Selling in a Saturated Market

My name is Amanda and I was born and raised in a small town in southern Manitoba, Canada. When I first got married, we moved into the city for a couple of years, away from our family and friends. I was lonely, so I was looking for a way to make friends. Remember Groupon? Well, I saw a beginner's jewelry class at a local small bead store and thought, “I love jewelry, that could be a way to make friends!” Well, I didn’t make any friends (I was 20 years younger than everyone there) but I did learn the beginnings of a skill set that would take me to where I am now: over 11,000 Etsy orders, a brand new website, and a full-time profitable business.

Now how was I going to stand out in the most saturated handmade market category in history? Having a head for business before having a head for the creative. I went to business school out of high school at the local college so I had a good understanding of business plans, and from there I worked as retail managers, business managers for larger organizations, as well as in sales and marketing roles. I bounced around until my husband stepped in and told me just to focus on my new hobby for a bit and really think about my next move. Well in the first two weeks I made over $3,000 in my Etsy shop. Since I could not just sit idle, I poured my work ethic and creativity into my little business. It was then that we realized that this could be a viable, sustainable, full-time job for me.

Growing in a Saturated Market

When I opened my shop, I broke even in the first few months and started looking at my peers in the jewelry industry and just how many there were. I began to realize that if I wanted to be profitable, I had to make jewelry for my buyers, not myself. What did my buyers want? 

I knew I wanted to only work with silver as it meant affordable, hypoallergenic, and quality, but from there I had to listen to my customers and work in my own creativity. They liked pieces that had meaning or were “everyday wearable,” so I started with their favorite animals, birthstones, and basics like that. This did not mean I couldn’t design more unique pieces, it just meant that it would be for a very select group of buyers.

The seller base on Etsy was only growing, which meant that the competition was, too. I did as much research as I could on SEO, product photography, and how things worked on the site for the seller’s benefit. I learned you could be successful without paid ads just by understanding the importance of great photos and proper SEO. Also the more listings you had the more chance you had of being found. If I offered the same necklace in different stones, I made a listing for each stone. So instead of one listing with twelve birthstone options, I had twelve listings giving me more buyer search opportunities.

To make sure I stood out from my competition, I would scroll for hours on different searches on Etsy looking for what made me scroll past, turn my nose up, or actually want to click through to see more photos of a listing. I learned about taking photos with indirect, natural light, using neutral backgrounds, and how to use small pops of color when the item was solid silver to add intrigue. 

The cleaner the image and lighting, the better the chance was of a shopper getting “good vibes” when they looked at the picture. If the lighting was too hot/orange, the item felt like it came from a smoky, unprofessional environment. The blue or over-exposed ones from artificial lights made me feel like the product was not handmade. 

I set up a piece of faux wood (leftover from my kitchen cabinets) so it would look natural but not distracting next to my west-facing window. I take photos when the sun is at about 1 o’clock so that the light is coming in, but not directly and it’s not creating shadows. Then I use a photo editor to brighten the pictures to the perfect “crispness.”

What’s Next?

Once I became successful on Etsy, I also became scared of that success being taken away. When it comes down to it, Etsy controls my shop, not me. So in January 2021 I opened my own website and have started driving my email newsletter and social media fans there. I now have my family, childcare, and shop helpers that rely on me and I want to be smart about that. As much as diversifying has been a learning curve, it means growth. I am not looking to close my Etsy shop, just to protect my business and the success it has created. Nothing could replace the traffic Etsy drives to handmade businesses that build their shops well.

My husband will be building a shop on our property soon which means I will get more room to work with flames and tools, so I can’t wait to expand my skill set. Right now, I split my time doing admin work in my home office and jewelry work in the garage. My goal for my business is to eventually offer less but sell the same volume. I know others aspire to grow as big as possible but as an introvert, I want this to stay a small business so that I can be present with my young family and enjoy my small country life for as long as I can. 

My greatest advice for sellers in saturated markets that want to create a full-time business is that you have to remember exactly that: it’s a business. A business needs buyers and your buyers dictate your offering. This doesn’t mean you need to change your esthetic, it just means you need to tailor them to the shopper’s needs. It also means you need to do the admin stuff well, and if you just can’t put a boss hat on, hire help to do the things you struggle with. SEO, photos, website, social media, bookkeeping, etc. These need to be done well in order to be a successful shop in any market.

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