business-ecomm_clubhouse/_subsections/05-traffic_buyers/S05|L02 - how i get free traffic & sales to a new etsy store.org

S05|L02 - how i get free traffic & sales to a new etsy store

• Links
• Notes
• Tutorial Notes
  • Test Impressions
• Review
  • Core Idea
  • Myth
  • Reality
  • Etsy Test Impressions
    • Meaning
    • Where They Often Happen
    • Why This Matters
  • How Etsy Tests Products
  • What Happens During Testing
    • If Nobody Clicks
    • If People Click
    • If Someone Buys
  • Why Generic Products Fail
  • Bad Strategy
  • Better Strategy
  • Cross-Idea / Cross-Niche Formula
  • Main Traffic Principle
  • Etsy Optimization Still Matters
  • Key Insight
  • Bottom Line
• Transcript

Links

• TOC - ecomm clubhouse
• video

Notes

Tutorial Notes

In this video, I am going to answer one of the most common questions I get asked. And that is this: Sarah: Isn’t it impossible to get traffic & sales to a brand new Etsy store? It doesn’t have any previous sales, or reviews, or social media following.

Yep. It’s a myth that I see that’s talked about a lot: that new stores aren’t making money, can’t make money, and only the top stores on Etsy are the ones that are able to make sales. But it’s simply not true.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex01a-comment.png

Nope: I recently started a brand new Etsy store. No reviews. No social media following. Nothing. Yet, within 2 weeks, I had already made my first 2 sales.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex02a-chart.png

And I’ll clarify a few points. That new store did NOT use any intellectual property. No, I didn’t try and piggyback off of popular brands like Nintendo, Taylor Swift or Disney. All of the designs are 100% original. And I did NOT sell any custom products.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex02a-chart.png

Well: it’s because, as I discussed in this video, ‘How I hack the algorithms by choosing a store niche’ back in Step 1, Etsy has a feature built into their algorithm to help new stores succeed, called Test Impressions.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex02b-niche_chart.png

You see, what most people don’t realize is that Etsy WANTS new stores to succeed. They actively WANT new stores to do well… Because this helps them make money!

And they explained why in this investor report back in 2023. In this slide that they showed their investors during their meeting, they explained a big change that they have made to their algorithm. The first slide shows the search results that a customer would previously get for the phrase, “back-to-school”, and the second slide shows the new search result that customers now get when they search for that same phrase. 

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex03a-investor.png

In the first screenshot, the customer was shown multiple similar listings for the most popular back-to-school products on Etsy: like custom pencils.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex03b-custom_pencils.png

And these were, unsurprisingly, from already the most popular, established stores.

But in the second screenshot, you can see that they instead changed the algorithm to show customers a much bigger variety of niche products that were picked just for the customer, based on their own personal purchasing history, such as custom backpacks from a new store.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex03c-larger_selection.png

And so thanks to these changes Etsy has been making, now, instead of just showing the most popular stores with lots of reviews, it instead highlighted new, smaller stores and sellers. And the reason why Etsy has invested in this change is because, well…they don’t want customers to get bored.

Yes. If they only show the stores that are established, selling broader products, customers will keep seeing the same items over and over again.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex03b-custom_pencils.png

But instead, Etsy wants customers to be constantly discovering new products that are even more specific to their desires.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex03c-larger_selection.png

And so they’re using new AI technology to pair customers with specific, niche products that based on their previous purchasing history, they would likely love.

But, for Etsy to be able to do this effectively, they also need to have a LOT more stores because they need a LOT more products to be added so they can have a much bigger variety for their customers.

But, the truth is, this can be difficult for Etsy because new stores often don’t have good products, they instead have generic, boring products.

Test Impressions

Which is why Etsy has, from my experience, added the TEST IMPRESSIONS feature into their algorithm.

Because you see, here’s the thing. Sure, on Etsy, one way people buy items is they go to the search bar, and they search specific keywords that they want to find products for.

