Podcast Episode 24: 10 INCREDIBLE Tools that will Change the Game for Your Etsy Shop

Hey hey! Welcome back to the show this week. I’m tickled pink to hanging out with you today--- and this is such a power packed episode, you guys. Some of you are about to get the keys you needed to really kick your Etsy shop into high gear. I’m EXCITED!

But before we jump into today’s topic--- I want to tell you about a little give away I’m running in case you didn’t catch it on last week’s episode!

I am giving away TWO 30-minute zoom coaching sessions with me—and I’m SO excited! I just love hearing your ideas you guys, you have no idea! Y’all are my literal sunshine!

So for the next 3 weeks--- I’m inviting you to rate AND write a review for the podcast--- and anyone who does so will be entered into a drawing to win a FREE 30 minute one-on-one Etsy coaching session with me! I’m going to pick TWO winners—and they’ll each get 30 minutes on zoom with me to ask their biggest Etsy questions.

I will announce the winners on February 17th’s episode—so make sure you tune in! Apple podcasts for example won’t give me your contact info-- so I will read the reviews that the two winners wrote and invite them to reach out to schedule their free session at that point! If you already wrote me a review before the contest—you’re amazing— and you can also enter the drawing by emailing me a written testimonial for my website at [email protected]  I’m not leaving anyone out! 😊

For those who already entered the giveaway with your reviews---I see you!  woohoo! THANK YOU!

So moving along…

When I first started my Etsy shop, it took me a good 6 months to a year to start really selling with consistency! And then I grew from there. Because the good news is—once you figure out a few keys for your niche and your product, it’s not hard to replicate and grow.

It’s like learning how to keep a plant alive, or starting a new job, or becoming a parent for the first time. In the beginning you are flying blind and you’ll probably make plenty of mistakes--- but you gather some skills and resources and confidence—and eventually it becomes natural.

I swear! Even you black thumbs out there who are thinking, “Not me, I kill a plant just by looking at it!” Hahahaha! I used to be that way too and then I learned a few secret keys and now it’s RARE that I kill a plant these days. My home is filled with them!

So as I planned today’s episode, I tried to gather like, a golden list. Some tools that can really help you next level your Etsy business--- whether you’re listening today and you haven’t even started yet—or you’re a few years deep with some experience and you’re just here to see if there are any nuggets to help you level up!

I only had a few of these in my first year on Etsy and I REALLY wish I’d known about every single one of them. Truth be told --- many of them are only a few years old now. So you’re at an advantage with everything that’s available today.

I always want you to feel empowered when you listen to my podcast--- like you’ve got the tools, you’ve got the inspiration, you know what’s possible… and all you need to do is connect some dots.

There’s great news! With all the tools available today, and all the shoppers looking for stuff on Etsy, it’s the best time EVER to jump on board and have success.

Are you guys ready to dive in? Let’s do it! Here are:

10 INCREDIBLE Tools that will Change the Game for Your Etsy Shop:

This first one is ultra fun! People shop on Etsy for the unique experience of getting something hand-made, packaged with care, and just--- way more meaningful than an average purchase, right?

And since we Etsy sellers are completely obsessed with our packaging--- and we know how much thoughtful packaging improves our customer’s unboxing experience—I’m super excited to introduce you to the brand:

1) noissue

noissue makes ECO-FRIENDLY (yay) and customizable packaging that is totally affordable for small businesses and Etsy sellers. Hello next level branding for your shop!!

So that means you can literally get a design you created, something gorgeous you find on canva, your logo, or whatever you like—physically printed on your packaging materials. And if you’re not naturally gifted at design (100% me), they have great tools right on the site to help you.

And they’ve literally got everything you need for packaging, you guys! From tissue paper, washi tape, polymailers, stamps, stickers, boxes, food safe paper!! And I could go on and on.

Y’all need to know that my clients rave about this company. It’s the best way to up your branding game and set your shop apart by leveling up that customer experience. Not to mention your photo possibilities with your cute new packaging materials!!!

So if you’ve been buying your tissue paper at Walmart and your polymailers from Amazon--- LOL--- try noissue instead. It’s still affordable, it’s soooooo much cuter, and the earth will thank you for making an eco-friendly choice!

Grab their link in my bio and you’re welcome! noissue: https://noissue.pxf.io/9W9KxE

2) Mock-ups

This won’t work for every business, but it will work for many of you! Once I figured out mockups, man my workload got wayyyy lighter.

