Tag: etsy local

How to Find the Right “Gift” Search Phrases

June 25, 2018 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

You likely know that the gift market, depending on what you sell, can be a large source of your revenues. Therefore, wouldn’t it be nice to know the types of gifts and gift recipients that people are searching for that might carve out more a niche for you to target in this highly competitive market.

For example, did you know that there are 18,000 Google searches every month for “gift for a 10-year-old-boy“? Buyers are getting more specific about who they are searching for, what they are searching for and the gifting occasion allowing you to zero in on search phrases that still have a lot of traffic but not as much competition.

Comparing Google “Gift” Searches

Gift for teacher (33,100 monthly searches) vs Gift for teacher at end of year (12,100 monthly searches)
Housewarming gift (49,500 monthly searches) vs Housewarming gift for man (4,400 monthly searches)
Gift for woman (27,100 monthly searches) vs Gift for woman who has everything (2,900 monthly searches)

You will see that people also search this way on Etsy and Amazon. Better to get some traffic than none at all as the competition on the major search phrases is just so high.

More Search Opportunities

Adding in one little word can also open you up to new search opportunities. A lot more people are doing voice searches so the search will be phrased a little differently and in a lot more detail. For example, while there is a ton of competition for the search phrase, “Gift for wife“ with 14,800 searches each month, there is a lot less competition but still good traffic for “Gift for my wife” at 1,900 monthly searches. Again, you will see that people also search this way on Etsy and Amazon.

In fact, if you go over to Amazon, and use their autocomplete feature, you will see that instead of just searching on “gift for dad“, by simply adding “who“ after, you see all of these popular searches that customers are also using:

Gifts for dad who has everything
Gifts for dad who fishes
Gifts for dad who likes to cook
Gifts for dad who travels
Gifts for dad who golfs
Gifts for dad who grills

So instead of just going after the most popular gift search phrases that have TONS of competition, focus in and start compiling gift search phrases for more niche targets as Christmas is only 183 days away!

Have you checked out my other blog, OnlineShopLove.com? On this blog I promote some very cool products from my customers. Again, if you have ever purchased any of my services or even one of my ebooks, feel free to email me a link to one (1) cool product for consideration at attentiongetting[at]gmail.com.

How Publicity Helps Your Etsy Shop

May 31, 2018 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

If you think publicity can’t help your Etsy shop, guess again. One of my long time customers, Jessica from LiveinMosaics, just got featured in the June issue of HGTV magazine!

So, how can she leverage this press to increase sales, give her shop even more trust and credibility with buyers, as well as possibly turn it into more press?

How to Maximize Your Press

Add the magazine image to her Etsy photos on every listing, not just for the address plaque shown here.
Mention the publicity in her listing description… “As seen in the June 2018 issue of HGTV magazine….”
Mention it in her Etsy shop banner.
Mention it in her Etsy shop announcement.
Mention it in her Etsy shop updates.
Post it to her social media sites and tag @Etsy in hopes they see it and repost.
Thank @HGTV on all of her social media sites in hopes that they repost the mention.
Mention it in the banner for her Facebook and Twitter profiles.
If HGTV posts it to their social media sites, be sure to comment on the posts.
Email it to all of her customers on her mailing list.
Reference the mention when trying to get future publicity for her shop.
Email Etsy’s press team in hopes that they mention it at press@etsy.com.

If you need a pitch written for your products, I do offer a very affordable Publicity Pitch Writing service. Remember, print media will be looking for 2018 holiday gift guide submissions starting in July!

Also Read:

publicity helps etsy shop

Please Don’t Be This Type of Etsy Seller

April 9, 2018 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

I advise a lot of online businesses – Etsy shops, Amazon sellers, independent e-commerce sites. Now, in terms of Etsy sellers, my Etsy Shop Critique is one of my best selling services. However, there are times when I feel that my advice falls on deaf ears. So, if you thinking of purchasing it (or any of my advice) please note the following situations where neither my advice or anyone else’s will be able to help you.

If you just care about traffic numbers and not whether they are resulting in sales. Let’s pretend for a minute that you are not an online store, but a retail store and one day 1,000 people come into your shop and no one buys anything. Are you still really happy at the end of the day that 1,000 people came in your shop? Then I can’t help you because you are not seeing the big picture. Yes, traffic and sales are linked, but I would rather have 10 people come in the shop and they all bought, then 1,000 people who didn’t. And if you are not interested in why those 1,000 people didn’t buy from you, but are just happy that they came in the store at all, then I can’t help you.

If you can’t see when your business model isn’t working. Labor seems to be something that some Etsy sellers feel they should do for free. For example, if you are making an item and it takes you one hour to make it, and then you want to sell that item for $10, I am going to advise that you raise your prices because this means that you are essentially earning just $10 an hour and this is BEFORE you have even accounted for your costs. If you cannot see that this may not be worth your while, then I can’t help you. READ: How to Factor In Your Labor So You Actually Make Money.

