Hmm Something Went Wrong Please Try Again Etsy
Starting an Etsy shop from zip can be overwhelming. There are many ways you can ensure your shop does well and hundreds of means to go information technology completely wrong. Making mistakes on Etsy is all part of the landscape and you lot should know everyone did them.
Here is a list of the Etsy store mistakes I made when I began
In this post, I volition list for you in an easily digestible format all of the mistakes I fabricated when I opened and began my Etsy shop – Not sure you are making whatsoever?
I'll explain how to fix any errors you are making today. And in that location are lots.
If you oasis't notwithstanding started on Etsy – hither are some tips on adding your first listing
Other helpful posts to get you lot started.
The complete guide to Etsy SEO.
Get-go your e-mail listing the correct way
Ok and so – you have a production you would like to sell on Etsy, you accept done a grand total of one hour research into the platform and looked at the all-time selling items, y'all are set to get-go your very own Etsy shop. I hateful, how difficult tin can it be right?
That's how we all started – honest.
When I started my beginning Etsy shop I was clueless, information technology didn't take long to become my first item for sale though, that was the piece of cake part. Then crickets, nil, I think I might have had four visitors to my Etsy store in a week.
I wrote this postal service to help you lot and highlight most of the Etsy shop mistakes I made, so you lot don't take to.
Some were oddly sensible at the time, most were laziness and more than than one is an embarrassment.
Grab the gratuitous Ebook today
- Learn how to get your art online and where to sell it
- Tools to get started selling digital online prints today
- Acquire how which file sizes to sell so you lot can go easily-off correct abroad
- Discovery why I get a 5-star review every time.
How I started on Etsy
I've been selling on Etsy since 2013. I've opened three shops, and I've had ups and downs in my Etsy success on the sales front end. If yous are starting an Etsy shop, or have been selling for a while, you volition want to read this post.
It contains most of the mistakes I made when I began selling on Etsy and others which remain on my to-practise listing today.
….Alarm – this is a long post. Go java!
*This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small committee. It will not cost you a penny more than) Click here to read my total disclosure policy.
Naming your Etsy shop.
I called my shop SurfaceHug. Hmm ok, my Mum said she liked it simply what does that proper noun mean to a heir-apparent? My shop sells Digital paper. I could have called information technology annihilation; I should take called it something which would explain what I am selling.
Like PrettyDigitalpaper or Sunnydigitals. When deciding your shop proper noun remember to keep it simple and don't assume you lot are going to dear information technology forever.
Y'all can change your shop's proper noun, but but once and when you lot accept decided on a new proper noun, yous then need to get all the social media handles changed. Avoid if you can, endeavor to get information technology
I wrote a whole post on choosing your Etsy store proper noun.
Choose a name y'all can logically live with for some time, and if y'all program on selling other new products in the future, it's worth investing some time now to go it right.
Branding your Etsy shop
Even today I look at information technology, and I'm shocked at how bad it is. My logo looks like a auto tax disk, and the moving-picture show on the header has no relation at all to the items I am selling. It'south non even on the same theme.
Your shop must have an overall feeling about it. Your logo should lucifer your listings either in colors or fashion, and the aforementioned goes for your header also. At that place is an excellent book on branding called How to Style your Make past Fiona Humberston.
Here is my start shop, you lot can see the horrible name upward in lights, merely really what do paper tassels have to exercise with what I'm selling? Seriously, I need to change this, like today. I know this is a major Etsy store error.
Here is my latest shop selling Digital watercolour prints.
Ok, they might not wait too bad from your seat, just to me, I can see that the 2nd banner has been received much better.
It shows examples of what is in the shop, and yous tin can quickly see what the store is nearly and the experience of information technology. I accept shown some examples of v-star reviews, and as well advertised my sales coupon for xxx% off past joining the mailing list. The shop's logo colours match the shops central colour scheme.
Y'all tin can detect more than information on Branding your shop in this post
After I had this banner up for a while, I made a new imprint beneath. This banner showcases my latest items and also the discount offered. It also highlights where the buyer can sign upwardly for a costless print. I have seen store banners with clickable links in their imprint, although I haven't been able to do it myself.
If y'all are reading this and would similar to come across the example of the sign up page.
What is your biggest Etsy mistake?
My main Etsy shop fault was not collecting email address. (if you stop reading this post and do only one thing, delight do this)
Ok, so I have made 1895 sales as of today and accept yet to collect 1 e-mail address. Crazy. Mad stupid crazy.
I could take had a list of 1000 email subscribers who I can contact on a regular basis and direct them back to the shop which equals traffic on demand. Only nope, failed at that place likewise.
Since drafting this web log post, I HAVE now signed up for Flodesk and accept started collecting email addresses from my other shop. So far I have 192 emails.
Y'all tin still grab it at the super discounted price and free trial using my link.
That is 192 people I can contact when my next sale is happening, or when I create a new product. I was hesitant near joining Flodesk, afterwards all, I am supposed to be making coin, not spending it.
But they do have super wonderful templates to make writing to your list a beautiful fourth dimension.
Need help with email? no problem. Assist getting started with Flodesk.
The best investment you can brand for your little business organisation!
Permit me clinch y'all, I know it will be invaluable to my business organization in the long run. Information technology provides a direct megaphone to your target market and yous can contact them any time you wish.
The platform is not basic in its capabilities, but it is easy to navigate, the interface is clean and since I began I've at present started to identify buyers into a funnel for showing them other products and ideas.
If investing in Flodesk is besides much for you lot now, then you lot can sign up for a gratis account on MailChimp and get-go today.