A mockup is just a picture of your base product without your design on it yet. So if you sell mugs—it would be a basic picture of the mug before your design is added. Or if you sell tshirts—it would be a styled picture of a blank tshirt before the design. Do you get it? Another one would be a staged sticker (maybe a circular one on a water bottle or laptop) without the design on it. You can see why this wouldn’t work for everyone—but if it works for your product, jump on this!

As many of you know, for the past 6+ years I’ve run a wood sign shop. We sell a farmhouse style sign with painted lettering on it. In the beginning, I didn’t know about mockups so I literally painted an example of every sign I wanted to try and sell—then had a photo shoot for it, then stored it somewhere in my house (uggg the inventory), then created the Etsy listing. It stunk! Because not every design sold and it took a ton of time and space lolll!

But I eventually figured out:

1. The base of the sign was the same each time (maybe 1 of 5 options)
2. I created the lettering for the sign using canva and saved it to my computer so I could later cut a stencil for the painting part

What IF—I took great pictures of the painted blank sign and saved them to my computer? Then, when I wanted to test a new sign design to sell a sign, I could just digitally put my lettering design on the sign using Cavna and use that picture on Etsy. I didn’t even have to paint a sign until it sold! And then—once I painted one for an order—I could snag a few extra pics if I wanted to (usually didn’t) to add to that listing.

I saved time, space, and money like no one’s business!

The next level up for me when I wanted to diversify my photograph a bit—was I bought really gorgeous mockup pictures. It took a bit more skill because now I had to put a picture of my wood sign (harder than it sounds) and also the lettering on it to create a listing thumbnail pic—but I was able to use more professional looking photos.

So consider this if you can! The two best places to buy mockups for your Etsy products are Etsy and CreativeMarket.com – and I’ll have both of those listed in the shownotes for you.

3) Since I just talked about it a bunch of times lolll #3 is Canva!

I know most of your are probably familiar with Canva by now—so I’ll make this brief!

Canva is a website and an app that will help you create things like logos, social media graphics, your Etsy header—that banner graphic at the top of your shop, finalize your listing photos—and just all things graphic design.

If you’re considering selling a digital product—something that the customer just downloads from your shop rather than making them a physical product you have to ship—Canva will be a powerful tool for creating and designing those products.

It’s incredibly user friendly and will help you make really gorgeous graphics even if it’s not your forte like me. Hahaha! It’s very intuitive and user friendly—and most of you will be able to do everything you need to do for free.

And just a slightly more advanced tip for my friends who already use Canva like a boss—I recently discovered the beauty of using the videos that Canva has in the Elements section to create video PINS! Consider it because just like everywhere else—Pinterest is loving video—and you can grab one of Canva’s stock videos, put some text and your logo over it, and have a really solid pin in 2 minutes flat.

Canva.com: https://partner.canva.com/c/2545784/647168/10068

4) Sale Samurai – my SEO secret weapon

Ok—so here’s the deal. If we really boil Etsy success down to the basics--- you have to have a) a product that people are buying right now   b) photos that stand out in the search results, and c) basic SEO (search engine optimization)

Don’t let SEO scare you! (I have definitely felt intimidated by it because I’m not the most analytical or detailed person in the world.) But it’s much easier than it sounds and you can totally figure this out.

SEO is very simply the exact words that your perfect customer would use to describe your product. That’s it. You just need to know what words they type into Etsy search when they’re looking for your product. You’ll also hear this referred to as “keywords.”

When I first got started, I thought I knew exactly what mine were and I was sooooo wrong---- so don’t assume you know what they are until you’ve done some research.

So the way you figure out what your keywords should be is to do a deep dive into your niche on Etsy and by checking current marketplace trends.

The absolute BEST tool for this on Etsy is called Sale Samurai. It’s a monthly service you pay for—just $10 a month and they’ve been gracious enough to give me a discount code for you—and you will use it continually.

Every time you have a new listing to post, you’ll use it. When you want to see if there are new terms for your product—it will help you. If there are new trends for your niche--- Sale Samurai will help you find them. It’s basically your best bet to QUICKLY mine date from Etsy to figure out how to help your shop and listings sell more.

Basically—you can connect Sale Samurai to Etsy through a simple chrome extension, and then everything you search on Etsy—Sale Samurai will tell you:

-how many people have search for it the past month

-what other words they search for that are like it

-how many other shops or listings include it

-what the best pricing is for product

And so. Much. More. It’s crazypants.

