Etsy, the popular online marketplace, offers a plethora of opportunities for sellers to showcase their digital creations and connect with a global audience.
Yes, that's true. But... if you do not put in some effort of marketing your products - well: You have a hard time to start.
Lately I got pretty frustrated. Wherever you try to find tips on how to market your products you read "post on social media", "build an audience", "ask your audience what they want!". Well... good idea. But what if you do not have anyone? What if you are actually just starting and if you are alone? And I mean alone in the world wide web? These days people are swapped with "call to actions". Click here, click there - join this, join that - that's how it usually is so I totally understand that e.g. owners of Facebook groups want their groups not swapped with sales posts. Yes, but then: How should you put the advice in action if someone tells you: Post in Facebook groups? There are groups which allow you to post links to your products but mostly that's not worth a dime because anyone just goes there to post a link and nobody is really interested in what you are posting...
However, standing out in a sea of competitors - especially on Etsy - requires strategic marketing efforts. In this post, we'll explore effective strategies to market your printables on Etsy and maximize your success.
Marketing Strategies for Etsy and beyond
- 1Optimise Your Etsy Shop (actually any shop you are selling in!): Start by optimising your shop to attract potential customers. Use high-quality images, compelling product descriptions, and relevant keywords to enhance visibility in search results. Create a cohesive brand identity that resonates with your target audience and sets you apart from competitors. I know it's a common advice but it's a great investment of your time and efforts. You need to set up your product anyway why not doing it in a way that maximises the chance for you to sell it?
- 2Leverage SEO: Implementing effective search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques is crucial for driving organic traffic to your Etsy shop (and any other shop actually). Conduct keyword research to identify popular search terms related to your printables, and incorporate them strategically into your product titles, tags, and descriptions. Regularly update your listings with fresh content to improve search rankings and attract more potential buyers. You can do that by going to a listing on Etsy, similar to yours. Then scroll down to the very bottom of the product. There you find all the keywords your competitor listed. Do not just copy them. Check out different listings with a similar product and make your own list of keywords you can use then for your listing. If you wanna go one step further: Check out a tool like Alura (or similar, there are more tools out there) and check for your keyword's search volume. Then you can decide best which findings you leverage for your own product. But: You don't have to. The first method already works, especially if you check out bestselling products and find keywords from those products (see the screenshot at the bottom of this list).
- 3Showcase Your Products: Make a strong first impression by showcasing your printables in an eye-catching manner. Use high-resolution images and lifestyle photography to highlight the features and benefits of your products. Consider creating mockups or digital previews to give customers a glimpse of how your printables will look in real life. Even better: Print your printable and let your child use it. Take some pictures of his or her hands while drawing (you don't need to show the face). But this is authentic and customers can see that your child has fun using the printable.
- 4Offer Freebies and Samples: Entice potential customers with freebies and samples of your printables. Consider offering a free printable download as a lead magnet to capture email addresses and build your subscriber list. Providing value upfront can help establish trust with customers and encourage them to make a purchase in the future. Another platitude but so true! For me, finally offering freebies in the Library was a game changer! I love to see how people come over, subscribe, get the freebies and use them in action. Just alone that is fun!
- 5Collaborate with Influencers: Partnering with influencers and bloggers in your niche can help amplify your reach and introduce your printables to a wider audience. Identify influencers whose audience aligns with your target market and propose collaborations such as sponsored content, product reviews, or giveaways. Leverage social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest to connect with potential collaborators and showcase your products. I believe that this is a great way to go. Years ago I did that for my Planner Buddy Club (there you could get all kind of planner downloads). I contacted an influencer on YouTube and we got in touch and she tried my stickers in one of her videos. It was a very nice and effective way to build a relationship and trust with my audience. Because: If you are anything like me you might also think that, if person X you always watch a video from, likes person Y (which might be you), it must be a product you can trust!
- 6Engage with Your Audience: Cultivate a sense of community and engagement around your Etsy shop by actively interacting with your audience. Respond to customer inquiries promptly, engage with comments and feedback, and share behind-the-scenes glimpses of your creative process. Building authentic relationships with your customers can foster loyalty and encourage repeat purchases. And just do it for the fun! Recently I messaged any new follower on Instagram personally. I think that goes along way - if someone does that for me I feel special and because I want my followers to feel special, too, I do it 🙂 Come over to my Instagram and follow me there (you see, another call-to-action... ugh!).
- 7Offer Discounts and Promotions: Encourage sales and boost conversion rates by offering discounts and promotions on your printables. Consider running limited-time promotions, flash sales, or bundle deals to incentivize purchases and create a sense of urgency. Promote your discounts across your social media channels and email list to maximise visibility and drive traffic to your shop. You could also discount one or two products in your store really high to encourage people to buy from you and start building an audience. If those people realise that your product is great they'll come back for more!
- 8Invest in Paid Advertising: Consider investing in paid advertising to increase visibility and reach new customers on Etsy. Explore advertising options such as Etsy Ads, which allow you to promote your listings within Etsy search results and on relevant product pages. Monitor your advertising performance regularly and adjust your strategy based on insights and feedback. Be aware though that this can take time - actually up to 30 days (!) bevor Etsy matches your product with the right customer. But once done it's well worth as it increases your sales with time for sure.
Quick Roadstop: How to find Product Tags for your Printables
Here is an example of tags listed under a bestselling product. You see: There are a lot already. That should be enough for your tags. If you want to go a step further explore the search volume. You can use Alura (for example, there are more tools!). If not start by adding those tags into your title, description and your tags.
You see: There are not really new ways to advertise your products. Actually there just aren't. You can add social media to the mix. And you definitely should. Post the images you take from your kiddos using your printables on Instagram and then go ahead and make beautiful pins from them as well. That's a good investment of your time (especially Pinterest as it's a search engine and your Pins are there for years to come!).
Bonus Tip:
From my experience I want to add that a great way of leveraging your time and effort is writing articles (and product descriptions) on your own blog and link to the place where you sell from there. If you do that it doesn't matter where you sell. Since you don't own Etsy you can lose your store. And if you lose your Etsy shop (for whatever reason) you can easily switch the links in your blog posts and you are up to date. If you link all your marketing efforts to Etsy you will lose all your links as well. Etsy is here just an example, actually I'm talking about any third party platform you use to sell.
So make sure to write about your product on your website and link e.g. all Pinterest pins to your website rather than your Etsy Shop. Or maybe you sell over Gumroad (or wherever). It all comes down to: Have your own website to link there so you can easily switch your selling platform.
I hope that helps you to -on the one hand- not put all your eggs into one basket but on your own website and on the other hand give you a few more opportunities where you can advertise your products.
Don't do it just once. Do it for every new product. And do it again at a later time. With that I mean: Create a few pins for your new product today and do that again in three months from now. It can't be wrong to have more pins pointing to your product!
If you need more tips like this (and tutorials where I show you all this step by step), consider to join the Safari Lounge Designer Classes:
Safari Lounge Designer Classes
Learn everything you need to know to build a sustainable Business for Educational Printables. Let's create and plan your business together, and then: Market your products. It's all there,
personal coaching included! In case you just wanna have fun and create some printables for your little ones - that's inside as well!