Yep, I know that was a click-baity title, but it no doubt got you to click because here you are.
So let’s dig into how I did it…
And set the scene… Clouds floating by with you basking in a pile of $100 bills… swimming in a sea of money you made from your online store…
Just a heads up! This blog post may contain affiliate links. That means if you make a purchase through one of those links, at no additional cost to you, I may make a commission from your purchase, which helps me provide this content to you!
Now ponder this…
What if you didn’t need thousands of product listings on Etsy to produce a viable, money-generating Etsy shop? What if just one product listing in your online store produced these results in 30 days? What about in only 7 days? Maybe just 1 day?
These are the results of ONE $25 product in one day. ONE DAY??? ONE PRODUCT??? If you are saying no way, think again.
This is NOT some gimmick. This is REAL. These are actual stats from one of my own Etsy shops…
$200 per day could just be a drop in the bucket once you figure out the right secret sauce for your products.
We use these same easy sales and marketing techniques on tons of products in our various stores. Cranking up the revenue in our shops to upwards of $2000/day from single product listings during busy seasons.
It can be done. So here are some of the strategies we’ve used.
FOCUS ON ONE THING AT A TIME
Even when our world was turned upside down because of a national crisis, I was still able to make bank in my Etsy shop with just this 1, yes, I said 1 product.
I’m not even showing you what the rest of this shop is doing; keep that in mind here.
The KEY to making over $1200 from this one product in just 30 days was by not focusing on other things that weren’t producing results during that time.
To see massive success in your Etsy shop, you need to focus on one thing at a time.
We are all guilty of falling prey to being an entrepreneur or solopreneur with about a bazillion things spinning on our plates. But remember that 80% of the results or income will come from 20% of the products. Putting the center of focus on what is producing results and magnifying it through ads and watching the trends is how you can get similar results.
WATCH YOUR ETSY STAT TRENDS
Keeping an eye on your Etsy shop stats, specifically, stats of individual products, can help you determine what products to list, push ads for, etc.
Watch your Etsy shop stats and product stats to see where the trends are heading among your buyers so you can capitalize on buyer purchasing trends in your niche.
One thing I immediately noticed online was all the talk about postponed graduations, weddings, baby showers, etc.
In our family, my cousins (twins) were graduating in 2020, but everyone was so unsure as to what would happen with graduation. Was it even going to happen and when??
But the interesting thing was that even in the early stages of the stay-at-home orders, across the nation, I began to see orders coming in for graduation banners. People were still going to celebrate their kid’s graduation, even if they couldn’t have a big party.
People weren’t interested as much in events like bridal showers, baby showers, etc. or they were switching over to virtual showers or postponing until a later date altogether, but graduation was still coming one way or another!
I began to see an immediate trend, watching my stats every day, focusing on how I could boost sales in these not-so-hot economic times. Graduation. It was all about graduation in my niche right them.
I decided to take it and run with it. I dropped almost all advertising of other items in my shop initially and pumped it into just a handful of graduation items. And watched some more and adjusted as needed. Really focusing on what was and wasn’t working.
We were seeing the conversion rates on average in that 30 day period of about 12%. WHAT!?!
If you can master the fine art of Etsy listing SEO and getting a great product in front of Etsy shoppers at the right time, you will see some incredible results in your small business.
ONE LISTING > 30 DAY RESULTS!
One of the greatest pieces of advice, whether just starting an Etsy shop or trying to grow your Etsy shop, is watching trends and what people are asking for in your Etsy messages.
Make Products That Buyers Are Asking For
Etsy sellers are always looking for new products to make and sell to increase their revenue.
One way to increase the revenue in your Etsy shop is to make products that potential buyers are requesting in Etsy Messages.
Many of my best selling items have been created from an item that someone requested through a quick message.
It could be a simple change of text on a sign or to request something else. If it is in your wheelhouse, give it a try, take photos of the special request and list it in your shop as well. You never know when you might find your next best seller.
Work with what’s working, watch trends in seasonality and reign in your ads budget to maximize your results.
No spaghetti on the walls here though. We are throwing darts and hitting bulls eyes.
SEASONALITY
Many Etsy sellers and large corporations’ merchandise buyers and marketing teams, alike, often consider the seasons when deciding what products to develop and sell. MONTHS in advance.
