YES! I realized that one tip years ago after seeing several restaurants fail in my area. They make food they want to sell, not what people want to eat. I started a successful Etsy print shop because all of my competitors in the beginning were only selling templates. They were selling what they wanted to make instead of what people wanted to buy. Templates are more popular now, but there is a market full of customers who don't want to spend their time on that. I don't sell cards, I sell time.
Tonight I loaded my 100th product! I've had my Etsy shop on the back burner while I worked on my website. The other day, I decided to run a Labor Day sale through Sept. 5 and that was the motivation to load products I'd made and were waiting to be added. Here's hoping I get some more sales!
@@etsyconsultant As one who tried to follow the general advice, it failed! I bet a lot of people are finding that out. A bit ticked off at the people whose YT channels are saying BS for view$.
It's hard to know who to believe on Etsy-Tube (?) Everyone says their advice is the best & it can be so conflicting & confusing. I think I'll just get my head down & try not to get caught up in all the drama 😂 Thanks for the tips & Happy New Year
I feel you!! Conflicting information leads to confusion. I know exactly why I'm not where I should be in my Etsy journey because since the beginning I was getting outdated and conflicting information I wasn't listed correctly. Hopefully, Nik's insights and tips are the answer to having a successful store in 2023!
@@etsyconsultant Nothing to say, it's all good 😊 everyone has different opinions based on their experience. I liked your tips about taking risks, joining groups & investing time wisely. Thanks!
The encouragement to not spend time on social media is helpful. I run my own full time massage business and trying to transition over to online shops hasn't been easy given my time constraints! It's nice to know that I'm not losing out by not keeping up with socials
@@Xbot4Life you can write your niche to the search bar (for example, printable wall art) and choose “bestseller” from the search filters and see if there are any bestsellers :)
@@etsyconsultant I am being more consistent by putting in at least one listing a day. What are the categories for your shop? Can you go through an Etsy page and show us which areas to fill? Don't want you to give away what you feel are your trade secrets but after 5 months and over 100 listings and the only sales are the ones I made myself. I know there's something wrong with what I am doing.
I've been listening for everything on RU-vid I can find but in the end I found only three channels give really good info, (one is yours of course 😁), and looking at Alura actually has really been helpful. Just because the design is so clear, not like erank. So I'm rewriting all my listings and retaking my photos but I'm loving this platform, being in charge of my sales. I only now understand in more detail what are you talking about! And I am brave, selling something very unique 😊 It's all good fun really!
you're so right about the loads of etsy videos on youtube. Loads of information just taking me around in circles without any concrete steps in a,b,c or x,y,z and I'm glad I found your channel. great work! thank you
Iam very glad I found your video. Your points are valuable and easily understandable for non English medium people like me. I got a clear understanding of what to do next in my etsy store. This is the first time writing a comment to RU-vid channel. Thanks so much again and looking for more videos🙏
I really value your advice. It’s really drummed ‘1 item a day’ into my head. I do take out a few hours one day in the week to put some designs together but then only slowly add them. It’s helped me with time no end. Thank you 🙏🏼
Great tips! I totally agree with your steps. Time is definitely important. I tell Etsy sellers constantly not to chase the shiny ball being new tools, social media, etc. It's easy to do as an entrepreneur but takes you away from the most important, impactful action items in your business that drive revenue. It's cool to see another youtuber in this space on the same page.
I really needed to hear the “be a leader” step, with the sell what people want to buy step. I have an idea that I am almost certain will sell, within that niche, that I have only seen a few people do, so far, in my research, anyway, and they sold quite a few, but their designs aren’t all that great. Thanks Nick. I really appreciate what you do. 😊
15:36 I’m using my time very well! Since I’m in a career where I can listen and do my job at the same time, I get absorb a lot of info about this. When I get home I do what I needed to do, and usually spend the last 2 hours of my day creating an item from one research. W whether it be that I got to bed at 9 or 11.I make sure I get at least 2 hours in. So far this flow is working. I can admit I do need to do more product/design research. I have a ton of ideas I’ve collected through out the weeks in my notes app. My issue is being indecisive in what is like to sell as far as items and design.
