In an ideal Etsy universe, things seem really simple. You create a product, upload it on Etsy and the cha-chings would start coming.

Now, in the real Etsy universe, nothing is as uncomplicated. You need to spend hours researching — niche, keywords, tags, trends and whatnot. Then, you need to spend days creating those products and uploading them on Etsy while hoping and praying to get your product higher in the Search. Between all of these tasks, there is one more — promotion. But do you really need to promote your listings outside of Etsy?

Should I promote my listings outside of Etsy to be successful?

Honestly, no, it’s not absolutely necessary. Plenty of sellers do just fine sticking to Etsy alone. But here’s the thing—if you really want to boost your sales and stand out from the competition, promoting your shop outside of Etsy can make a world of difference. It gives you more control over how people find your products, and it helps you build a brand that customers actually recognize and trust.

Here are 3 TOP reasons why you should promote your listings outside of Etsy:

Beat the competition

Etsy is buzzing with creativity and passion but also competition! With 650 million daily visits and 5.6 million active shops, standing out isn’t exactly a walk in the park. Relying solely on organic traffic can feel like waiting for a miracle to be honest. Promoting your listings outside of Etsy helps you reach customers who might never find you otherwise.

In other words, you can beat the competition and reach the customers easily.

Taking promotion into your own hands also means you’re not just hoping Etsy’s algorithm will do the heavy lifting. Sure, the platform does its best to match products with buyers, but there’s no guarantee your items will consistently appear in search results. Bringing in traffic from outside Etsy gives you control and helps you stand out, too.

Increase your sales

More eyeballs mean more sales—it’s that simple! Promoting outside of Etsy boosts your audience and multiplies your chances of converting casual viewers into paying customers.

Promoting outside of Etsy also lets you show off your brand’s unique vibe. Social media offers way more freedom than Etsy’s sometimes rigid format, giving you space to share your story, build connections, and create a sense of community. That personal touch can help you build loyalty and get repeat customers.

Save on listing fees

This is the best benefit of promoting outside of Etsy, hands down! Okay, let’s get to the math.

When you make a purchase on Etsy, you have to pay a 10% transaction fee. But with Etsy’s Share and Save feature, you just have to pay 4%. Here is Etsy’s official statement in the Etsy Seller Handbook – “Whether you’re promoting your business on social media or at in-person events, you’ll save on Etsy fees by driving your own sales. When you share your unique link to your shop and make a sale, we’ll take 4% of the order total off your Etsy bill – so you pay less in fees for that order.“

“Any URL you share from your Shop Manager or the Etsy seller app formatted like yourshopname.etsy.com counts toward Share & Save,” they further elaborated to help you understand how Share and Save works.

With this new feature, you can share 3 types of links to save on the listing fees:

1. Links to your shop: These links take buyers to your shop’s Home page so they can browse all the items you have for sale. You can find the unique link to your shop in the upper right-hand corner of your Shop Dashboard, in your Stats, and on the Share & Save page in your Shop Manager.
2. Links to specific listings: You can also save on fees when you share links to specific listings in your shop. You can get a unique link for a specific listing by going to your Listings in Shop Manager, clicking the gear icon on a listing and choosing “Share”.
3. Links for a promo code: You can share a unique link for any of your promo codes, too. On the Sales and discounts page, just select the promo code you want to share and copy the unique link!

Now, let’s see how you can actually use these links!

3 ways to bring traffic to your Etsy store

Use social media

Social media is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic to your Etsy store and the best part? Even Etsy believes that; it has clearly mentioned how social media is one of the best ways to drive traffic to your Etsy store.

But which platforms should you use?

You can use multiple platforms but these are the top 3 to promote your Etsy shop:

• Facebook: Great for building a community and engaging with your audience.
• Pinterest: Even Etsy promotes the listings on Pinterest along with almost every Etsy seller out there, so you can understand how important it can be to drive traffic.
• Instagram: After Pinterest, Instagram is where most Etsy sellers try to push their products. It has 2 billion active users that can be interested in your products; you just need to reach out to them.

Strategy to promote your shop on social media

Platform: Facebook

• What works: Engaging posts, joining niche groups, sharing stories, and behind-the-scenes content. People love feeling connected to your journey.
• What doesn’t work: Constantly pushing sales without building relationships. Avoid spammy posts and overly promotional content. Posting your listing in random groups hoping to find sellers never works.

Platform: Pinterest

• What works: Eye-catching visuals, keyword-rich descriptions, and linking back to your Etsy shop. Use Pinterest’s shopping features to make buying easy.
• What doesn’t work: Low-quality images or random pins without strategy. Avoid just dumping your entire catalog without curation.

Quick tip: You can create promotional pins up to 5 per listing directly from your Listadum account. So, you don’t have to juggle multiple promotional tasks and save a lot of time!

Platform: Instagram

• What works: High-quality photos, storytelling captions, and trending hashtags. Reels and stories are great for behind-the-scenes and product reveals.
• What doesn’t work: Ignoring engagement. Just posting without replying to comments or messages makes your brand feel distant.

