Anybody operate an Etsy shop that can answer my question?

[BPH]

I'm looking to open a shop, but I'm not sure how to go about it, given my product.

I'd be selling digital planners (meal trackers, workout planners, etc) which are, for all intents and purposes, a printout on a single sheet of paper.

This would be my first shop, and I've been told that Etsy promotes new shops and that I should capitalize on the extra exposure by having at least 30 listings - ideally more - to get more views, visits, and sales.

So far I only have 1 product because I want to test whether there's a market for this before I invest too much time and money into something that people may not buy.

The suggestion I received was to take DIFFERENT images of the SAME product to create DIFFERENT listings to meet that initial quota, while I create more products to add to my shop.

I'm asking:

1. Whether the above are the best practices for testing a minimum viable product
2. And if so, how I would do that, given there's only 1 image of my product to present - which is what would be on the sheet

 

[Clockwerk50]

I used to have one, but I closed it since some customers were from overseas and I had to pay a lot of money for shipping.

These are estimates but you’d be paying Etsy about .30 cents per listing. At the end of the month they will charge your credit card for having your shop opened. I don’t think there is an option to charge extra for shipping fees (you might have to look into this) so you have to incorporate this into the price if you are giving out the physical copy.

They do say the more items you have in your store the more traffic you will attract. I guess you can take pictures of different sides of the product, maybe give it a new colour, or make it with different fonts, and a new description, and then list it on the site.

 

[BPH]

They do say the more items you have in your store the more traffic you will attract. I guess you can take pictures of different sides of the product, maybe give it a new colour, or make it with different fonts, and a new description, and then list it on the site.

I could do that. I could also just give the purchaser the option to choose the color of the planner once they buy it to make it a more appealing option.

I'm just really having a hard time wrapping my brain around how you'd list the same piece of paper 30 different times. I asked on Reddit too and they gave me a similar response - that it's a stupid idea - but I got the idea from people who are currently selling on Etsy, so I'm not understanding how this works.

 

[Clockwerk50]

I could do that. I could also just give the purchaser the option to choose the color of the planner once they buy it to make it a more appealing option.

I'm just really having a hard time wrapping my brain around how you'd list the same piece of paper 30 different times. I asked on Reddit too and they gave me a similar response - that it's a stupid idea - but I got the idea from people who are currently selling on Etsy, so I'm not understanding how this works.

Yes, if I see a buyer doing that the first thought that would come to my head is that this is really sketchy and untrustworthy.

I think you could diversify a little bit to get to the 30 listings. You could create a home cleaning schedule, debt budget spreadsheet, grocery store list to hang on the fridge, wallpaper backgrounds, escape rooms, chore list, etc. Just brainstorming here.

 

[BPH]

Yes, if I see a buyer doing that the first thought that would come to my head is that this is really sketchy and untrustworthy.

I think you could diversify a little bit to get to the 30 listings. You could create a home cleaning schedule, debt budget spreadsheet, grocery store list to hang on the fridge, wallpaper backgrounds, escape rooms, chore list, etc. Just brainstorming here.

That's the plan, I just want to get something launched and validated before I spend a bunch of time creating dozens of other listings.

I was told it's not necessary to build all those other things before opening shop, and I'm having a hard time grasping how they do this if most people (like you just mentioned) might find it odd to see the same thing listed multiple times.

 

[Clockwerk50]

That's the plan, I just want to get something launched and validated before I spend a bunch of time creating dozens of other listings.

I was told it's not necessary to build all those other things before opening shop, and I'm having a hard time grasping how they do this if most people (like you just mentioned) might find it odd to see the same thing listed multiple times.

I’m not entirely sure, but if you’re interested in exploring a different platform to sell your products, you should consider Teachers Pay Teachers. It’s an online marketplace where educators can buy and sell original teaching resources, like lesson plans and activities. Many people find their niche there and focus on creating new content. While it is more specialized, you could also maintain two stores that reference each other to help build your pipeline. People use Canva, Powerpoint, and other software to create modules, some create templates so other teachers can use their drawings to create their lessons. You can see it below. Just a thought

All resources | TPT (teacherspayteachers.com)

 

[Bible_Belt]

How is a digital planner on paper?

Extra listings don't matter if it is something no one will buy.