Grow Your Etsy Email List (Legally!) in One Step
How you *ACTUALLY* grow your Etsy shop without all the drama
Wish you could have an enthusiastic fan base, repeat customers, and a consistent flow of cash RAINING DOWN on your Etsy shop?
The answer I believe you’re looking for is HELL YES!
And you actually might be a lot closer than you think, because the truth is that most Etsy entrepreneurs are slacking on a critical piece of business:
Their email list.
(OOoooOOoo Scary!)
Picture this…
You’re standing alone in a desert with nothing and nobody around as far as the eye can see.
“Hello?” You shout into the void. “I’ve got some new listings up that you’re gonna love!”
A blackbird flies overhead screeching as it travels across a cloudless sky.
Is it a sign? No. It’s just a stupid bird in the middle of the desert… Where everything sucks and no one even knows you exist!
Sound like a place you want to be with your Etsy shop? I didn’t think so.
But without an email list, your business model is pretty much just a weird, hopeless desert metaphor.
It’s no surprise then that lots of Etsy sellers are looking for some secret formula…
You know, the ONE magic PILL that effortlessly grows your sales and always works no matter what, forever and ever.
Well, Buttercup — through careful research I’ve discovered that the secret formula is…
Bullshit. With Bullshit Filling.
Wanna know why?
Because what worked last year (or even last season) is already outdated.
Staying ahead of the curve isn’t always easy, but it can be super simple.
Today I’m taking a look at what *HAS WORKED FOR OVER A DECADE*, so you can grow your list and get that MONEY, honey.
Okay. First thing first…
The Etsy Email List #StruggleisReal
Because Etsy won’t let you collect emails the easy way, you either have to get creative or get illegal. Ugh.
And while Etsy might think that you don’t need an email list — trust me, you do!
Because here’s what’s up, Buttercup: after someone buys something from you on Etsy, you’re out of sight and out of mind.
Sure, sure. You can mail out a little business card with a discount code and hope that it doesn’t immediately get tossed in the trash — but once that fails (and it will) you are totally OUT OF options to reach your customers.
::womp womp::
Business cards are boring, basic, and honestly, ain’t nobody got time for that.
You need to make sales! And you need to do it EVERY. SINGLE. MONTH.
So… What about social media?
This is one I get a lot — and it’s easy to understand why.
From the outside, social media seems like it would be a marketing dream — but that just isn’t true. Wanna know why?
❶ Social media is fleeting! No — actually, that sh*t is FICKLE! Inevitably, your customers won’t all be on the same platform. You could gain a gazillion followers just for everyone to decide that platform is OUT. (RIP MySpace, Blockbuster, and young me from the early 2000s …)
❷ It’s great for exposure but honestly, it’s crap for sales. When’s the last time you scored big off of an Instagram post? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
What makes an email list different is that people WANT to be there.
They want to hear about you. They want to hear about your shop. And most importantly, they want to buy more!
Because here’s the deal: you don’t slap your email in some random form for no reason.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m guessing you get PLENTY of emails.
You only give away your email address if it’s WORTH IT.
And when your customers give you their email, that’s their way of saying: I want MORE!
Email lists literally bring your dream customers to you! These people are already saying YES to what you’re selling and can’t wait to see what you create next! WIN!
So now that we’re all super pumped about building this list, how are we gonna do it?
Three years ago, an old Etsy buddy and I were having a mutual bitch fest about how frickin’ hard it is to grow these lists.
She was sharing a link to her email list on every product page, but still couldn’t get customers to sign up. And that’s when it hit me…
Customers. Don’t. Read.
Just think about all the time you spend answering questions about the same sh*t that’s already in your descriptions. They don’t care. All they care about is pictures.
And that little realization led to an epic idea:
I added a “join the mailing list for 10% off” promo as the final image in all my listings.
And much to my surprise, it started converting like a beast.
I took all those customers that don’t read for shit, and I used their superpower against them!
Email List + Etsy Photos = EPIC WIN!
After that, a lot — and I do mean a lot — of other bloggers started sharing this tip and passing it off as their own… *ahem* RUDE!
But despite this strategy being splattered all over the internet, I was the only one who actually TESTED IT OUT.
But these days, there’s a catch…
Back when I first tried this trick, “10% off your order” used to be king of the castle.
But lately, it’s lost its… Shall we say… *LUSTER*
THESE DAYS, people are jaded AF when it comes to discounts.
Visit literally ANY website. Seriously. Just type gobbledygook into your search. Do you know what will pop up the second you click on that website?
A coupon for 10% off.
Yawn. Next!
If you really wanna kick ass at this email thing, offer your readers something for FREE that will help them buy more of your products.
Mwahaha!
Wanna see this strategy in action?
Let’s take a look at this super awesome shop that sells crochet patterns:
Jess could cram a 10% off coupon in your face like everyone else… And she might get some repeat buyers… Meh.
But instead, she’s offering free crochet tutorials:
Now let’s break down what makes this so brilliant…
These tutorials are gonna make her customers BETTER at their craft (a huge win).
This means they’ll need more crochet patterns to practice with!
And just where do you think they’ll go to get their fix?
I’ll give you one guess.
It starts with “HER”… And ends with “SHOP”.
Looking for a fun new craft project? Her shop.
Bored on a lazy Sunday afternoon? Her shop.
Needing to make a last-minute gift? Her shop.
Oooh, I got an email about crochet patterns last week from that one shop I like, let’s see if they have anything!
After adding this image to all her listings, Jess got over 550 new people to join in less than a month!
Full disclosure: some people will get on your email list, grab their freebies, then leave.
But you know what? That’s fine. Seriously. Good riddance.
We want a list that’s ENGAGED… and FULL of people who WANT to be here and want to BUY.
It might feel like a total stab in the heart when you lose those email subscribers — believe me, I know.
But I wanna let you in on a little secret here…
Email subscribers aren’t exactly what we’re after here — what we really want are RAVING FANS!
It’s not a numbers game — so bitch, bye!
And now for the million dollar question… How do I add a link to my mailing list?
*Sigh.*
Sometimes life is just difficult and we have to make the best of it.
The thing is, Etsy will NOT allow you to add any non-Etsy links.
They won’t light up. They won’t be underlined. They won’t be clickable.
I know… I KNOW.
There’s no way around it even for the biggest and most bonafide shops.
Your customers will HAVE to copy and paste your email list URL into their browser… and you will HAVE to tell customers exactly that to make it work.
I know… I KNOW.
As frustrating as this policy is though, there IS a silver lining.
Remember that thing I said about wanting only engaged customers?
This whole link ordeal actually works to your advantage.
People who aren’t willing to take 2 seconds to copy and paste a link… ARE NOT serious shoppers!!
You don’t want them on your list.
They’re literally a waste of your time — you can send them emails until the end of eternity… BUT they’ll never buy.
So Etsy’s whole “no outside links” is really a win-win when it comes to sorting the duds from the gems.
Hi👋 I’m Jenni — I’m an e-commerce coach for top sellers 😊
Whether you know it or not, your business can grow as big as you want it. I see it daily, but you’re probably there, alone…Wondering if you’re crazy… I’m here to be a regular reminder that YOU’RE NOT. 🚀
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