Etsy Seller Interview with Dawn of PaintedLizards

How PaintedLizards 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?

My Etsy shop is called Painted Lizards. I sell animal and fantasy-themed artwork, crafts, jewellery, and gifts, all either hand-painted by me or featuring my artwork. My first love is animals! I have always been inspired by their beautiful and varied forms. I was lucky enough to spend many years working with, caring for, and teaching about a huge variety of creatures, from tarantulas to llamas and all sorts in between! I have been painting and drawing animals since I was a child. Getting to be so close to animals during my years working with them has given me a much greater depth of understanding of their features and forms, down to the smallest details of scales, fur, and feathers, and also their individual characters, which I strive to capture in my artwork.

I first heard about Etsy way back in 2012 from a craft event organiser who recommended it as a good place to sell my work. At the time, I was just getting started with my business and had my own website, but I was struggling to get enough online exposure to make many sales. It was also costing me quite a lot of money—payment gateway, business bank account, website fees, etc. When I looked into Etsy, it seemed ideal for my products, so I opened up my shop. It was great as there was no initial outlay, so financial risk was minimal. It took a little while to get things going, but sales soon picked up, and I closed my other website down.

All my products feature either animals or fantasy art (dragons, fairies, etc.). I decided to aim at the affordable gift market and thought about potential customers purchasing gifts for family and friends that could be posted in an easy and affordable way. I am always trying out new ideas. I currently have many products I've been selling at craft events to add to my shop in the coming months.

Favorite items

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

My favourite items listed in my shop are my little miniature art prints. I sell them with a cute little easel, and customers can have me write a message on the back and send it straight to the recipient if they like. I think they make great little inexpensive gifts for loved ones and can be posted as a large letter.

The most popular of these are my little crazy jumping Spaniels. Customer feedback tells me they like sitting these little prints on their work desks to remind them of their beloved pets while they can't be with them!

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?

I can't remember how long it took to earn my first sale; it was over 10 years ago! I do know it wasn't very long, but it did take time to build up my sales. It was a learning process, and it still is!

I use the promotions option at certain points in the year to promote either particular items or my shop.

I attend craft events during the year and promote my shop at these. I plan on offering a coupon for a discount in my shop to people, coding each coupon to a specific event, so I can ascertain the success of this idea.

I opted in to have my own shop domain address so people could go directly to my shop online. I feel this is really important when I'm promoting my shop at events.

I'm planning on getting to grips with social media in the near future, something I'm rather unsure of and admit I've been putting off!

Managing PaintedLizards

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 sole trader, so it's only me that manages my shop. I use the Etsy App a lot; it's handy to be able to keep up with things while I'm out and about. I do work elsewhere, so it means I can keep in touch with customers quickly, answering queries even though I'm not at home. I do my utmost to ship quickly, usually within 1 day at the most. I get good feedback on this. I always send a friendly shipping message; I feel it helps to give that personal touch.

The future of PaintedLizards

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

My shop has had to take a back seat for the last 4 years as I've been my Dad's main carer until his recent move to a care home. During this time, I managed to keep my shop ticking over, mainly with items made from prints of my artwork. I did a roaring trade in bookmarks during the pandemic lockdowns! I'm now in the process of restocking and developing new products. I plan to have it looking great in time for the Christmas rush!

Advice for new sellers

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

Start small and build up gradually; don't put pressure on yourself to have everything you think should be in your shop right away. Nobody else will be able to tell that you haven't managed to put product X in your shop yet because you ran out of time!

I can't stress enough how important the customer experience is. I've got some fantastic, lovely customers who keep coming back; it is heartwarming.

Communication with your customers is key. When I'm working on a commission for someone, I keep them updated on its progress so they don't feel like they've been forgotten. Feedback has consistently informed me that this approach is really appreciated by people.

Be sure to read your reviews; if somebody isn't happy, get in touch with them and ask if you can do anything to rectify this. I've ended up with a customer who has ordered repeatedly from me as a result of my contacting them over an unhappy review.

If you feel a customer is being unreasonable, don't answer immediately, allow yourself time to calm down before replying, and never type angry. You may find that when you read it again, you have misinterpreted the words and their meaning.

During the postal strikes, people were blaming sellers for problems with postage, which can really get to you if you don't step back and take a breath!

Try to view your shop and products from your potential customers' perspectives. This can be really helpful to inform you on how to present products.

Do some research and look at other people's Etsy shops to get an idea of prices, how to present items, what wording to use, etc. This can be really helpful when you are trying to write your Shop policies, as otherwise this can be quite a daunting process.

It took me a while to be comfortable extolling the virtues of my products; it certainly didn't come naturally to me to tell people why my items are worth purchasing!

Etsy has changed and developed a lot over the years. I have had my shop constantly updated with new features. Take time to explore these and get to grips with what is useful to you. The Etsy forum can be helpful to answer questions you may have.

Have faith in your products; great things may happen given a little time!