List Items Correctly on Etsy and Get Ready for the Sales to come in! Here are proven secrets that will make the difference.
Learn the secrets for selling on Etsy! Etsy has honestly changed my life for the better! Etsy is a marketplace which is slightly different than it’s giant mass-manufactured counterpart, Amazon. It focuses on handmade crafts, unique vintage items, and digital items, and people are excited about it. There are more than 90 million active buyers ready to see your products!
I make a 6 figure salary selling on Etsy. I want to show you how I’ve changed my life and how you can change yours!
You’re here because you’re ready to start making money online, and I’m going to show you how. Here are the top secrets to listing products on Etsy for optimal sales! Here are the steps:
Log in and Create your First Listing
After logging in to your Etsy seller account, click on the little shop icon at the top of the page. This will take you to the Shop Manager. Click on the three bars at the top left corner and you will see an option for Listings. Click Listings, and then click the Plus Sign Button for a brand-new listing. Keep in mind that if you are going to be listing similar items with similar descriptions, it will be a huge time saver to avoid clicking the new listing button the second time. After listing your first time, you can copy it and make the necessary changes for a second listing. The first listing will always take you the longest to set up. Spend the most time on this important listing, and I promise it will get easier!
Secret #1 Use Amazing Photos
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But guess what? That’s exactly what your customers are going to do! A good listing cover photo will be the difference between a customer scrolling down the page and overlooking your amazing product or the customer stopping in their tracks, ready to click on and learn more about your product. Before creating your listing photos, be sure to spend some time looking at similar items in your niche. Notice the competition. See what is working for the bestsellers in your category. And then think about how you can make your cover look better. How can it stand above the rest?
Some people worry that they won’t be able to rise above the competition. Don’t let this concern stop you from starting your business. Etsy has changed so many lives. People are working from home, running successful businesses, and everyone starts from the bottom. It doesn’t take long at all, however, if you can instantly start with the best listing photos possible. When I started selling on Etsy, I got my first order in the first week or two and then it started snowballing from there. In a couple months, I was making more than $2,000.00 per month. Within several months, I was making enough for my living, able to retire my husband and move into a new house in our dream location.
Etsy photos are key! Make sure your cover will not blend into the sea of similar products. Make it stand out. Make it better than the rest. In July 2023, Etsy changed the requirements for listing sizes. Here are the current guidelines for a successful listing photo:
The required size of the image should be 2000px for the shortest side. Use a JPG, GIF, or PNG.
The resolution should be 72 ppl.
The image file size should be 1 MG because anything larger will take too long to upload.
Photos that work for multiple ratios are recommended since they may be used across multiple pages on Etsy.
It is important that the cover photo grabs the attention of shoppers and propels them to click and then buy your product! Make sure it displays the product clearly and accurately. Sellers can list up to 10 photos, and it is helpful to upload all 10 if possible. It is very helpful when some of the photos can communicate important details like size, color, material used, etc… It is also beneficial to include photos that show the purpose of the product so your customers can imagine themselves using the product or even inspire them with ideas on how they could use it in their own lives.
There is also an option to add a video if desired. It is not required but sometimes beneficial for the customer to see the product being unpackaged or used in a specific way to make them more comfortable with their purchase. For a digital item, videos are great for showing how the shopper can easily edit a template.
Add Keywords into your Title
Your title is the next most important aspect of your listing. The keywords in your title will be used by search engines to show your product to the right customers. The maximum length of a title is 140 characters. You do not need to use all the characters, but make sure to include any helpful tag words that will help your product get found. I have found it best to use between 70 and 120 characters for my titles so it’s not too lengthy but enough for good SEO (search engine optimization). It should also be easily readable for your customer.
Secret #2 Word placement in your Etsy title
This is very important for SEO. If you don’t want your product lost in the sea of other seller’s listings, it is imperative that the words written in the title will cause it to appear higher in search results and show up in front of the right people who will be the most interested in your product! Here’s the secret – Type the most important words first! The search engines will put priority on the first few words so select them carefully.
