As an Etsy seller myself, I understand the difficulties of running an online business. That’s why I want to share with you my experience of what it’s like to be a new Etsy seller and help you avoid getting complacent and quitting your Etsy business before you’ve even given it a shot.
1. Using less than 13 tags
This is the most common mistake new Etsy sellers make. Not only is important to put the relevant keywords in tags, but it is also equally important to use all 13 of them.
Use tools like eRank, Marmalead, Allura, or Sales Samurai to find the best long-tail keywords that can be used as tags.
2. Description without keywords
Keywords are meant to be placed not only in tags and titles but also in descriptions. Of course, avoid keyword stuffing because it’s bad for SEO.
When writing a product description you should have your audience in mind and put the most important information in the first paragraph. Avoid copying the title word by word in the description.
3. Wrong title
Many new Etsy sellers make the mistake of naming their products with cute names no one will search for (or maybe just a few people).
Try not to overthink and use over-complicated words in your titles. Use long-tail keywords that describe your product best.
4. SEO what is that?
Not doing proper SEO research to find the best keywords for your products can hurt your listings and sales. You should aim for keywords that don’t have too much competition.
As I already mentioned, there are several tools you can use for research: eRank, Marmalead, Allura, Sales Samurai and ofcourse Etsy.
5. Selling the wrong stuff
This is another area SEO research comes in handy, finding the products in demand. What is the use of a product no one wants? You’ll spend hours making it, creating the listing and will sit in your shop forever becuase no one is searching for it.
After you get an idea about a product you could make, jump on Etsy or any other SEO tool and search for it. If there is no demand there is no point in making it other that for your own personal use.
6. Bad listing photos
This is the first thing potential buyer will see so make sure your listing photo is appealing and informative.
Before you settle on “the one” you should try different listing photos to see which one performs the best and use that.
If you are selling digital products there are pre-made mockups available online you can use for your shop.
Be prepared to put in the work as an Etsy seller and accept that you will make mistakes while you get your business up and running. Things may not go smoothly at first, but if you keep moving forward, you will always be able to recover. It’s better to learn these lessons early on before you’ve waste hundreds of dollars into an Etsy store.
This post was originally published on Medium.
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