How to build a business and stand out on Etsy with Madison Paige

I had the chance to be a guest on the Small Business Growth Podcast hosted by Madison Pagie - and I'm sharing the entire episode with you here today!

In this episode, we talk through top advice and tips to grow your Etsy shop if you're already on Etsy OR looking to expand your business on to Etsy. We chat Etsy Keywords, Etsy Photography, Etsy descriptions & so much more!

A little bit more about Madison - Madison Paige is Business Growth Specialist, Top Rated Business Podcast Host, & Public Speaker that helps brands build a ride or die online community so you can stand out & sell out on social media. Her genuine spirit, high energy, & 8 years of experience in the social media world supporting over 150 businesses equips her to bring you high level, practical tips as your newest biz growth bestie.

LINKS MENTIONED IN TODAY'S EPISODE

Follow Madi on Instagram @thisismadisonpaige

Listen to the Small Business Growth Podcast hosted by Madison Paige

LEARN MORE FROM MONICA LITTLE

Website: www.monicalittlecoaching.com

Instagram: @monicalittlecoaching

Watch the FREE Etsy training to get started today: How to Get Your Products Seen on Etsy!

Transcript

Monica Little: [00:00:00] Are you ready to go behind the scenes and learn what it really takes to create consistent sales each and every month with your handmade small business? Join me, Monica, little Self-taught multiple six figure small business owner and your product business coach, as I give you the insight and inspiration on how to better run your business and increase your sales.

In ways that you may not have even been aware of, so that your business can truly become what you knew it could be back when you first start. Learn how to let go of perfection, overcome the fear of failure that is holding you back, and finally start taking action so that you walk away feeling like you've cracked the code on how to run a successful small business.

You are listening to the Product Biz Podcast. Hello and welcome to the product, this podcast. My name is Monica Little and I'm your host and I'm super excited to chat with you [00:01:00] today. Feels like it's been a little bit of time since I've been behind the mic. I've been sharing so many awesome interviews with you, so many awesome guests with you.

And to be super honest, Going through a little bit of behind the scenes reworking and re-strategizing what the product based podcast will be all about. So the month of May, you're gonna hear from some amazing guests, and it's gonna round out this month of episodes and starting in June, I'm gonna have some new episodes share with you.

More business focused, more growth focused, more sales focused. And I'm gonna get behind the mic a little bit more since you, you've probably noticed I've been bringing on a lot of guests. Um, and also I'm going to be pivoting and really bringing on guests to the show that are going to be talking about business growth.

So more experts on how to grow your business so you can really see the mindset, the tactics and tips from people who are coaches or small business owners themselves who have seen massive success. So [00:02:00] you'll see a little bit. Of cha of a change in June. Super excited to dive into some specifics for you to bring some amazing experts to you.

So stay tuned for some of those updates. And I just wanted to bring you a little bit up to speed, especially as we round out the month of May, which you're gonna see is mostly interviews, still amazing content. But just to give you a sneak peek on what to expect. So today's episode, this is actually an episode from the Small Business Growth Podcast hosted by Madison Page.

So Maddie is an amazing coach for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and she has her own podcast called The Small Business Growth Podcast, and invited me to be on the podcast. And we talked specifically about my favorite topic, which is all about Etsy. So we got so much amazing feedback on this episode that I thought it would be an awesome idea to just bring this episode over to the product list podcast.

So in case you aren't listening to Maddie's podcast, number one, you can get to know her a little bit from her being on the podcast and interviewing me. And number two, for you to [00:03:00] hear this episode directly. If you aren't right now listening to the small business. Growth podcast where this episode lives.

So I wanted to share this with you. You're gonna hear us talk through top advice, top tips to grow your Etsy shop if you're already on Etsy or if you're looking to expand your business onto Etsy. We chat Etsy, keywords, photos, how to stand out descriptions, and so much more. This is really fun episode, and I'm super excited to introduce you to Maddie because her episode.

On the product based podcast where I'm interviewing her is actually going to launch in a couple weeks, and the episode with her is absolutely amazing, amazing. She's gonna share with us all about Instagram and community and selling and how to stand out on social media. So that's coming in a couple weeks.

But super excited for you to at least get some exposure and be introduced to Maddie. I'll tell you a little bit more about Maddie, um, and you'll obviously hear more about her in a couple weeks on that episode. That's coming out shortly. But Madison Page is a business growth specialist. She's a top rated business podcast host, and [00:04:00] she's a public speaker and she helps.

