Etsy shop branding is a tricky beast to master. Truth be told, any form of branding can be hard to make perfect. But it’s important to remember the old saying, “better done than perfect.” Well, the same goes for the branding of your small business.
This article will take a look at fitting your Etsy brand into the market, creating a consistent feel across all touchpoints, and making sure that your small business stands out (for all the right reasons!)
Effective Etsy Branding 101
If you’ve already read our post about knowing your Etsy shop branding before you open, we assume you’ve completed the essential steps of creating your brand.
That is to say, you have a shop name and logo, and you know your target audience.
But if your answer to “who is your target audience?” is “everyone,” then you don’t know enough about your target audience.
And creating a logo, color palette, brand name, tone of voice, and a clear picture of what you and your brand stands for is essential to reaching your audience.
How to write for your target audience
Your target audience more than likely has a pretty good vocabulary. But part of writing effectively means keeping it simple.
So even though your audience likely knows what more complex words mean if you use them, college-level writing probably doesn’t fit the vibe your brand wants to communicate.
Not only does it make the reader have to think more than they should when browsing for online products to buy, it simply gets in the way of your sales copy.
Effective Etsy branding starts with writing sales copy directly for your audience.
For example, you don’t see Mercedes advertising their new model as the “nicest car in the parent pickup line.” Mercedes might have a broad target audience, but “soccer mom” isn’t their go-to. They know that the people buying their new cars are looking for luxury and comfort. Not practical and affordable.
Now, obviously there’s a big gap between your Etsy brand and Mercedes, but the general principle is there. To establish effective Etsy branding for your shop, you need to know who your target audience is.
And once you know who they are, you can learn how they communicate and their values as consumers. As a result, you’ll learn first-hand why they’re attracted to your brand.
What value do you offer your target audience?
Fine-tune your marketing messaging by showcasing the values your target audience deems most important through your product’s unique selling points.
Take it a step further by looking at brands similar to yours — both on Etsy and away from the marketplace. Look not at just the values they present, but at the messaging they convey to prove those values exist in their product.
Creating consistent Etsy branding
One of the biggest hurdles in branding isn’t just finding the right tone of voice or visual appeal — it’s being consistent through all your marketing channels.
If you use two different logos between your Etsy shop and your Facebook page, there will obviously be some confusion among your buyers.
“Is this the right Facebook page?”
“Maybe they linked to the wrong Etsy shop.”
And that confusion can quickly lead to friction during the buying process. Imagine you’re trying to funnel Etsy shoppers to a certain listing from a targeted Facebook ad. If they click on the ad and the product page shows no signs of similarity from Facebook, your potential customer could think you’re running an illegitimate operation.
First, they might not be sure they’re in the right place. Then, they’ll think you’re trying to spam them.
Consistency among different sales channels
Using a consistent logo is important, sure. But so is consistency between your imagery and writing style. So if you’re selling your Etsy products through Facebook or Instagram, you should use the same product photos throughout your multi-faceted sales channels.
Product descriptions should also share the same writing style and sound like they’ve been written by the same person.
At the very least, this lets buyers across various channels know they’re shopping from a reputable business that has a certain level of quality assurance across multiple sales platforms.
Stand out while blending in.
It’s at this point where you need to remember that it’s very easy to stand out. What’s difficult is standing out for the right reasons. And inconsistent Etsy branding will help your shop stand out for the wrong reasons. By creating effective Etsy branding around a solid product and consistent messaging, you’ll stand out for all the right reasons.
Inconsistent Etsy branding will help your shop stand out for the wrong reasons.
Here’s what you need to know. A great product paired with excellent imagery, solid descriptions, and a reputable business to back it up really stands miles above all the noise — especially on a crowded marketplace like Etsy!
Take the friend test.
Once confident that your branding is consistent over all your sales channels, grab a friend or family member. If you’ve been in business for a while, it might be hard to find someone close to you that hasn’t seen your Etsy shop, but try your best!
The friend test consists of you showing your friend content from your Etsy shop and content from your competitors.
For example, show them pictures and product descriptions from several brands. One of them being yours.
Your friend has to then pick which photos, product descriptions, and social media posts are from which brand.
You can add an extra layer of complexity by asking them to describe what they like and don’t like about how each brand communicates. Do your friends feel like these brands offer value to their target audience? And are they communicating this clearly?
The point of the friend test is to get someone outside of your bubble and outside of the Etsy realm to look at your business and check that you’re communicating well with shoppers.
If they can pick out your Etsy shop across multiple channels and recognize its value, you know you’re showcasing effective Etst branding to your consumers.
Take a step back
When you think you’re done fine-tuning your Etsy branding, take a step back. That might mean walking away from the marketing table for a few hours or potentially a few days.
With a fresh head, have a look at your product listings. Ask yourself if you’re communicating the way you want to. Are your product pages portraying the product not just accurately and truthfully but also in a way that you want your brand to be perceived?
As mentioned earlier, your branding might not be perfect on the first or second go around, but if you keep it in the front of your mind, you can dial it in to be exactly what your target audience looks for when shopping online.
Over to you
The beauty of selling on Etsy is that most customers know they’re buying from a small business. They don’t expect Apple-like design philosophy or marketing that will transcend life as we know it.
But if your branding speaks to them, they just might be willing to spend their hard-earned money on a product worth buying.
And how you showcase your product and the branding behind it is the first step to converting potential customers to lifelong brand ambassadors for your business.
