Creating an Etsy shop is an effective way to tap into a large, pre-existing audience of people who are eager to buy unique products. For many entrepreneurs, setting up an Etsy shop is easier than building a website from scratch.
The downside of having a new Etsy shop is that it’s your responsibility to drive traffic to your shop. Etsy won’t promote your shop on your behalf. While successful shops may be featured on Etsy’s front page eventually, it’s not something you can count on to drive sales.
Fortunately, there’s an easy way to highlight your Etsy shop to people who are likely to buy. Here’s what you need to know about promoting your Etsy shop on Pinterest.
Create a Business Account
The very first thing you’ll need to do is to create a free business account on Pinterest. It’s an easy thing to accomplish. Here are the steps:
- Log in to your personal Pinterest account
- Click on the down arrow next to your profile picture in the upper right hand corner
- Choose “Set up a free business account” from the menu
- Complete the form to create your business account
It’s important to have a business account because you’ll need one to create paid promotions for your Etsy shop and sell products directly to Pinterest users.
Optimize Your Business Profile
Next, you’ll need to optimize your business profile. Make sure to use the name of your Etsy shop as your profile name. It’s important to be consistent about how you present yourself online.
Then, you should add a professional-looking photograph of yourself. If you have a photo on your Etsy shop, using the same one can help build your brand.
You should also write a brief, snappy description of your shop using your most important keywords. For example, if your Etsy shop focuses on printables, you should use keywords related to your topics. That’s the best way to help Pinterest users find you and your products.
Claim Your Etsy Shop on Pinterest
After you create your business account, you’ll be able to claim your Etsy shop. To do it, simply log in to your account, click Settings, and click Claim. You should see an Etsy option on the drop-down menu.
The benefit of claiming your Etsy shop on Pinterest is that you’ll be able to get more statistics for the Pins that come from your Etsy shop – something that’s important if you want to track your sales and promotions.
You’ll also get rich Pins when you Pin from your Etsy shop and you’ll be able to promote the Pins that come from your shop. In other words, claiming your shop is an essential step that will allow you to promote your products to Pinterest users.
Create Boards for Your Products
Now that you’ve created your account and claimed your Etsy shop, you should start pinning! The key to promoting your Etsy shop is to create boards that will highlight your products and make them easy to find.
Let’s say that you create printable art and sell it on your Etsy shop. Here are some examples of what you might call your boards:
- Printable Art Deco Wall Art
- Printable Floral Art
- Modern Art Printables
You get the idea. Don’t just put all your products into a single board. Think about what people will search for and create multiple boards that will broaden your reach and make it simple for people to find (and buy) your products.
For each board, make sure to write a compelling description. The description should be in complete sentences and use your most important keywords. Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through. You’ll have a lot of competition and using some humor and personality can help your boards stand out.
Pin Other Items
One of the mistakes that I see people make on Pinterest is that they pin only their own products. While that might seem like the smart thing to do, it can limit your audience and drive customers away.
What should you pin? Here are some suggestions.
- Pins of relevant items you find on Pinterest
- Related items you find online
- Products from other Etsy shops
It might sound odd to recommend Pinning items from other Etsy sellers. Let’s face it, they’re your competition! But doing so will make your boards seem more organic – and therefore more in line with the spirit of Pinterest. Pinterest users love to find interesting and beautiful things to Pin and you can help them by including those items on your boards.
Create Beautiful Pins
Pinterest is a visual platform and it’s important to remember that. If all your Pins look alike, your boards won’t be visually interesting.
You do need to Pin items directly from your Etsy shop, but you can and should be using visual tools to create other Pins. If you’ve been following me at all, you know that I love Canva. If you use Canva’s Pinterest templates, you can create perfectly proportioned images for your Pinterest account.
Because the Pins you create won’t link directly to your Etsy shop, I suggest putting the URL of your Etsy shop at the bottom of the image when you create it. Make sure to give each Pin a descriptive name and to write a compelling description of it when you add it to your Pinterest board.
Use Hashtags
When you write your Pinterest descriptions, don’t forget to include hashtags. Hashtags can help people find your products easily.
Pinterest guidelines recommend using no more than two hashtags per Pin. Using too many can muddy the water. Hashtags can be difficult to read, so keep them simple and to the point.
Use Scheduling Tools
Finally, I recommend using social media scheduling tools to post your Pins. You can Pin manually but it’s time-consuming and it can be easy to get away from your posting schedule if you don’t automate the process.
There are multiple tools you can use. Two that I like are Tailwind and the free scheduling option that you’ll get with your Pinterest business account.
The main thing I want you to take away from this post is that promoting your Etsy shop on Pinterest is easy and inexpensive. You can spend a lot if you want to, but it’s not necessary. There’s a huge audience of Pinterest users out there waiting for products like yours!
Do you need help building your Etsy shop or making your existing shop profitable? Click here to check out a product that’s just for you: Easy Etsy Profits!
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