Etsy, the popular online marketplace for handmade and vintage goods, introduced a new advertising service called “offsite ads” in April 2020. With this service, Etsy takes care of advertising your products on a range of platforms including Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and more. This means that your items can be promoted to a larger audience beyond Etsy’s own platform. In addition to these platforms, Etsy also promotes your items through its publishing partners, which include well-known media outlets such as Buzzfeed, Martha Stewart, and Real Simple.
The best part about offsite ads is that it is risk-free cost-free, as you only pay an advertising fee when a sale is made. You don’t have to pay anything upfront, and you’re not charged if shoppers only click on the ads without making a purchase. This ensures that you only pay for the advertising that actually results in sales.
However, it’s important to note that offsite ads are mandatory for Etsy sellers who have earned over US$10,000 within a 12-month period. This is to ensure that all sellers who have reached a certain level of success on Etsy participate in the program and benefit from the increased exposure that offsite ads provide.
Additionally, Google shopping ads have been integrated into the offsite ads program. This means that your products can be advertised on Google Shopping, which is a popular destination for people looking to buy products online. With the inclusion of Google Shopping ads, your items will be even more visible to potential customers, leading to increased sales and revenue.
How Much Does Etsy Charge for Offsite Ads?
Etsy’s new offsite advertising service charges a higher advertising fee than its previous advertising programs. For Etsy sellers who have earned over US$10,000 in the past 12 months, the advertising fee is 12%. For other sellers, the fee is 15%. This fee is in addition to the original Etsy fees, such as transaction fees and Etsy Payment fees.
It’s important to note that the advertising fee is not a one-time charge. If a shopper clicks on your ad and makes multiple purchases within 30 days, the advertising fee will be charged on all orders made by that customer. This means that if a shopper clicks on your ad and makes three purchases within a month, you will be charged the advertising fee for all three orders. This fee is in addition to the transaction fee, listing fee, and Etsy Payments fee.
Understandably, many sellers are frustrated by these changes. However, it appears that Etsy is committed to this new advertising program. If you choose to continue selling on Etsy, it’s essential to find the right tactics to deal with the higher fees. Some sellers may choose to adjust their pricing to account for the additional costs, while others may focus on optimizing their listings to increase visibility and conversion rates. It’s essential to weigh the pros and cons of the offsite ads program and determine the best approach for your business.
How to Decide if Etsy Offsite Ads are Right for You?
If your profit margin is high enough, then it may still be profitable to take advantage of Etsy’s offsite ads program. One of the most significant benefits of this new system is that you only pay when you make a sale, which eliminates much of the risk. However, it’s crucial to note that the advertising fee can be quite high, especially for sellers who haven’t earned over US$10,000 in the past 12 months. For these sellers, the advertising fee is 15%, which can significantly impact profitability.
If you don’t have a high enough profit margin to justify the advertising fee, you can either find ways to increase it or choose not to use the offsite ads program altogether. It’s essential to evaluate the cost-benefit analysis of using offsite ads and determine whether it’s the right strategy for your business.
It’s also worth noting that using offsite ads may increase your sales and visibility on various platforms, including Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. This increased visibility can help you reach new customers and increase your revenue. However, it’s essential to balance the potential benefits of offsite ads with the advertising fees and other associated costs to determine the most profitable approach for your business.
How Your Shop is Selected for Promotion Etsy Offsite Ads?
In the competitive world of Etsy, it’s essential to have high-quality product photos and a high conversion rate to be successful. With the offsite ads program, Etsy only makes money when you do. Therefore, it’s in Etsy’s best interest to promote products that sell well and generate more sales.
To maximize your chances of being promoted in Etsy’s advertising, you need to beat out your competitors in terms of click-through and conversion rates. The higher your conversion rate, the more likely it is that Etsy will promote your products in their advertising, leading to more sales and revenue for you.
It’s worth noting that Etsy requires sellers who have made over US$10,000 in a year to participate in the offsite ads program. This is because these sellers have “proven” that their products sell well, and Etsy is more likely to earn advertising fees by promoting them.
Therefore, it’s crucial to focus on optimizing your product photos, descriptions, and listing optimization to increase your conversion rate and beat out the competition. By doing so, you increase your chances of being promoted in Etsy’s advertising, leading to more sales and revenue for your business.
