Episode 185 | Get Your First Sale on Etsy in 24 Hours 💸 (BLOW UP Your Shop in 2024)

Looking to get your first sale on Etsy? So many people make the mistake of opening their shop and then thinking they can just wait around to get sales. We need to take action and in today’s episode, I am giving you 5 practical steps that you can use to get your first Etsy sale – today! 

In this week’s episode we discuss:

[00:30] Does your Etsy profile look trustworthy?

[01:17] Does your customer have the essential information they need to make a purchase? 

[03:30] Give your customers an insane value they cannot pass up 

[04:44] Drive warm leads to your shop through organic social media strategies

[05:57] Partner with a micro-influencer to get your first sale on Etsy

Does your Etsy profile look trustworthy?

One of the biggest reasons why people do not get their first sale is because their Etsy shop looks like a scam. You need to have a location, a banner, a photo of you, and an announcement to make your shop look welcoming. This is a brand new space and if no one has seen you before, you need to look trustworthy. Do not put up listings before you have the items I laid out. You only have to create your shop once so make sure to knock it out!

Does your customer have the essential information they need to make a purchase? 

Another way to get a sale is to make sure that you are including all of the key items and information that people will need to make a sale – without asking a clarifying question. Sometimes it is hard to realize what you need to add because you are so far in it. For example, if you have a shop that has an item with different colors, you need to make sure that you are displaying them. No one is going to buy a color that they cannot see. 

Also, we should always have our 10 listing photos filled out. If you sell clothing, we need to know about the fit & make sure to show lifestyle photos. A size chart is great but make sure a model is showcasing your product. Your photo slots are like a sales page, they are an area where you are supposed to convince people to buy. You can put reviews, instructions on how to order, and other items in your shop. There are 18 different types of listing photos that you could be putting there.

Descriptions are also important. Make sure you have the essentials but do not put a novel that you copied and pasted from ChatGPT. If you have key information missing from the description like your turnaround time, your shipping methods, your materials, and washing instructions – then you are going to severely hurt your conversion rate.

Lastly, if you are a brand-new shop and you have zero sales, do not go crazy with customization, options, and variety. Start with two options and make everything super simple. This will give people direction and it will result in an easy first sale.

Give your customers an insane value they cannot pass up 

If you have no sales, give your listings away for “free”. Make something such a great value that someone would feel crazy for saying no. For example, let’s say you sell Shopify templates. You market leaders charge $28-$99. You could make yours $50 and then do 70% off so it comes out to $15. Even if you think your product is worth so much more, if people are not buying it, they are not even going to be able to experience the value. 

We need customer feedback and proof of concept. When your customers purchase and feel like they got an insane value for what they paid, then they are going to leave great reviews and come back over and over. You are most likely competing with a market leader who has great results and if you have no social proof and no track record to show that your listing is a good decision, then you should view your first sale as the cost of doing business. Many new shops charge full price and sit and wait for a sale but at some point, you lose the boost from Etsy’s search results so you need to take advantage of this. 

Drive warm leads to your shop through organic social media strategies

So many people on Etsy are not willing to drive warm leads to their shop through organic social media strategies. This does not involve asking your friends and your family for pity sales or going into Etsy forums and Facebook groups and begging people to favorite your listings. The goal with organic social media strategies is getting your product in front of warm leads who intend on purchasing. If you focus on Etsy groups and Facebook groups where everyone is just going to like your posts, it is going to tank your conversion rate because no one is buying. I would recommend Facebook (not Etsy groups), Instagram to nurture your current customers, and TikTok for building your brand. 

Partner with a micro-influencer to get your first sale on Etsy

The final action step you can take to get a sale immediately is to partner with a micro-influencer. This is someone who has a minimum of 10k followers on Instagram. You will give them the product for free in exchange for content and exposure. You may have to pitch this to 200-300 people to get one person to say yes, but the number of eyes you could get on your item by working with someone who has actual influence could be pretty incredible for you. I have partnered with Shawn Johnson, a few of the Real Housewives of Orange County, and some Bachelorette contestants – all of which had great results for my shop. If you need support with any of these methods, make sure to send an email to my team at team@dylanjahraus.com.

Links Mentioned:

📖 Download my FREE 16-step checklist

📞 Book a call with me to discuss your Etsy Shop and hear more about how I can help you through my program, The Ultimate Etsy Course and 1:1 Coaching!

🏆 Student Results

📷 Instagram