But, another way people buy them is through discovery pages. These are pages like the Homepage & the Etsy mobile app. On these discovery pages, Etsy recommends products to you that they think you might like.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex04a-because_viewed.png

I find it really interesting but lots of “Etsy gurus” focus so heavily on search engine traffic. When honestly, in my experience, this is the best type of traffic and it is also increasingly how customers are now purchasing from Etsy – through these discovery pages.

And so here is a breakdown of my new store’s total traffic. The direct traffic was basically just me, making sure each of my listings looked good each time I launched them so what is instead is relevant is that in my first 2 weeks of launching, Etsy sent me 29 visitors, 2 of which went on to purchase, and more than half of them came from the Etsy discovery pages.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex04b-breakdown_shoppers.png

This is, in my experience, where Etsy likes to test new products from new stores. So, let’s say for example that I started a new store, themed around pets, and I created this funny Dachshund mug.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex05a-coffee.png

Well, what Etsy’s algorithm will do, from my experience, is it will try and look for customers in their database that might be interested in this mug. So, they might try and look for customers that have previously bought items themed around Dachshunds. 

And if I use keywords like the word “pun” or “joke” in its listing, they will get even more specific, and look and see if they can find Dachshund dog owners, who have also previously bought joke items about puns. 

And if they see the keyword “black mug” they can then try and get even more specific, and try and identify Dachshund owners, who have previously bought joke items featuring puns, that have also previously bought black mugs, instead of white mugs.

And if they see that in your store profile, you say that you’re a stay-at-home-mother that is using the store as a way to provide extra income for your family, the algorithm can narrow it down even further, and look for Dachshund owners that have previously bought joke items featuring puns, that have also purchased black mugs instead of white mugs, that have shown to have an affinity for purchasing from stores that are run by stay-at-home mothers.

They’ll then place your mug on the discovery pages, like the homepages, of a small group of test customers. As you can see on these pages, the store reviews & sales are not shown. The only thing the customer sees is the price and, most importantly, the picture. On these pages, your product will succeed based on how it looks, not on how many reviews you have.

Which is why it’s a great place for Etsy to give new stores test impressions. Because it is a fair test. You aren’t at a disadvantage for being a new store with no reviews. Instead, if your product passes this test, it’s because it looked cool. Whereas if it fails, it’s because it wasn’t interesting enough.

It is a way for Etsy to let products be tested purely on their own merit. And so then, in my experience: if they show it to a bunch of test customers, but nobody clicks on it, then Etsy will gain no data on who likes it, and so won’t be able to show it to new people.

But, if people do click on them, like what happened in my new store. 

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex05b-new_store.png

Then Etsy will be able to get data from who clicked on your listing, and also see it was interesting enough of a design to get clicks too. Then can then use that data to analyze the customers who clicked on it, and try and identify similar customers to those customers. Then, they can show your product to them as well.

And they do that, until they find a customer that purchases your product. Then, they’ll then use the data from that customer to then find more customers similar to that!

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex05c-chart.png

And that is how your sales grow: the more data Etsy has, the more they can connect your products to the right customers, resulting in more sales & money for you. So, as you can see then, the “trick” that I use to get sales as a new Etsy seller, is surprisingly simple.

I don’t have some super secret research hack, that requires me to pay an expensive monthly subscription to an Etsy research tool that I am affiliate for (laughs)

Instead, it’s doing 2 things really well. One is in creating & designing products which, when placed on a customer’s homepage, will stand out and look better and more interesting than the other products on there.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex06b-suggestions.png

That is exactly how someone can end up posting 500 products and have little to no sales like this person. If all 500 of their products look generic and boring, no one will click on them, and so their test impressions will fizzle and Etsy will stop showcasing their listings.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex06a-complaint.png

You are literally wasting your time if you just try and create 500 generic products. That low effort “go wide” strategy doesn’t work. You can’t trick customers into clicking on your products. They’ll only click on them if they like them. So, the key to getting free traffic is to create clickable designs, photos and products.