Best Practices for Succeeding with Etsy Offsite Ads
Adding Better Product Images in Etsy Shop
High-quality photos are crucial for the success of your Etsy shop. Your images should be visually appealing and eye-catching, grabbing the attention of potential customers as they browse through search results. Good photography helps your products stand out from the crowd and conveys the quality of your products to shoppers who cannot physically touch them. In addition to being eye-catching, your images should accurately represent your product, showing it from multiple angles, and with accurate colors and dimensions.
Compelling & Informative Product Descriptions
Crafting an effective Etsy product description is crucial for driving sales on the platform. A well-written product description can serve several functions, including enticing shoppers with the emotional appeal of your product, providing them with the necessary information for a logical purchase decision, and answering any questions or concerns they may have.
To write a compelling Etsy description, it’s essential to first consider why your customer should care about your product and how it can improve their life or solve their problem. Rather than just focusing on the color, size, or functions of your product, try to appeal to your customer’s emotions. For instance, your product may bring them happiness, and comfort, or help them become healthier. On the flip side, it may reduce their stress, relieve pain, or prevent them from missing out.
How to Improve Your Etsy Shop Profitability
Once you have enticed your customer with the emotional appeal of your product, they will likely have questions and concerns that you can address. These may include why they should choose your product over a competitor’s, how long shipping will take, or why they should trust your Etsy shop. It’s crucial to answer these concerns thoroughly in either the product description, product photos, or shop policy, as it reduces the barrier to purchase and increases the likelihood of making a sale.
Increase Price of Items
When selling on Etsy, it’s essential to have a good profit margin to ensure that you’re making a profit after all expenses have been accounted for. Here are some strategies to increase the profit margin for your Etsy shop:
Raising prices on Etsy can be risky, and it’s important to have a reason to do so. Simply increasing prices without a good justification could lead to customer dissatisfaction. To justify raising your prices, consider improving your product quality, using better materials, and investing in better product photography to create a premium feel. You can also look at premium brands in your niche and examine what they are doing differently to provide a similar experience for your customers.
It’s also important to avoid alienating your existing customers, so consider creating higher-priced new products rather than replacing your original ones. You can also offer add-ons such as gift packaging, which can be charged separately from the product price. Bundling popular products in your shop can also be an effective way to increase the perceived value of your offerings and make your customers feel like they are getting a good deal.
Ultimately, the key to successfully raising prices on Etsy is to make sure that you are providing value to your customers and that you have a clear reason for charging more. By doing so, you can increase your profit margin without alienating your existing customers.
Decrease Cost of Items
To increase your profit margin, it’s important to understand the supply chain of your product and find ways to source your materials at a lower cost. It’s unlikely that you already have the lowest price for your raw materials, as they are likely being sourced through a chain of retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers.
One strategy to find lower-cost raw materials is to attend trade shows in your city. Some of these trade shows may be open to the public, allowing you to connect with wholesalers and negotiate for better prices. It’s important to take note of their contact details so that you can continue to buy from them outside of the trade shows.
In addition, it’s worth considering alternative sources for your materials, such as overseas suppliers. While there are some risks associated with this approach, such as longer shipping times and quality control issues, it can also be an effective way to reduce costs and increase your profit margin.
Finally, it’s important to regularly review your supply chain and materials costs to identify opportunities for cost savings. As your business grows, you may be able to negotiate better prices with your existing suppliers or find new suppliers that offer better prices and quality. By taking a strategic approach to sourcing your materials, you can help ensure that your business remains competitive and profitable.
Increase Customer Relationship
To increase your long-term success on Etsy, it’s essential to build a friendly and trustworthy relationship with your customers. By positioning yourself as a reliable and knowledgeable seller, you can establish yourself as the go-to seller for your particular product niche.
One of the most effective strategies to accomplish this is by implementing an automated email sequence for your customers. By providing valuable information and resources through your email sequence, you can help customers develop a deeper understanding of your product offerings and build trust with your brand.
As a result, customers are more likely to return to your shop and make additional purchases. For example, implementing an effective email sequence could result in customers purchasing three items instead of just one, ultimately driving more sales and increasing your profit margins.
It’s important to note that while building trust with customers may take time, it’s a crucial long-term strategy for achieving sustainable success on Etsy. By prioritizing customer satisfaction and investing in your relationship with your audience, you can position yourself as a top seller in your niche and drive consistent sales over time.
