The new year is here! And with it comes many New Year’s resolutions for Etsy sellers everywhere. After the craziness of the 2023 holiday season, now is the time to reflect on everything you’ve accomplished this past year. What were your strengths? What were your weaknesses? And most importantly, what can you improve in your Etsy shop for a successful 2024?
Make 2024 your BEST year by following these New Year’s resolutions for Etsy sellers.
It’s almost 2024! Over the next week, the final holiday moments 2023 will be winding down. Your in-laws will be on their way home, and you’ll slowly get your house back in order.
This means it’s time to return to work in your Etsy shop!
This is the year when all your hard work pays off. This is the year when your Etsy shop finally doubles (or triples!) its sales. This year, you will work smarter (a little harder) and reach the success you’ve been working towards.
2024 will be your best year on Etsy because you will make it happen.
Simply hoping for success is pointless. No coin toss in a well or magic crystal ball will make this year your best.
It’s going to take some hard work on your part. But we know you can do it. It won’t happen overnight, but you’ll begin to see gradual improvements over time. And we’re here to help.
So, what do you need to do?
First, add these New Year’s resolutions to your list of goals for 2024 and stick with them all year long.
Next, start tackling them one-by-one.
These Are the Most Important New Year’s Resolutions for Etsy Sellers in 2024
01. Define your own version of Etsy success
So often, we define our success by the surface numbers we see on a screen.
Who has the most views?
The most social media followers?
The most listings in their shop?
Not that this is a bad thing in and of itself. However, focusing on these numbers can lead to unfair comparisons between yourself and other Etsy shops. Which could ultimately create a bitter disappointment for your own work.
So, instead of getting caught up in these vanity metrics, defining your personal version of success for your Etsy shop is essential.
Make a specific set of goals for 2024 that will move you closer to your version of success and set out to achieve it.
Not only is this a meaningful New Year’s resolution for Etsy sellers, but understanding your version of success is critical in reaching it.
Repeat after me:
- First, I will discover my own version of “Etsy success.”
- Then, I will create a list of obtainable goals that will lead me to achieve my own version of success.
- Finally, I will do everything in my power every day to work towards achieving my own version of success.
Now, you’re ready for the rest of our New Year’s resolutions for 2024.
02. Stop stressing about Etsy’s Star Seller badge
Becoming a Star Seller on Etsy isn’t as easy as it seems. There are hoops to jump through, checkboxes, and reach minimum orders.
You can’t afford to make one mistake, and it’s the perfectionist Etsy seller’s worst nightmare.
In 2024, we think you should make it your New Year’s resolution as an Etsy seller to stop stressing out about that little purple badge.
For most Etsy sellers, their shop is a side gig. There’s Etsy between raising a family, working a day job, keeping up with chores around the house, and generally everything else that is thrown at you in life.
Does this sound like you?
You enjoy being creative and making things. In fact, it’s your favorite hobby, and it’s why you started selling on Etsy in the first place. To make a little side of money doing what you love.
Somewhere along the way, you decided to get serious, and now you’re pursuing Etsy as a legitimate source of income for your family.
Then Etsy comes up with its Star Seller badge to promote a “strong example” of what top-tier customer service looks like, and your Etsy dreams are shattered.
You’ve read through what it takes to become a Star Seller, but jumping through Etsy’s hoops isn’t a priority for your business with everything else going on in your life.
Month after month, you kick yourself because that little purple badge remains just outside your reach. And now you don’t feel like you’re “good enough” to sell on Etsy. You start to second-guess yourself.
Well, we say forget about it!
For your mental health, stop stressing out about Star Seller and just focus on being your best self!
How do you measure success? Spoiler – it’s not with a purple badge!
Do you enjoy creating your Etsy products? That’s success.
Do your customers love the products you make them? That’s success.
Do you go the extra mile to ensure your customers are satisfied with their purchase? That’s success.
Do you feel a sense of pride and self-fulfillment when it comes to running your Etsy business? That’s success.
Don’t let Star Seller run you into the ground and burn you out. If you get the badge for a month or maintain it month-to-month, that’s awesome! More power to you!
But it’s not the end of the world if you don’t.
03. Get your Etsy business on social media and step your marketing game up
A recent study shows that 75% of internet users use social media to research products.
And according to Oberlo, 4.59 billion people worldwide currently use social media. That’s about 58% of the entire world’s population.
