Etsy's Free Shipping Guarantee series, part 2 - aka, "Things Everybody Should be Working On Anyway"

We last chatted about why Etsy offering free shipping is a good thing. Now let's discuss two reasons why you don't have to worry about the Free Shipping Guarantee ruining your Etsy sales.

1. You don't have to turn in on. How is this a good thing? If you look over your pricing and decide it's not going to be feasible, no problem! Etsy hasn't made it mandatory. You're not going to be penalized for not turning it on. (Before you say anything about the search rankings, wait for #2.) Free shipping is a good offer as a rule, but there are always exceptions- if you've got larger items or heavy items, or items that have to be packed and shipped with extra care, free shipping might just not be possible. That's fine too! Because...

2. A higher place in Etsy's search rankings does not necessarily guarantee one shop will make sales over another. If someone lands on Etsy looking for something handmade, they are not going to arbitrarily buy the first thing on the search page. 

They'll be searching using the same method anyone uses anywhere else- search, narrow their search to something more specific, narrow their search again, then look for a brand and shop they feel fits, then choose a specific item. This is a pattern most people follow when they're shopping, even if they think they're just browsing.

It's true, as I type this Etsy is causing another frenzy with the news that you might not be on the first page at all if you don't offer free shipping, and "oh-btw-83%-buy-from-page-1". Please don't panic! Most of the people who find you will find you because of your overall marketing strategy, not through Etsy search alone.

While it would be nice to be the first thing they see on a search page, there are a lot of factors at work in getting your products noticed.

Here's one: People will see your photography before they really notice where your item sits in the search rankings. Do you have a good grasp of who your target market is? Are your photos designed to catch the eye of your target market? (I'm guilty of boring, unbranded, untargeted, photos. Working on it!)

Here's another: Have you worked on refining your SEO or are you still using random tags for your items? That has an effect on where your items fall in the search results.

And one I mentioned already, are you marketing your products well on the platforms your target market is on and keeping in contact with your email list, or are you sticking only to the platforms you feel comfortable with and neglecting the people who want you to keep in touch with them? (I'll admit, I'm sooooo guilty here too. *hides face*)

In conclusion... the good news: While being higher in the search rankings is a nice bonus, it shouldn't be what any seller pins their hopes on to get sales. Whether you decide to use Etsy's Free Shipping Guarantee or not, working on your target market, clear branding, and marketing, will put you ahead of many of the sellers on Etsy. (For example, when someone finds me, it's usually through Instagram or Pinterest, not the Etsy search. My "people" are also on YouTube, which for most Etsy sellers is a completely untapped resource!)

Next time, we'll chat about things to consider whether or not you decide to use the Free Shipping Guarantee.

In the meantime, let me know what aspect of your marketing strategy you're trying to improve on...

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My take on Etsy's Free Shipping Guarantee, part 1 - It Really Will Be OK!

It's been a while since Etsy introduced this new program but there is still a lot of division in the camp about it. Popular bloggers and YouTubers have panned the idea in very strong terms, and nearly every day I see angry comments on social media where someone thinks it's unfair, honestly believes that Etsy is trying to kill their business, or has decided to leave Etsy and try and sell on another platform.

I'm going to take the next few posts to discuss a few positive points about Etsy's free shipping guarantee, including some things to keep in mind whether you turn in on for your shop or not.

I have to admit that the negative response in many places was a surprise to me! My first feeling when I heard about the Guarantee was excitement. Offering free shipping is a win for many businesses- studies have been done that show, oddly enough, that more people are more likely to buy more items when a shop offers free shipping. For example, you're on Amazon looking for something and choose a $25 item with free shipping over exactly the same item where the price is $20 plus $4.99 shipping. Or you're buying online and spend $10 extra so you don't have to pay that pesky $5 shipping fee. It doesn't seem to make sense, yet most of us have done it!

Etsy getting onboard with offering free shipping is a good thing for Etsy sellers. Etsy wants more people to buy more things from more small businesses.

I have a feeling Etsy urges free shipping to get more people to come to the website and shop, instead of shopping through Handmade on Amazon or finding a brand through a web search. Etsy wants to be THE place to get all things handmade, so they're helping us sellers stay competitive with these other sites. They've added the incentive of placing items with free shipping higher in the search rankings, but this shouldn't worry you if you decide not to turn the guarantee on. (More on that in the coming days.)

Stick with me over the next few posts while I talk all things free shipping. 

(And let me know in the comments if you're one of the many who will spend $10 extra not to have to pay $5 shipping!)

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Pomegranate Peach Minis on sale!

The Pomegranate Peach Minis have reached 300 "favorites" on Etsy, so they'll be on sale for two weeks! Hope you'll try one of this fun flavor while they're only 79 cents!

***  Sale ends Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014 ***

Another Milestone, another sale!

I don't care what anyone says, the opposite of Vanilla isn't Chocolate, it's Peppermint! Think about it- vanilla is calm, seemingly simple, soothing. Peppermint is complex, energizing and in-your-face. I think that's why this flavor blend is such a surprise to people... these two flavors are polar opposites, but they blend like they were meant for each other. (Because they were!)