Update your Etsy store announcement
Until Feb 2017 I hadn't updated my store announcement for over a year.
Face-constitute!
All this does is advise everyone and anyone who comes to the shop that you are not in that location, not listening and not even alive possibly.
Your store's announcement does count towards your SEO. There is some argument that you should not update your annunciation too ofttimes as it can take four weeks for it to have effect for SEO.
If your shop announcement is no longer relevant and needs updating correct now, then add some keywords to your outset few lines which relate to the items you lot are selling.
You can too add together a link to sign upwardly for your electronic mail list, promote your social media handles. Some shops showcase their all-time sellers hither and sales dates or coupon codes.
Listing new items for sale
After the first initial 2 sales, I went off to beverage coffee for eight months.
If this is you – catch my free planner and fill it out each day. At least you lot won't have to think about what's next on your list.
I know I'm non the simply person out at that place guilty of this. But it tells Etsy that I'yard not in that location, or alive or willing to invest any time in my shop
Outcome = no traffic or sales. Then y'all abandon your store entirely and write 'fail' in your Etsy folders. Not cracking either. It would have been more than useful to have 2hrs a week in my schedule to log on and update.
Listing every particular with the aforementioned keywords in the title
I listed every detail with the offset words in the title of Digital paper.
Ok – that's what they are Digital Paper, merely and then I'm simply competing with myself here. Considering Etsy aims to accept merely one item from each store on individual search pages unless I was very fortunate, I'd probably accept something similar one listing on page one and some other on page 3. Larn how to write a list championship the correct way each time.
Now Etsy will show more than ane listing from an individual shop on page i if information technology is relevant.
Would you like to take charge of your planning today? Don't forget to grab our ONLINE Store PLANNER for the discounted toll of $seven for a limited fourth dimension. Apply coupon code SPECIAL10 and to get it today. (Discount is applied at checkout)
Become IT NOW FOR vii$
So why does this matter now?
Well, I had noticed that a shop in the same niche was doing well, and they all used the same keywords. Only here's the affair –
That shop was getting sales because they were well established and had consequent traffic and avid fans. Information technology didn't matter what they titled their listing – they were ever going to sell more.
It would have been much better to have taken each listing and concentrated on 1 keyword for that particular and made and so more targeted. i.e. Floral digital paper, Spotty Digital paper, Pink Digital paper
For example, I have three items of Blue Digital paper; I could have given each one a focused Keyword such as Heaven Blue Paper, Navy blue paper, Stars blue digital paper.
Below is an epitome of what my shop currently shows as tags, notice how some accept the same words at the beginning of the description, these need amending to something more targeted and private.
Using the Etsy listing categories correctly
I listed my items only as paper
If I were listing them today I'd list them as Craft Supplies and Tools, Scrapbooking supplies, Scrapbooking clip art.
Brand sure that yous list your items in the right category in Etsy and in that location is no reason y'all can't use 2 or 3 different ones and experiment.
When Etsy updated their categories, I then put them on Canvas surfaces. Then that wasn't right either.
Keep an middle on your categories and make sure y'all haven't missed an update.
Here is a link to the electric current Etsy categories for you to see where you lot should exist.
Making my Etsy items cohesive
Ok, so I'm not as guilty as some on this indicate at to the lowest degree. I hadn't listed a Granny Scarf alongside my Homemade aureate Painted Motion picture Frame. Don't do this. Your store will resemble a junkyard.
Just they didn't look like siblings either.
I'd managed to utilize several fonts and colors and writing styles to get the job done faster.
Result: my shop had a mismatched feel to it.
Grab all my Etsy store branding tips today
Y'all can't delight everyone – but you should try to ensure your shop is designed by the aforementioned person at least and your items do accept some relation to each other, fifty-fifty if it'south but in the photographs.
Spelling mistakes in listings.
Ok – and so no major issues with this. But permit's say yous wanted to buy a chocolate cake and someone can't spell chocolate, the buyer might think, well, if they can't even spell correctly, is their product any good, is it even chocolate?
Some buyers will not buy from your shop if yous oasis't taken the time to spell correctly.
You can combat this by creating your listing details in Google docs which helps with spelling and standard errors. I got caught out quite a bit by the dreaded 're-create and paste' and copied my spelling errors to the next listing.
I've at present invested in Grammarly, which helps enormously with the details which tin exist hands disregarded when you have listed your fifteenth item that day.
List each item as a new item
I copied and pasted my listing titles from one item to another because they were so like.
Alarmingly I idea this was ok because the more items I had which sounded alike, the more than Etsy would love me.
All I achieved by doing this was to have the same championship for four listings and competed with myself over titles and tags.
Find out how I brand my listings today
Some other bespeak to make here is that when you exercise list a new item, y'all can copy the quondam particular in the listings page, and so swap out the images, descriptions and titles. This helps with SEO also.
But what if I but take five items in my Etsy shop?
If you lot have five items in your shop (yous should take more of course) simply one of those items receives ten times more views than any other item – then copy this item and alter out the pictures, titles and description.
For each particular, you do demand to have an idea of how you are going to list it.
I go along a listing file for each of my listings. With this, I tin can easily meet when information technology was first listed and what keywords I was targeting and what I named it in Etsy.
I so give it a number then I can easily detect it once again. It'southward chosen the SKU. I can chop-chop see what number the list relates to.
I utilize this sail when I'thousand batching piece of work together. I can speedily see which phase I'm at with each list and go back months later and bandy out the keywords I used for new ones.
Take hold of the complimentary Ebook today
- Acquire how to get your art online and where to sell it
- Tools to get started selling digital online prints today
- Learn how which file sizes to sell so yous can go easily-off right away
- Discovery why I become a 5-star review every time.
