I started my etsy shop in November of 2018. I am by no means an expert on this, but I am learning and hopefully improving as I go.
I originally wanted to open my shop a few years prior but because of some personal difficulties I never took the plunge.
Last summer I finally started preparing to open my shop. I didn't have many items. I still don't but I will be adding.
Right now I have art prints and originals. I would like to add other products with my art in the future. So what have I learned so far?
Well below I will be sharing my 5 top tips for all of you who are thinking about opening up a store.
#1 Tip: Etsy Sellers Manual Yes! Before you open your store head over to the Etsy sellers manual. DO NOT I repeat do not get lost in reading blogs from "etsy experts". I made that mistake and by the end I was just overwhelmed. I felt like I was getting conflicting information and honestly I just started to feel lost. Before you do anything just go straight to the source, ETSY! Etsy already has a ton of information on how to do properly set up your shop. It will also help to know the cans and can’ts in etsy. A lot of what I have learned so far has just been from reading and rereading the manual. So I really can’t stress this enough. From there if you have a few bloggers or coaches that you want to get their input from you will be able to tell if they really know what they are talking about because either they will connect personal experience with the information in the manual or they will sound to far out! (And I’m not talk about that cool way from the 60’s). #2 Tip: Be Social On Etsy Teams And Shops Etsy isn’t necessarily a social platform, but they do encourage people to be social with teams. I have found lots of really awesome people there. There has been lots of love to my shop by the teams. Etsy allows you to heart peoples shops and that allows others to see what items you have in yours. That’s something that has been really nice because I see which products people are liking. Plus I have found some items that I really enjoy from others too! While you are there stop by my shop and give it a heart <3 #3 Tip: Your Social Media I have a love hate relationship with social media to be honest. I don’t particularly enjoy being pushed to buy buy, so I don’t want to do that with my own social media. I really like sharing my process and what I’m up to. Then every once in a while I will share a discount code or new products that are up in my shop. But the way I like to do is to give more to the folks who are following me. Of course you can do it however you want! I think for me that’s simply what has felt right. Another way that you could do it is to have a page specifically for your shop where you share all products and promotions. Then another for your personal stuff/business stuff, more a behind the scenes. This can be good for instagram especially where the feed is more curated. #4 Tip: Branding With branding I’m not talking about the pretty colors that you will use or the cute logo that you have. I’m talking about what is your shop about? Who are you selling to? Why should people buy from you? I’m talking about the essence of your shop. A really helpful class that I’m currently taking is Visionary Branding: A Comprehensive Branding Guide for Creatives. It’s on skillshare and if you use the link you will get two free months of skillshare! This class is really helping me identify my brand on a soulful level as I like to say. It’s more than just pretty colors or fonts. It’s about how can I bring more value to you, how can I incorporate my skills set into my work, and so much more. I really encourage you to take this course because it will provide you with the tools you need to show up for your business. #5 Tip: Photography Okay so this one goes into the sellers handbook because they actually talk about this but I wanted to really talk about this. One of the best investments I made was getting this LED Desk Lap. I actually got it at costco, but I haven’t seen it sold in a while. Why it was a game changer is because it offers three types of light.It has a “natural” light setting that has really helped on the days that I don’t have the best lighting in my house. I also don’t have a lot of room in my home so this serves multiple purposes and it’s still compact that it doesn’t take up so much room. Plus I can charge my phone while I’m at! It also has several levels of intensity so I can photograph my pictures in the right light even at night. And trust me lighting does have an effect on the pictures that you post to esty or any other platform for that matter.
 |
| I took this picture using my phone and the LED desk lamp. This was posted to my instagram feed. |
Tell me below in the comments, are you thinking about selling on Etsy? Did you just open your store? What have you learned?
Pin Me
No comments:
Post a Comment