If you want a little sneak peek into what it can do—I have a short YouTube video I made for you linked in the shownotes. I just brought you into the back office of my membership and showed some examples of how to use it.

I think every Etsy seller should have it. It’s totally worth it and will help you big time! If you want to start with a free 3 day trial—you can grab my link in the shownotes. Use my coupon code (all lowercase): howtosellyourstuff for 20% off your membership!

Sale Samurai: https://salesamurai.io/324.html

My YouTube video sneak peek of Sale Samurai: https://youtu.be/HIw0oqF1aJc

5) Trend finders

Since I mentioned finding trends in the last segment—let me elaborate here. As you’re planning out your Etsy shop, you need to mindful of current trends for your niche. If you can sell something that rides one of these trends—you can see a lot more business come your way.

Just be prepared—that trends end. SO ride it—but be prepared to expand and pivot near the end of it so you don’t go from feast to famine in your sales.

The best places to track the current trends are:

1. Searching through Etsy.

Look for listings and shops in your niche and watch for the ones that have a “best seller” badge or a “popular now” badge. It will show up right on the listing in the feed. If you’re looking through an Etsy shop (which is a great thing to do when you find one that has a ton of sales)--- you’ll have to click on an actual listing to see if they have the Best seller or Popular now badge—it won’t show on the main shop page.

Pay attention to products that have these badges because it means they’re selling a ton and riding a trend. You never want to copy them because it’s just not ethical and you can get in major trouble--- but use these as inspiration for you own shop. How can you create something that would also fit this trend!

2. Watch Etsy’s Trending Now Page

This will constantly update and you’ll be able to see in real time LOTS of products that are popular and selling. Use this as inspiration!

You can find it by going to Etsy.com and type in the search “trendingnow” as one word—no space or the direct link is in the shownotes for you:

https://www.etsy.com/market/trendingnow

 3. And finally—you can use Google Trends!

This is a great place to see the bigger picture of the market and what industries and products are big--- and where! Because geography matters.

You can find this tool at https://trends.google.com or linked for you in the shownotes.

6) Craftkit – a compliant way to email your past and present Etsy customers!

If you’ve been around for a while, you’ve heard me tell you guys that you shouldn’t put all your eggs in the Etsy basket, right?

I generally recommend that people who are brand new to running their own business should start with an Etsy shop but also build an email list. And long term, if you want to really grow—get your own site too.

But truly---- from the earliest point possible in your business—you need to start building an email list. You can get shut down by Etsy, you can just need to leave Etsy, terms or conditions could change that make it so you can’t sell your product on Etsy anymore. You need to have an asset—you need to have a customer base that you can take with you.

The biggest gift that Etsy gives us is the marketplace where people are shopping for our products. When you start your own shop and you have to figure out how to do that yourself--- it is MUCH harder.

So, a compliant way to start collecting emails using Etsy is to do this with a service called Craftkit. It’s a tool that integrates (again—compliantly) directly with your Etsy shop--- it’s going to pull over your customer’s email address, it’s going to automatically communicate with them. It’s going to autosend certain messages, and it’s also going to start inviting them to join your email list. It makes it super easy.

So—your customers are going to get used to receiving communication from you this way and open the door for future communication.

Because Etsy’s rule is this: during an Etsy transaction, you have every permission to email the customer about transactional stuff. But once it is over, you cannot continue communicating with them unless you have their permission to do so.

So--- Craftkit does that for you. You can set up all of your messages to go out automatically and you can set up a drip campaign going forward so when people join your list-- the system will keep sending them emails that you set up ahead of time to keep your shop top of mind with the customer. Then they’re much more likely to think about you and come back and shop from you.  

Check it out--- I’ve got a link for you and Craftkit has graciously provided a discount for 50% off your first 3 months with the coupon code SMILEY. And they have a 14 day free trial! So you can grab the link from the shownotes if you’d like it.

You can also find a YouTube tutorial I put together for CraftKit linked in the shownotes as well if you’d like a little behind the scenes look.

Craftkit: https://craftkit.app/smiley

My YouTube Tutorial for CraftKit: https://youtu.be/tjG3eGUe_e8

7) Social Media: Promoting on TikTok, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Instagram

If you want to get some major new eyes on your products – and upsize your Etsy business—I really recommend you choose 1-2 social media platforms to promote on.

I personally think TikTok is a HUGE opportunity for you—Etsy sellers who have an interesting process for creating their product often blow up on TikTok and get tons of sales that way. I think it’s one of the few platforms right now that has an algorithm that can allow you to really break out from nothing—so consider a TikTok channel.

