Etsy Success for Beginner Sellers

HeyMichelle

Story by HeyMichelle

Published on Oct 01, 2009 in Seller Handbook

Photo by Skoonberg

HeyMichelle

Welcome to selling on Etsy! When you’re getting started, it feels like there are so many things to do for your new shop. You’ll also want to check out the Seller Handbook — it contains links to lots of great articles to help you sell. Other posts to get you started include Welcome to Your Online Presence and A Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Shop on Etsy. Consider this article the quick-start guide, with the most important things to consider for getting your shop in top shape!

Your Name

Having a great, memorable name is one of the more important things you can do to brand your shop and encourage sales. Having a shop name that people remember will encourage them to find you again! You want it to be easy to pronounce, easy to spell, interesting, and it should speak to your style or what your shop is about. Shorter tends to be better than longer. Avoid common words like “designs” or “creations,” as well as number strings and consonant strings that don’t sound like a word in your name — these make your exact shop name hard to remember. Avoid generic-sounding names; something unique, different, or unusual will be more memorable. As Danielle says in this post, “Make sure it’s ‘Google-able!’ Sure the name ‘FriedChicken’ might be memorable, but if you go to Google and search ‘Fried Chicken,’ your shop will be a needle in a greasy (yet delicious) haystack!” Do some research on the Internet to make sure that another company doesn’t already have the same name.

What shop names have drawn you in? What about these names interested you? Think about this in your brainstorming for the perfect name.

Your shop name and your Etsy username are one and the same. While you can’t change your shop name on Etsy, if you don’t like the name you have, you can start a new shop. Simply register for the new shop, and then put a link to your new shop in the Shop Announcement, item listings, banner and Profile of your old shop, and then list your items in your new shop. Here are some more tips on shop names.

Shop Setup

The Shop Setup Help Guide will give you step-by-step instructions for getting started.

Banner: If your shop was in the physical world, your banner would be the sign above the front door. Choose something that looks professional and that will give shoppers a sense of the mood or feel of your shop and makes them interested to scroll down to see more! Here are instructions for creating your own banner. If you have nice product photos, you can use these in your banner if you like. If you’re not a great graphic designer, you can save time and frustration by buying a ready-made or custom banner from an Etsy seller.

rikrak banner

Photo by rikrak


Avatar: If you plan to use the community spaces such as the Forums, Online Labs, or the Blog, a well-lit, well-cropped 75 by 75 pixel photo of your most interesting item can make a great avatar. It’s the equivalent of wearing your pieces when you go out, and it advertises your shop while you are interacting with others. The other sellers and Admin (Etsy staff) in these spaces have the power to feature your items in Treasuries, on their own blogs, and around other spaces on Etsy, so show ‘em what you’ve got!

spiderbite avatargreeniemarie avataravatar shrimpsaladcircus avatar studioelan avatar tissage avatar magicjelly

Avatars by: spiderbite, beadsinthebelfry, greeniemarie, shrimpsaladcircus, studioelan, tissage, magicjelly, ThePaperAddict

Shipping: Set up Shipping Profiles in Your Etsy > Shipping Options to save time while listing. Ship internationally — international orders comprise a big chunk of the market on Etsy! Here is a good Forum thread for U.S. sellers on how to set up international shipping. More shipping and packaging how-to’s can be found here.

Shop Policies and Profile: Fill them out! Policies define the rules for your shop and can answer buyer questions. The Profile page personalizes you; Etsy shoppers love that they buy directly from the artist, so tell them about yourself and your craft to get them interested in your work. Having these sections filled out will help build trust for your buyer, especially if you are a new seller and don’t have feedback yet. Here are some tips for your Shop Policies and Profile Page.

Item Photography

Item photography is perhaps the most important aspect of your shop. On Etsy, you have one main photo and you may upload four additional photos. Use them all! Here are some tips below and explore these posts for further, in-depth suggestions.

