How PositiveLifeChangelc 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 am Crystal Maceira, a master herbalist of over 35 years. My father was also a master herbalist, so I kind of got "roped" into it at an early age. I really started using the herbs on my eight children (yes, eight). They hated getting sick because they knew they would get the nasty-tasting "stuff" I took over my father’s herbal manufacturing business and ran it for 6 years until my oldest daughter took it over in 2014 after I got married to my current husband. My previous husband was sick for 20 of the 23 years we were married. When he did allow me to help him with herbs, he made amazing improvements. Even after my daughter took over the business, I continued to make our own herbal tinctures. I mainly made the ones my husband and I needed. A few years later, we moved to Montana (from Oregon). We were able to "set up" the shop downstairs. It was totally unfinished when we moved in, but I was able to custom-tailor it for the herbs and for massage. In 2019, I was looking for ways to sell online. I knew how to sell on Amazon from when I worked in my father’s business. It became a big hassle and too tedious for a much smaller company such as ours. Then I heard about Etsy. I researched the ins and outs of the company and found it was one we could use as a platform to put our herbal tinctures and salves on. I looked at some of the other companies that were selling similar items to gain a better understanding of how much to sell the single herb tinctures for. The formulas were not an issue since they were unique. At the time, we had around 30 single herb and herbal formula tinctures, salves, and dry formula products. We make single herb tinctures using only organic or wildcrafted, kosher herbs and 190-proof grain alcohol at 30%. My husband has been a great help in researching the best places to purchase hard-to-find herbs as well as other production supplies. Once the single herb tinctures are made, we can then make the formulas. Many formulas originated with Dr. John R. Christopher. He is the one I trained under when I was young. There are quite a few formulas that I have created based on customer requests.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
My absolute favorite products are KVA (Keep Viruses Away) and Crystal’s Super Greens.
The KVA keeps me and my husband from getting colds and flu when others around us do. For instance, when I went to Egypt with my father in 2015, I took the KVA two weeks before I left and every day while I was there. It was a very stressful trip. I never got sick. My father did not take the KVA, and he did get sick. Another testimony: Our pastor goes to Africa or another country at least once per year. Before he started taking KVA, he always got sick, either during or right after his trip. When he took the KVA, he never got sick. Once, when he forgot to take his KVA with him, he got sick. He knows now to never be without it. Crystals Super Greens is a special blend of green foods, including chlorella and moringa. I have been taking this for over 20 years. In 2016, I had a colonoscopy. The doctor said that I had a pink colon as healthy as a 16-year-old! My hair is still healthy and long, and my skin looks young despite my being in my sixties. It is the only supplement I take that I can feel the difference when I haven’t been on it after only a few days. I have plenty of energy, and I know I am getting all the nutrients I need in a balanced, whole form. These two products do sell, but not as well as TAP (Thyroid, Adrenals, Pituitary) or Eye Support. They sell because of great reviews and good SEO.
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 three weeks to receive my first sale. For the first year, I only did the bare minimum to attract customers to our Etsy shop. I only activated the offsite ads. Then I decided to put some money into the backend of the Etsy ads. It was less than $100 per month. That is where my orders jumped from 1 or 2 a week to almost 5-7 a week. Some weeks are better than others. I have increased it some since then.
Managing PositiveLifeChangelc
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 the only one who manages the shop. I process the orders, but my husband helps me by putting the items together and packing the orders. He also helps me with other admin stuff, so I can concentrate on the shop itself. When I was first putting the items up in the shop, I used Etsy Rank to help me find keywords and improve the SEO. I send out information sheets with all the orders, but I take key information and use that to build up the information on each of the products. Since the products are in the "health" field and use herbs, I have to be very careful about which words can be used as key words or in the description. Esty has deactivated over 10 of our items because they violated shop policies.
The future of PositiveLifeChangelc
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
We plan to add more products to the shop. We just created a refreshing new logo, so I am in the process of changing out the current items to reflect the change. We have many new single herbs and formulas that are not up on Etsy, so we will be doing that over the next six months. Once that has all been updated, we will then increase the Esty ad's monthly cost to help drive sales.
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
It is a process. It will take time to see consistent sales. Do your research on Esty policies. Know what fees they take out. It is still within reason for us, but it may be too much for another seller. It averages about 20% of the sale when everything is said and done for our shop, so make sure you give yourself enough room to make a profit but keep it low enough to be competitive with other similar Etsy items. Work hard to become a star seller. That is a great way to show customers that you are reputable. We give great customer service by answering messages quickly and getting our products out within 24 business hours.
Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.
Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: $1100 plus
Question: What is your average profit margin?
Answer: 20%
Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer:2.8
PositiveLifeChangelc
Complete, Holistic approach to good health
