Stand Out Amongst the Crowd
Most people who are selling on Etsy, just want to do one thing: stand out amongst the crowd. Let’s do an experiment. I want you to type these search words into Etsy and see what you get: “knitted scarf“, “polymer clay figurine“, and “fabric coaster.” Here’s what you should have found 37,725 items for “knitted scarf”, 4,064 items for “polymer clay figurine”, and 3,204 items for “fabric coaster.” What’s the thing in common with these, there are literally thousands of items to sort through to get your item found. These next few tips are going to show you how to add details in order to get found, stand out amongst the crowd, and experience Etsy success!
List or Relist Often
Details Matter: Some people list 6 things in their store at one time. I have mentioned this over and over in this series and I can not be more serious: do not do this! If you have the time to sit down and do that many listings, then schedule them in draft mode and post them 1 item a day, no more, no less. If you relist or list 1 item every day, this keeps your shop as “active” and will work for you in the search results. Please, I beg you, do not break this rule. If you have 1,000 things in your shop, the rule is still the same. You list or relist one item at a time. This does not mean that you can only list/relist one item a day. As a general rule of thumb, every shop should follow this. But for larger stores a version of this may also be appropriate. If you are a larger store try listing/relisting one item in the morning, one item in the afternoon, and one item at night. For any store, pay attention to your stats before beginning this and a week after you’ve done this at least 5 days and watch your traffic spike! Trust me, this works. And if you do this, you will experience Etsy success!
Pay Attention to Your Details
What separates an artist from a crafter on Etsy? The details.
Details are something that you can not afford to miss if you want to experience true Etsy success. Here are five easy things that most sellers mess up. If you can get these basic five things accomplished for every item in your Etsy Store, you will sell more, get more hearts, experience a boom in views, and even make a dollar or two.
1) Photograph – I can harp at you over and over and over for this. You must have good photographs. People see your photographs as part of your product. If your photographs stink, they automatically assume your product does too. And what does this mean? It means you won’t sell your item on Etsy any time soon.
2) Story – Etsy has told us many times that those people who tell stories in their ads are more likely to sell. Let’s be honest if you read “this lovely red scarf was made just for you” or if you read, “on my recent trip to the Painted Dessert I found myself in awe at all the red that flowed through the rocks.” Which do you prefer? Stories help us paint visual images about our product. You sell online, people can’t touch or feel your item, you have no choice but to use words to describe it to the best of your ability.
3) Spelling – We all mess up every now and again. Messing up is okay, but repeated incorrect spellings in your ads are not okay. Why? It makes you seem un-intelligent…but you’re smart, aren’t you?! Yes you are. So please, proof-read. This being said, you will make a mistake. If you do, correct it, no big deal. If you see your friend has made a mistake in their ad, be a pal and let them know so that they can correct it too. (Special thanks to Jill for helping me out on this last week).
4) Written Ad – This is essentially a spin off of number 2 and number 3 above. But here’s the bottom line. You know that copy & paste that you do for every ad? You need to stop that right now. There are several good reasons to stop this: first is that the search engine bots don’t like repetition. The second is that your buyer does not like repetition either. Framework is different than repetition. You can add your links to the things you value in a few listings here and there, but don’t inundate your buyer with the same exact information on every listing. That’s what your profile page is for!
5) Price Point – What a difficult subject for every seller on Etsy: pricing. We will discuss pricing heavily in a few weeks and give you example formulas and ideas that you can branch off on. But for today, here’s the nitty gritty: you need a rubric. A rubric is a standard of measure. It’s the way that you gauge an item’s value so that everything in your shop has consistency. It’s based not solely on materials, but time, fees, and so much more. For a starting point on how to price your items, visit the Etsy blog for some great tips & information on pricing your items. You can also visit my TIPS board on Pinterest for other valuable information.
Sculpting Blessings,
This is very informative. Thank you for sharing this!
Sure! Thanks for stopping by.
wonderful info!!!