If you’ve seen my video here on the YouTube Channel, you’ll know that one way I do that is with the cross-idea formula.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex07a-cross_idea_formula.png

It’s when I find a popular, clever product design in one niche, such as this t-shirt here in the hunting niche.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex07b-tshirt.png

And then find another niche that the design doesn’t exist in on Etsy, such as I did in that video, when I discovered an opportunity in the pet parrot niche. Then, I come and use that design, but apply it to this new niche to come up with my own clever, clickable product.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex07c-search.png

Because, it fills a gap in the market. By doing this, I created a product that did not yet exist.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex08a-design.png

This makes it stand out from the others. This is, in my opinion, the easiest way to create clickable products as a new store: to create products that fill a gap in the market.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex08b-tshirt.png

But there is a second thing that I do and that is to focus on niche products. Yes, because here’s the thing. In my experience it is easier for Etsy to guess what customers might be interested in buying this mug here:

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex09a-weiner_coffee.png

Compared to this generic Dog Dad mug here.

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex09b-dad_coffee.png

That’s because Etsy’s algorithm has less data to work with to be able to correctly guess which customers to test your products with. First of all, if you think about it, there are a lot more dog dads than Dachshund owners. And secondly – let’s be honest, this mug is, well, very generic.

Because you think about it. Not only was the Dachshund mug about a specific dog breed: but it also was a pun. So it could look for customers that liked both of these to test it with.

But this design? It’s just super generic. There isn’t really anything descriptive about it to help them connect it to the right niche customers.

So, chances are, if they try and test it with customers, they won’t be able to find the right customers to click on it. And it would fizzle.

And then, unfortunately, I’d probably end up like this person here. I’d have 500 generic designs that I had copied, that nobody wanted because they already had plenty of better options to choose from!

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex10a-complaint.png

So I hope that this demystifies the Etsy algorithm for you, and shows why – even as a new store – you can indeed gain traction within the algorithm.

It is by filling gaps in the market. When people ask me, Sarah – why do you spend so much time talking about designing products, instead of traffic methods, this is why it’s because great, clickable products are, in my experience, the best traffic method there is. 

And don’t forget, if you’d like a refresher on the Etsy algorithm and to see it visually in-action, I highly recommend re-watching my video where I drew it out as a diagram. You’ll find that video again in the Step 1 video series. 

file:../../_share/media/img/step_05/lesson_01/ex10b-niche_chart.png

However, while the key I’ve found to getting free traffic and sales on Etsy is to focus on creating and designing great products that fill a gap in the market.

As you probably noticed, you still need to also give Etsy data to pair your products with the right customers.

Which means, you still need to do other things too: such as optimizing your listings with the right keywords. And optimizing your store profile, by filling in as much information as possible, to give it as much data as possible.

And so those are some of things that I’ll be discussing in the rest of this series, and sharing my strategies on how I’ve done that. So I’ll see you in the next video!

Review

Core Idea

A brand new Etsy store can get traffic and sales without:

• previous sales
• reviews
• social media following
• custom products
• intellectual property infringement

The key is creating clickable niche products that Etsy can test with the right customers.

Myth

• New Etsy stores cannot make sales
• Only established Etsy stores get traffic
• Reviews are required before Etsy will show your listings

Reality

Etsy wants new stores to succeed because:

• New stores create more product variety
• More product variety keeps customers interested
• Etsy wants customers discovering fresh, personalized products

Etsy Test Impressions

Meaning

“Test impressions” are Etsy showing new products to selected customers to see whether they click.

Where They Often Happen

• Etsy homepage
• Etsy mobile app
• discovery/recommendation pages

Why This Matters

On discovery pages, customers usually see:

• product image
• price

They may not immediately see:

• store reviews
• total sales
• store history

So the product gets tested mainly on visual appeal and relevance.