How to create a social media post directly from Etsy

Yes, you can create social media posts directly from Etsy! And guess what? It is super easy, you just need to follow these 6 steps:

1. Go to your Shop Manager on Etsy and click on Marketing.
2. Select Social Media from the dropdown.
3. Choose Social accounts to connect an account.
4. Choose a listing you want to promote and click Create Post.
5. Customize your post by adding text, choosing a template, and making adjustments to the visuals.
6. Select which platform you want to share it on (like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter) and hit Post.

Tips to make your social media posts stand out

• Add a personal touch: Share a quick story or behind-the-scenes insight to make the post more relatable.
• Use hashtags: Include relevant hashtags to increase your post’s visibility.
• Showcase customer reviews: Add snippets of positive feedback to build credibility.
• Keep it short and snappy: Long captions might lose the reader’s interest, so get to the point and make it engaging.

Some Etsy sellers on Instagram

Want to know the power of social media for your Etsy business? Just look at these Etsy sellers’ pages! They are building their brands and definitely driving sales through these pages.

• Caitlyn Minimalist – https://www.instagram.com/caitlynminimalist/
• Lucy Creates – https://www.instagram.com/lucycreatess/
• Keyla Creates – https://www.instagram.com/keyla.creates/
• Seed Geeks – https://www.instagram.com/seedgeeks/
• Arrow Gift – https://www.instagram.com/arrowgiftco/

Join an Etsy Team

On to the next way to drive traffic to your Etsy store…Etsy Teams!

Etsy launched Teams back in 2008 to build community among sellers. They are groups of sellers who come together to share advice, support each other, and even work on joint projects to grow their shops. Whether you’re into handmade crafts, vintage finds, or custom creations, there’s likely a team out there for you. Some popular ones include ‘Etsy Success‘ and ‘Vintage Etsy Society Street Team.’

This is one of the best ways of connecting with fellow sellers, learning tips, and finding chances to cross-promote. Plus, it’s great for staying motivated, increasing your sales and feeling part of a community. But recently, there have been a lot of questions regarding

Are Etsy Teams banned or discontinued?

Nope! Etsy Teams aren’t banned, but they’ve stopped allowing the creation of new Teams. Existing ones are still active and working fine – Etsy sellers are collaborating, supporting each other and creating promotion opportunities daily.

Verdict: There’s no official word on completely discontinuing Teams, so they’re sticking around for now. Better hurry up and hunt for a suitable Team now!!

How to search for an Etsy Team to join

When hunting for an Etsy Team, consider these things:

• Activity Level: Make sure the team is active and has recent posts.
• Relevance: Join a team that fits your niche or interests.
• Member Count: Bigger teams may have more ideas, but smaller ones feel more personal.
• Purpose: Some teams focus on networking, while others aim to improve marketing or skills.

How to join an Etsy Team

Simply follow these 4 steps and you’ll be on you way to an Etsy Team:

1. Go to the Etsy Community page.
2. Click on “Teams” to browse or search for groups that match your interests.
3. Once you find a team you like, click “Join this team.” Some teams might have specific joining rules, so check the description.
4. Introduce yourself in the team’s welcome thread or discussions to start connecting!

Use Reddit

Reddit might not be the first place that comes to mind when promoting your Etsy shop, but it’s actually full of niche communities where your products could be a perfect fit!

In 2024, Reddit’s weekly active users reached 365.4 million active weekly users. Needless to say, it is one of the most visited sites and a goldmine to promote your products! But the thing is, Reddit is designed to solve real problems of real people and build communities. So, the question almost every seller has is: Can you promote your Etsy products on Reddit?

Let’s clarify this once and for all!

Is promoting your Etsy products allowed on Reddit?

Yes, promoting your Etsy shop or products on Reddit is allowed, but it must be done carefully and respectfully. Reddit has a lot of communities (subreddits), and each one has its own rules. Make sure to read the rules of each subreddit carefully before posting. Some subs might even require you to be an active member or have a certain amount of karma before you can share links.

Just remember—Reddit users value authenticity and community engagement. So, before dropping your shop link, make sure you’re sharing helpful tips, personal stories, or advice to make your promotion feel more natural. You don’t want to come off as spammy at all.

There are clear do’s and don’ts of promoting on Reddit!

Do’s and don’ts of promoting Etsy shops and products on Reddit

Do’s	Don’ts
Engage with the community genuinely.	Post only promotional content without context.
Share useful tips, stories, or behind-the-scenes insights.	Drop links without engaging first.
Follow the specific subreddit rules.	Ignore subreddit guidelines and risk a ban.
Be consistent but not spammy with your posts.	Oversaturate subreddits with constant links.
Use relevant, niche subreddits for your product.	Post in unrelated communities.

Sub-reddits you can use to promote your Etsy shop

We have saved you the hassle of finding sub-reddits that you can use to promote your Etsy shop! These are active, have decent engagement, and most importantly, are super supportive.

You can join one or multiple based on your niche:

• https://www.reddit.com/r/etsypromos/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/stickerstore/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/EtsyPrintables/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/EtsyAdvertise/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/artstore/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/crochet/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/houseplants/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/Crystals/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/EngagementRings/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/crafts/

Hopefully, this guide has helped you understand how to promote your Etsy shop effectively. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us in our Discord community, via chat, or by email.

Listadum is here to help you grow!

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