When choosing where you are going to sell your amazing crochet creations, I will always recommend Etsy first. I had the most success on Etsy rather than social media, and it is one of the few 3rd party marketplaces specifically built for handmade businesses like our which means it has tools created so that we can easily use it. So what are the benefits to selling your crochet on Etsy?
Etsy is a marketplace designed to provide handmade and vintage businesses with a platform to sell their products. You essentially rent a space on the site which you can use to sell your products. It gives you a place online to sell your physical and digital products without having to handle the cost of your own website.
Yes, you do have to pay fees but in my opinion these are well worth it when you consider the benefits you receive in exchange.
But what are the benefits to selling on Etsy?
There are a lot of benefits to selling your crochet on Etsy. Lets look at some of the biggest ones and why you should be taking advantage of these tools to grow your crochet business.
Your Products Will Be Found On Google
Did you know that if someone searches for the type of product that you sell on Google or Bing (or any search engine for that matter), your Etsy listing appears in the search results?
That is huge!!
Did you know that 3.5 billion searches are made on Google every single da
PER DAY!!!
And 93% of shopping purchases start with an internet search
You can get a slice of this traffic and boost your sales with your Etsy shop. But you do have to make sure each of your listings are optimised with the right keywords.
It can take a bit of research to find the words that work, but when you get these right, you get to sell your products on auto pilot. Your keywords will do the work for you and you can sell your products through the power of search engines.
No more having to find and persuade every single customer on Facebook or Instagram. No more having to spend hours engaging in various Facebook groups to become known.
It is freeing and gives you back your precious time.
Integrated Payment System
Etsy sorts out all of your payments for you. Etsy accepts all kinds of different payment methods, but you don’t need to set up anything except an account to accept your payments from Etsy. Which means your customers have options without you having to set up accounts with numerous different providers.
Having a range of payment methods ensures that you don’t loose sales because a customer doesn’t like to use the only payment method you have available. Some people hate using Paypal, some prefer to have the safety net of credit card protection.
Giving your customers options is always a great thing, even better if you can find a way to give them that doesn’t create extra work for you
Customer Messaging System
Etsy has its own messaging system so customers can contact you. This also has the function of being able to create a custom listing for any customer you have been messaging that isn’t visible to anyone else.
Etsy actually insists that you only message your customers on this platform, and this is a safety net for you. You see customers can appeal directly to Etsy if they feel that you have not kept up your end of the deal after they purchased from you. The messaging system can be accessed by Etsy to see what you said and how you tried to make things right for your customer. This messaging system is not only a great way to keep in contact with your customers, it is an insurance system for you.
Analytics
Being able to see your stats on any platform is always a good thing. Etsy shows you all the analytics for your store, including:
- How many visits
- How many clicks
- How many purchases
- Purchase value
- Year on year change
- How your visitors found you
These allow you to track the growth of your shop and see how things are improving over time.
Analytics are a very powerful tool if you use them. You can see what products are doing well and which are flops so that you can tailor your future product creation. You can see which marketing platforms your customers are coming from so you can see where you should be focusing your marketing efforts.
These numbers show you your future direction and what your customers are loving and what they are not liking quite so much. This gives you the power to move your business in the right direction – up
Etsy Deals With VAT Payments
If you are selling what you’ve made then this benefit won’t apply to you. But if you’re selling digital crochet patterns or any kind of digital download, then Etsy sorting out the VAT for you is a big benefit that takes an awkward legal problem out of your hands.
Did you know that you have to pay VAT on every single digital sale you make regardless of how much it costs?
Being digital, you can also sell in any country around the world. Which means you have to pay VAT in every country you sell to. If you were to do this yourself it would be an absolute time sucking headache that you just don’t need. But Etsy sorts all of this out for you automatically, meaning you can sell your crochet patterns without needing to think about any of that.
These are just a few of the benefits of setting up shop for your crochet on Etsy, there are a lot more besides.
Etsy is an amazing tool to have in your business box, and has so many ways to help you grow your sales – why? Simply put, Etsy doesn’t succeed if you don’t. Etsy doesn’t make money if you don’t, so it’s in their best interest to help you succeed. So my advice is to take advantage of everything they have to offer.
When you are ready there are 3 ways that I can help you:
- Listen to my podcast for more crochet tips and advice
- Sign up to my newsletter for weekly crochet selling tips and resources sent straight to your inbox
- Check out my free Facebook group for daily tips, resources and support
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