Looking for ways to prepare your Etsy shop for Black Friday and the rest of Cyber Weekend? Every year, major retailers advertise their Black Friday sales earlier and earlier. This year, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is shorter — only 28 days. Because of this, early Black Friday sales are sure to be popular.
Black Friday is, undoubtedly, the biggest shopping day of the year for US retailers. But what does this mean for you and your Etsy shop? Read on for some simple tips that will help you be prepared for the holiday rush well ahead of your competition.
Plan Your Etsy Holiday Marketing and Social Media Posts
Get your Etsy shop’s social media accounts ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday by brainstorming your marketing ahead of time. Take a look at your items’ profit margins and determine what discounts would be practical for you to offer. Each year, during early fall, Etsy invites sellers to opt into their sitewide cyber sales. While Etsy usually suggests a specific discount to offer, eRank recommends avoiding steep discounts that significantly decrease your profit margins.
Now is also a good time to begin exploring designs for your holiday promotions on social media. You don’t necessarily need to have everything ready to go this early. However, starting now ensures that you’ll enter the holidays with a clear idea of how you want to promote your shop. When you’re finished brainstorming, pull out your calendar and determine how often you’d like to post on each platform to optimize your reach.
💡TIP: Read this blog post to find out what the best social media platforms are for Etsy sellers. Learn how to leverage these platforms and grow your business.
Create Your Shipping Station
Another way to make sure your Etsy shop is prepared for Black Friday orders is to fortify your shipping process. Set up a designated area for packaging your customers’ orders. Stock it with all of your shipping essentials: boxes, mailers, tissue paper, tape, etc. If you offer gift wrapping, don’t forget wrapping paper and ribbons.
While you’re at it, you may want to go ahead and stock enough shipping essentials to last your shop through the holiday season and to the end of the year. Some of your go-to supplies may increase in price or go out of stock during this time of the year. This is simply due to the high demand for such items during the holidays. Purchase what you need in the late summer or early fall months. This way, you won’t find yourself rushing to find alternatives during the holiday rush.
💡TIP: Use eRank’s Delivery Status tool to view the status of any of your shipped Etsy orders during the holiday season. Use this report to view the transit status of each of your shipped orders. View their estimated times of arrival and check for delays.
Bulk Up Your Etsy Inventory Before Black Friday Hits
Stocking your inventory well ahead of time is essential to get your Etsy shop ready for Black Friday. Set aside a day to check if your inventory matches what you have listed on Etsy. Then, make sure that you have enough supplies on hand to fulfill your holiday orders. If your shop goes viral and every item you’ve listed sells overnight, would you be able to fulfill the demand? If not, consider spending a few days prepping items so that you are able to ship orders in a timely manner. Do you sell items in discounted bundles during the holiday season? If so, now is a great time to group and prep those sets in advance.
Additionally, now is the ideal time to perform some inventory-related tasks in advance. For example, filling out thank you cards or trimming tissue paper to size.
Update Your Etsy Graphics and Add Shipping Cutoff Dates
Use this time to prime your Etsy shop’s customers for Black Friday. Avoid confusion during the holiday season by clearly displaying the date by which they need to order so that their purchase makes it to its destination before Christmas. This year, Thanksgiving is later than usual. This means that there are only a few weeks between Black Friday and Christmas. Holiday shoppers are going to be pressed for time as they browse Etsy’s sales events. This means that you need to be hyper-aware of shipping deadlines and relay these dates to your customers.
Decide when you want your Christmas order cutoff date to be. Announce this date in your shop’s “Announcement” section and your listings’ descriptions to optimize your visibility during this major sales event. Then, add an image displaying the cutoff date to each of your listings. You can also modify your shop’s banner to inform shoppers of your shipping times. If you offer gift wrapping, include photos of what it looks like. Add images displaying information regarding any additional processing time required for gift wrapping (if any).
Prepare Your Etsy Shop for the Holiday Rush
With a little preparation and planning, you can get your Etsy shop ready for the Black Friday rush well ahead of time! Following these easy tips helps to ensure a smooth and stress-free season for both you and your customers.
