How Sootmegs 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 Lucy and my Etsy store is called Sootmegs. I hand make communicative badges to support in the following areas: Mental Health, Neurodiversity, Gender & Sexuality, Disability/Different Ability, Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Diversity. My shop’s mission is to empower people to ‘make the invisible visible’; to ease their way through a complex world or help make it easier for others. To challenge unhelpful assumptions and spread awareness with sensitivity and humour. Essentially it’s a way of helping people to understand each other, and so, be kinder to each other. I’ve owned Sootmegs since the end of last year, and it was founded back in 2013 by my good friend Bryony.
In a roundabout way, the idea for Sootmegs was sparked after Bryony was accidentally headbutted in the face at a music festival! After she got a black eye so big that strangers approached her in the street, she made two badges saying, ‘Don’t ask me about my eye" and ‘I am bored of talking about it’. The badges worked well, so she started to make more for herself to help with the variety of things she struggled with, like time-keeping, attention span, forgetfulness, and insomnia, and for friends with disabilities. She realized that communicative pin badges were a unique idea that might help lots of people, so she opened an Etsy shop in 2013 with the intention of helping underrepresented groups be seen and understood. Bryony talked to lots of people to find out what otherwise hidden aspects they’d like others to know at a glance and without having to explain.
Since that time, our collection of badges has grown organically based on customer needs and direct requests. We create each new design using our iconic speech bubble design and make each individual badge by hand using an old-school badge maker that you might have used yourself growing up! If there are any designs you think would be good additions, please send me a message.
Favorite items
What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?
There are so many to choose from, with over 300 designs in our store. However, one listing that makes me really happy every time someone purchases it is our custom badge. This is an option where a customer can choose any wording they like and any color background, and I love the insight it gives me into their needs and potentially something that could be useful to add to the collection. Other times, it’s a funny inside joke or catchphrase that is being gifted to somebody else, and I love being a part of that.
I would say my other bestsellers are those that serve the purpose of expressing something invisible for a customer; for example, ‘I’m non-verbal sometimes’ was a top seller last year, along with ‘not all disabilities are visible’ and ‘please offer me a seat’.
I also love all of our ‘Let’s talk about..." range, which I call our conversation starters. Ranging from books to mental health to politics to dogs, birds, and cats, I think there’s something for everyone!
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?
Sales were a little slow to start, but in the beginning, word spread mainly as Bryony was approached by individuals who wanted custom designs on their badges for a specific event. In the early days, things that really helped grow the store were featured by publications in articles that raised awareness. Currently, a combination of Etsy SEO and social media presence aims to reach the right target audience and attract customers to the store. A lot of our badges can link to awareness days, so this is where we make use of relevant hashtags to promote posts to the right groups.
Managing Sootmegs
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?
At the moment, the store is owned and fully run by myself. I use the functionalities available to me through Etsy directly to manage my listings, print postage labels, and manage customer interactions.
I use Royal Mail to ship all of my parcels, both domestic and international. There is a Post Office just 5 minutes around the corner from me, and I have developed a great relationship with the team in my branch.
To manage my priorities, I use Google Keep to keep track of everything running around my brain. I have a spreadsheet master list to split my everyday maintenance checklist, larger maintenance tasks, and growth activities.
The future of Sootmegs
What goals do you have for your shop in the future?
I hope Sootmegs continues to grow on Etsy and that we continue to expand into different countries; it is always so exciting to see orders going out all around the world!
Another area I’d love to expand outside of Etsy is my physical presence. We have a few clients around the UK that stock Sootmegs badges in stores, for example, the Brighton Pavilion gift store and News From Nowhere, an independent bookstore in Liverpool. As such a visual product, it makes me really happy to know that customers might see the badges out and about. I’ve recently been attending more in-person fairs, and the conversations I’ve been able to have with the public have been so valuable. I hope to get more of a presence in schools, universities, the public sector, and big corporations; my list is never-ending!
Advice for new sellers
What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?
Something that has been really supportive for me since running Sootmegs on my own has been joining my local Etsy team in Brighton. I think being a solo business owner can become a little isolating, but being a part of a team where everyone is so welcoming and keen to share advice and support has done wonders for my confidence and the store. Ask them lots of questions and make the most of their vast knowledge of this wonderful platform!
From a customer perspective, ask questions, listen to their responses, and act on their suggestions. When your business revolves around reflecting people’s hidden desires, you can’t hope to know it all for yourself and shouldn’t pretend to. Sootmegs wouldn’t be what it is without the voices of our customers.
Some sellers really get inspired by hearing numbers. Feel free to share these if you like.
Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: Based on 2022 data, around £2000 per month
Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: 1.7%
