Etsy Seller Interview with Denise of smartbabiesDE

How smartbabiesDE 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?

Hello, my name is Denise, I am 39 years old and a mother of a sweet daughter. Ever since I was a child, I have loved creating things with my hands and putting a smile on other people's faces. My dad wasn't always thrilled that I used his tools and sometimes left them a bit messy. Luckily he never stopped me.

I experimented with all sorts of materials (especially wood and textiles), but it wasn't until I was an adult that I could afford a sewing machine. That's why I was only able to really get started with sewing and textile design later, and to this day designing on and with textiles is my favorite task.

However, I initially decided to do a commercial apprenticeship because I knew that I would otherwise lack this knowledge for my later, big goal of becoming self-employed and earning money with it. And it gave me the security of slowly building up my handmade business on the side and still being secure at all times. So I worked as a bank clerk and accountant for a few years and sold my products online at the same time.

When my daughter was born it was a turning point for me. On the one hand, my life (like that of most parents) changed from the ground up in one fell swoop, but above all I also wondered whether now, during parental leave, would be the right time to take the step full-time to sell my products. I wasn't really happy in my job as a clerk anyway, and I finally wanted to do what was right for me.

I thought long and hard, but I have never regretted my decision. My decision for the handmade business also gave me the advantage that, as a new mom, I was able to work flexibly in terms of time and from home, and I still enjoy that today.

I felt that every milestone with our little one was something very special and I really wanted to capture these moments. The first Mother's Day, the first Easter or Christmas with a child, the first birthday... combined with the love for textile design, the first bodies and shirts for my child were quickly printed. In the beginning with only very simple motifs; I still had far too little knowledge and experience in this new area of ​​plotting and working with flex foil. It was at least 6 months before my Etsy shop opened, I first had to develop beautiful motifs, gain experience in plotting and hot-pressing textile foil, of course acquire the equipment and tools, create a good price calculation, and above all find suitable suppliers for my products Find unprinted bodies and shirts that, on the one hand, only produce fairly and sustainably, that offer beautiful cuts that are also practical in everyday life and, on the other hand, whose shirts can withstand many wash cycles without any problems. It was not easy to meet all my requirements.

Favorite items

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

My favorite products are especially the birthday shirts. This event is so important for a child every year. It's just proud to be a year older and it's a big deal for the parents too. My shirts should accompany the child not only on his birthday, but also long afterwards. I now have many customers who write to me that it has been their child's favorite shirt for a whole year and that they now want a new one for their next birthday. This presupposes that the imprint also lasts a very long time and does not crack or fade. I'm very proud of that. If I can make a child happy with my product for a whole year, that makes me really happy too.

The motifs that sell best are primarily those that children of my target group's age (1-7 years) like themselves. These are very typical motifs, such as the fire brigade or excavator for the boys, and unicorns and rainbows for the girls.

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?

When I started my Etsy shop, I had only a few products to offer. The fact that I used to sell online helped me, but it took a long time for the shop to really take off. Individual orders came after just a few days and weeks, but still far too few. I had to build up the shop properly over time. I only had the real breakthrough about 1.5 years after the opening. I had attended an Etsy camp and it made me realize what my shop was missing for so long. It was visibility. My customers just didn't find me because I didn't pay attention to Etsy's algorithm or didn't know it well enough.

Today I try to keep up to date with changes at Etsy. If the search settings change, it may be that you will not be found as well as before. Then you have to adapt your products. Etsy regularly provides information on how to be found better.

Of course, it is also important not only to make the customer satisfied, but to make them genuinely happy. We sell handmade products which are (thankfully) quite a bit more expensive than products from big discount chains. It must therefore be worthwhile for my customers to come to me again and again because they trust me that I can sell them a durable, sustainable and lovingly handmade product that they can also help design according to their wishes.

Managing smartbabiesDE

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?

Although I run my shop alone, it has helped me a lot to get outside help every now and then. My husband is very familiar with IT and has helped me a lot with it. And our little daughter was and is my best product tester. With her I noticed whether the products work well in everyday life and make sense, or what I should do better.