How to utilize SEO in your Etsy listings
Ok, so I had taken all the advice I had read and managed to become over 100 listings set to exist posted for sale. I was on fire.
But in my haste, I forgot to read the paragraph most SEO, and it does matter if you copy one listing over to the next listing considering Google looks at this repetitiveness.
Not great!
Even though you lot accept many listings of basically the same affair – do endeavour to vary how you write your copy in the items' descriptions. Vary the wording a little and reconstruct the aforementioned judgement then you lot can do good from a flake of google juice.
Linking to other listings in your description
Also, I failed to link to other listings within my item descriptions, and when I did, I put in the long link instead of a short link which makes it look a chip well, – messy.
Some people adopt to link to several items at the bottom of their listing, this keeps the buyer clicking through the shop, and they are more than likely to stumble upon a listing and and so purchase information technology. Especially if you accept hinted at a saving they can make.
You tin link to other listings by recommending them, i.eastward. click here to find similar items you might like or click here to see the item in different colours.
You tin link to your categories also this way.
Etsy has now made this and so if you try to interlink between your items information technology also shows suggestions from other shops. Very annoying.
You can get around this by ensure your links have your Shop proper noun in them. As in the below image.
Utilise the Etsy shop header
I know this seems a simple thing, but when you are desperate to become things going in your shop, go your first auction, you've readied yourself up to this, a simple idea like a shop header seems trivial.
Well, this is all part of your store's branding and as such is a highway to engagement for your audience.
What tin can you put in your shop's header?
- Your 5-star reviews
- Your social media quotes
- A freebie they tin merits
- Discount code
Simple, and outrageously obvious right?
If you lot imagine the High Street with posters for store windows and not glass, what would the sign look like to encourage the client to walk inside and take a look?
Ideally, y'all want it to look friendly, credible to what you are selling and have some claw to drive you inside to take a look.
I've seen shop headers which wait so neat; I merely want to buy from them anyway just to have something from their shop.
Encourage reviews in the store
Many buyers come to the shop and brand a buy and are happy with their buy, just somehow inappreciably ever seem to return back and write a review.
Why is this?
Maybe because they are besides decorated, they accept their social club, the service was fantabulous, simply why accept the time to go out a review?
Shops who require appointment with the purchaser, possibly for custom orders oftentimes receive more reviews because they accept built a relationship with their buyer.
I've noticed that many reviews are a result of prior contact. You are more likely to recommend a shop if the sales assistant has helped you look for something, or yous take received higher up standard service. Every bit a bad review can damage your shop too.
It'southward the same on Etsy.
I sell digital products, and then how can I encourage Reviews in the shop?
Mention information technology in your notice to buyers. Offer a freebie in exchange for a review in your shop.
Remember to be conscious that you may not communicate with a buyer in an email unless it'due south to do with the order. Then in basic terms, you can't contact them months later and say, Hey, tin I accept a review, delight.
They can only review their purchase on Etsy within 100 days, and then during that fourth dimension, you will have to make efforts.
Can you lot include in your digital files and within the notice to buyers a PDF thanking them for request questions encouraging correspondence together? Building relationships and friendships.
I have in the past put in my shop proclamation anyone leaving a review will receive a freebie. I then send them a convo to say thank you for the review in my shop, here you tin can access your freebie. Yous can even collect email addresses in this manner. Win-win. – Be conscientious almost doing this. Technically you are offer something free for a review. Just does this mean you are buying their review? – something to recollect about.
What other ways tin can I encourage reviews in my Etsy store?
Another style to encourage reviews is to contact them and say when their order is expected to exist dispatched and what you are working on now. Try to have a chat with them.
For example :
Beloved client, (their proper name)
Thank y'all for your order of XYZ.
I await your club to be dispatched inside three days. I am working to ensure it's perfect for you.
Delight allow me know if in that location is annihilation I can help with further. I will notify y'all when your item has been dispatched.
Did yous know nosotros have a website as well at (insert your website)
If you would like to sign upwards for future sales updates, you tin practise so here…
Every sale is super special to u.s.a., and we desire to make your feel with usa magical. Please remember to leave a review of our shop if you lot can, and we'll send you a special coupon to say cheers.
Anyway – you lot go the thought.
What is that favourite game anyway?
I spent far too much fourth dimension playing favourite games.
I'yard non sure how I managed to become into these, I want to laugh out loud when I recollect of all the fourth dimension I wasted. I liked strange items I had no intention of buying.
Don't waste your time
Yous would be better to follow a few people who take followed your directly competition. At to the lowest degree then you are encouraging followers who might be interested in your product at a subsequently date.
I'm so thankful Etsy reviewed this considering now I can see quite clearly a correlation between favourites and orders.
Follow those who follow y'all on Etsy
I never went back and followed those who favoured my store.
Ok – and so in that location is no particular reason for this, only past post-obit those who favored my store, I am at present seeing where my buyers are and what other items they are favoriting.
This mode I can see which items of mine are looked at alongside my competition. You need to know which items are your competition – correct?
Get ahead right now and follow the people who are following your shop. Use the drop-down menu in your dashboard and follow a few people who accept favoured your items.
Prompting them to come up dorsum to your shop and have some other look and of course, information technology shows them y'all are investing time and noticing them. This is a great style to increase your SEO on Etsy organically.
I just did mine – and it took less than 30 seconds.
Please do non contact them via the Etsy e-mail, it is again the Etsy terms to contact
I think Etsy might similar you lot likewise if you are actively following new people.
Win win.
Utilised your shop sections.