Brands Build a Ride or Die Online community. So you stand out and sell out on social media. Her genuine spirit, high energy, eight years of experience in the so social media world supporting over 150 businesses equips her to bring you high level practical tips as your newest biz growth bestie. If you love this episode and wanna learn more from Maddie, you can find her on Instagram, LinkedIn, the show notes, her Instagram handle is I am Madison Page.

And you can also search for her podcast, the Small Business Growth Podcast on Spotify, apple, any of those places that you are listening to this podcast right now. So let's turn it over and she showcases this episode from the Small Business Growth Podcast.

Madison Paige: Hello, hello, small Business Growth Family. Welcome back to another episode of the No Fluff, most Conversational Business podcast out there where we have raw and real and genuine conversations be business besties sharing, tactical [00:05:00] business growth advice, entrepreneurship, lifestyle tips, mindset blocks, social media growth.

All of the things if you're new here. Hello, I'm your host Madison Page, and I am a business growth specialist helping you learn how to stand out and sell out on social media by building a ride or die obsessed online community around your brand. I just wanna take a second to welcome you. I am. So happy that you're here.

We put out new episodes every Tuesday and Friday, so if this episode, uh, tickles your fancy, feel free to give us a follow. And we put out new episodes all the time, chatting, growing your business, turning your business into a brand, and building a community around your brand. If this is, you know, your fifth episode today and you've been binging it all day long, or at your first of five, while you're working all day long, please give us a follow and make sure that you give us a five star review up at top.

It truly helps us out so much. I wanna give a nice little disclaimer to this episode only because I was incredibly sick while we were recording it, but I [00:06:00] was excited for the conversation. So I didn't want to cancel or reschedule. So, um, just mind the froggy voice. I'm the nasally voice. If, uh, you're not down to listen to that today, just skip on by this episode, but I promise it's not too bad.

I am just wanting to put that out there. And mind you, a business, if you're like mad, you sound a little raspy. That's what's going on. But I'm so excited about this. A lot of you guys are wanting, when I put out surveys and ask for feedback, people are saying we want more specialists on certain topics. So today I'm bringing on Monica Little Monica Little is the owner of an organic skincare small business that she grew to multiple six figures by mastering e-commerce marketplaces with over 5,000 orders on Etsy, getting into over 150 stores worldwide, being.

Featured in over 50 subscription boxes and through online selling on Instagram, she learned the ins and outs of these platforms through trial and error, and eight years of corporate marketing and e-commerce experience, and now focuses on [00:07:00] teaching small business owners how to build market and grow their business through her programs at C Algorithm Secrets and Product Biz Academy.

In this conversation, we truly talk all about et. C, how to grow on Etsy, how to stand out on Etsy. So if you are on Etsy and you are wondering how to get more orders, what really matters? We are will be chatting all things, how to master Etsy, selling for your small business. So if that is what you're looking for, tune on in to this episode.

I'm so excited to bring you Monica Little. Hey Monica, thanks so much for being here 

Monica Little: today. Oh my gosh, thank you so much Madison. I'm so excited to chat with you. It's gonna be so much fun. 

Madison Paige: Yes, I'm excited. First things first. Tell us who you are, what you do, kind of where you got to, where you, where you are right 

Monica Little: now.

Yeah, absolutely. So my name is Monica Little, um, and I have just the longest journey to where I am now. So I'll give a little Cliff notes. But essentially I started my own small business about four years ago, an organic skincare, small business called [00:08:00] Plant-based Beauty. Um, I started it when I was still working full-time, so I just needed like a creative hobby, something on the side.

And at that point in time while I was working, I started to just also share about it on social media and people started to ask about it. Mm-hmm. Um, ended up putting it up on Etsy, started to get some traction there and a long story short ended up leaving my full. A time job about six to eight months in after I kind of started sharing about plant-based beauty, have been doing my own thing for over three years now.

Um, and have recently kind of transitioned to focus more on the coaching side. Mm-hmm. So since I was able to grow my small business to multiple six figures and I just talked with a lot of small business owners and really heard what they were struggling with, Which were things that I actually like, enjoy, and kind of excel in.

I started to do some small business coaching, which is where I primarily focus now, and really just help people to grow and scale their businesses 

Madison Paige: too. How I love that. And it's so fun when people start and then they start coaching the people that how they [00:09:00] started too, and once they saw success with it, and you have something that so many people like.

