1. Unprofessional photos -Dimly lit -Grainy photos - unbalanced color temperature - Distracting background 2. Not using enough photos in the listing 3. Not enough information in the listing description. 4. Not having marketing plan - Influencer marketing -Email marketing -Social media marketing 5. Not matching keyword in title , tag and listing 6. Poor customer service 7. Not doing trend research
I agree with every one of these points. August has been my best month ever (after two years) - sure, some best sellers tail off, but others rise to the occasion. I'd say that what it all comes down to - which is the red thread among all seven issues you point out - is that you should be treating your Etsy shop as a business. If you want serious income, then be serious about your business.
Agree with #3 and this is where keyword research comes in. Knowing what the right words are to put in your sales listing can help make your product more visible to people. Thanks for this!
Kate, thank you for this video! It was exactly what I needed to hear to fine tune my shop. I’m guilty of all those things you mentioned. It’s easy to overlook these things when you are trying to add new listings while working a separate full time job. 😊
I just recently took a crack at “seriously” starting my shop and am trying to use all of these tips. A good one I heard, in line with the marketing is: don’t be afraid to go to the old festival and do some vending or networking. Especially wine festivals, drunk people love to talk and buy things
If you sell crochet items on etsy these days ,you would be less likely to have increase sales because it's crazy saturated.I remember when I first open my shop about 9 years ago I had so many sales even though my photos look crappy.During that time I used pinterest,twitter,instagram which I still do but no luck.My photos are quality and I still use social media platform.I have no idea what I am doing differently for me not to get sales.I am not going to give up,I will continue to do what I normally does and hope that I see improvements.
Kate, thanks for your video. I have seen all your series and I still do not know what to do to speed up sales. I just recently created my shop and I do not know what I am not doing right. Would you be willing to do a series of videos where you help a new etsy seller to improve?? :)
I just opened my Halloween themed Etsy shop a week ago. Selling halloween poem books and papercraft skeleton construction kits, while working on creating halloween clip art for sale. I just made my first sale earlier today. As far as social media goes, i've found pinterest and instagram to be quite disappointing. I go through all the effort to make a reels or idea pin and it really doesn't go anywhere at all. It feels like a lot of work for no return.
Congrats on opening up shop! Definitely be patient and keep doing what you can to be proactive with your marketing a little each day. It can take a while to gain traction in the beginning!
It's interesting that you show you taking a picture on your cell phone with a gray card. I was going to buy one, but when I googled it, it said it was only for cameras. When I checked my camera app on my Note 10, I found a "PRO" mode with a WB feature. It didn't let me use an image, but it did allow me to adjust the WB before I took a photo.
I made my shop on april and i had no sales at all on etsy untul today. some people have it in their cart and some even asked if i can do custom. When i actually make sketch for their customized spooky cute plushies, they don't reply anymore. i made some sales from instagram and facebook but that's two weeks ago. i changed my pictures and descriptions.... nada. i feel like im working for nothing even though i tried so hard on instagram....
How about us beginners helps each other out? Let's follow each other on social media, favorite each other's items, and even place an order for each other items and leave positive reviews after purchasing. My shop is Enjoyablejam on Etsy. Feel free to message me on Etsy or on Instagram. We are all in this together and should be supporting one another for optimal growth :). Let’s not give up guys!
Mistake #3 is spot on! I try to tell my clients that you've got to emulate the in-person buying experience as best you can. What info would you need to buy something, you know? I see so many great sellers just overlook this and miss out
I think it is not the problem at the moment - all my friends practically have no sales at the moment! I had sales over 1 - 2 K every month - sold items every day - now feels like game over :)
Are you using Canva? If so, you can use any of the free photos on there that are licensed for commercial use. You can also purchase photos to use from a stock photo website or styled stock subscription like Social Squares- this is not for selling Canva templates though unless you have commercial license to use the images to resell in that way. Just check what license you have for the images you want to use to make sure you can resell! :)
Honestly, Pinterest has been soo disappointing even though I thought it will have the most likely chance of bringing in traffic I sell digital templates in my shop called TempyTemplates and most of my listing rank really well for a lot of keywords but I've had not a single sale till now even though my prices are significantly lower and affordable than my competition.
I’d say it depends what specific categories you’re talking about. All items in one shop need to be related in some way whether it be product type, theme, style, etc. If they are completely different with nothing in common then I’d say start a second shop!
No one clicks and expands the item description. I have a shop and I'm an extremely particular collector of items I buy online as well. Even I won't extend myself to find the description when the app does not make it easy. It's hidden. Period. I make sure to add all info in my photographs. Including photos with a charming antique ruler.
