Simple Tips to Turn Etsy Favorites into Etsy Sales

Is there anything more frustrating than getting a ton of Etsy favorites, but no Etsy sales? Nope, there really isn’t. But if you want to turn Etsy favorites into sales, simply waiting and hoping isn’t going to help you sell more stuff.

Luckily, there are some simple tips you can use to turn Etsy favorites into Etsy sales. Keep reading for these actionable strategies you can start implementing today.

How to Turn Etsy Favorites into Sales

Use built-in Etsy marketing tools.

One of the fastest and simplest ways to turn Etsy favorites into sales is to use Etsy’s built-in marketing tool to do just that! In your Shop Manager dashboard, head to the Marketing section and you’ll see “Sales and Coupons” as an option. From there, you can set up a coupon promotion that gets automatically sent to people who recently favorited an item in your shop. How cool (and easy!) is that? What you offer them is up to you, but generally you’ll want to offer at least 10% off their order if they come back to purchase.

Make sure your Etsy listings support sales.

There are so many sellers on Etsy, many of which sell very similar products. In other words, shoppers have many choices when it comes to finding the products they want. If you want your products to be the ones they buy, you need to make it as easy for shoppers as possible. Do you find yourself answering the same questions from customers over and over again? Don’t make them ask - answer those FAQs in your Etsy listings. Provide as much information about your product as you can - how it’s made, any care tips the customer may need, color options, sizing charts, information about personalization and customer orders…the list goes on. Any information your customers need to feel confident about their buying decisions - include it in your listings.

Let your photos do the selling.

Any seasoned Etsy seller knows that photographs are important. The more the better, when it comes to Etsy SEO (that’s search engine optimization) and getting your listings seen (and sold!). But don’t sacrifice quality for quantity. If you’re getting lots of favorites but few sales, review your photos to make sure they’re showing customers what they want and need to know about your products. Show your products on their own and in use. If you’re selling clothing or accessories, be sure to show the products being worn so customers can understand how they’ll fit. Add easy-to-read text to images when necessary to make product features clear (like measurements, colors, design elements, etc). And be sure to show photos of all product variations, like colors or materials.

Snag Etsy listing best practices from your competition.

It can feel almost like cheating to borrow ideas from your competition, but it’s not. In fact, it’s just smart business. If there are sellers in your category that are making tons of sales, it’s because they’re doing something right. Maybe they’ve just been at it for longer than you, but even if that’s the case it means they’ve likely learned a thing or two about how to create an Etsy listing that sells. Search within Etsy for products like yours and check out the first couple organic listings that show up in search (organic meaning not promoted listings). If they’re at the top of the search results, they likely have a lot of sales. Make sure the shop has had a lot of sales. (I like to review ones with at least 1,000 sales, but if your product is very niche, you may not find shops with this many sales.) Review their listings for products similar to yours to see what they’re doing that you’re not, or what they’re doing differently from you. Do they have a more detailed size chart in their images? Do they offer personalization? Are they including more information about the product and how it can be used? Take their best ideas and make them your own.

Check your pricing.

This can be done at the same time you’re snagging listing ideas from your competitors. If you’re consistently getting favorites but not getting sales, it could be that your pricing is off. Research how comparable products are priced on Etsy through a simple search, or use a tool like eRank to quickly see how your prices compare. Discovering that your products are higher priced than your competitors doesn’t mean you must lower your prices (after all, you’re in business to make money and make what you’re worth). But it can help you determine if pricing could be a hindrance to sales and give you the opportunity to test and tweak your pricing.

Get your Etsy shop in fighting shape.

People buy from sellers they believe they can trust to deliver a quality product. So how can you show quality before shipping a product? Let your shop do the talking for you! Make sure you have a detailed “About” section, with photos of you (and your team if you have one) and information about how you got into business and what drives you creatively. Create a custom logo and shop banner and use branded imagery in your shop description to create a cohesive, professional look. Make sure your shop is well organized with categories and that products are sorted into the appropriate categories, too.

Feature your most favorited items.

If you have products with a lot of favorites, those favorites are telling you something: these are great products! Once you’ve ensured the listings are well-written and informative, your photographs are beautiful and your shop is in fighting shape, set your most favorited items as featured items in your shop. These products are favorited for a reason, and featuring them to new visitors and return visitors to your shop is an easy way to get more sales.

Pay attention to the seasons.

Just because an item isn’t selling currently, doesn’t actually mean there’s anything wrong with your listing or product. Before you go down the “why isn’t this selling?” wormhole, consider whether the item is seasonal. Are you getting lots of favorites on a fall jacket, gloves or mug in July, but no sales? This is nothing to worry about! It’s totally normal to get favorites on seasonal items in advance of that season and to see sales come later. Of course, this knowledge doesn’t actually help you get more sales NOW. If this is your situation, identify which of your products are sellable in the current season and focus your attention on those. Add those products to your featured items, make sure your Etsy keywords are on point and that you’re using strong Etsy SEO strategies. Update your images, provide lots of great info in your listings and give your customers what they need to make a buying decision.

Are You Ready To Make More Etsy Sales?

With these simple tips, you’ll be better prepared to turn Etsy favorites into sales and write your own #SellerSuccessStory. But if you want to take your shop to the next level, there’s even more great Etsy marketing knowledge you can learn.

Check out my FREE GUIDE to the 20+ Essential Tools for Etsy Sellers and join my FREE Facebook group just for Etsy sellers interested in getting more views for their listings and more sales for their shop. In the group, you’ll get access to free weekly mini trainings and daily tips and tricks to grow your Etsy traffic and your sales. You’ll also get to connect with other Etsy sellers just like you, to share experiences and expertise and support each other as you build your Etsy businesses.