How to increase shop likes?

[Former_Member]

Hi! I've noticed plenty of shops with likes in the THOUSANDS! How in the world do you get that many likes? We are relatively new and any feedback is appreciated! Thanks! Jessica

[HASKINesque]

My suggestion is to get involved in a couple promotional teams where members support each other by favoring and viewing items. I am fairly new to Etsy too. By participating in teams, it has helped with getting my items noticed in Etsy searches as well. Its not translated into a lot of sales yet but I understand getting noticed takes time. Also keep learning from others and Etsy resources. The Etsy Success Newsletter has been very helpful to me too. Hope that helps.

[MommaBearsQuilts]

I feel like it takes time... you want quality not quantity!! The only ones that really count are the ones who found you and liked your items enough to want to remember/come back.
I do think it is a satisfaction to see the likes adding up but I do not try to cultivate them. I want to know if there actually are potential customers who really do like my quilts... not just friends being nice :)
I like to check out the profile of anyone who likes either my shop or an item. It means alot to attract individuals who simply searched, found and liked something. It kind of validates my creations :)

Best Wishes!!
Kim

[RainbowBeeDesign]

I have to say I don't really understand how the likes and favourite works. I have not been selling very long, but I have noticed my actual customers have not been the ones favoriting and liking my items...I am beginning to think the favourites and likes come mostly from people who are browsing, not at the buying stage yet. I do however think the likes and favourites give buyers confidence to buy...but I am still trying to figure it all out.

I would not focus on likes and favourites too much, but what's really important is to know who you are selling to, get to know your customers, and market to them...the people who want/need my product are the ones that I focus on...I am flattered when people like my stuff and favourite my shop, but I focus my time and attention on my customers and serving them to the best of my ability, and I don't really pay too much attention to those who are just browsing, unless I have no one buying, then I would be asking myself why are they not buying? and I would continue to search for my customers...not more likes...

Just putting my thoughts out there...

Cheers and wishing you the best!
Josee

[MommaBearsQuilts]

I am not sure how shop likes differ from listing likes... my understanding of listing likes is that it does affect how close to the front page you will stay in a search where your item qualifies as a result. So; in this way likes are very desirable... and help to get your item visable... but the real test is whether the general public (not just teams and social media friends) like it enough to keep it high in the results by regular clicks of the heart... or yay success by purchasing it! :)
I would assume the shop likes would work similarly but in a more general way by keeping the most popular shops higher in the search results than a less popular one/new one/one with bad reviews.

I agree with Josee in that while likes/hearts are nice, I don't focus on them too much. I think they will come if you concentrate on appealing items, SEO to get found and great customer service.

Somehow it all works together and there are no magic answers, just good effort in the different areas that need it, as it comes to our attention.

[Former_Member]

Thanks so much everyone! I really loved reading all of your advice, I appreciate all of you taking the time to write out such thoughtful responses! Back to trying to create new listings with a 5 year old at home. :). - Jessica

[RainbowBeeDesign]

Jessica,

Your shop is super cute! I love your items :)

Wishing you and Pearly all the best!

Josee

[WilliamsGiftshop]

Marketing, promoting.
You know, having your target market find your shop.
That's up to you. Etsy won't do that for you.
It includes a good use of keywords (SEO), so your items will be found in online and offline searches.

And don't bother with the fake likes that you get from playing those treasury games, etc.. They are meaningless.

[mirrymirry]

I don't have many shop admirers but i used to have tremendously less.

In an attempt to acquire more, i ruthlessly removed the items that had little interest.
Then i tried harder to improve the photos a bit ( i still have work to do!).
Next i worked on tags & titles hoping more people would come across my items.
& lastly, i moved them around in my shop in the hope they'd be better presented.

It worked! I suddenly started to get many more admirers & much quicker too. I've more than trebled my figure but still have a long way to go
:)

[RainbowBeeDesign]

Mirry...your shop is super cute! Very lovely and whimsical!

You deserve all those admirers!

Josee

[Former_Member]

I don't think the promotional teams really work, but then... I guess I haven't tried them that much. :) I think Etsy really looks for organic likes and sales, so items favorited via searches and not a direct link.

