How KellyBritoStudio 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?
I'm Kelly Brito, a branding professional who started designing in 1997. I can't remember when exactly I opened my Etsy shop, really. It's been years! But it was my little Etsy shop that opened the way to my business's growth. I started selling Blogger (Blogspot) templates. Two main consequences came from this: My development into branding, since buyers started requesting custom blog designs and custom brand identities to go with them; 2: I started developing WordPress templates to meet the needs of clients in a more advanced stage of their businesses.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
Because I run a "branding" shop and not a website template shop, top-selling items truly vary from season to season. But it's never been my favorite product. My favorite products are brand strategy workbooks and worksheets. I particularly like The Brand Identity Design Strategy Workbook because I think it's SO important for a business owner to truly know their brands. As soon as the weather started warming up, my most popular products were the stock photos, especially the Stock Photos Bundle. People are likely taking time to work on their own websites and social media posts, so fresh stock photos can be highly useful in this season. The top money-makers will always be my WordPress and Squarespace templates, since they cost more than any other product in the shop. The top moneymaker today is the Anna WordPress theme.
I believe variety can be extremely important in Etsy shops. Having a wide variety of different branding products at different price ranges allows me to attract a larger number of potential buyers while building a sales ladder that generally means repeat buyers or multiple sales at once.
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?
Not long at all. Maybe a couple of days. But it's important to notice a few things: Etsy was less "crowded" before COVID, so I didn't have to hit hard on strategy like it's a requirement today. I started with a simple platform to code and design for (Blogspot), which also meant I could keep product prices super low. So, less competition with a low price definitely helped me get those first few sales in.
Today, buyers find my shop through the Etsy marketplace. I rarely lift a finger in any regard to Etsy marketing, really. That being said, every time I actively promote the shop, get highly active on the Etsy app, or constantly add new listings, I see a huge improvement in traffic and sales.
Managing KellyBritoStudio
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 have had assistant designers and administrative assistants for my Etsy shop in the past. Today, it's just me, and it suffices. I've come to a point where I intentionally scaled down in order to reorganize my products, improve product quality, update SEO, etc.
As for tools and apps, I only use Alura. It has a clean interface and gives all the information I need about competitors. Since my shop is already established and I'm not researching new products or anything of the kind, my focus is on my market analysis: what my competitors are doing, so I can do differently; what my potential clients are looking for, so I can provide what they want. Alura gives me all that. All other apps may seem to offer more, but they either don't fit my needs or charge what I consider a low ROI.
The future of KellyBritoStudio
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
I was working on my brand and investing a lot of time and money in traditional (old school) marketing in the first two quarters of 2023. Results? Horrible! So the plan is to reset my brand for Q3 and Q4. This means I'm about to turn at least 50% of my attention to my Etsy shop to make it my #1 income source again. Meanwhile, I can work with a minimum number of custom branding design clients on KellyBrito.com and resume content creation, which is something I love since I do have a lot to share about branding after 20+ years in this field.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Etsy is where everything truly began for me. Today I've been on business shows on CW TV. I have worked with dozens of entrepreneurs worldwide. I became an expert in branding. But all because I opened a shop on Etsy and kept loading it with what my audience wanted. So, my main advice is to listen to what the audience is saying. What are they saving? What are they buying? Whatever it is, create more of it right away! What custom requests do they ask for? Create listings for that. Listen to the audience, and not only will your shop grow, but you may find yourself going from a generalist to an expert, like I did.