The sections you place your items within your shop are part of your SEO and tin be constitute with the search term.
I had one called Digital (doh) and one called clip art. (doh, doh) Lots of thought went into that.
Some shops place their items into categories based on search terms, some do information technology via colors, or even what the items are used for. Trial and error and you probably need to spend fourth dimension figuring this out in your shop depending on what you are selling.
Go into your search terms in your stats and run across if any of those terms suite at the moment.
Price correctly
I made Prune Fine art – which was the result of having 200 pages of drawings I had lying around. Some did well, others not so well. I felt like my time was worth lots of money. And then I priced my items way over the meridian of the boilerplate price bracket. Lots of views and favourites, no sales. Or very few anyway.
Toll your products according to the market. Merely when you have a defended following, and thousands (ok, hundreds) of dedicated buyers can y'all stretch out and go beyond the competition.
Or your product is so excellent and sells like hotcakes, then maybe you should increase your prices before the competition swallows you whole.
To that end, I would exist wise to increase the cost of my bestseller on Etsy. Y'all can find out why this is a best seller here.
Etsy has a lot of traffic which would be impossible for a single person even to brainstorm to replicate, and then this is how you lot tin can justify lower prices.
I wrote a post on pricing your products on Etsy is this mail service well-nigh selling modest wooden items.
Pricing digital items
Digital products by their very nature mean you tin can charge anything yous like for them in one case they are up for sale. And then my advice is to go lower, to begin with, and and so increase in minor increments as your sales increment with traffic.
A shop looks much more attractive to buyers if they have completed their offset 100 sales.
At this moment I have some of my items as ii$ and some at 4.80$, and so I too demand to work on this.
Note to self: brand prices more mutual sense.
Include keywords in your shop announcement
My shop proclamation didn't incorporate whatever SEO keywords.
The first few lines of your shop announcement should contain all the keywords y'all want your shop to be known for.
So mine should contain the words, digital, Clip art, Papers, etc.
Put in the links to whatsoever other Etsy shops you are associated with.
If yous have more than than one Etsy shop – yous must declare this to your buyers and so they can easily come across you have some other store on Etsy.
Y'all can do this in your shop proclamation or your descriptions. Equally long as you declare it.
Even if yous take more than one store selling the aforementioned items, i.due east. ii shops selling invites, one digital and 1 printed and shipped. Etsy doesn't mind as long as y'all are not listing the same items in two shops.
You can listing the aforementioned item twice in a single shop. I've never washed this, but it is ok to do so.
Make full out your Etsy Nearly Page correctly
Your about page should give the buyer a brief overview of who you are and what you exercise. Not that you have ten cats and came in late every Friday.
It should tell the buyer in a professional person way why you are here and include some helpful info on how y'all started and what your mission statement is.
How to write your Etsy about section
When writing your almost department, brand it most the buyer, non about y'all. Write it giving clear, precise logic on why your items are unique and solve a problem for the heir-apparent.
A buyer is, of course, interested in you every bit a person, but try and use that to solve their trouble. i.e. I take been designing hats since I was 12 inspired past the land seasons here in Somerset, so the hat you buy from me is entirely handmade, unique and individual, and so your large day will be magical.
Include keywords in the title of your about folio if you can
Your Etsy photo
Your photograph should be of you, not your domestic dog or your sewing machine. People resonate with faces, and this is an first-class fashion to bear witness yourself off in good lite.
I paid someone to accept pictures of me. I only use i in all my shops.
Ensure all social media is using the aforementioned picture.
People volition recognise yous, and the more often they see your face, the more than significant and authoritative your shop will be – branding is everywhere.
Sort your store view correct away
I'one thousand not sure why only it took me ages to sort out how I wanted my listings to be viewed.
I had a random selection on the front folio and no rhyme or reason for the layout.
Attempt to keep the same colours, or similar together. I sell prints, and then I have my pinnacle sellers on the top line with coordinating pieces below. Encourage the buyer to click on more items is even better for SEO.
Practice Non copy anyone on Etsy
I know, I know – I didn't copy anyone'southward listings, simply I did and all the same practise take listings which are more than than a nod to someone else's listing either in description or tags.
Information technology wasn't done deliberately, but there are only a few ways to show three feathers together.
I've never had anyone complain or approach me, so I don't think they closely resemble anyone. Please exist mindful when doing your research on Etsy and be unique. If you practice this – information technology could result in your Etsy shop being shut down.
Which leads me to the next betoken –
Listing similar items for sale
I had about 39 listings which were mainly the same detail.
I had some items which were mainly the same and believe me, afterwards spending days making them, but i ever sold with whatsoever great regularity.
It is much ameliorate to build your best sellers rather than thinking everyone wants that foreign shade of pink and must accept information technology 38 times more.
If you lot have a particular item that does well on Etsy, then build on it.
The detail may have washed well because it's genuinely what buyers want correct now and it's your task to requite them more of the same.
As well if you make 38 items nevertheless by the time you come to listing them, the trend will take passed anyway.
Listen to your customers
I had, and all the same accept, several requests in my iii Etsy shops for custom orders. Those custom orders are niggling gems of inspiration because it means someone is looking for that exact particular and they tin can't find information technology.
Lightbulb – here is a useful list of ideas for your next listing.
I don't practice whatever custom work any longer, and here is why
Don't listen to your customers
I know mixed message right?
Yep – this tin can also exist an fault.
Equally there are only so many times, you lot tin converse with someone over the color scheme of their orange sofa. You will never go it correct, and it will accept 20 working hours to earn five$.
Exist careful and considerate when taking on custom orders, this distracts you from the concern of making your stuff and estimate what, some of them don't even pay yous in the end.
