Opening an Etsy shop takes hard work and determination, and for many sellers, marks a milestone many years in the making. When New Zealand-based seller Anne-Leah Dearlove opened her Etsy shop LoveLeahThings in late 2016, she was taking the entrepreneurial plunge she’d been dreaming of for years. She had often spoken to friends and coworkers about wanting to sell her handmade baby mobiles online. “I felt like I was finally being true to my creative self,” she says.
While opening your Etsy shop is a big accomplishment, what you do next is just as important. You’re in business whether you’ve had a sale yet or not, so build on your momentum by making an action plan to help your new shop thrive. Instead of waiting around for sales, get to action. For many sellers, such as the new sellers interviewed here, it can be difficult to know which step to tackle first. Follow these tips to ensure you’re starting off on the right foot.
Build buyer trust
When you first open your Etsy shop, you face the challenge of not having an established reputation. Until you’ve earned some sales and customer reviews, it’s important to reassure customers that you’re running a trustworthy business that’s ready for their orders.
Add more listings
A well-stocked shop shows shoppers your business is legitimate. Put yourself in a buyer’s shoes: how likely are you to purchase from a store that contains only one item? By stocking multiple items in your shop, you communicate to buyers that you are actively investing in your business. With each item you add to your shop, your perceived credibility as a business owner grows.
When you’re just getting started, you may not have a lot of products yet. Consider whether you can maximize your listings by creating separate listings for any variations you offer. For example, if you sell knit caps available in several colors, consider photographing and listing each color separately.
After opening her shop, Anne-Leah focused on making lots of colorful, playful baby mobiles, photographing them, and listing each one in her shop. Her mobiles are all similar in design, but she offers each color combination as its own listing, giving her shop a full, finished look.
Fill out your policies
When shoppers purchase from a shop with no sales or a few sales, they need to feel comfortable that their order will be fulfilled. Put them at ease by completing your shop policies (including shipping information). Your attention to detail will reassure customers that your business is important to you, and that you have an organized plan to deliver their order safely and quickly.
Share your story
You’re the only person who can truly tell your story. Adding a few photos and a personal description of your business to your About section reflects your trustworthiness to buyers. Learning how much your Etsy shop means to you may even influence a shopper to make a purchase from you.
After Santa Leimane of Riga, Latvia, opened her shop Snowflake Lace to sell her handmade velvet hoods, she added personality to her shop by developing her About section. She describes inheriting a love of handcrafts from her grandmother—and includes a picture of her grandmother and of her product to help share the story behind her shop. Shoppers like buying from real people, and your story is part of what makes your shop unique.
Respond quickly to customers (and potential customers)
Providing good customer service will help establish your credibility to new buyers. Responding promptly to shopper’s questions will assure them you’re readily available, and may even result in your shop’s first sale. (Read 5 Ways to Get Great Reviews for tips.)
Market your shop
This is the time to spread the word about your brand. Start building a buzz around your business and get your name out there.
Word of mouth
Early sales often come from people you know, so start advertising your shop to your friends and acquaintances. (For an added professional touch, you could even order some business cards.) Telling people you’re familiar with about your new business is a good way to get comfortable talking about it with anyone who might be interested. For tips on speaking about your shop, read How to Talk Confidently About Your Business.
Social media marketing
Begin cultivating your brand’s online presence by creating accounts on popular social media outlets like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. While you don’t need to be active on every platform (it's best to stick with just one or two), you may want to take this time to explore each channel and choose one that fits well for your business. “The majority of my sales are from people who have found out about me via Facebook or Instagram,” says Anne-Leah. When in doubt, use the social media channel you are most familiar with. Read How to Promote Your Shop on Social Media to get started.
Measure your success
Study your Stats
Your Stats offer useful information even if you haven’t made a sale yet. Looking at views and keyword performance can tell you which of your items shoppers are most interested in, as well as how those items are getting found. Making tweaks to your listings based on what you learn from your Stats can improve your listings and SEO. You can also look out for spikes in your stats when you post on your social media channels.
Improve as you go
Running an Etsy shop is a learning process. The sooner you embrace that, the better equipped you’ll be to improve upon your business. Santa was very hopeful when she first opened her shop, but she realized her product wouldn’t sell itself. She started investing time in tweaking her product descriptions, tags, and titles, and made her first sale a year after opening. Viewing your shop as a constant work in progress will help you stay nimble and position your business to evolve and succeed.
What was a helpful step you made in starting your business?
Words by Audrey Manning
Audrey Manning grew up in Brooklyn, just blocks from Etsy HQ. These days she's working from PA and busy trying to keep up with her toddler.