[mirrymirry]

Josee, ahh bless you, you're too kind to me :) :) :)
I checked out your store....looks terrific!
The Turquoise Bags are my favourite :)

[WilliamsGiftshop]

Promotional teams can work (a little bit), but only if your target market is hanging out there.
I got some sales out of them. But you don't want to put too much time into them.
And Ann, you're right: views and likes from teams don't do anything for increasing your items' search ranking.

[PamsPawsJewelry]

Hi,

Most likes for shop and followers and faves come from the teams you are on and your teammates.

It's good to join some to help promote your shop.

I felt in the beginning that I also wanted only real faves, likes, and follows but you have to promote in order to ever get seen on here and it's hard.

I don't cultivate it any longer so now I guess many people who follow, fave, or like something really do.

Most of the time they do not result in sales.

I don't understand the why Etsy will not allow you to follow more people!

They only let you follow around 1000 people and there are millions of shops on here!

So now I know people who follow me really like me or my shop!

I stopped following people after being on here a year because all my follows I like and they are teammates or shops and owners I truly liked their items, and profile, etc.

The more teams you are on and the more promoting you do then these people follow you and like your shop and you make friends and hopefully, become trustworthy.

Then a lot of these same people will promote you on social media and your shop and profile followers will grow and grow.

The more you are promoted the more this grows and the more you will be seen so hopefully will get more outside views and sales!

You can always improve tags, titles, and some photos, but when that is basically done it is all about promoting your shop and items so people will actually come look at them!

Viewing, Etsy search, and search engine search threads are good to promote and social media threads are the best to tap into the internet shoppers!
We need more active people on teams who will do social media threads!

[WilliamsGiftshop]

You want to aim your promoting at your target market, not at other Etsy sellers (even though some of them might be potential customers).
It's a big waste of time.
Following as many other shops as possible is not part of a successful marketing strategy. They are looking to make sales, just like you.
You want to find your target market outside of Etsy.
That requires good use of keywords (SEO) and a good marketing plan.

[MariasWorkshop]

This is my experience so far. I hope it helps.

My first Etsy account was a Buyer account, which I opened several years ago. I found Etsy in the Internet by pure chance. I was looking for tiny buttons. I never heard of Etsy before. Since that first time I have purchased hundreds of items on Etsy.

I have to say that it took me a while to learn how Etsy works. I must admit that shopping on Etsy seemed rather complicated, with the likes, leaving reviews (which I did not understand at the beginning), etc., etc., etc. What kept me here were the very nice shop owners I encountered on my first purchase experiences.

As a buyer, whenever I am looking for an item, I seldom go past page 11 or 12. When I like an item, I favorite it so I can compare prices and shipping costs.

Once I buy the items I select from the ones I marked as "favorite", I usually delete the rest because I do not want to have hundreds (or thousands) of favorites like I have noticed some people do. It gets confusing. At the beginning, I used to keep all my "favorites", but I noticed that when I went back to them, most of them had been sold or were not available any longer.

I usually put the items I want to buy in my basket, but before I buy them, I check the shop. If I like what I see in general, and I like the prices and shipping costs, I mark that shop as "favorite". I do go back to my "favorite" shops (and buy from them) time, and time again, when looking for items I think they may have or even just to browse.

I made several Treasuries and have been featured in some of them (less and less lately, since I do not participate any more). I did buy a couple of items from Treasuries and I sold a one high-priced item because it was included in a Treasury. However, in the long run, in my opinion, they are not worth the time invested.

When I opened my first Etsy Shop, I participated in games and I did get a lot of views and likes, but no sales. I do believe that you will get the sporadic sale from those views, but, I fully I agree with the advice you have received above. Your time and efforts are best invested on improving SEO, improving photos, finding your target market, etc., etc., etc.

Best of luck to you!

[Emporium314]

I have to agree with a lot of what I've read here. We are a new shop, just started consistently listing in April 2016 and we've had moderate success -- 67 sales in quite a short amount of time. Joining the teams in late May/early June has definitely helped with exposure; I see that when I go to my dashboard I typically have more views in a day than in the beginning but I don't know if it's necessarily helped with more sales.

Sales are random and unpredictable. Last weekend we sold more than 10 items and this weekend we've had none. So I truly think it depends on the buyer, the time of the month (when people have disposable income or not after paying bills, etc.) and what type of prices you have if they're competitive compared to others who have similar items.

[Former_Member]

Wow, you guys are great. Thank you so much for all the tips!

[WilliamsGiftshop]

Wishing you many sales!