How Etsy Tests Products

Example: A funny Dachshund black mug with a pun.

Etsy may try to match it with customers who previously bought:

• Dachshund products
• joke/pun items
• black mugs
• similar handmade/niche products

The more specific the listing is, the easier it is for Etsy to understand who might want it.

What Happens During Testing

If Nobody Clicks

• Etsy gets little useful data
• The listing may stop getting shown
• The test impressions fizzle out

If People Click

• Etsy learns who is interested
• Etsy looks for similar customers
• The product gets more chances

If Someone Buys

• Etsy gets stronger data
• Etsy can find more similar buyers
• Sales can begin to grow

Why Generic Products Fail

Generic products give Etsy less useful data.

Example:

• “Dog dad mug” = broad and vague
• “Funny Dachshund pun black mug” = specific and easier to match

A generic product has more competition and fewer clear signals.

Bad Strategy

Do not rely on:

• uploading hundreds of generic products
• copying common designs
• low-quality listings
• broad products with no clear niche angle

More listings do not help if none of them are clickable.

Better Strategy

Create products that:

• fill a gap in the market
• look visually interesting
• target a specific niche
• give Etsy clear customer-matching data
• stand out on discovery pages

Cross-Idea / Cross-Niche Formula

Take:

• a proven design idea
• from one niche

Then apply it to:

• another niche
• where that design does not yet exist

Example:

• hunting shirt concept
• adapted into the parrot owner niche

Goal: Create something new enough to stand out but familiar enough to have proven appeal.

Main Traffic Principle

Product creation is the traffic strategy.

A strong product:

• gets clicks
• gives Etsy data
• gets matched to more customers
• can start selling without outside traffic

Etsy Optimization Still Matters

Even though the product is the main driver, Etsy still needs data.

Optimize:

• titles
• tags
• keywords
• listing descriptions
• product photos
• store profile

Key Insight

A new store is not automatically doomed.

The real problem is usually:

• boring products
• generic designs
• unclear niche targeting
• poor product photos
• weak listing data

Bottom Line

New Etsy stores can get sales by creating niche, clickable products that fill gaps in the market and give Etsy enough information to match them with the right buyers.

Transcript

00:00
Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another video here at

00:03
the Econ Clubhouse. And in this video, I am going

00:06
to answer 1 of the most common questions that I

00:08
get asked, and that is this. Sarah, isn't it impossible

00:13
to get traffic and sales to a brand new Etsy

00:16
store that doesn't have any previous sales or reviews or

00:20
social media following? Yes. This is a myth that I

00:23
see talked about a lot, and the myth is that

00:26
new stores aren't making money and that they can't make

00:28
money and that only the top stores on Etsy are

00:32
the ones that are able to make sales. But as

00:34
I'll show you, that's simply not true. Nope. I recently

00:38
started a brand new Etsy store. No reviews, no social

00:42
media following, nothing.

00:44
Yet within 2 weeks, I had already made my first

00:46
2 sales in it. And I'll also clarify some things

00:49
about that store too. So first of all, that store

00:52
did not use any intellectual property. Nope. I didn't try

00:56
to sneakily piggyback off of popular brands like Nintendo or

01:00
Taylor Swift or Disney. All of the designs in the

01:03
store were 100 percent original.

01:06
And very importantly,

01:07
I did not sell any custom products.

01:10
Nope. Because it is true that custom products are super

01:13
popular on Etsy, and so they can be a very

01:16
quick, fast way to make sales. But personally, if you've

01:19
been watching my videos for a while, you know that

01:22
I don't enjoy

01:24
myself making and selling custom products. And so instead, all

01:28
the products in there were just print on demand products

01:31
that print products

01:33
on autopilot.

01:34
And yet despite having no social media following and no

01:37
reviews, it took me less than 2 weeks for my

01:39
store to get kick started within the Etsy algorithm. So

01:43
why is that? Well, it's because as I discussed in

01:46
this video here back in step 1, Etsy has a

01:49
feature that's built into the algorithm to help new stores

01:52
succeed, and this I like to call test impressions.

