Etsy is one of the biggest marketplaces on the internet for artists to sell and share their work. It not only has a great reputation in the community, but it also offers up an excellent platform that allows artists to profit from their work without having to sacrifice a great deal in selling fees.
For some artists, however, getting sales from Etsy is easier said than done. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to increase your chances of a sale, and many of them take only seconds to implement.
Take a look at the following 10 tips, all of which can help to increase your sales on the biggest e-commerce arts and crafts platform on the internet.
1. Focus on your photos
The photos you use to list your items are extremely important. A poor photo will do nothing but turn potential customers away, and can even hurt your reputation as an artist.
If you can’t properly photograph your own art, then by all means, enlist a photographer to help you. And if you’re selling jewelry, model it. People want to see how the art will relate to them.
2. Have a cohesive theme and style
There’s more to being an artist than simply creating quality work—you also have to brand yourself. Try to list pieces that are cohesive and consistent with one another, which will help to show off your unique style and build a larger fan-base.
3. Provide free samples
If you’re selling the type of items that you can afford to give away as samples to the right people, you’ll make a huge impact on the community. This only works for artists who craft small pieces that are inexpensive to make, but it can be a very effective strategy when properly employed.
Think of the movers and shakers in your niche, the bloggers and influencers in the community that buys your type of artwork. Those are the people you need to get your artwork in front of, and giving something away for free, may be just the ticket.
4. Build your email list
E-mail newsletters can be extremely helpful in terms of keeping your fans informed on what’s going on at your Etsy store. A simple email blast once per month is all it takes. Work on growing your list with each sale and contact you make—ask if the individual would like updates from you or special sale information in the future. If they say yes, add them to your list.
Just make sure that your email blasts are dynamic, interesting, and not overly frequent. Otherwise it’s just annoying.
5. Highlight your artwork via social media
Without the help of social media, many modern artists would have a hard time selling their work. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (obviously) are excellent resources for sharing the items that you post in your Etsy shop.
6. Look to successful Etsy stores for “advice”
A big part of achieving success comes down to research. Studying Etsy stores that are achieving their goals is a great way to improve your success, especially if you can identify elements of what they’re doing that you can apply to your own Etsy store.
You may even want to reach out to other artists in the community for guidance. . . you’d be surprised how willing people are to help if you just ask.
7. Improve your reputation
Managing your online reputation as an artist is of the utmost importance, especially if you plan on using Etsy as a major part of your sales strategy.
There’s only so much you can do on your own, however, and unfortunately, receiving negative feedback is part of selling online. However, you don’t want it to be the only thing that shows up when someone Googles your name.
You might consider starting your own blog, guest posting on other artist’s sites, or even straight up hiring a professional reputation management firm to help you clear any negative searches associated with your name or business.
8. Find a niche market and own it
There are literally thousands of sellers on Etsy who are doing similar work to one-another, which makes standing out among the competition quite difficult. Carve out a niche that makes you unique and you’ll instantly have a leg up on your competitors.
9. Price your artwork competitively
People buy art online to find the best deals possible for fashionable, cool artwork. . . there’s no getting around this. If you price your work competitively, you’ll have a much better chance of staying afloat than if you were to ask for an exorbitant amount of money for everything you sell.
That said, there is such a thing as pricing too competitively. Your visitors need to feel like what they’re purchasing is special, and pricing your pieces too low, may turn away the type of customers that you’re after.
10. Stay patient
Perhaps the most important tip for succeeding with Etsy is to be as patient as possible. You’re not going to become an internet sensation overnight—building a career takes time, and you need to respect this if you ever want to make it to the top.
The beauty of this sales method is that it can exist while you continue to create, you don’t have to spend every second of the day managing it. So take advantage of that!
Etsy is a great resource when properly utilized. Take the above tips to heart and watch what they can do for you!
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