So you finally opened your shop, so now what? We've all been there whether we like it or not. In this thread, I plan to go over a few points through my personal experiences along the way. Whether you just opened last month or last week, I hope you will find this information to be useful. Setting up shop may sound simple, but it's more than just adding listings to your shop as we all learned. Here are 5 points to consider:

1. Profile Photo

How many times have you visited a shop that didn't have a profile photo? As minor as this may sound it does have an impact on your shop image. Since as sellers we cannot be there face to face to give shoppers the experience they deserve coming into a brick and mortar store. Our friendly smile or logo from our profile photo is all we have. Take some time today and look at your own profile photo. Ask yourself if it is welcoming and approachable. If not or if you don't have one currently then perhaps it's time to make a change.

2. Branding

Branding or better known as Info & Appearance is another important part of your shop. Here you can edit your Shop Name, Shop Title, Shop Banner, Shop Announcement, and Messages to Buyers. Shoppers identify shop owners by mainly our Shop Name and remember us by our Shop Banner. All of this is connected to our business brand. Shop Names can be funny, goofy, smart, or ever make total sense and easily match with their SEO, more on this on another thread. While there are other Shop Names that just don't make any sense for your brand and the image you would like to portray to your potential customers. For those that are having second thoughts about their Shop Name, no worries since Etsy allows you to change your Shop Name. Where does your shop Name fit into your brand? Does your Shop Banner match your brand image?

3. Shop Policies

Shop Policies can be tricky but when done correctly it will save you time and headaches down the road. This is your chance to be clear with your customers about the Payment Policy, Shipping Policy, Refund Policy and any additional policies your shop may have. The more you clearly define them in this section the better it will be for your customers and for you. This section is also perfect for
those commonly asked questions you receive from your customers. No need to constantly explain things over and over anymore, just refer them to your Policy Section or perhaps even add a link in your listings if needed. Do your Shop Policies concisely answer your customer questions?

4. Sections

Shop Sections are a good way to categorize or create departments according to Etsy. They are also great for basically organizing your entire shop. Imagine what would happen if Shop Sections did not exist. You would have pages upon pages of your product listings. Now imagine using Google to find something. When was the last time you clicked past the 5th page on your search or even the 3rd page. Some customers actually do click through but only the rare few. You are allowed to have 10 custom Shop Sections so use them wisely. These Shop Sections are also a great way to add more SEO to your shop., more on this on another thread. Are your Shop Sections optimally organized?

5. Listings

In my first week I sold 9 listings and was super excited I even sold that many. My second week I sold 12 listings which was even better. For some reason however I had that feeling I could have sold more. Ever have one of those feelings? So I decided to review my product listings. Sure enough I had some typos, misspellings, broken links, and even missing files for my digital downloads all of which are newbie mistakes. I quickly made those changes and continued searching for more improvements to my listings. I also noticed that the Categories I was using could have been better suited for my listings so I changed those as well. Trying different Categories that make sense for your product listings may greatly improved your sales. The following week I was able to sell 33 listings which was definitely an improvement. Do your listings need a facelift?

It is certain that there is no simple solution to get super duper sales. Just posting your ultra cool artsy listings is not enough. I do hope with these simple tweaks above can make a difference for your shop. What can you share with the Team about your own experiences when you first started with your new shop?

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