From Browsing to Buying: Using Discounts to Transform Your Etsy Printables Sales
- Last updated on: September 25, 2023
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Are you an Etsy seller that specializes in printables? Or are you planning to begin your journey of selling digital products on Etsy?
No matter what stage you are at, understanding the nuances of discounts and promotions can significantly boost your Etsy shop growth.
Offering discounts and promotions for your Etsy store isn’t merely about reducing prices but rather about implementing strategic marketing tactics to increase customer engagement, conversions, and in some cases, brand loyalty. Even printable Etsy sellers have great success with this when implemented correctly.
This blog post will explore some of the best strategies you can use to incorporate discounts and promotions effectively for your Etsy printables and digital downloads.
What Are the Best Ways to Offer Discounts and Promotions for My Printables on Etsy?
Many Etsy sellers will tell you that there are many ways that you can offer discounts and promotions in your Etsy shop and still have a profitable business.
First, it is important to understand why you would want to offer discounts and promotions within your Etsy shop.
Understanding the Importance of Discounts and Promotions
For any successful business, buyer gain and retention is a very important strategy.
Discounts and promotions are powerful tools that can make your Etsy shop more attractive to potential buyers and encourage repeat purchases.
These strategies offer mutual benefits – buyers can purchase their desired products at a reduced price, and sellers enjoy increased profit margins, sales volume, and customer loyalty.
Including discounts and promotions in your Etsy shop helps generate traffic, convert potential customers into buyers, and incentivize repeat purchases.
They create a sense of urgency, encouraging immediate purchases and reducing the likelihood of customers abandoning their shopping carts.
Understanding Your Market and Setting Goals
Before setting up any discount or promotion, you should take the time to understand your market and your business goals.
Identifying your target audience and their buying patterns will provide insights into the types of discounts that will be most effective.
An example of this comes from the finance niche. Many Etsy sellers recognize that their target buyer tends to be frugal and does not necessarily want to buy costly finance printables unless it is in a bundle and delivers high value. A tactic that is often used is larger discounts on those items, such as 30-50% off.
Types of Discounts and Promotions
There are many different types of categories when it comes to discounts and promotions.
Whether you are selling digital downloads or printables on Etsy, taking the time to learn the different kinds of discounts and promotions can help you in the long run.
Percentage Discounts
These are straightforward to understand. Customers get a certain percentage off the original price of an item.
The percentage can vary, but it should be significant enough to pique the interest of the customer.
Buy One, Get One (BOGO)
These kinds of promotions incentivize customers to purchase more items. The additional item could be the same as the purchased item or another item of equal or lesser value.
This type of offer can be especially beneficial for printable products, as there’s no additional production cost for the “free” item.
Bundle Discounts
A quantity, or bundle discount encourages customers to buy in larger quantities by offering a discount or free item when a certain quantity is purchased.
When you offer bundle deals, it can help move more inventory quickly and increase the average order value.
A strategy that many of our students in our course use is setting up a buy 3 get 20% off promotion in their Etsy shops. This encourages potential buyers to purchase additional items in their shops and increases the overall average order value.
Seasonal and Holiday Promotions
Seasonal promotions focus on holidays, seasons, or special events. This could include Black Friday sales, Christmas offers, Valentine’s Day specials, or summer discounts.
These promotions tap into customers’ existing buying tendencies during these periods, encouraging them to include your products in their purchases.
Pro-Tip
A great place to announce a seasonal promotion is in your Etsy shop announcement. Not only will this send an email out to any users that have favorited your shop, but it will also be listed at the top of your shop for any visiting customers to see.
How to Set Up Sales and Discounts in Your Etsy Shop
Within your Etsy Shop Manager, you will want to navigate to the section called “marketing” and while hovering your cursor over it, you will see the tab for sales and discounts.
Etsy offers a lot of sales and discount options. The first type you may consider setting up is a thank-you coupon code. This will automatically send offers to those customers who have purchased from you and encourage them to come back and shop again with a special coupon code.
Within this option, you can select which products you would like to include in the coupon code.
In addition, Etsy has the abandon cart offer and favorited item offer. Both of these coupons will be sent out to either potential customers who have left your items in their cart and have not yet purchased, or potential customers who have favorited your item.
Both provide coupon codes to incentivize the buyer to return and complete the purchase. The amount that is discounted is up to you and they can vary from offer to offer.
In my own Etsy shop, I have one set to 20% off and the other set to 25% off but in other Etsy shops, I have seen the discounts being offered as much as 50-60% off.
These promotion options are great because they are automated, meaning once you see them up, they will continue to run in the background until you turn them off.
It is important to note when using these types of promotions, the code never changes, so essentially a buyer could continuously use your code again and again.
While this rarely happens, if this concerns you, you can end and restart any sales and promotions you have, as well as change up your promotional code, so that the old code is no longer valid.
Next, you’ll have the option to run a sale or create a promo, or discount code. Many Etsy sellers choose to create promo codes to give out to subscribers of their email list or possibly to followers on their social media channels.
You can also provide these to customers to encourage purchases and build loyalty.
If you choose to run a sale, you can apply the sale to your entire site or specific product listings.
