Use your copy to DOUBLE your Etsy sales
Hey hey hey! And welcome to another weekly episode of the Simplify Your Sales podcast!
It’s basically a cliché at this point that as online business owners, we wear MANY different hats. Bookkeeper, photographer, inventory specialist, graphic designer, SEO analyst, customer service rep, USPS service rep when those packages go missing (probably the LEAST favorite hat of many Etsy sellers)– I mean, the list goes on and on and on.
One of the most infamous “hats” on the list? Copywriting.
Whether you like it or not, copywriting plays a HUGE part in your shop’s success. Have you ever stumbled into a shop and immediately felt like they just “got you”? Isn’t that the best feeling?! Connecting with your customers through your words is one of THE most powerful ways you can woo them into buying from you…and not decide to spend their money on your competitors shop.
It’s also one of those high return-on investment strategies– because you write your copy ONCE and it continues to work for you over and over and over again for days, weeks, months, YEARS to come. And I don’t know about you, but I am ALL about those types of one-and-done marketing strategies.
So today I want to share 6 rules for copywriting (because I couldn’t stop at 5) that will help you use your copy to connect with your audience at a deeper level– as well as optimize it too for online shopping (because what’s the point in writing clever copy if it’s not getting you found online, too?!)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Picture-perfect photos are what get your customer in the door, but crafting clever copy is THE KEY to turning that casual browser into a paying customer.
AND PAYING CUSTOMERS = PROFITABLE ETSY SHOP 🙂
Let’s dive into those copywriting tips as well as some “take action” steps you can use right away to give your copy a conversion refresh!
1 | Remember–it isn’t about you
Yes it’s your shop, and yes they’re your products, but it’s not YOUR copy.
If you have crafted your copy to highlight things that YOU like or aspects that YOU think are important, it’s probably time to open a blank Google doc and get some new copy up, stat.
Your copy needs to be tailored specifically towards your audience and their wants and needs. And while you may be similar to your audience, chances are that there are a few key differences—like the fact that you would never purchase the items in your shop—because you can already make them yourself!
But your customer is different—and they will absolutely purchase the items in your shop because they can’t and/or DON’T want to make that thing you sell (speaking about myself here)! By approaching your copywriting with that in mind (again, NOT yourself and YOUR needs/wants), you’ll be able to sell 1 bajillion easier and convert browsers into confident customers 1 bajillion times faster (And yes, those are real deal stats right there, in case you were wondering).
Take action: For every piece of copy you write, you need to put yourself into your customer’s shoes and ask the question “What’s in it for me?” It’s the whole features vs. benefits thing– you can list all the features of your products– that they’re made with 100% organic cotton material, that they’re machine washable, that there’s a 25% stretch to the fabric– but what does that actually mean for your customers? Why should they care about ANY of those things? Well, organic cotton means they can feel good about wearing something that’s good for the environment, machine washable means they’ll be able to grab and go. 25% stretch means it’s going to flatter their body shape. Do you see the difference? Your copy needs to address both the FEATURES and the BENEFITS. So ask yourself, “What’s in it for them?” and then, tailor your copy to answer that question.
2 | Share your story (but don’t air your dirty laundry!)
Your story is one of the most powerful selling tools you own, and you shouldn’t shy away from sharing it with your customers. I know it’s a bit uncomfortable to get personal and vulnerable online– trust me– I get that more than just about anyone, as I’m naturally a pretty private person in real-life, too and sharing things with strangers on the internet is NOT my idea of a good time.
But just because it’s uncomfortable doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. Growth doesn’t come from comfort zones, right?! You NEED to get personal with your customers if you want them to feel that “she just GETS me” feeling– and sharing your story is the PERFECT way to do it.
That being said, sharing your whole life’s history? Not a great idea.
When sharing your story, the main goal is to make sure that you share a little about you, a little about your history, a little bit about your product, and a little bit about how all of those work together. You’re not pulling a “nothing held back” sort of thing– just little peeks and snippets of your experience + business. You don’t have to “overshare” to “share”– you just need to share a few details here and there that can help your customers relate to you.
Everything in your personal history that you share should help you relate to your customers on some level. Whether it’s sharing stories that show how you’re human, just like them, or that you had the same frustrations that they had (SollyBaby does this great– they talk about how hard it is to get anything done in that newborn stage as a parent). Show your customers that you’re one of the gang– and that you totally get them and where they’re coming from.
Take action: Take a minute and ask yourself “why?” As in, “why did I start this business?” Grab a blank piece of paper and start jotting down anything and everything that comes to mind (don’t worry about grammar here– this is a brain dump exercise!). Once you’re done, pick out the parts that really resonate with you– those are the points you want to highlight in your copy on social media, in your “about me” section– anywhere you can inject a bit of personality 😉
3 | Avoid sounding like a robot
I don’t know about you, but in my first couple of years in business, I was so obsessed with appearing “perfectly” professional that about 100% of my copy (just a rough estimate) sounded like a robot had regurgitated it up from a manual. #butseriously
Here’s the thing: professionalism doesn’t automatically equal better. ESPECIALLY for a handmade shop.
