How I Started Getting Sales on Etsy

In the last 30 days, I have made 19 sales on my Etsy shop. I know, it doesn't sound like much but for a beginner, I think it's quite good. Some people have claimed that they didn't sell anything until months later. I thought I was going to be one of those people, actually, I believed and was terrified that it was going to happen to me. So, I went ahead and did a few things to turn my luck around, and even though I still have a long way to go I think it's all looking pretty good so far.

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The Fools Journey

I first created Plutonian Tarot in May, and, to be honest, I was nervous to offer anyone a tarot reading because I didn't feel confident enough to read other people's cards. 

I was too much in my own head and worried that the customers weren't going to resonate with their readings. And honestly, I was worried that I was a total fraud. After all, how could I, an average girl with no psychic abilities give tarot readings? It just didn't sound believable.

Well, it turns out we all have this thing called intuition and it is built into all of us, so that is as gifted as I can be when it comes to a sixth sense. And so far it has steered me in the right direction and worked wonders with my readings.

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Now I didn't just start my business without having any past connection with tarot. In fact tarot has always been something I've been interested in. I used to play around with my mum's oracle decks when I was a child. I'm not sure what questions a child would think to ask an oracle deck but I always felt happy with the cards I picked out. 

And when I was around 11 I got my first deck of fairy oracle cards. Still, I didn't truly understand how to read the cards properly.

It wasn't until 2013 that I started learning, and that is when I started dreaming about having my own little tarot reading business. 

However, that dream ended up fading out rather quickly because I didn't know how to make it a reality at that time and I had no idea that Etsy existed. 

So I ended up using my tarot cards to read for myself, friends, and family. I made no money from it for the longest time, much like my writing. And for many years I still needed the tarot guidebook to read any of the cards because I didn't trust my intuition. 

Then I went through a phase where I put the cards away, got rid of a few decks, and didn't play around with them much for quite a while until now.

Creating My Shop

When I first created my shop I didn't think it would go anywhere. In all honesty, it's because I wasn't putting any effort into it. I was just glad that I was getting views on my listings, but that's as good as it got. 

Not only had I put no effort into my shop, but I also hadn't really done anything to market it either. So for most of May, I let my shop sit there and collect dust (figuratively speaking of course).

But then inspiration and motivation hit me, and I knew I needed to try harder if I was serious about my business.

A few important steps to take

Come up with a great name for your shop

This might sound easy, but when you look at all the people that are selling the same thing you might want to sell then unique names seem hard to come by.

In the tarot world, a lot of the names are already so overused. I wanted to name my shop Scorpio Tarot but there were already so many similar shops that were called that. So Plutonian Tarot was as on theme and unique as I could get because it was the least used name, so I went with that. 

Create social media pages

The moment I created an Instagram account for my business I started getting more viewers to my shop. Twitter is also a really great platform to use. And of course, don't forget about good old Facebook. There is still a lot of people using Facebook, so maybe create a Facebook page for your shop and invite friends and family to it. 

Another surprising platform that helped me was Tik Tok. My first Tik Tok's that I posted brought in quite a few interested people.

Connect with like-minded people

This is the most important step of all. Find people on social media that are selling similar items and try to get inspiration from them. Pay attention to how they word things, the way they take photos, and how often they post. You can find some really great people to connect with on Twitter too. 

Really use social media to your advantage, it will do you wonders.

Spruce your shop up

Photos, titles, descriptions - make sure they're all appealing to customers.

I struggled with all these things at the beginning. I took the worst photos, had the most unappealing titles, and didn't put any effort into my description. 

These things are all important if you want to sell to the customer. They want to know exactly what it is they will be purchasing, what it looks like, how big it is, when they will get it, etc. 

The moment I changed my shop and made it more presentable that is when I started getting customers.

Ask for reviews

Reviews are so important if you want your shop to succeed. So when the purchase is complete and the customer has received whatever it is they bought then be sure to ask them if they liked the product and if they could review your shop. Ask politely and use their name when asking. No one want's to feel obligated to give a good review, and sometimes people will ignore you entirely - don't get too upset and don't pester them either.

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You will gain more knowledge as you go along your business venture. Be professional, be kind, and take good pictures! It took me a while to figure that simple step out but it is so important. And remember to have a strong online presence, everyone is online nowadays. Use it to your advantage, that is how you drive traffic to your shop. 

Thanks for reading, have a great day ❤

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Elise is a writer and poet on Medium, Vocal Media & HubPages. She is also a charm & tarot reader with her own Etsy shop. If you'd like to check out the listings available please click the link.

https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/PlutonianTarot