Starting an Etsy shop is a great side hustle – and you don’t need to make crafts or jewelry in order to get a shop up and running on this platform! If you want to sell on Etsy, you have plenty of options! But today, we are going to discuss just one of those options- selling digital downloads.
If you are ready to increase your income and let your creativity run wild, this is definitely the guide for you.
Here’s how to design digital downloads that your audience will love, implement a smart search engine optimization strategy, and advertise your downloads on social media.
First, it’s essential that you determine your target audience. Different people will search for digital downloads for a wide range of reasons, and specializing in downloads for a particular audience will make it easier to market your business to a particular customer niche.
For instance, you could design weekly household calendars or family budgeting tools for moms with busy schedules, study planners or diagrams for high school or college students, or blank worksheets or lesson planning tools for teachers. You could even create wedding planning downloads for brides and grooms. The sky’s the limit!
Determine Reasonable Pricing
Figuring out how to price your downloads can seem complicated at first. To determine a price that will draw a profit without discouraging people from buying, Gold City Ventures recommends weighing the cost of your time, subscriptions to the design tools you use, and Etsy’s fees, and comparing your ballpark profitable price estimates to other creators on the platform.
You can also look at your competitors’ pricing to help you determine the best pricing for your own products. You don’t want to price your products too low as it can make it seem like the quality is lesser than other products in your niche. But you also don’t want to price too high as this can also turn off potential customers. You really just want to find that sweet spot and competitor research can help you a lot with this.
Market Your Downloads on Social Media
Yes, people might just stumble on your Etsy shop while browsing the website, but you can’t just hope that shoppers will land on it accidentally – you need to actively promote your downloads. It’s a good idea to stick with a basic social media marketing routine. WishPond recommends using Facebook and Pinterest to market your products, as you can link to your Etsy shop from these platforms, allowing people to buy your downloads easily if they see one of your posts or ads.
Use Content Marketing for SEO Purposes
If someone uses Google to search for the kinds of downloads that you provide, will your shop come up in the search engine results? Well, that all depends on your SEO strategy. You need to focus on search engine optimization.
You can use content marketing to enhance your SEO strategy . Also, remember, when you label and caption your products on Etsy, you have an opportunity to use keywords that your target audience might search for! It’s also a good idea to use online resources to learn more about funneling shoppers toward your store through content marketing.
You could even consider creating a blogto start building an audience and sending more traffic to your Etsy shop.
Using a content management system streamlines the process of managing and updating website content, making it easier for businesses to maintain a consistent online presence while offering massive time efficiencies. It provides a user-friendly interface that allows non-technical users to add, edit, and publish content without needing extensive coding knowledge or relying on web developers.
Pro Etsy SEO Tip: You can use tools such as Everbee to see what keywords, tags, etc. top sellers in your niche are currently using! It’s the ultimate Etsy seller hack.
Provide Top-Notch Customer Service
With so many creators on the Etsy platform, you’re bound to have some competition. Great customer service can set you apart from the crowd. To go above and beyond for your customers, OnlineLabels recommends anticipating customer questions in your FAQ section, communicating promptly, and sending “Thank you” notes along with their downloads.
Offer Discounts for Special Occasions
Based on your audience, you can offer discounts at certain times of year to reward your loyal customers and draw in new ones! For instance, if you sell school-related downloads, you could run a back-to-school sale. If you sell downloads for wedding planning, try offering a discount around Valentine’s Day!
Wrapping Up
Of course, getting your Etsy shop up and running takes time. But with the right approach, you can build a solid customer base and secure a new stream of income for your household.
By following these tips, you’ll be able to get the hang of everything from designing to digital downloads to SEO to managing content.
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