I’d recommend doing your listing description and titles yourself. It could be easier than you think.
Use my course - Etsy Listing Sales Machine - for the structure of your listing description. I’ve included my formula of structuring the description in that course.
Then use ChatGPT (a free and very powerful tool) to help you brainstorm unique selling points and write the listing description. In my ChatGPT course, you can find prompts like these:
Brainstorm Unique Selling Points
I sell (detailed description of your product) on Etsy. Can you brainstorm 10 unique selling points that can help me stand out and differentiate from my competitors?
Writing Listing Descriptions
I need to write a product description for my new (product name). Can you write 3 variations of product description using these product details? “(Bullet point of relevant product and brand details, specify unique selling points you want to highlight, etc.)”
For the people who approached you, many of them also use ChatGPT or similar tools to generate listing description quickly and easily. So it's a lot cheaper to do it yourself (it's free!) and you wouldn't have to give them access to your Etsy account.
When introducing a unique or niche product on Etsy, it could be hard to gain traction as customers may not be actively searching for the product. There are a few strategies you can implement to gain visibility and traction:
- Tap into Adjacent Niches: Consider related categories that might appeal to your target audience. "gift idea" or keywords relating to a broader product category could work well here. For the chopping board example, keywords like "wooden chopping board", "charcuterie board", or "personalised engagement gift" are great to help reach shoppers who may be interested in this product on Etsy.
- Cross-Promotion: Whenever a customer purchases a related product from your shop, include a promotional material for your new niche product. This can be a card, order insert, or even a sample if feasible. It's a way of organically introducing your existing customer base to your expanded product range.
- Etsy Ads: To boost visibility, especially during the initial phase, consider investing in Etsy ads. It can help your new product gain traction and reach a wider audience quickly.
There's no special tricks or strategies of being chosen for Etsy pick.
According to Etsy, they "look for shops with strong product photography that fit within the relevant shopping themes of the pages".
There's no known boost of search ranking for being an Etsy pick either. So I'd recommend not focus on it too much. The main focus for your Etsy business should be creating a product that has a strong USP and optimise your Etsy listing for high conversion rate (like strong photos and conveying benefits for customers).
With the rise of AI image generators like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and Dall-E, it could be more challenging for sellers like artists and illustrators to differentiate themselves in the market. However, one way to stand out is by creating a simple listing video of your creation process. This video can give your customers a behind-the-scene look at how you create your designs, which can be especially attractive to shoppers who are looking for genuine art.
To make a simple but attractive listing video, consider taking a video of yourself sketching/designing in a well-lit and aesthetically pleasing environment. If you don't feel comfortable filming in your own home, go to a pretty cafe in your area. You could also have a friend take the video over your shoulder from behind for a more intimate and personal video. Doing this is one of the effective ways to stand out as a genuine artist.
Starting an Etsy shop can be quite daunting, especially there are so many aspects like SEO, product creation, photography, etc.
I find that breaking down everything into smaller, more manageable tasks helps me the most. You can create a checklist that includes the tasks you need to do. Make sure each task is small and achievable. For example, instead of "Do Etsy SEO", you should have a checklist of small tasks like "Brainstorm 10 keywords for my resume templates" or "Write titles and tags for 10 new listings".
This helps me stay organised and motivated (I love checking off my list!) Make sure your tasks are small and that you can then tackle multiple items in a day, and check them off as you go.
And don't forget to take breaks and give yourself time! You're already doing amazing!
I'd recommend designing templates specifically for a particular customer or niche, as a niched-down product usually sells better than just general templates. It is important to think about the target customer for each template, e.g. teacher, cafe owners, real estate agent, etc. and create something that satisfies their specific needs. Elements in your design like text, graphics and colours should be tailored to your target customer.
For example, in this bestselling listing, instead of making a general Airbnb template, they created one that's targeting countryside cabins. Notice that all the elements are designed for the target customers, including the photos and colours.
While it's important to use relevant keywords in your Etsy listing, I wouldn't recommend including all of them in your listing description for Etsy SEO.
Etsy now scans listing descriptions for keywords in addition to titles and tags, but the main purpose of your listing description is still writing clearly and concisely to highlight the main selling points. Keyword stuffing your listing description doesn't benefit your potential customers and doesn't help you convince them to buy your products.
I'd recommend including 1-2 sentences at the beginning of the description to describe your product's key features or benefits. That way, you should be able to include your main targeted keywords naturally, while helping your target customers decide.
First, answer all customer inquiries you received throughout the day. To make this process quicker in the future, spend some time creating template answers to common questions that you receive.