Appreciate the guide! As I said on other videos of yours, I'm going in on the 100 new listings, one-a-day for both my POD shops while also utilizing your recommendations for SEO and getting rid of stock mockups from Printify. Consistency is key! We'll see where it leads in a few months...
You're so right about the RU-vid, I have wasted two months on trying to even register with etsy and I still have not completed my registration, I'm stuck.....I'm going to go through all of your videos today, hopefully I'll find what I need to do....I so much want to start designing.
I have been searching for a RU-vidr like you forever lol, seriously all of your videos are so helpful. What stood out in this video most to me is “making stuff that customers want to buy” I make jewelry and been on Etsy for like 2 years and I only had 18 sales. 😢 my SEO is horrible so possibly that is the issue . I have around 40ish items in the store so maybe that’s the issue with low sales or possibly my stuff just isn’t trending. Do you do consultations and or store reviews?
Hi Muriel, thanks for your comment. Yes, as part of any consultation I carry out a store review, feel free to contact me on the link below: www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01ae270fc1d9865dcc
Every single step you discussed I needed to hear. Number #6, I'm already doing. In fact, I have quite a few people waiting for me to open my store. But the problem I'm running into is ordering the right size for my sneakers. When I ordered my sample sneakers, they looked GREAT! However, they were almost two sizes too big. But I think I got it. I think. And #7, OH. MY. GOSH! I could not agree with you more. I will say there are only two people I listen to about Etsy and you're one of them. The other one is good but you get straight to the point with any BS! 😄 Thank you for real help and guidance. 😄
Its like chose your poison. Who do you listen to on RU-vid? Who to follow to maximize your ability for success? Most times I go with logic and think on it for a bit. I literally almost started my store in 1 day. I thought better of it after watching a few videos. So I am learning and putting a plan in place. Slow grind is essential to get a real online business right. It takes time. So my advise to everyone is to take good notes, sift though the RU-vid videos for the ones that makes most sense and PLAN. Thank you very much Sir 😊
Hello there, thanks for commenting, I appreciate your input here. The truth is, as you have mentioned you need to use your common sense along with deciding who resonates with you, if you decide to have a mentor/guide for your Etsy shop. Just make sure that whoever you choose actually has the depth of experience with Etsy and is willing to show you that experience. You can ask me anytime, and I will show you. Thanks!
@@etsyconsultant ooo yes, I move away from the one that just tries to sell me stuff now, easy to recognize them now. i am actually creating video and items to start as you taught for 10 days as i work in a demanding job...only have weekends. So i only have a small window each day to upload. So it is a huge commitment. i will reach out to you at some point.
I sell in Etsy ! I feel like people stole my design 😏. They have few things but sure they copy my products and they made a pattern of it and claim for it .
I like your no frills, cut the BS advice!!! Do you work for Etsy? you say you're an etsy consultant?? I'm relieved to hear you say we don't need all the keyword research tools, like sales samarai, etc.. a lot of people are out here pushing these on us to make money from affiliate marketing!! I'm afraid I have wasted a lot of time sucked in to watching endless RU-vid vids... anyway, i'm now reading to open my shop planning to do that this week!!! so wish me luck !! 🤩
@@BeBe-yg2un Yes!! 🙌 I started off on the wrong foot and 3 months in I found out I was not listing correctly. I didn't get my first organic sale until 8 weeks later
@@KarlaZamudio Lets not forget to allow ourselves the learning curve involved with this whole business model. I don't know about you but I'm tackling completely new skills!! Are you selling digital or physical products? Keep up the good work 😍
Time management and organization of my materials are top on my list this winter. I've been doing this for years but every new line requires revamping all of this. In the first winter months I try to add one new line to each shop, so around 25 items and if they sell well expanding to upwards of 50 items with variations on the originals. Start up materials, tools and display/photo are all purchased after the holidays. Work begins by the end of Jan, prototypes and work/supply stations set up and finished by mid Feb, photos done edited and draft listings set up by first week in March...then I have an entire new line by spring. I'm just waiting on the last of the materials to arrive, but am setting up work stations this week. I might also streamline my shipping area this year. Just a note...my stats are all up 36% YOY as I've carried your advice on shop changes into 2023. I'll keep reworking more of my older listings. :)
Absolutely love your advice! I am working on raising my prices as demand goes up for my listings and working on duplicating my bestsellers to drive more sales.