So, what can we expect in 2024? Social media will continue to expand further into our everyday lives.
Take social commerce as an example of this.
Social commerce is when a consumer’s shopping experience occurs directly on a social media platform. For example, clicking a button below someone’s social media post takes them to a product page built within the app.
Social commerce makes buying products as simple as a few clicks while scrolling through your feed.
How does social commerce affect your Etsy shop?
With more social media platforms moving towards a “swipe up to purchase” mentality, consumers will be doing more of their shopping through social media, whether they realize it or not.
Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. By the end of 2023, all of these social media platforms natively utilize social commerce in their apps. Users can browse for products or brands with the ability to purchase in only a few clicks.
So, if your Etsy shop has little to no presence on social media, you’re missing out on a growing portion of the consumer market. And that needs to change.
Ensure “increase social media presence” is on your New Year’s resolutions shortlist.
In 2022, Etsy launched Etsy Explore giving consumers a TikTok-like experience directly within the Etsy app. Etsy shoppers can now browse through Etsy listings as if they were scrolling through their own Instagram Reels feed.
→ Follow these tips to leverage your social media platforms and sell more on Etsy in 2024
04. Use video to market your Etsy products
Etsy has allowed sellers to upload listing videos since 2016. It’s nothing new. But if the past few years prove anything, short, digestible video content is the new norm.
Just take a look at the wild success of TikTok. Since TikTok’s launch, it’s grown into the number one app in the US. And now, every other major social media platform has scrambled to create its own copycat features.
In 2023, we saw the rise in popularity of Instagram/Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts, and now Etsy Explore.
Why is video so popular?
It’s entertaining, informative, and addicting. Video makes everything easier for consumers and social media users to understand.
Take your listings, for example. A high-quality listing video could be precisely what your shoppers need to see to choose your products over the competition.
Video lets shoppers see how light shines off your product, how your fabric flows, get a feel for its weight and look in someone’s hands, and so much more!
Additionally, with Etsy Explore, video is now a great way to bring new customers to your listing pages through organic and authentic content centered around your product.
So, in 2024, find a third hand (or tripod) and record some videos for your Etsy shop.
Take this video formula and copy it for your Etsy shop:
- Record your own Etsy process video that shows a behind-the-scenes look into how you create your one-of-a-kind products.
- Save it to your camera roll.
- Take that video and upload and edit it within your social media accounts.
- Use each social media’s trending audio to increase the chances of your video going viral.
- Post each video to your individual social media channels, with links to your Etsy shop where they can purchase your product.
- Repeat for as many different product lines as you offer.
- Monitor which videos perform better on their respective social media channel.
- Double down on whatever seems to be working.
Once you have a big library of video content, you’ll have plenty of video to work with if you ever decide to invest in more ad dollars for your business. At the rate video is becoming the staple for online content, you never know how important this will be for your business in the long run.
This New Year’s resolution for Etsy sellers may evolve as the social media landscape changes in 2024. But for now, you’ve got nothing to lose by adding more video content to your Etsy shop.
05. Rising inflation means it’s time to adjust your Etsy listing prices
The annual inflation rate for the U.S. is currently sitting at 3.1%, and prices for supplies and shipping continue to increase across the board.
With the price to do business rising, you’ll need to ensure your bottom line isn’t affected.
So, before you do anything else, take a moment to determine your profit margin for the products you sell.
Use our handy Etsy fees calculator to help you figure this out. Are you making as much money as you thought you were?
The average profit margin for eCommerce is about 40%. Of course, this varies widely by several factors, including the platform you sell on, order quantity, etc. But in reality, that’s a pretty good number to shoot for.
With the high prices continuing in 2023, make sure one of your New Year’s resolutions is to take a closer look at your pricing to see if it still makes sense for 2024.
We’ve discussed pricing your Etsy products at length in multiple blog posts. That’s because it’s arguably one of the most critical components in your Etsy shop. It’s what gets you paid. And we see far too many Etsy sellers that can afford to raise their prices.
Here’s a quick tip: if you’re one of the lucky Etsy sellers that is having a difficult time keeping up with the sheer demand of too many orders, try raising your prices.
06. Get your Etsy listings on point before it’s too late
This is important. Don’t go one more day without optimizing your Etsy listings with the best possible keywords that real shoppers use in search.
