The best way to market your Etsy shop is a way that resonates with your ideal customer, establishes brand loyalty, and lands a sale. The easiest way to market your Etsy shop does all this, but with less effort.
You know as well as we do, the best way to market your Etsy shop isn’t always the easiest. That’s because an effective marketing strategy often takes time, testing, patience, and consistency.
But the truth is, if you’re running a side hustle on Etsy or you’re juggling your business while going to school or raising a family, then you might not have the time it actually takes to develop an effective marketing strategy.
And that’s okay.
Even if your marketing strategy feels like you’re throwing mud at the wall to see what sticks, you can still make a living on Etsy. As long as you know where to devote what little time you have available.
Sometimes, product marketing is like throwing mud at the wall to see what sticks.
If you can’t find a marketing strategy that sticks for you, then try these 6 simple ways to market your Etsy shop.
These are the low-hanging fruit. The quick wins. They won’t revolutionize your business, but they’ll get the ball rolling.
Remember, your goal is to resonate with your target demographic, draw appeal to your brand, and land a sale. It’s as simple as that.
#1. Market your Etsy shop with Etsy Explore
Etsy Explore is Etsy’s entry into the world of social commerce. The Explore section of Etsy is populated with short-form videos made by seller accounts, just like yours. These videos showcase the creation process of your product and help Etsy buyers engage and discover your product through a social feed.
The great thing about Etsy Explore videos is that they target buyers who are already on the Etsy platform and are “in the mood” to make a purchase. They’re further along in their buyer journey, and they’re in the Etsy Explore section looking for products – opposed to someone that discovers your content on Instagram or TikTok.
You can attach Explore videos to product listings, making your listing page a little more richer. Videos can be up to 3 minutes long, with a wide range of data to analyze once it’s been published.
Using Etsy Explore is a great way to market your Etsy shop in 2022. With the rise in popularity of TikTok and Instagram Reels, consumers are getting used to watching and engaging with video content.
So pull out your phone and start recording.
#2 Multiply your engagement with good Etsy SEO
As you just read, people who are on the Etsy Explore section are close to buying, or at the very least considering to purchase. So make sure you post product videos to Explore! You’ll automatically get in front of more of these shoppers.
But the way shoppers discover products in Etsy Explore isn’t the same way they discover products in Etsy search. Not much is known about the algorithm for Etsy Explore, but we can assume it’ll resemble TikTok and Instagram.
The longer a shopper watches certain types of videos or the more they engage with them, the higher chance Etsy will show similar videos/products.
How XWalk works on Etsy
This isn’t all that different than Etsy’s XWalk algorithm that shows Etsy listings in search results that are related to a shopper’s previous search and engagement history.
All this to say, the more people that engage with your products the higher likelihood your product will get recommended to more shoppers. In other words, standing out in search results should be your top priority. And that’s where Etsy SEO comes in.
The best place to start is to look at the search terms people use when trying to find products like yours. With Marmalead, it’s easy to find these search terms with data like monthly searches, competitiveness, seasonality, and a wide range of other keyword analytics.
Once you’ve found the most effective keywords for your Etsy listings, it’s as easy as using them in your titles, tags, and descriptions.
Search engine optimization for your Etsy listings is kind of our thing. So make sure you check out all of our helpful articles on the subject.
#3. Market your Etsy shop with TikTok
One of TikTok’s greatest achievements is creating an easy-to-use app that gives new users the opportunity build an engaging audience. With most social media apps, it can take years to garner a loyal following. But with TikTok, you can start to generate hundreds, even thousands of views with only your first couple videos.
With TikTok, you don’t need to pay influencers to market your products, because it’s easier than ever to become your own influencer!
Even if you’re not on TikTok yet, it’s likely that a large portion of all the social media content you consume is beginning to originate from there.
For instance, the subreddit r/oddlysatisfying has over 8 million subscribers and is full of re-shared TikTok videos that showcase artisan products.
Screen printing, tie dying, carving, and wood turning – all of these processes invoke satisfying feelings. So if you’re familiar with people that like to watch pressure washing videos, how can you create that same feeling with the way you create your products?
