How to Grow Your Etsy Shop {Like a Pro}

In partnership with ezebee.com

In August of 2015, I began my Etsy shop as a fun little side job and hobby. It's definitely been that since I started, but more recently, I've been considering expanding it - adding more categories and listings, etc. - and to do so, I realize that I need to increase my Etsy strategy and do more promoting than I've been. It's kind of crazy to add this to my plate, but it's something I enjoy doing. I've tried a few things here and there, but I definitely haven't been consistent and honestly, for not much of any promoting at all, I think my shop is doing okay.
Etsy has grown so much and there are over five million active listings on Etsy right now. That's INSANE! As a small business owner/blogger, I love to go to Etsy to shop for almost everything. And as an Etsy shop owner, I know how important it is to help support each other if and when possible. Etsy is wonderful for unique items, gifts, and especially my favorite - monograms! There's endless amounts of things you can buy on Etsy and honestly, it's one of the best platforms to sell on if you ask me. But with selling comes the challenges of keeping up sales, keeping up with sales and gaining clients that are new and returning too.
Here are some of the tools I've been using to up my Etsy game in the past few weeks:
Promote your shop on social media

This is something I have yet to do so I'm a bit behind the game, but making an Instagram for your Etsy shop is just as important as it is to have an Instagram for your blog or any other small business. Instagram is by far one of the most popular, powerful and over utilized social media networks these days. No matter what you sell on Etsy, you should be utilizing Instagram. If you take note of hashtags, you'll also notice that some of the top, most engaging hashtags include #custom #etsy #handmade and #etsyshop. When I post pictures on my blog's Instagram having to do with my Etsy shop, I use these hashtags and always see a minimum of 20 more likes than I would have without those hashtags.

The same goes for other social media such as Facebook and Twitter, but since Instagram is all about visuals, I would focus more on there.

Look through the seller handbook

Etsy has a really, really useful Sellers Handbook right on their website. They cover everything from taking beautiful listing images, using SEO to get seen in more search results, seasonal tips, growth strategies and so much more. I've found dozens of articles and tips to help grow and the manual is a must read/see!

Use a TON of tags on product listings

When creating a listing, you can add up to 13 tags. These are similar to hashtags, and make your listing show up in search results that use said tags. The best way to figure out which tags you should use is basically by describing the product you're listing; describe it by color, size, function, etc. For example, if I'm going to list a new mug on my shop, I usually use tags like "mug", "custom mug", "personalized mug" and the saying that's on the mug. The more tags you use, the more search results you'll come up in. SEO, friends!

Sign up on ezebee.com


ezebee.com is one of the newest, simplest ways to promote your Etsy shop. It's essentially like a free, online shop that allows you to promote your listings and your shop. It reminds me of Pinterest; it's basically like a newsfeed full of small shop listings that you can search through and find things to buy. This is a great way to get your shop publicized and get your listings seen to an even further extent.

This index has a ton of articles on how to succeed on ezebee.com and they're all extremely helpful. Customers can create an account and simply buy right from the ezebee.com website. It's that simple! Since signing up and promoting my listings with ezebee.com, I've seen increased sales and an increase in shop views too. The great part about it is that even if you don't have an Etsy shop, you can sell on ezebee.com. I think it's so appealing because of the layout - scrolling through listings is the same as if you were scrolling through things to pin on Pinterest.

SEO comes into play again here, because buyers can shop by tags and categories also. Once you sign up on ezebee.com, you can create a page (basically what your Etsy page is). It looks like this:


Here, you can easily edit tags, your "story", product and shop info, pricing and more. The more you fill out, the more likely it is you'll appear in searches. This is the most innovative way for small business owners of all kind to sell, buy and meet other business owners too. I love using ezebee.com - I mean, who wouldn't want to sell and buy products from an easy to use, innovative shop like this?!

I highly recommend utilizing all of these tips to help grow your Etsy business, but signing up for and using ezebee.com is the best way to grow your small business. They're pretty new and already have a ton of listings and sellers; you can sign up here to buy and/or sell today!
What do you do to grow your Etsy shop?
XOXO
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