BY: JEREMY BURNICH & KIMBERLY FALK

Are you a new seller on Etsy having just opened your shop and in search of a few tips on getting that first sale? Maybe you’ve had your store open for a while and things have become sort of stagnant and you're looking to boost a little life back into your store?

Here are some tips to help new and seasoned Etsy sellers. 

A lot comes down to SEO and Etsy SEO is a funny beast with certain things that matter very much. Tweak a few of these things to get more traffic to your shop.

1. Almost all sellers need more listings.

According to our experience Etsy assumes if you have less than 50 listings that you are not a serious shop. There are exceptions to every rule but generally, have at least 20. 

Problem: “Wait, I don’t have a lot of items?”

Solution:  Start by dividing items into their different material variations. Instead of one listing for “coins” with 4 variations, have one listing for pennies, one for dimes, one for nickels, and one for quarters.

2. Work on Your Tags.

Think like a potential customer. What terms might they use when searching for items like yours? Say you’re selling a leaf shaped ring.  Add tags like  "fall ring" "autumn jewelry" "leaf ring", etc. 

One way to give yourself a leg up is to use EtsyRank, it's free and it can give you a lot of hints on what keywords work. 

QUICK TIP: One word keywords are not a good idea because that's not how most customers search.

DIG DEEPER: Here’s Etsy’s take on setting up headings and tags.  Relatively brief but very informative. 

3.  Photographs - the more the better.

You don’t need to be the next Horst, but decent photos of your items go a long way towards helping you make that sale. You also don’t need an SLR.  An iPhone a white backdrop and some natural light are all you need to take some great pictures.  Also, don’t be afraid to put a photo of the packaging - people are interested in the box something comes in as well. 

QUICK TIP: If you want a little more control over the light and surroundings get an inexpensive light box. Orange Monkey makes a great prosumer light box with some useful bells and whistles.

DIG Deeper: Here’s a great piece called The Ultimate Guide to Beautiful Product Photography. It’s got a ton of great tips for the DIY studio photographer.

4. Your “About” section is really important.

Much of the reason people buy from independent designers is because they connect to your story. Tell them what motivates you, tell them what awards you've won, tell them what your favorite piece is and why, etc.

This also means you should set up some policies.  These can change as you discover what works for you.  But many people will not buy from shops with no stated policies.  You can make exceptions case by case but if you are able to point to a clearly articulated policy at the start you’ll be much happier.   

QUICK TIP: How to Set Up Your Shop Policies

5. Offer Free Shipping

You sort of have to anyway. Etsy now gives priority placement in US search results to items that ship free and to shops that guarantee free shipping to US buyers on orders of $35 or more. 

This doesn’t mean you have to pay for it yourself. UPS won't transport your items for free but you can estimate what it will cost to box up and ship your item and work those expenses into the retail price.

ONE MORE THING …

I just add one more thing...when I say that you need more listings to be considered a serious shop, it's not only about convincing the potential customer, but also convincing *Etsy.* If they think you're making extra effort, they'll push you higher up in searches. It may not actually say that word for word in their SEO guidelines, but from what I've seen, this is how it works.

Wishing you much success!

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