Stick to what sells on Etsy
I tried to be all things.
In the morning after breakfast, I'd be drawing flowers, then at lunch, I'd move on to drawing campervans. And so later on I'd exist drawing dogs.
There is some good in maximising your listings to deliver the near varied products. In that location is piffling point in making 25 items that never sell.
How do I know what is selling well on Etsy?
When thinking about your listings, exist mindful of what the customer is going to do with them.
If you have a list that repeatedly sells well, make more. Don't go off on a tangent because you call up someone; anyone – might buy information technology one day. Practise your research before investing your time in a new list.
You volition only know what sells well if you have several items to choose from, only if y'all sell 40 prints of the same green, make more than, don't move to brown.
How to proper name your files correctly
Typically if you are annihilation like me, yous are happily creating abroad and saving, uploading, – your shop is filling up nicely
You feel finally similar you lot've put in a decent amount of work to warrant a little ponder and then a convo arrives to say you have called your Poppy list a Tulip.
Ok, so you lot quickly log on to do a quick typo and where is the file?
I'll tell y'all where information technology'due south buried – in a graveyard or 78 files all chosen flowers.
If you keep files for your Etsy shop, name them correctly, better yet keep a written document for each item you tin can apace browse through and find precisely what it was named on your reckoner.
Now I accept a PDF I print out for each listing and make full it out, that way if I tin can't discover it from the title, I tin find it from the file proper name or even in my physical sheets I proceed on each item.
Concentrate on YOUR Etsy shop
I spent too much time looking abroad from my shop
Lots of Etsy shop owners are guilty of this. This morn you browsed several similar shops to yours considering they came highlighted in the Etsy email of 'You might as well like.'
If yous spend likewise much time looking outwards, you never attain annihilation. By all means, browse other shops, but don't waste time admiring other people's piece of work. Do your ain.
It is of grade hard not to gasp out loud when y'all meet an Etsy shop that has been open up 20 weeks and have sold 30 times what you have in a twelvemonth. The all-time way to manage this is to run into perhaps what they are selling differently, what are they doing which you are not?
Information technology may well be that their traffic is originating off Etsy and they are great at marketing and yous take not sent any traffic to your shop from other sources.
Do they take all their keywords similar, are their product descriptions much better and more informative than yours?
Call up – Done is improve than perfect. Then motion forth procrastination and first working on building your shop today.
Batch piece of work together
20 minutes drawing, 10 minutes uploading, thirty mins amending, 45 mins list, 20 mins viewing similar items, 30 mins promoting. (Actually, that's a lie, v seconds promoting seems more than like it)
For this time, I should have just done 1 of these tasks for many items. Kept them in the draft until I was fix to publish
If y'all teach yourself to spend 3hrs a day doing one job for multiple listings your twenty-four hour period will menstruum much better.
Dealing with a bad review
I ignored my less than perfect reviews.
Non getting a 5-star review each time is ok, but follow upwardly on why it wasn't a skilful review. I had ane client in such a pickle over her download because it didn't go to the right address she gave me a 2-star review.
I ignored it.
Only how do you respond to a bad review?
What I could have done is wrote back to her and give her some aid to resolve the trouble.
I've found the best way is to be overly friendly to your customer. If they seem more than satisfied, ask them politely if they can look again at your service and if they yet feel I was a 2-star, then that'due south ok.
I could have avoided all of this by making my Discover to buyers more informative and giving her the help she needed to find the download on Etsy.
Which, by the way, is nether your profile and purchases.
Selling digital products is like shooting fish in a barrel on Etsy now that they send the files directly. Merely you will still get the odd customer who wants it to be sent to a new address.
I did this a couple of times, but the files are compressed to lower quality, and so the customer complains nigh the print quality. Then y'all cease upwards redoing the item anyhow.
If y'all accept to transport a large digital file to an alternative electronic mail accost, then yous could employ a file transfer service such as Wetransfer which allows y'all to send large files for gratuitous to another email accost.
Refunding your Etsy sales
I quibbled over 2$
I know it seems harsh just having learnt long agone that information technology is not worth a bad review, if someone is non happy, just refund them quickly.
Contact them to say as a goodwill gesture you have refunded them the shipping or the whole purchase price. A bad review regarding turn effectually times or quality can put off more than in time to come purchases than it costs to refund.
As annoying as it may seem, it is ever ameliorate to issue a refund and get on with your solar day rather than feeling glum later when you receive a ii-star review. This is especially true if you are selling low value digital items.
Use right linguistic communication on Etsy
I used non-words
I've only ever done this once, and information technology sounds terrible.
If your local language uses words that your xiii years old thinks is cool, that'south fine – only please do use them in your shop. Considering what is trendy today will be gone tomorrow and who wants to better 300 listings with a U in the correct place?
All of this is part of your branding, as many people employ local dialect or swearing in normal communications, I'm not certain it translates well on the high street.
For case, practice yous want to use 'Y all' in your conversations?
What?
I know I was confused as well! Until I saw this!
Who is your Etsy client?
I forgot who my client was and used Cipher files.
I withal employ nix files today, and even though I notwithstanding get the occasional client who can't discover them on their computer and wants me to find them instead.
I now have it quite clearly written in my information to customers how a goose egg file works and how to open them.
If you are making something your Grandma needs an caption for, then will your customer – so don't go on them guessing and be thorough in your answers from the outset.
A good idea is to include this in your FAQ in your shop.
Protecting your work on Etsy
I didn't copyright my stuff
I have ane listing which has done very well; the traffic comes mainly from the search on Etsy. Just I've seen the same file posted on Pinterest which goes to someone else'south very similar listing on Etsy.
