Being an Etsy owner is a great way to kickstart a career as an independent artisan. Etsy has been a longstanding platform for freelance creatives to pave their own way and start making a profit from their passions. After the 2020 COVID pandemic, Etsy exploded in popularity. With mass unemployment forcing people to look for new forms of income, many decided to dip their toes in the convoluted e-commerce seas. Etsy was a beacon shining out, beckoning them to shore with an easy-to-use interface and super-simplified selling process. If you’ve just opened your shop or are doing some preliminary research, here are ways you can grow your store and start boosting sales.
Know Your Brand
You sell one-of-a-kind mugs. You knit unfathomably adorable baby beanies. But what do you really stand for as a brand? Your products are just one piece of the pie. In order to stand out among the masses, you’ll need to cultivate a strong brand image and, in turn, a strong brand presence.
Your image is your identity, as it’s made up of visual components, like a logo and color scheme, and non-visual elements, like your tone and web content. To consumers, your brand is ultimately what will influence whether they engage with your posts, leave a good review and decide to share your products. Even if you happen to sell something that blows away someone’s expectations, they’re less likely to ever return or even share their experience with others if your brand is non-existent.
Brands make people feel connected. They extend a hand and offer the digital equivalent of a friendly smile. They offer to communicate and converse. The best brands aren’t all me, me, me. They listen more than they share and know how to balance their business’s offerings with meaningful interactions. So, make sure you build a strong brand first, and establish a presence on social media platforms. Keep it cohesive as your Instagram, Pinterest and store should all have the same or complimentary color schemes and writing.
Get to Know Your Audience
To really convert, you’ll want to know how to build a store and site that attracts people ready to buy. In marketing, these are people in the middle of what’s known as a sales funnel. The sales funnel is a process people take to go from an interested party to a satisfied customer. It’s the entire journey of realizing you don’t have an ice cube tray to researching, buying and then loving your new top-of-the-line ice maker. As an e-commerce business owner, you’ll want to get all the inside details on what works best for your platform. You can review this guide on Etsy SEO tips for success in 2021; not only will it walk you through the steps of optimizing your store, but it is also full of information on how to find buyers on desktop and mobile devices.
Once your store is optimized, you can start complimenting your products with meaningful content. A blog with Pinterest-worthy posts and an active Instagram page will help you the most here. Facebook can also be a good tool, but only if your target audience frequents the platform. Rather than trying to simply market everywhere, find out where your target audience likes to hang out online. What hashtags do they follow? Do they prefer videos or photos? Doing some audience research will allow you to build a brand that’s personable, inclusive and, most importantly, profitable.
