Could Your Online Shop Use a Makeover?

I know that getting your small business up and running is a struggle. In fact, it can create a lot of stress and sometimes it can make YOU feel like you need a makeover! 

But the good news is that with persistence you can achieve success. You can create your dream business that gives you the flexibility that you want and that provides a reliable income. 

If you spend just 10 minutes a day for the next 7 days on this, then you will learn tricks for running a successful Etsy shop that will save you time, that will help bring traffic, and that will give your shop a professional feel that helps customers feel confident buying from you.  

Follow this mini tutorial to:

• Learn to use keywords so that your listings get found and convert into sales

• Time-saving tricks to setting up your product listings

• Easy ways to keep your customers engaged and shopping

• How to organize your shop so that customers don't get confused

My name is Alisha, and I am passionate about getting you more sales because I have been there before. I am a paralegal who took my creative business full time, and I want you to learn from my mistakes.

STEP 1: Update or create an Etsy tagline that reflects some of your Etsy shop keywords

No, the Etsy tagline is NOT your shop name. It is the title below your shop name. 

Your tagline should tell people what your shop sells, your artistic style, and what you are all about. Make sure to include keywords in it, and try to use descriptive words that help people understand your aesthetic.

Here are a few examples of taglines that I love:

“Minimalist Jewelry Handmade in Alaska | Free Returns”

"Laser Cut Cake Toppers, Signs, & Home Décor"

"Custom Hand Stamped Metal Gifts for Bohemians" 

When people look up your shop or your items on Google, your tagline will appear as some of the bolded text, so keep in mind that this is valuable retail space for you. Make it count.

Here are some common mistakes I see:

Repeating your shop name again in the tagline (no need to duplicate it!)

Not using all the space available (maximize the space you have by using as many keywords as possible)

If you still have extra room at the end of your tagline, try adding in a selling point of your brand at the end of the tagline. For example, add something like "Free Shipping",  "Eco-Friendly","Free Returns", "Free samples", etc.

 Listing out everything possible that you offer (for example: rings, cufflinks, earrings, brooches, bracelets, shoe designs). Try to narrow it down to the top sellers in your store.

STEP 2: Keep Your Customers on Your Site with a Follow-Up Plan for your Customers

Your customers are shopping on your store, but then they get distracted by another shop's products and they click off of your page. What can you do to keep them engaged on you and your work?

An easy way to keep them engaged is to never leave dead ends. What do I mean by this?

At the end of every description on every listing on your shop, I want you to include a link that the customer can click to continue learning more about you or seeing more of your work. 

Here is the exact phrase that I have included at the bottom of some of my listing descriptions: 

"Save yourself time and money by downloading your free “Style Guide” by copying and pasting this link:

 (INSERT LINK HERE)"

 When the customer clicks the link, it directs them to enter their e-mail address in exchange for a PDF freebie that I have created.

What sort of things can you link to? 

• related products
• your bio where people can learn more about you,
• your mailing list where people can sign up to hear more from you in exchange for a coupon code or freebie of some sort
• your stand-alone website or social medial pages

 

Why is it important to include a link to another page? 

It keeps your customers looking at more of your work and learning more about you. The more they learn about you and the process of your designs, the more that you are going to build that “know, like and trust” factor. Research says that people need to hear about you or from you at least 7 times before making a purchase from you. 

Etsy automatically includes links to related products (from other sellers) as someone is looking at your page (Etsy says “you may also like”…). So to keep your customers learning about you, make sure to give them ways to continue to engage at the end of your product descriptions.

If you want to go a step further, you can even expand this idea and include a related link at the bottom of your bio, at the bottom of your “About Page”, at the bottom of the pages on your website, etc.

STEP 3: Use Those Photos: A Picture Says 1,000 words 

This old saying is absolutely true. I bet that visually appealing photos are what lead you to buy products that you want when you are shopping. So my guess is that your customers are looking for the same thing when they are browsing for handmade products like yours.

 Check to make sure that you are using all 10 Etsy photos in each listing! Don't waste the valuable real estate.

