Getting your Etsy shop ready for the holiday season is so important for a variety of reasons: increased competition, setting yourself apart, meeting customer's needs, and staying on-trend and relevant. It's also a fun way to get in the holiday spirit and market yourself as a go-to gift shop! Keep reading to discover four essential ways to prep your shop for the holidays.
1. Adjust your branding:
This is really easy to do, and a fun way to get your customers in the holiday spirit. You want to focus on getting your shoppers to associate gift-giving with your products, and adjusting your branding (and even listing photos) is the easiest way to do so.
Think about when you walk into a mall during the holiday season – there are decorations EVERYWHERE, holiday music blasting, Santa is on display, and all of a sudden you remember that you have 5 people left to buy for and start looking for inspiration in store windows! You can do the same thing with your Etsy shop by transforming your shop and social media pages into a holiday wonderland. And not just for Christmas either – you should also be doing this for other major gift giving holidays and seasons like halloween/fall, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day.
It doesn't have to just be your Etsy shop icon, either! Have fun adjusting your Etsy header photo, and post holiday-related photos to your social media pages as well.
2. Determine a focus:
Choose 5-7 specific products that you really want to push during the season. Hone in on these products, get them in tip-top shape on Etsy, and focus on telling the customer what they need to know. For example, does this listing make the perfect stocking stuffer? Is it the perfect addition to their co-worker gifts? Be sure to put this information not only in your Etsy listing description, but also market it accordingly on social media and in any advertisements that you publish for the season.
You should also be utilizing this same tactic with your marketing emails to your subscribers. Don't worry about showing your subscribers every little thing that you have to offer. This can leave them feeling overwhelmed and annoyed with too many emails. Instead, show them your 5-7 chosen listings that you think are the best gift-giving pieces in your shop - these are likely to be the ones that make the most holiday sales anyway. If a customer likes those listings, then they will certainly take it upon themselves to go check out the rest of your shop, anyway!
3. Update your SEO:
With new seasons and holidays should always come new SEO. You have to make sure that your listings are staying on-trend and getting found by the right shoppers on the Etsy search system. Be sure to use a variety of on-brand, holiday related keywords in your titles, tags, and descriptions in order to keep up with the competition.
For example, let's say that you're selling this necklace:
If your original title is: "Mountain Pendant Necklace, Silver Jewelry, Traveler Necklace"
Then your new title should be: "Mountain Pendant Necklace, Ready to Ship Christmas Gift, Holiday Gift for Her, Stocking Stuffer for Traveler"
Just a few added keywords can make a big difference. When holiday shoppers turn to online stores, it's rare that they know exactly what they're looking for - they want inspiration. So instead of them searching simple keywords like "Necklace", it's much more likely that they'd search something like "Sentimental Gift for Mom".
Why is holiday SEO so important?
- 13 million new shoppers joined Etsy from October-December of 2020. That's 76.7% more new shoppers compared to the same time in 2019.
- Shoppers spent $3.3 billion on Etsy from October to December (not including sales of face masks and coverings). That’s a 118% increase compared to the same time in 2019.
- E-commerce sales will rise 11.3% to $206.88 billion.
- E-commerce will account for a record 18.9% of total holiday season retail sales.
These numbers are staggering, and should get your running to your desk to make sure you have a strong holiday marketing plan in place!
4. Consider implementing an advertising budget:
Etsy is inundated with a shops, some of the most popular being jewelry shops, drinkware, apparel, and party & paper supplies. To break it down a bit more for you, there are: - 22 million search results for "Jewelry" - 7.4 million for "Women's Clothing" - 7 million for "Party Supplies" - 2.3 million for "Drinkware" This gets even more over-saturated during the holiday season when shops pop up for 3-4 months, only to close down again after the season is over. So how can you possibly compete? Of course, the first step is always always to focus on your photography, SEO, and listing quality. These factors are ultimately going to help you make the most sales. Once you're confident that your listings are in a good place, using Etsy ads can place your listings in a better position in the search system even when there's high competition level. To determine an effective advertising budget, start small. Set your ad budget at $3-$5 per day, and review the results closely. From there, you can use your other factors in your advertising budget to create a hard working and effective budget
How do you get started?
To start using ads on Etsy, or increase/decrease your current spending, you can follow these steps:
- Sign into your Etsy Shop
- Click Shop Manager
- Click Marketing
- Click Etsy ads
- Click "Get Started"
You don't have to "go big or go home". If you feel ready to do so, start with a small advertising budget and potentially increase your spending from there. Keep a close eye on your ads, and make sure that you're getting a return on your money at the end of the holiday season, to know how to more efficiently advertise next holiday?
Prepping your shop for the holidays can be hassle free with my Holiday SEO package! Book now to reserve your spot - limited space available:
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