Make your title readable but it’s also a great place for tag words. Some people separate them with commas, lines, or spaces. I prefer commas. Let’s say you are listing a digital wedding invitation. Skip the fluff at the beginning and get right down to business. You can add one descriptive word along with the basic product title. Here’s an example of a great title:
Minimalist Wedding Invitation Template, Modern Wedding Invite, Boho Wedding Invitation, Editable Wedding Invitation, Editable Template
This title makes it clear to the customer what you are selling, each tag separated with a comma.
Add Attributes and a Product Description
Select your category. Then don’t forget to fill in all the necessary attributes. Colors , sizes, and occasions are optional but only help that much more when it comes to SEO. Filling out everything you can will only increase your chances of rising high in the ranks. Also, make sure you select which type of product your are selling – physical or digital. When selecting digital, this will give you the option of attaching files to your listing for the customer’s instant download.
A detailed product description is super important to make your customers feel comfortable purchasing from your shop. Once again, the first few words of your description will really help out with your SEO so make sure they match closely with the title. Use your most important description first and then add to it. Ensure your customer knows exactly what they are going to get when they purchase your product. Include sizes, material used if it’s a physical product, the file type they will receive if it’s a digital product, color, and any other necessary information. It is sometimes helpful to take a look at your competition’s description if you need inspiration, but make sure you don’t copy. You don’t want enemies within the Etsy community so ensure your description is original and great for your unique product!
Create a Section for your Product
If you’re going to sell a few different, but related products, it will be helpful to shoppers if you have your items neatly organized in sections. For example, if you sell planners, you may have different categories such as Kids Planners, Adult Planners, Wedding Planners, etc… This also helps with SEO so it’s a great way to help your item get found!
Tag Words are Important
Tag words are the most important words you will type as you create your listing. This is the basis for great search engine optimization. There are 13 empty tag words that you can fill in to ensure you are bringing the right customers. Someone is out there right now, needing your product. If you get it in front of them, there’s a good chance they will buy it. The important thing is that your product shows up! Don’t leave any of the tag words blank. Use them all for maximum potential. It is sometimes helpful to copy the most important keywords from your title again into your tag words, but not all of them. This gives room to expand your searches and bring in different customers.
Secret #3 Use Marmalead
Marmalead has proved invaluable to me! I love this tool! There is a fee involved, so don’t feel like you need to use it to get started, but I will tell you from experience that it is seriously useful and my shop would not be the same without it! They do offer a free trial to head over to Marmalead.com to check it out!
Marmalead is a keyword tool for Etsy sellers to generate keywords that will be helpful for their item. My favorite tool they have is the comparison tool. I can type up to 4 tag words at a time into their system and I will see which one is best! It shows me the results of how many people are searching for that item on Etsy, the engagement compared to the searches, and the amount of competition for that word.
Sometimes I’m surprised. I think I have a good keyword, then I enter it into the comparison tool and find that nobody is searching for that keyword, but if I change it up a little, I can see much better results. Every tag word counts so this tool will really come in handy so you’re not wasting any keywords that aren’t going to help out.
The other great part about Marmalead is that it will score your listings if you already have some. Just like school, your listings will be given an A through F depending on how they are optimized for SEO. If one listing is not performing well, you can open it up on the Marmalead site and it will give you suggestions on how you can improve. I seriously could not live without Marmalead.
Choose your Price and Publish
You’re almost done! Next you need to decide on the price for your item. You can do this by viewing the competition on Etsy. Be careful when selecting your price. Sometimes a lower price does not always make your item more competitive. Some customers view more expensive items as better products so it’s good to experiment a little with this part until you find your sweet spot.
Click publish, and you’ll just have to agree to the .20 listing fee. A small fee to show 90 million shoppers your product. 🙂
Have you already chosen your product or at least your category? If not, read 5 Best Selling Items on Etsy. Hopefully something in one of these categories will spark some inspiration! Now that you’ve learned the secrets for listing products on Etsy, you can now take action and get those sales pouring in!
You can do this! And I have many more tips on the way to help you become a successful Etsy seller!