How to Sell on Etsy

Are you a crafter who has wondered how to sell on Etsy? Most people in the crafting world have heard of Etsy, but not everyone knows how to sell on an online marketplace like Etsy. Selling successfully on Etsy takes a little practice and know-how. A common mistake that almost every "newbie" makes is to think that just because you set up a shop on Etsy, the customers are going to come flocking! That is far from the case. Learning how to sell on Etsy takes some trial and error and a good understanding of how internet marketplaces for crafts and arts work.

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It is very common for a newbie seller to set up their brand new shop, full of hope and enthusiasm, only to discover that weeks and months pass by without a single sale. The seller becomes discouraged, and lets the shop languish, and eventually quits. But this does not have to happen! It is possible to succeed on Etsy. But like all things it takes hard work and a willingness to learn.

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There are five secrets to selling on Etsy that every new seller who wants to be successful must master: photographs, tagging, pricing, descriptions, and promotion. Learn these five secrets and put them into practice, and you will see a significant increase in traffic to your Etsy shop, and in time, more sales as well.

First and foremost, are your photographs good enough? In most cases, the answer is no. Even when you have worked hard on your photographs, chances are they're not good enough. Look at the front page of Etsy. Look at the crisp, clear, vibrant eye-catching, professional looking photos in those front page featured shots. Those photos were taken by average sellers with little digital point and shoot cameras. The difference is, successful sellers know how to use the Macro setting (the little flower button) on their digital cameras to take ultra close up shots of their wares. They know how to stage their pieces in clean, uncluttered, sophisticated settings such as against rocks, or on a piece of wood, or most commonly, in a simple light box. (you can purchase a simple light box set that includes the box, colored backgrounds, two photography lights, and a small tripod, for not much money on Ebay, and it will be the best investment you ever make in your business.)

Successful sellers also know how to tinker with their photographs to make them effective marketing tools. Every seller, to be successful has to learn to use some kind of photo editing software. Photoshop is the most common but Picasa is free and simple to learn. Cropping is the most important step. Pull your product right up to fill the entire screen. Get rid of blank space around it. Then sharpen the image and play with the fill light and highlights and saturation and contrast until your photo pops. Export it in the correct file size for Etsy (up to 2 mb) and you are ready. Photos should be cropped square since that's what appears on the Etsy listings. Good photos get you into treasuries, which are collections of 12 items chosen by other sellers. Treasuries get seen by lots of sellers and buyers, so taking Treasury-worthy photos is key to your Etsy success.

Second comes tagging. Tagging means choosing keywords that are the terms that customers will type in for their searches in Etsy, and in Google. You get 14 tags in Etsy, and successful sellers use them all. Tagging is a bit of an art form and takes practice. Be sure to refer to the "From the Merch Desk" monthly blog post on Etsy, which informs sellers of the coming seasons color and style trends and suggests tagging terms.

Third, pricing. Pricing is tricky. Price too high and customers will flee. Price too low and customers won't take you seriously. Look at your competitors---the sellers selling items very similar to yours. Aim for the general average of those prices....and then go higher. Here is the secret of pricing on Etsy: if you want more sales raise your prices. It's the psychology of the handmade marketplace. If you price your items a bit higher, they have an impression of value. Also, have a couple items with very high prices. Those make everything else look "reasonable," and buyer-friendly.

Fourth, descriptions have to be complete. Remember that customers can't pick up and handle your item. They can't ask you questions directly. So you description has to answer all of their questions. What is the size? The color? The shape? The feel? What are the exact dimensions, and can they be varied? What are its uses? If it's jewelry, is it good for daytime or evening, or both? What are the materials? Where did they come from? How were they handled? Is it a durable or delicate item?

Beyond all of these factual elements, though, it is good to tell a story. What inspired you to create the item? What feelings does it evoke? Where did it come from? How do you imagine it being used? People love a good story, so tell one here.

Last of all, promote. Even if you do the four things listed above to perfection, it is unlikely that your shop will grow without promotion. You have to get your shop name out to a wide audience. You need to create your "brand." There are paid and free ways to do this. The free ways include creating a Facebook Fan Page and actively seeking fans, and creating a Twitter account and regularly tweeting about your work and business. Starting a blog is an important way to build your brand and get exposure. Listing your business on free craft business directories like Unanimous Craft is helpful. Also, participating enthusiastically on Etsy's own forums and teams brings you into contact with a wide range of other sellers, who are also buyers (and friends and families of potential buyers). If you sell jewelry, wear your jewelry everywhere you go and always carry your business cards. Put your business in the local yellow pages and Google business directory.

One of the best ways to promote your business is to participate in large online forums and blogs related to your craft. By posting comments and contributions often, you build hundreds of links back to your business site, and make your shop visible to all the readers of those forums and blogs. Remember, those readers are already interested in your item, because they made the effort to come to that specialized site in the first place.

Paid promotions include buying advertising on blogs, or buying ads on Facebook or Google AdWords. It can also be effective to pay for promotional spots (usually called "booths") at online craft marketplaces such as HandmadeCraftshow.com. In exchange for the money, you get the added Facebook, Twitter and blog postings that the site does on a daily basis, as well as a smaller venue with less competition for the customer's attention.

Work on these five aspects of building your Etsy business, and in time you will see your traffic and your sales grow. Remember that it takes time to build an Etsy business. There is usually no such thing as overnight Etsy success! But with effort and determination, and a healthy dose of patience, you too can learn how to sell on Etsy.

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