Pinterest is such a tried-and-true platform for Etsy products and this year they are SO focused on ecommerce—so product-based businesses have a huge opportunity. If you’d like to learn more about how to use Pinterest to help build your Etsy shop, you can check out podcast episode 8 where I talk about this in detail—the whole episode is about Pinterest. So look up episode 8 or grab that link from the shownotes: https://www.howtosellyourstuff.com/blog/podcast-episode-8-how-to-use-pinterest-to-sell-on-etsy

AND stay tuned because in just a few weeks I have a guest lined up who literally works for a Pinterest marketing firm and she is going to teach us SO MUCH about the 2022 Pinterest and how we can really build our Etsy shops with it.

I’d also highlight LinkedIn here. I know that might not make sense—and it probably doesn’t for all shops. BUT—LinkedIn has the virality now that Facebook did in 2012. So you can get your posts in front of more LinkedIn people for free than Facebook or Instagram. So chew on that---- is there a way that your product could be positioned for posting on LinkedIn.

And I’ll mention Instagram briefly here. I think it’s good to have a presence because so many people will try to find you on Instagram.

Also—if you have a TikTok, you can’t have a link on your profile until you get over 1,000 followers—but you CAN have your Instagram account linked--- and you can have your Etsy shop link on that profile. So use them in tandem.

Right now, Instagram is all about Reels (which is short form video content like TikTok) and secondarily—stories. I personally leverage my TikToks into reels.

And shoutout to my amazing client—Preston Cox-- who has a hysterical Etsy shop called “Levity Print Co” where he sells funny (and sweary) printables--- but he clued me in to the site (slash) app Snaptik (https://snaptik.app/en) which you can copy your tiktok link into and they’ll remove the logo for you! So that makes it better to share on Instagram. Apparently you’ll get more engagement without the TikTok branding because Instagram will show it to more people.

8) Pirate Ship for shipping

Ok—so I haven’t tried this yet because sometimes I can be a slow adopted hahaha—but I am so going to --- because my clients (and the whole freakin’ internet) RAVES about Pirate ship.

This is a shipping service that integrates right into Etsy. So instead of using Etsy shipping or going to USPS.com --- Pirate ship loads in your customer info for each order (so you don’t have to type every single address) and you get your shipping labels through them.

They can save you up to 89% off of USPS and 76% of UPS which is insane. Especially if you sell a product like mine that costs a bundle to ship—those kinds of savings are worth it!

There’s no monthly fee or markup or hidden cost. Just cheaper shipping labels. What more can we ask for?

I have clients who say the difference in shipping prices between Etsy shipping (which does give us a discount) and Pirate Ship are insane. They’ve done the math and tested it and they are strong believers. So there you have it!

You can look them up and get started for your next order at www.Pirateship.com which will be linked for you in the shownotes.

9) Google Analytics

If you love data--- you will love this. Etsy Stats definitely give us some great information about our shop views and listing views and favorites and whatnot—but if you’d like A LOT MORE information, and you’d like to spy on your Etsy shop and see when people are visiting in real time (and see where they are in the world!)—then you will love integrating your Google Analytics with your Etsy shop.

This one will take more tech savvy than all of the others—but there have to be a million tutorials out there on YouTube and Google for doing this. So just do a quick search and they’ll walk you through the set up.

You can just google the phrase “Google Analytics” to get started or grab the link in the shownotes: https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/

And wrapping up, here is our last incredible tool:

10) Photo editing apps

I used these a TON to enhance my product images and make little tweaks to help make my products look their best. Here are my 3 favorites—and they are all for your smartphone. I will link all three of these in the shownotes for ya:

1. My most used app is Afterlight: https://afterlight.co/

This is my favorite app for enhancements--- I can tweak the brightness, or make the image more crips, and all of the standard edits that uplevel a photo.

 2. I also love Facetune: https://www.facetuneapp.com/

I use this one for the whiten feature if I want to whiten my teeth a bit in a picture, or for the details feature which will allow you to focus on a particular spot of an image and make that exact spot more crisp.

I also love it for removing objects. Sometimes I’ll take the perfect product photo and then realize there’s a Hershey’s kiss wrapper or something hiding in a corner (thanks to my 6 year old) and with this app I just remove it right out of the pic without having to retake it.

