what is etsy Archives - Attention Getting

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

I have spoken many times on how publicity can really drive traffic to your Etsy shop. In my February Etsy Shop Marketing Plan ($15) I give you story ideas, specific press contacts and blog leads that you should be sending out this month (for editorial coming up in March/April) and one of those opportunities is Spring, just 62 days away.

Spring editorial offers you so many publicity opportunities whether you sell home décor, baby products, jewelry, fashion, skin care, even wedding items. Here are some sample headlines you can pitch to relevant blogs, if they apply to what you sell:

Spring-Inspired Home Décor Pieces Under $30
Favorite Finds to Add Farmhouse Spring Décor
Bridesmaid Dresses Perfect for a Spring Wedding
Our Favorite Baby Products for Spring 2018
Fashion Finds to Take You from Winter to Spring
10 Cool Products for Your Spring Organizing
Great Finds for a Spring-Inspired Nursery
5 Spring Beauty Must-Haves
Hot Swimsuits for Spring Break

Many blogs love Etsy products, so you can include the word “Etsy” in the pitch as well i.e. “Etsy Finds“. Always pitch a specific product, not your shop as a whole, and include a link to the listing on Etsy. Do not attach photos or anything else to the email. Keep it short, basically giving them a story idea that would incorporate your product. Keep trying. Not many pitches get accepted on the first try.

IF YOU NEED A QUICK FIX for driving traffic and sales to your Etsy shop, I highly recommend downloading my February Etsy Shop Marketing Plan as it gives you tons of actionable tactics to do this month that will get results fast!

NEED ADVICE? I do offer 30-minute phone consultations. See my services page for more information.

spring publicity opportunities etsy shop

Etsy's new guidelines Curious about Etsy’s new guidelines? Last week Etsy announced that they would be changing their business model to allow mass produced products to be sold on its marketplace. Needless to say, many sellers on Etsy are upset about this because they feel it means Etsy is no longer an exclusively handmade community, and they are not incorrect.

But Etsy is first and foremost a company, and it has to make decisions to ensure its continued growth.

Does this particular decision affect their brand? Yes. As a marketer, I never agree with changing one’s brand (unless it is no longer successful) because it causes customer confusion and you can lose all the marketing efforts you have invested in to-date. As a result you risk losing customers, not gaining them.

Etsy’s New Guidelines: Artisan vs Entrepreneur

There is a difference between an artisan and an entrepreneur. Some of the top sellers on Etsy are more of the entrepreneurial nature – they came up with a good idea for a product, found a way to produce it quickly, priced it competitively and sales took off. They want to keep expanding even if it means they become more hands-off. There’s nothing wrong with that, everyone has a different vision for their business, and the economy needs growing companies more than anything right now.

These shops also bring in big numbers for Etsy. If you think of the 80-20 rule, 80% of Etsy’s sales are probably coming from 20% of its shops. So, obviously Etsy cannot afford to have these shops move off the marketplace.

Therein lies the problem for Etsy. Expanding without changing the brand that made you successful in the first place.

My Solution – Divide the Marketplace, Don’t Try to Blend It

Etsy is not going to please all parties here, but maybe a better solution to consider would be dividing their marketplace (which has become quite large) into four independently searchable segments, such as Handmade, Vintage, Supplies and General Marketplace, the latter being for those who wish to mass produce.

So people would still land on the same Etsy marketplace page, but they could choose a page tab that indicates one of these sections. From within these sections, you can then choose categories such as Clothing, Jewelry, Kids, etc. This would also drastically reduce the number of listings in the Handmade category, making it easier for those sellers to be found. It will also make it easier for shoppers to find what they really want (a mistake is to lump all buyers together; not everyone wants inexpensive goods, many want unique handcrafted items and are willing to pay for it).

It would have to be policed, and sellers not conforming to the original handmade guidelines would have to move their shop go over to the General Marketplace.

About Me

Do you need your Brand Story written or an SEO-Optimized Blog Post or a Personalized Business Consultation? As a 20+ year marketing professional and small business consultant, all of my services are super affordable.

I have consulted for thousands of small businesses since 2012, and my advice has been featured in the NY Times, Success Magazine, Yahoo Business, American Express, Big Commerce, Business2Community to name a few – so this is professional advice you can trust!

My Publicity Pitch service has also gotten my clients featured in Real Simple Magazine, Apartment Therapy, House Beautiful, Vanity Fair, Houzz, Martha Stewart, Glamour Magazine, LONNY, DesignMilk, Emmaline Bride,– just to name a few.