Then I would focus on improving product photography, especially the thumbnail photo as that is the first thing potential customers see on the Etsy search page. Research and test different backdrops, lighting, angles, etc. And study the bestselling products in your niche and see what type of photos work.
Finally, use some time to study the bestsellers in your niche to see what’s working for other successful shops. Look at the features and benefits of their products, their pricing strategies, and any other factors that may be contributing to their success. Put your own twist and implement the changes.
For prints, wall art and posters, usually shops offer common sizes to cover most customer's needs. In most cases, top selling shops offer 5 files for the 5 common ratios like EvaArtPrints:
For each of the size, you should include the largest dimension file, so that customers can print in any of the sizes in that particular ratio. For instance, for the 2:3 ratio, your file size should be 24x36 inches with 300 dpi.
From what I can see, specialised shops are easier to find success on Etsy. This is because it allows you to focus on a specific niche and build a strong reputation and expertise within that niche.
This can make it easier to build trust and authority with potential customers, as they will know that your shop is a reliable source for the specific products or services that you offer.
Other than focusing your niche, it’s also a good idea to make sure your product style is consistent and targeted to one specific group of customers.
Here are a few shops that are specialised and doing great on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Manifestable
https://www.etsy.com/shop/GemBlue
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MegDigDesign
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CaiCaiHandmade
Candle is not the easiest niche as it's pretty saturated on Etsy. That being said, there are some things I'd recommend to increase your chance of success on Etsy.
If possible, I’d suggest trying to make candles that's decorated on top like these listings here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/944084463/crystal-candle-christmas-gift-self-care
https://www.etsy.com/listing/538018885/crystals-herbs-tealight-candles-soy
This type of candle is getting more and more popular on Etsy and many of the bestselling candles are like this. Usually they are decorated with these elements:
- Tumbled crystals
- Dried flowers and petals
- Herbs
They are often made for a certain theme or use. For example, a 'love candle' that’s dyed pink and decorated with rose quartz and pink petals. Another example is a birthday cake candle decorated with colourful sprinkles.
One of the things that stands out to me is that you actually have expertise in the planner that you are trying to create. That’s a great thing as showcasing that can build trust and convince your target customers that you know ‘what you’re talking about’.
Take a look at this listing for ADHD planner of how they build trust: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1282376971/adhd-digital-planner-made-by-an-adhder
- Words like 'made by ...' , 'based on science'
- Highlight extra pages that are different than a standard planner
- Have relevant info of the area of expertise, and link that info to how the product can help the customers
- Use words that the target customers use
- Highlight problems that customers are facing to show that you have a good understanding of it
The first few sales and reviews are not the easiest to get. That being said, one way that I recommend is to show your shop to your friends and family. Many of them are willing to try out the products of your shop given that they are reasonably priced and of good quality. They are likely to leave you positive reviews. The reviews won't be against Etsy rules as long as they "reflect the honest, unbiased opinion of the buyer". You can read more about the rules here.
And once you get the initial reviews, it's easier for shoppers to have trust in your products.
The next steps I suggest after you’ve received more reviews is to highlight some of the reviews in your listing photos. Create a photo that include some quotes from your happy customers. Ask your customers first whether it’s ok to do so. Here’s one I did for my shop:
You have a split second to capture the attention of Etsy shoppers in the search page. So it's best to keep it clean and simple to read. Using a handwritten font with low colour contrast can make it hard to read; Shoppers are likely to scroll past your listing.
One example shop with great listing photo is https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyLifePlans They have a very simple consistent look to their product photos and that's one of the reasons why they have over 50,000 sales at the time of writing. All of their listing photos follow a template: Same background colour, font, heading and subheadings, and the style of mockup.
To get more ideas of how to make a clean, modern listing photo that shoppers are more likely to click, I’d recommend doing these few steps:
- Search the keywords you want to rank for
- Filter to only show the bestsellers
- Analyse their thumbnail product photo (Pay attention to the colour, font, layout, and main benefit they highlight in the photo)
No. This is because Etsy autocorrects common spelling mistakes when shoppers search on the site. If your listing includes keywords that are spelled incorrectly, you are missing out on traffic.
However, there are words that are spelled differently (or a completely different word is used) in different regions of the world. For example, jewelry vs jewellery, flip flops vs thongs, beanie vs touque/toque/tuque. Those words are considered different and using both can help you broaden your keyword reach.
I suggest sending them a message like this about a week after they received the product. Most customers won't find this pushy and I've been using this for years:
Hi (name)!