As a general rule, the seasonality of your product line will determine when products should be listed in your Etsy shop and which products sell during certain timeframes each year.
In my example from above, this was graduation season so that really needed to be my main focus.
You won’t find me listing items and dropping tons on ads for Christmas in February either to get nada back in return. Just not going to happen.
Same goes for baby showers and bridal showers in December. There may still be a few of these types of parties happening just because family and friends are typically together, but most people will be spending their time planning for the in-laws to arrive, ordering giftable items and wrapping up the end of the year activities in December, not planning baby showers.
This example here, a Valentine’s Day banner vs Christmas banner, may seem obvious about what time of year it should be listed, buy this doesn’t mean that seasonal products can’t or don’t also sell at other times in the year.
This is especially true for gift type products.
You will probably see the same type buyers looking for a Mother’s day gift that could also be bought during Christmas or for a birthday for the same gift recipient.
Also, some Valentine’s day products could be great year-round products if they cater to the gift market for wives, husbands, grandparents, kids, engaged couples and weddings.
The same is true of global trends like those seen in fashion design, home interiors, etc.
Trends change quickly in this space so be mindful that just because you are seeing loads of chrome on the runway, it doesn’t always mean that it will be a home run in the sales department. But I would definitely keep these in mind while in the design phase for your products.
More on how you can work with me to create these same amazing results are in the future for you too!! (Join my FREE Facebook Group to get in on what’s to come and gain valuable business and Etsy insights with this community. Request to join today. Don’t forget to answer the questions so I can let you in the group!)
Spending Your Ad Budget Wisely
In other words, put your ad spend in the place with the greatest chance of a return.
You can maximize your revenue per item sold by investing your ad budget in products that are proven to sell well.
For products that aren’t selling sell, set them aside for the moment to rework later.
When you sell an product on Etsy, you are feeding the Etsy machine. Etsy’s search algorithm will continue to push products to potential buyers that are selling well. Etsy wants to make money too.
That’s why sometimes you may notice you get one sale right after another after another, while other products are flatlining.
In my shop, I continued to see the purchase of just 2 listings. They were super easy for me to reproduce and had good margins, and they didn’t have customizations so I had little time invested. I dropped everything and shifted ad money to just those two product listings.
If you are looking for tools to help you run your Etsy shop, check here!
BUNDLE PRODUCTS THAT SELL TOGETHER FREQUENTLY
There are quick and easy ways increase the revenue in your Etsy shop with very little additional work.
One way to increase your Etsy shop revenue is to add product bundles. Bundles allow a buyer to purchase more than one item that are closely related or frequently purchased together without having to add additional items to their cart. This is a great way to increase your average cart value per customer.
In my Etsy shop, the next thing I did was create a bundle with those two currently, best-selling items in it as opposed to just one one item as a standalone product. I continued to sell them as individual listings as well.
By bundling two items that were already being purchased together in my shop, I removed the barrier of the buyer having to search for additional similar items they were already looking for, making the choice to buy both, packaged together, that much easier.
Amazon has been cashing in on this idea for years when it shows buyers frequently purchased items together on their product pages. Ex. A car detailing kit with all the sprays and whatnot paired with cleaning cloths, a water bucket and sponges.
In this example, you can see how shops can potentially increase their buyer purchase value by bundling a necklace and earrings, etc. together. This is done super quickly and easily without tons of extra work or expenses. Just a few quick photos and list it.
Most e-commerce websites are doing this to increase the cart value and profit margins.
You can see this many times at the bottom of product pages, as order bumps and cross-sells, etc. as well.
Walmart is even adding ways to get their cart value up by adding a did you need to add this too type popup in their Walmart app right before you would go to the payment screen and checkout.
I have even seen where Etsy will run tests where it will show other frequently purchased items products under the Add to Cart button trying to cash in on the idea of bundling products together to increase total cart value.
BE TOP OF MIND WITH BUYERS WITH BADGES
Etsy sellers often wonder and ask about whether Etsy putting Badges, like the Best Seller or Etsy Pick badges, on your product listings makes any difference to your buyers or if it helps incentivize buyers to make purchases. There are also badges such as the various customer service badges, AKA, Star Seller badges that are in question as well.