Hi Van, may I ask what your totals were for the last 3 full years? 19, 20, & 21? Assuming you have had the shop that long. I am asking because there were some who saw a huge increase (almost all saw at least a marginal increase) in mid 2020-early 2021 due to covid. If your 80k per year is based off of this, it could be that it has more to do with the temporary influx of buyers on the platform due to the pandemic (thus temporarily inflating sales) rather than something in the algorithm or trend changes.
I just read an interesting article about Shopify. They are laying off 10% of their staff due to the reduction in online sales after COVID. During COVID online sales more than doubled and Shopify thought all these in online buyers would continue so they ramped up. With the restrictions gone online sales have dropped back down to almost pre-pandemic levels as people are buying local again.
Etsy has been a nightmare for me after having lots issues getting suspended right from the beginner and for not reason they fixed it but I have not sell 1 item at all. can you please help me ?
Just so everyone knows, Etsy withheld the name of my shop from Google search AND from their site, for the entire time. I was thinking my store would eventually make sales. However, upon checking, potential customers did not even have a way to log into my store. Family and friends went to Etsy and typed in the name of my store. But it doesn't show up. So I pulled all of my stuff. Very sad. I got word that the site is very commercialized now and it won't market homemade items actively. NO CUSTOMER CARE REPRESENTATIVE CARED or INVESTIGATED THE ISSUE.
Hello Kate, thank you so much for all your helpful videos, I have tried to apply everything that you have said, and I’m getting plenty of views and likes but no sales. I would love it if you or someone could take a look at my shop and tell me what I could do to turn my views and likes into sales
How about us beginners helps each other out? Let's follow each other on social media, favorite each other's items, and even place an order for each other items and leave positive reviews after purchasing. My shop is Enjoyablejam on Etsy. Feel free to message me on Etsy or on Instagram. We are all in this together and should be supporting one another for optimal growth :). Let’s not give up guys!
I can't get enough to pay my Etsy fee, leave alone making living. My Etsy fee X2 of my sales. And BTW my listings look perfect I'm a graphic designer by trade and photographer. So there is nothing wrong with my photos, everything about store is filled up, sales run constantly, Etsy adds running. I'm selling online since 2003, so I know all about it, I have sold on many platforms, I closed my 2 Etsy stores in 2017 cause sales drop sadden and I couldn't make my fees. Recently I decided to re-open store with different product (Thats I sell on other platforms) because of all hype around Etsy and now 3 month later I see I wasted my time. If you thinking to open Etsy store - forget about it, don't waste your time.
Kate, I’ve tried to get Etsy’s help on this, but my question has gone into the void. Regarding a customer changing their review. I fixed something with an order and my customer wants to change her review. There is no edit option for her to change her review. She does see the edit option on other reviews she’s given. Any idea why the edit option isn’t available?
Keep your chin up and working on your business! Things ebb and flo depending on what customers are looking for now. I have products that get more views certain times of the year (I’m still new at this too). Don’t give up
If you gonna do all the marketing yourself - then just open your own website, what is the point to advertise Etsy - when they will drive away your customers? They don't uniquely advertise your listing, if you look on the bottom of your listing you see all kind of sellers. so if I gonna run real marketing program its not gonna be to etsy shop - its does not make any sense.
This is exactly what I was thinking.. people are now becoming hesitant to buy anything more than their basic necessities. Comparing my sales from the last two years, it’s really significantly low this year.
Hi dear Kate, thanks again for your advice, i am on you email list so i listen and read your tips often. I started my shop early in May and have only had 3 sales, one of which was a double order. So i prefer to say i have had 4 sales. One question please, how do i contact these clients to ask them for reviews? Dont know where to find them. I am really getting desperate, have done 300 designs now and i think they are cool, tees, sweaters, totebags and mugs, have done a month of etsy ads and a 20%discount and still nothings happening. Also started showing some oroducts on instagram. Please be so kind and tell me what more i must do. I think my pics and SEO is good. Thanks and Blessings. Love, Christa ForeverYoungDesignSA.
Hey there! You can find the customers under your “completed orders” tab and directly message them asking how they are enjoying the product and giving a gentle, friendly reminder that they can leave you a review if they’d like (just don’t do this more than once per customer). Keep in mind they can only leave a review for 100 days after it was delivered so the option goes away if it’s been longer than that.
Little did I know if the USPS looses someone's package...etsy doesn't care...they just refund their money...then they eventually end up with your product also... extremely frustrating etsy doesn't care much abt the store owner...
🔑 FREE ETSY SUCCESS MASTERCLASS: www.etsymasterclass.com
Great content! Thx
@@MA-jx6yq You're very welcome!
