My top #10 tips for running a successful Etsy shop.

" Celebrate your succes" I read the other day. Now that's good advice for someone who just keeps on going. With 2000 sales in my Etsy shop, I feel I do have something to celebrate! I want to share my festive mood here, with you. Looking back I think I can share with you my top ten tips for being succesfull on Etsy. I never wrote something like this before, so please ignore my writing skills and read "between the lines" about one happy Etsy entrepeneur, from Holland. I hope this is both helpful and informative.
So much has been written about these subjects already, so I'll be sharing my favorite links.
Comments and likes are much, much appreciated.

#1 PLAN. Make a good solid plan. I believe a businessplan also incorporates your private, personal situation. Where do YOU want to be in 5 years? What is important in your daily life? Do you want to work alone, take care of the kids, make a lot of money? How can you get there.
-- I needed to be able to pick up my work and take it with me in case we would move abroad (or to the Dutch countryside, where we ended up!). Also, after some corporate partnership adventures in the past, I needed to be the sole captain of my creative ship. 
Benefits of an Etsy businessplan by an Etsy entrepeneurHow to write a creative business plan in under an hour.

#2 find your NICHE. With about 1.5 million (!) shops on Etsy you do not want to sell anything "mainstream". You will not be found. Be VERY specific in what you make. Find your audience, find your niche.

Etsy in 5 numbers (video)
Find a niche market for your designs

#3 START . Oh yes, this one seems so easy, but for me it's one of the toughest to get over with. Plans, designs, ideas, hurdles and opportunities, they can all be IN your head. But to get it going, start. Make, do, move.

#4 take stunning PICTURES. Bright, fresh, crisp clean and styled by you. The camera from your smartphone will probably work well, nothing fancy needed. Nothing beats a white background and daylight.
4 Essential Product Shots for Your Etsy ListingsTop Tips for Smartphone Photography

#5 LEARN from other Etsy sellers. Dive into the many, many articles on the Etsy Blog. I loved the 'quit your day job series' .. whilst dreaming of what could be... and now is! become a member of an Etsy team. There may even be a local team to catch up with!

#6 Be PROFESSIONAL . Want to sell like a pro? Act like a pro! Customer service, setting up policies, financial planning. It's not something on the side. Get rid of that "I am doing this out of my basement" feel. Your customers expect the best. And yes... you can. 
Good read from FitsSmallBusiness on how to be successful on Etsy

#7 Find your AUDIENCE. Try tradeshows, craftmarkets, pop up stores etc. Set your goals and learn from experience. I tried it all, and, for WestermanBags, the magic fomrula is ... online selling works best, combined with several handmade markets a year, in the big cities like Amsterdam, Antwerp and Hamburg.

Sunday Market Amsterdam
Markt van Morgen Antwerpen
Hello Handmade Hamburg

#8 Be PREPARED for success. Think big. Find people who can help out during busy times, the holiday season. Work on a vast relationship with your suppliers - who can send you your goods in 24 hours. The tip relates a lot to #6. Be a pro.

#9 LOVE what you do. Big or small, 1 or 25 pieces, a product made by you is the best thing that can happen to .. anyone. Smile and share!

#10 NEDERLAND is klein, met Etsy is de hele wereld je doelgroep! Er zijn meer succesvolle Nederlandse verkopers (..lees en leer!) en er is een Nederlands platform. Je kan zelfs je winkel in het Nederlands en in euro's opzetten. Wat houdt je nu nog tegen?

Nederlandse Etsy Community


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I hope you enjoyed the first real "read" on my blog. Not to forget .. The reason of all this is my Etsy shop WestermanBags in which I sell felt and leather covers and bags.
Annemieke xo.

Felt Iphone 6 cover wallet

... from our new leather. I am very happy with this new achievement. All cases, closures, bags, labels etc. will be updated in the coming period. The new leather is a little thicker. Here is a first iphone 6 case with the new natural leather. I have been selling this one from the day I posted it so very promising :) Thanks!

In sandbrown ...

In Grey ..

Leather import - leer importeren. A quest for the best.

(Nederlandse tekst onderaan)
Since I bought the full stock (!) of my supplier last year, I was on the lookout for vegetable tanned buffalo calf leather. This is the leather which I have been working with since 2011. I love it. And yes, I dare saying you love it! The warm cognac brown colour and the soft finish make it perfect for detailing and carving. It was a long search but the story got better and better even though we took the long route. Via India actually. Many companies have sent their samples, only one was good enough. the sample was not some scratch from an existing collection. No even the sample was made for me. A small family run tannery has made exactly what I wanted. It is softer and the texture is more even, with less irregularities to the skin.

