
If you currently do not have any social media accounts connected to your store, it is crucial that you prioritize this task and ensure you establish your presence on these platforms. Take a moment to recall instances where you made purchases because you discovered the items on social media. Consider the amount of time it took for you to decide to buy the product after seeing it.
Your product’s influence on users’ opinions and the urgency of their need is heavily determined by your continuous presence in their social media feed. However, achieving consistent visibility is not as simple as it may seem. According to statistics, it typically requires around seven interactions with your product for someone to make the decision to purchase.
Utilizing social media accounts such as Instagram can enhance your brand’s portrayal and discreetly market your products to followers. Facebook and Twitter platforms provide a chance to engage with diverse users, gain insights from fellow retailers, establish your brand, boost credibility, and serve as an extension of your website.
By becoming a part of the global community of retailers, you not only gain new customers but also have the chance to gain insights into your industry, thanks to the immense power of social media as a marketing tool.
By engaging with similar stores, you have the opportunity to tap into the same customer base, learn about the type of content that resonates with users, establish connections with small businesses, and potentially form friendships as well.
7. Create an email list for your Etsy shop
So, now you’ve got your Etsy shop just where you want it, you have your website running and you are all set with your social media presence.
What should you do next? It is essential to establish and retain a connection with your customers, ensuring their continued patronage and referrals. While engaging with customers through social media is beneficial, it may not suffice. It is necessary to have a method to provide exclusive discounts, cater to custom orders, and inform loyal followers about new products.
To begin, establish a mailing list for your customers on Etsy. By sending friendly and informative newsletters at appropriate moments, you can demonstrate to your followers that you value them and their business without appearing aggressive or needy. Given your mutual interest in the market you operate in, you and your clientele are like-minded individuals, and you aim to strengthen this relationship by staying connected.
After writing the email templates and planning the approach to stay connected with clients, the next thing to do is decide the method of reaching out to them.
8. Automating the email marketing process
Do you prefer to let things run automatically or do you prefer to control every step yourself? If you are interested in automating your newsletters and alerts, consider using email services such as Mailchimp or Convertkit. Both platforms allow you to create and automatically send emails, as well as manage lists.
Mailchimp has created its platform to cater to users of all levels, including both beginners and advanced users. Within Mailchimp, you can access various features such as visually appealing email templates, easy-to-use drag-and-drop editing, an auto segmentation builder, autoresponders, A/B testing, and additional functionalities.
If you are a beginner in the field of email marketing, Mailchimp is an excellent choice as it offers numerous options for features, templates, and ideas. Additionally, it provides a free version, unlike Convertkit. Therefore, Mailchimp is the preferred platform for beginners.
Convertkit is designed for content creators, although it does not provide a free version, it does offer a free trial for you to test out their services.
The blogging community highly praises their email designer, automation, sign up forms, A/B testing, and excellent support team. They aim to produce emails that resemble human responses, and although not as user-friendly for beginners, it is certainly popular among fans.
Both options are popular among fans. Mailchimp and Convertkit are known for being reasonably priced and easy to use, making them excellent choices for managing client communication.
