Etsy. The platform small business dreams are made of. Or is it? If you are or ever have sold your products on Etsy you’ll know one thing for certain. Etsy customers are the worst to deal with.
Many home crafters and others that focus on handmade items turn to Etsy as their primary source of distribution and income. What they don’t expect is the entitled attitude of an Etsy customer. Beyond anything you would normally experience on any other platform including your own website. More about that later.
Etsy has put so much power in the hands of the customer that many Etsy sellers simply give up and close their shops. Recently Etsy made it worse with their feedback system to be a “Star Seller” on their platform. If a customer does not leave the seller a 5 star review, the little Star Seller badge will not be displayed on the seller’s store. (Be sure to read: How to be successful on etsy 2021)
That’s right. Even if you have 4 stars, on-time shipping and message response rates, you’re not a Star seller. Below are the parameters. Two you can control. What you can’t is the opinion of an Etsy buyer.
Message Response Rate (Target 95%)
5-Star Rating (Target 95%)
On-Time Shipping and Tracking (Target 95%)
As a marketer, I have many Etsy sellers as my clients. Believe me when I say that many Etsy customers are entitled, I know first hand. Demanding. Unfair. I’ve read the messages. I’ve read the reviews. 99% of these? Invalid. Yet there is nothing, NOTHING, an Etsy seller can do about it.
In my experience over the past several years, an Etsy seller truly cares about providing the best to their customers. Yet Etsy has taken control away from these sellers time and time again.
The most important thing EVERY Etsy seller should know is that you will never be able to contact the customer or see their email addresses. Etsy has made it so that you are completely reliant on their platform and not able to build the most important resource your business needs to succeed – a customer email list.
What can you do about it? Launch your own ecommerce store. I recommend this immediately to all my Etsy clients and it’s something that should be done sooner rather than later. You want to be able to contact the customers you’ve worked so hard to reach.
My favorite platform is Big Commerce and there is an app that will connect to your Etsy shop. Why is this important? Because your customer information, order shipment, inventory management will all be handled through Big Commerce. HUGE.
From me to you? DO IT NOW. Take back control of your business for your future growth and success. You can get info on Big Commerce here: Big Commerce Platform
You think you know who you’re selling to. But do you really know who your perfect customer is? Have you sat down and really thought about this question or have you simply figured you’ll throw something up and see what sticks? Don’t worry if you’re not sure. You’re not alone.
So often when doing website reviews for clients, the first thing that pops out immediately is the website copy is all over the place. My client thinks they’re talking to their perfect customer, but they’re actually talking to 10 different people. And that’s a problem.
The easiest way to sell your services or product is by selling to the person who is actively looking for it. That’s a given right? So why when you write an email or a social media post why are you not writing to the person that’s looking for your product or service?
Instead you’re writing to the whole world thinking that maybe someone who doesn’t know about you yet might be interested in what you have to offer. But here’s the thing. When you do that, your perfect customer takes a second look and says “hmm. Maybe this isn’t for me after all.”
What you did was actively turn off the person that would have opened their wallet, handed your their credit card and bought what you are offering. Even better? That customer would have likely stayed with you for the long haul happily buying more and more products from you.
So how do you determine who your perfect customer is? These questions will help gain clarity:
Look at your current customer base. The easiest way to figure out who your perfect customer is is by looking at who is currently buying from you or using your services. Talk to them. Novel approach right? But it’s simple. Ask them WHY they started buying from you. Then while you’re having that conversation do a little customer service at the same time and ask them what you can improve on.
Next put on your research hat and spend some time on Google. What causes them pain every day? What are they looking for to make their lives easier? Where are they hanging out? If you are a career coach and know from your research that your ideal client is in the B2B world and actively looking for a career change, you will know to use Linked In versus Facebook to reach that client. By the way if you are looking to increase sales, you should be actively marketing on Linked In. Get started learning how with Linked In Learning
What are your clients goals? If you are an over 50 health and wellness coach and you know your client is dealing with weight gain since menopause, you will know that targeting this person with an slim your midsection promo will get some attention.
What is your client afraid of? If you know what your client is worried about, you can easily explain in your copy or during a conversation how you already have the solution to that pain point and are able to solve their problem.
