Spring Clean Your Online Shop
In the spring there is an exciting energy in the air, we're motivated, eager to tidy our homes and fill our beds with lovely flowers (flower beds). The spring is also a season to "spring clean" your business, specifically, your online shop(s).
Realistically I don't know that Sam and I will be able to tackle all of our suggested bits explained here, in fact we haven't attempted to clean up our online shops in more than a couple of years. Now that Ester is toddling around and we've established a more solid grasp on parenthood, combined with running Hurd & Honey, we should be able to clean things up (at least a little)!
1. Add New Photos
We do love our cover photo, but it feels a little holiday-esqe, it's time to change it!
Yes, it's the most time consuming part of running an online shop, but also healthy for your shop. You likely have several great photos of each of your products, so instead of completely replacing your current photos, focus on taking one great new shot of each product you sell (and their variations). When choosing props, go with a simple setting, but still connected to your branding. Maybe some fresh peonies or your newest stack of antique books? One new shot can give your online shop a facelift for spring, and this will also give you new content to share on Instagram, Pinterest, and with your mailing list.
2. Simplify Your Titles
Our title here is a bit much! I'm thinking "23 x 35 Chalkboard - Reclaimed Wood Frame" would be substantial.
Using the data you've collected from your customers, revise your titles. Titles that have too much information can mislead your shoppers. Save the specific details for your tags and keywords, and be brief with your titles. Also, check for consistency with your the way you phrase, organize details, use capital letters, and special characters (-,) in your titles.
3. Revise Your Tags
Our tags above ( the blue text)...several of these keywords are never searched when we look at our stats. For example, "blackboard", "Christmas gift" - these really need to be swapped out with something else.
On Etsy you can add up to 13 tags, use them all, but change the tags that aren't helping you, and add some new ones. Remove your holiday related tags (Christmas, Holiday, etc.) Also, Etsy has a new attributes feature to help shoppers find your products (colors, holidays, occasions), use these if you can.
4. Streamline Your Descriptions
All of this information is the description of one item! It's a lot...and we probably need to go through and take out what doesn't matter...and maybe update the spacing too so it's not so much to read. People don't like to read much anymore. :)
Think of your descriptions as the place your customers go to find answers to their questions. Make the information clear and simple. This will help avoid extra messages from customers and likewise should result in easier purchasing.
5. Double-Check Your Pricing and Shipping Fees
We integrated pricing into a variation since we often get asked if we can build something quicker. It's now just a simple part of our pricing. There are still a few inconsistencies between our different online shops that we need to go in and correct.
While you're in the revise/edit mode it's also worthwhile to consider any changes to your pricing and shipping.
6. Update Your Profile
We've never updated the little paragraph below the first line...and I don't think we ever will. I read it sometimes to remind myself why we're doing what we're doing. But the other details, our photo, etc. I'll be sure to update from time to time. (For example, Instagram wasn't something we used when we first opened, so I added that in 2014.)
On Etsy spruce up your About section, your profile...on your own website add something new to your "About" page. Maybe you have a new photo of yourself, or an exciting change/announcement for your business. Adding new process photos/videos is also something to consider if you have the time.
7. Rearrange Your Shop
As you can see here, we still have Christmas items listed on our landing page. This is the first thing customers see, and it's March, not December. We really need to clean this up!
Once you've gone through all of your backdoor updates take a look at your shopping pages from your customer's perspective. Consider what changes can be made in terms of how your listings are presented. For spring you'll want more airy, and clean looking shopping pages.
8. Add Something New
This chalkboard is our newest product, it has a natural wood frame. We still haven't added it to our Etsy shop! Need to do this!
Maybe you've been meaning to add a new variation, or maybe even and entire new product. Adding this in the spring gives your new option/product time to pick up traction before the next holiday season. Spring is a great time to launch something new.