I’ve been selling on Etsy for 2 and a half years now, and I’ve just hit 2,000 sales!

I have been selling on Etsy for 2 and a half years now and I have just hit 2,000 sales!!

To celebrate I thought iI would share a few things that have worked for me on Etsy and perhaps if you already have an Etsy shop or are thinking to open one I hope this will be helpful.

Whilst my sales are not huge they are consistent and growing, for the time I'm able to commit to this platform I'm fairly happy with the results, but I also know there is so much more opportunity which is a good thing!

I've focused this blog post on 5 Tips I've found important to me, I'm no expert on this platform but I think sometimes you'd don't always need experts you just need to have a go and learn as you go along!

Tip 1. If I could only give one tip. Personalisation would be it!

Personalised cards represent over 80% of my sales on Etsy. One card especially has really boosted my sales on this platform. I honestly wouldn't be looking at 2,000 sales if it wasn't for my Personalised bear card.

Personalisation really makes a purchase unique to the buyer, you generally won't get this service from going to a high street shop.

I personalise my cards by hand, which initially I thought may look unprofessional but I was proved very wrong, I think the handwritten element really brings an extra bit of charm and specialness.

Personalisation makes the difference of someone coming to my shop than buying a card from a high street shop its something unique that only I can provide.

I've a growing range of these cards now. All featuring different animal families they make lovely keepsakes and are great for birthdays and special occasions such as Fathers Day, Mothers Day, Anniversaries and Valentines.

Tip 2. Do MORE of what sells!

This is extremely obvious but if you find something that works for you and sells well, think of ways that you can expand on this product area. I don't think I will ever create a better seller than my Personalised Bear Card but I have introduced many more other personalised card ranges which have become regular and even best sellers, you just have to keep trying finding what works and maybe you'll get another super hero product!

Personalised Cards and not my favourite illustrations to create but it means that I can add other cards into my collections and develop my non personalised cards which are my favourite to create but are not currently as popular on Etsy. If I didn't have the sales from the personalised collections I wouldn't be able to reinvest and develop my business in the direction I want to take it

I've recently added a new feature to my personalisation and now offer a Bear couple card which I will hand paint a little heart along side the handwritten names. I've been enjoying doing these and I'm looking forward to see how these sell for next Valentines day.

Tip 3. Create products for key events.

Another obvious one but Etsy sales definitely peak at key areas throughout the year and this will also depend on what you sell.

I have found people start shopping EARLY 4-6 weeks before a big event and even more so for Christmas so its good to have it ready in plenty of time something I don't quite always manage!

For me it's the occasions you'd send a card for so Valentines, Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Christmas are my peaks.

Fathers Day has always been my biggest or 2nd biggest event of the year and I've now got two years sales history of my best selling bear card and a high etsy ranking on key word searches so I can feel confident to buy this card in larger quantities than I would my other cards.

I found a little win for me this year was to think about how my best selling cards could be sent.

I also considered perhaps people (women mostly) would buy a personalised card to send to Daddy for Valentines from their child. I switched out a couple of tags so this would be relevant and my February sales TY increased more than 5 times to the previous one! I knew this was being bought for Valentines as I'd have requests to add Valentine messages along with names!

I don't always have time to update key words which is what Etsy use for SEO so your products can be found but I think now for key events it will be something I try and think about doing more regularly!

Tip 4. Get your pricing right.

When pricing your products you need to make sure your price is inline with your competitors and also making some profit for you!

Etsy have quite a few hidden charges which they are upfront about (if you look) but it's not the 5% you may think!

5% transaction Fee
4% payment processing fee + 20p!
A listing fee of 0.14p which is then valid for 4 months
Offsite Ads that make you a sale you'll be charged extra although you can opt out of this. (tbh very few of my sales have come from offsite ads.)
PayPal transactions fees

I think that's all!

If you already sell on Etsy the best way to work out your actual Fees is to divide your Fees and Taxes by your Sales and Credits it will give you your overall percentage. Mine works out to be 13.6% at the moment but I do keep checking it regularly as Paypal may fluctuate this .

If you include free postage you'll want to to build that into your pricing too and all the items you use for postage and packing !

Tip 5. Bundles!

I added bundled products fairly early on after opening my Etsy shop. I started off with my Christmas Cards and a Pick and Mix option which allows my customers to create their own 3 and 5 card selections.

I wanted to encourage a higher ASP (average selling price). Obviously 2000 sales of a £12 bundle becomes much better than 2,000 sales of a £3 card. My ASP falls somewhere between the two.

By offering bundles I was able to give my customers a better deal when buying my cards in bigger quantities. So it was a win win!

I have since created my own bundles alongside the pick and mix options so I have a 5 pack bundle of party animal birthday cards and a 5 pack bundle of just because cards.

I'll continue to explore this area too as I think there is lots of opportunity in it!!

Author note:

Hello there!

Perhaps you have found me via a search engine, Instagram post or have bought one of my cards. Whatever the reason I hope you will find this blog insightful into learning more about my business and helpful if you are considering something similar.

I've been turning my illustrations into greeting cards to sell for a couple of years now, I'm passionate about quality and creating something special and I believe a beautiful card and some heartfelt words make a thoughtful and inexpensive gift.

Thanks for taking time out to read this, I hope you enjoy it!

Melissa
Western Sketch

Etsy Tips - Part One