I just want to get all the Etsy videos out of my feed 😩 so stress 😩 really wanted to kick off and load every day. Test out all that I learned from you. I hope we are added soon.
I agree with most of your tips, but, I speak for myself, social media brought me a lot of customers. I'd say no need to spend hours every day, but posting when you have a sale, or promoting new listings can bring you new buyers. I don't post very frequently, but at a regular timeframe. I agree about SEO tools, I found out that I have better results without it. And I got a reliable laptop for Xmas 😉
HI there Sandrine. Thanks for your comment, and great news on your laptop :-). Social media can kill new stores, and depending on how established you are, how much quality score you have, and how many organic sales you have will depend on how direct traffic will affect your store.
Pardon my ignorance, but what is "product sales copy"? P.S. Since finding your videos, I don't watch any others. Not that I think there's only one way to be successful at anything, but I do believe one should pick their strategy and stick with it. So thank you for being my guiding star.
Thank you! I hope you also had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. I was sick from mid November until late Dec. spent both Thanksgiving and Christmas in bed. so I pray your s was better than mine!!@@etsyconsultant
I got a new computer last year and it was totally worth it. Definitely think #10 is important. The next one is hard for me. I sell supplies, mostly beads and most are $3-$4. I need to figure out how to list bigger quantities maybe.
@@bettycooper369 kits to make a specific bracelet or earrings or something or just like a mix of beads and findings to make your own necklace or something else?
Your videos are really informative and real. Thanks for a refreshing take on answering the questions most youtubers won't answer, because it's obvious, they don't know. Question I have is, if when selling print on demand products on an Etsy store, how can we compete with those who are selling for far less on similar products? By the tme I add all fees and delivery on, its far too expensiev to compete. I've already checked on some stores and they are not using the 'smallest product cheapest' price to entice people in. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks
Hey Vince, and thanks for being here, I appreciate it. OK, the answer is in your design niche and quality. Yes tons of people are doing POD and Etsy is swamped with it. However the key is in making sure you are offering niche/sub niches and designs that are different, and of high quality. It takes time, but it does work, there is absolutely NO easy way to succeed with POD on Etsy now.
Hello, is it best for seasonal products to 1) Let it expire until four months before the next time the holiday comes along or 2) make it inactive and reactivate it four months before the holiday comes along or neither. Just trying to keep my shop relevant and tidy.
Hi, this is the answer: 1 If the product has never sold, just deactivate it, and if you want to try it again, make a copy of the deactivated listing and publish the new one at least 3 months before the next season. 2 It the product has made sales, leave it up, do not deactivate it.
Boy you sure have stirred up the etsy gurus haha. I have no idea if what you say is true but it seems to have them all upset that you insist that socials are killing our stores. I think I understand where you're coming from and why etsy loves us to bring them free traffic lol
Of all of these tips, number 6 needs the most attention. My bags are POD. I’ve taken the mock-up images supplied, removed the backgrounds and used PicMonkey to make them far more lifelike. I’m about half way through making/posting videos. I cannot buy 1 of each product, too expensive, but I could buy one for each Section (sub niche), make a better video, and link it to each product on an info card in the listing photos. Or I could just make 1 real world video using 1 bag and link it to all of my bags. They are the same basic product, just different in decor. What do you think? -Elizabeth
Hello - this is my third comment to you since last night (you were nice enough to return a comment back) this video is remarkable and I fully appreciate you and the time you put into helping others….
