This one was the most epic.
Ok, it's the time for the Truth friends. I'm facing the facts, and finally coming to terms with having wasted, and I mean wasted, so so so much money on websites to go along with my Etsy shops in the past eight years.
Just last year, I spent 3k building the most elaborate website I've ever built. After years of using every site out there (think Shopify, Big Cartel, Squarespace, Weebly and others) and spending around $200 a month supporting my sites, I was convinced that the reason my website wasn't as successful as my Etsy shop was that I needed something more elaborate than these sites could offer. To top it off, my Etsy shop was doing so well, it just had to follow that my website should do well too! Right?
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| Me getting ready to make my website. Image by @phil-are-go |
A few months later, and after a TON of hard work, my site was ready to launch. I wanted to "announce" the launch of my amazing new website in style. Surely, once everyone knew about it, the money would start pouring in. In a few weeks of insanity, I spent over 8k on ads and sponsored posts on the biggest blogs in my industry. This was a fraction of what my etsy shop makes in a year, and if my website did only half as good as my Etsy shop I could kiss my string of day jobs goodbye.
So launch day came. And then my ads went live. And then... that's about it. There was a small bump in traffic, and a handful of sales. The new eleven thousand dollar website didn't drive any more sales than the old $29 a month site.
The crazy thing about the site, which is still live, and making only about $150 a month, is that on the outside, it looks very successful. It's so fancy, and has such fancy features that I get several inquiries a month from people asking if I am "hiring." This is a good take away, your favorite Etsy seller might have a jaw-droppingly beautiful website, but it may/may not be generating any income to speak of.
So, should your Etsy shop have a website too?
1. Take a moment to journal about about why you want a website. Is it because a seller you admire has one? Is it because it will help you feel like your business is "legitimate?" Write it all out.
2. Ask yourself if you have the time to manage a website. After initial setup, expect to spend at least as much time managing your site as you do your etsy shop.
3. Figure out how you plan to drive traffic to your site. The BIG overlooked advantage to Etsy is that they will drive traffic to your shop's door. Last month, Etsy provided me with 40,000 product views. My site, which had extensive advertising running, had 2,500 views - around 6% as much traffic. Visitors also convert worse than on Etsy, so in the end my site only makes about 2% of what my etsy shop makes.
4. Start with the cheapest, freest option you can find. If you decide you do want to have a website to go with your etsy shop, there are low cost options that offer automatic imports of your Etsy products like, Shopify, Squarespace, Weebly See if you even enjoy creating/managing a site. You could also try starting with a blog instead of a website, using a free service like Blogger.
5. Wait until you "outgrow" your cheap & cheerful website before making changes. This was my big mistake. When my smaller sites didn't generate much income, I thought I needed to change things. Wait until your site is generating enough traffic and views to justify spending more money on it. If you are having success in your online shop, that's the time to double down. My biggest mistakes all involve doubling down on failure (see: relationships).
"You don't have a job and you live in your
band's practice space? Tell me more."
I would love to hear about your experiences creating websites to go with your Etsy shops. Do you find it worthwhile? Does your site generate income? If you have a site that does better than your etsy shop I would love to interview you!
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