Etsy is one of the biggest marketplaces to sell handmade products. But is it a good place to sell your crochet?
To discover what fees you need to pay on Etsy, click to read my blog post here
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Hello and welcome to the Croce Business School podcast.
Speaker:But you can use your crochet to build a business that will give you the lifestyle you've been dreaming of is that see a good place to sell your crotch when you start looking for somewhere to sell your crotch.
Speaker:Etsy is one of the biggest recommendations you'll find.
Speaker:Etsy is one of the world's biggest marketplaces for independent sellers of handmade and vintage items to sell.
Speaker:It's essentially a place where you can rent a shop and you can list all of your items there for sale s.
Speaker:He does have fees, and I have a blog post that will go into detail about the fees, which I will pop into the description of this episode.
Speaker:But the question is, are the fees worth it?
Speaker:Because when you're selling on social media, you're selling for free, there is no cost attached to it.
Speaker:So why is Etsy a better place to sell?
Speaker:Well, the main reason is that is searchable.
Speaker:The problem with selling on social media is that there is no way for someone to search for what you sell.
Speaker:They can only search for you if they know your name or they know where you're located.
Speaker:Otherwise, you have to go and find all of your customers and bring all your customers to you yourself.
Speaker:Yes, social media is free.
Speaker:What are you going to do?
Speaker:The work let's see, however, gives you another option.
Speaker:S E is very well known.
Speaker:It's known as a place to find unique gifts.
Speaker:Oh, just unique.
Speaker:Something that is handmade or vintage, which automatically means that you will feel more comfortable putting a higher price tag on what you make.
Speaker:You can get away with charging a lot more on Etsy than you can on Facebook.
Speaker:You will find your audience much easier.
Speaker:But the other thing that etc.
Speaker:Has is a search engine.
Speaker:You can type anything into the SC search box and it will search every single store on its site.
Speaker:So if someone is looking for a flower patterned bag just popped into my head there, if you have a crochet bag with flowers on it and you have added that into your description, your titles, your tags, it will have a chance of coming up in the S C search results, which means that customers can find you, you can make some very random sales and etc.
Speaker:And by random I mean that you can get sales from people who you've never had contact with before.
Speaker:So you can end up with a sale from someone who you haven't had to go and find on social media you haven't had to go and chat with you haven't had to say, Oh, I sell things like that.
Speaker:Come on over to my shop the self conscious simply from someone who knows what they are looking for, loves the look of what you sell and has purchased.
Speaker:It's a very easy sale that you haven't had to work for, and that search box is what makes etc an amazing place to sell.
Speaker:It's less work and here's a bonus for you.
Speaker:Everything that you listen at sea will also appear in Google search results.
Speaker:So not only have you got a chance to sell directly on the platform, you will appear in Google search results.
Speaker:There is no bigger platform for you to appear on than Google search.
Speaker:There are literally millions upon millions of searches made every day on Google, and that is absolutely massive.
Speaker:You don't get that with Facebook, you don't get that with Instagram.
Speaker:You don't get that with Twitter.
Speaker:You get it with etc.
Speaker:The only other way you will get that is your own website.
Speaker:Yes, there are other marketplaces around where you could appear in Google searches.
Speaker:However, it is the biggest one.
Speaker:And because it's the biggest one, there's an awful lot of information out there to help you optimise your shop and your listings to give you the biggest chance of making those sales.
Speaker:Because it's so big.
Speaker:There's a lot of learning material out there, so it's easy to learn.
Speaker:Don't get me wrong.
Speaker:It takes work to get it right, and it takes a bit of practise and time.
Speaker:But you do not need to work as hard for those sales.
Speaker:It's in its interest to help you sell because they don't make their money unless you sell, so they provide you with a lot of help.
Speaker:There's the SC Handbook, which walks you through how to set up your shop and where your search terms need to appear.
Speaker:Yes, you need to learn how to use keywords and the importance of the titles and tags and descriptions you need to learn how to take the photos.
Speaker:They're going to make people click.
Speaker:If you're interested in how to stage your photos to look good, I have an e book available.
Speaker:I'll put that link into the description.
Speaker:I'm saying that a lot today.
Speaker:Um, but the information is out there.
Speaker:You can do it.
Speaker:Yes, you have to put the effort in, but you have to put the effort into Facebook and Instagram and Twitter.
Speaker:Nothing is so easy that you can just literally spend two minutes putting you up and you're gonna sell.
Speaker:It's not gonna happen on any platform.
Speaker:No matter what platform you choose to sell on, you're going to have to work at it.
Speaker:You're going to have to learn how it works in order to make your sales, but purely for appearing in searches and especially Google search.
Speaker:That is why I will always recommend etc.
Speaker:Because you have those chances to make those random sales because you don't have to work so hard to bring customers into your shop.
Speaker:You can get your products in front of people without having to go say hi.
Speaker:How are you?
Speaker:Let's get to know each other.
Speaker:Let's have a chat.
Speaker:You don't have to do that like you do on social media.
Speaker:It just makes life simpler.
Speaker:Yes, you have to pay fees.
Speaker:Okay, It's It's not free.
Speaker:Getting access to that massive traffic is not free.
Speaker:But is it worth it?
Speaker:Well, that comes down to how much you enjoy selling on social media and how much time you have if you don't have an awful lot of time, etc.
Speaker:Is your best friend.
Speaker:If you don't enjoy chatting on social media, I don't.
Speaker:I find it quite difficult.
Speaker:I don't do small talk and a bit of an introvert, which is one of the reasons why these podcast episodes are short.
Speaker:Um, I prefer to get straight to the point, and I always feel that when I'm chatting to people on social media, I have an ulterior motive in the back of my mind.
Speaker:It doesn't matter how interest I am in what they are saying.
Speaker:It's always in the back of my mind that I'm doing this for my business and I find that quite awkward.
Speaker:So for me at sea is amazing.
Speaker:I've always sold on Etsy, and I found it far more profitable to sell on their own ideas on social media.
Speaker:Does that mean that s he will always be better than social media?
Speaker:Know, For some people, it definitely won't be.
Speaker:But here's the thing.
Speaker:No matter where you choose to sell, you have to choose a place that's right for you.
Speaker:And there are many options available.
Speaker:But what I will say is that s e is well worth a look.
Speaker:I would definitely give it a chance because it is a big market place because there is so much information on how to use it properly and because it gets you in those search results, take a look at it, have a play around because it is free to set up an account and you can get 40 listings for free as well.
Speaker:I will also put a link to that in the comments.
Speaker:But seriously don't dismiss at sea because a few people are put off by the fees because a few people have found that they're not getting sales, and I can guarantee there's a reason for that.
Speaker:But it doesn't mean it's not for you.
Speaker:It is the world's one of the world's biggest marketplaces for crochet and handmade sellers for a reason.
Speaker:So take a look and see what you think.
Speaker:Thank you for joining me today and listening to this episode.
Speaker:If you have any questions about this subject or would like to carry on the conversation, then why not come and join our Facebook group for crochet sellers?
Speaker:Whether you're selling what you make writing patterns or making money from crochet another way, the support group is the place for you.
Speaker:It You can also check out our newsletter.
Speaker:Just sign up using the link in the show notes and have tips and advice sent straight to your inbox every week.
Speaker:So thanks again for joining me and I shall see you next time for the next episode.