Interesting regarding the photos, I honestly thought the mock-up photos was really professional looking but it does seem better to purchase a sample product and thank real life photos and videos
Happy New Year to you as well, Nik! Thanks for all the fantastic content you put out here on YT, your advice has helped me increase sales on my Etsy shop greatly over the Holidays. What is your recommendations on how to build an email list from your existing Etsy customers? Thanks again, -Brad
Hi Brad, fantastic news! Feel free to book a call with me if you'd like to go through this with my system. www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01ae270fc1d9865dcc
Love this video. I just subscibed yesterday. I too want to open a shop this January. I want to sell ai generated posters and maybe mixed with downloads. After spending some time looking on etsy, my conclusion is that the more artistic and eye pleasing ai art is, is what sells. I guess i will find out after my first 100 listings. I also edit and modify this art so its not just downoad from midjourney and put it in my shop. Any thing you could comment or advise would be appreciated.
Hey Pink, IBM, and core i3 10th gen or beyond, 512gb SSD, and 8gb RAM minimum...that's for general e commerce work where you need multiple windows open and multiple apps running.
I finally sat up late last evening to set up my store. Created my first listing and video, was sooo proud of it....but...unfortunately 😕 i live in the Caribbean and we are NOT on the list to receive Etsy Payments. All my notes and planning gone to ..... 😒
Is there a point though to keep on adding new items if you don't have so many sales? I've found myself stocking up on items on my shop. I assume there's another golden ratio that needs to be found, different for each individual seller.
Hey Regina, it is a balance. If you get to 100 items with no/v low sales, then there is something wrong with what you are selling. Send me your store name, ill tell you whats happening.
Nik, Thank you for your replies to the questions being asked. Very helpful! I am interested in adding jewelry to my store. I heard of Shineon for print-on-demand jewelry. Do you recommend them? Are there any other companies that do POD jewelry? Thank you.
Hi Nick, happy New Year! Can you shed some light on why while my sales were amazing until Christmas, they went nearly zero in January? Im not selling any Christmas products, I haven't changed anything and I always follow your advice. Any thoughts?
Great advice, thank you. In almost every video, you mention that there should be at least 100 items in the Etsy shop. Really valuable data for beginners like me. But as I remember from some of your videos, you recommend us to upload 1-2 items every day or 1-2 every 2-3 days. So if I have the capacity to load, for example, 10 products every day and load them, will this cause a problem on Etsy's side? Thank you.
Hi İsmail, great question. It is best to publish 1 to 2 listings per day over a few months. Publishing too much at once and then being inactive for a long time will hurt your visibility.
I am so happy to have found your channel at the stage where I can still correct the course with little pain! Thank you! I am on a path to creating the 100 listings you urge us to commit to (as beginners), but as I have just reached 50 (and made my first sale!) I am wondering about the first 10-15 that I don't really like anymore. Should I get rid of them? Or could it somehow damage the trust Etsy slowly puts in my store?
Hi, ty so much for your content. I listen to so many podcasts etc. There is a lot of Etsy help out there but the quality is quite lacking. My question for you is, do sales from Etsy ads hurt my quality score ? Tnx again 😊
Hi Nik, Again thanks for all your valuable information. You mention to stay within the $10 to $50 range for listed items. Does that include the shipping cost? So it would be difficult to hand make one of my floral designs under that amount that includes shipping of approximately $20. My profit margin would really suffer.
Hi June, thanks for your message. The price range I say is just a guide. If your items are a higher price band absolutely fine, it's essential that you are making a profit.
Is there an impact if my location is outside US (which is my selected market) BUT its indicated below that my print provided is in US (printify).. thank you so much
Hi there thanks for your comment. It may have an impact but like you say Printify ships from the US so you will have the same processing times as sellers in the US who use Printify.
Is it worth trying Shutterstock mockups for POD? They have more variety of mockups than Printify. Do you advise using Pinterest to drive more traffic to Etsy?
Hello thanks for this video, but I'm new on this business creation, my products are provided and designed on printify and linked to my etsy store. Does the product show automatically in etsy or i have to list and tag them manually on etsy? Really confused, stared 3 weeks ago but no sale.