I try to post updates on my Facebook page about once a week (unfortunately I don't always manage to) and I have an Instagram account. But I've found that it's better to take good care of one channel than several that you don't manage well. Of course, whenever the opportunity arises, I also advertise my shop directly, for example among my circle of acquaintances.

When a new order comes in, it's important to me that the customer feels well looked after. Sometimes customers also write to me before placing an order because they have questions or special requests. If I know in advance that I won't be able to reply on the same day, I set an automatic reply.

In any case, it is very important for me to be there for the customer even after the order has been received. I have experienced it myself as a customer that the seller wrote back to me several times before I placed the order and after I placed the order there was no response. That didn't make a good impression on me.

I think it's very nice when a handmade product arrives lovingly wrapped. That's why I want the same for my customers. I try to use as little and renewable material as possible and still offer a beautiful and unique experience when unpacking. That an order arrives on time is a basic requirement for me.

The future of smartbabiesDE

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

I am currently still working part-time (approx. half a job/20 hours a week) and would like to expand my shop even further. When my daughter goes to school, I'll probably have a little more time to invest in the development of my shop and in production. I always need new motifs so that my regular customers can regularly find the right thing for them and also to win new customers with it.

Imagine you are your own customer. What do you wish for when you order something yourself somewhere? This is a good way to find out how to make your customers happy. Are your images beautiful and appealing, and is your product text understandable to someone who has never heard of your product before? Do you take good care of your customer before and during the order processing?

How much time can you invest in your business? Can you still work part-time? A permanent job on the side or for the beginning could take away the pressure of having to earn a lot right away and you can slowly build up your business.

Calculate your prices well from the start. Don't think that nobody will buy it because others find it too expensive (if you're unsure, you can compare your prices to your competitors to get a rough idea of ​​the right price, but only trust your own calculations). It's annoying when a customer later wants to buy from you again and the product is then much more expensive. On the other hand, prices that are too low endanger your existence in the long run.

Find your niche. Don't offer too many different products, but be the specialist in your niche and sell products that are really well developed, tested and thought through.

To find the right niche, decide what your heart burns for and what will make you happy for a long time.

Check if you are easily found. You can regularly check your Etsy stats to see if your visibility has increased and you're getting more clicks. But you need some patience; Changes only take effect some time later. Whenever possible, participate in Etsy shop camps or connect with the community. There you will find many important tips.

And lastly, don't give up too easily and keep your goal in mind. It can take months, but also much longer, until your breakthrough comes. You can use the time to keep improving yourself and your products, to advertise or to expand the products in your shop. Even later, it can still happen that the sales fluctuate every month.

Advice for new sellers

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

Imagine you are your own customer. What do you wish for when you order something yourself somewhere? This is a good way to find out how to make your customers happy. Are your images beautiful and appealing, and is your product text understandable to someone who has never heard of your product before? Do you take good care of your customer before and during the order processing?

How much time can you invest in your business? Can you still work part-time? A permanent job on the side or for the beginning could take away the pressure of having to earn a lot right away and you can slowly build up your business.

Calculate your prices well from the start. Don't think that nobody will buy it because others find it too expensive (if you're unsure, you can compare your prices to your competitors to get a rough idea of ​​the right price, but only trust your own calculations). It's annoying when a customer later wants to buy from you again and the product is then much more expensive. On the other hand, prices that are too low endanger your existence in the long run.

Find your niche. Don't offer too many different products, but be the specialist in your niche and sell products that are really well developed, tested and thought through.

To find the right niche, decide what your heart burns for and what will make you happy for a long time.

Check if you are easily found. You can regularly check your Etsy stats to see if your visibility has increased and you're getting more clicks. But you need some patience; Changes only take effect some time later. Whenever possible, participate in Etsy shop camps or connect with the community. There you will find many important tips.

And lastly, don't give up too easily and keep your goal in mind. It can take months, but also much longer, until your breakthrough comes. You can use the time to keep improving yourself and your products, to advertise or to expand the products in your shop. Even later, it can still happen that the sales fluctuate every month.

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

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: Ca. 5-6 %Ca. 5-6 %