And, here at Canfield Crafts we're pleased to say that since the Vanilla Mint Minis have reached 150 "favorites" on Etsy, they're the next balm to go on sale for two weeks! :-) Starting today, they'll be on sale for 79 cents. Hope you'll try one!

SALE!

Woohoo! It took a while, but the "Earl Grey with a Slice" Minis have reached 350 "favorites" on Etsy! They'll be on sale for the awesome price of 79 cents for the next two weeks, so we hope you'll think about giving one a try! :-)

(The sale will end at midnight on August 13, 2014.)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/112238570/earl-grey-with-a-slice-shea-cocoa-butter

Two new items today!

 

We've been making them successfully for a while now, but today we were able to finally list these amazing multipurpose sprays on Etsy! You can get either a 2oz or 4oz bottle, and you can choose from any fragrance oil we have in stock. See the listing for more details!

Cucumber & Aloe soap - we've had soap with this fragrance in the shop for a while, but in this batch we also added some other nice oils and extracts. You can preorder this soap now, and it will ship after its cure ends on March 19th. :-)

Two new soaps and more to come!

There are two new soaps in the shop- one cold process and one hot process. Take a look!

Carlton fragrance - "Clouds and Sky" hot process soap

 We recently got a request to make a special hot process soap fragranced with Carlton and this was the result! We wanted to make the soap look like a cloudy sky, and since the soap is hot process, the edges and top are a bit more "rustic" than cold process soap- we think it just adds to the 'big fluffy clouds" theme. ;-) Carlton smells like orchid, with notes of champagne, rain, and musk overtones. (It's not a heavily floral scent at all.)

"Celtic Waters" - Shea and Cocoa Butter soap

Celtic Waters has a knock-your-socks-off fragrance that smells almost exactly like a popular brand of soap (of course, we can't tell you which!). We blended it with another clean, soapy, cologne-like fragrance for a little variation- the difference in this fragrance and the original is that this blend smells more like clean water, moss, and verbena. It leans more toward being a "man soap", but the fragrance is so fresh that ladies are sure to love it as well!

We have more soap to add soon, so check back with us! :-)

Bee-Free Balms are officially in the shop!

We've been working on Beeswax free lip balms for a while now, and since we got a request recently to make some in two of our most popular flavors, we thought it was time to officially add them to the Etsy shop! They are perfect for anyone who does not like to use animal products or has an allergy to bee products.

We decided to make the balms with Soy Wax, as it is readily available and doesn't add any flavor to the balms. The only difference is that the texture of the balms is a bit different- they feel more noticeable when you're wearing them but it's not unpleasant. In fact, since it's now Winter it feels pleasant to feel that extra protection on your lips.

Here are the first two flavors that are officially in stock- but keep in mind that you can order any balm and send a note asking for the Bee-free version and we'll take care of the rest!

Earl Grey with a Slice
Pure Vanilla

New Chocolate Balm in the store!

Last year sometime I was given the task of making a Chocolate Orange lip balm- well, it's finally done and in the shop!

It took a while- first, because life kept getting in the way, and second, because we had thought "hey, let's try a different Chocolate balm formula!" After a long trial-and-error-but-mostly-error testing period we decided to put that on hold for a while and make a Dark Chocolate Orange using our regular formula. The pre-shop popularity of this flavor shows once more that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

We hope you'll try one of our Dark Chocolate Orange balms! (Remember, if you're interested in a bulk assortment of Minis, we do offer different discount levels. Send us a note anytime!)

Dark Chocolate Orange:
Clear tube - Black tube - Oval tube - Mini tube

A note on Minis

We got a note today and the person was wondering if we'll ever lower the price of the Minis from $.99... For various reasons, we can't offer our lowest price for individual Mini Aromatherapy or Lip Balm listings, but we offer bulk pricing at any time.

If you would like to place a bulk Mini order, please feel free to contact me. We do charge a single fee per custom listing of twenty cents to cover the fee Etsy charges us to create a listing, but the savings are definitely worth it. :-) We'll be sure to give you an update if the prices ever change for bulk batches of Minis.

Remember that you can also order Minis with custom labels! Contact us for details.

Want to win $10 worth of free Canfield Crafts products?

We thought it would be fun to host a simple guessing game to celebrate the end of Summer and the start of Autumn! Here's what you'll be guessing:

How many Minis (Lip Balm and Aromatherapy) did we ship from June 1- August 31, 2013?

Only one guess per person, please! Guess as high or as low as you like! We will only give you one small hint: Remember we're still a small business... if you guess in the thousands you'll be too high! 
 
Leave a comment here, send us an Etsy Conversation or a tweet, leave a message for us on Facebook, or send an e-mail with your guess. On October 1 we will look at all the guesses and find the closest one- if more than one person has the closest guess, we will take both names (or all three, etc) and choose randomly between them.

The winner will get to choose $10 of products from our Etsy shop!

** Update: Thank you to everyone who guessed on Etsy, Facebook, etc! A HUGE Congratulations to SW on Etsy for her winning guess! **