7 Ways to Build Hype and Increase Traffic for your Etsy Shop
Whether it’s a brand new Etsy shop or the launch of a new product line, the time and effort behind big projects like these are worth celebrating. This is the perfect opportunity to get your audience familiar with and excited about your business and products. Building hype for your brand also expands your reach and helps you increase Etsy traffic. And even more importantly, it grows your revenue.
So today, I’m sharing seven practical ways to promote your Etsy shop and increase traffic to your Etsy shop.
How to Build Hype and Increase Etsy Traffic
I’ve seen these strategies work in my own wedding stationery business, as well as in other businesses. I hope you'll find some tips here that work for you, benefit your Etsy shop, and exponentially grow your revenue.
1. share behind-the-scenes
We all love sneak peeks! Let your audience have a behind-the-scenes look inside your new launch by sharing photos and teasers on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube. This is such a great way to promote your Etsy shop or new product launch. It also creates an opportunity for more engagement and makes your wedding stationery business or creative business more personable.
Even if you just started your Etsy shop (and are essentially launching to zero followers), this is a great way to start building your audience. You can even share to your Facebook profile to generate buzz among friends and family, and encourage them to help you build hype for your business.
Don’t forget to share a couple of these photos in your About section on your Etsy shop profile. Potential clients will always love getting a sneak peek at the inner workings of your business!
2. Create a giveaway
Giveaways have been around for as long as I can remember, but that’s because they work! They’re a great way to get your audience involved in the launch process and expand your reach. Require entrants to share the giveaway with their audience on social media or tag their friends in a comment.
You can even network with other relevant businesses to host a giveaway together. Networking has numerous benefits, but it’s especially beneficial for growing your audience. There are plenty of opportunities to get creative with this one!
Depending on the timing, it might be a good idea to start the giveaway a week or two ahead of your launch. This way you’ll have a bigger audience when it’s time to promote your Etsy shop or new product line.
3. Limit Product Quantities
This strategy works particularly well for new launches, but it can also work well for a new Etsy shop, too. By offering a limited quantity of your products, it creates a sense of urgency among your buyers and creates more demand. It makes your product appear more valuable. And, if you happen to sell out, you’ll create even more excitement the next time you launch a new product line.
Etsy knows this, and they’ll even help you sell items with low quantities quicker by listing how many are left. Plus, if a shopper adds it to their cart, a sidebar reminder will slide in from the right side of the screen (on a desktop) at least once a day on the customer’s account. This helps create an even bigger sense of urgency for the shopper purchase.
4. add video
Video marketing can be intimidating, but it is–and will continue to be–the most dominant form of media. Videos are a great way to make your launch appear professional and add personality to your brand.
You may be insecure about a number of things (the way your voice sounds, your un-manicured fingernails, your weight, etc.), but your audience doesn’t really care about all of that. They want to see you and your pretty new products. It could be a high quality video in the About section of your Etsy shop introducing yourself and your business, or it could be an Instagram reel showing behind-the-scenes of your new product launch.
Whatever it is, build hype for your wedding stationery business or creative business with a unique, creative video.
5. publicity mentions
Another great way to get your audience excited about your Etsy shop is by showing where you’ve been featured, if applicable.
Press mentions in reputable publications give your business major credibility and position your brand above the competition. They also help build trust with potential buyers and add value to your business.
You can include press mentions in your shop banner, shop announcement, and your about section. Some Etsy sellers even include an “as seen in” badge on their product images, too. Mention publications on your social media pages as well as on your website (if you have one) and your Pinterest profile.
While a mention in the press can be incredibly hard to come by, it can be easier for your shop to get featured in a publication just by being on Etsy. (Not kidding!)
Publications regularly write about popular finds on Etsy–it’s how one of my return address stamps got featured last year! My wedding stationery business has been featured in BRIDES about five times in the last eight years just because their editors have found my products through Etsy search.
If you’re just starting out, keep tabs on where you’ve been featured by going to your Etsy Dashboard > Stats > then click on Direct & other traffic. From there, scroll down to Traffic source breakdown. Here, you’ll find all the websites that link back to your Etsy shop.
Back links from major publications also increase Etsy traffic to your shop. Listings featured in online publications (like BRIDES, Southern Living, New York Times, etc.) get a huge boost in Etsy search.
6. pin on pInterest
Pinterest and Etsy go together like peanut butter and jelly! Their audiences’ interests are aligned, and even better is that they’re all in a buying mood. Promote your Etsy shop by pinning every single item in your Etsy shop to Pinterest. This is one of the best ways to increase Etsy traffic, and it’s been monumental for growing Betty Lu Paperie.
Make sure listings are optimized for Pinterest by using vertical images. You can learn more about Pinterest optimization for your Etsy shop in this blog post.
7. add new products regularly
Keep the momentum going! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Etsy is a lot like Instagram. And that’s not a bad thing–you just have to know how to leverage the platform to benefit your business.
While you don’t have to have hundreds of products to be successful on Etsy, it is important to add new products regularly to your Etsy shop, whether that’s once a week, twice a week, once a month, etc. And here’s why–according to the Etsy handbook, new listings get a temporary boost in search.
When a new listing is created, it gets a small, temporary boost in search results so that Etsy search can learn more about how buyers interact with it to determine the listing’s quality score.
Additionally, Etsy further explains that adding new listings and stocking your shop builds buyer trust.
A well-stocked shop shows shoppers your business is legitimate. Put yourself in a buyer’s shoes: how likely are you to purchase from a store that contains only one item? By stocking multiple items in your shop, you communicate to buyers that you are actively investing in your business. With each item you add to your shop, your perceived credibility as a business owner grows.
And, on a more personal note, when you’re adding new listings regularly, it makes your shop appear successful and exciting.
One last thing…
I hope that by implementing some of the ideas (or all!) in this post, you’ll be able to create a little more excitement around your new Etsy shop or new product launch.
It’s always a good idea to build hype for your wedding stationery business or creative business. This helps you expand your audience, interact with followers, and grow revenue.