Make a list of reasons why people want what you’re offering. For example, letting Facebook decide for you who to show your ad to, may have your ad for a women over 50 dealing with menopause shown to a 24 year old guy fresh out of college. That ad would be a huge waste of money and resources you can definitely use elsewhere. Getting crystal clear on your customer saves you money in the short term and long run.
If you try to serve EVERYONE, you will end up serving no one. Speak and write to your ONE perfect client and watch the orders roll in and the phone ring off the hook.
p.s. Need a fresh set of eyes on your website? We can help. Schedule a free 5 minute consultation and let us help you get to work and making money. Copywriting and customer aquisition is our speciality. Click here and schedule your free consulation: 5 minute website copy review consulation Time slots are limited.
Ah Etsy. The place that so many folks hope to be the thing that will make them successful and able to run their business from home. Stay at home moms. People that want out of the 9 -5 rat race. Creative folks that need a place to showcase their wares. But is it what they say its? Can you make six figures on Etsy? You can.
I know how hard it can be to grow any business including an Etsy business. These platforms make it sound so easy. Sure go ahead. Create a product listing and watch the sales roll in. Well if you’re here, you know that doesn’t work. So what do you need to do? Below are a few tips to help you be more successful on Etsy in 2021.
Need help creating graphics? I have the answer. CANVA. So, so easy. Hundreds of templates to choose from so you only have to upload your image. Get more details here: Canva
Search engines including Etsy and Google change their algorithm all the time. One day, your product is showing number one in the search results. Next day? You are not found. That is why it’s so important to connect with your customers. They need to know who you ARE. Think about. You are walking down the road and a guy jumps in front of you and says I have this product I want to sell to you, give me your credit card. You’re going to do what? Run away as fast and as far as you can. But if you’ve been showing up in your business. REALLY showing up and visible on social media, email and more, your customers will feel comfortable buying from you. Their first purchase may be something small but as you provide them with a high quality product that exceeds their expectations, they’ll be back. And they’ll recommend you to their family and friends.
Which brings me to the next point. Work on building your email list NOW. Don’t wait a moment longer. Why? You don’t own anything on Etsy, Ebay, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and the list continues. At any given moment, they can shut you down and you lose access to everything including your customers. How do you sell to them now? Onto the next point.
Have your own website or at least a one page hosted page on your email provider where you customers can join your newsletter, give away – whatever it is you decide to do. This allows you to collect their name and email address. I prefer Aweber. Perfect for beginners with their one step landing pages to build your list. No need to have a website if you’re not quite ready for that. However, I recommend you create one as soon as you can. Read this to find out what happened to my client when Etsy shut her business down: ETSY PUT MY SHOP ON VACATION MODE AND IT KILLED MY BUSINESS!
Write good product titles and descriptions. I’ve been a copywriter and SEO pro for more years than I care to talk about today but there is one thing that’s remained the same. Taking the time to write GOOD, detailed product titles and descriptions will put you leap and bounds ahead of your competition. How do you do this? You write to real people. Imagine your perfect customer. Who are they? How old are they? Does your perfect customer have a family? Do the work or are they retired? All of those things are very different and honing in on the product title with search terms that your customer is looking for can make or break a business. Really take time to think about this person – your perfect customer. Get a visual in your head of what he/she looks like then write for THEM. Remember you are not only writing for the search results, you’re writing for a human. That human is the one that will open their wallet and take out their credit card.
Tell YOUR story. People connect with you, the person as I mentioned above. Tell folks your why. Why did you start your business and get into the nitty gritty. It’s easy to say I want to quit my job but that’s not your real why. This is what I mean: “Hi. I’m Denise and I’m glad you’re visiting my ABC Etsy shop. I live a quiet life in rural Florida with my rescue horses and dogs. My girls are all grown up but less than 2 hours away. It wasn’t always this way. Raising kids in between a high pressure job in Miami almost put me in the hospital. I was trying to do it. Be the best mom. The super employee. The attentive wife. The volunteer at all my kids events. It was too much. I found myself feeling worse and worse. If you’re like me, family comes first. I knew I had to make a change but I wasn’t sure what that change would be. One day when a friend was visiting, she saw my beach gadgets and said where did you get that? I love it. I told her I made it. She said why aren’t you selling these? They’re amazing. And that’s how ABC Etsy shop was born. I started slow while still working at my job. Yes I made a lot of mistakes but I wouldn’t trade the freedom I have now. If my kids were sick, I didn’t work. If I want to go on vacation, I let my customers know and would take a week or two off. It really means a lot to me that you’re here and I hope you enjoy looking around. If you have any questions or want to talk about a special order, please message me and let’s get creative.“ Big difference from I want to quit my job isn’t it?
