Use Your Resources

Use Your Resources: Marketing on Etsy

March 22, 2018

5:08 PM

A vital lesson I have learned in college and business is to use your resources! At Saint Michael’s we have so many opportunities around us if we just seek them out. Whether it’s free printing, access to your target market, or alumni relationships, college is full of resources that can benefit you in a lot of ways. I look at my business the same way, full of resources. Etsy is full of tools that help you succeed, as long as you take the time to find them.  Today I want to talk about a couple of resources

Etsy has given me and my favorite ways of using them! 

            For those who don’t know, Etsy is an online marketplace for handmade shops. In their own words, “We provide a meaningful space for sellers to turn their creative passions into opportunity. We enable buyers to discover unique items made with care.” Creating my Etsy shop was a huge step for my business. I was able to have a store without the immobility and costs associated with a brick and mortar store. All available pieces are listed on the store and customers are able to view them at their convenience, providing me with a more year-round customer base. I am able to keep up with customers while at college, at home, or anywhere there’s Wi-Fi. 

            Etsy provides shop owners with many amazing resources to improve in all areas of business. Etsy allows you to explore your target market by providing you the location of your customers as well as what device they used to find your store. This has helped me decide whether or not to ship 

internationally. By analyzing the map and other statistics I made the decision to not ship internationally because my customer base was not large enough to make it “worth it.” Shipping internationally is a lot more expensive and time consuming, with customs paperwork and the different regulations for each country. Etsy helped me decide to stay domestic for now! But it is also really fun to see that people from all over the world are seeing your work!

            Another interesting feature of Etsy is that they track how many favorites, visits, orders, and 

the revenue of each piece listed. This allows me to see which pieces are doing well and those that aren’t doing as well. This helps me know which pieces I should promote more on social media, as well as which pieces I should discontinue. I also use this information to understand what my consumers want; in ways it is a market test. If I see that they are really flocking towards a certain style or design, I know that I should make more of that type in my future designs. 

            Marketing is extremely important, especially when your store is online. It is easy to get lost amongst the various handmade jewelry stores that are on Etsy and social media in general. Etsy helps you stand out by providing you with a marketing tab as a shop owner that includes coupons and sales, social media promotions, key shopping dates, and more. Through this tab you are able to create promotions on social media and Etsy. This helps draw customers to your shop because they are seeing your products more often and repetition creates a want. By having a sale and coupon option you can connect with previous customers or draw in new ones, because who

doesn’t love a sale? Finally, the key shopping dates help you layout your timeline of when to maybe put a little extra effort into your promotion. It also helps give you an idea of when you will be busier.

            Starting your own business, especially at a young age, can be extremely daunting. Etsy has helped me by showing me new ways to market and making them easier to access. I have learned that there are a lot of ways to market and expand your business, it just takes time and effort to explore those options. It is not enough to just have a good product. If no one knows about your product, no one will buy it. Which is why marketing is so crucial for businesses, especially small ones. I know that my products are good, 

but I need to prove that to all of my customers.