The process of inquiries, sending, receiving and reviewing samples, took over 4 months. The exiting news is that my order of buffalo leather is underway to the Netherlands as of today! I am importing my custom tanned leather into Holland this week, if DHL is delivering according to promiss. Looking forward to showing you the first new items with this very special material!

 
Sinds ik de volledige voorraad leer had gekocht bij mijn leverancier ben ik op zoek naar nieuw leer. Dat bleek niet makkelijk. In Nederland word bijna geen leer meer gelooid en je kan eigenlijk alleen partijen kopen. Dus op is op. Om door te gaan met mijn collecties wilde ik veel en ik wilde speciaal. (That's me :) Namelijk plantaardig gelooid leer van buffel kalf. Echt waar.
Het leer wat ik tot nu gebruikte kwam uit India, dus ben ik daar gaan "zoeken".
Een leuk en langdurig proces van samples heen en weer sturen en beoordelen was de afgelopen maanden "talk of the day". Vele telefoontjes, emails en appjes uit India en Pakistan later ben ik uiteindelijk in contact gekomen met een kleine looierij in India. Zelfs hun sample was al speciaal voor mij gemaakt, (met foto's van het proces erbij!) dus geen restje van een bestaande collectie oid. Met respect voor de volharding van de eigenaar, hij was overtuigd van zijn kunnen maar ik was de +91 telefoontjes inmiddels al zat.. hij had gelijk.

Vandaag is het dan zover. Mijn zending leer is onderweg naar Nederland. En wel uit India. Een klein familie bedrijf heeft speciaal voor mij plantaardig gelooid buffel leer gemaakt. De huiden worden buiten, in de zon gekleurd. Het is een product, materiaal om trots op te zijn en het past dan ook geweldig goed bij mijn producten en bedrijf. Het leer zelf is soepel en stevig in warm cognac bruin en is perfect te stempelen, zie hieronder.

Ik kijk er naar uit om met dit mooie natuurlijke product te gaan werken, reken maar dat er binnenkort nieuwe hoezen en tassen zijn!

Work in progress - internship results :)

Hallo iedereen,

Ik zit nu in de 4e week van mijn stage bij Annemieke.
Tot nu toe bevalt mij dit super!
Ik leer heel erg veel en het voldoet precies aan mijn verwachtingen.
Wat dat betreft heb ik het niet beter kunnen treffen als 1e stageplek!
Om een paar momenten op onze dagen te vullen hebben wij besloten om een eigen tas te gaan maken.
De patronen heb ik zelfstandig uit getekend en op stof gelegd en uitgeknipt enzovoort..
Met de goede aanwijzingen, steun en aanmoedigingen van Annemieke is dit het eindresultaat geworden!!
Dit is mijn eerste tas en project die ik zelfstandig uitgewerkt heb en ik ben er super trots op natuurlijk!
Ik hoop dat jullie hem ook mooi vinden en ik hoop nog meer van deze leuke projectjes te starten!

Groetjes,
Willem-jan Dekkers

Price cut on international shipping

Yes, the title is right! I have found a way to send most of the large 13 inch cases and covers with a vast price reduction. As the PostNL here in Holland decided last year to take out the tariff of 250 grams - 500 grams, the shipping price of large covers doubled. I was not happy but there was not much I could do.
Now after some thorough investigation and trials I have found a solution! And it is named  Tyvek. This lightweight yet unbreakable envelop fits perfectly around the cases and will also easily slides through your mailbox - even when you are not at home! Yeah!

Lene Risvik Johannessen did a very nice job of picturing a grey felt 13" case on her Fashioninspo Instagram. Crisp and fresh Scandinavian insipration!

Hello nice to meet you!

Hallo allemaal,

Mijn naam is Willem-jan Dekkers en ik zal Annemieke haar stagiair zijn tot aan begin April.
Ik ben 20 jaar en woon in Kampen, en studeer Fashion&Styling op het Landstede te Zwolle.
Ik hoop bij dit bedrijf veel te leren, zoals het omgaan met de verschillende stoffen en technieken en ik hoop hier heel gedetailleerd te werken.
Ik heb in ieder geval heel veel zin in de komende periode!
En ik hoop dat Annemieke tevreden zal zijn met mijn hulp!

Vriendelijke groeten, Willem-jan Dekkers


Hello everyone,

My name is Willem-jan Dekkers and I will be Annemieke her intern until April.
I am 20 years old, I live in Kampen and I study Fashion&Styling at Landstede in Zwolle.
I hope that I'll learn a lot from Annemieke such as the different fabrics we are working with and the different techniques Annemieke uses.
I hope to learn how to work nearly.
In any case, I hope that this coming period will be a lot of fun!
And I hope that Annemieke will be happy with my assistance!

Kind regards, Willem-jan Dekkers