Success as an online seller is directly related to your ability to stand out within the crowd and then convert leads into sellers. Etsy is one of the marketplaces that can help you do so. In fact, with around 82 million active buyers and regular updates, Etsy is one of the biggest eCommerce players on the market.
But being successful on this platform takes more than just opening your store and listing your products. Especially as a jewelry seller, making it in such a highly competitive industry requires you to fully understand this marketplace and take advantage of all it has to offer.
So here are some best practices that you can take to both stand out and convert your leads into buyers on Etsy.
Listings that drive traffic
It’s not enough for your product to be of good quality; you also need to highlight all their attributes properly, in writing, since customers will not be able to observe them as they would in-person. At the same time, you want your listing to sound as closely to what customers search for as possible, so that they can find you first. This is achieved by using the right keywords, also known as search engine optimization (SEO).
Let’s take a look at how you can optimize your listings for better reach and higher conversion chances:
- Research product tags using the Etsy autocomplete search option and the Google Ads Keywords Planner. These tools will show you what potential customers type in their search boxes when looking for products like yours.
- Use long-tail keywords, aka phrases of up to 20 characters, while keeping in mind that the order of those words will make a big difference in the listing’s popularity. For example, “White Gold Ring” will perform differently from “Ring White Gold.” It doesn’t have to sound right for it to rank well.
- Use all 13 available tags. Otherwise, you’re simply missing opportunities to get noticed. But make sure there are no duplicate tags. Etsy sees the titles category as a tag.
- The first 160 characters of each product listing are shown as page descriptions on search engine results listings, aka the pages that come up after you’ve searched for a phrase on engines like Google or Bing. So make sure your most important information comes up right at the beginning.
- Titles are important for SEO, especially the beginning of the title. Place the most relevant search terms at the beginning of the title.
- Your Shop Title and the Announcement section are used for your shop’s meta title (showing up on search engine results pages, aka SERPs) and the meta description for SERPs, respectively. So, again, use the words that customers are searching for in there.
- List your items in the correct Etsy categories and shop categories. Etsy has recently optimized their jewelry gems categories to make it easier for customers to find exactly what they want. So do not overlook this step.
Converting your leads
Once people have found your listing, it’s now time to turn them into buyers (aka the conversion process). Below are some tips that will help you achieve that:
- Product images are everything. Use unique, artistic photos showing the jewelry from different angles and, if possible, of a person wearing it as well (aka lifestyle pictures). Use all 10 available image uploads.
- Videos
- Customize, customize, customize; Allow clients to personalize the size, metal, and carat of your jewelry and enable the “Accept Custom Orders” option.
- Provide as many details as you can regarding your jewelry in the listing description.
- Have your description tell a story. Don’t use only technical details.
- Make the description readable – create clear structure and use separators (===== /\/\/\/\/\//\/\) for easier reading
- Use links for your own products that are similar, complementary, can come as sets, or belong to a relevant shop category.
- Handling time is less important on eBay as clients focus more on getting a personalized product which usually takes time.
- Clearly define your payment & shipping policies and offer free express shipping.
- Use the keywords analysis and statistics section to measure and improve your performance.
- Offer a variety of products with a design twist.
- Offer coupons on holidays and special sale events.
- Use featured items for additional exposure in your shop.
Setting up your store
Stephen Covey’s famous book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” recommends starting an activity with the end goal in mind. That means imagining where you want to arrive before you get going. Likewise, it’s important to have some perspective before opening your store.
Let’s explore a few actions you should take in order to achieve that:
- Quick-sellers – get familiar with them so that you can further improve your store’s success. We’ve talked about quick-sellers before. Look at the market and find the items that work best for you.
- Use promoted listings and renewals to get better exposure. When budgeting for marketing, keep in mind to account for different approaches, using between ⅓rd to ⅔rds of your budget on A/B testing (aka split testing, or comparing the performance of two ad/listing versions).
- The number of sold items is an important metric that potential clients can see in your shop. Make sure you build that up quickly by running strong discounts right from the get-go.
- Don’t forget about reviews and customer feedback – these are highly important. So you should always provide excellent service and follow-up with clients in order to make sure they leave positive feedback.
- Use good storytelling techniques in the “About Us” section and upload relevant photos showing there are real people behind your store.
Etsy as part of your multi-channel strategy
While Etsy is a big player in the industry, it is only one piece of the sales puzzle. So keep in mind:
- Focus on your long-term strategy and make Etsy one of the tools to get your there
- Run your Etsy shop under your brand name, so that it falls under your brand image and integrates with your other marketing efforts
- Connect your social media channels to your store for additional exposure, as well as to push the prospects further along their customer journey.
And voila! You now know what it takes to run a successful Etsy store. Of course, there will be bumps and detours along the way. But by following the steps above, you will have much better chances of standing out in this highly competitive jewelry eCommerce industry, as well as converting your leads faster.