Katie, this is an awesome post! Lots of great info here and I plan to use this as a reference to improve my site. Thanks for posting it!
Not a problem Lynn! Thank you for stopping in!
This is a great blog post and I am hoping to get my “list an item every day” challenge finally working soon…I keep trying to do it and then I get lazy lol!
LOL! It’s okay. Making your Etsy shop succeed does take effort. Hang in there. Once you make it a habit, you’ll never fail at it.
Katie, as always, thank you for a wonderful post! I no longer relist just to have “active” items, as I’m finding my views increase with quality tags and descriptors. In the perfect world when I can “quit my day job”, I look forward to spreading my listings throughout the day.
Good for you Dorene! I’m so glad that you have figured this out as well. Kudos to you! Here’s to many more hearts, views, & sales for you!
very good points! Very helpful!
Thanks for coming Holly!
Thanks for all this information, I do try and keep it to one listing a day, but mixing handmade and supply in one shop is a challenge.
I am going to have to check some of your older postings and see if you have any recommendations on tags, they are still proving to be a challenge for my items.
Hi Ruth! We haven’t yet covered “tagging” yet, but we will make a note to do that for a future post.
Great tips! Thank you for taking the time to share them with us!
You’re welcome Ariella! Thanks for stopping by.
So true!
And the photo thing…thank you! I can’t seem to say it enough! And that’s why I offer the services I do 🙂
Hahahaha Crystal! I would LOVE to be able to hire you as my photographer. Your photographs are simple…well….WOW!
awesome info Katie, I am one of those people who list 5-6 things together on one day when I finally get the photos done and have to spend again on relisting the rest of the week !! I am gonna take your advice and list one or two in a day ..I think it will also help keep contents fresh and have customers come back every day to check your store .. For me, by the end of the week, I feel like theres nothing new in my store coz I already listed them all together ! Thanks so much for all the Great advice and please keep them coming :)) Luv ..Peeli
Thanks for stopping by today Peeli! I’m always glad to help. If you do start to do that, just wait, your views & hearts will improve greatly!
Katie – I love this series. Hope people listen to you regarding listing or relisting in groups.
Thanks Marianne! My information is always free and available to all, some will use it and benefit, others will think they know better, and both are okay with me. Everyone has to decide for themselves what will and what will not work.
What a great blog. Thanks for sharing this info. I hope to put some of it to use in my new shop. 🙂
Not a problem Tiffany! Thank you for coming. I do this series every Wednesday, so come back next week and see what’s new!
Awesome tips katie.
Thank you Mandee!
Thank you so much for the great tips. I am not going to list more than 3 items in one time any more lol
Katie, thank you for a very informative and helpful post. Thoroughly enjoyed it and I agree with everything you said. I now follow this list/renew 1 a day and notice my views have gone sky high and notice more new people dropping by. I think if you put in the work, then you will be guaranteed the rewards, no matter how small they seem at first they are always helpful in the long run. 🙂
Thank you for sharing such useful information. You’d think by now that these ideas would be second nature, but we have to be constantly reminded
Thank you for putting it so clearly and easy to follow
Off I go to relist a monkey (or two, but not at the same time)
You’re welcome Leah! We all need reminders every now & again. Please do relist your monkeys…I’m glad you’re using my advice.
Always great and thoughtful (and thought provoking) advice, Katie. Thanks again!
You are welcome Lisa – thanks for stopping by.
Katie, I am the queen of incorrect spelling. And yes I am intelligent, I just can’t spell. You have my permission to give me a shout out when you see incorrect spelling in my listings! Ha, if you have the time! It would take a lot of time! Your business advice is timeless and I thank you for sharing this important information with us!
You are so funny. In all the years I’ve visited your shop and listings I’ve never noticed an incorrect spelling…so, you must be doing okay. And yes I know you are intelligent.
Thank You for sharing !!!Very Helpful information 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it Rachel. Thanks for stopping.