Lessons Learned in my First Year on Etsy

Lessons Learned in my First Year on Etsy

by Karla Fidoe (owner and maker of Pop of Color Bags)

I opened my Etsy shop, Pop of Color Bags, on February 19, 2019. Let me start off by saying, I'm not a millionaire or getting to retire early because my shop was a wild success. I am a full time elementary school teacher. I opened my shop at the encouragement of my friends and my third graders. I was doing a month of morning meetings on the topic of following your dreams. All kids believe if you want something, it magically happens. I was trying to teach them that once you know your dream, you take steps to achieve it - they may be tiny steps, but each day you do a little more until you realize your dream. And then it hit me, I wanted to have a reason to sew more - I wanted to have the confidence to sell my handbags online. So, I opened my shop.

That first day was a little like losing your virginity. You feel like you have had this major life event, and you keep checking in the mirror to see if other people will notice the monumental change. Opening the shop was anti-climatic. It's not like you start hearing the cha-ching chime as soon as your shop is live. 

And then I made my first sale in that first week. I realized I had not thought about how I would print the shipping labels, or where I would drop off the package - and immediately panicked. Here's lesson number 1: Before panicking, read the Etsy help articles. They really do walk you through every situation. 

Lesson number 2: Join an Etsy Facebook group. Be careful, they are extremely useful for posting questions or asking for shop critiques, but don't get sucked into the complaining, sob stories about shops getting closed, or competing with other shops (some people post their stats regularly). I use the Facebook group to help me understand changes Etsy occasionally makes, and to ask random questions. The community is great at answering and allaying fears, giving advice, and sharing perspectives you may not have considered when it comes to understanding Etsy.

Lesson number 3: Once I had more than 50 items in my shop, I started getting more views generated by Etsy. I did research my tags (ETSY SEO), updated my Etsy shop at least once a day, and used Canva to create Pinterest graphics. But, in the end, having more items gave me the biggest boost in views, and I started getting spotted on the first couple of page views for wristlet clutches, instead of being on page 100. 

Lesson number 4: Create a blog. I know, this is the hardest step, but makes the most difference in the views you receive from Pinterest. I went from 10 monthly view to 23k monthly views in the space of 10 months, and all because I started blogging. Sure, graphics are great on Pinterest, but having tutorials and commentary (just like I would click on when I am researching ideas) means you get more interest. You are more likely to be re-pinned. I have almost 28,000 impressions on just 2 of my blog posts, and that is just in the last 90 days.

Lesson number 5: Do it your way. There's a lot of talk about "branding," but if you stay true to your vision, and what you love, you'll have an automatic brand. All of my purses go together. Every single one has a sense of my style and attention to details. If I just researched other shops, and tried to recreate their successes, I would lose my voice. By doing what I love, my brand shows through loud and clear.

I feel like I had a great first year, and am happy I took the plunge. In the next year, I am challenging myself to do better, and to continue tweaking my shop. My photographs could always be better, I should blog more, I should think about variations instead of just having one of a kind items. But for now, in this last week of 2019, I'm going to marvel at the fact I sold purses to 14 different states, made 78 sales, and was able to do this by sewing what I love.

Happy Sewing!
Karla