Thank you again for your order! Just checking in and see whether you enjoy the (product).
If you like it, I would really appreciate if you can leave a positive review for my shop. Great reviews are very important for a new shop like mine. You can leave a review here:
www.etsy.com/your/purchases
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me and I'm happy to help!
(Your name)
Good question. Mass produced and dropshipping sellers are getting more and more common on Etsy. One thing that's for certain is that you can't compete with them on price. Don't try to price your tshirt under the mass-produced ones.
The best way to differentiate is to emphasise the handmade quality of your product. Here are a few ways to do it:
- Take a video of you hand printing the tshirt and upload it as the listing video
- Add a photo of behind the scene or your workspace (add some relevant text on it is even better, e.g. "Hand-printing studio in California")
- Add a photo of your packaging, especially great if your packaging is gift-ready (because drop-shipper or mass produced sellers can't replicate this easily)
- Fill out your 'About' section with behind the scene photos and videos
- Add text to your thumbnail photo to mention the 'hand screen printed', 'locally made' quality of the tshirt
To bulk edit photos for Etsy listings, I use Vela. You can add your review quote photo to all your listings at once. I did it to all 300+ of my listings in less than 5 minutes.
When I need to change something that I can't do easily on Etsy, like adding a photo, I use their $5/month plan and then cancel it once I'm done. And if you haven't used it before, then great news! They have a one week free trial so it means you don't need to spend any extra money if you don't want to.
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend going in this niche for most sellers because:
- The competition is pretty high, and the main sellers in that niche has a loyal following as you can see from their sales count (a few of them have over 100k sales)
- The price for each set of preset is pretty low at about US$3
Unless you are a photographer with a following on other platforms and have experience making Lightroom presets already, I wouldn't recommend this niche.
There are two ways I'd recommend.
The quickest way is to download the seller resource packet from Corjl. Inside you will find an instruction that you can attach to the listing. It will be under the 'shop listing resources' once you downloaded it.
Or you can make one with your own branding on Canva like this:
With the rise of AI image generators like Midjourney, Stable Diffusion and Dall-E, it could be more challenging for sellers like artists and illustrators to differentiate themselves in the market. However, one way to stand out is by creating a simple listing video of your creation process. This video can give your customers a behind-the-scene look at how you create your designs, which can be especially attractive to shoppers who are looking for genuine art.
To make a simple but attractive listing video, consider taking a video of yourself sketching/designing in a well-lit and aesthetically pleasing environment. If you don't feel comfortable filming in your own home, go to a pretty cafe in your area. You could also have a friend take the video over your shoulder from behind for a more intimate and personal video. Doing this is one of the effective ways to stand out as a genuine artist.
One of the things that stands out to me is that you actually have expertise in the planner that you are trying to create. That’s a great thing as showcasing that can build trust and convince your target customers that you know ‘what you’re talking about’.
Take a look at this listing for ADHD planner of how they build trust: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1282376971/adhd-digital-planner-made-by-an-adhder
- Words like 'made by ...' , 'based on science'
- Highlight extra pages that are different than a standard planner
- Have relevant info of the area of expertise, and link that info to how the product can help the customers
- Use words that the target customers use
- Highlight problems that customers are facing to show that you have a good understanding of it
The first few sales and reviews are not the easiest to get. That being said, one way that I recommend is to show your shop to your friends and family. Many of them are willing to try out the products of your shop given that they are reasonably priced and of good quality. They are likely to leave you positive reviews. The reviews won't be against Etsy rules as long as they "reflect the honest, unbiased opinion of the buyer". You can read more about the rules here.
And once you get the initial reviews, it's easier for shoppers to have trust in your products.
The next steps I suggest after you’ve received more reviews is to highlight some of the reviews in your listing photos. Create a photo that include some quotes from your happy customers. Ask your customers first whether it’s ok to do so. Here’s one I did for my shop:
While it's important to use relevant keywords in your Etsy listing, I wouldn't recommend including all of them in your listing description for Etsy SEO.
Etsy now scans listing descriptions for keywords in addition to titles and tags, but the main purpose of your listing description is still writing clearly and concisely to highlight the main selling points. Keyword stuffing your listing description doesn't benefit your potential customers and doesn't help you convince them to buy your products.
I'd recommend including 1-2 sentences at the beginning of the description to describe your product's key features or benefits. That way, you should be able to include your main targeted keywords naturally, while helping your target customers decide.