Bluster.
If I had put my branding on my photos within the listing, I probably could have avoided this.
Avoiding stolen pins on Pinterest
It'due south non uncommon to be clicking on Pinterest and find the link goes to some random website telling you something which only vaguely resembles what you thought you lot would learn about.
Put your branding on your photos otherwise; someone else will enjoy your difficult work and proceeds your traffic.
Pinterest is working difficult to delete all of the stolen pins, so this may non exist a problem in the future, but it is still practiced practice.
I didn't do anything about it either apart from report the pin.
Using keywords in your Etsy description
I copied the title of my item directly into the description.
I thought information technology was ok to re-create my particular title straight into the showtime 3 lines of my description.
Non Good.
I'd read somewhere that it was good for SEO to repeat the same words in my clarification as those in my championship.
Ok and then this is one-half true, you lot should have your keywords somewhere in your description, simply mayhap only take iii keywords nicely sprinkled in a natural manner throughout a few lines (non sixty) times.
As of today I probably have 400 listings that are guilty of this. I have been in amended a few, just gosh this is difficult work. Some mistakes cost yous more than time in the hereafter.
Even though SEO is changing all the time on Etsy – you can avoid catastrophic errors in the offset example.
Link to other items in your shop
I linked to the aforementioned particular over and over with my dynamic copy/paste practise
Ok, this is non a major no-no – but do try to interlink to other relevant listings in your shop. It will keep your buyer in your store for longer, and they will see more of your beautiful items – thus leading to more than sales hopefully.
Promote a coupon code
I had a coupon code e'er since I opened my store. I put a half-hearted mention in my store announcement and then forgot almost it.
Where can you promote your coupon lawmaking on Etsy?
You lot tin can add your promotion lawmaking to:
- Your list photos
- Item description
- Most section
- Header image
- Social media
- Note to buyers
- FAQ's
- File downloads if yous sell digital
- Brand a pin image and post on Pinterest
- On the enclosed Thank you bill of fare for physical items
Consider making a visual reference to your coupon and posting on Instagram and Pinterest or where your buyers hang out.
Grab the free Ebook today
- Larn how to get your art online and where to sell it
- Tools to get started selling digital online prints today
- Learn how which file sizes to sell then you lot tin can go hands-off right abroad
- Discovery why I get a five-star review every fourth dimension.
Use all of the pictures
I merely used one epitome per listing
Why I thought it was ok to use one photo of my particular is across my explanation. But there y'all go. Apply at least five pictures. If you are struggling to get five pictures – you tin apply them to do whatever of the following instead
- Promotion lawmaking
- Close-upward of the same picture
- Sign up for emails advertizing
- Similar listing side by side e.grand 4 images of matching items
- Photograph of how you lot made it
- Printable image
- Links to your social media
- Further information about the product
- Photo of a previous customer using the item – please become written permission for the buyer for this
- Nifty review of the item
- Instructions on how to go along with a purchase
- The same photograph, although I don't similar how this looks on Etsy.
This tin can seem similar hard work, try batching. Spend a week ensuring your photos are the best they can be.
Brand your images Pinterest friendly
Read this commodity on how to promote your Etsy store using Pinterest, if you would like a complete beginners guide.
Pinterest can be a huge traffic driver for your shop if yous use information technology.
I fabricated my images so pocket-sized and square that when I pin them on Pinterest, they looked terrible. That'due south not to say they never become repins in that format.
Make at to the lowest degree one of your images of the product Pinterific – long and of good quality with an overlay of some neat capture words.
Ideally, make your Pinterest image twice equally high as it is wide.
Pinterest has stopped making Etsy pins Rich pins, where you lot can run across the items price in the feed. Somewhat annoyingly, in the future, it'due south possible that every pin will have to exist an bodily image on the website.
Update: sometimes they are Rich pins and sometimes they are not, and sometimes they modify to Rich pins subsequently a few days.
What size should I make a Pinnable image?
Recently I've been making my first prototype 2084×3125 pixels, but ensuring the centre of the paradigm is square and and so when I upload it to Etsy the preview looks normal, just when you pivot information technology or click on the epitome does it reveal the full Pinterest perfect paradigm.
The but problem with this method is the get-go image on Etsy should ideally be mural. Just you could add this size epitome every bit one of. your 10 images and so pin from the media share on your shop bill of fare.
Apply a watermark on your Etsy images
I slapped on a huge watermark over my images.
Ok, and then as above, I did say try to watermark your images with your store proper noun, somewhere, only in case someone from the interwebs thinks it'due south ok to utilize your stuff to promote their own.
But don't slap on a giant, in your face up watermark covering the whole item because if it appears in their feed, they can't see what your item is.
Have something cute and simple and recognisable, preferably in a position that someone can't only chop off the bottom half of your paradigm.
Plan for sales
Sales can bring a massive boost to sales if done correctly. You can take a Blackness Fri auction, but you need to plan for it.
Have an thought of what your sale will be in detail and use a calendar to work backwards and mark off your tasks. Etsy now makes the sale feature much more than user-friendly, and with instant access to social shares, all you have to do is make up a few extra promotional pics and schedule your sharing on there.
Patently, it helps if you have an email list, merely it is non mandatory for your success.
A practiced tip is to follow someone on social media and encounter what they post and how often and you become an idea of how they accept done it.
If you lot need help with Black Fri sales this seller tin can help.
