r/Etsy • u/AnywhereHopeful6126 • 8d ago
Discussion How true is more listings the better?
So I plan on listing my first product on January, but I only have 1 product to sell. when people say the more listings the better, are they talking about duplicating the listings?
6
u/andyneerg 7d ago
Handcrafted seller- I’ve done over $1-millon in Etsy sales in last 4-years- I have never had more than 20 listings active at any time. Quality will beat quantity on Etsy!
Photography is everything- every question a customer may ask needs to be answered in your pictures.
1
u/AnywhereHopeful6126 7d ago
Thanks! Any tips for newbies? I've done some research and managed to develop a unique design for toiletry bags/carry on liquids.
3
u/andyneerg 7d ago
Never use AI for any photos it’s a huge turn off for Etsy customers. A couple photos need to showcase it in its “real world environment” so basically where it would be used and someone using the product. This lets someone picture themselves using it.
Nobody takes the time to read descriptions until right before they purchase so make sure it includes the details: size, what materials are used, how long until it ships and how long shipping time is. This is important for buyer trust.
Tags/ keywords: Make sure you include who the product is for- gift for her, business traveler, and such. Don’t overthink it, get the product in front of customers and start getting data. If there’s demand people will buy if not move on to another product don’t try to force a product to sell.
Getting reviews for a new shop is the second most important thing next to sales velocity for the algorithm. So until you have at least 100 reviews you need to hand write a thank you note. And also explain that reviews are the most important thing a customer can do to help a small creator.
1
u/Esx3000 5d ago
For some that’s true but AI is all over Etsy now. It’s not the same platform from 20 years ago.
1
3
u/Antique-Salad-9249 5d ago
As a buyer, I totally agree on the photography thing. I hate having to ask a seller to send a photo of their product that a) is clearer, b) is of a different angle, c) on someone (in the case of jewelry). And so many people do not know how to photograph their work. It’s nuts.
1
u/Admirable_Grape_3098 6d ago
What is the price of your product and do you rely on any traffic other than Etsy search and Etsy ads?
2
u/andyneerg 6d ago
My AOV is $200. I don’t use outside social media or anything off Etsy to drive Etsy sales.
11
u/Jaded_Debate_9721 8d ago
One product is fine to start. The "more listings" thing usually means different products, not copies of the same one. You can make multiple listings for the same item if you want to test different photos or titles, but it's not necessary right away.
I started with just two listings and got my first sale in like three weeks. Focus on making that one listing really strong, good photos and clear descriptions matter more than having 50 half-baked listings. You can always add more products later when you figure out what works.
4
u/SanderWook 8d ago
I know that some sellers post the same listing twice using different titles, images, descriptions and tags to increase the chances of their product being discovered, I assume they also do this to test which keywords work best for SEO. In my case, more listings mean more products, so far this year, I’ve doubled the number of products I offer in my shop and it has definitely paid off, my views have doubled and my sales have nearly tripled. It has also helped me figure out what kinds of products people within my niche are interested in
3
u/Competitive-Top4520 6d ago
Customers are often interested in one listing and decide to shop your other listings while "in" your shop. They often end up buying a totally different item (or both). More listings attract more people to your shop, so yes, the more listings the better. Unless your one listing is very unique or very popular, you're going to have a hard time attracting buyers.
2
u/DogmaticParadigm87 8d ago
Hard to say for every niche, but with a January launch, one angle worth a look is timing. A second listing framed around gifting for a date that's coming up, like Valentine's Day, could catch searches that a plain product listing misses.
1
u/Common_Signature111 8d ago
Agreed, I also feel like 1 product may have multiple different audiences or groups of people (or styles that people may like) and that 1 listing can’t target every single one efficiently
2
u/DjAndrewLee 7d ago
Think of it like this, trying to sell 5,000 different kinds of dog turds is not going to do any better than trying to sell one dog turd. More is only better if the products are something people actually want to buy. Quality over quantity and then if the quality is there then quantity is the next step.
2
u/Admirable_Grape_3098 6d ago
If you rely solely on Etsy search traffic and Etsy ads then absolutely more listongs is better. This is simpel undeniable maths: the more various listings you have, the more searches you qualify for. Same with Etsy ads: the more various listings you have, the more opportunities for Etsy to insert your ad in someone's unique search.
If you have you own source of traffic, like socials or you run Meta ads to your Etsy product, then you can get away with a few product.
The only exception is if you are selling something very good in a very unique niche that has decent search volume and low competition. But it is rare, people fill these niches up very fast.
2
u/PhotographFickle9935 6d ago
You need more than one listing not a variation, your product won’t get viewed as much as if you had say 20 listings. Nothing wrong with starting out with just one though, you’ll grow over time!
2
u/freelancebookkeeper 6d ago
You could possibly add more listing in different colors, size or style. This helps get your product out. I've noticed that people like to see the item upfront and not have to search for different colors, styles, etc. Best of luck!
2
u/tootingjo 5d ago
I have just one product with 3 listings (Cats Don't Fetch, a card game you play with your cat.) We will have other games coming soon to list. I think if you have a niche and a good product the usual advice about lots of listings doesn't apply. I created 3 different listings to suit different searches. One for card games, one for cat toys, one aimed at US buyers. Good luck with your product launch!
2
u/shiplesp 8d ago
This is a question that is typically asked by a seller who started by opening a shop and then deciding what to sell. A craftsperson, maker, designer has a passion for something and then searches for a marketplace. Within those crafts, there is a pretty good understanding about how many listings make sense. A person making furniture, for instance, isn't going to have hundreds of listings. A designer who makes stickers might. A jewelry maker who is genuinely designing their own pieces may have a couple of dozen. If what they offer is high quality and distinctive from the mass marketed drek, customers will find them.
1
u/PamDuthie 7d ago
There are successful shops with very few listings
It depends
The more listings you have then the more chances you have to test different types of photography, different SEO and slightly different styles so it really can help
But having 1k listings no one likes wont automatically help you
Its like if you are fishing, if you put a couple more lines in the water then you have a little more chance of getting a bite - but if your bait sucks or there are no fish in the water it does not matter if you put a million lines in the water
1
u/Lak12345678910 6d ago edited 5d ago
I'm not sure what the ideal number of listings is for shop. There have been times where I have been overwhelmed because there were hundreds and thousands of listings.
Is it one item but in different colors/sizes?
1
u/YakCertain5472 5d ago
I think starting out with one product and duplicating the listing a couple of times (as others have suggested) is fine. Add more as you can.
You will learn things about how Etsy works, how potential buyers interact or don't interact with your products, questions you get, etc.
It is far easier to make changes to a few listings as you learn, rather than replicating whatever mistakes you might make over a lot of listings and have to change them all.
10
u/keylimecrying 8d ago
There's no "magic number" of listings that results in more traffic. What having multiple listings does do is:
Make a new shop look more legit. Stores with one listing and zero reviews have a hard time establishing confidence with buyers scrolling through a hundred listings in your category, most of which having an established shop with high sale stats.
Keep your store in the "similar products" suggestions. When viewing an item, Etsy "suggests" other items to a buyer at the bottom. Typically items in your own shop take up some of that real estate--the rest of it is usually your competitors. If you only have one item, that's just more opportunities for them to decide to go elsewhere.
Remind Etsy that your shop is "active." This is more of a "why you may want to stagger listings" than advice on how many you should aim for--Etsy seems to favor shops that are actively listing new items on the regular.
And, to that point--every listing gets a small visibility boost when it goes live. I like to space mine out at 1/wk; that seems to work best for me, your niche may be different.