On Etsy, the small business, like you have the story right there that I think so many people are like, that is what I want. Like how did you get there? So do, did you mostly sell on Etsy or did you have your own website as well? 

Monica Little: Ooh, super good question. So when I first started off, I started on Etsy. And I think that's what a lot of people do, just because it essentially is kind of like the cheapest option, right?

I mean, Etsy does take some fees, but in terms of like the website hosting fees and things like that, Etsy is a little bit cheaper. It's a little bit more economical, and also it's a little bit easier compared to having your own website, right? Yeah. Yeah, exactly. You don't have to build your website, you get all the traffic from Etsy.

So when I first started my business, and it's so, it's so funny to think back to, to those days cause it been so long. Um, but I originally just was selling on Instagram and people wouldn't like DM me and ask to purchase and I wouldn't like send them my Venmo and kind of do it that way. And I was like, okay, let's just put it up on Etsy, let's get things going.[00:10:00] 

And then that really took off too. And then of course, as things started to really progress and build, then I started to build my own websites, started to reach out to stores to get into more stores, sell on other wholesale commerce, uh, marketplaces too. So the beginning days were definitely like scrappy Instagram and scrappy Etsy.

And then it really turned into a real business, which was super fun to build it and watch it grow. Oh good. 

Madison Paige: I think that's so good. So like, honestly it's inspiring for a lot of people out there too that are in the, like Venmo me for your order days where they're like, hey, like just putting it out there, kind of putting their feelers out, like you said, having like a creative project and wanting to really build it into a structured, foundational concrete business.

Um, as you go from there. So you started on Etsy and I think that is a great place to start as well. I like a lot of people do do that. What. Etsy's a wild world, like there's so much out there. How do you really feel like you go about standing out on Etsy right now? 

Monica Little: Yeah, that's such a good [00:11:00] question. It's something that I hear all the time too.

I really feel like standing out on Etsy, what it truly comes down to is being one of the small business owners that actually take it really seriously. And that is like the game changer. Because when you think about Etsy, there are. So many small businesses on there. Yeah, so many different products. I mean, I sell skincare, right?

It's not like proprietary. There's so many people that sell skincare. But what I really found is most people on Etsy just kind of throw their stuff on there, kind of barely put their photos together, barely put their description together, barely put any time into it, and then they kind of expect like all these sales to come in, right?

Yeah. So I kind of learned the hard way. Um, by doing that and then thinking, okay, I gotta like put some more time, some more energy, some more effort into this, for it to truly work. And I feel like that's essentially what separates small businesses. Like if you get professional photos and you're at CS Shop has professional photos, you are standing out against 95% of other small businesses on there who like [00:12:00] aren't doing that.

Right. So I think although it is saturated, I like to tell people, and this is something that I've heard, um, another person say, is you have to just be more sophisticated, right? You have to be like one level up. And that's the fun part because as you make these like investments in your business and really work on getting your Etsy shop to be in a good spot, you build that confidence in yourself and then it just opens up the gates for like what comes next and what else can you do.

So it's a really fun, really fun kind of path that it takes. But, but yeah, it's just like putting in the effort that. That is the key right there to get your products seen on Netsy is to differentiate yourself by the effort that you put into it. 

Madison Paige: Yeah. Well and the visual element on Netsy is so big cuz people are just there scrolling, kind of checking out their options and if you just threw together like a dark and blurry photo, or not even having like anything that's really engaging or eye-catching, it's hard for people to be like, oh, that's the one that I want When it's up against a ton of other ones out 

Monica Little: there.

Yeah, a hundred percent. And I think the other thing that people really struggle with too [00:13:00] on Etsy is like being super specific in what they're selling. This is something I see all the time. So for example, if someone sells candles, they wanna just have their title be about like candles, right? Like, and they wanna sell to everyone and they want to, like anyone who searches candles to stumble upon theirs.

But what I really find what works is like, When people are shopping on Etsy, they're looking for something so specific. Yeah, yeah. If they wanted a candle and they didn't care, they would go to Bath and Body Works, right? Yeah. And like Target bike, right. Amazon get it delivered. Right. So when people are on Etsy, they're looking for something super, super, super specific.

So that's another thing. Yeah. That I think is a big differentiator, just like getting nitty gritty with your title, with how you explain your product with your tags for those customers that are looking for a specific product. So then you're not competing against all the candles. Mm-hmm. And instead you're, you're specifically showing up for the person who's looking for a cement vessel with apricot coconut [00:14:00] wax.