Would you like to have charge of your planning today? Don't forget to grab our ONLINE Shop PLANNER for the discounted price of $7 for a express time. Use coupon lawmaking SPECIAL10 and to get it today. (Discount is applied at checkout)
Go IT NOW FOR 7$
Answer your Etsy conversations promptly
I didn't answer convos for several days
This I think is a big Etsy no-no. I endeavor now to have the concluding word in any chat on Etsy so that Etsy knows I am responding. If I have left ten unanswered emails from my customers, my views become down.
Aside from that, you are selling things, and it'due south good customer relations to reply promptly and respect them enough to become a response out presently.
Check out this mail from Olyvia nigh Listen to your clients
Don't surrender
I got worn out quickly and you will besides!
Etsy is hard work, and there is no substitute for putting the fourth dimension into your shop. But anyone will tell you that being logged on and making new things every day tin get very tiring, specially when you are waiting for those sales which don't seem to come as quickly every bit yous would similar.
Requite yourself breaks when needed and become away from it all for some fourth dimension in the day, and as well at the weekend.
You can apply the chat pre-saved and blazon out a response and paste information technology in, at least then your customer knows yous are taking a break and will be back in a day or and so.
Bring in outside traffic to your Etsy shop
I of the main reasons you started an Etsy store and non your own e-commerce site is because Etsy has ready-made traffic and potential customers already searching.
Only as Etsy makes changes, information technology is impossible to pivot your business concern model to match for the virtually office. Then you do need to make a program on how else y'all volition transport traffic to your shop from outside Etsy.
It could exist social media, Pinterest or emails.
But if I have learnt anything in this time, I know, the style to be successful on Etsy is to be consistently sending your independent traffic to your store.
I'k planning some posts on this presently. Stay tuned.
How does the changing algorithm touch on your Etsy store?
Etsy is continually changing its algorithm for search. They now have more ane item from a single store on each page, which ties in with having a more localized search.
So in essence, if I search for Pink Woolly socks in Europe, my results may well be different to someone searching for the same thing in say, Australia.
Fifty-fifty digital items are afflicted. Does this mean you are out in the cold if your shop is based in Asia and you are trying to target customers based in Florida? – Probably not.
But it does mean it is even more imperative that you take your own traffic sources to your shop and not rely totally on Etsy traffic.
Stay on Etsy tendency
I didn't react to the market place – I carried on making chevrons.
Ok, then yes, at that place was a trend where chevrons appeared everywhere, and I wanted to be role of that likewise.
I did make chevrons, simply while I was perfecting my product the market place moved on to minimalistic and black and white and so I kept wondering why my chevrons were not selling.
I was like a craven with my head downward on the reckoner, and everyone else in the function had moved onto the next new affair, and I was left behind.
I call back I don't like chevrons because of this. They are a bit annoying now.
Sign upward for the Etsy email trends and keep your optics open up – you lot might just find a precious stone in there your shop can exploit.
Utilize all the pictures, and optimise your descriptions to say precisely what the item is about and how it volition improve their lives. Not yours.
Be persistent
Ok, I didn't requite up.
But after dedicating hours and hours to perfecting my shop, I just roughshod out of love with it. I was bellyaching that anybody seemed to sell and I had bearly any views, and the x views a twenty-four hours I did accept, I acted like God himself had just rocked upward.
After many months crafting, learning, applying, making and watching, I got so mad, I thought all these people who said they made a living on Etsy were insane.
I walked away. I just lost my mojo for a while.
While it is hard to remain positive when it doesn't seem to add upwards, become a break and return. Persistence is the only departure between you and the next almost successful seller out there.
Invest in your shop
Similar whatever business, you often need to invest in yourself before you tin can encounter any improvement in your store. At that place is a multitude of things yous tin can buy to make your life easier with your Etsy store.
Grammarly actually does help with getting your writing perfect and is free to start.
An Etsy course on everything to do with marketing your shop
An Etsy course on workflows An Etsy app which allows you to tweak some listings together.
A Creativity planner to get y'all started.
An astonishing form on starting your Pinterest journeying and how to use it effectively to drive traffic to your Etsy shop.
Don't forget to promote your Etsy shop
A classic newbie mistake.
You mail v listings and sit back and wait for your sales to coil in.
This doesn't work, and while in that location is a benefit to taking advantage of Etsy through traffic (they've done most of the hard work for you), there is a considerable advantage in having a small funnel of traffic that you command.
Sending people to your shop from outside Etsy is key to gaining an edge over your competitors.
Where to promote your Etsy shop
My start Etsy shop was selling digital papers and Clipart.
I started gaining some traffic from Twitter and using the IFTT tool I could automatically promote my shop on the platform. However, for my next shop, my audience hung out on Pinterest.
Detect out where your audience hangs out and concentrate on promotion on that platform. Build information technology upwardly to where yous tin can see an improvement and so try something new.
Do not exercise what I did and leave your listing with no promotion at all. At the very to the lowest degree I should have had a dedicated lath on Pinterest showing only my items.
I used a brilliant form called Pinning Perfect, it goes deep into the getting started and maintaining a schedule to dominate your Pinterest marketing strategy. Highly recommended.
I wrote a whole mail service on how to employ Pinterest to promote your Etsy shop
Promoting on autopilot
In that location is a tool out there called If This Then That. Which merely acts for you based on the criteria y'all prepare.
And so I set up information technology and so that if I had a auction on Etsy and an item was relisted in the shop (which it does automatically if y'all sell digital products), and then it would mail that every bit a new tweet on Twitter.
I also set it so that if I posted to Twitter, and so post to facebook, then information technology posted on Tumblr and so on a so forth. So each auction is being promoted automatically.
Where to place the money you earn from your shop
This is not relevant to everyone reading this, but when I opened my store, I was living in the U.k.. Whorl forward three years, and I moved to Hong Kong.
