You may not find as many Etsy seller tools as, say, Amazon seller tools. You can still choose from a good variety, however, to help your shop succeed. In this post, we’ll go over the different tool types and what they offer through specific examples.
Essential Etsy Seller Tools
Shop Management Tools
Etsy Shop Manager is your one-stop shop for managing all aspects of your Etsy shop. It’s great for new sellers and seasoned sellers alike. The Shop Manager acts as a central hub that allows you to conveniently handle everything:
- Create, edit, and publish product listings with clear descriptions and high-quality photos.
- Set listing prices and manage inventory levels.
- View and manage all incoming orders, process payments, track shipping, and communicate with customers.
- Respond to inquiries directly.
- Gain valuable insights into your shop’s performance to track sales and analyze demographics so you can refine your strategy.
- Manage your shop on the go with the Etsy Seller App.
Inventory Management Tools
Craftybase
Craftybase is an inventory management, bookkeeping, and production software specifically designed for small-batch manufacturers, makers, and creative entrepreneurs. It acts as a central hub for keeping track of everything that goes into making products.
Craftybase is ideal for gaining instant insights into material and finished product stock levels. This means optimal inventory levels and accurate Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) so you can understand your true profit margins. Then, you can price your creations confidently.
The Bill of Materials (BOM) feature helps you track the exact materials needed for each product you make. Recipe management helps with products that have specific formulas or ingredients to streamline production and maintain consistency.
Use Craftybase to automate tedious inventory tasks so you can free up time to create and sell. You can plan and schedule production runs within the tool and generate reports to analyze performance.
Marketing and SEO Tools
Advertising and Promotion Tools
Etsy Ads and Offsite Ads are powerful tools to boost your product’s visibility, even beyond the platform.
Etsy Ads
You can target the right audience using Etsy Ads through specific keywords related to your products. Proper keyword research plus clear, concise, and attention-grabbing ad copy can capture buyers.
Good search volumes with low competition keeps costs down while increasing visits through highlighted unique product selling points and benefits. Daily budgets and regular performance tracking will also help manage the costs.
Using high-quality product photos with your ads, you can showcase your creations in the best light to entice potential customers.
Offsite Ads
Offsite Ads use your existing listings, so you need to make sure they are well-optimized for search on and off Etsy. This is vital since you can’t control targeting and budget allocation like you can with Etsy Ads.
Maintaining competitive pricing makes your products more attractive to potential customers who find them through Offsite Ads. To sweeten the deal, consider offering free shipping promotions.
We also highly recommend that you focus on offering high-quality products and exceptional customer service above all else. This is how you get positive reviews from satisfied customers to drive more traffic to your shop, naturally.
SEO Optimization Tools
eRank
eRank is a valuable tool for Etsy sellers looking to improve their SEO through keyword research and competitor analysis. Find keywords with good search volume but lower competition with the Keyword Explorer. Then, analyze search trends over time to capitalize on seasonal spikes and growing product categories.
This tool helps you target long-tail keywords with higher conversion rates as well as use suggestions for related searches. This is how you discover relevant variations to broaden your keyword pool and reach.
With the Competitor Analysis feature, you can see what others are ranking for. eRank assigns an SEO score to your competitors’ listings so you can gauge their overall listing optimization. This research can give you valuable insights into what’s working for them and how you can use that in your own keyword strategy.
eRank competitor sales estimates are a good basis for looking at your potential success when deciding to target similar keywords and products.
Financial and Sales Tools
Accounting and Bookkeeping Tools
We highly recommend using some kind of Etsy accounting software. This may not be a priority if you’re just starting out. However, as your store grows, you’ll be happy for the help.
Manually tracking sales, expenses, and inventory across platforms is time-consuming and prone to errors. By integrating a tool like QuickBooks online, you can streamline your financial management to save a load of time and energy. If you end up needing a bookkeeper, you’ll save on expenses, too.
Integrating an accounting tool means you can automatically import sales figures, fees, and refunds. It will even take care of categorizing your Etsy transactions so they go in the appropriate accounts to simplify expense tracking and financial reporting for taxes.
Automatic data transfer minimizes the chance of errors to keep your financial records accurate and reliable. If your tool has inventory management features, you can enjoy greater accuracy in this area, too. With a centralized view of stock levels, you can optimize inventory for better performance.
With all your Etsy financial data seamlessly integrated, a tool like QuickBooks allows you to generate comprehensive reports. This means better sales trend analysis to identify profitable products and improve financial health.
Sales Analysis and Growth Tools
EtsyHunt
EtsyHunt is a tool Etsy sellers can use to delve into product performance and identify market trends. It allows you to monitor sales history at the products or category level. Knowing your best-sellers, customer preferences, and declining trends, you can adjust quickly to remain profitable.
EtsyHunt data shows sellers how different listing elements impact product visibility and sales. You can use this to optimize titles, descriptions, and more, to attract more buyers and sell more.
Competitor product analysis gives you a picture of how your products stack up against the competition. You can use their product details, pricing strategies, and customer reviews to inform your own strategies and offerings.
Real-time rank tracking of your products in Etsy search results for specific keywords is an amazing feature. It allows you to monitor the effectiveness of your keyword targeting and identify opportunities for improvement.
You can also discover products with EtsyHunt that are experiencing a surge in sales or searches. This is great for new product ideas that capitalize on current market trends. If you uncover new and emerging product categories first, you can cater to evolving customer preferences early.