Etsy recently changed their percentage off values within the discount amount to allow sellers to choose a custom amount and have more control over their offers.
In addition to selecting your percentage off, you can limit your sales to specific countries and determine if the discounted price only applies if the buyers purchase multiple products or if it will be applied to an order total.
Next, you will determine your sale dates. Sales can only run for up to 30 days but can be scheduled in advance.
In your final steps, you will name your sale and select which of your products, if not all, you are including in the specific sale.
In your Etsy store, you can run multiple sales at one time as well as many sellers choose to run sales on different products.
While it is not proven that running sales gives your Etsy listings a boost in the algorithm, many buyers use the filtering features within the Etsy search to identify products that are on sale, so it may benefit you if your product is marked down.
Use caution when determining a product you would like to run a sale on. You don’t want to discount the product too much and undercut the value of your hard work. Also, many sellers will increase the price of their products competitively and then discount them to the price point they would have originally sold them for. Be mindful that many countries frown upon this tactic, as well as it is illegal in some countries, so if you are selling to everyone on Etsy, you may want to stay away from this strategy.
Other Discounts and Promotions for non-Etsy Platforms
There are other types of discounts and promotions you can offer if you are a non-Etsy seller, or selling on your own platform. Here are a few options to consider.
Limited-Time Offers: These offers create a sense of urgency, which can significantly increase conversion rates. Limited-time offers can include flash sales, day-specific sales, or holiday-themed promotions. They encourage customers to make an immediate purchase to avoid missing out on the deal.
Seasonal Sales: Holidays and seasons present perfect opportunities to theme your promotions and discounts.
Loyalty Programs: Loyalty programs reward customers for their repeat business, strengthening the bond between them and your brand. They can include points systems, tiers with escalating rewards, or exclusive discounts for members.
Launch and Anniversary Sales: These special sales celebrate your shop’s milestones while attracting customers with reduced prices. They can help you generate buzz around your brand, potentially attracting new customers and boosting sales.
Flash Sales: A flash sale is a discount or promotion offered for a short period. It creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity, encouraging immediate purchases. Flash sales can help you quickly sell surplus inventory and attract new customers.
Pre-Launch Offers: If you’re planning to release a new product, offering a pre-launch discount to your existing customers can create anticipation and drive sales once the product launches. It’s an effective way to reward your loyal customers and build excitement around a new product.
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Ways to Promoting Your Discounts and Offers
Social Media Marketing
Social media platforms are great ways to promote your offers. They allow you to reach a wide audience and engage with your target customers as well.
You can use these platforms to share visual images of your top-selling printables and digital downloads on Etsy, create engaging posts about your promotions, and interact with your followers.
Email Marketing
Email marketing allows you to send personalized messages to your subscribers, keeping them updated about your offers.
Design your emails to reflect your brand and the theme of your promotion, with a clear call to action leading recipients to your Etsy shop.
SEO and Blogging
Optimizing your Etsy shop and personal blog for search engines is crucial. Writing blog posts about your printables, offering tips and ideas for using them, using product descriptions, and incorporating relevant keywords can help attract organic traffic to your shop.
Analyzing the Results
Analyzing the results of your discounts and promotional campaigns helps you understand their effectiveness. Using tools like Etsy’s Shop Stats and Google Analytics, you can measure key metrics like traffic, sales, and customer behavior, allowing you to fine-tune your strategies for future campaigns.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some commonly asked questions by Etsy sellers about running discounts and promotions.
How do I offer discounts on Etsy?
To offer a discount on Etsy, go to your Shop Manager, click on Marketing, and select Sales and Coupons. You can then can follow the steps to set up your desired discount or promotion.
Can I run multiple promotions at the same time?
Yes! You can run different types of promotions simultaneously. Just make sure it’s not confusing for your customers. It is important to note that only one promotion or discount can be applied at a time and they cannot stack discounts and promotions.
How often should I run sales?
There’s no set rule, but seasonal sales during holidays can be a good starting point. Avoid offering discounts too frequently as it may devalue your products.
Are discounts and promotions effective in increasing sales?
Yes, if used strategically. Discounts and promotions can attract new customers, reward loyal ones, and even boost sales and overall sales.
How can I promote my discounts and promotions?
Use social media platforms and email marketing to attract customers and get the word out. Also, consider collaborating with other Etsy sellers or influencers.
How can I make my discounts more attractive?
Offer meaningful discounts on high-quality printables and digital downloads. The idea is to make the customer feel that they’re getting a good deal without undermining the value of your printables.
Final Thoughts
In a sea of sellers, standing out can be challenging. But with the right approach, your printables can shine on Etsy.
Offering discounts and promotions is one way to attract attention and build a loyal customer base. So, go ahead and sweeten the deal. After all, who doesn’t love a bargain?
Effective discounts and promotions are essential for driving your Etsy printables business toward success.
It’s about understanding your audience, setting clear goals, strategically implementing your promotional and pricing strategies together, and analyzing the results for continuous improvement.
By implementing these strategies, you can create an engaging customer experience, build strong customer relationships, and create sustainable growth for your Etsy printables shop.
