My Top Tips for New Etsy Sellers

My Top Tips for New Etsy Sellers

1. Know what you want to sell, and stick to it.

Even if you are like most people and have multiple hobbies, it's best to stick to one particular "theme" per shop. For example, if you like to draw, knit, and take photographs, that is all totally fine, but I would suggest separating each hobby into a different shop. Create one shop where you sell your drawings, one shop to sell your knitwear, and one shop to sell your photographs. The reason is that customers like to see cohesiveness, and by separating each hobby, it will also look more professional, instead of just having a hodgepodge of different items grouped together into the same shop.

   2. Photo's are the most important.

Are you ready for the biggest tip I would give to any new Etsy seller? Well, here it is: make sure and have good product photography. Why? Because I would have to say that your photos will do 90% of the selling for your item. You know the old saying 1 picture is worth 1,000 words? Well, it's true! :-) No matter what your item's title, tags, description, where you ship, etc. nothing will catch and hold a buyers attention better than a good photo. I will be writing up a "Tips for Etsy Photography" post soon to elaborate on this tip! ;-)

    3. Check your Tags, Titles, Items Description, & Shop Policies Page.

Make sure you are using all 13 tags allowed on each item listing, have a good, descriptive title + description of the item(s) you are selling. The buyer wants to know exactly what they are buying when they click the "add to cart" button & checkout. ;-) Also, add as much info needed to your shop policies page that will let the customer know (for example) Do you accept returns? If so, on what terms? What is your production turnaround time frame that they should expect to have to wait before getting that shipping confirmation email? What types of payment to you accept? Do you ship internationally? Put yourself in the buyers shoes and think of any and all questions you would like answered before buying if YOU were the customer. That way, they can feel confident buying from your shop!

   4. Add new listings frequently.

This increases the chance of shoppers finding YOUR shop / listings.  The more listings you have, the more chances you have of being found when buyers search through the pages of listings relevant to what particular item they are looking to purchase. It also keeps your shop looking fresh AND keeps repeat customers coming back for new items that weren't available before!

   5. Use Direct Checkout.

By allowing your customers to use direct checkout to pay (Let's buyers pay with all forms of payment; credit/debit cards, PayPal, gift cards, etc.) gives you a greater customer base. It does not restrict them to just using PayPal (for example) in order to make a purchase from your shop. More ways to pay = more customers!

   6. Ship Worldwide.

My last "top tip" for new Etsy sellers would be to ship worldwide. I know it can seem expensive, and you would think "nobody would pay that much to ship an item", but you would be surprised! Most buyers do know how much it costs to purchase an item internationally with shipping, and expect it. If they want your item badly enough, they will pay it. Even if you do not think so, at least give the option and see! ;-)

The final thing I would like to say is that all thoughts, ideas, and opinions shared here are expressly my own, and should be only taken as such. I am in no way a professional on any subject presented here, but wanted to share in hopes that it may help others, either wanting to open an Etsy shop, want to improve their existing shop, or if you are just someone wanting to learn in case you are thinking of opening a shop sometime in future!

Thank you so much for your interest and support in this new blog venture of mine, it means so much! :-)

Till next time!

XO,

Brenna

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Short Bio: Brenna is a handmade knitwear maker + Etsy shop owner/seller (brennaannhandmade.etsy.com) of 2 years. She began helping her mom & sister make, photograph, & sell items on her mom's Etsy shop (vintagelookcreations.etsy.com) in 2011, and has been making + selling ever since.

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