At this time you tin can not move your Etsy banking concern account to another state.
You must close your shop and open a new one, thus losing a shed load of time or open a new store with new items and keep the onetime one on the back boiler with your erstwhile items.
So at present when someone buys from my shop which has a currency of US$ the coin goes into my UK bank account, and I then accept to withdraw it here in Hong Kong. So it's converted three times.
Don't even mention the tax situation.
Taxes
Become some advice even if it'due south only on the Etsy forums about your tax obligations. Don't rely on anyone other than a qualified accountant.
But don't get too hung upwards on this at the commencement. Etsy does almost of the heavy lifting for you and charges the correct amount of VAT and pays this on your behalf.
However, y'all are all the same very responsible for your taxation or business organisation tax.
Test your Etsy listings
Actually you lot tin can't do this. Why?
Because Etsy monitors your URL – so even if you have another shop or another account in your daughters' name – Do not buy from yourself. This will blood-red flag you in Etsy and is called – Shilling.
Your account volition exist suspended. No joke!
Check your message to buyers – does it prompt more than questions from the buyer?
A practiced thought is to check what your files will look like at the other cease. Are they articulate
Open up social media accounts.
When I opened my shop, I did recollect about Facebook and Twitter, simply not Instagram or Pinterest. Please ensure you open up all of them, it saves time later when y'all begin to abound.
Ready goals for your Etsy store
I behaved like a windsock.
Each day the wind of information would accident me in a whole new direction, and like whatever newbie, I spent months running around chasing rainbows when I should have just concentrated on achieving my goals and not flailing around in a ocean of ideas.
When you ready goals for your store, you take something in front end of you to hone your focus for each mean solar day or production.
If your goal is to brand a full-time income, and so write down what that figure is and create a program of how you will go in that location. How many sales practice you lot need to complete to brand that goal achievable?
Easier said than done but there are lots of goal setting posts out there to help you complete this. Information technology is essential that you have some idea of where you are going.
Meet the
Business concern plan
Your
Yous now need listings.
How are you going to go those posted?
How long does it take you to make each listing with photos and SEO?
Can you realistically get 100 listings ready in v days or 5 weeks?
Write downwardly how yous are going to attain this.
You need a programme to piece of work with. For example, y'all desire to have 100 listings of knitted gloves in your Etsy shop by Christmas.
How many evenings practise yous need for each pair? two, or possibly 7. You can and so come across that you are ahead or behind, adjust your goal accordingly.
Set goals for your Etsy store
Goals are fantabulous if similar me you lot require someone to tell y'all how great you are to become going – your little goals will go into large goals in no time.
Equally an instance – set yourself a goal for tomorrow –
I volition make my bed and clean the bathroom.
Ok, so this might take y'all an hour, or information technology might be 15 mins, but ticking that off your listing is a goal you lot have accomplished today.
You tin even write these downwards in a gratitude diary after each day together with what you take achieved and what you lot wish to reach tomorrow.
Helpful tools to get your Etsy tags marvellous
Thinking similar a heir-apparent, and having a long list of suitable tags to go into your items, well the boxing is halfway won.
Etsy Rank is another tool which will assist you analyse your tags, titles and stats in your shop. You can even monitor your competition, keyword tools, your shops rank on Etsy and spell checker. I beloved this dashboard for getting to know your listings within out.
Putting your Etsy shop on Vacation
Big fatty huge no-no.
No one wants to lose potential sales past actually leaving their store unattended, so conveniently you tin put your store in holiday fashion.
Still, information technology affects your SEO score, and a non-agile shop is not great. Etsy doesn't know y'all will only be abroad for 3 nights visiting your Granny or have charted a boat to continue a product finding tour in Hawaii.
They drop your shop's SEO, and information technology volition accept a while or peradventure longer to get support to speed.
Alternatively, extend your delivery times, or put a observe in the shop, and message to buyers. This way yous oasis't thrown off your SEO, and anybody knows you are coming dorsum to attend them.
Know your worth on Etsy
I rejoiced at four$ even though it meant I was working for 4p an hr
Ok so this is not a mistake because believe me when you've been putting your centre and soul into creating your first listing, you lot've got something for auction.
The overwhelming feeling of hurrah comes Only when you hear your showtime kerching. Feel great and congratulate yourself. Not everyone makes a sale – not everyone will own their own shop.
No one will practice ameliorate at selling your handmade items than you.
You lot are officially an entrepreneur.
Terminal points on mistakes we brand on Etsy
Lots of advice is out at that place
Ok, so I'thou hardly a Granny, but I'm not a teenager either.
I remember reading two blogs nearly back to back. Both of which told me I needed an e-mail listing. I ignored information technology.
Just the aforementioned as you will probably skip over several of the things you've just read.
It is possible to go your own manner, but why start hacking down the jungle, when someone has already created the path for you?
There is a ton of advice out there, specially on Pinterest.
Would you like to recall all of these helpful tips? Postal service this Etsy store Mistakes to your favourite Pinterest Boards.
All y'all have to practise to implement it.
Phew, that was a long post and I hope I have given yous a few ideas on how to avoid Etsy shop mistakes when you begin selling.
Please share this post if y'all remember it was helpful.
Good luck growing your Etsy store and get-go today.
Take hold of the free Ebook today
- Acquire how to get your fine art online and where to sell it
- Tools to get started selling digital online prints today
- Learn how which file sizes to sell and then you can go hands-off right away
- Discovery why I get a 5-star review every time.
Source: https://ohshecreates.com/60-etsy-shop-mistakes/