Over the last few months, my Etsy shop has been doing fairly well in terms of sales. But that hasn’t always been the case!
In fact, I started an Etsy shop a few years ago and although I had a few products listed, I didn’t get a single sale. Not one!
My lack of success the first time around almost led to me having doubts that what I was trying to sell was any good.
Thankfully, this time around I’ve had a bit more success, even though I’m still working on increasing my number of listings. I think my sales so far have been down to two things – firstly my blog – which is where I can share detailed information about the products available in my shop. And secondly, the way I’m using Pinterest is definitely helping!
I know that Pinterest is becoming increasingly important for my Etsy business, because in my shop analytics, I can tell that much of the traffic is coming from this social media channel as opposed to other places.
In case any of the lessons I’ve learned so far about promotion via Pinterest can help you sell your handmade goods, I’m sharing them below!
1. Create beautiful product “pins”
Pinterest is a social media platform that’s all about images, or “pins” as they are called. Really great photos are a must if you want to encourage repins and click-throughs.
The images that tend to get the most attention from users are those that are vertical, clearly lit and pretty. Colours have a part to play in how users react to a pin. For example, according to this article from Buffer, images that are red or orange in colour tend to get more repins than blue ones (apparently). Personally, I know that I’m drawn to images that are pink, yellow and blue!
So when I’m creating photos to help sell my products, I try to make them as colourful and as sharp and crisp as possible. It’s not exactly easy when I don’t yet have a professional camera, I just use my Smartphone!
It’s a good idea to brush up on your photography knowledge when taking photos by the way. I’ve been learning how to create more balanced and interesting shots by following the rule of thirds, where the focus of the shot lies away from the centre of the image.
Another thing that I like to do with my Etsy product “pins” is to create a text overlay, explaining exactly what the user can find when they click on the pin. Take a look at this image below as an example of one that I created recently that’s done quite well on Pinterest…
If you want to create a text overlay for your Pinterest graphics, check out Canva or PicMonkey. These both have free tools you can use to add text to images.
Once I have my product pins ready, I add them into my Etsy listings and simply pin them from my blog to my Pinterest profile so that users can find them and start sharing them.
2. Develop your Pinterest profile
Speaking of Pinterest profiles, it’s important to make sure yours is up to scratch so you can do well on Pinterest. Basically, you want people to see that you have an established profile on Pinterest when they check it out. They’re more likely to follow you and repin your content if so!
Make sure you have at least 20 Pinterest boards, dedicating one of them to your Etsy products, so that you can add new product pins to the board whenever you create a new listing.
Your other boards can be based on anything you like, although it makes sense to have a few that are related to your area of expertise. For example, I have several boards on beading and jewellery-making as well as other crafts.
When creating your Pinterest boards, take some time to write good descriptions for them that explain what users can find on each board. Pinterest is a search engine, so you’ll have more chance of your pins showing in searches if you take time to optimise the board descriptions to make them relevant.
3. Consistently attract new Pinterest followers
The more Pinterest followers you have, the better results you’ll see from Pinterest referral traffic to your Etsy store. To get followers, start following other Pinterest users that pin the same sort of content as you will.
Tip! If you find a Pinterest user who is showcasing great pins that you love, check out who is also following that person and then follow some of those. These will be people who are likely to have the same interests as you.
Encourage others to follow you by repinning other people’s content on a regular basis. Aim for pinning 20% of your own pins and 80% from other users too. This way, you won’t be blowing your own trumpet too much and your pins will be fresh and interesting.
4. Join plenty of group boards
Groups boards are the key to success on Pinterest. When you pin to a group board, followers of those boards will see it, even if they’re not following you.
If one of those followers should repin your pin to one of their own boards, then that person’s followers could also see your pin! It can lead to your product pin having a sort of snowball effect and possibly even going viral over time.
The best thing about Pinterest is that your pins will have the opportunity to keep on being repinned and clicked on forever! At least as long as Pinterest is around!
This is what makes it different from other social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook where you content gets put out there once before it disappears into your timeline, never to be seen again unless you decide to repost.
Check out Pingroupie to find group boards that are relevant to your Etsy business. There are several Etsy product group boards to join and you’ll also find many that are DIY or craft related.
Joining group boards can be a little tricky but well worth the effort. You’ll need to contact the particular board owner to request that you be invited to contribute to the board. To find out who the board owner is, it’s the first person listed at the side of the little + symbol when you’re looking at the board you want to join!
When asking if you can be invited, let the board owner have a link to your Pinterest profile and details of the email address you’ve used to join Pinterest. This enables the board owner to check out your profile and add you to the board with ease.
Pinterest is perfect for crafters
Pinterest is a great platform to use when promoting your handmade business. It now has over 150 million users worldwide! Statistics show these users are predominantly female and they are going there to search for and discover ideas for things that they love.
That’s not to say that other social media channels should be discounted – not at all. Instagram is another good platform to get onto if you can take lovely images of your products.
Pinterest is certainly a big part of my own Etsy marketing strategy and I hope that you find the tips I’ve shared in this post helpful when promoting your own handmade products!
If you did, please take a moment to share this article online! Thank you!
Before you go, why not check out these other handmade business tips articles:
- How to start your very own blog!
- How starting a blog can skyrocket your Etsy business.
- Where to buy Miyuki seed beads & delicas online.
*All images © Craftaholique.
This was a great article and just what I needed to understand Pinterest a little bit better. I really appreciate the information. Thank you for sharing!
I’m really glad you found it useful Cheryl! Thank you for stopping by and commenting! 🙂
Thank you for this article. I have been on Pinterest for a few years now and did not even know about Group Boards! I just asked to join one!
That’s great! If the board owner doesn’t get back to you (some don’t), don’t give up – ask to join some other boards and eventually, you’ll have a few different ones to post your pins to. Good luck!
Hayley, so, i can have other boards, beside my etsy shop board? I sell planner acessories and printables. I read in some blogs to don´t mix personal and business boards. But i saw you show all…Or i am missing something lol
Sure – that’s what I do anyway. I have a board for my blog and another one for my Etsy products. The rest is all boards that I use for inspiration.
I’m not clear what my pins should be. My etsy store is vintage jewelry finds, antique purses, and other one-of- a-kind items, at least as far as quantities are concerned. I may have more than one earring for sale, but I will pretty much never have the same earring twice. I can envision a blog, perhaps about jewelry sorting (materials), or info on 1920’s bags. But I am missing how I link all that together with my etsy store, the blog, and the pins. Sorry I sound like a dummy, but I’ve never used Pinterest. HALP!!
Hi, you could use your product photos as the basis for pins? Canva is a good tool for creating Pinterest pins; you can upload photos, add text overlays etc. When you upload the pin to Pinterest, you can add your Etsy shop link (or a link to your blog).