The Secrets of Etsy Hunter

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1 The Secrets of Etsy Hunter PHOTOGRAPHY Quality Photographs A picture tells a thousand words, but on Etsy, they tell the whole story. Your photos are a direct representation of what you are selling; if your photos don t look good then neither do your products. You don t have to invest in professional equipment to get great photos, but you do need to know what you re doing. Take the time to learn how to take great photos of your products, and follow some online tutorials to learn the basics of lighting, framing, merchandising, and so forth. This really is a non-negotiable. Trust us. Quality & Unique Products When we first started out building up Etsy Hunter, we focused specifically on one-of-a kind products. They are still our favorite to feature today. We seek the unique. That said, we understand that while not all products can be unique, your take on them can be. We hunt down products and images that expressed individualism and the personality of the artist in the piece. The more interesting your product or unique it is, the more likely people are going to be intrigued by it, and the more likely Etsy Hunter s networks will be to discover you. Do not under 51

2 estimate the value of quality. After all that is the foundation of the Etsy Community, so keep it alive. Long-looking photographs. By which we mean: intriguing photographs, images that encourage the customer to linger over them to enjoy the aesthetic, or to take in a complex detail, or fully understand what is happening in the picture. It s a quirk of human psychology, but it has been proven time and again that the longer the human eye spends with a photo, the more likely they are to respond to it. This is key for Instagram and of course, for Etsy. This tactic is a sometimes food. You should us it sparingly, when you want to bring out the big guns. Consistency in images. When you are posting images to your social media platforms day in, day out, it s easy to get carried away with the inspiration of the day, and lose track of the overall style of your pages. Check in once in a while to look at your Instagram feed or Facebook photo gallery as a whole. You might be surprised at the difference in style between the images. Always keep the importance of consistency in your store/brand s overall look. INTERACTIONS Play nice. Interacting with other users of your platforms is fundamental. Since the early days of Etsy Hunter, we ve advised that if you feature on our account, then you should be kind and gracious to those who comment. This goes for all social platforms. People want to know they are being heard and that their opinion matters. They might just be a potential customer, and in any case, it costs nothing to be nice! 52

3 Liking and commenting. It pays to be actively social, to like and occasionally comment on other people s feeds. While commenting has our place, we ve found the best use of our time is to spend it liking photos on similar products from other brand s feeds. We recommend you spend some time each day engaging with the community around your brand in this way, which can be accessed through similar brand s feeds, searching hash tags, and so on. Keep in mind that Instagram actually have a limit on how much you can engage during a day, so you can t spend the whole day liking away in any case but we advice at least 20 minutes in the morning as a minimum investment. Rise of the machines. Sometimes we re asked by our stores if they should engage the services of a paid program or bot that artificially inflates their likes/ friends/followers. All we can say is, don t! It might look good in the short term, particularly if you are trying to project success and popularity, but it s a bad look in the long term. The reality is, as a store, your greatest currency is trust, and when you use bots to pretend to be more popular than you are, you are breaking the trust of your customer. In the worst case scenario, this kind of spam can get you banned from Instagram. It s a far better idea to grow your account organically, interact naturally, find like minded people, and leverage the tricks you ve learned in this ebook. Posting Times and Frequency. Everybody has a theory about the perfect time to post, but honestly, there s no one answer, everyone s needs are different. Early mornings are always good for, as most people will check their social media accounts soon after they wake up. At the same time, afternoon posts 53

4 or even those late at night can be very successful. Quality of content is far more important than time of post, make sure it is well thought out, and be consistent in the times you post so your audience knows when to expect you. Be aware that there is a minimum and maximum that you should be posting. More than five a day is too much in our opinion, while the optimum is three to four posts, spaced out through the day. Find what works for you, but don t overdo it (or underdo it)! Giveaways There are few more successful ways of branching out and reaching new audiences for your brand than a good old-fashioned giveaway. That said, it s important to know how often to do these. We do no more than one a month, and we advise our stores to ask their audience to build their brand by sharing their content. This might be asking them to share a photo or tag a friend who doesn t follow the brand. Over time, this ads up. It s also a great tactic to team up with other sellers to offer substantial giveaways. For example, a group of interior designers recently conducted a group giveaway called the loop. Participants would have to engage with each member of the loop, with the result of collective growth, social buzz, and a substantial prize for the winner. BRANDING This is the first and final word in any online venture. We created a clear brand with Etsy Hunter with a clear goal, to find the best of what Etsy has to offer. This clarity of vision is crucial to any business starting out. You must consider your brand seriously, and what you want to convey. Make sure you can explain the purpose of your brand to yourself in a simple sentence, because if you can t sell it to yourself, you won t be able to sell it to others. 54

5 Understand what people look for, find the people looking for what you offer and the rest will take care of itself. It worked for us here at Hunting Handmade when we created Etsy Hunter. It will work for you too. The Seven Wonders of Etsy Every day, our team at Etsy Hunter scours the Internet for the best and brightest in boutique goods. Over time, we ve noticed that some products have a clear edge over their competition when it comes to standing out and making sales. Here, we ve put together a list of the seven things you can do to make your products the most popular on Etsy. Keep this list handy, and when you are considering a new product, take a moment to makes sure they do one or more of the following things. 1. Tie-ins: While you should be careful not to treat on someone else s copyright, products that are inspired by pop cultural quotes or imagery from movies are always popular. 2. Cuteness: Nobody s day was ever ruined when a kitten turned up. Cute images, animals, or heart-warming quotes never get old. 3. The Common Touch: The more people you appeal to, the more people will enjoy your products. Make something that an average person will appreciate through the day during small moments: a favorite mug, a treasured hat, a perfect gift, and your customers will reward you. 4. Fully Handmade: In a world where everything is massproduced and manufactured, customers appreciate something hand-made with love. 5. On-Trend Design: It pays to keep track of fashions in consumer goods. If feathers/geometrics/aztec designs are in vogue, then you know they are going to sell. 55

6 6. Helping Hands: Items that help other people/stores, such as gift tags encourage good will, and that encourages sales! 7. Feel-Good Hits: Products that evoke positive feelings, that make people think about love, or inspirational moments are always in demand. Make the world a better place, one item at a time. 56