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Yes! This is a bonus podcast episode… I haven’t done one of these since October 2014 so I’m pretty hyped about this one. If you follow the Etsy Conversations Facebook Page or you’re either in the Etsy Conversations Facebook Group or on the Etsy Conversations mailing list (psst… if you aren’t on the mailing list yet, the sign up is over on the right side of this page, just scroll down a little bit and sign up now 😉) then you know I announced about a month ago that I would be taking your Etsy questions because I had an upcoming interview with a former Etsy employee, Kim Konen, who had graciously agreed to answer your questions on the podcast.
Up until October 2014, Kim worked with Etsy on various teams including supporting Etsy sellers, the Seller Education team, and on the team that trains Etsy team captains. She’s very knowledgeable about the inner workings of Etsy and still maintains a good relationship with folks she worked with while there. Kim also has an Etsy shop of her own – Tiny Hearts – where she sells bandana baby bibs and a new line of quilts.
My co-host on this episode is Angie and she runs the Etsy shop Gathered & Sown (you can listen to the podcast episode when Angie was my guest on Episode 54). Big thank you to Angie for introducing Kim and I and making this episode even possible in the first place 🙂
Thank you to everyone who participated by sending in your questions for Kim, we tried to get to them all in (hence the almost 2-hour episode… yikes!). Without your participation I doubt that this episode would have happened because there’s no way I could have thought to ask all the questions we received. Thank you!!
Your Etsy questions answered… Here are the questions (in summary) that we addressed:
- Is there a way for people with more than one Etsy shop to be signed in to all shops at the same time? (Kim also discussed why she thinks it is better to have just one Etsy shop). Editing functionality of the Etsy Listing Manager – Kelli of Swaddle Me Snugly
- Anticipated changes for Etsy sellers as a result of Etsy’s IPO – Charlotte of Caravan Fiber
- How to get featured in Etsy Finds – Rachel of Custom Hemp Treasures
- Best strategy for getting more views/sales – Tammy E.
- Why does Etsy search results return some “questionable” results and tips for getting to the top of the results? – Kara of Kara’s Vineyard Wedding
- Factors that affect relevance in Etsy… Rumors vs. reality – Diane of Muddy Waters Ceramic Creations
- Separating Etsy into vintage, fine art, and handmade – Beate of Patterns Tried & True
- Basic advice about product titles and keywords as they pertain to Etsy relevance – Charlie of ZUTusine
- Relevance of treasuries today? Item duplication in Etsy search results – Kathleen of Real Jewelry Design
- Why can’t we see who is following us on Etsy? – Doug of Bright Workz
- Benefits of selling on Etsy (from an outsider’s perspective). High demand-low supply products and over-saturated niches – Sandy
Resources mentioned
- Made In Wisconsin Etsy team and Facebook page
- Creative Little Beasts – Etsy/creative business consulting services run by former Etsy Admin and Seller Education Director, DanielleXO and Kim Konen. There’s also a Facebook page.
Etsy Seller Pro Tips
- Link to other shop sections (or other listings) within your listing descriptions
- Make suggestions in the forums on the day new Etsy products launch (the staff does read them)
- Do A/B split testing with keywords and categories to see which ones perform better
- Tell a story about your target customer (actually write it down)… This will help you to focus your branding efforts
- Use your most important keywords early in your listing title; use the Etsy search bar for keyword suggestions
- Etsy SEO is mostly based on titles and tags
- Send an email to 10 friends and family members with a link to your shop and ask them to send you 5 keywords to describe your shop
Best ways to reach Kim
- Etsy shop convo: Tiny Hearts
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