Tracking seasonal fluctuations is also really helpful for planning inventory and marketing. EtsyHunt can also help you to identify products that are experiencing short-term spikes in sales that you can leverage for quick returns.
Customer Engagement and Feedback Tools
Communication and Feedback Management
Customer service and feedback collection go hand in hand, so these tool types help you both provide exceptional service and collect positive feedback.
Customer Service
With live chat, you can have real-time interactions with customers, which helps you better address their questions and concerns. They love the attention, and you can eliminate frustrating back-and-forth messaging. Keep a ticketing system active regardless, so you can track and manage inquiries efficiently.
As you collect communication history, link that to a comprehensive knowledge base that helps customers moving forward with FAQs, tutorials, and troubleshooting guides. This empowers customers to find answers independently during off hours, which keeps them happy and reduces your support workload.
Feedback Collection
Use Etsy seller tools to automate the process of sending out post-interaction surveys as you close out tickets. Keep them short and focused on essential information about the support experience that you want to track. As you gather data and improve, tweak the questions to hone in on additional service areas.
If you have a separate website or run social media pages, you can add more surveys there. Just keep them targeted strategically on specific touchpoints. Actively monitor your social media channels and always respond promptly and professionally. Your goal is to demonstrate your commitment to help them now and improve moving forward.
After implementing changes, communicate these improvements to customers to show you want to see how it enhances their experience.
Automation and Efficiency Tools
Automated Marketing Tools
LeadDyno
LeadDyno is an all-in-one affiliate marketing platform to help businesses launch, manage, and scale their affiliate programs. This tool offers you the flexibility to create different structures from commission plans to even one-time payouts based on specific actions.
You can use this platform to streamline the process of recruiting affiliates with customizable applications. It also gives you valuable insights into clicks, conversions, and top-performing affiliates.
You can create a branded affiliate portal with LeadDyno to foster a more professional experience and incentivize affiliate participation.
FAQs
What are the best practices for integrating multiple Etsy tools without overwhelming the shop operations?
Integrating multiple Etsy tools can offer incredible benefits, but tread with care. To much can create counterproductive overwhelm.
Be intentional about the areas you want to improve in your shop operations. Make changes based on your most pressing needs first, and one at a time.
Choose tools that can scale smoothly with your business and work seamlessly with each other. Evaluate tool performance on a schedule to judge its impact so you can continually make improvements.
Take advantage of training and support resources to use each tool to its full potential.
How can I measure the ROI of investing in paid Etsy seller tools?
Keep track of the costs associated with all your Etsy seller tools and measure that against their impact on your shop’s performance.
Establish key metrics relevant to the areas you aim to improve. Quantify the improvements and estimate the net profit increase that resulted from using the tool. Track the impact on sales, cost of goods sold (COGS), and any potential savings from reduced manual labor.
Don’t expect overnight success, but don’t hang on to an underperforming tool for too long, either. And consider the combined impact of all your tools.
Are there any free tools that can effectively manage small Etsy shops?
Etsy Shop Manager is a great one-stop free shop for managing all your listings, orders, customer communication, and shop stats. You can also leverage a number of free t good keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner.
Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel can be surprisingly effective for managing basic inventory, tracking sales data, and creating simple invoices for your shop. Tools like Canva can help with product photos, social media graphics, and shop banners.
Free social media and email tools are great for marketing and community management.
What is the most recommended tool for new Etsy sellers focused on rapid growth?
The ideal tool depends on your specific needs and growth goals. For example:
If you’re focused on increased sales and visibility, Etsy Ads will help you target potential customers. With well-optimized listings and high-quality product photos, you can significantly increase sales.
If you want to improve your listings and SEO, a tool like Marmalead can help you identify relevant keywords to target the right audience and improve your listings’ ranking in Etsy search results.
For better inventory management and production, look for something like Craftybase. This software helps manage inventory, track material and labor costs, and streamline production processes.
How often should I review and adjust my tool usage based on shop performance metrics?
For a new shop in the growth phase, review weekly or bi-weekly to test different Etsy seller tools and strategies. For established shops with a stable workflow, re-evaluate monthly or at least quarterly.
If a certain tool has a significant impact on your shop’s performance, you can monitor metrics more frequently. Tools with a more stable function don’t need too much attention. The same goes for the pace of your industry where evolving trends will increase the frequency to stay ahead of the curve.
What Is EcomBalance?
EcomBalance is a monthly bookkeeping service specialized for eCommerce companies selling on Amazon, Shopify, Ebay, Etsy, WooCommerce, & other eCommerce channels.
We take monthly bookkeeping off your plate and deliver you your financial statements by the 15th or 20th of each month.
You’ll have your Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement ready for analysis each month so you and your business partners can make better business decisions.
Interested in learning more? Schedule a call with our CEO, Nathan Hirsch.
And here’s some free resources:
- Monthly Finance Meeting Agenda
- 9 Steps to Master Your Ecommerce Bookkeeping Checklist
- The Ultimate Guide on Finding an Ecommerce Virtual Bookkeeping Service
- What Is a Profit and Loss Statement?
- How to Read & Interpret a Cash Flow Statement
- How to Read a Balance Sheet & Truly Understand It
Conclusion
Etsy seller tools in the right combination can do a lot to enhance your shop performance. Using this short guide as inspiration, we hope that you can find a good balance for your needs.
