We’ve heard it said aplenty: Pinterest is a crazy effective marketing tool.
But do we believe it?
Nancy Badillo, digital marketing specialist, uncovers the mystery of Pinterest marketing works and shares from her first hand experience of how it can help Etsy sellers generate organic traffic.
Nancy has been a Digital Marketing Specialist now for 11 years and an Etsy seller for the last four years. She works with Etsy sellers who want to build a thriving business and embrace the entrepreneurial adventure. She started her Etsy Shop in late 2016 because she wanted to write a case study for her blog about making handmade items and selling them on Etsy. Now she has six Etsy Shops and loves making passive income with Etsy.
Selling on Etsy
Etsy is an e-commerce platform focused on personalised or customised handmade items and vintage items. Unlike Amazon, Etsy does not allow reselling.
It’s a good place to begin for anyone starting a business because it’s relatively cheap. As a platform, Etsy is very simple to use and to very quickly build a store.
You don’t have to be naturally good at something to sell on Etsy. Creating products for sale on Etsy can be a side hustle or whether you have talent in a specific area and are able to create products for sale. It depends largely on what you want to do and what you are good at.
Nancy disclosed that when she first started on Etsy she sold wedding invites. She wasn’t in the wedding industry but just got going and found herself getting better at it.
Products don’t have to be complicated. They can be as simple as selling portraits, handmade candles, digital products, face masks and cards. With 20 cents per listing, Etsy is a relatively cheap place to get started with a business.
Selling on Etsy gets more complex when you consider growing your brand and driving traffic.
Generate Traffic Using Pinterest Marketing
Platforms like Instagram and Facebook make people pay in order to play. You have to spend money to be seen and the platform restricts your visibility if you don’t have enough clicks. This makes it even harder for people to find you. It all comes down to engagement and algorithm and it is controlled entirely by Instagram and Facebook.
Pinterest, on the other hand, is a social platform and a search engine that allows you to drive traffic organically. Much like YouTube. It is a very handy tool that, for example, can be used to drive traffic to a landing page where people are able to exchange their email address for free content.
Nancy highlights four key areas that help generate traffic with Pinterest.
#1 Niche down
If you are all about eCommerce, your profile and bio needs to be explicit in showing exactly who you are, what you do and why people. Your pins should also be consistent with what you sell. Don’t create or repin pins with cute puppies when you’re selling beauty products. should follow you. If you have your professional picture or your logo, if you're behind the brand. It’s important to be niche so that you can stand out as an expert.
#2 Brand your pins
Always make sure all your pins have your branding and URL.
#3 Provide images of the product
Images provide a reference point and people are able to visualise the product which helps the customer journey. This becomes even more crucial with digital products as the image feels more tangible.
#4 Do SEO
Takeaways
1.
You don’t need to be an artist or tech savvy to sell on Etsy.
2.
Building a brand takes work.
3.
Use Pinterest marketing correctly and you will begin to see results within weeks.
Sponsors
The eCommerce platform we use to run all our eCommerce businesses. If you are in the market for a new eCommerce platform, check it out. Their new monthly subscription service has made this even more accessible. Have a look around the site and book a demo.
Light bulb agency is an end to end eCommerce business that does anything that you don't really want to do or have the expertise to do with eCommerce. It offers a range of services such as product research, website creation, traffic generation, customer service, picking and fulfilment. Lightbulb ship from the UK all over the world for a number of customers. If you're in the market for eCommerce services, look up Lightbulb Agency.