01:55
You see, what a lot of people don't seem to

01:57
realize is that Etsy actually wants new stores to succeed.

02:02
They actively

02:03
want new stores to do well because this helps them

02:06
make even more money, and they explained why in this

02:09
investor report back in 20 23.

02:11
In this slide, they showed their investors during the meeting.

02:15
They explained that a big change that they had made

02:16
to the algorithm,

02:18
And the first slide here shows the search results that

02:20
a customer would have previously got for the search phrase

02:23
back to school, and the second slide shows the new

02:26
search results that customers were getting now when they searched

02:30
for that same phrase. As you can see in that

02:32
first screenshot, when customers searched for this, they used to

02:35
be showing multiple similar listings for popular back to school

02:38
products on Etsy like custom pencils.

02:41
And these were, of course,

02:42
somewhat unsurprisingly

02:44
from the most popular

02:46
established stores. But now in the second screenshot, you can

02:49
see that Etsy has updated the algorithm to show customers

02:52
a much bigger variety of niche products that were picked

02:55
just for that customer based on their own personal purchasing

02:58
history,

02:59
such as custom backpacks from a new store. And so

03:02
thanks to these changes that Etsy has been making, now

03:05
instead of just showing the most popular stores, Etsy is

03:09
trying and actively

03:11
showcasing

03:12
new stores, and I'll tell you what, the reason why

03:16
Etsy is doing this is because,

03:18
well, they don't want their customers to get bored. Yep.

03:22
You think about it. If they only show stores that

03:24
are established

03:25
selling broader products, customers will keep seeing these exact same

03:29
items over and over again. And so instead, Etsy wants

03:32
customers to be constantly discovering new products that are even

03:35
more specific to their desires. And so what Etsy's doing

03:38
these days is they're using new AI technology to pair

03:41
customers with specific niche products that are based on their

03:44
previous purchasing history that they would likely love. But for

03:47
Etsy to be able to do this effectively, they also

03:50
need to have a lot more stores because they need

03:53
to have a lot more products so that they can

03:55
have a much bigger variety

03:57
for their customers.

03:59
But the truth is is that this can be difficult

04:01
for Etsy

04:02
because most new stores, again, if we're being honest,

04:05
often don't have great products. Oftentimes, the products that they

04:09
produce are not very good, and they're often very generic

04:12
and boring,

04:14
which is why Etsy has, from my experience, added the

04:17
test impressions feature into the algorithm.

04:19
Because you see, here's the thing. Sure, on Etsy, 1

04:22
of the ways that people do search for items is

04:24
they do go to that search bar and they do

04:26
type in specific keywords that they want to find products

04:30
for.

04:31
But another way that people buy items from them is

04:33
through discovery pages. These are pages like the homepage and

04:37
the Etsy mobile app. On these discovery pages, Etsy recommends

04:41
products to you that they think that you might like.

04:44
And honestly, I find it really interesting because I do

04:47
find that there are a lot of Etsy gurus out

04:50
there that focus

04:52
really heavily on search engine traffic,

04:55
when honestly, in my experience,

04:57
this is increasingly becoming the more common way that people

05:01
are discovering and finding

05:03
new products on Etsy. It's through these discovery pages. And

05:07
you can see here a total breakdown of my new

05:09
store's total traffic. The direct traffic, you can see, was

05:13
basically just me making sure each of my listings looked

05:16
good each time I launched them. So what is instead

05:19
relevant

05:20
is that in my first 2 weeks of launching, Etsy

05:23
sent me 29 visitors,

05:25
2 of which went on to purchase, and more than

05:27
half of those visitors came from Etsy's discovery pages

05:31
because this is where, in my experience, Etsy likes to

05:34
test new products

05:36
from stores.