Yes. That is blue that has dried florals like. Those specifics that someone is looking for to have in their home. Mm-hmm. So I think the photos are key. And the specificity and not being scared to get super specific where I think a lot of people kind of hesitate there, right? Yeah. But it, but it's so important to get specific on what you sell and who it's for.

Oh, that's 

Madison Paige: such a good point. Cuz when I go on EA to shop for something, I'm literally like sunshine box, like gift box deliver. And like I know exactly what I'm looking for. Cause I'm like, oh, this is a great Etsy thing that I could go on Etsy for. And I was shopping last week on Etsy. Four. I want like a comfy, oversized, brown graphic hoodie.

And that's what I typed in there, like brown graphic, oversized hoodie. And like a ton of them came up because that's what they're looking for. Where if they just had, wow. That is a really good point. Yeah. And that was funny cause as you were talking, I wrote down like branding and is it. Is it as important to have an overall brand image, brand, everything on Etsy as it is for Instagram.

Just [00:15:00] because Instagram is like, they're, they're selling like you're, they're, they're buying into your business as a whole. Whereas on Etsy, it's more so like, oh, the product. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Do you think it's as important to develop that brand on Etsy as it is on social media? Other platforms?

Ooh. I love that 

Monica Little: question. I actually do think it's just as important. Yeah. Cause I totally agree with you. When someone is searching, they're typing in that super specific thing, like what you just mentioned. Right. And then they're probably stumbling across that one product that fulfills their search. But what, um, what I really like to teach people, excuse me, as I take a drink of water.

Yeah. You're okay. It's in my throat. Um, what I really like to teach people is what happens next is that customer found your product and they're probably gonna click on your shop page. Mm-hmm. Because they probably wanna know a little bit more about you, see what else you have to offer. Um, they also want to make sure that it's like a credible business, right?

Because unfortunately on [00:16:00] Etsy there are a lot of small businesses that. Just throw random stuff on there. Maybe it's not even like made with love or they don't even care. They're just trying to make a quick buck. Right? Yeah. So when people stumble upon a product that looks like it's a perfect fit, they're, they still need a little bit of that trust.

And essentially that's what branding is, right? With branding. It's that trust that you are the right fit for that customer. You're a hell yes for them. Yeah. And then like totally align with you. So I'm a big believer that branding is a, is a big part of at. C, to be successful on Etsy, to really show your real business and to like put that best foot forward, but also to just give some trust and reassure the customer like, Hey look, my brand store on Etsy is like all done up.

I have all the details you can learn about my story, why I got started. There's photos of me making my products. And then people feel that connection and they feel that trust. And then you have that increased likelihood of them actually buying from you too. Hmm. 

Madison Paige: Yeah. That's so good. Cuz even the other day when I was on Etsy, it was like, okay, I [00:17:00] clicked on the product.

I went to go see like, okay, are they like all neutral that they have this one brown? Do they have other things that I'm looking for? Kinda diving into it. Yeah, that's a really good point. So it is branding, it is a differentiator. So it's very similar to building a business on Instagram, those other things.

Mm-hmm. A differentiator is something that I talk about all the time because there's so many small businesses out there with, you know, the pandemic. So many new businesses with the, with the recession now new people are starting businesses. Things just continuously everybody and their brother wants to sell candles or jewelry or earrings or whatever.

How do you really tell somebody to go about finding that? Like, so many people are like, well, I just wanna make graphic tees. Like, I just wanna make candles. Um, like your candle example, like the, whatever the, the dried florals or like the astrology candles. Like how do you go about. Really picking that differentiator to stand out.

Monica Little: Yeah. So do you mean like for a particular business owner, for them to determine what their differentiator is? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, I truly think that comes back to like, why did you start your business? [00:18:00] Right? Yeah. And I think where a lot of people struggle is sometimes people start a business just to start a business.

Mm-hmm. Like the person who started a business selling candles just to sell candles probably doesn't have. A big differentiator because maybe they're just trying to make some money. Right? Yeah. But some people started selling candles because there wasn't a candle out there that that had what they wanted.

There wasn't this like astrology candle that actually had like a mantra depending on what your horoscope is or your zodiac is. So then they created it. So I truly think the differentiator is like, Why did you start your business, right? Mm-hmm. And who is it for and what makes your products unique? And I think everyone, I mean the, the small businesses who are listening to this podcast, right?

