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How to Grow an Etsy Shop

By Alison K Plaut

Published on 7 Dec 2023 5 min read

Growing an Etsy shop can be an opportunity to turn your passion or interests into a lucrative career. You can share what you love and build an income while putting business best practices to use. 

Growing an Etsy shop includes some of the same principles of building any other business, including showcasing products and offering excellent customer service. However, Etsy also has unique challenges for business owners, as you’ll need to work to make sure your products stand apart on the vast database. Read on for best practices on how to grow an Etsy shop.

10 Best Practices to Grown an Etsy Shop

Etsy is one of the best side hustles for creatives that can grow into a full-time career. Whether you’re just starting an Etsy shop and want a new self-employed income stream or already have an LLC for Etsy and an established presence, the tips below can help build client traffic, customer trust, and return shoppers. 

Ready to maximize your Etsy shop growth in the new year? Implement these 10 steps to take your company to the next level. 

1. Invest in High-Quality Product Photography

A picture is worth a thousand words! Many customers will immediately judge your products by your photos and photo quality. Remember that no one reads product descriptions unless they’re interested, so you always want amazing photos.

You can learn to take and edit photos to showcase your items attractively through free online tutorials or consider working with a professional photographer to get the best available photos. 

2. Optimize Product Titles and Descriptions

SEO is the foundation of many successful businesses. You can start small with competitor keyword research or main market keywords before considering more in-depth research.

Then, optimize your product titles and descriptions to include keywords. This can increase organic traffic from Google and other searches and ensure that your products appear in more searches within Etsy. 

3. Utilize Etsy’s Advertising Tools

Etsy offers advertising tools directly. Promoted listings can increase visibility and reach a larger audience. You can also re-list items frequently, promote listings, and ask customers to leave product reviews to increase exposure.  

4. Promote on Social Media Platforms

Building your social media platforms is one of the most effective ways to drive organic traffic to your Etsy shop. Building a dedicated following on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, or even Snapchat can increase brand awareness and reputation. 

Remember, you don’t need millions of followers to build a steady income on Etsy. Even a few thousand dedicated followers can help your Etsy shop build consistent sales volume. 

Social media can be both free advertising and paid promotion. While building your online presence, you can consider advertising on Facebook, Instagram, or Google to drive more traffic to your shop. 

5. Offer Sales, Discounts, or Promotions

Everyone loves a discount! Sales, discounts, and promotions can attract new customers and encourage repeat business. Consider weekly sales, rotating promotions, or new customer discounts when potential customers sign up for your newsletter or mailing list. Popular promotional tools include:

• Coupon codes for an email signup or a limited period, such as before the holidays
• Free shipping with a minimum purchase
• Maximize holidays and special events throughout the year to increase sales during busy periods 

6. Join Relevant Etsy Seller Communities

Etsy seller communities can help you stay up to date on best practices, changing algorithm requirements, and tips to increase sales. Look for groups online or on social media and participate in discussions to network with other sellers and gain valuable insights and tips. 

For example, some Etsy best practices include:

• Post with regularity 
• Use free social media graphic templates to enhance your posts
• Respond to comments, questions, and reviews
• Interact with customers on social media and share customer posts about your products 
• Use hashtags and keywords to increase exposure 
• Hold giveaways, offer coupons, and ask participants to tag a friend to increase followers

7. Provide Excellent Customer Service

Exceptional customer service is the foundation of any business where you offer a product or service for sale. You should prepare to deliver more than customers expect consistently. This can include exceptional packaging, adding a gift with each order, and, of course, responding promptly to inquiries and messages. 

Make an effort to respond quickly and effectively to negative comments or problems to increase customer satisfaction and build client trust. 

8. Regularly Update Your Etsy Shop 

Add fresh inventory and seasonal items to attract repeat customers. Consider what unique offerings you can add or how you can update your shop every two to three months. You can also rotate stock every couple of weeks or regularly re-list products. 

9. Encourage Customers to Leave Reviews and Provide Incentives

Getting customers to your Etsy shop is only half the process. The other half is closing the sale. Customer reviews can increase sales by building customer trust. Happy customers give new customers the confidence to purchase your products. 

To build reviews, consider offering a reward like a coupon or free product for each review. This can further increase customer trust and build loyalty while helping you secure reviews that drive sales. 

10. Maximize Etsy’s Analytics Tools 

Etsy’s analytics tools can track and analyze your shop’s performance and help you make data-driven decisions. When you know which products perform well, which ads drive the most traffic to your shop, and where customers spend the most time, you can innovate to build more success. 

Get the Best Support to Build Your Business

Building your Etsy shop requires attention to detail and dedication. Between SEO optimization, gathering customer reviews, and posting (and re-posting) great products, you’ll need as much time as possible dedicated to your core business. That’s how doola bookkeeping services can help. 

doola Books is designed for busy founders like you. Get doola books so you can spend more time focusing on what really matters as you build momentum on Etsy. Get doola Books here. 

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