So how do you actually market your offer to shoppers and customers?
In this chapter, we will look at the ways to do that effectively to your Etsy shop.
For most Etsy shop, here are the main traffic sources:
- Etsy Search
- Etsy ads
- Social Media
And they are the channels that we will focus on:
Email Marketing
Out of all the marketing channels, email marketing is one of the best options because of its high ROI (return on investment).
Email has a much higher engagement rate than social media, meaning that your customers are much more likely to read your email and click on the shop link compared to an instagram post.
Also, customers who are in your email list already know your brand. It’s much easier to sell to them (warm traffic) compared to a random person on social media (cold traffic).
The prerequisite of this marketing method is having a decent email list. You want to build your list early; it’s better to have a small list than no list at all.
Here are the email marketing service that I recommend:
To build an email list, you would need to create an incentive for customers and shoppers to sign up. A simple discount code works well here.
There are two main ways for you to contact your customers for a sign up: direct messages on Etsy and automatic receipt message in their order receipt.
Here are a few points to keep in mind when writing your message to get customers to sign up to your email list:
- Keep it friendly
- Thank them and say how you appreciate their business
- Talk about the benefit of signing up (both the main lead magnet and other benefits)
- Mention it takes only a minute
(For more about the foundation of email marketing, check out this course.)
Black Friday Email Sequence
For your email marketing, your message should be concise with a clear CTA (call to action).
That means, don’t write an essay. Customers are faced with many emails during the BFCM period and it's best if you can get your point across with as few words as possible.
Your email can be as simple as including the photos of a few of your bestsellers, saying that it’s the biggest sale of the year, the end date and a button to your Etsy shop. We will look at some email content ideas down below.
Email #1 - Monday Before Black Friday
Subject line:
- “Black Friday Starts Early - Save 40% On (Your Shop) Items”
- "Surprise 🎉 We are kicking off Black Friday early!"
- "We couldn't wait! Black Friday sale is on NOW"
- "Get your exclusive early Black Friday sale"
Message:
- Biggest sale of the year
- Describe your offer - How much discount are they getting and when will it end
- Reassure that the discount will be the same as Black Friday to encourage shoppers to purchase early from you
Email #2 - New Product Launch (Wednesday)
Subject line:
- “Grab (the new item) Before The Black Friday Rush”
- "Your exclusive access to our new product drop"
- "Open for some sweet new products + Black Friday deal"
- "Stock won't last! Limited stock on these new products"
Message:
- Showcase your new product
- Why customers will love the new product (the unique selling point and how it benefit customer's life)
- Limited stock, may sell out in a few days over the Black Friday rush
- Remind customers that the biggest sale of the year is still going strong
Email #3 - Black Friday Sale Announcement
Subject line:
- “Biggest Sale Of The Year - Save 40% On All Items”
- "Don't miss out on the biggest savings of the year"
- "Black Friday is here 🖤 Save 30% on EVERYTHING"
- "Black Friday sale is here - but not for long"
- "New deals unlocked! Save 30% this Black Friday"
Message:
- Remind that it’s the biggest sale of the year
- Describe your offer
- Ends in just a few days (Urgency)
- Limited stock in some products
Email #4 - Limited Stock/Why Customers Love Our Products (Saturday/Sunday)
Subject line ideas:
- "⏳ Time's Running Out: Limited Stock on Bestsellers + 40% Off!"
- "See Why Our Customers Are Raving About These Items 🌟"
- "Don't Miss Out: Limited Stock on Your Favorite Items + 40% Off!"
- "Customer Favorites: Grab Them Before They're Gone!"
- "Hurry, Stock Is Limited! Save 40% on Our Most-Loved Products"
Message (Limited Stock):
- Urgency - Limited stock available and might sell out soon
- Highlight the discount is still available for the limited stock items
- List a few of your bestsellers or complementary products as well
Message (Why Customers Love Our Products):
- Highlight your unique selling point and how your products are different than your competitors
- Quotes from your best reviews
Email #5 - Last Call On Cyber Monday
Subject line ideas:
- “⚠️ Last 24 Hours - Don’t Miss Our Biggest Sale”
- "Last chance to get X at 30% off"
- "24 hours before the BIGGEST sale is gone"
- "Final hour - 30% off is ending in 24 hours"
- "My biggest sale ends tonight"
Message:
- Urgency - Only 24 hours left
- Some happy customer quotes - ‘Our products are loved by customers like you’
- Showcase your bestsellers
- Button to take them to your shop
Similar messaging can be used for your social media posts as well.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is a great way to reach new potential customers who may be interested in your products.
