Etsy Seller Interview with Candace of ilulily

How ilulily got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how do you create your products?

When I was planning my destination wedding, I found it hard to find exactly what I had envisioned for wedding welcome bags. I figured destination brides were encountering a similar issue, so I placed some of my designs to sell on Etsy and voilà, 10 years later, here we are. Even though I started with welcome bags, I slowly expanded into favors for all stages of wedding planning. We sell tote bags, favor bags, shirts, mugs, hats, and gift box sets. I use inspiration from current trends and themes to create new designs. All our products are made to order, so we have blanks on hand and can create products on demand. Alibaba.com has become a great sourcing partner for our blanks.

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

My favorite products and our current best sellers are our custom hats and hangover bags. Customers can customize their items with their faces, making a fun and unique memento like no other. I enjoy the design process of creating the caricature-like image of each photo. Every design is one of a kind and I know it will put a big smile on the faces of the party attendees.

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

It took nearly a month to earn my first sale, but once we had a few, the sales started to come in. Etsy does a great job of bringing traffic to your shop. I also opt in on Etsy ads and make sure all my items are also on Pinterest. I have found Pinterest to be one of my best sources of traffic for my shop.

Managing ilulily

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

I handle all interactions with customers and am the designer behind everything ilu.lily. I manage all listings and have found the app Vela to be a very useful tool for bulk edits. I also have a production manager and a production assistant who are both in charge of order fulfillment and shipping. We use Etsy shipping labels to ship our orders as it’s the easiest and most affordable shipping option I’ve found. It’s easy to setup calculated shipping for your items, and they send automatic tracking details for customers so that they are up to date with their shipment.

The future of ilulily 

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

Our next big goal is to expand into the bachelor party side of weddings. I am working on expanding our product line to offer more bachelor party and groomsmen favors. I’ve always envisioned ilu.lily as a one-stop shop for every stage of wedding planning, so we’re working on covering every stage.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

Start with a healthy number of listings. You want your shop to look professional so that customers feel comfortable buying from you. Have captive photos that capture all aspects of your products. Make sure to put your customer’s first and wow them along the way. Take pride in your customer service and ensure that everyone who purchases from you is happy with their products, which will result in good reviews. Customers will be more likely to purchase from a shop with stellar reviews. If sales are slow, don’t fret, just take this time to work on new products and designs. Always be open to custom orders. I’ve found some of my best sellers have come from custom design requests. Be consistent, show up every day, and always be confident in your products and purpose.

Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?‍

Answer: Roughly $10k

Question: What is your average profit margin?

Answer: 60%

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?

Answer: 3%