The, the small business owners that are, that are here listening, they have that, like they wouldn't be listening to this if they didn't have it. So there is that reason. There is that purpose. There is that underlying. Need or want that they're trying to fulfill. Mm-hmm. So, I mean, that's what happened [00:19:00] with my small business, plant-based beauty.

I mean, like I said, there's a ton of skincare options out there, but I really wanted something that was like super, super, super clean, made with super foods only all natural organic ingredients. So I came up with a face mask that really kind of. Took off on Etsy on social media. Yeah. And it's, um, an avocado, algae face mask.

So it has avocado powder, it has some Lina algae and nothing like that like existed. Right. Different language. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. So, so when you have something super unique when you're trying to fill a void because it doesn't exist, I mean, that essentially is your differentiator, right? Yeah. But I think what people do is, is what we were talking about earlier.

You know, they try to be for everyone. They, they're scared to lean into that. They're scared to lean into their differentiator because they think they're going to, um, repel other people. Mm-hmm. But at the end of the day, you wanna be a hell yes for your target audience and like the other people. You're not meant for them.

Right. Like, we're not meant, our products aren't meant to be for [00:20:00] every single person that comes across it. And I'd rather have you be a hell yes for the right people then. Like a man maybe for like everyone, right? Yeah. Right. Yeah, a hundred percent. 

Madison Paige: Yeah, that's a really good point. And I just like to, I ask people that question a lot because it is something that I hear often where that people are struggling with, they're like, well, like you said, people who start a business to start a business.

And my mom is somebody that's always like, I just want, like, I just want a business like Maddie. What business should I start? And I always tell her, I'm like, that's not a me question. Like you gotta figure out. What you want, what you wanna talk about all day, every day. That it can't just be like, I'm just gonna start a business cuz I wanna make a couple of bucks and like sell candles.

And so kind of looking at that from that differentiator side, um, kind of moving back towards Etsy, so going to on Etsy and. Starting your business up there, what do you feel like, like if someone's brand new, they're just starting their business, or I guess let's go because I think more people probably they have their Etsy, if they were to audit [00:21:00] their Etsy, um, what would you say, like 1, 2, 3?

Do you have these things, um, to really amplify your Etsy experience? 

Monica Little: Yeah. Oh, such a good question. I lo I love talking about this stuff. Get into details of it. So the number one thing I would say for most people on Etsy, you, your title, you want it to be actual descriptive words of what people are searching, right?

Mm-hmm. So when you think about one of my products, um, for example, I had a Healing GLO facial Serum. And what a lot of people do is they will make the title of their Etsy Listing Healing and Glo facial Serum. Mm-hmm. But how many people are literally going on ET and typing that in, right? They're typing in moisturizer.

They're typing in. Serum. They're typing in organic face oil. So your title, you want it to be those actual words that people are searching. Hey, hope 

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Monica Little: Literally go into the Etsy search bar and start to type in phrases and see what comes up. Yeah. And really take a fine look at it to be like, is this the vibe that I want my product to show up in? And does it fit? So I'll give you a, a, an example to kind of paint the picture.

Um, there's someone who's in one of my programs who sells acrylic artwork. And she has this beautiful acrylic painting of an orange tree, and it has oranges and leaves, and it's just like super beautiful. And some of the tags that she was using in her title were words like modern art. Mm-hmm. And then she had another word like nature, art, things like that.

But when you go to Etsy and you type in [00:24:00] modern art, it wasn't anything like she was selling. Right. It was very like, You know, the geometrical modern type of like rainbow arches and things like that. So essentially you're kind of wasting those characters in your title because you're competing against people who are selling a very specific vibe that you don't fit in that vibe.

So I advised her, you know, instead of modern art, Put in your title, like citrus painting, um, orange tree, acrylic painting, fruit tree. Very, very descriptive words, which go back to what we were talking about earlier of that. That's what someone is searching. Yeah. So what I advise people to do is your title should be very descriptive on what you are actually selling, and then actually type in those words that you have in your title.

On the Etsy search bar and see what shows up and if your product fits that vibe and if that's who you want to be associated with, right? Like the products that show up. Is yours a match there or is it like way outta left field? Hmm. And I think [00:25:00] that's a super, super eye-opening exercise for a lot of people.

Cuz then they're like, yeah, no wonder no one's like finding my products cuz I'm selling an orange tree painting while I have modern art in my title and like they don't match at all. Yeah, right. That's 

Madison Paige: nothing like it. Oh, that's a good point. And. Being able to see when they do come up, like who are they up against too?

