Etsy Success: Critique Your Shop

Etsy Success: Critique Your Shop
daniellexo

Story by daniellexo

Published on Jan 19, 2012 in Seller Handbook


The Seller Education team has collectively been critiquing your Etsy Shops for over 9 years! We’ve watched many of you grow after our critiques and we’ve also seen you successfully critiquing each other on the Forums and in your Etsy Teams. I’ve created this list of the most important questions you should ask when critiquing your own shop (or a friends!). You can also download and print this list! Am I missing an important question? Let me know in the comments below.

Will your Shop Name help promote you?

Is your shop name easy to remember, spell, and say?

Does your Public Profile need a little help?

Is your avatar recognizable and does it reflect your style and personality?

Have you filled out your location?

Does your profile tell your story?

Are your Shop Settings working for you?

Do your Shop Title and Announcement contain good search keywords?

Does your banner reflect your style? Does it look good with your item photos?

Have you enabled buyers to follow your Facebook Fan Page and Twitter accounts?

Are your Shop Policies filled out? Do they instill trust in a buyer?


McKinney Inspirations by thatsaplanonline

Let’s check out what’s in your shop!

Do you have enough items in your shop? The more items you have the more a buyer has to choose from, and the more likely you’ll be found in a search query.

Are your item titles easy to read?

Is there variety in the titles throughout your shop?

Have you made your titles, tags, and descriptions relevant for search?

Do you use all spots for tags in each item listing with relevant search terms?

Do you use style, color, size and texture tags including word phrases as tags that a your buyer would search (eg. steampunk cufflinks)?

Do your descriptions reflect your unique voice – making it easy for the buyer to connect with you as the artist or collector?

Do you answer all the questions a buyer might be asking about this item?

Re-evaluate your prices. Do your prices reflect the quality of your work and your time?

Do you ship internationally? Ask your local Etsy Team for advice if you need it. (Did you know that roughly 1 in 4 sales on Etsy involves a buyer or seller outside of the U.S.?)

Search for what you sell, and look at your photos in search results. Do your photos make you want to click?

Are you using all 5 spots for images including at least one close-up and one photo that shows the whole piece?

Do you have unnecessary graphics, borders or logos on your photos?

Is your shop cohesive? If not, try to tie it together with your photography style. Cut back on listing items that aren’t selling.

Finis by DMSStudioWorks

How did you do? Think you’ve mastered all these points? Don’t worry, there are still a few things you can work on that I didn’t cover here (like promoting, branding, product development, etc.). Never stop evolving your shop, that’s what makes running your own creative business fun, not only for you but also for your buyers.