05:37
Yep. So let's say, for example, that I started a

05:39
new store themed around pets and I created this funny

05:42
Dachshund mug. Well, what Etsy will do in my personal

05:46
previous experience is that they're gonna go through their list

05:48
of customers that they have in their database and try

05:51
and discover which of those customers

05:54
might be interested in my mug. Yes. So they might

05:57
try and look for customers that have previously bought items

06:00
themed around Dachshund dogs. And if I use keywords in

06:03
my listing, like pun or joke,

06:06
then they'll be able to get even more specific, and

06:08
they'll be able to look and see if they can

06:10
find any Dushan dog owners that they have in their

06:13
database who have also previously bought joke items about puns.

06:18
And if they see the keyword black mug, then they

06:20
can try to get even more specific and try and

06:22
identify Dachshund dog owners who have previously bought joke items

06:26
featuring puns that have also previously bought black mugs instead

06:30
of white mugs. And if they see that in your

06:32
store profile, you say that you're a stay at home

06:34
mother that is using the store as a way to

06:36
provide extra income for your family, then the algorithm can

06:39
narrow it down even further, and it can look for

06:41
Dachshund dog owners that have previously bought joke items featuring

06:45
puns that have also previously purchased black mugs instead of

06:48
white mugs that have shown to have an affinity for

06:50
purchasing from stores that have run from stay at home

06:53
mothers. Basically, they're gonna try to use this information to

06:56
place your mug on the discovery pages of a group

06:59
of test customers, like on their home pages or on

07:02
their Etsy app. As you can see on these pages,

07:05
the store reviews and sales are not showing. The only

07:09
thing the customer sees is a price and, most importantly,

07:12
the product picture.

07:14
On these pages, your product will succeed based on how

07:18
it looks,

07:19
not on how many reviews your store has, which is

07:23
why this is a great place for Etsy to test

07:26
out items from new stores with these test impressions.

07:30
Because if you think about it, it's a fair test.

07:32
Even if your store is brand new and it has

07:35
no reviews, you are not at a disadvantage.

07:38
Instead, the only way that your product is going to

07:40
pass this test is if it looks cool and interesting

07:44
enough to get a customer to click. It is basically

07:47
a way for Etsy to be able to test different

07:50
products

07:51
purely off of their own sales merit. And so then

07:54
in my experience, if they show it to a bunch

07:57
of test customers but nobody clicks on it, then Etsy

07:59
will not get any data on who actually likes it,

08:02
and so they won't be able to keep showing it

08:04
to new people. But if people do click on the

08:07
listings, like what happened in my new store, then Etsy

08:10
will be able to get data from who clicked on

08:12
your listing and also see it was interesting enough of

08:15
a design to get clicks for. Then they can use

08:18
that data to analyze the customers that bothered to click

08:20
on it and try and identify similar customers to those

08:24
customers.

08:25
Then they can show your product to those customers as

08:28
well. And then they can keep doing that until they

08:30
find a customer that purchases your product. Then they'll use

08:34
the data from that customer to then find more customers

08:38
similar to the customer that purchased your product. And that

08:42
is how sales grow. The more data Etsy has, the

08:45
more they can connect your products to the right customers,

08:47
resulting in more sales and money for you. So as

08:50
you can see, the trick that I use to get

08:54
sales on Etsy for a brand new store is quite

08:56
simple. I don't have some super secret research hack that's

09:00
going to require you to go and purchase a monthly

09:03
subscription to an Etsy research service, which I have an

09:06
affiliate link for. Instead, it's by doing 2 things really

09:09
well. 1 is, of course, in creating and designing products,

09:12
which when they are placed on a customer's homepage will

09:15
stand out and look better and more interesting than the

09:18
other products on there. And this, by the way, is

09:21
unfortunately how someone can end up posting 500 products and

09:25
have little to no sales. If all 500 of these

09:29
products that they post look generic and boring, no 1

09:32
will click on them, and so their test impressions will

09:34
fizzle, and Etsy will stop showcasing their listings.