There’s many other TikTok videos out there of artists showcasing their craft through ASMR. These videos use very sensitive microphones to pick up all the sounds, scrapes, clicks, and audible noises. And there’s something about these videos that people like watching.
Like we said earlier, the more people that engage with your content, the more each social media algorithm will distribute it.
Here’s the bottom line: No matter how mundane you think your product’s creation process may be, TikTok’s fascination with the process makes it a great platform to showcase your talents.
#4. Market your Etsy shop with Instagram Reels
Instagram Reels is Meta’s (formerly Facebook) take on short-form video content, also like TikTok.
There’s not much to say about this platform that we didn’t already cover with Etsy Explore and TikTok. But it features short, punchy videos that appear in the newsfeed of both your followers and non-followers.
Truth be told, there’s little difference between TikTok and Reels as a medium, but both are suited for short-form (sub-30 second) videos that app users find interesting and engaging.
However, everyone has their own preference when it comes to browsing social media. So why limit yourself to one user-base, when your video content can easily be distributed to all three?
Pro tip: Any video you can make for TikTok will fit just as well as an Instagram Reel or even a video for Etsy Explore. However, instead of recording these videos within their respective app, record them from your phone’s camera roll. That way you can individually upload and edit the clips in whichever app you want to post it to. By doing this, you won’t recycle your videos with watermarks from other apps, which could harm the reach of your content.
#5. Put your products on sale
Let’s switch gears away from videos for social media. Another easy way to get your products in front of more shoppers is by putting them on sale.
Like we’ve talked about before, consumer’s of today are looking for a good deal when it comes to spending their hard-earned dollar. But more than that, Etsy wants to promote your product promos for their holiday sales events.
Just by joining one of these sales, you’ll be included on Etsy’s sales event pages, you’ll get a chance to be featured in their product marketing, and you’ll increase the chances of bargain-hunters finding and purchasing your listings.
Not ready to put your products on sale? Consider creating a new listing that bundles two of your most popular products and offer a slight discount when purchased from there instead of their individual listings.
Or if you have a large inventory of products that are infrequently bought, put those together with your most popular items. There’s a chance people will pay more for a product they really want since it’s bundled with an extra product, even if the extra product isn’t something they intended to buy in the first place.
Bonus: Another bonus for putting your products on sale is that Etsy will give you a little badge in listing results. Shopper’s eyes will naturally be drawn to products that are on sale versus products sold at full price.
#6. Word of mouth marketing & customer loyalty
If you can keep your customers coming back, then you’ve just created your best marketing advocate for your brand.
Because they’ll ideally tell their friends and family where they bought your listing and how they can buy one for themselves.
By remarketing to your customers at the time of their purchase, you’re encouraging them to shop from your store again, or extend an offer to one of their friends to shop there.
The easiest way for an Etsy Seller to do this is by going out of your way to delight each and everyone of your customers. For starters, your product must be top-notch, and it should be better than your product description and images.
Under promise, over deliver.
But you should also present your product to them in a way that makes them feel they’re holding something special – because, after all, they are.
This means creating an unboxing experience around your product that adds extra vale to their purchase. This extra value can be in the form of a discount code for another purchase from your shop. Or maybe even a discount that’s transferable to a referral from them.
Or you can go the extra mile and hand-write a Thank You card to show your first-time buyer that you, an individual business owner, really cares that they’ve purchased from you.
Bonus: Tell your customers to take a picture of them using their product and post it on social media with a certain hashtag, then offer them a discount for another purchase from your shop.
Conclusion
In 2022, there’s one medium that stands above all others. It requires a cell phone and only a little effort. But with the right content for the right audience, you can get your products in front of thousands of people.
Of course, we’re talking short-form video. So start marketing your Etsy shop with video now, before a new fad catches on.
Once you have some video content under your belt, broaden your Etsy reach with effective SEO strategies. Then keep your customers coming back by offering a valuable product and incentives for repeat buyers.
Explore these easy marketing tips, test, experiment, and find what works for you. When you’ve found that secret sauce, double down on it, and you’ll be well on your way.
