Setting up your Etsy listings – the RIGHT way!

You’ve just started your Etsy shop, or are about to, or you’ve been up and going for awhile and see that sales are ho-hum, then this post is for you! You want your products to be seen but how with all the competition? In this post I’m going through the three things you MUST do really well when setting up a listing. Setting up your Etsy listings the right way will bring customers and sales to your shop.

#1 Photos – make it stand out

Your listing photo is crucial. When a customer enters a search term, they are shown a photo grid of products from various Etsy sellers.

The main listing photo will be seen in a search result. The customer then scans through all the listing images to find what they like and interests them. They’ll also be looking at the price, review count and stars, and maybe even the title – but none of those are as important as the listing photo.

So how do you make a photo that stands out in search? I could go into great detail (and probably will for a future posts just on listing photos) but this is the nitty gritty that you’ll want to make sure you do when creating a listing photo.

The quality of your image is very important. You NEED to make it look professional. Professional-looking products will ensure trust and quality to the customer. Which in turn will convert that into a sale.

Below are some tips for taking good pictures:

• Use a decent camera
  • Most smartphones can do a decent job, but if you have a higher quality DSLR camera, it’s a good idea to learn how to use it. Don’t go out and spend a bunch of money on a new camera because a smartphone camera can do a decent job.

• Lighting
  • Have your product well lit and bright. Dull, dark, shadowy images are not attractive.

• Background
  • Pay attention to your background. If possible, use a lightbox or a white background. Stay away from anything that will be distracting to the eye. You want the focus of the photo to be on your product so that a customer knows exactly what they’re looking at and getting.

• Styling
  • Stying your image can be a good idea – depending on the product. Styling an image will help give a sense of what it looks like in reality. For example, a simple t-shirt on a plain white background can be a little boring. Dress up that image with some cute jeans, shoes, and maybe some jewelry or sunglasses. Just be careful to not confuse the customer – make it clear they’re only getting a t-shirt and not anything else on the image.

You get 10 images to use within your listing. However, only the first image is used for the listing photo. Maximize the use of the image section to show different angles, how it’s used, a stylized image, etc.

I also like to use the photo section to describe more about the product. For example, on my vinyl decal Etsy shop, I use pictures to show how to apply a decal in pictures and how the sizes are explained. I find this very effective because most people will look at images before reading text (like the description section). You can even put customer photos in your photo section!

# 2 Title – utilizing it for search

Create a title that both describes your item AND utilizes it for search. Combining it both informs the customer and ensures your product be seen.

All of my product titles describe exactly what the product is, and is then followed by keywords that will find the product in a search.

For example, if I was selling an Elephant vinyl decal, my title would look something like this: Elephant vinyl decal – jungle zoo wild adventure childrens kids room decor cute fun simple nursery sticker animal themed bedroom decoration

You see that it describes the product, followed by a bunch of keywords that a customer may type in to search for a similar product.

The title box gives you 140 characters. Maximize that space and use every character if you can!

#3 Tags

Tags are keywords. We stuffed the title with them, and now we are going to use more in the tag section. Use phrases that customers may use in their search; “vinyl decal”, “elephant decal”, “nursery zoo decor”, “jungle theme room”, etc.

You only get 10 tags to use so use them wisely and use them ALL! Keep in mind that each tag only allows 20 characters. Unsure what to use for a tag? Just search similar products to see how they are tagging theirs to get ideas. Or see what comes up when you begin to type a search in Etsy’s search bar! The predictive text will help give you ideas for keywords as well.

All 3 elements are really important. First, an amazing listing photo will help guide the customer’s eye to your product. Second, have a clear title packed with keywords. And third, using tags that customers are using will ensure your product shows up in search. Setting up your Etsy listings the right way will put you ahead of the game and bringing in sales!

Interested in learning more about Etsy? You’ll find all of my Etsy posts here!