Simply starting with the few tips above will have an immediate effect on your business plus help you securely scale in the future for yourself on your terms. Keep checking back as I add more tips to build your Etsy business. Why? Because I was you once upon a time. Story may not be the same but the end goal probably is.
Don’t give up!
Denise
p.s. Need help with storytelling? I absolutely recommend you take the time for this course: Irresistible Storytelling We all have our strengths and weaknesses. If crafting a message for your store puts you into a cold sweat, you owe it to yourself to take this short but very effective course. Get your message and story crafted and watch the difference it makes in your sales.
From $100,000 in annual sales to zip. That’s exactly what happened to one of my clients. My heart sank when I got the message from her. “Etsy put my shop in vacation mode.”
There are two ways to put your shop in vacation mode – you do it yourself or Etsy does it for you. Either one will cause your business to TANK. That’s exactly what happened to my client that had built her business to over $10,000 in monthly sales. $10,000 to nothing.
Why would you want to put your shop on vacation?
Etsy tells you it’s okay to put your shop on vacation to catch up on orders or if you’ll be out of town. My recommendation? Don’t do it. No matter how many times they’ll tell you it won’t affect your traffic and sales, they’re wrong. I have seen time and time again from my client’s stores the exact opposite. Vacation mode has a hard, negative impact on store sales.
June 2020 SalesOctober 2020 Sales
You can see EXACTLY when Etsy put this store on vacation. Look how far the visits have tanked. If this doesn’t make it crystal clear about how little control you have over your business, I don’t know what will.
If you are behind in your sales OR may planning a vacation, it’s best to adjust your shipping times. You can do that by going to your store dashboard, settings, shipping settings, shipping profiles and adjust the processing time. You can move it out to 10 weeks if necessary.
Now what do you do?
Now what do you do when Etsy puts your store on vacation? Well you have zero control over that scenario except to follow what they tell you to do. The store I’ve shown the stats above for is a seasonal business that is dependent on Mother Nature. This seller is stuck as they are not able to ship for at least another month.
No matter how many times we’ve explained this to Etsy seller support, you’re talking to someone who is only following a script. They’re not able to make any determinations on their own. Dead end. There’s not a damn thing we can do right now. This store is for all purposes closed by Etsy. Truthfully from a seller perspective? Etsy sucks.
What do I recommend all my clients do? Get control of your business! When you’re selling on Etsy, Ebay or Amazon, you don’t own your business – they do. It’s THEIR platform not yours.
You cannot contact your customers directly and can only communicate with them through their selling platform. As soon as you try to communicate with the customer in any other format, you are in violation of their selling terms. They can shut you down. Immediately. In the click of a key, you’ve just lost your business.
Take control of your business.
If there is just one thing I hope you take away from this, it’s DO NOT GIVE CONTROL OF YOUR BUSINESS OVER TO ANYONE. EVER.
How to fix this? Use Etsy, Ebay or any other platform to build your business. Dedicate a portion of your sales to create an online presence with your own website. I recommend Big Commerce or Shopify as they are easy to set up in minutes if you’re selling physical products.
Build your email list. You may have heard it before but I’m here to say it again – the money is in the list. Be sure you have an email optin in place on your site and on all social media platforms. This gives YOU control on how and when you communicate with your customers. I like Aweber because of the many options available but there are several others that will serve the purpose.
Finally, if this has happened to you, breathe. It’s a blessing in disguise and one that will help you take your business to the next level. Need help? Contact us. Click here: Contact Sanger Marketing
