Today I am going to show the magic “trick” I used to get people to make my first 6 sales on Etsy in my brand new shop!
Please note: This article contains affiliate links, and that means that I may earn a commission if you buy something. Read my full disclosure here.
Starting An Etsy Shop
If you are starting a new Etsy shop and all fired up about making ONE MILLION dollars on your first day, I am probably not the “guru” for you!
I have grown two past Etsy stores to multi-thousand dollar sales and my first Etsy store has sold over $30K over the years (I have moved on from that one into a new “artsy” Etsy shop… say that three times fast!)
I KNOW, the talking heads on Youtube say that you can make SO MUCH MONEY on Etsy, but for the “normal” seller without hundreds of thousands of Youtube subscribers, making your first few sales in a reasonable goal!
Additional resource: All my Etsy seller articles from beginner to advanced!
Why Do Those First Few Sales Matter So Much?
When you go to an Etsy shop and see that there are no sales or reviews it can be a little intimidating as a buyer. Will this shop really send me what I ordered or is it a scam?
But if you see even a few sales and then good reviews for the items that they sold, it doesn't really matter that there are only a handful of sales, it still feels like you will get what what you paid for!
Additionally, you, as the shop owner can start to see which products people are buying and be able to gage what products you will make in the future!
(wanna see my shop in action? check it out here!)
When Should You Get Some Sales?
I KNOW, it is so tempting to tell everyone that you have a brand new shop, even before you have many products in it, but patience grasshopper, give it a minute before you blast your new shop out to the world!
I have heard that you should start your shop with X number of products… some say 10, some say 20, some say 100.
What I do when I launch a new shop is to add one or two products a day until I get at least a few categories started and have what feels like a robust selection to choose from.
I did my “magic” trick when I had about 30 products in my shop. I got to that number about 30 days in (one a day, so duh!)
Additional Resource: Get 40 Free Listings When You Sign Up For Etsy!
How To Get Your First Few Sales
So now the big question… how did I get those sales?
I sell digital downloads so I offered a “magic ticket” to my email list of about 18K readers.
If they would buy one product, they could have free unlimited downloads of anything in my shop going forward forever!
Now, I can hear the problems you are thinking about…
- I don't have an email list of 18K!
- If I do have an email list of 18K won't I be giving away too many things and lose all my future customers???
- Won't people take advantage of this and bother me forever???
So out of 18 THOUSAND PEOPLE, 4 took me up on my offer… one person bought two things (I LOVE her), and three people bought one thing, and then my ecommerce besty bought one thing too!
That sounds about right since my email list is built on giving free vintage printables away. So my list is a freebie list not a buying list, so it makes sense so few people took me up on my offer!
But now I have 6 sales showing on my stats and I have a little bit more info about which products actual human beings would pay good money for… whoo whoo!
What If You Don't Have A List
So if you don't have a list, offer the biggest discount you have available to your friends and family to buy anything… go into the hole financially if you have to!
Beg them to buy something so you can get some sales showing on your shop!
You could also go into a Facebook group that allows promotions and give that same offer! Or ask your bookclub or church lady friends to buy.
Functionally this is about thinking what resources that you have to get those first few sales and start the ball rolling with Etsy!
Don't Tell Them What To Buy
As much as the number of sales at the top will help humans be more comfortable buying from you, seeing sales roll in helps Etsy know what kinds of your products people are loving to buy!
DO NOT try to force this by recommending a product of yours that you love or getting people all to buy the same product.
That kind of weird buying pattern might trigger the Etsy AI to think that something weird is happening inside your store, just let people buy what they want without trying to game the system!
HUGE DISCLAIMER… Don't have someone in your own house buy your products… that can freak Etsy out because they track the computer IP address and they will think you are trying to cheat the system!
Asking For Reviews
Last but not least, ask those people to leave reviews! Reviews help other people decide to make a buying decision and are another signal to Etsy that you are a legitimate shop owner who is doing things the right way!
I have 3 reviews from my six sales.. double whoo whoo!
One lady said she didn't know how to leave a review, fair, and my ecommerce besty hasn't left one yet so I texted her asking her to leave one (the two purchase lady left two reviews… swoon, she is my favorite person on the planet currently!)
Getting Your First Few Etsy Sales Wrapup
One last thing that people will say not to do, send random people to your Etsy shop… and that is fair! If a whole bunch of people come by and don't purchase anything it hurts your conversion rate (the number of people who visited, versus the number of people who bought something).
I am a marketing gal so my conversion rate is always in the pits because I know how to drive lots of traffic to my shop (wanna see my shop? check it out here!)
That said, you driving a few friends or colleagues who might not buy is offset by the chance to have a great Grand Opening of your new online shop!
Hopefully this helps… XOXO Tara