Etsy badges are a feature that provide cues to buyers that a specific product may be a best seller or popular amongst buyers. Etsy also has other badges that indicate that a specific seller provides great customer service to buyers such as the Star Seller badge.
Because of these small added badges, these products will pop up usually toward the top of search results both organically and with ads, and they appear top of mind to potential buyers, along with the Etsy Star Seller badge stamped on it by the shop name as well.
At this time, these items in my shop were selling on average about 5 each day, $100-200 a day with from just one listing!
These products quickly had the text showing under the image in search results stating over 20 people had it in their carts! Talk about revenue boost with the urgency factor.
Top ad placement, top organic placement because of the increased traffic and sales to that item, Best Seller badge and social proof that people are really wanting this item right there on the search results page, front and center for Etsy buyers. Who wouldn’t want to buy it?!?
Keep in mind that this isn’t a guarantee and was the experience of just a few products in my shop I was testing. But I have since applied this to loads of products listings across multiple stores.
Take this screenshot from a recent Etsy search for “jewelry set”.
LOOK AT ALL THOSE BUYER INCENTIVES!! Badges, sales countdown timers, discounts, OH MY!
This can help motivate buyers to click through to item and possibly make a purchase.
I have heard many Etsy sellers in Facebook groups question these badges and how much they affect buyer incentives and overall shop conversion and product conversion rates.
And I have also seen where an Etsy seller has a Best Seller badge on items that never sell while those that fly off the shelves have no badges whatsoever, so I like to think of them as bonuses.
As for the Star Seller badge, it is not, just like the other badges, a you must have this or you will not get any sales indicator.
One of our shops cruised along for a very long time without the Star Seller badge and still produced a great income. Just one or two not-so-great buyer reviews can quickly get that badge taken away so do be mindful of the infamous Etsy Star Seller Badge.
But how buyer reviews effect your Etsy shop. (ADD LINK), is a topic for another time so you can check it out here once you are finished reading this article.
I will say that I have seen positive results and the traffic and sales are steady or growing in our Etsy shops with Star Seller badges, but it isn’t the only thing that affects your ranking in Etsy search results.
So as a general rule, if Etsy is actively using these badges and featured incentives, not just a test you see once then it’s gone, then they are working to gain more sales for the platform as a whole so use them to your advantage when possible.
But there’s more!! MORE?!?
FOLLOW THE RULE OF 3
I consider the rule of 3 a bit of a Ninja move. But it is one that needs to be monitored.
Etsy sellers can sometimes notice an increase in sales for products that have an available quantity of 3 or less.
Did you know that if a product listing has 3 or less, Etsy will sometimes show an additional line of text on the product page saying there are ONLY 3 LEFT! right under the buy button?
Etsy has also added addition text like, Only 2 left, Only 1 available, Selling Fast, etc.
This can really ramp up the urgency factor even more when buyers see over 20 people already have this item in their carts, and there are only 3 available to purchase!
Buyers start to think, “I’ve gotta get this before they’re all gone!”
Gotta love buyer psychology, right!
Though this is not a guarantee in any way and can be a time consuming task to keep up with in very busy shops.
One other thing I did, even though this did take a few minutes extra of my time to do several times each day, was updating the inventory count. I always kept the inventory at 2 or 3 if I could so it didn’t end up being sold out and not even available to purchase.
By making some easy adjustments to ad spend and product listings, I was still able to make a significant amount of money in a time when I could have easily waited for the bottom to fall out due to an unsure economy.
Instead, I kept my family well fed and taken care of, roof over head, bills paid and greatly increased our income for the month (total revenue up 149% YOY for the month of April 2020) just by looking at the trends in the market with my existing product line and a few simple tweaks to my ads strategy in my Etsy store.
Looking at your Etsy stats is a great way to keep on top of fluctuating changes in the economy, marketplace and buyer purchasing trends and still run a very profitable business in an economically stressed time.
Economies are always either on an upswing or a downswing so adjust accordingly as needed and focus on what’s working first and foremost in my shop.
I was able to reduce my stress and focus on my family (house full of kids, pets and now my husband as well working from home) and not worry about whether the cha-chings were coming in because I had built a very strong, money-making system starting with just that one product.
What insights can you gain from looking at one listing in your Etsy shop? What trends do you see? Can a small adjustment make a massive impact on your results?
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