Mm-hmm. I think is a really good point. Theres too is like are, what do the photos look like up against the same keywords. Um, Even just from a standing out standpoint, it's like, do your photos look like everybody else's photos there, or do they have different elements to it that they can kind of stand out with?

Yes, 

Monica Little: a hundred percent. I think that would be the second thing right off the bat is your photos, right? Yeah. We live in such a world where people shop through photos, and if your main photo isn't eye catching, like people aren't gonna click, and if they don't click, they're obviously not gonna buy, right?

Mm-hmm. So the photos are so important. That main photo, I mean, I'm a. Big fan of professional photos, like I feel like I take generally good photos, but I know that professional photos, they do [00:26:00] this as a job, right? Professional. They're better photographers. Better. Yeah. Like they know what, I don't know. It's like taxes.

I could do my own taxes, but I don't know everything about it and I'm gonna miss some things. Right? Same with photos. If you work with a professional photographer, they're gonna know lighting and angles and props better than, than what we can as just like people trying to do all the things right. So I think professional photos, that's, that's number two.

That's how you stand out. That's how you also show trust that you're a credible business. Um, and 95% of small businesses won't do that on Etsy or won't do that in their lifetime of their small business, right? Mm-hmm. So if you wanna stand out against everyone else, it's, you gotta elevate, you gotta be more sophisticated than, than everyone out there.

Yeah. 

Madison Paige: And something that I like to tell people is the difference between having like a small business and a brand is the brand side. Like if you in the future, where do you want your business to be? Act as if they are. That's who you are. Now, what would you be doing when you are a brand is you would be getting those photo shoots.

You would be taking the high quality photos and not just [00:27:00] like throwing together a picture just cuz you wanna make a post. Um, even on Instagram, like it's like, A brand. You don't see target taking like weird photos at their desk. That's just like a picture of what they're working on. Like no target's, like out there, they're creating campaigns which like targets a different ballgame than a A, whatever.

But it's having, having a business that is, you're thinking of it as a business and not that side hobby, that what would they be doing if this was a full-time business? Yeah, 

Monica Little: and I, and I like that mindset shift, especially for Etsy business owners too. Yeah. Because I think a lot of people don't think of it that way on Etsy, right?

A lot of people are like, oh, let me just see what happens. But man, if you start to build that confidence in yourself, build that confidence in your business. Yeah. And then you start to like show up in a different way. You start to get more sales and it's like, wow, like I didn't know I was capable of doing this, but look at what I'm actually creating.

And it's such, it's such a fun path to be on, um, to actually start making progress in that way and seeing [00:28:00] how things really start to come together. So it's an exciting, yeah. 

Madison Paige: Yeah. And something that I've been seeing a lot of on TikTok, it's everywhere right now with Etsy, is starting to do digital downloads.

Mm. Um, because it is easy. There's no overhead, you're not shipping things out. What is your view on selling the digital downloads on Etsy? Um, things like that. Like do you, do you think that they're, I guess just how do you feel around that, that area of 

Monica Little: things? Yeah, I think Etsy's a great place for digital downloads.

I think so many people want the uniqueness, and that can be across physical products or digital products. Yeah, so I know one of my members in my program, she actually sells activation. So it's like energetic recordings of her activating like abundance and activating quantum leaps and like super boo boo pun.

Stuff, but I mean, people are searching for super unique things like that. And if you go on Etsy, because I mean, where else would you really go for something like that? I mean, you can find people on Instagram, right? But yeah, Etsy's kind of the place where you go [00:29:00] when you're looking for something unique.

Marketplace. Yeah. Yeah. You can't find like on Amazon, So what she sells, it's a digital download of a recording, which is perfect, right? People are looking for that. I also know people who do, um, digital downloads of like party favors and things like that. Yeah. That the person who buys it either can like customize it or whatever they need to, and then just.

Printed out when they have it ready. So I do think nowadays a lot of customers are looking for unique items across the board if it's a product or a digital. And I mean, when they're looking for something unique, they go on Etsy. So if someone does have a digital product, There's really no downside to it, right?

Yeah. Like to actually put your product up on Etsy, it costs 20 cents. Obviously it's gonna cost you some time to get it up there and get it up there, right. But there's no, there's no downside to it. Like, try it out, put your products on there, see what happens. Um, and then you never know what could come from it.