Now DON'T fill your listings up with low-quality images just so that you feel better about yourself. Make sure that you are showing crisp, high quality photos with even lighting that are preferably on a plain background so that your product really "pops".

Show different angles, stylized shots of your products in action, photos showing the size of your products, photos of the packaging, and some close-up photos.

 If you are not able to fill up all 10 photo slots, then try creating a design in Canva where you are able to visually design a photo showing information about you, the process of working with you, a customer review, or something that makes you and your products unique. Some examples that I have used in my own shop are shown below.

 OPTION 1: Create a Canva graphic showing the process of how to design a custom product with you or how to work with you

 

 OPTION 2: Create a Canva graphic showing Positive Customer Reviews

 OPTION 3: Create a Canva Graphic showing Something that Makes Your Shop Unique or Different

 PRO TIP: Make sure to name your photos with words or phrases describing what your customers may be searching for when you save them to your computer.

Before you upload these photos to Etsy, you want them to already be named something that people may be searching for. Why? It is because your shop will get better Google rankings and your photos will show up better in Google Images.

 For example, if you have a photo of your graphic T shirts that you sell, you could save it to your computer as “funny graphic T shirt for teachers in Red”. Then upload this photo to Etsy so that Google and Etsy do their magic with those keywords.

STEP 4: Review That "Dreaded" SEO

Okay, so most designers aren't fans of this topic, the topic of the "Dreaded" SEO. But I am guessing that you have not come this far and worked this hard in your small business to quit on your dreams when things get a little rocky.

 I believe in your dream, and this is one way that you can see results.

 Your action step is to optimize your Titles and Tags on your Etsy listings with specific keywords so that your products get found more easily.

What Sort of Keywords Should I use in my Titles and Tags?

 I want you to get creative and think of keywords or phrases that go beyond just what your physical product actually is. Instead, think about:

      1) WHO will buy it

Examples: bride, Aunt, student, Dad, etc

     2) WHAT it is

This is the more obvious description of what it is, and make sure to include materials that it is made of and the color

     3) WHERE they would use it

Examples: for cooking, school, for the home, for the pool, on a date

     4) WHEN it would be bought or used

Examples: autumn, New Year’s

     5) WHY it would be bought

Examples: it could be a gift or because they are having a big life event such as a birthday, graduation, anniversary, Mother’s Day, retirement

     6) HOW it will make their life better

Examples: it is adjustable (makes their life better by being easy to size), it is soft (won’t be scratchy against skin), it is reversible (it gives them options)

Pro Tip: Try starting to type in a keyword in the Etsy search box, on the Pinterest search engine, or even on Google. The search engines will automatically fill in your phrases with suggested searches. Maybe you can use some of these keywords?

Analzye your "Etsy anayltics" to see which listings are doing the best in your shop and getting the most views. What keywords did you use in these listings? These may be good keywords to use again. 

STEP 5: Update your Product Description

Use Words that Capture the Imagination

Jane Austin and Mark Twain actually have some sound business advice. They are living proof of how words can motivate people and how powerful the imagination can be.

 How are your product descriptions looking these days? I want you to edit them so that they are not boring and bland. They should capture the imagination so that after reading it your buyers known that you are speaking right to them. They absolutely MUST have what you are selling!

Your Etsy challenge is to do an Audit of your product descriptions and to amp them up so that they are actually engaging.

Professional Tips for Writing Etsy Descriptions: 

• Before you ever start writing descriptions, open up your Notes App or a Word Document, and make a list of as many descriptive words, clever phrases, and adjectives that you can refer back to when writing your Etsy descriptions.
• I collect phrases from magazines that I like, Instagram posts, Pinterest descriptions, or other sentences and words that really speak to me. You will then pull up this list of words whenever you are writing your descriptions to help you in the writing process and to get those creative juices flowing. You would be amazed by what a time-saver it is!
• Describe the benefit to the user in your descriptions.

