During this slow time, it's always a good opportunity to take a fresh look at our shops and see what we can be doing better, right?
Well, I was looking at craftcount.com the other day (that's a website that tracks the top sellers on Etsy. I glanced through at who were the top sellers (handmade) on etsy. Interestingly, I knew very few of them.
When I narrowed the search down to my category (bath and body) I recognized a few more names. Howerver, one thing that struck me is that these are not people are who are always hanging out in the forums. They're probably too busy for one thing.
Here's what else I noted ...
1. Those who are selling the most do not necessarily fit the so-called Etsy "style." By that I mean their labels and/or photos are not all muted shades of pale colors, they don't all look as if they came off the shelves at Anthropology, etc. What each did have, however, is a distinct look all their own. Each of the top selling shops has a personality and everything flows and fits with it.
2. They had a LOT of variety within their shops. Now that probably goes hand in hand with being a bath and body shop (which is what I looked at). But the listings were not complicated - things were laid out simply and easy for the customer to navigate. There was a single listing for each scent, size, and so on - as opposed to setting up one listing and then having the customer leave their choice in the notes to seller. Also, many had listings set up where you could buy say, 3 soaps or 4 lip balms. it's all about making it easier for the customer.
3. Most had a pretty wide range of prices, but when you look at what is selling right now, by and large it's the smaller items. Perhaps that's indicative of the economy, and of course not everyone can have less-expensive items in their shops. Obviously someone who knits custom sweaters is not likely to list anything for $3. But perhaps that person could list higher end buttons as an add-on. Or say, matching knit gloves or a muffler. Or even a small baggie of handmade laundry soap with which to wash the sweater in. Perhaps someone who creates hand-fired ceramic mugs could also list a spoon rest or a little ceramic sugar spoon.
4. One last thing - and this is rather defies definition ... those very successful top-selling shops, almost without exception, seemed ... happy. Not giddy, salesman-like or annoyingly perky, but ... there was a distinct upbeat and pleasant feel to each of them. (Yes, you say, if I was selling thousands of items a month I'd be cheerful too! I feel your pain. ). Certainly I'm not advocating pink polka-dot banners and cupcake-laced backgrounds for photos. *shudder* Of course some shops will have a darker motif simply because that's who they are. What I'm getting at is more of a customer service thing. The feeling that a customer is welcome in a shop - that the shop owner is not going to bother you, but if you need anything they're right there behind the counter waiting to assist you, and that they'll probably make you feel like their favorite customer while they're at it. Like the difference at a craft show between the person who is standing up front maybe re-arranging their items, and the person lounging in a chair reading a book.
Lastly, one gets the impression that none of these top-selling shops is counting on any help from Etsy to make sales. Yes, some have been featured sellers and of course that is a huge boost. And yes, some are front-page favorites. but many aren't.
I don't know, for me it was uplifting to see so many people selling so many items in this tough time. I am going to try to learn from them - of course staying true to who I am (I am absolutely not advocating copying these sellers' items. Just don't even go there). But if they can do it, so can we.