Madison Paige: Yeah. And how often would you recommend. Like testing different things, like tweaking your [00:30:00] keywords, choosing different keywords. How often would you recommend kind of switching things up? 

Monica Little: Yeah, that's a really good question. Um, I like to, you know, obviously you put in your keywords, your titles, your description, your photos, and you do wanna let it.

Live for a little bit to get some data, right? Yeah. So I wouldn't, I wouldn't do it too much. I think where people like too often, right? I wouldn't do it once a week. You know, you gotta let, let stuff jive a little bit just to pick up some actual data on it. I think where people miss the mark is they don't actually use the Etsy analytics to see how their tweaks are actually affecting it, right?

So Etsy, right on the homepage will tell you the last 30 days, your visits, your views, your orders, your re revenue. So what I recommend people to do is like once a month, Write that down and then make some tweaks. If you're not happy with your results, make some tweaks and then the next month see how it changes what, yeah.

Yeah. So then you can start to actually get a feel of like what works or not with some concrete data. I think what a lot of people do is we kind of make [00:31:00] assumptions that something's not working right. I actually had this conversation with one of my members. She goes, actually, just, it's not working right now.

I'm like, okay, let's look at your data. Let's. See the actual numbers and you're actually growing pretty quickly. Exactly. And her conversion rate like doubled. So the people who were stopping on her actual products, yeah. They were buying, doubled the chance of them actually purchasing. Right. That the actual rate of people that were buying.

So I think having that humps, because otherwise people can go down this little bit of a spiral without having actual data of just. Kind of going by emotion, right? Like I feel like it's not working. It's like, okay, well let's look actually at the data to see what's going on. But in terms of changes, I mean once a month, if you're starting off, it will require some work and it will require some finesse and it will require changes.

But I just don't like when people do it like once a week, because then you just don't know if what you're doing is actually helping. Right? Yeah. But it's gonna require, yeah, some of that work for sure. 

Mm. 

Madison Paige: Okay. And using the app, like how do you actually go about finding those [00:32:00] keywords? Mm-hmm. So like where do you, is there, do you use Google Trends?

Do you go out and try to find, like how do you actually go about like, okay, what keywords should I be looking 

Monica Little: for? Yeah, really good question. So what I would recommend is to actually go on Etsy, and I'll give a very specific example. So with my Healing Glo facial serum, what I would do is I would go on et.

See and just type in facial serum and the search bar. Mm-hmm. And then you can see what results are coming up on the first search results page. Right. The first four are an ad which says, you know, sponsored ad or something like that. So you don't wanna look at those, but the ones underneath it, I mean, success leaves clues, right?

So if these sellers are at the top of the first search results page, let's kind of analyze and see what, what are they doing? Exactly what words are they using in their title? And what I recommend people to do is go through that first search results page for that specific product you're selling. Type in that word, facial serum, or whatever it is, and kind of cherry pick.

Go through a couple listings and Ooh, [00:33:00] that's a good word. And ooh, I like that. And oh yes, that describes my product. And then you have this list of like 13 keywords or key phrases, right? Yeah. Super easy to find those. But then you wanna do what we talked about earlier is actually going back and typing in those phrases in the search bar, just to triple check that when you type in that specific phrase, it's the right vibe for where your product makes sense.

Hmm. So it's actually really easy and then you start to get. You know, you start to get this really robust title and your tags, you use the same phrases, and then they're super like specific, super detailed. And then when people search for that, bam, like you show up, right? And then if you have the really eye-catching first photo, now people click on your listing and then the next step when they're actually on your listing is to confirm their expectations.

So just making sure you have. All the details that a customer may need, right? Because I think a lot of the times we think that a customer will like reach out to us if they have a question, but really what happens is [00:34:00] they're gonna hit the back button, they're gonna go to someone else's product. And if that one question that they have, Exactly, they're gonna buy that one.

Mm-hmm. So that's really how it works. It's first like appearing in the search results, right? Getting your product seen. Yeah. Capturing the attention, and then confirming their expectations when they're actually clicking on your product. And once you do that, it's like at the cart and buy right, there's, there's no other questions left and people are ready to purchase from you.

Yeah, 

Madison Paige: it's, and then it just kind of gets easy from there. Oh gosh. That is so good. Well, Monica, you've put given us so much good detail, keywords, all of the things. What is your one tip, kind of the legacy that you want to leave? What is your one thing that you would really like to leave everybody with on the Small Business Growth Podcast?

