AMZ Seller Financing   •   March 4, 2019

Starting a new shop of your own on a global marketplace like Etsy can be exciting and fulfilling.

But there is always a certain learning curve when it comes to a new business venture or endeavor. Given how universal and competitive this platform is, it can be a challenge to successfully market your products on Etsy.

To help you get started, here are top 5 mistakes that you should avoid as a starting Etsy seller.

How to Sell on Etsy Successfully and What Mistakes to Avoid

1. Lack of Research on Etsy Policies

This is the first and foremost mistake made by new Etsy sellers. While it can be quite exciting to embark on a new business endeavor, don’t forget to do your homework.

Every online e-commerce platform has a certain set of rules and regulations for all its registered sellers.
So does Etsy.

To become a successful seller on a platform as big and global as Etsy, you must do your research. This research includes things like:

• reading up on Etsy policies,
• familiarizing yourself the process of registering as a seller,
• learning all about the how-tos,
• taking strategic advice from existing successful sellers,
• and so much more!

Once you have familiarized yourself with all the ins and outs of the Etsy marketplace, you will know exactly what to do and how to do it.

2. Posting Unappealing Photos

According to Janine Stone, the mastermind behind If You Give A Girl A Saw, a shop in San Luis Obispo, California, photography has to be the most important thing that marks the presentation of an online shop.

She believes that photos can attract potential customers to your shop. On the other hand, mediocre photography can make potential customers lose interest!

For the majority of Etsy sellers and even other online sellers, photography has proven to be one of the most useful and beneficial online marketing tools.

This goes to show the importance of investing in professional photography and posting high-quality and super-attractive product photos on your Etsy shop. Especially given the massive amount of competition on platforms like Etsy. So, you must ensure your photos are stellar and stand out from those of your competitors’.

Being a starting Etsy seller, you might not be able to hire a professional photographer or invest in a quality DSLR for your Etsy shop.

That is completely okay.

A solution for that is to use a point-and-shoot camera that has the option for macro settings and has at least 10 megapixels. Some new cell phones have relatively high-qulity cameras, too.

This will help you capture good-quality and detailed product images. You can later edit and modify them as per your requirements

3. Boring Product Descriptions

You might have invested much of your effort, time and money into getting the right kind of photos. However, if your photos lack detail in terms of product titles and descriptions, they won’t do your Etsy shop any good.

Every time a potential customer lands on your Etsy shop and begins to explore your products, there are two main things or factors that will push them to click the buy button: the photos and their description.

If either of the two is not appealing enough, your customers will just not be convinced.

Make sure to provide complete details about your products to your customers. Include specifics like product type, sizes, colors, and uses. Paint a picture for your customer with the help of epic product descriptions and try to weave a story. That’s because stories always sell!

4. Having Limited Product Listings

When you are new on Etsy, you are likely to have a limited number of products or items. That is completely normal and okay.

Yet, it is a good idea to list all your available products as soon as you have them. Don’t wait to get your hands on more products and then list them on your Etsy shop.

If you don’t list your products and they are not out there at your shop, they aren’t going to sell on their own!

Not having enough product listings is one of the most common mistakes made by new Etsy sellers.

If you don’t even have a single page full of listings, chances are that people landing on your shop will probably think that you are a rookie. That, combined with a limited amount of reviews and sales on your shop can be the ultimate recipe for an e-commerce disaster.

The solution here is to make sure your shop doesn’t appear empty. So, carefully build and create an inventory that is impressive enough to attract potential customers.

5. Not Marketing Your Etsy Shop on Social Media 

Needless to say, social media has the power to make or break your business. So, why not put it to good use?

Social media marketing is absolutely essential when it comes to having an e-shop on a marketplace like Etsy. This is primarily because there are thousands of storefronts on Etsy with almost a million items.

That makes it very competitive for every single seller.

In such cases, visibility becomes a major barrier between your shop and its sales. That’s because you don’t have attention from enough potential customers among all other similar items on the Etsy forum.

Social media plays a major role in getting your business out there. Etsy also provides its sellers with easy and convenient access to connect their shops to platforms like Twitter and Facebook. There you can update your fans and keep them in the loop.

The main purpose of using social media is to attract enough attention. This way, you can get people to treat your shop like a real business.

As they say – real businesses effectively promote and market themselves!

In Conclusion

As a new seller on Etsy, you will need some time to successfully market your shop.

However, you can speed up the process by avoiding these mistakes. So, you can use the Etsy platform to showcase your products effectively and grow your profits.

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