You will win over 100% more of your audience if you present yourself as a REAL human being running a REAL business, no matter how small. People connect with other people, and if you can stand out as a human being in an otherwise faceless crowd, you’re well on your way to leaving a lasting impression.
So ditch those “perfect” sentences and throw in a bit of wit and humor that are on-brand with your products. You’ll get a chuckle out of your audience and (if you’re lucky) a sale to go along with it.
Take action: Copy and paste one of your listing’s descriptions into a blank Word document, and then have a friend or family member read it out loud. Can they tell from the copy that a real human being wrote it? Is your brand’s personality poking through? If not, it’s probably time to rewrite your copy!
4 | Speak your customer’s language
This is a MAJOR one and something I see A LOT, a lot a lot a lot with sellers—they become so immersed in their craft that when they go to market it, words like “bicone” and “6mm” and “18 gauge wire” work their way into the copy (and titles. and tags.) for a simple necklace.
Yes, you may know what those words mean, and your other jewelry contacts may know what they mean, but for the casual shopper? They’re probably going to type in “beaded necklace” and pick the first thing that grabs their eye. They’re NOT searching for “bicone” or “6mm” or “18 gauge wire” because they don’t know to search for those terms. And truly, the only reason I know about those is because my mom would order from Fire Mountain Gems a whole ton growing up, so we always had a bead catalog lying around. But even then– I don’t search for jewelry with ANY of those keywords.
So make sure that your copy is tailored to that casual shopper—NOT you and NOT your peers. If people are searching for “beaded necklace,” then you had better use that keyword in your listing title, tags, and description copy. Don’t use your industry jargon (no matter how smart it makes you sound!) because unless you’re a supplier, it’s not going to bring you a dime.
Take action: You can use a keyword tool like Marmalead or eRank or even Etsy to get a quick idea of what keywords are the most popular searched terms– those are they keywords you’ll want to use because they’re your customer’s natural “language.”
5 | Write for the web
Every single day I used to get the question “What size headband should I order for my daughter?” and it honestly blew my mind. Not because it’s a silly question (it’s not), but because I would have specific sizing instructions in my listing descriptions to help customers with that EXACT question.
But when it comes to online shopping (or online anything, really) people are lazy (and as much as I don’t like to admit it, I’ve been guilty a time or two or three for not reading a product description…)
With that in mind, you’re always going to get that certain percentage of people who just don’t read the finer details of your shop items. Keep that in mind and know that it’s not you—it’s them. 😉
And while you don’t have complete control over making sure that every single person reads your product descriptions, there are a few things you can do to encourage it:
Break your copy down into digestible chunks—if you’ve got more than 5 lines of copy in one paragraph, then break it down into 2 paragraphs of 2-3 lines. Remember that MOST people nowadays are shopping from a mobile device– so the shorter the better (while, obviously still including important details!)
Consider using subheadings for each new “idea” in your product description—it will point customers quickly in the right location to find information they want to know
Use bullet points or something similar to break up physical features of your product so that they are easy to scan. Simple hold “alt + 8” to get a bullet point 🙂
Take action: Copy and paste one of your listing descriptions and analyze how easy it is to read– do you find yourself skimming over certain sections? Are some of the paragraphs really loooooong? Anytime you find yourself skimming over a certain section, make a note– these are the sections that you’ll want to fix for readability.
And finally, #6 | Keep it SEO friendly
When people talk about writing persuasive copy, it’s easy to get so caught up in all the different aspects that we forget to optimize it so that our copy actually HELPS us get found on the internet.
HELLO, KEYWORDS AND SEO.
Your first paragraph + two of each listing should be persuasive, but sprinkled with important keywords throughout. You don’t need to include EVERY keyword you’ve researched in your listings titles and tags, but you’ll want to use about 4-5 throughout the text. No Etsy does not read your listings description. Yes, Pinterest and Google and other search engines do.
Take action: Go through your listing’s titles/tags (and if you have an optimized SEO strategy in place, they should be VERY similar!) and pick out 4-5 good, strong keywords (they can definitely be a mixture of broad + highly targeted). Then, take those 4-5 keywords and write 1-2 paragraphs of copy with those words sprinkled throughout.
Quick tip here–you don’t want to “keyword stuff” which simply means trying to fit as many keywords in (and sometimes repeat them over and over again) as possible; Google views this as spam and will instantly demote your shop’s quality score (which is what determines how well you rank on Google).
Alright, so quick recap:
1 | Remember–it isn’t about you
2 | Share your story (but don’t air your dirty laundry!)
3 | Avoid sounding like a robot
4 | Speak your customer’s language
5 | Write for the web
6 | Keep it SEO friendly
Copywriting may seem overwhelming right now– trust me, I totally know that feeling– but it does get easier with time and practice, practice, and practice.
REMEMBER THAT “DONE” IS BETTER THAN “PERFECT.”
Your first drafts of copy probably won’t be ridiculously amazing– and that’s okay (and definitely normal!). As you learn and grow and your shop progresses, you’ll find that your copy gets refined over time and before you know it, you’ll have some A+ copy that will hook your customer’s in from the get-go!
xoxo, Morgan