Lighting: Use natural lighting. Either morning or early evening light works best. Avoid direct sunlight and harsh mid-day lighting. Inside, near a window, or outside (but not in direct sunlight) both work well. If the lighting is still a bit dark, increase the EV balance on your camera menu. This increases the “whiteness” in the photo. Avoid using the flash. If the photos look washed out, turn away from the sunlight.

Photos by ecosilver, moop, locallibrary


Backgrounds: Shoot against a background that will complement your item. Think about color: What color background will create the mood that you are going for? If you’re going for a sophisticated look, perhaps your dark brown item will look great against a pale brown background — think tone-on-tone, but make sure that your item stands out and is not swallowed by the background. Funky? Maybe try a color that is opposite on the color wheel, so a pale orange for your blue item. Modern items might look great with neutral colors, while natural and bohemian looks might look great next to natural materials such as plants, stones, etc. Maybe you’ll have a collection of backgrounds with your color palette, and you can choose the best one for each item. Simple white backgrounds can be great for just about any type of item as well, and this will put the focus on your item.

For smaller items like jewelry, try placing these on props such as papers, old books, and tabletops. You may have a variety of materials in your home that will work well.

msbelle

Photos by msbelle, SeaUnicorn, stamp

For larger items, look around the inside and outside of your home for good locations. Think interesting architecture, beautiful natural settings, walls with interesting textures, or even plain white walls. Is there a location nearby that would look great — perhaps a church, library, or abandoned building that would capture the mood of your items?

Photos by NHWoodCreations, sarahseven, arlenewatson

Consider including a photo that shows the item being used. This will give the potential customer important information, such as what the item is and how big it is. It will also allow them to envision the item on themselves or in their home.

Photos by CombustionGlassworks, MiaBeads, woodtec

Close-ups: Use the macro mode (flower icon) on your camera when shooting close-ups of jewelry and other small objects. This creates a sharp outline of your item. If the photo is blurry, try adjusting the zoom, or getting closer to or farther from your subject.

Angles: Most people start out taking product photos in the same way: They take the photo directly above, say, a piece of jewelry, and surround it with white space. You can make your photos more dynamic by taking the shot from a variety of angles and distances, and then choosing the one that best complements your item. Take a look in the Gift Guides to see how sellers have created interesting shots by using angles.

Photos by ZerbenaBoutique, firewoodfurniture, kjoo

Cropping: Photos that crop in interesting places create movement in the photo. It may allow you to get closer to the item for a detail shot. If your item is symmetrical, do we need to see the entire thing to understand it? Or would cropping off 1/3 of the item let us see more detail and look more interesting?

Avoid crops that are too “tight.” This is where just a bit of the top and bottom of the item are cut off — it looks squashed! Take the photo from a bit farther away if this is the case. Even better, turn 3D objects like handbags a bit to the side for a more forgiving crop. Try taking 2D objects like notecards diagonally — this makes the photo more interesting, and will almost always make for a nice crop.

Etsy will automatically crop your photos for the thumbnails when you upload them. Consider while you are taking your pictures that vertical shots will crop mostly from the top, and a bit from the sides, and vice versa for horizontal shots.

Photos by shoofly, makalewakan, atelierBB

Grouping: Try arranging small items such as pouches, soaps, notecards, and cookies into a group shot. This can make the photo look rich and beautiful. Be sure to specify in the listing how many the customer will receive with their order.

Photos by SucculentsGalore, palomasnest, SunshineandRavioli

What is it?: If at all possible, show what the item is in the gallery (first) photo. If it’s not possible, put what it is in the first few words of the title so that it is not cropped out when the customer is browsing in “gallery” (large photo) mode.

Additional photos: Your potential customer can’t touch your item or try it on. Show them everything they want to know in the photos!

Show size by showing the item next to an object that everyone knows the size of. Human hands, flowers and objects that it would “belong” next to (such as a decor object on a bookshelf next to vintage books or some foreign money spilling out of a pouch) are great. Avoid unattractive items like paperclips and pennies unless they make sense. What does it feel like? Show the texture of your yarn or baked goods with a macro shot. What flavor or scent is it? Some blueberries and vanilla beans next to your blueberry-vanilla soap will look gorgeous and convey to your customer what it smells like.