Hi Jennifer, the product should go in to drafts from Printify when you push it from there, and then you make edits to the product in drafts and then publish it live to your store.
Would love to know what you think of Insight Factory as a tool to discover what people want to buy? I've just started my store and wondering the best strategy for doing number 5 on your list!
Hi, I live outside US, I wonder what tax policy Etsy applied for people like me. I need a company? There is no video about this on RU-vid. I'm from Romania, EU country.
Hi Romulus, thanks for your question. Romania will have it's own rules as to when you need to register for VAT, I recommend that you contact your local tax office to find out your own countries rules for self employed, and how to set up a business. Etsy will only ask for VAT details if you are getting near the threshold for VAT , ( for your country). All countries have different rules.
Great info! For us risk takers, does your video "How to do Product Research" still apply (find 50 stores, spread sheet data, etc) and we find as many stores as we can even if it's only 5? Or is there a different approach we should take? My niche falls under the category you would say, doesn't have many stores or the 3 main badges. The niche sells but it's not thriving. My observations are because it's the same old graphics being slapped on a tshirt, the same sayings, and so on. Another observation is because it's either too niched down or not enough. That leaves me asking, now what? How does product research then look for those of us in this boat? Do we look outside of Etsy at how this niche is growing? Do we cross niche and combine a thriving niche (exp- teaching) with our not in demand niche? How does a leader move forward when there isn't 50 shops to research? Thank you!!!
Hi AG, so the point here is actually "is the niche I am in worth it?". If the niche is small and not doing what you want it to do, maybe you need to move in to a larger companion niche to be able to make more sales. Also, are you actually exploiting this existing niche at an appropriate inventory level? If you need to book a call so we can go through this in detail, please do so on the link below: www.upwork.com/services/product/marketing-a-30-minute-etsy-problem-solver-video-call-with-the-world-s-best-consultant-1351219976669429760?ref=project_share
Hi, it looks like the 'Best Sellers' option has been removed from the filter on Etsy. Can someone confirm if this is true, if it is true then it seems like Etsy is our enemy. They are probably looking for a way to monetize it.
Hi, would it be a bad idea to step into a niche where the total amount of items within that category is sub 40k products? Not quite sure whether it be worth the effort. There is one top seller making decent sales.
I scheduled a 15 min free consultation on 12/22, then you rescheduled for 1/5 and I never heard from you. Not sure if it was something on my end or not, but would appreciate knowing what happened if you know. Thanks
Is there a difference bet. posting a product a day and posting bigger chunks in longer periods? Let's say 100 products every day and 10 products at a time every 10 days ...?
Please list at least three youtubers that you consider legit for etsy advice so we can compare your advice to yours. I do agree with practically everything you say but if you are going to generalize others are mostly bad you need to provide a minnimum of good ones.
Hi Nik, I just started an Etsy store (selling printables) on January 1st, 2023. I followed your suggestion, adding 1 new product every day. It's been 5 days now, and I have 5 products. The thing is, I got zero (0) views of my shop. Is this normal? Thanks in advance.
@@David-zp3dv then i think it’s because printables is a very competitive niche, it might take some time for you to be seen and discovered. I also have a printables shop and had the same issue myself for a long time. I’ve been adding new listings for like 18 days now and i can see the difference ☺️ just keep going! ✌🏼
@@shahla7379 Thanks! Yes, I will continue uploading new products every day. The zero views quite surprised me though. I don't expect any sales yet, but no view is a bit worrying. Like is there something I did wrong, I am a new Etsy seller. I was also wondering if using Etsy ads is mandatory for a new shop.
@@David-zp3dv i was just going to ask about that, have you tried etsy ads before? Because i have observed that whenever i paused my ads, my views hit rock bottom and happened to be somewhere between 0-4 every day. After a couple days it would get better but if i start my ads again and then paused, it always happened again. So i’m planning to not do ads anymore 🤦🏻♀️