@@KateHayes It's not Free
1. Unprofessional photos
-Dimly lit
-Grainy photos
- unbalanced color temperature
- Distracting background
2. Not using enough photos in the listing
3. Not enough information in the listing description.
4. Not having marketing plan
- Influencer marketing
-Email marketing
-Social media marketing
5. Not matching keyword in title , tag and listing
6. Poor customer service
7. Not doing trend research
I agree with every one of these points. August has been my best month ever (after two years) - sure, some best sellers tail off, but others rise to the occasion. I'd say that what it all comes down to - which is the red thread among all seven issues you point out - is that you should be treating your Etsy shop as a business. If you want serious income, then be serious about your business.
Could not agree more! Treating your shop as a true business and not just a hobby is a must.
Agree with #3 and this is where keyword research comes in. Knowing what the right words are to put in your sales listing can help make your product more visible to people. Thanks for this!
Kate, thank you for this video! It was exactly what I needed to hear to fine tune my shop. I’m guilty of all those things you mentioned. It’s easy to overlook these things when you are trying to add new listings while working a separate full time job. 😊
Definitely easy to overlook! Glad you found it helpful :)
Learning how to sell on Etsy has been harder and more involved than it was to get my masters degree lol
I just recently took a crack at “seriously” starting my shop and am trying to use all of these tips. A good one I heard, in line with the marketing is: don’t be afraid to go to the old festival and do some vending or networking. Especially wine festivals, drunk people love to talk and buy things
Beautiful advice and beautiful smile, Miss Hayes.
Aw thank you, friend!
If you sell crochet items on etsy these days ,you would be less likely to have increase sales because it's crazy saturated.I remember when I first open my shop about 9 years ago I had so many sales even though my photos look crappy.During that time I used pinterest,twitter,instagram which I still do but no luck.My photos are quality and I still use social media platform.I have no idea what I am doing differently for me not to get sales.I am not going to give up,I will continue to do what I normally does and hope that I see improvements.
There is too much competition!!!! People dont go for the new ones they go to the people that already has a lot of sells and feedback
Kate, thanks for your video. I have seen all your series and I still do not know what to do to speed up sales. I just recently created my shop and I do not know what I am not doing right. Would you be willing to do a series of videos where you help a new etsy seller to improve?? :)
Hi Kate!
Just opened my etsy shop! I love your videos & will be using them to help grow my store xx
Cheering you on Kristina! ❤️
Your business tips are great.
Thank you friend! 🤗
Solid checklist Kate. Thanks for sharing
Absolutely!! 🤗
I just opened my Halloween themed Etsy shop a week ago. Selling halloween poem books and papercraft skeleton construction kits, while working on creating halloween clip art for sale. I just made my first sale earlier today.
As far as social media goes, i've found pinterest and instagram to be quite disappointing. I go through all the effort to make a reels or idea pin and it really doesn't go anywhere at all. It feels like a lot of work for no return.
Congrats on opening up shop! Definitely be patient and keep doing what you can to be proactive with your marketing a little each day. It can take a while to gain traction in the beginning!
Sounds super cool! Can I have a link to your store? Id like to see it!
It happens the same with me. Two months since I opened, lot of view, but no sale yet😢
@@RanyaneMelo May i ask what You're selling?
@@rifleridge9560 I’m selling clothes
It's interesting that you show you taking a picture on your cell phone with a gray card. I was going to buy one, but when I googled it, it said it was only for cameras. When I checked my camera app on my Note 10, I found a "PRO" mode with a WB feature. It didn't let me use an image, but it did allow me to adjust the WB before I took a photo.
I’m trying to sell custom PNG printables. I recently changed up my keywords, a few favorited my items but still no sales
I made my shop on april and i had no sales at all on etsy untul today. some people have it in their cart and some even asked if i can do custom. When i actually make sketch for their customized spooky cute plushies, they don't reply anymore. i made some sales from instagram and facebook but that's two weeks ago. i changed my pictures and descriptions.... nada. i feel like im working for nothing even though i tried so hard on instagram....
How about us beginners helps each other out? Let's follow each other on social media, favorite each other's items, and even place an order for each other items and leave positive reviews after purchasing. My shop is Enjoyablejam on Etsy. Feel free to message me on Etsy or on Instagram. We are all in this together and should be supporting one another for optimal growth :). Let’s not give up guys!
Mistake #3 is spot on! I try to tell my clients that you've got to emulate the in-person buying experience as best you can. What info would you need to buy something, you know? I see so many great sellers just overlook this and miss out
Absolutely!!
Absolutely love these tips! Thanks so much!
