7 Common Misconceptions about Selling Wedding Invitations on Etsy
Selling wedding invitations on Etsy is heavily discussed within the creative community, but there are so many misconceptions on the topic. “Are Etsy shoppers only looking for bargains?” “Is Etsy oversaturated?” “I tried Etsy, and it just didn’t work for me.” In fact, one of my first blog posts was about all the myths every creative entrepreneur will hear before starting an Etsy shop.
If you’ve been around here long enough, you know I’m a proponent of selling on Etsy. Whether it’s your main source of income or a second revenue stream, starting an Etsy shop can have such a positive impact on your wedding invitation business.
So today, I’m clearing up some common misunderstandings about selling wedding invitations on Etsy.
1 | You can’t sell to high end brides
Many stationers are under the impression that Etsy buyers are “cheap” or “only want a template”. And that’s partially true. Many online shoppers are looking for a deal, no matter if you sell on your website or on Etsy. But as for the others? They’re looking for something unique that they can’t find anywhere else. And they’re willing to pay almost anything to get it.
My average Etsy client currently spends at least $1,200 on invitations alone, not including their day-of stationery.
If your stationery speaks to high-end brides, you’ll reach those types of clients no matter where you sell online–be it your own website or an Etsy shop.
To market your wedding invitations towards high end clients, use luxurious materials or printing processes (like handmade paper and letterpress printing), elevated product photography and video, and clarify your messaging to attract luxury clients.
2 | you only get bad clients
A bad client experience can happen anywhere–through your own website, a referral from a wedding planner or Instagram, or on Etsy. I’ve worked with literally thousands of brides on Etsy since 2013, and I can count on one hand the number of clients that weren’t easy to work with.
You certainly can’t always please everyone. But if you're effectively communicating and educating clients about your process and policies, you’ll both have a better experience.
"Amateurs get frustrated with clients. Professionals educate them." -Paul Jarvis
I find that miscommunication is generally what leads to a bad client experience. The wedding stationery industry is most likely foreign and unfamiliar to them. They’ve never done this before, so they aren’t sure what to expect. This can lead to frustration on both ends.
Outline your offerings, process, terms of service, communication methods, and timelines in your product description, Shop Policies, and FAQs. This leads to clear communication (and builds trust!) with your client.
Going back to #1, educating clients also helps affirm your pricing. Because clients are uneducated about our industry, they don’t understand the cost of stationery. Many times, that leads to an attempt to haggling or requesting a “DIY template”. By educating our clients and prospective clients, we can explain all that goes into our work and our process, which reaffirms the value of our stationery.
3 | you lose your brand
“I got it on Etsy.” I know, I know–I cringe when I hear that, too.
Stationers are often worried that by starting a wedding invitation business on Etsy, their brand gets lost. This fear is one thing that holds many stationers back from opening an Etsy shop in the first place. And understandably, so. I’m not going to tell you that all of my Etsy clients say, “I got it from Betty Lu Paperie!” Chances are, some of them say they got their invitations from Etsy.
But, there is an opportunity for you to make every client’s experience memorable through every interaction they have with your shop. And if you can do that, you can build a loyal following for your brand–not Etsy.
Take a look at my stats over the past year–aside from the Etsy shopping app and advertising, I get a lot of visits from Direct Traffic. That means shoppers typed my name into the Etsy search bar, went directly to my shop link, or they found my shop through a website or blog, like BRIDES.
I talk a lot about how to overcome losing your brand in Part 3 of my Etsy Shop Guide series. To sum it up, there are a few key ways to keep your brand (not Etsy) top of mind for clients.
First, make sure the About section identifies your niche, your flagship product, and clearly targets your ideal client.
Second, zhuzh up those product descriptions. Make them memorable! This alone can make your brand stand out from the rest. Paint a scene for your clients and tell them how your product can transform their life, home, wedding, etc.
And lastly, branded packaging goes a long way. From custom packing tape to custom printed tissue paper, make your logo the star of your packaging.
4 | Etsy takes a lot of work and the fees are too high
The first part isn’t really a misconception. Etsy does take a lot of work. So does running a wedding invitation business. However, the benefits and the return on investment from running an Etsy shop can far outweigh the time and effort you put into it.
Secondly, there are Etsy fees, but it’s not as bad as fees associated with running your own website. I talk more in depth about Etsy fees in this post, but as a general overview, there are three basic selling fees: a listing fee, a transaction fee, and a payment processing fee. There’s also an advertising fee for sales that come from Offsite Ads, which is any time Etsy promotes your listing on an outside platform like Pinterest. (You can opt out of this if you made less than $10,000 in sales.) Optionally, you can choose to advertise right through Etsy search. This is optional, and you can have a successful shop without advertising. Additionally, Etsy offers a membership fee with benefits like a custom web address and discounts from partners. This is optional, and you can have a successful shop without a membership.
5 | you just list your products and sales will start rolling in
Expanding on #4–but you do have to put the work in if you want your Etsy shop to succeed.
Great SEO, amazing product photos, shipping orders on time, and maintaining good reviews are all essential to building a profitable Etsy shop. Sharing your products on social media as well as regularly sending valuable emails to your email list are also great ways to increase sales–but they’re optional extras.
The good news is that if you do those first four things we talked about–great SEO, product photos, shipping on time, and maintaining good reviews–your listings will still work for you for years to come.
For example, I listed this return address stamp in my shop in 2018. It did well in Etsy search, had decent product photos and reviews, and shipped quickly. I have not made any major changes to this listing in the past three years, and I don’t promote it on social media or to my email list.
Fast forward to 2020, and my revenue grew exponentially for this item after it was featured in BRIDES. I attribute its success to the fact that it has great SEO that allowed it to rank early in search results and decent product photos, which led an editor from BRIDES to include it in an engagement gift guide.
Now, take a look at how my revenue has grown over the past three years for an item that I haven’t edited or promoted since 2018:
6 | The market is oversaturated
The concept that something is “oversaturated” is a mindset issue that keeps you from reaching your goals.
If you know how to open your Etsy shop strategically, it can be successful despite dozens or hundreds of other competitors selling the same thing. And, if you hyperfocus on your niche, it’s easier for you to stand out in an oversaturated market.
Yes, there are a lot of people who sell wedding invitations on Etsy. But there’s something about your product, your process, and your perspective that make it different from any other seller out there.
7 | People will copy my work
This is partially true. In 2014, I designed these wedding invitations using watercolor floral artwork I found on Creative Market. I changed the colors of the original floral art so it would look different.
My design became wildly popular, and it put my business on the map. But now, similar styles can be found everywhere on Etsy.
But here’s the thing, people aren’t copying you just because you’re on Etsy. I know plenty of other stationers who don’t sell on Etsy, and their work is still copied. Unfortunately, your work can be copied from Pinterest, Instagram, or anywhere online. But you can’t avoid an online presence altogether just because you’re scared others will copy you.
And, even though others copied me, I am still the go-to, original girl for this wedding invitation, and it still sells like crazy.
One Last Thing…
If you hadn't put much consideration into selling wedding invitations on Etsy before this post, I hope these insights cleared up whatever is holding you back from starting and helped you see all of the great opportunities that are available to you.