For example, if you sell Soft T-Shirts for moms, DON'T just say “made from jersey material”.

INSTEAD, write “made from ultra soft jersey material so that you can be both cute and comfortable as you create beautiful memories with your children".

• Make sure to answer frequently asked questions within your description. Most customers will not take the time to message you if they have a questions. They will just click away and buy from someone who does answer their question in the listing.

• Break up the text with bullet points so that it is easier to read (kind of like I am doing here!)
• Include measurements and materials in your descriptions.
• Read your Description out loud before publishing. This can help you see if there is a natural, easy flow to your description that is easy to read or if it feels stilted and awkward.
• Make sure to re-read your description before publishing or to have a friend proof read it. There is nothing that is less professional than typos.

Having a brain block? Try using ai and chats to help generate product descriptions. Chatai is one of my favorites.

STEP 6: Have an Organized Website Navigation

Okay, just to clarify, I am not downing Amazon. Amazon has its own audience and it excels at catering to them. But out of the two stores, I want you to be more like the Tiffanys.

What is the big difference between these two stores? I would say that it is in the organization and layout. Amazon is a bit chaotic and confusing, and while it has many options, you don't really know what you are going to get. In contrast, you walk into Tiffanys and it is a pleasant layout and easy to find what you are looking for.

Is your Etsy shop confusing or is it layed out in a clear and concise way that is intuitive for your customers?

Your challenge of the day is to edit your Shop Sections so that they are clear, easy to understand, and so that customers can easily navigate your store.

The GOAL: We want your shop to be easy to navigate and to move around in. In this digital age, we all have shorter attention spans. If you confuse your customers, they will not take the time to figure out where you have placed a certain item in your store. They will just keep shopping until they find a seller who has given them an easier experience.

Ask Yourself These Questions: 

1. Do my Shop Sections accurately reflect what I am currently selling?

Learn from my mistake. The whole focus of my Etsy shop is wedding veils. This is where I make most of my money and this is where 99% of my sales come from. But when I did an audit of my shop sections, I realized that 5 of my sections were about wedding veils, and the remaining 5 sections had to do with other things. This was not a clear representation of what my shop represented. So I edited my shop sections so that it more accurately reflected my core business.

2. What would be the easiest way to organize my products for customers? Would it be by material, by product category, by length, by style?

3. What are 3 other businesses that I admire (retail or Etsy shops) and how have they organized their shop categories?

4. Are there any product categories that I could combine or delete altogether?

If you have too many product categories, then buyers can be paralyzed by all the choices. Try to keep things streamlined and simple. 

STEP 7: Your Shop Announcement 

I bet that this is an area that you have neglected, because I know that I certainly did!  

Your last Etsy challenge is to edit or create a current Etsy shop announcement with your keywords and with a way for your customers to continue getting to know you.

Etsy advises that you keep this announcement short and sweet, but you are free to make it as long or as short as you like. Make sure that you include your shop keywords in the first 1-2 sentences as this will help boost your SEO.

Even if you don't change that much about your shop announcement, it is good to update your shop announcement every so often as the announcement shows when you last updated it.

Previously, I had my same announcement up for over 2 years! This is not a good impression for my customers as it gives them the feeling that I am no longer around, or that if I am, that I don’t care about keeping my site current.

Try adding a link in your shop announcement where people can sign up for your e-mail list (in exchange for a freebie that you offer) or where they can follow you on Facebook and Instagram. The goal is to eventually get your customers off of Etsy and onto a more permanent space where you have full control (such as your e-mail list, your website, etc.) Because as much as I love Etsy, you are still beholden to the platform. And if Etsy were to close down your shop for some reason (which does happen), then you would be stuck!)  

If you continue to make small, steady improvements to your Etsy store, then you will see those results. Your small business WILL thrive.

Whether you are wanting to take your creative business full time, whether you just want to earn a bit of extra cash, or whether you want to have the opportunity to uplift those around you with your art, I have full confidence that you will achieve those dreams if you continue to be persistent. Speed up your success with the small business accelerator workbook.