Your descriptions may have some great ideas about what you might show in your additional photos. If you say in your listing that your scarf also makes a great belt, then show a picture of that to drive the point home!

Photos by karenssoaps, dolittledesign, OnTheRound

Upselling: Would the item be perfect with another item in your shop? Show two necklaces worn together to encourage your buyer to get them both! Would your art prints look great in a grouping of three? Show the customer a photo of that to get her excited! Even better if you offer a small incentive such as free shipping for additional items. Just make sure to be clear about what exactly is for sale with this listing.

Editing: Use a photo editing program to touch up your photos if necessary. Gimp is a free download that you’ll love if you know how to use Photoshop, Picasa is a great all-around free program for mid-level skills, and an online photo editor like Piknic is perfect if you’re not particularly computer savvy. If the photo is too dark, increase the brightness *and* the contrast. You can do this using “curves” in Gimp.

Getting Exposure

Categories: One of the best hidden gems for getting more exposure for your items is placing them in the correct Category. If your items will fit into more than one Category (for example, Knitting and Accessories), try putting some in one and some in another for maximum exposure. Once you have chosen your Category, choose from the related tags and/or look in the Category Browser to see what subcategories are available. Add any that accurately describe your item exactly as written into your tags, and your item will appear in all of them. Do the same with any sub-subcategories beneath the subcategories that you’ve chosen.

Tags: Tags, along with titles, are your search terms. Using keywords that buyers will search for will help put your item in front of them! Here is an article with a list of types of tags to help you brainstorm.

List Regularly: Right now, the default for Search and Categories on Etsy is reverse chronological order — newest on the top. If you have several items to list, try to space the listings out a bit. Here’s a super-secret hack that a seller figured out if you want to make your listings go live later: create your listings, and go to page 5 of the listing process. Copy the URL from the address bar, and email it to yourself. You can then return to this later and click “FINISH.” Test it first to be sure you are doing it right before prepping a bunch of listings!

Renewing: Renewing normally refers to reactivating a listing that has expired. Some sellers figured out that they got more hearts, views, and sales on days when they listed an item. When they did not have an item to list that day, they renewed an item. Renewing will move your item higher in the Category Browser and search results, and it costs the same amount as creating a new listing. We recommend that you only use this method if it is effective for you. (Learn more about how renewing works technically on Etsy.) Before using renewing as a technique for gaining exposure, first get your shop into tip-top shape and have “enough” items in your shop to promote!

Showcases: The Showcase is Etsy’s advertising program. The Main Showcase is linked from the homepage of Etsy, and there are Showcases for each Category, the Gift Guides, and The Storque. Additionally, there are regularly specialized Showcases throughout the year. As with renewing, you will want to get your shop into great shape by using the tips in this article before you purchase a Showcase spot for maximum benefit. Having good item photos, descriptive listings, and enough items to make the promotion worth it are most important.

Getting Featured: Your item may be featured in several places around Etsy: in Treasuries, which are chosen by Etsy members, and on the homepage, Gift Guides, Etsy Finds emails, and The Storque (Etsy’s blog). The key to getting featured in all of these locations is having great item photos, using tags well, and being an active member of the community. Additionally, you may look at the merchandising articles each month to learn about upcoming themes and holidays that will be promoted. Use this information to help you tag your listings, or as a reminder of upcoming events for which you may want to create items. If you are featured in the Gift Guides, and you are able to make more of the item, you may increase the quantity of your listing so that your item stays in the Guide when it sells!

Your Items and Product Assortment

Creating a cohesive shop: Create a great assortment of products that work together. Think about the types of items that are sold together at retail stores. Some examples are: a women’s fashion shop, a baby shop, a crochet shop, a home goods shop, a bath and body shop. This is not to say that you should *never* have items that don’t at first seem to go together in your shop — there are a few sellers out there who are making this work because their aesthetic binds all their items together. The point is to be intentional about what you are selling.