Yay! So glad you’re loving them! 😊
@@KateHayes yes! I literally implemented some of your tips this weekend and just got a new sale today and more shop views 🥳🎉
Hello Kate....What do you think about investing in ads to promote my product? Ive had a few sales but suddenly it all stopped
That is an option! I would recommend trying social media marketing first if possible, especially if you’re on a tight budget!
If using an iPhone, what setting / size should we be using? Thank you!! I will also try a grey card!
Super interesting video, thanks for sharing!
So glad you liked it! 😊
Thank you very helpful🙂
I think it is not the problem at the moment - all my friends practically have no sales at the moment! I had sales over 1 - 2 K every month - sold items every day - now feels like game over :)
Thank you Kate.
Sure thing!! 🤗
How would you u suggest getting photos for digital products ??
Are you using Canva? If so, you can use any of the free photos on there that are licensed for commercial use. You can also purchase photos to use from a stock photo website or styled stock subscription like Social Squares- this is not for selling Canva templates though unless you have commercial license to use the images to resell in that way. Just check what license you have for the images you want to use to make sure you can resell! :)
@@KateHayes thank u :)
I want to start my own business but don’t know which products would good, i want to sale folding laptop table. Not sure if it is good product to start
Should i open a new pod clothes on etsy,is worth it? Can i make full time income? Or should i use another platform?
It’s definitely possible to make a profitable income through POD on Etsy! Amazon is becoming more popular for it too.
@@KateHayes merch by Amazon or to open regular store on Amazon? because they take 15% for any sell.
Thank you so much!
Whenever I go outside or am near a window, I get shadows. I bought a somewhat expensive light box, and my pictures look dim ?
Thanks for sharing!
So welcome, friend!!
hi kate, I want to know, is it allowed to use Virtual Credit Card like Payoneer Card to fill the billing information when open etsy store?
Honestly, Pinterest has been soo disappointing even though I thought it will have the most likely chance of bringing in traffic
I sell digital templates in my shop called TempyTemplates and most of my listing rank really well for a lot of keywords but I've had not a single sale till now even though my prices are significantly lower and affordable than my competition.
I sell the same thing and some custom png files. I changed up some of my keywords, and I still don’t have any sales
Should have made example of the title, phrases, keywords matching you mentioned :)
Hi,
What do you suggest? either to have one etsy shop for products of many different categories together or one etsy shop per one category?
I’d say it depends what specific categories you’re talking about. All items in one shop need to be related in some way whether it be product type, theme, style, etc. If they are completely different with nothing in common then I’d say start a second shop!
@@KateHayes Thank you for your reply.
No one clicks and expands the item description. I have a shop and I'm an extremely particular collector of items I buy online as well. Even I won't extend myself to find the description when the app does not make it easy. It's hidden. Period. I make sure to add all info in my photographs. Including photos with a charming antique ruler.
Hey juls! I wanna open Etsy account on partnership if you are interested kindly contact me
thank u
You’re so welcome!! 🤗
My shop is dead. From 80k a year to 15k a year
Why? What happened?
Hi Van, may I ask what your totals were for the last 3 full years? 19, 20, & 21? Assuming you have had the shop that long. I am asking because there were some who saw a huge increase (almost all saw at least a marginal increase) in mid 2020-early 2021 due to covid. If your 80k per year is based off of this, it could be that it has more to do with the temporary influx of buyers on the platform due to the pandemic (thus temporarily inflating sales) rather than something in the algorithm or trend changes.
I just read an interesting article about Shopify. They are laying off 10% of their staff due to the reduction in online sales after COVID. During COVID online sales more than doubled and Shopify thought all these in online buyers would continue so they ramped up. With the restrictions gone online sales have dropped back down to almost pre-pandemic levels as people are buying local again.
I’d be happy with $15k a yr rn
Etsy has been a nightmare for me after having lots issues getting suspended right from the beginner and for not reason they fixed it but I have not sell 1 item at all. can you please help me ?
Etsy is no longer a great platform unfortunately. Everyone's sales I know since the strike this year have terrible sales.
What strike?
@@miabohe7555 in March. It was against the fee hike.
Just so everyone knows, Etsy withheld the name of my shop from Google search AND from their site, for the entire time. I was thinking my store would eventually make sales. However, upon checking, potential customers did not even have a way to log into my store. Family and friends went to Etsy and typed in the name of my store. But it doesn't show up. So I pulled all of my stuff. Very sad. I got word that the site is very commercialized now and it won't market homemade items actively. NO CUSTOMER CARE REPRESENTATIVE CARED or INVESTIGATED THE ISSUE.
I THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH
Hello Kate, thank you so much for all your helpful videos, I have tried to apply everything that you have said, and I’m getting plenty of views and likes but no sales. I would love it if you or someone could take a look at my shop and tell me what I could do to turn my views and likes into sales
How about us beginners helps each other out? Let's follow each other on social media, favorite each other's items, and even place an order for each other items and leave positive reviews after purchasing. My shop is Enjoyablejam on Etsy. Feel free to message me on Etsy or on Instagram. We are all in this together and should be supporting one another for optimal growth :). Let’s not give up guys!
Hey Kate I really wanna jon your masterclass but the link doesn't want me to get in!
Hey Gayle! Try typing this into your browser: www.etsymasterclass.com
So true!! Thank you Kate
Glad to help, friend!!
A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him." ---David Brinkley
Hi! Do you still do shop reviews? The link in your description doesn´t work.
I’m not currently offering them but hope to open them back up soon! :)
I can't get enough to pay my Etsy fee, leave alone making living. My Etsy fee X2 of my sales. And BTW my listings look perfect I'm a graphic designer by trade and photographer. So there is nothing wrong with my photos, everything about store is filled up, sales run constantly, Etsy adds running. I'm selling online since 2003, so I know all about it, I have sold on many platforms, I closed my 2 Etsy stores in 2017 cause sales drop sadden and I couldn't make my fees. Recently I decided to re-open store with different product (Thats I sell on other platforms) because of all hype around Etsy and now 3 month later I see I wasted my time. If you thinking to open Etsy store - forget about it, don't waste your time.
thank u for this video i will definitely try all u have mentioned because i am beginning to give up
Don’t give up! Just improve one thing at a time and level up 1% each day :)
Kate, I’ve tried to get Etsy’s help on this, but my question has gone into the void. Regarding a customer changing their review. I fixed something with an order and my customer wants to change her review. There is no edit option for her to change her review. She does see the edit option on other reviews she’s given. Any idea why the edit option isn’t available?
once a seller has responded to a review. the review cannot be edited anymore.
Hmm… did you post a public response to it?
My shop has no view for the past 2 weeks 😭
Keep your chin up and working on your business! Things ebb and flo depending on what customers are looking for now. I have products that get more views certain times of the year (I’m still new at this too). Don’t give up
Hey friend! Are you marketing on social media?
@@KateHayes I agree! Social media has helped and sometimes brings the most surprising purchases too!
Add ebay sellers to Etsy plus a 3rd party monetary control and watch what happens
If you gonna do all the marketing yourself - then just open your own website, what is the point to advertise Etsy - when they will drive away your customers? They don't uniquely advertise your listing, if you look on the bottom of your listing you see all kind of sellers. so if I gonna run real marketing program its not gonna be to etsy shop - its does not make any sense.
Hi
Please help me i want to change my phone number on my etsy account .
How can i do that?
Thank you
Etsy is so discouraging. I'm not even getting views on my shop. Silly.
Hey friend! Where are you marketing externally?
6:33
Ihi my name is Ron I'm artist draw show light when turn on great card early morning clean back ground
The real reason is the recession this administration brought us in. Most people can’t afford anything but basic necessities.
This is exactly what I was thinking.. people are now becoming hesitant to buy anything more than their basic necessities.
Comparing my sales from the last two years, it’s really significantly low this year.
However even during Covid rich people were still spending $$$. They still have money and aren’t hesitant to spend it.
It's world wide babes stop blaming your "this administration"
🙄
True.
Hi dear Kate, thanks again for your advice, i am on you email list so i listen and read your tips often. I started my shop early in May and have only had 3 sales, one of which was a double order. So i prefer to say i have had 4 sales. One question please, how do i contact these clients to ask them for reviews? Dont know where to find them. I am really getting desperate, have done 300 designs now and i think they are cool, tees, sweaters, totebags and mugs, have done a month of etsy ads and a 20%discount and still nothings happening. Also started showing some oroducts on instagram. Please be so kind and tell me what more i must do. I think my pics and SEO is good. Thanks and Blessings. Love, Christa ForeverYoungDesignSA.
Hey there! You can find the customers under your “completed orders” tab and directly message them asking how they are enjoying the product and giving a gentle, friendly reminder that they can leave you a review if they’d like (just don’t do this more than once per customer). Keep in mind they can only leave a review for 100 days after it was delivered so the option goes away if it’s been longer than that.
Little did I know if the USPS looses someone's package...etsy doesn't care...they just refund their money...then they eventually end up with your product also... extremely frustrating etsy doesn't care much abt the store owner...
Thank you so much 👏
So welcome!! 😊