Valentine’s Day is a money-making holiday that you don’t want to pass up. It’s right after the busy holiday season in December, so your first instinct could be to take it easy in February. But you shouldn’t. With just a little targeted marketing and some tweaks to your Etsy SEO, this Etsy Valentine’s Day could be your best one yet.
Getting ahead this February 14th is a simple thing to do! All you need is a little love-themed branding and some forethought. And since you’re reading this Valentine’s Day marketing guide, you’re already on the right track.
Keep reading to learn how to turn your Etsy products into the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for loved ones everywhere.
In this article, you’ll learn:
- Why Valentine’s Day is a great holiday for your brand
- Which love-themed products you should push this holiday
- How to market your products for Etsy Valentine’s Day
- How to get your Etsy Valentine gifts featured in Etsy’s marketing
Let’s get started!
Etsy Valentine’s Day Marketing Guide
Whether you see it as a heartfelt occasion or a Hallmark conspiracy, there’s no arguing that Valentine’s Day is a gift-giving holiday that nearly all brands can get behind. If you want to market your products for Etsy Valentine’s Day, it’s not too unlike marketing your products for any other holiday.
But there are of course a few specifics you should focus on to get the most bang for your buck.
Here are 7 easy steps you should follow to get the most out of your Etsy Valentine’s Day marketing:
Step 1: Promote relevant Etsy Valentine’s Day gifts
Etsy Valentine gifts are tricky. Shoppers will be searching for the perfect gift for their loved one in two very different categories:
- Love-themed gifts
- Not love-themed gifts
Sounds pretty broad, right? Here’s what we mean:
Loved-Themed Etsy Valentine Gifts
These are products that are specifically created with Etsy Valentine’s Day in mind. They incorporate hearts, cupid’s arrows, roses, Valentine’s Day candy, chocolates, and everything else that you can think of that embodies the Valentine’s Day spirit.
These are also Etsy Valentine’s gifts that are just romantically inclined. They’re customized lockets and jewelry, embroidered teddy bears, and personalized gifts that are perfect for the special person in your life.
Generally, these Etsy gifts are the easiest products to market for Valentine’s Day. So if you sell something similar in your Etsy shop, you’ll want to ensure that your holiday keywords are ready by the time shoppers start searching on Etsy.
Related: Here’s how to get your Etsy keywords ready for ANY holiday
To make the most of Valentine’s Day on Etsy, it pays to promote any products that involve romance, anniversaries, or the general feeling of love.
(Not) Loved-Themed Etsy Valentine Gifts
Aka, anything else you can buy on Etsy. These are gifts that shoppers would typically search for birthdays and celebrations, anniversaries, graduations, promotions, bar mitzvahs, anything.
We’re talking handmade shoes, knitted scarves, custom wooden knick-knacks, picture frames, virtually anything. But why would these make perfect Valentine’s Day gifts? Because they’re thoughtful.
Anyone can go online and pick out an embroidered teddy bear. But the real ones out there will take time to think about what’s near and dear to their significant other’s heart. If that so happens to be a product you sell, you’ll want to make sure they can find it in Etsy search.
Struggling to find ways to make your listings give off the vibe of love and romance? Well, it doesn’t hurt to stretch a little! Search your inventory for products and variants that are pink, rose, love-heart shaped, or are sold in pairs. Use some of the other tactics in this article to take your slightly Valentine-themed products to your Etsy audience!
Step 2: Get sweet with your listings for Etsy Valentine’s Day
Once you know which products you want to market for Etsy Valentine’s Day, you’ve got to add a little sweetness to your listings. This is easy to do in just a few simple steps:
Start with the physical product
Whatever products you sell on Etsy, start thinking of ways to incorporate Valentine’s Day themes into your creation. Use red and pink yarn, or engrave romantic quips and poems. You get the picture. If you want to sell a love-themed gift in your Etsy shop, you want to make sure your listings fit this category.
Then move on to your copy
Once your product exudes Hugh Grant romance movies, it’s time to update the title and description of your Etsy listing. You want to prove to your shoppers that your product is exactly what they’re looking for to gift their loved ones.
For your title, don’t shy away from using keywords that fit with the holiday. But before you start throwing keywords onto your listings all willy-nilly, you’ll want to make sure you research your keywords in Marmalead. Once you find the best keywords for your listings, make some changes to your titles and tags to target these new Etsy keywords.
We’ll talk more about keywords further down below.
When writing titles and descriptions for your Etsy Valentine’s Day gifts, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is your Etsy Valentine’s Day gift affordable, or is it ideal because it’s romantic?