Think of every item listing in your shop as an ad for all of your other items. Every time a customer finds one of your items, now they have access to the rest of your shop. Will that customer who is looking for a baby shower gift who you’ve brought in with your knitted baby hat want to stay to browse in your shop? If your other items are more baby clothes, accessories, toys or children’s art, she most likely will. If she has to sift though your dish towels and nature photographs, she may lose interest, no matter how lovely they may be! Consider focusing on what you find most interesting or what’s most popular in your shop. You may set up another shop for your other interests, but be aware that it is a lot of time and effort to try to market two shops. You may be better off focusing on one shop.

Having a cohesive shop will make it memorable! If I see a fabulous, feminine vintage-style necklace in a shop full of jewelry of a wide variety of different styles — everything from fun ‘n’ funky to sophisticated — I will probably not remember the particular shop. Conversely, if that same necklace is surrounded by jewelry in a similar style with an appealing color palette (and photographed in a similar way), it is much more likely to stick in my mind.

You may be worried that this will limit your creativity. Au contraire! you might find that this frees your creativity. It is very enjoyable to create a look and style that is uniquely “you” and to share your vision with the customer. Your style can (and probably will) change over time…but at a given moment, try to have a style that can be summed up in a few words. As you bring your unique style to your product photos and descriptions, your shop itself will become a work of art. Try it!

Photos by theblackapple, paradisehilldesigns, ruffeoheartslilsnoty

What to sell, and how to stand out from the crowd: There are so many wonderful shops on Etsy, that many newbies wonder how they can make an impact. Here are some tips for making your shop shine:

  1. What to do in crowded markets: If you notice that there are lots of others sellers with items similar to yours, say, children’s hair bows, you may try creating the items in a different and surprising material, or creating a new style of hair bow to stand out. You may stand out with fabulous photos, a great shop assortment, and lots of items for your buyers to choose from.
  2. Find a niche: Better yet, find an undeserved niche to establish yourself in. Look around in the Categories and subcategories for inspiration…are there any where you might make a mark? For example, if you can make great gifts for men, you will find a market that is hungry for new sellers!
  3. Create a new product, or find a new way of making something that’s been around for a while. Some great examples are neawear, who became Etsy-famous with her “Wall Wear,” a modern art incarnation of cross-stitch samplers, and girlsavage, who reinvented taxidermy as “Feltidermy” — stuffed animal creatures on trophy boards.

Relisting: Successful sellers use the “relisting” technique to create a profitable business. If you sell an item and can make the same item again, you can “relist” it by using the link at the top of the sold item page. This copies your listing and costs the same as a new listing. You will save time since you do not have to make, photograph, and create a description for your item before selling it again. Try to make items that you will be able to make again. If you prefer to only make one-of-a-kind items, be sure to price them accordingly (read: more expensively).

Pricing: Check out this series of articles for help with pricing. Most Etsy sellers who are new to retailing set their prices too low. Many find that they sell more when they raise their prices! Your price gives your customer a hint of the quality of your item, so make sure you are selling at a fair price! Ask for the price that your time and skills are worth. You will want to consider your material costs, fees and other costs associated with selling, and time spent making items, creating listings, and communicating with customers. You may consider using a combination of pricing equations and then comparing these prices with what the items would sell for in a boutique, or how successful sellers are pricing similar items.

Other Tips

Helpful Links

Etsy Hacks: This site provides time-saving tools that give you special functions for your Etsy shop, such as the ability to copy one of your current listings, or the ability to upload up to five photos at once while you are listing.

Craftcult: View your hearts in an easy-to-see list format. Also, see when you have been featured in the Gift Guides, The Storque, and on the homepage.

What are your top tips? We’d love to hear them in the comments of this article! …But there are so many comments now, it’s slowing down the page load. So please join the discussion in this Forum thread.

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