How to Sell on Etsy Part IV

Keys to getting exposure that lead to Etsy sales

You have decided to turn your craft into a home-based business and you have set up your Etsy store. You have added items, taken good pictures, provided excellent descriptions, but you are not getting any sales. How frustrating is that?

The key to sales on venues like Etsy is exposure. Even though Etsy has a huge following they also have a large number of sellers trying to snag sales just like you. You need to make efforts toward getting the exposure you need to overcome the competition.

Instructions

1. List as many items as possible. The more items you have in your store the more your items will appear in search results. In addition, customers like variety. It's very unlikely they are going to buy if you have less than 10 items. It is pure human nature to buy from a store with a large selection. It's one of the reasons why Walmart and Costco are so successful--they offer customers lots of choices.

2. Use social media to get your items in front of a large audience. This will require some work on your part. In order for social media to be successful you must have lots and lots of targeted followers. A good way to start is to join Twitter, search for people who have interest in what you sell and follow them. You'll find that approximately 50 to 60 percent will follow you back. Create tweets with links to items in your shop. Everyone following you will see these tweets.

3. Join groups like Team ESST on Etsy or the hundreds if not thousands of handcraft groups on the Internet just waiting for new members. These groups are great for getting exposure and most of these groups require that you advertise for your fellow members and in turn they will advertise for you. The advertising can be done on the actual group site, your blog, your website or, if you have set up social media accounts, you can advertise on Twitter, Facebook and so on. The best part is this type of advertising is free.

4. Feature your best item in a showcase. You may find that Etsy showcases don't bring in a huge amount of sales but they are good for exposure. Buy a showcase spot no more than once a month in the beginning because this is paid advertising. If you find that being in a showcase results in a significant increase in sales then by all means do it more often.

5. Provide the absolute best customer service. Treat your customers the way you like to be treated. Your customers are an incredible way to get exposure and free advertising through Etsy feedback and word of mouth. Make sure they are happy because you want that exposure to be positive, not negative.

6. Stay motivated. If your items are not moving think about what may be missing. Are you advertising enough? Research what other successful sellers are doing. Analyze your pricing. And give it time. Anything worth doing does not come easy. With perseverance, patience and a good product you'll find that making money from home is very rewarding.