Etsy Seller Interview with Amber of LostInNature

How LostInNature 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 began selling my photography on Etsy in 2011, about a year after we started traveling in our RV. It was the perfect way to sell while on the road and make a little extra money while I did freelance web design. We were often nowhere near large cities, and it wasn’t realistic for me to sell in person, so I needed an online platform that did most of that work for me. As my photography shop became more popular, I added new items like tapestries and pillowcases. I didn’t want them to overshadow my print shop, so I eventually split my work into two shops for art prints and home decor.

Because we were living in an RV, printing at home wasn’t possible for a while. Dust from campsites and the constant moving aren't great for electronics. I started by using a printing company based in the SE that could print my inventory as well as directly ship larger prints and canvases to the customer from their lab. After we settled down, I was able to buy a large photo printer and print at home. For my home decor, everything is made to order from a family-owned company in North Carolina, which does a great job of printing my work on all kinds of fabrics.

Favorite items

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

 Often my favorite items aren’t the same as everyone else’s, but I keep them in the shop anyway because they remind me why I keep doing this. I don’t shoot photography for the marketplace alone or to follow trends; I do it for myself as well. My most popular sellers are forests and mountains, especially for large-wall tapestries, but I really love mushrooms. One of my newer prints, the Flying Agaric Family Tapestry, is a favorite of mine, and because my photography origins are black and white film, my Train Tracks, Buenos Aires shower curtain, is also a favorite of mine.

I also love photos of trails and roads (part of my Lost theme in all my shops) as well as ghost towns and barns. While traveling in the RV (for 9 years in total), that is what I enjoyed photographing the most. I was exploring new places all the time, places that seem timeless and solid but actually change constantly, being fleeting. An abandoned cabin or rusty car in the desert won't look the same, or might not even be there, in 5 years, whereas a mountain isn’t going anywhere (hopefully). I love returning to places to see how they change; sometimes they’re better, but often they’re not as beautiful, and I’m happy I got to take photos before they are gone forever.

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 a year or two for my photography shop to really pick up because I was still doing mostly web design in the beginning. Once I decided to focus at least half of my time on Etsy and was consistently adding new items to the shop, I definitely got more traffic from Etsy and social media. A few years later, when I opened my home decor shop, the sales were pretty much immediate and picked up even more over the first year or so. I’d love to spend more time on my shops but struggle with adhd and other health issues; however, even considering that, Etsy has been my primary revenue stream for several years and has given me the chance to make money with my work while working for myself. Just take your time, do as little or as much as you can, build your online presence, socialize with other artists, and be patient with yourself. Just getting your work out there is amazing in itself.

Managing LostInNature 

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?

It’s just me running everything. I use GetVela for all my stores (Etsy and Shopify). It’s a super useful bulk editor, and I was there from the beginning when it was free and developing. It’s no longer free but totally worth it, and they have done a great job. They’ve definitely saved me hundreds of hours of work. Etsy shipping works great for my needs, especially for international orders. I use Google Drive to manage my artwork, templates, and everything my printers need. I use Gmail with a workspace email using my domain, LostKat.com, to manage customer emails. I occasionally use Mailchimp for newsletter campaigns.

The future of LostInNature

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

Trends are constantly changing, and I’m not the best at keeping up with them, so I need to come out with some new lines of products with my art printed on them. It’s been hard to keep up with changes at Etsy, primarily because some of my newer competitors can charge far less than me as bulk distributors with stock artwork. The fact that all my designs are original, not mass-produced, and printed in the US matters to some shoppers, and I’m happy about it. I’m working on getting some wholesale going (boutiques and small retailers), I’m reaching out to local stores (now that we’re not in the RV anymore), and I’m doing more craft fairs in the winter. I’m also selling through a few more third-party sites (Society6, Redbubble, Displate, Alamy, and CreativeMarket), which is great extra revenue for photographers and illustrators willing to upload and market their work.

Advice for new sellers

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

I would definitely share your work on social media, but without sounding spammy or pushy. I get most of my traffic from Pinterest, and that’s perfect for me because I’m a visual person and don’t have much to say on Facebook or Twitter. I would spend some time building your brand and giving it a personality. Make sure to add new products regularly, but most of all, the presentation of your products is probably the most important. Mockups or product photography make a huge difference in how appealing your stuff looks, so invest in a light box or some good mockup templates.

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

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: Between both shops. Between $800 and $3500 a month, depending on the time of year.

Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: This depends greatly on which shop it is. The profit margin for my photography is much higher, like 70–80%. I try for at least 50–60% in my home decor shop, but prices are competitive on Etsy because they allow mass production companies on there now.

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: Every year, approximately 1.5% of the site receives approximately 80k visitors.