If you are obsessing over a competitive Etsy shop who is way more successful. I can’t tell you how many times an Etsy seller will come to me and ask why they are not as successful as another Etsy shop who sells a similar product. Trust me, they don’t have a magic trick they are doing. Maybe they have more items in their shop so they turn up in more search results. Maybe they are outbidding you on ads. Maybe they have a huge social media following. Maybe they are getting repeat business from their current customer base as opposed to always try to find new customers. Maybe they are not spending time watching what you are doing and are instead spending that time and effort marketing their shop. If you going to obsess over someone else’s shop, I can’t help you.

If you expect immediate results. Starting a new business takes time. Marketing a business takes time. The old marketing rule is that people need to see your marketing message 7 times before they take action. If you expect overnight success, or are desperate for overnight success, then I can’t help you.

If you are a panicker. If you make changes to your Etsy SEO and your traffic goes down a bit, guess what, this is normal and temporary and may actually have nothing to do with the changes you made. SEO is complicated, the Etsy search algorithm is constantly changing and it can take time for your listing to move up in results for the more popular search phrases if you are competing against listings with more overall sales, more recent sales and more favorites. But if you panic and change all your listings back, guess what, you are still back to the poor performance you were having. I always advise Etsy sellers never to touch the titles or tags of listings that are pulling good traffic for you because you don’t want to fix what isn’t broken, but on your weak listings, it is obvious that you have to make changes. But I can’t help you if you don’t want to take the time to see the changes take effect.

If you just want SEO to bring all of your traffic. So many people just want to rely on Etsy SEO and none of the other amazing tactics that effectively drive traffic to your shop, and this is such a mistake. For example, right now on Etsy there are 855,292 listings for “gold necklace”. Of those 855,292 listings, 60 will make the first page of results, but 12 will be advertisers, so that now brings us down to 45 out of 855,292 will make the first page of results or .005%. In other words, you have a .005% chance of your listing making the first page of Etsy search results for the phrase, “gold necklace”. Let’s say you are in the .005% and get on the first page. Now a buyer has to click on your listing, and this is typically a 1% to 8% chance that they do. Then, once they have clicked on your listing, they have to actually purchase your item, and this again is another 1% to 8% chance that they do. Still want to rely solely on Etsy SEO for sales? If you do, then I can’t help you. READ: The Biggest Mistake Etsy Shops Make.

Etsy Shop Written Critique

If you are an Etsy seller and want honest, proven business and marketing advice about your Etsy shop and are willing to try all the tactics, do the work and be somewhat patient, then my Etsy Shop Critique is for you!

Phone Consultations

A lot of Etsy shops ask why I do not sell phone consultations in my Etsy shop. This is because it is not allowed on Etsy. However, I do sell phone consultations on my blog. Please click here to learn more.

❤️ Don’t forget to check out my other blog OnlineShopLove.com

The Biggest Mistake Etsy Shops Make

March 1, 2018 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

One of the biggest mistakes I see Etsy shops make again and again is focusing all of their marketing efforts on having their products get found by the Etsy search engine. Big, big mistake.

When I consult for an online business, whether they sell on Etsy, Amazon, Houzz, whatever the case may be, I always advise that their traffic has to be a balance of traffic from the marketplace’s search engine, but also from Google, from email marketing, from publicity, from advertising and from social media. If you focus your efforts just on Etsy SEO, and they make one little change to the search algorithm, your business can fall off substantially and immediately. I have seen it happen to many successful shops, and then they practically had to start all over.

Don’t get me wrong, SEO is important but it is just one component. Did you know that most major online retailers get the majority of their traffic and sales from their email marketing efforts, not SEO? I never understood why sellers spent so much time and effort trying to get new customers rather than trying to get repeat business from their current customer base. The big retailers have figured this out, so why haven’t the smaller ones?

In terms of publicity, I once watched an Etsy shop whose product was mentioned on a very popular blog, get over 1,000 orders in 24 hours. Granted publicity can be hit or miss, but when it hits, it can be big.

In terms of social media, I have consulted for many successful Etsy shops where the majority of their traffic comes from Facebook or Pinterest, and usually the result of doing weekly giveaways on social media.

In terms of advertising, it is still the most tried and true form of getting traffic and sales. If you haven’t tried the Etsy Promoted Listings yet, I highly recommend them. I have not seen a successful Etsy shop yet who is not running them. The key is to have the right strategy.

Want to be successful on Etsy? Then try my Etsy 30-Day Success Plan. This digital download has hundreds of my proven tips and tactics to do every day for 30 days that will drive more traffic and sales at your Etsy shop.