Guest Blog: Special Topics in Calamity Business – Seven Tips for Etsy Success

Guest Blog, Printables & Downloads, Special Topics in Calamity Busines 31 comments

Corinna Buchholz of  the top selling Etsy Shop piddix shares some wisdom she has developed over her years of running a successful Etsy Shop for Special Topics in Calamity Business.  As one of the top 10 handmade sellers on Etsy, Corinna sure has plenty of experience running an Etsy Shop and will be contributing a regular monthly column for the next few months.

By guest contributor Corinna Buchholz

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With 3,000,000 registered users & more than $16 million in monthly sales, etsy.com is the number one site for selling handmade goods online. A low listing price of 20 cents per item & a fixed shop template allow for a quick & easy set-up. While several hundred people have “quit their day jobs” to either craft full-time or sell vintage items or supplies on etsy, the vast majority of its users see Etsy as a place to make some extra money, connect with other crafters, and share their creations with the world.

Whether an Etsy newbie or an old hat, I’ve put together Seven Tips for Etsy Success to help your store thrive. See the teaser version below or open the longer pdf version that includes more links and resources.

** Download the complete version of Seven Tips for Etsy Success Here **

TIP #1: Read, Read, Read (& Weed)
Spend time looking for online resources for setting up and maintaining your etsy shop. Many are super helpful like Etsy Success for Beginner Sellers and the etsywiki. Just be careful of the huge time suck that looking for advice can be!

TIP #2: Find Your Product
Figuring out what product to sell on Etsy is not as easy as it may seem. If you’re like many crafters, you’ve tried a dozen different crafts and what many of us do when we start selling is put up a little of everything—a couple of hats, a necklace, some cards. This works fine when you’re playing around, but if your goal is to sell well on Etsy, the decision of what to sell  should be an intentional choice and play to your strengths.

TIP #3: How to Set Up Shop
Creating a basic Etsy shop can be easily done in less than an hour–A Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Shop on Etsy is a good place to start–but it’s really a good idea to spend some time creating your profile, coming up with policies, thinking about “the look” of your shop & more beyond just the basics.

TIP #4: Take Amazing Photographs
Perhaps nothing is more important on Etsy than having amazing photographs. If your items look great, you’re much more likely to be featured on and off Etsy on blogs, in treasuries, and even on the front page—all of which lead to more views and more sales.

TIP #5: Strive for Repeat Customers
The old adage that it is easier to keep a current customer than to bring in a new one is entirely true on Etsy. Nearly 40% of my sales on Etsy are from returning customers. Keeping your customers satisfied isn’t rocket science, but it does take work.

TIP #6: Promote on Etsy
Now that you’ve taken care of the “big three” (having a great product, great photos, and great customer service), it’s time to tell the world about your shop and why not use the powerhouse of the Etsy machine to get your shop noticed via the front page treasuries, the Storque, Etsy newsletters and more.

TIP #7: Market Outside of Etsy
Being featured on a major blog can be the equivalent of winning the Etsy lottery, resulting in selling a year’s worth of goods in just one week, so it’s important to spend time promoting outside of Etsy as well.

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31 comments

  8. It’s not always an easy road to success on Etsy or anywhere on the Internet for that matter, and I always love reading about tips and tricks. Thanks. 😉

  9. Thanks Corinna, thanks IndieFixx Thanks Jess for posting in DUST street team forum
    Love Light and Rainbows from Down Under

  15. An easy read with so many pearls of wisdom! A friend just told me she’ll be opening up an Etsy shop, and I’m going to send her a link to this article right away!

  20. thanks for the super helpful article. i understand starting something small and finishing it as a 13 page article. i think we’ve all done that. 😉

  24. Great article. Tip 2 especially. There’s so many sellers and a limited number of categories. It’s important to find the product (or twist on a product) that will make you unique.

    And yes, a repeat customer means you made someone very happy!! Return customers make me feel great!

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