Etsy Seller Interview with Jen of Tie Dye Diva

How Tie Dye Diva 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?

Hi! I am an old-timer on Etsy, having joined in 2007. I’m the sewing pattern shop with a funny name, because I started selling hand-dyed clothing and fabrics, then handmade clothing sewn with hand-dyed fabrics.

Then with so much sewing on my mind, my shop morphed again into digital-format sewing patterns. I design, draft, grade, write and illustrate all my patterns myself.

Favorite items

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

Ooh! That’s like picking a favorite child. But I really love the Reversible Baby Dress Pattern, as it’s a great representative to show what my shop is about - adorable, classic designs that are easy to sew, even for beginners, and make you really proud of the final result. It is a best-seller, year after year.

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 didn’t take long at all to sell the first physical items. Etsy was much, much smaller back then. PDF patterns took longer to gather momentum. There wasn’t even a category for them when I first listed them in 2007, and they didn’t sell. I took them down for a while and about a year later, PDF sewing patterns had much more of a following and they took right off!

Managing Tie Dye Diva

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?

Over the years, I’ve had an assistant here and there, but have always run my Etsy shop by myself. I add and remove listings from time to time, but unlike sellers who have one of a kind items or do a lot of shipping, my shop mostly takes care of itself.

The future of Tie Dye Diva

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

It’s terrific when an item really catches on and starts selling well, even after sleeping for months or even years. I’d love to have a few more listings in that sweet spot, and am always trying new keywords and photos toward that goal.

Advice for new sellers

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

Take beautiful photos, write good titles, and use good keywords. It will take a lot of research to get there. Once you get going, pay attention to frequently asked questions, and think about how you can head them off by adding more information to your listing or shop. 

Use the canned responses tool for FAQ’s that you can’t head off, but be sure to make them engaging and personal and reflect your personality as a shop owner who wants to engage with the potential customer.