You have a split second to capture the attention of Etsy shoppers in the search page. So it's best to keep it clean and simple to read. Using a handwritten font with low colour contrast can make it hard to read; Shoppers are likely to scroll past your listing.
One example shop with great listing photo is https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyLifePlans They have a very simple consistent look to their product photos and that's one of the reasons why they have over 50,000 sales at the time of writing. All of their listing photos follow a template: Same background colour, font, heading and subheadings, and the style of mockup.
To get more ideas of how to make a clean, modern listing photo that shoppers are more likely to click, I’d recommend doing these few steps:
- Search the keywords you want to rank for
- Filter to only show the bestsellers
- Analyse their thumbnail product photo (Pay attention to the colour, font, layout, and main benefit they highlight in the photo)
No. This is because Etsy autocorrects common spelling mistakes when shoppers search on the site. If your listing includes keywords that are spelled incorrectly, you are missing out on traffic.
However, there are words that are spelled differently (or a completely different word is used) in different regions of the world. For example, jewelry vs jewellery, flip flops vs thongs, beanie vs touque/toque/tuque. Those words are considered different and using both can help you broaden your keyword reach.
About listing titles, I would recommend choosing the most descriptive keywords to put at the front of the title. The keywords in the front carries more weight than the ones at the back. And they are also seen by shoppers first. It's helpful for buyers to understand your product quickly.
Be careful not to have too much repetition. I'd suggest using a good variety of keywords that are descriptive of the product.
Read this chapter for more details on optimising your Etsy listing
I’d recommend doing your listing description and titles yourself. It could be easier than you think.
Use my course - Etsy Listing Sales Machine - for the structure of your listing description. I’ve included my formula of structuring the description in that course.
Then use ChatGPT (a free and very powerful tool) to help you brainstorm unique selling points and write the listing description. In my ChatGPT course, you can find prompts like these:
Brainstorm Unique Selling Points
I sell (detailed description of your product) on Etsy. Can you brainstorm 10 unique selling points that can help me stand out and differentiate from my competitors?
Writing Listing Descriptions
I need to write a product description for my new (product name). Can you write 3 variations of product description using these product details? “(Bullet point of relevant product and brand details, specify unique selling points you want to highlight, etc.)”
For the people who approached you, many of them also use ChatGPT or similar tools to generate listing description quickly and easily. So it's a lot cheaper to do it yourself (it's free!) and you wouldn't have to give them access to your Etsy account.
Starting an Etsy shop can be quite daunting, especially there are so many aspects like SEO, product creation, photography, etc.
I find that breaking down everything into smaller, more manageable tasks helps me the most. You can create a checklist that includes the tasks you need to do. Make sure each task is small and achievable. For example, instead of "Do Etsy SEO", you should have a checklist of small tasks like "Brainstorm 10 keywords for my resume templates" or "Write titles and tags for 10 new listings".
This helps me stay organised and motivated (I love checking off my list!) Make sure your tasks are small and that you can then tackle multiple items in a day, and check them off as you go.
And don't forget to take breaks and give yourself time! You're already doing amazing!
First, answer all customer inquiries you received throughout the day. To make this process quicker in the future, spend some time creating template answers to common questions that you receive.
Then I would focus on improving product photography, especially the thumbnail photo as that is the first thing potential customers see on the Etsy search page. Research and test different backdrops, lighting, angles, etc. And study the bestselling products in your niche and see what type of photos work.
Finally, use some time to study the bestsellers in your niche to see what’s working for other successful shops. Look at the features and benefits of their products, their pricing strategies, and any other factors that may be contributing to their success. Put your own twist and implement the changes.
For prints, wall art and posters, usually shops offer common sizes to cover most customer's needs. In most cases, top selling shops offer 5 files for the 5 common ratios like EvaArtPrints:
For each of the size, you should include the largest dimension file, so that customers can print in any of the sizes in that particular ratio. For instance, for the 2:3 ratio, your file size should be 24x36 inches with 300 dpi.
I suggest sending them a message like this about a week after they received the product. Most customers won't find this pushy and I've been using this for years:
Hi (name)!
Thank you again for your order! Just checking in and see whether you enjoy the (product).
If you like it, I would really appreciate if you can leave a positive review for my shop. Great reviews are very important for a new shop like mine. You can leave a review here:
www.etsy.com/your/purchases
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me and I'm happy to help!
(Your name)
To bulk edit photos for Etsy listings, I use Vela. You can add your review quote photo to all your listings at once. I did it to all 300+ of my listings in less than 5 minutes.
