17 Most Common Mistakes of New Etsy Shops | Why You're NOT Getting Sales | How to Start On Etsy

About this video

The creator lists 17 common pitfalls for new Etsy shops. Top issues are using the same or worse mockups as competitors instead of finding less-discovered mockup shops, and poor photography — dark, dingy or artificial lighting that she says devalues an item by 50% with no track record; she recommends an iPhone, natural window light and portrait mode. Pricing too high early is next: price low in a sprint phase to build momentum and sales count, break even on early sales if needed, and raise prices only after maxing out available hours. Other pitfalls: not showing and linking photos for every variation (except size), stopping at 50 or fewer listings instead of pushing toward 100-500 without overlapping long-tail keywords, using short-tail keywords like ‘wall decor’ or ‘women’s t-shirt’ in titles, having no personal photos to build trust, using the banner only for the shop name instead of what is sold and to whom, lacking a profitable target customer despite a niche, using short-tail section titles, copycatting bestsellers, illegible text on mobile photos, relying on basic recognisable Canva clip art, not zooming thumbnails, offering no variations, relying only on Etsy traffic instead of daily Pinterest/Facebook/Instagram, and waiting to perfect a listing before publishing.

Key takeaways

• Differentiate mockups and use natural-light, portrait-mode photos; poor photos devalue items for new shops with no reviews
• Price low early to gain momentum and order velocity, then raise prices once hours/demand are maxed out
• Show photos linked to every variation, push toward 100-500 listings, and avoid overlapping titles or short-tail keywords
• Build trust and clarity: personal photos, a banner stating what you sell and for whom, legible mobile text, and zoomed thumbnails
• Publish imperfect listings quickly and drive daily off-Etsy traffic via Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram instead of waiting

Episode details: published October 22, 2022 · 12:10 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dylan Jahraus’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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