It’s a topic that’s often on the minds of many Etsy sellers… How To Get Your First Sale OR Your Next Sale on Etsy. Am I right? You ventured onto Etsy because you at some level you probably had money on your mind.
I could probably write on this topic ten to twenty different times and have something different to tell you each time when it comes to the different ways to get that sale on Etsy so you can consider these as just a handful of things you can start to do now.
Much more to come in future days.
In order to make an Etsy sale the formula is pretty simple. Get traffic, or more traffic, to your Etsy shop. You need eyeballs to see what you have to offer and you need to present your products in such a way that those eyeballs can’t leave your shop without deciding to make what they see theirs.
Sounds easy enough right? But seriously, just how exactly are you supposed to make that happen?
I’ll first give you the Cliff Notes – the quick bullet points of what you need to do to boost your Etsy sales. Then I’ll go into more detail about each one in subsequent blog posts, giving specific actionable steps you can take to achieve positive results. Some of what you’ll see you will notice that you’ve probably heard discussed on the podcast so if you’d like to get a jumpstart go over to the podcasts section and start listening.
Niche down
Just face it, you can’t be everything to everybody so narrow down who you MOST want as your ideal customer and then focus on serving that person OR narrow down what product(s) you want to offer. It might seem counter-intuitive at first to go smaller but trust me… The riches are in the niches (as they say).
Branding
Think Coke, Pepsi, Old Navy, Gap… they’ve all created a brand that people know and recognize… Brands that people (their loyalists) either seek out or are immediately drawn to and are faithful to. 
You NEED to do the same thing.
Everything about your Etsy business is part of your branding, from your photography to how you treat your customers (did you know that part of the Nordstrom brand is their great customer service?), your social media presence, even right down to your packaging.
I talk about packaging more elsewhere but if you’re still scavenging for boxes and shipping supplies in your garage, you really ought to step it up and get your act together. Check out Bags & Bows for personalized branded packaging for your Etsy shop.
To sell more… Offer more…
This one’s rather self-explanatory. If your shop shelves are sparse then sales will be sparse, the more you sell, the more there is for customers to buy. Make sure your product photos are great… not just good, but yes, great. Better pictures result in more sales.
If you’d like to take a course in product photography check out this one on Craftsy OR try using a free online photo-editing tool like PicMonkey.
Tags
They do make the Etsy world go round. Tag’s are a word (or a short phrase) that describes your item and Etsy uses them to match what shoppers are searching for with relevant results. You’ll want to make sure your tags are on point so that you show up consistently when people search for what you’re selling.
Here’s a not-so-secret secret… Whatever category your item is listed in automatically becomes its first three tags so make sure you list your items in the correct and most appropriate category. Don’t try and game the system though, use only words and phrases that are relevant and accurate.
Because tags are used by the Etsy search engine to find your listing, don’t use the same words in your title as the tags, that way your listing can be found for words in your title as well as your tags… it’s all making sense now isn’t it… 😉
Be nice
This is one of the easiest ways of all to get that first or that next sale. Offer exceptional customer service. 
How do you do that if you have no customers? Well, when people come window shopping, be nice…
Answer any questions they ask you quickly, thoroughly, and politely. That will communicate to them that you’d really appreciate their business and it costs you nothing.
Sometimes a quick response can result in a sale that happens just as quickly.
Okay, so now you know, next you need to do. Here’s an Action Plan for you: Pick one of the above and just start.
Got specific questions about what to do first (or next)? Leave feedback below… We can talk through it.
Need more help?
Get my Step-by-Step Guide for New & Struggling Etsy Sellers on How To Sell Successfully on Etsy