- How does your Valentine’s Day gift show the gift receiver that they’re special and deeply loved?
Don’t forget your product photography
When a buyer comes across your Etsy listing, what encourages them to click on your product? The title and the image.
That’s why these two go hand in hand.
Your Etsy Valentine’s Day marketing will be even more effective if you update your listing photos for the occasion. Emphasize the lighting of your shot to give off red hues or take lifestyle photos of an embracing couple focused on the personalized bracelet you sell.
There’s a reason marketers spend so much time creating a story around whatever it is they’re selling. Shoppers want to feel an emotional connection to a gift they purchase for their loved ones, especially on Valentine’s Day.
This is a holiday where you NEED to paint a picture of undying love. And one of the best ways to do this is through product photography.
Shoppers want to feel an emotional connection to a gift they purchase for their loved ones, especially on Valentine’s Day.
However, if you don’t have the time or resources, you don’t necessarily need to create new photos from scratch. You can simply use a photo editor to add a few love hearts and cherubs to attract the attention of scrolling Etsy shoppers.
But please leave your clip art at home and keep your designs subtle and tasteful.
Step 3: Use the right Valentine’s Day Etsy tags for your listings
Updating your titles and descriptions to mention Valentine’s Day is important, but don’t forget the all-important Etsy tags.
When it comes to shopping for Valentine’s Day, many people out there have no clue what to get their loved ones.
This is where they’ll resort to Etsy search using keywords like “Valentine’s Day Gift” and “Valentine’s Day Gift for Her.” Sure, they’ll be bombarded with tons of random product ideas from this search. And if you’re targeting one of these keywords, hopefully, they’ll run into your product instead of your competitors!
By ensuring your tags, titles, and descriptions are updated, you’ll be in a prime position to get more eyes on your product.
Related: Check out how Marmalead can help you find the best Etsy tags for your product
Step 4: Always mention delivery dates for your Etsy Valentine’s Day gifts
When a customer buys a product from you, part of your responsibility is to ensure they receive it on time. And hopefully before the night of February 14th.
But we’ve all been there before where a shopper begs for their order to be delivered the next day (or they’re in the dog house). While the shopper is certainly in the wrong for waiting until the last minute, you can save yourself the back and forth and a potential canceled order or negative review.
All you need to do is bring some extra attention to your turn-around and delivery times during the holidays.
Update your processing times in the relevant parts of your Etsy shop, and make sure you mention the expected delivery dates in your product listing or even a listing photo.
Pro tip: If you’re running Etsy ads or social media campaigns, be sure to stop promoting your Valentine’s Day gifts after the last possible day to order and receive it in time for February 14th. For example, if your picture frames take a week to make and then a week to send, there’s no point starting your Valentine’s Day campaign at the start of February.
Step 5: Double down on your social media
Reds, pinks, hearts, flowers, and cherubs are all visual cues we associate with Valentine’s Day. Use these themes when you create social media posts to show off your products during the lead-up to the 14th.
Holiday-themed social posts that involve your Etsy products are a great way to leverage your social media followers into potential customers.
Step 6: Run an Etsy Valentine’s Day promotion leading up to the 14th
Time-based sales are a great way to leverage FOMO – Fear Of Missing Out. With some creativity, you can combine FOMO and emotion to get more eyes on your products and increase your sales. Do this by using clever phrases to convince your shoppers to take action now:
- “Last chance for romance”
- “Don’t miss this Cupid’s arrow”
- “You can’t hurry love or a good gift”
Related: Here’s how to run the perfect promotion in your Etsy shop
Step 7: Let Etsy market your Valentine’s Day gifts for you
The beautiful thing about being ready for the holidays in advance is that Etsy has a better chance of noticing your shop. And if Etsy notices your shop, you just might be lucky enough to get your products featured in their marketing materials.
Historically, Etsy puts together Valentine’s Day gift guides and other marketing materials within the first couple of weeks of January. That means your Etsy Valentines Day products need to be up and running in your shop by the end of December.
So what are you waiting for? Don’t let any more time slip away – Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it!
Over to you
Follow these 7 easy Valentine’s Day marketing tips, and you’ll have a significant leg up on the competition in 2023.
As you can see, maximizing this holiday isn’t that unlike Christmas or Thanksgiving. But it does require a little fine-tuning (and planning) for the specific occasion.
Go try out some of these tips in the lead-up to February 14th, and try using them to promote your Etsy store throughout the rest of the year! Once you have your store set up to market your Etsy products for Valentine’s Day, let us know what you’re selling in the comments below!