Oh 

Monica Little: my goodness. So much pressure. So much pressure. What did, um, this. Spot. Um, really I am a big fan of just stepping into that c e o role of your business. I know what it's like being a small business owner and you're being scrappy and you're [00:35:00] trying to just make things work. Yeah. But as soon as you step into that c e o mindset of.

I'm building an actual business, like this is real, this, maybe it's small right now in terms of sales, but I'm in it for the long run. I'm here to build a legacy. I'm here to change my future, my husband's future, my partner's future, my kid's future, right? And when people start to really embody this, like, yeah, this is a real fricking business.

They just show up differently. And that's one thing that I really like to do with my clients is just to empower them to be like, you're building something amazing. Invest in your business. Show up with that dedication and commitment. Like it's something that's gonna change your life because it is gonna change your life if you show up in that way.

Yes. So I just love people. I mean, this is this. This can go with Etsy. This can go with your own website. This can go with Instagram. I mean, show up like the c e o, invest in your business and just watch your confidence skyrocket. Watch your business skyrocket, and it's just like the best journey out there imaginable.

Madison Paige: Yeah, so good. And having that mindset shift of like showing up as [00:36:00] that person. Just love that. And as you were saying that, I actually came up with one last question that I wanna ask you is from a social media standpoint with Etsy, do you, because Etsy does take fees and all of that, would you recommend a business to direct people from their social media to their Etsy?

Or would you recommend someone from their social, direct them to a website? 

Monica Little: Great question. I love this question. So it truly depends. Um, what I find is with Axi, You can really kind of work the algorithm in your favor if you do direct your traffic to Etsy for them to purchase from you for a while.

Because then essentially what's happening is you're on Instagram talking about your products. You have loyal customers who are interested and intrigued. Yeah. Buy, and if you filter them to Etsy and they purchase, Etsy is gonna be like, wow, people are coming to this product and buying and then leaving a review, right?

So they say, this has gotta be a great product. So many people are coming here and buying it, so let's show it to more [00:37:00] people. So I like to do that with my clients for at least a little bit. I think the end goal is always your direct audience. You want them to go to your direct website, right? Less fees, more of your particular branding, uh, more of that like customer retention and customer loyalty that really comes from that.

But to really get some gas in the Etsy machine, I like to kind of backend it and, and encourage this until it gets a little bit of juice in it and then it can kind of ride on its own. But it's, it's an easy way just to, just to help, you know, boost it a little bit. Which 

Madison Paige: you think boost the numbers and stuff that people see, like reviews and sales.

I can see that, yes. 

Monica Little: A hundred percent. Awesome. 

Madison Paige: Well, Monica, where can people find you? I know you have your own podcast, you're on social. Where can people come and find you? 

Monica Little: Oh my gosh. So on social media, my Instagram handle is Monica Little Coaching. I do have my own podcast. It's called the Product Biz Podcast, and I know Madison is gonna be a guest in a couple weeks, and we're gonna be chatting on there too.

So make sure to come and see that episode as well. And then I do have a free Etsy [00:38:00] training, so if this was impactful, I have a free Etsy training@monicalittlecoaching.com slash Etsy webinar so you can learn even more about how to get your products seen on Etsy. Yes, and I'll put 

Madison Paige: that in the show notes for everybody to see down there.

Thank you so much for being here, Monica. This was so good. Oh my gosh. 

Monica Little: Thank you, Madison. Thank you. Thank you. Oh 

Madison Paige: my goodness. How much fun was that episode? I enjoyed this conversation so much. I was taking notes. I was like, if I ever wanna get onto Etsy, this is what we're doing and was so and so excited to share this with you.

I am going to put all of, uh, Monica's links into the show notes as well as mine. If you are new here. Come hang out with me on Instagram at this is Madison Page. We're on my Instagram stories all day long, having fun, sharing business tips, and kind of just the day-to-day of being a business owner and some more value for you.

So come hang out on Instagram at this Isma page. If you are interested. We do have a new program launching on Monday, so keep an eye out for all of the information around [00:39:00] this brand new eight week audience, growth community engagements. Style, um, focused program. So, so excited to bring it to you. More details to come.

If you wanna sneak peek, you can listen to the last episode, uh, that is with audience surge in it. It's the episode that was posted on Tuesday and you'll get some details in there. So little sneak peeks, come hang out with us on Instagram. Thank you. Thank you for being here, and I hope you have the best day ever.