Are you wondering why you are not getting sales on Etsy?
So you’ve launched your brand on Etsy and you feel like your sales are stuck. You’ve started researching the best ways to get sales on Etsy, but you still can’t seem to get anywhere. Trying to get more sales on Etsy just doesn’t seem to be working. You may be wondering why you are not getting sales on Etsy and what you’re doing wrong.
I’ve been selling on Etsy for over 5 years now and have learned a lot about the platform. In that time, I’ve sold more than $1 million worth of products and have had over 20,000 sales. But like any other business out there, it isn’t always easy.
Through my experience and research, I’ve put together five reasons why you might not be seeing results on Etsy.
This post provides you with 5 reasons why you are not getting sales on Etsy.
1. You are copying others/Not differentiating.
If you are going to sell on Etsy, you need to stand out from the crowd. The problem is that many sellers are doing exactly what you are doing.
If you are just doing what others are doing, you’re not going to get ahead or stand out.
Sellers who are currently selling well and ranking on the first page of search results already have an advantage by ranking on the first page.
To get ahead, there needs to be some differentiation with your product. This may include tweaking colors, fonts, graphics, or product offerings depending on what you’re selling.
Consider using high quality graphics in your designs if you sell print on demand products. My personal favorite design assets can be found on Creative Fabrica, Creative Market and Canva.
2. Your photos don’t appeal to buyers.
First impressions matter on Etsy. The first impression a customer has of your product is the main listing photo.
The photos aren’t exciting enough. Photos can make or break a sale on Etsy, so make sure yours are as high-quality as possible — not just from a technical standpoint but also from an aesthetic one. If the photos don’t excite someone enough to click through for more information about your product or shop, then there’s little chance that they’ll buy from you.
If you don’t want to shoot photos of your products yourself, consider using high quality mockups from Placeit.
You also need to make sure that your pictures are high quality and clear so that potential customers can easily see what they’re buying and make a decision about whether or not they want it based on what they see in front of them on screen.
If your pictures are blurry or low quality, people will not want to buy from your shop because they won’t be able to tell if it’s worth buying or not!
If you are taking photos of your products yourself, I would recommend shooting with a good smartphone or digital camera.
This is what I personally shoot photos with and would recommend for others if you want to take your photos to the next level.
Bonus Tip: Use Lightroom to apply filters to your photos for a more cohesive appearance for your brand. You can also tweak lighting and colors. It’s a free app you can download on your phone.
The pictures on your Etsy listings sell products more than anything else. If someone visits your shop and doesn’t see an accurate representation of what they’re thinking of buying, then they will leave your listing super quick!
3. Your products are not aligned with the buyer.
You don’t know who your customer is or what they want.
The first thing to do when trying to figure out why you aren’t getting sales on Etsy is to make sure your product is aligned with what buyers want.
Do you know who your product is for? Does the listing photo, colors, design align with the buyer in mind? If you are not sure how to answer these questions, you may not know who you’re selling to.
Consider doing product research with research tools like eRank, Sale Samurai or Alura.
Do some research into what people are searching for and what they like in terms of style, color, and price range.
Chances are, the buyer doesn’t want your product because they don’t resonate with something that your product offers. This could be colors, graphics, style, or photos.
For example, if you are selling fashion accessories for women under 25 years old who like girly designs and flowers, then your products will be different than if you were selling clothes for men under 25 years old who like modern designs and simple colors.
4. Your listings aren’t getting seen.
Are your Etsy listings optimized for SEO?
To ensure that customers see your listings, you have to make sure your listing is optimized properly. Etsy’s search algorithm is based on keywords and tags. If you don’t have any keywords in your title, tags, or description, then your listing won’t show up in searches for those words.
Use at least one keyword in each of your titles and tags to maximize exposure for your products.
I recommend also using helpful SEO tools like Alura, eRank, or Sale Samurai to best optimize your tags and titles.
Also, check out my free Etsy cheat sheet guide I’ve put together that includes SEO tips and a checklist that have helped me become a 0.1% Etsy seller.
You’re not using tags effectively. Etsy allows sellers to tag their products with up to 13 tags per listing, but if you only use two or three tags for every product then it could be limiting the number of people who see your products. Each tag should be relevant to your listing so that buyers know what kinds of products you’re offering.
Make sure your titles and tags are optimized with keywords your buyers are searching for with the right tools.
5. There’s no emotional connection.
People buy online based on emotion and how it makes them feel.
This could mean they find something funny as a gift for someone, or that they believe something will make them feel cool or pretty if they wear it, etc.
So if there’s no emotional spark made when customers see your product, they won’t be enticed enough to purchase it.
Your customers need to feel something when they see your product — whether it’s love, humor, or excitement. If they don’t feel anything, they won’t buy anything.
Conclusion
When you are a new seller on Etsy, self-doubt is going to come at you from every angle. You’re having these thoughts of: You’re not selling enough, you’re not making any money, and it feels like maybe you never will. But guess what? That’s okay! I’m here to tell you that it is going to get better because I’ve been there before. Keep this list in mind when you’re feeling down on your sales.
I hope you found this post useful and can apply some of these tips to your shop to get more sales on Etsy.
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