How to Find Your Target Market

[Former_Member]

Hi all!
I just opened my Etsy shop about 2 weeks ago. My jewelry has been doing great on Instagram and just O.K. on Facebook. I originally pictured my target market as women between 17 and 40, who like a modern spin on the trendy bohemian/hippie look, but I am especially marketing towards the younger crowd in their teens and twenties. Now I'm worried that maybe this market is a lot of Instagram "shopping", but no real shopping! And I would know, I am one of the girls in this market! However, I refrained from buying what I saw on Instagram because I started making my own! (Of course, once my business gets going, I plan to give back to the community and buy!)

I know it will take me a while to get discovered, but I am curious, how does one find a target market that will walk the walk? Experienced Etsy-ers, what are your stories with discovering your target market?

Much love!
Amo

[PaperBoundLove]

Hi Amo,
I hope someone who's selling jewelry will come and help you.

For my shop, I do graphic design and stationery.
The market I am in isn't as saturated as jewelry market.
So just using good tags, working on SEO and using paid promotions on Etsy, Facebook etc gets me enough attention.

I agree about the Instagram.
I have gotten several sales from it, but most of them are just window shopping.
Pinterest might be a better alternative, because it will link to your listing directly. I'm still working on making Pinterest works for me.

I hope this helps.

- Khin x

[Former_Member]

I LOVE the fact that you are making your own jewelry and not selling mass produced items like so many other online jewelry shops. Your items fit the very young but also the flower children of the 60s. I would not worry so much about a target market and would focus more on promoting, promoting, promoting. Find some advertising teams here on Etsy where your items are sure to be seen by a wide audience. Good luck and happy selling!

[Former_Member]

Hi Annemarie and welcome to Etsy!

Your items are very unique, but they get lost and overwhelmed by the textured (fur or string?) background, making it hard to see them clearly. I would use the plain background you've put your pendants on for all the photos, so your jewelry is in the spotlight. The live model pics show the delicacy of your work very well.

Good luck and happy sales to you,
Sandi Walker

[Former_Member]

I will follow this thread since I'm having the same problem! My jewelry is mostly for kids/teens/child-like adults, and grrr.

[BlackCatStudio98]

You can target people who buy gifts for younger people.

Wanelo is popular with the younger crowd and they can start wish lists there that people might shop for them from.

[JBDRusticOrganic]

I think of my target market as anyone who buys my stuff. . ;-) For Etsy anyway, make the keyword phrases in your titles and tags be phrases people would search for and that the same phrases are matched in title and tags, then whoever searches using those phrases will find you, whatever demographic they are from.

[Former_Member]

When I started I thought my target market would be grandmothers but grandmas don't necessarily shop on line and they are more inclined to knit their own baby items. After selling on Etsy for several years it appears that the people who are buying my baby items are pregnant moms and friends of pregnant moms who are buying baby shower gifts.

[tinoiseau]

Hi Annemarie,

Figuring out your target market isn't just about their age and gender. You also need to think about the things that your target customer likes, what kind of person she is, what her "pain points" are, etc. Then you look for those kinds of people on Instagram, and figure out which hashtags they follow (you can do this by looking at the followers of bloggers or big brands your target customer follows). Then, where applicable, use those hashtags for your images.

For example, I know that my target customer likes A Beautiful Mess. So when appropriate, I use some of the same hashtags as the A Beautiful Mess IG account, like #mybeautifulmess, #abmlifeiscolorful (for a colorful IG image), etc.

However, you don't want to pack your image with a bunch of random hashtags just to try and get views. You won't convert views/likes to customers that way. Focus on a few hashtags (I'd suggest 5-6), and use them to target your ideal customers.

Also think about what kind of images your target customer likes to see on Instagram. Does she like to see a few quotes here and there? Maybe some behind-the-scenes photos of you at work making jewelry? Hopefully she likes to see beautifully styled photos of your products.

These are just some ideas to get you started. If you're serious about identifying your target customer and promoting to her, I'd suggest signing up for one of the many e-courses on using Instagram to promote your business. There are also a lot of good blog posts out there with tips for promoting on social media.

Best of luck!
Jessica

[Former_Member]

Wow, you guys! Thanks for all the advice, critique, and encouragement!

I agree about the hashtag etiquette, Jessica. I try to tag in a way that will reach people who like similar things, but without being opportunistic or spammy.

Just to update, I'm gaining great popularity on Instagram and Facebook but still no sales from Etsy! But a few sales here and there through friends and custom requests!

[Former_Member]

Also, how do you follow a thread? I didn't get any notifications that y'all were responding!

[DEEZdutch]

My target market for this shop are mostly crafty people that you will find on instagram and other social sites, but also here on Etsy. I have found out that even before I opened shop, instagram really walked the walk. I had a following already from my shop in digital items and that following really motivated me to continue with this businessplan. They purchased so many of my items that I had to postpone the Etsy shop opening a few weeks (this was thorough paypal invoicing). I didn't decide my market on fronthand, I decided I would make collections based on target markets. My first collection is all about the crafty people and expanding into specific hobbies. Eventually the target market will be everyone that uses a mug. I found in my other shop that I had my target market all set up on fronthand that it changed over time. I thought I had done enough research to know exactly which person would buy my item, almost up their favourite choice of clothing ;) I had to change that a little over time when I found out my shop attracted a different group of people.

Now I think that the important part is, once you figure out who your target is what you do with that information. For me it makes the difference in communication mostly. There's a big difference in how you approach a 16 year old compared to a 60 year old. They also hang out at different places I think. If you find your facebook page has a lot more interaction that feels more natural to you as well, stick to it. If instagram does that for you and you enjoy it too, stick to that. If you have come to the conclusion that neither is something you feel comfortable doing, you might want to go to fairs etc.

Good luck and I hope there was something in this that helped you a little. Even if small <3

[HollyODesigns]

Hi Annemarie! The best way to get sales on etsy is through good SEO. Jewelry is a tough market, so SEO is key. You need to use two to three word phrases, and your title and tags need to match exactly. For instance:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/244441765/tigers-eye-macrame-pendant-necklace?ref=shop_home_active_2
Tigers eye pendant
Macrame pendant
Boho tassel necklace
Boho fiber necklace
Macrame necklace
Etc..... Then match exactly in tags

Good luck! :)