When I need to change something that I can't do easily on Etsy, like adding a photo, I use their $5/month plan and then cancel it once I'm done. And if you haven't used it before, then great news! They have a one week free trial so it means you don't need to spend any extra money if you don't want to.
When introducing a unique or niche product on Etsy, it could be hard to gain traction as customers may not be actively searching for the product. There are a few strategies you can implement to gain visibility and traction:
- Tap into Adjacent Niches: Consider related categories that might appeal to your target audience. "gift idea" or keywords relating to a broader product category could work well here. For the chopping board example, keywords like "wooden chopping board", "charcuterie board", or "personalised engagement gift" are great to help reach shoppers who may be interested in this product on Etsy.
- Cross-Promotion: Whenever a customer purchases a related product from your shop, include a promotional material for your new niche product. This can be a card, order insert, or even a sample if feasible. It's a way of organically introducing your existing customer base to your expanded product range.
- Etsy Ads: To boost visibility, especially during the initial phase, consider investing in Etsy ads. It can help your new product gain traction and reach a wider audience quickly.
There's no special tricks or strategies of being chosen for Etsy pick.
According to Etsy, they "look for shops with strong product photography that fit within the relevant shopping themes of the pages".
There's no known boost of search ranking for being an Etsy pick either. So I'd recommend not focus on it too much. The main focus for your Etsy business should be creating a product that has a strong USP and optimise your Etsy listing for high conversion rate (like strong photos and conveying benefits for customers).
I'd recommend designing templates specifically for a particular customer or niche, as a niched-down product usually sells better than just general templates. It is important to think about the target customer for each template, e.g. teacher, cafe owners, real estate agent, etc. and create something that satisfies their specific needs. Elements in your design like text, graphics and colours should be tailored to your target customer.
For example, in this bestselling listing, instead of making a general Airbnb template, they created one that's targeting countryside cabins. Notice that all the elements are designed for the target customers, including the photos and colours.
Candle is not the easiest niche as it's pretty saturated on Etsy. That being said, there are some things I'd recommend to increase your chance of success on Etsy.
If possible, I’d suggest trying to make candles that's decorated on top like these listings here:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/944084463/crystal-candle-christmas-gift-self-care
https://www.etsy.com/listing/538018885/crystals-herbs-tealight-candles-soy
This type of candle is getting more and more popular on Etsy and many of the bestselling candles are like this. Usually they are decorated with these elements:
- Tumbled crystals
- Dried flowers and petals
- Herbs
They are often made for a certain theme or use. For example, a 'love candle' that’s dyed pink and decorated with rose quartz and pink petals. Another example is a birthday cake candle decorated with colourful sprinkles.
Good question. Mass produced and dropshipping sellers are getting more and more common on Etsy. One thing that's for certain is that you can't compete with them on price. Don't try to price your tshirt under the mass-produced ones.
The best way to differentiate is to emphasise the handmade quality of your product. Here are a few ways to do it:
- Take a video of you hand printing the tshirt and upload it as the listing video
- Add a photo of behind the scene or your workspace (add some relevant text on it is even better, e.g. "Hand-printing studio in California")
- Add a photo of your packaging, especially great if your packaging is gift-ready (because drop-shipper or mass produced sellers can't replicate this easily)
- Fill out your 'About' section with behind the scene photos and videos
- Add text to your thumbnail photo to mention the 'hand screen printed', 'locally made' quality of the tshirt
There are two ways I'd recommend.
The quickest way is to download the seller resource packet from Corjl. Inside you will find an instruction that you can attach to the listing. It will be under the 'shop listing resources' once you downloaded it.
Or you can make one with your own branding on Canva like this:
From what I can see, specialised shops are easier to find success on Etsy. This is because it allows you to focus on a specific niche and build a strong reputation and expertise within that niche.
This can make it easier to build trust and authority with potential customers, as they will know that your shop is a reliable source for the specific products or services that you offer.
Other than focusing your niche, it’s also a good idea to make sure your product style is consistent and targeted to one specific group of customers.
Here are a few shops that are specialised and doing great on Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/Manifestable
https://www.etsy.com/shop/GemBlue
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MegDigDesign
https://www.etsy.com/shop/CaiCaiHandmade
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend going in this niche for most sellers because:
- The competition is pretty high, and the main sellers in that niche has a loyal following as you can see from their sales count (a few of them have over 100k sales)
- The price for each set of preset is pretty low at about US$3
Unless you are a photographer with a following on other platforms and have experience making Lightroom presets already, I wouldn't recommend this niche.