Hey there newbies!
I am not a veteran to etsy, I opened shop in Jan '11. So far I have made 26 sales, offers for wholesaling, have repeat customers, and was asked to sell in a boutique. Don't get me wrong I am not bragging, but so far I am having a good experience with etsy. I would like to share some tips I have learned along the way.
1. Have an eyecatching banner and avatar that reflects your business
2. User name and business should be the same, it will be easier for people to find you
3. Use expressive descriptions when describing your items, be fancy use a thesaurus if you have to, a boring description does no justice to your item.
4. Don't be overly detailed in your description, a buyer doesn't care what the process is of making your piece, they will fall asleep reading descriptions like that and run away from your shop!!
5. Use natural light when taking pics, a flash distorts the color and cheapens your product. Invest in Photoshop if you have an etsy shop, it will be the best $100 you'll spend!!
6. TAGS!!! Always Always Always , I repeat ALWAYS use all your tags!!!!!!! You are losing customers when you don't use them all, they are a roadmap for people to find you. You don't need to be overly descript with these, but think about different ways to say the same thing, for example, I use rosette a lot instead of flower, people search a lot for rosette headbands, use colors like blue and pink, not cobalt and strawberry, when was the last lime you looked for a cobalt purse?
7. Prices, don't sell yourself short, but don't overcharge, most people are savvy shoppers and know when they are being overcharged, prices too low say, my items are cheap and and I don't spend that much time on them, at least that is how I see it.
8. Don't put outlandish shipping charges on your products
9. Write about yourself in the profile section, it's how people get to know the person behind the shop
10. Most important provide the best customer service you can, convo someone who buys from you and tell them thank you, write a personal note on their invoice, it's shows people you care about them as a customer.
Sorry I was blunt and didn't sugar coat it, but I hope it helps you in the future
