Etsy Seller Interview with Natasha of YarnOverwithNatasha

How YarnOverwithNatasha 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 started my crochet business back in 2019. I started off doing custom orders only, but it was so time-consuming that I had to find another way of crocheting with fewer hours. I then got introduced to the designing world, and that is where I learned about Etsy and that most designers sell their crochet patterns on that platform.

Favorite items

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

My favorite and best-selling item currently in my shop is my snugglers. They are a trending pattern at this moment, but I do think mine do well because my followers prefer to work with cotton or wool yarn, so they enjoy my cuddle-me patterns because they are written for this specific yarn texture.

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 about two months for me to get my first sale, but I hadn’t written a lot of patterns and was just known for making custom orders. I also only had two listings on my Etsy shop, and as a beginner, my Etsy shop wasn’t set up right! I’m very active on social media; I post daily content and have a call to action on every post. I also now do a month-long free crochet-a-long and free pattern on my blog, which attracts more people to my business. I also now make sure my Etsy listings are properly uploaded with the right amount of listing photos, keywords, and full, detailed descriptions of my patterns, and that has made a big difference in my sales.

Managing YarnOverwithNatasha

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 do it all on my own. I use Canva Pro to create my Etsy listings and patterns. I also use Canva to create my pins for Pinterest and schedule them in Canva. I use Eranks for keyword searches, and I use Alura to see what patterns are currently trending that I also have and promote them on social media and Pinterest. I also use Alura to search for best sellers and use that to my advantage for my new design. It is also a great tool to have when you are stuck on what to create next. Selling digital products means I don’t need to handle shipping.

The future of YarnOverwithNatasha

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

I want to reach a goal of 10,000 sales by the end of the year. I know that is a big number, but I have seen some amazing things happen in the crochet community, so anything is possible.

Advice for new sellers

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

The first piece of advice is not to give up; it takes hard work and dedication, but it is so worth it in the end. Technical advice: make sure you have set up your Etsy shop correctly from the get-go, add as much information and details as possible, make sure all the listing photos are the correct size, and use Chatgpt to find keywords for your listing. Do research with free apps like Alura to make sure the item you upload on Etsy is something people want.

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

Question: How much is your monthly revenue?
Answer: Etsy brings in about half of my income revenue

Question: What is your shop’s conversion rate?
Answer: My shop conversion rate monthly is between 4.1% and 4.8%.