3. And finally I love Adobe Lightroom: https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom.html

I use this most often for the presets in my lifestyle pictures. So—when I put photos up on a website or Instagram, I’ll sometimes use the Presets I have in Lightroom from Jenna Kutcher. They were totally free so feel free to grab them at JennaKutcher.com/3freepresets and that will be linked in the shownotes for you, too!

https://jennakutcher.com/3freepresets

There we have it, y’all! 10 INCREDIBLE Tools that will Change the Game for Your Etsy Shop. I hope you took great notes, and if you didn’t, don’t worry—my shownotes are thorough and it is alllll in there. You can find all the links, discount codes, or a full script linked below.

I cannot wait to hear what you make of these new tools in your tool belt.

So for now – don’t forget to rate and review the podcast a) if you love it and b) if you’d like to be entered into the giveaway for a 30 minute coaching session with me!

I’ll see you next week! Go make something awesome! 

EPISODE DETAILS

Do you feel like there is a secret to Etsy that you still need to figure out to be successful? On this episode I’m spilling the beans about 10 INCREDIBLE tools that many of the big time Etsy sellers use to get huge results in their Etsy shops—and make life easier too! Listen in and you may just find that secret you’ve been waiting on. I can’t wait to share them with you!

**“How to Sell Your Stuff on Etsy” is not affiliated with or endorsed by Etsy.com

STUFF I MENTIONED:

**3 Week Contest to win a FREE 30-minute one-on-one Etsy coaching session on zoom with me! Rate the podcast and write a review before 2/10 to enter the drawing! I will draw two winners from the bunch and they’ll each get a free 30-minute coaching session. Tune in on 2/17 to find out if you won.***

OR Send a written testimonial for my website to enter the drawing: [email protected]

noissue (eco-friendly, customizable packaging): https://noissue.pxf.io/9W9KxE

Places to get mockup photos:

Etsy: www.Etsy.com

Creative Market: www.CreativeMarket.com

Graphic design:

Canva.com for creating easy graphics: https://partner.canva.com/c/2545784/647168/10068

My SEO Secret Weapon:

Sale Samurai: https://salesamurai.io/324.html

𝗣𝗟𝗨𝗦 use my 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗗𝗘 to get 𝟮𝟬% 𝗢𝗙𝗙! ▶ howtosellyourstuff (all in lowercase)

My YouTube video sneak peek of Sale Samurai: https://youtu.be/HIw0oqF1aJc

Trend finder:

Etsy Trends: https://www.etsy.com/market/trendingnow

Google Trends: https://trends.google.com

Compliant Emails for Etsy with Craftkit:

Craftkit: https://craftkit.app/smiley

Use the coupon code SMILEY for 50% off your first 3 months.

My YouTube Tutorial for CraftKit: https://youtu.be/tjG3eGUe_e8

Social Media Marketing for Etsy:

Podcast Episode 8 (all about Pinterest) https://www.howtosellyourstuff.com/blog/podcast-episode-8-how-to-use-pinterest-to-sell-on-etsy

My client, Preston’s hilarious Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LevityPrintCo

On Instagram: @LevityPrintCo  

Website/App for removing TikTok logo: https://snaptik.app/en

Insanely cheaper shipping:

www.Pirateship.com

Crazy Detailed Stats for your Etsy Shop:

https://analytics.google.com/analytics/web/

My Favorite Photo Editing Apps:

Afterlight: https://afterlight.co/  

Facetune: https://www.facetuneapp.com/

Adobe Lightroom: https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom.html

3 Free Adobe Lightroom Presets from Jenna Kutcher: https://jennakutcher.com/3freepresets

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Find me on Instagram and TikTok @HowtoSellYourStuff

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howtosellyourstuff/

FREE ETSY MASTERCLASS: https://www.howtosellyourstuff.com/masterclass

FREE PDF DOWNLOAD: “4 Strategies I Used to Grow My Etsy Shop from $25 to $6000k/month”: https://www.howtosellyourstuff.com/site/4-strategies-opt-in

Grab my eCourse “Listings that Sell” and learn how to skyrocket your Etsy business:

https://www.howtosellyourstuff.com/offers/Xo52uqVF

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HOW TO SELL YOUR STUFF WEBSITE: https://www.howtosellyourstuff.com/

HOW TO SELL YOUR STUFF INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/howtosellyourstuff/

HOW TO SELL YOUR STUFF SHOWNOTES: https://www.howtosellyourstuff.com/blog/10-incredible-tools-for-Etsy

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