Tips for driving more traffic to my Etsy shop?

[supersun23]

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KnottyFrogDesign

I've got a little shop set up on Etsy but get very little sales on it. Does anyone else have any tips on how they promote their Etsy shop? I've tried changing keywords etc... but it doesn't make much difference - shop link above. TIA

Get yourself on TikTok or instagram.

Thank you - I'm new to Tiktok, does it just have to be videos?

I’ve just had a look. You are selling patterns for chocolate orange crochet covers. These are widely available across the internet for free, so I am unsure who you are thinking will buy them??
The yarn stash sheets I don’t get the need for. I’ve been crocheting for 40 years and never used one. They also look very easy to do yourself on a word document and print them.
i think you need to be selling actual items alongside the digital patterns.

Pinterest. When you list a new item in your shop, add it to Pinterest. Make boards that are relevant to your products, and pin every day if you can.

Etsy's algorithm has changed and you need to drive your own traffic now. Also consider selling on other platforms to get more sales, you can add links in your Etsy bio to other places you sell. If you want good advice for selling online I recommend Kara Buntin, she has a Youtube channel and has been selling on Etsy and other places for years. You could try selling on Folksy as well, they're a UK site like Etsy used to be before it got flooded with scammers and re-sellers.

Just had a wee look at your shop.

You can get those patterns for free elsewhere on the internet, so that's probably why people aren't buying them. There are only a few items as well, that would also put me off buying from an etsy shop.

As PP suggested you could make them and sell them.

Or set up a YouTube channel and show people how to make them on there, there's money to be made on youtube.

Great thank you for tips!

Pinterest is a good suggestion, I'll look into this. Has anyone had success with this?

Bump

Do you have Instagram? I upped followers by posting daily and engaging with other crocheters. There's a massive community which is very supportive. Post everything you're making and have links to your shop. Mines only a hobby insta but the amount of people that click on links or go to your bio seems quite large compared to those who just look at your posts. Probably the same with TikTok but I don't use it... :)

As others have said, you can get these patterns for free. Can you crochet? If so, you'd be better off selling the actual hats.

Its a full time job in itself!
You have to be active on social media.
Fb, youtube, Pinterest, tiktok etc etc.
You also need to make sure you use all your keywords and have good titles.

If I was doing a yarn stash record, which is a good idea, I’d have it on a spreadsheet which could be constantly updated - I do see it’s something you can sell with no overheads though.

The other thing about the yarn stash pdf is that it’s all US spelling which felt a bit odd for a product from a UK shop, but I don’t see that making a lot of difference as to whether someone buys it.

Is there anything unique about your patterns?

The answer unfortunately is that you need to sell a product people want to buy. It’s not a traffic or marketing issue. It’s that there’s nothing special about your product. It’s not unique to you (they can get it free elsewhere) and it’s not something people want to buy (or else everyone would be charging for it).

If you can crochet, what can you crochet that doesn’t already have a saturated market on Etsy? What’s a craze that people are mad about right now? Take Jellycats. Can you crochet little outfits or accessories for popular Jellycats? Or what’s THE Christmas toy this year, can you make something for that?

Good idea.
Be careful marketing though, OP, because you can get a strike and even shut down if it is decided/reported you are infringing copyright so you have to be careful how you word things.

Your product is available for free online
so no amount of marketing is going to make someone buy something they can print for free

Thank you all, some helpful feedback and ideas. I might look into selling the hats, rather than the patterns and setting up an Instagram account.

Thank you - is that marketing on Instagram?

In general you don’t want to send people to your shop just to have a look because the algorithms will take visitors looking and not buying as a negative.

You need a fully set up shop, products people are looking for and you need to be on the Pinterest and Instagram treadmill every day forever and ever. Then you need luck on top of that! It’s hard.

Etsy. I dont know how Instagram reacts but etsy takes down your listing if it gets a dmca takedown request and you can also get flagged if you even use certain words eg fits jellycats . Or barbie. Or anything Disney. Etc

Etsy is a pain in the arse but it does get you access to international buyers and thats hard to do by yourself

I keep wanting to do Instagram but im not polished enough, everyone there seems all professional and I'd be there with my broken nails, clothes covered in glue and my blotchy face going here's the tiny sink I made out of a square of card and a toothpick, by the way, while you're here, can I interest you in a pincushion shaped like a giant pink cock? 🤣

Aaah I see thank you 😊