If your SEO isn’t on point, your Etsy shop could very well be doomed to fail. Sales from friends and social media followers will only get you so far.
If shoppers can’t find your products in Etsy search, your biggest consumer market doesn’t even know your product exists.
A new year means new keyword trends and popularity, so you should always make sure your Etsy SEO is set up for success.
One of the best ways to optimize your Etsy listing for success is using an Etsy SEO tool like Marmalead. Etsy shops that use Marmalead are 50% more likely to outperform the average Etsy shop by 7x! Also, the top 10% of Marmalead users outperform the average Etsy shop by 25x!
At the very least, if you use Marmalead for your Etsy shop, you’re almost guaranteed to outperform the average Etsy shops in your market segment by up to 4x.
The truth is, Etsy SEO has never been easier than with Marmalead in your arsenal of tools. But don’t take our word for it. Take advantage of our limited trial to use Marmalead in your Etsy shop and get your listings on point for the rest of the year.
This is one New Year’s resolution that an Etsy seller like you does not want to pass up.
07. Refresh your Etsy listing photos
This is an easy one. If your Etsy listing photos are old and dusty, it’s time for a refresher.
Your primary listing photo is the first thing shoppers see when browsing Etsy products. A good photo will literally make or break your listing.
That’s because a cruddy photo with terrible lighting and wrong framing is too easy to scroll past. Why would a shopper click on your listing when your competitor’s primary listing photo is too enticing to pass up?
Professional-looking photos that are cohesive with your brand will make a difference in your Etsy shop. What is the best time to make some changes to your photos? The start of the new year.
→ Here’s how to use the AIDA method to take amazing Etsy product photos to get more sales
08. Start planning for the next Etsy holiday, like now.
It’s never too early to start planning for the next upcoming holiday that will inevitably bring a new flock of consumers to the Etsy marketplace.
Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Mother’s Day. Every month is a new opportunity to target different holiday keywords in your Etsy shop.
In 2024, make it your New Year’s resolution to keep track of the upcoming holidays to get your listings prepared in advance.
How early should you prepare your Etsy listings for the upcoming holiday?
The sooner, the better, as long as it doesn’t interfere with an existing holiday. Etsy is ALWAYS looking for listings to share in their promotional materials in the lead-up to every holiday, big or small.
If you want to increase your chances of being featured in Etsy’s marketing materials, you should have your listings ready for the upcoming holiday about two months in advance.
→ Here’s how to get your Etsy listings prepared for any holiday out there
09. Learn from your previous mistakes and achievements
We saved the most important New Year’s resolution for Etsy sellers last.
If you’ve been selling on Etsy for at least a year, you have the most critical data available to an Etsy seller right in front of you. It’s just sitting there, waiting for you to take a look.
We’re talking about your Etsy stats available in your shop manager:
- Visits
- Orders
- Conversions
- Revenue
- How shoppers found you
- Which social media channels they use
- Which of your listings is the most popular
- And what search terms buyers use to find your listings
All this information (and more!) is available in your Etsy shop stats. You NEED to take a look at this information. Understand it. And double down on whatever is already working for you.
Do you want more Etsy traffic?
Of course you do. Who doesn’t?
But before you can get more traffic in your Etsy shop, you need to understand what’s already working and what isn’t. This starts with your Etsy shop stats and the search terms real shoppers use to find your listings.
Get there now if you’ve never looked into this portion of your Etsy shop. We mean it. If you ignore every New Year’s resolution on this list, at least don’t ignore this one.
→ Here’s precisely how to find the actual search terms that buyers are using to find your products
Over to you
A new year wouldn’t be the same without a decree to become a better business owner. While this is only a shortlist of New Year’s resolutions for Etsy sellers, we hope you can find the room on your list to make them your own.
Do you have your own New Year’s resolutions that you’d like to share with us? Let us know in the comments below! What are you dreaming up for your Etsy shop in 2024?
Are you planning on doing anything different? Or are you just looking forward to hitting the “repeat button” and taking your shop for another whirl as is?
From our Marmalead team to you
While 2023 was not the most accessible year by a long shot, we will cherish the great memories we made with you here. Thank you for being part of our community and our Marmalead family! From our team to yours, we hope you had a happy Hanukkah, a Merry Christmas, a happy Boxing Day, and a joyful Kwanzaa! And to each of you, a very, very happy New Year!
Happy selling, everyone!
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