09:37
Yes. In my experience, you are literally wasting your time

09:41
on Etsy if you try to go with this go

09:43
wide strategy of just posting lots of low quality

09:47
generic item listings because you can't trick customers into clicking

09:52
on your designs. Customers are only gonna click on products

09:56
that look cool and interesting.

09:58
Can't skip that part. And you know, if you've seen

10:01
my video here on the YouTube channel, you'll know that

10:03
1 way that I do this is with the cross

10:05
idea formula. It's when I find a popular, clever product

10:08
design in 1 niche, such as this t shirt here

10:11
in the hunting niche, and then I find another niche

10:13
that this design doesn't exist for on Etsy, such I

10:16
did in this video here where I discovered an opportunity

10:19
in the pet to parrot niche. Then I came and

10:21
I used that design, but I applied it to this

10:24
new niche to come up with my own clever clickable

10:27
product. And it was clickable because it filled a gap

10:30
in the market. By creating this t shirt, I created

10:33
a product that did not yet exist, and this makes

10:36
it stand out from from the others. This is, in

10:38
my opinion, the easiest way to create clickable products as

10:41
a new store. It's to create products that fill a

10:44
gap in the market. But there is a second thing

10:47
that I do to take advantage of these test impressions

10:50
as a new store to get free traffic and sales,

10:53
and that is to focus on niche products. Yes, because

10:56
here's the thing. In my experience, it is easier for

10:59
Etsy to guess which customers might be interested in buying,

11:02
say, this mug here compared to this generic dog dad

11:06
mug here. And that's because if you think about it,

11:09
Etsy's algorithm has a lot less data to work with

11:12
if they're trying to find the right customers to test

11:15
a generic dog dad mug with. Yep. First of all,

11:19
if you think about it, there are a lot more

11:21
dog dads out there than Dush Hunt owners. And secondly,

11:25
let's be honest, this mug is, well, very generic because

11:29
you think about it. Not only was the Dush Hunt

11:31
mug about a specific dog breed, but it was also

11:33
a pun. So Etsy could look for customers that liked

11:36
both of these things to test this mug with, but

11:39
this design, it's just super generic. There isn't really anything

11:42
descriptive about it for them to connect it to the

11:45
right niche customer. So chances are, if they try and

11:48
test this with customers, they won't be able to find

11:51
the right customers to click on it, and it would

11:53
fizzle. And then, unfortunately,

11:55
I'd probably end up like this person here. I'd have

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500 generic designs that I had quite likely copied that

12:01
nobody wanted because they already had plenty of better options

12:05
to choose from. And so I do hope that this

12:08
demystifies the Etsy algorithm for you a bit and shows

12:11
you how

12:12
even brand new stores can indeed get sales and traffic

12:16
on Etsy. Yes. It's by doing this, filling gaps in

12:19
the market. When people ask me, Sarah, why do you

12:22
spend so much time talking about designing products instead of

12:25
traffic methods? This is why. It's because creating great clickable

12:28
products that stand out on a customer's homepage are, in

12:31
my experience,

12:32
the best traffic method out there. And don't forget, if

12:35
you'd like a refresher on the Etsy algorithm and to

12:38
see it visually in action, I highly recommend rewatching my

12:41
video here where I drew it out as a diagram.

12:44
You'll find that video again in the step 1 video

12:46
series. However, while it is true that the key that

12:49
I have personally found to getting free traffic on Etsy

12:52
is by creating great products that fill a gap in

12:55
the market. As you probably noticed,

12:58
you also need to be giving Etsy data

13:00
to work with, which means in addition to creating these

13:03
great products, you still need to do some other things

13:05
too. You still need to be optimizing

13:08
your Etsy listings for keywords, and you still need to

13:11
optimize your store profile so that you can give Etsy

13:15
as much data as possible. And so these are some

13:18
of the things that we will also be discussing later

13:21
on. So go ahead, watch my next video, and I

13:24
will see you over there.