There is a balance act when it comes to running sales on your Etsy shop. If done right, sales can be an amazing opportunity to get a rush of cash into your account while clearing out inventory. If not, then they are just a ton of work without much profit.
Let’s work through some tips to make sure you are able to capitalize on your next sale!
Be clear on what you want.
Sales can be done for different reasons.
For example, if you are looking to clear out inventory to prepare for the next season, then the goal is to clear the shelves. This means that you can use the sale as a powerful marketing tool and help loyal customers feel loved. However profits probably wouldn't be your main priority (however you will want to make sure you are!)
Another example could be that you want to increase your customers' order value. This can be like a “buy one get one” or a free shipping after a certain amount. These types of sales are seen as promotions or rewards for spending more at your shop.
Understanding your sale objective is a powerful first step to any successful sale.
Know your Margins.
This is helpful for two reasons. The first reason is because you want to make sure that you are making money (obviously). The second reason is that you can properly know how much you can spend to promote your sale.
If you are running a 20% off discount and selling 30 units would give you $500 profit, then you can spend 20% of your profit to help promote that. $100 goes to marketing and you know that you can walk away with $400.
Another way to know when you can promote is if your organic reach hits a profit goal that you can invest back into the sale.
None of this is possible until we know our margins.
Get your offer right
This is where some psychology comes to play. If you sell an expensive item, then its always better to mention dollars off instead of percentage. This is because 10% doesnt sound like much, but if the product is $200, offering $20 off sounds a lot better.
With most Etsy shops, we price pretty cheap and therefore would probably want to to use percentages instead of dollars off.
Another thing you want to think about is the type of buyer you are talking to. If you sell something that cheap people buy (like digital downloads) then your offer is going to want to use words like “clearance” and “limited time” This is because cheap people react to deals. They buy solely off of price, so words that show the sale won't last will help jump start them over to you!
If you sell wedding stuff, then that mindset is completely different. Most of the time, money is saved up to a budget that they are wanting to spend on something not cheap, but nice!
So we speak to this savvy shopper with more cross promotions. Having them buy multiple items for a discount. You are helping them clear their buying list, while saving money!
Take a good look at your product and try and see if you can see the type of buyer for your shop.
Always have a deadline
The point of any sale is to get fence sitters or those who have been away from your brand to come back. If you have a sale, but no deadline, then all you did was lower your prices. Make sure that your deadline is clear and always mention it so that the user is VERY aware that they are going to miss out on something. This creates FOMO. And don’t worry about annoying someone.. The average user needs 7 touch points before making the jump!
(I'm not saying email them 7 times, I'm just showing you that just because people don't take action right at first, doesn't mean they are not interested).
Be ready for the follow up push
After your sale, we may be tempted to put our feet up. Don’t! You can easily use this time to do one more follow up with purchasers.
Try and add a complement item to those who just bought.
For example, If someone buys a pair of gloves from your shop on sale, use a follow up email after purchase to sell socks for the same discount. Anyone buying gloves is looking to keep their hands warm, so maybe we can get their feet covered as well!
These 5 tips are meant to help you see more success and profit from your sales! Etsy shoppers love a good sale, so make sure you use these techniques (and the ones mentioned in the podcast above!)
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