As it can get competitive on all social media platforms before and during BFCM, it’s best to focus on the platforms that you’ve found the most success on. It’s not the time to test and experiment on new platforms.
For example, if you have more followers on Instagram, then you should focus most of your effort on it. And only repurpose a few posts on other platforms like Pinterest and Facebook.
During the week of BFCM, you should post at least once a day and interact with your followers and new potential customers. A few of the posts you can make throughout the week:
- Black Friday sale tease/preview
- Sale announcement post
- Photos of people using your bestsellers
- User generated content (ask your customers whether you can post their review photo, or you can create your own lifestyle shot)
- "Last 24 hours until sale ends" to create urgency
And make sure to use relevant hashtags when you post: #blackfridaysale #cybermondaysale
Other than posting during the sale period, it’s a good idea to increase your social engagement with highly related accounts in your niche. Engage with them by leaving meaningful comments to build positive relationship with them and get exposure to their audience, which should be similar to your target audience.
Don't forget to use the Canva templates in the previous chapter to customise for your holiday sale:
Running Ads
I wouldn’t recommend running ads on social media platforms during the busy sale period, because it will be highly competitive and expensive.
Unless you are selling products with a high price tag (above $100), I wouldn’t consider ads on social media during BFCM.
However, Etsy ads during that period is still relatively reasonable. Start running ads when your sale starts and include listings with sale-related keywords like “Black Friday Sale”.
A few things to keep in mind when you run ads:
- Make sure they are optimised (eye catching photos, long-tail keyword title, etc)
- Run a few days with a higher budget than you usually run. If you don’t run ads usually, then I’d suggest starting with $10 a day.
- A day before Black Friday, eliminate under-performing listings (low conversion rate)
- If it’s profitable, increase the budget during Friday to Monday
- Finish your Etsy ads when your sale ends
Offer Gift Wrapping Service For People Buying Christmas Gift
Because Black Friday is only about a month away from Christmas, there are customers who buy their Christmas gifts during the sales period.
Offering gift wrapping or highlighting your gift-ready packaging can help you win these customers. You can use tools like Vela to add an extra packaging photo to all your listings.
When you offer gift wrapping, customers can add that service to their order for an extra fee (You can set the price). Customers can also add a gift message so be prepared to write/print that to include in the order.
Release New Product During The Sale Period
Another way to boost revenue is to reserve some of your exciting new products and release them with the Black Friday sale. I find the most success when I released them after the sale starts (so that I can use it as a second chance of reminding customers of the sale).
This is best used with email marketing or social media marketing.
Other Strategies
These strategies are useful, but they may not have much impact on your sale performance or are difficult to implement. So only consider them when you have time, and they shouldn’t be your priority.
Etsy updates feed
Can make your shop looks more complete and notify shoppers who have followed your shop that you have an update. To upload the photos, use the Sell On Etsy app.
Donate To A Charity That Aligns With Your Brand Position
Donating to a charity that you and your target customers believe in can be for your Black Friday promotion. Doing so can improve your brand image in customers’ minds.
You can donate a percentage of their revenue during the Black Friday - Cyber Monday period. Usually it’s 5-10% of the earnings. Posting a receipt of your donation afterwards on social media or your Etsy shop update is a good idea.
Pitch Your Products To Relevant Blogs & Magazines
For a chance to be included in gift guides or Black Friday deal guides, you can pitch your products to relevant blogs and magazines.
The process can be very competitive and can take weeks. And it’s hard to know the chance of success as a small handmade business owner compared to established brands.
Search phrases like “2021 Black Friday Deals” on Google and see what potential blogs you can contact.
Write Your Own Gift Guide On Your Blog Or Social Media
If you have a blog or social media accounts with a decent following, you can create your own BFCM gift guide. This way, you can feature your product in a more personal and authentic way.
Other than including your own products, you can include other cool handmade products that serve a similar target customer. Just make sure they are not your direct competitors. For example, if you sell handmade bar soap, you can feature other Etsy sellers who make bathroom and self-care products, like bath salt, candles and essential oils.
Send Products To Micro-Influencers Before Black Friday
When people think of influencers, they only think of big names that have over a million followers. It would be amazing to get featured on their feed, but getting them to notice your product is difficult.
A better way to get exposure for Etsy sellers like you, is to approach micro-influencers, which usually refers to accounts with around 1,000-50,000 followers. Although they may not be as big, their followers usually have more trust in their opinion.
One good way to have a chance to get featured by them is to send them free product. For Black Friday promotion, do that early to allow shipping time and time for the influencer to create quality content. Be sure to communicate with them beforehand and come to a mutually agreeable terms (e.g. free product in extra for a post on the main feed).