Onsite Ads – Promoted Listing
How Much Does Etsy Promoted Listing Cost?
Etsy-promoted listings, also known as Etsy ads, can be a valuable tool to increase your shop’s visibility and drive traffic to your listings. However, it’s important to understand how they work and how much they cost. In most cases, the cost per click for Etsy-promoted listings can range from $0.2 to $0.3. It’s worth noting that you’ll be charged for each click on your ad, not for impressions or sales. This means that even if someone clicks on your ad but doesn’t make a purchase, you’ll still be charged for that click. It’s important to carefully monitor your ad spend and adjust your strategy as needed to ensure you’re getting the most out of your advertising budget.
Etsy Promoted Listing Strategies
Etsy has recently made some changes to the promoted listing dashboard. While some customizations have been removed, there are still ways to optimize your promoted listings for maximum sales and profit.
One of the changes is that individual bid adjustments are no longer available. Instead, you can now only control the daily budget for all your promoted products. This means you need to be strategic in choosing which products to promote and how much to spend on them.
To make the most of your promoted listings, start by identifying your most profitable products and focusing on those. Use data analysis to determine which products have the highest conversion rates and adjust your budget accordingly. You may find that some products are not worth promoting, while others have a higher return on investment.
It’s also important to continuously monitor and analyze your promoted listing’s performance to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your budget. Make adjustments as necessary and experiment with different strategies to find what works best for your shop. With the right approach, you can use Etsy-promoted listings to increase your sales and grow your business.
Choose Etsy Listings With the Highest Conversion Rate
Improving your listing quality is essential to ensure your products are displayed to potential buyers on Etsy. With the recent changes in the promoted listing dashboard, you can no longer set individual bids, making it even more crucial to focus on listing quality. Etsy’s goal is to show products that shoppers will click and buy, so your listings need to be eye-catching and have a high conversion rate.
To get started, check your Etsy stats by clicking on “orders” to see which products have the highest sales. Calculate their conversion rates by dividing the number of orders by the number of views. Select 10-20 products with the highest conversion rates to promote. Optimize your listings by using eye-catching photography and descriptions that effectively showcase your product’s unique features and benefits to your target audience. Including relevant keywords and phrases in your listing titles, tags, and descriptions can also improve your product’s visibility in Etsy search results.
Testing And Adjusting Etsy Listing
Once you’ve been promoting your Etsy listings for a week to a month and have gathered data on their performance, you can start to analyze the results for patterns and areas for improvement. Here are some valuable insights you can extract from the data:
Listings with high views but low clicks: These are likely due to unappealing thumbnail photos that aren’t eye-catching enough. Consider improving your photography to entice visitors to click.
Listings with high clicks and relatively low sales: Improving your conversion rate is your best option for these listings. Take a look at your product descriptions, shop policies, and other factors that could be hindering sales.
Listings with low views and low clicks: These listings probably have a lower listing quality score, meaning their click-through and conversion rates are lower. Fixing these will take a longer time.
If you can quickly fix issues with category 1 and 2 listings, do so and keep promoting them. If the fixes take longer, take these listings off promoted listings until you’ve addressed the issues. Make a note of the date you’ve made all the fixes and give it a few weeks to see the new results, making sure to only show the results of the period after the revision. If you’re confident in making further changes, go ahead, otherwise, stop promoting the products that have low clicks and sales. Keep in mind that listing quality is crucial to how often your products will be shown to potential buyers, so it’s essential to continually optimize and improve them.
Scaling Up Etsy Ad Budget
Once you have identified your top-performing products using the previous steps, the next step is to increase your sales by increasing your budget. However, it’s important to monitor your promoted listings regularly, at least once every few weeks, to ensure that everything is still working properly. You may need to repeat the previous step and revise or eliminate products that are not performing well. It’s also important to note that any new products you introduce in the future will need to go through the same optimization steps to ensure they bring in the maximum sales and profit.
When it comes to increasing your budget, it’s important to do so gradually and monitor the results carefully. Start by increasing your daily budget by 10-20% and monitor the results over a few days. If you see a significant increase in sales without a corresponding increase in ad spend, you can continue to gradually increase your budget. However, if you don’t see a significant improvement, it may be time to revisit your promoted listings and make some revisions. By following these steps and regularly monitoring your promoted listings, you can optimize your Etsy ads and drive more sales for your shop.
