How To Get Sales on Etsy For New Sellers

Do you want to increase your sales on Etsy and get more sales in your Etsy shop? It can seem overwhelming as a new seller on Etsy so in this post I want to share tips on growing on Etsy shop when you are a new seller.

In 2021 and beyond it can feel impossible to break into a saturated market but it’s possible! (If you haven’t started your shop yet, check out the post about how to start an Etsy shop.)

In the video above I go over many of the ways you can get more sales or even your first sales on your Etsy shop.

In 2021 and beyond many people would love to start an Etsy shop for extra income. Unfortunately because it’s a saturated market it can be hard to get a new shop off the ground. These ideas should help get you started so your new shop can grow.

Tips For Getting Sales On Etsy

Here are some ideas for getting sales on Etsy, especially as a new seller:

Pick a niche & stick to it

On Etsy most shops are very focused around one niche or type of product. You will see successful shops that are full of only funny t-shirts or only printable wall art for example. The best shops are focused on either a certain style, nice or product.

When you start and try to grow a new shop you should pick a niche and stick to it. If you are planning to open a shop selling SVGs then only sell SVGs in the beginning. It confuses buyers who might find your shop when you are selling 1 or 2 items of many random things.

Master one thing first

Similar to the niche concept, master one thing first. You will likely have competing interests and want to copy things that are successful you see others doing. That is human nature. However, to truly have a successful shop you will want to master the one thing you plan to be known for first.

Does this mean you’ll never get to experiment? Not at all! It means that you will work to establish both your product creation skills and your shop as a a leader. Mastering one thing will allow you to then move on to another to master.

Be different from others

Being different from others is key to success on Etsy. Unfortunately I often see people copying others directly or even stealing downloadable products and selling them as their own. They may achieve some temporary short term success but in the long run these people never succeed. Why? Because they aren’t different and people won’t remember them.

In order to stand out and build your shop’s reputation on Etsy you will want to be different from the competition, not a copy. You will want to figure out some way to make your product different and unique. Yes you might sell the same type of item as other shops, but how is your different? Is it a more modern style? Easier to use? You will be inspired by others but instead of copying, find ways to stand out.

Get sales for social proof

Sales are social proof. Knowing others bought the product you are selling helps convince buyers to trust you. Etsy does a great job encouraging this by displaying the number of sales and even reviews that shops have. This makes buyers feel more secure when purchasing.

Your goal in order to get more sales is to build your sales number. Shops that already have a lot of sales in fact tend to get more sales, partly because they are selling a good product and partly because new buyers feel like they can trust someone with thousands of sales.

Getting your first sales

Sales, sales, sales. We know it’s important because of social proof but how do you get your first ones? Your first sales will likely come from either being patient (very, very patient) or by getting creative.

Since sales are social proof you may have to “prime the pump” and have someone you know buy your product first. Or you may want to team up with another new Etsy seller and buy each other’s products. Perhaps your first sale can come from a friend or family member who wants to support you and start you on the path to success. Get creative because often new shops aren’t optimized well enough for SEO and the lack of sales can turn off buyers who do find you.

Focus on promotion

Once you’ve got a sale or two you’re ready to scale your shop to get more sales. This will be done by focusing on promotion. If you think people will just know you have a shop and flock to it then you are wrong. It’s easy for people to not know you even have a shop even if you feel like you talk about it all the time.

Ideas for promoting your shop and products:

• Create a YouTube channel showing off your products
• Write tutorials on your blog about the item
• Create a Pinterest account and use Tailwind to pin and promote
• Share on your personal social media accounts
• Share on your business/shop social media accounts

Remember that you’ll have to continually promote your work and often people will need to see it multiple times before buying.

Use Etsy’s marketing tools

Etsy has a number of great marketing tools built into their system. It is in your benefit to not only take advantage of their analytics but also these awesome marketing tools.

Within Etsy you can do things like set up marketing emails to reach out to someone who has an item in their cart to give them a coupon code. You can run sales and offer incentives that encourage people to buy. These are so useful! The two examples I just gave have driven many sales within my own shop.

Keep learning how to grow your shop

The most important part of getting more sales to your Etsy shop is to keep learning and growing. Etsy changes regularly and in order to grow you’ll have to keep learning and growing yourself.

It’s very easy for new shops to give up. I’ve seen hundreds of people start and quit before they even had a chance to succeed. The ones whoo eventually end up succeeding are usually the ones who simply won’t give up. They might not succeed on the first try but they learn from it and adjust in order to grow.

These are all tips to start your shop off and get it growing so it can eventually grow and become something you can even live off of financially.

What I Wish I Knew Before Starting An Etsy Shop

There are many things I wish I knew about being on Etsy before I started which is why I shared the post and video: What I Wish I Knew Before Starting An Etsy Shop.

This post may be helpful for you as a new Etsy seller so I’ll share a few of those things below about what I wish I knew:

• SEO is very important for Etsy success
• Your effort level determines your success
• Promotion is very important to your success
• It is just as easy to sell expensive items
• Etsy controls your shop and you have to work with that
• Etsy will take fees from your profit so price accordingly

Knowing these things before you start is critical for your success as you start and as you grow.

Opening An Successful Etsy Shop

Those are a few of the things I wish I had know before starting my Etsy shop in 2019. However, despite the good and bad, Etsy has been an incredible addition to my online business! It’s been a great way to get started with selling products and interacting with customers in the marketplace.

If you are interested in opening your own Etsy shop, I’ve shared instructions in the video below.

You can use this link to get 40 free listings on Etsy when you start your shop. When you open a new shop Etsy recommends starting with at least 10 listings but I have started both of my shops with 1 item.

Tips I’d recommend for building a successful Etsy shop from the beginning:

• have a strong niche where your products are very focused on either one niched area or style
• create a strong brand story and share that in your shop and listings
• continue your brand elements throughout the shop via colors and fonts
• share photos that clearly show your items and how they can be used
• make your descriptions clear and very descriptive – the more the better when you are explaining what comes with your item and how it can improve someone’s life
• clearly articulate your shop’s policies if you don’t offer refunds or have specific policies that a buyer needs to share
• build your shop with more listings to bring in new buyers and more traffic
• make sure you promote your listings both on Etsy with seo and ads and off Etsy with social media

Those are a few of my best tips and I hope your new Etsy shop thrives!