How lenormandlove 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 design Lenormand card decks. These are oracle cards with centuries-old traditions. Meanwhile, they are almost as well known as tarot. On Etsy, there is a wonderful opportunity for these types of oracle cards to be sold all over the world, not only in your own country. I do have a strong community here in Germany because I am also known as a bestselling author and Youtuber, but I love the idea that my decks are also being used in Japan, the USA, or somewhere else on this planet. I create most of the decks myself using well-known image editing programs. But for a while, I also cooperated with illustrators and used AI.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
My all-time best seller on Etsy is the Epic Ligt Lenormand card deck. The warm atmosphere and history of the Belle Epoque seem to open hearts. Because of its elegance and positive energy, this deck is popular all over the world. However, Kingdom's Night Lenormand, which revolves around a nocturnal kingdom and is in dark blue shades, is also very popular. I have a feeling that decks of cards that imaginatively stretch into past times and historical eras are particularly well appreciated. If we think of the best-selling series on Netflix, that's the same.
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?
For the first few weeks, I was on the verge of despair and on the verge of closing my store. It took about two weeks until the first sales happened. You need a lot of patience and must not be in doubt about your product, especially if you already sell it well elsewhere. It was after about half a year that Etsy started rolling for me. But then with a rapid increase.
I use off-site ads and paid ads through Etsy to promote my listings and give each buyer a discount code. Through this, I have gained quite a number of loyal customers. Also, there are a few influencers on YouTube who use my cards over and over again. That's a plus as well. The German customers are mostly from my own YouTube community.
Managing lenormandlove
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 am a one-woman business. Every now and then, I get some help with administrative issues from my husband. As an artist, it's well known that you're not so gifted with numbers. I use a system to manage orders and accounting, but nothing more. We all do the shipping ourselves, including going to the post office three times a week. But I have to admit that it is difficult to juggle the administration part with the design part. I am also very active on my German Lenormand blog and on YouTube. So my real job is to find a good balance every day between my sales obligations and my passion for designing.
The future of lenormandlove
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
I would like to continue designing new Lenormand decks, always adding artistic facets that make the deck a unique artwork and stand out from the crowd. In addition, I would like to create more stunning videos of my product in use and offer more languages for the booklets that come with the Lenormand cards.
Unfortunately, some of my existing products, like my books, are written in German, so I cannot offer them on the international market. If the translation and printing costs were not such a big obstacle,
I would use them to further expand my portfolio. But this way, I can only offer the card decks.
But one thing is for sure: I will remain faithful to the Lenormand cards, as I have been for the last 20 years.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
I had no experienced assistance at the time, so I had to go through all the trials and errors on my own. The most important thing is to focus on a core topic or core product. I also once took advantage of a free consultation from Etsy to optimize the content of my store. In the process, I learned a few things I didn't already know, for example, how the Etsy algorithm works.
Don't try to dance at too many weddings; focus on what you really know and love. Try to stand out from the competition by having a unique style or unique selling points. Also, always make sure to have enough stock of your products. I once had a problem during Corona that the printer ran out of paper for the cards and therefore couldn't have them reprinted. Situations like that can threaten your existence.
Be patient. All beginnings are hard. Even if no one pays attention to you for weeks at first, you will eventually achieve a breakthrough. But make sure that the photos of your products are of high quality and that the products are properly staged. Bad photos mean bad sales. Use all the places for the photos. The more, the better. Show your product from all perspectives, especially in real use. Many also make the mistake of setting their prices too high.
